And you know what happens? When politics enters the workplace, trust exits. Because people can tell. They always can. No matter how polished the performance, people sense when their leader isn't being real. And once they sense it, everything that leader says gets filtered through that lens of skepticism. That's why authenticity isn't just a nice to have quality in leadership. It's essential. Not because being real makes you likable, though it might. But because leading

You know that employee who used to be your go-to person? The one who'd volunteer for projects, stay late when needed, and bring energy to team meetings? Yeah, they're still showing up. They're still doing their job. But something's different. The spark is gone. They're doing exactly what's required and not one thing more. Welcome to the world of quiet quitting, and if you haven't noticed it on your team yet, you're either incredibly lucky or not paying close enough attention.

Residents often have unrealistic expectations about what local government can control. They want you to fix the pothole on their street immediately while also keeping taxes low. They want clear vision areas, but don’t want the trees or bushes by their house removed. They demand transparency but then criticize you for "wasting time" on public meetings and documentation.

I discovered something that no training had taught me: most union representatives want the same thing you do, a productive, respectful workplace where good employees thrive and problems get resolved fairly.

We attribute OTHER people’s actions to their personality while we attribute OUR actions as situational based on circumstances.