• The Backbone of Leadership: Speaking Up When It Counts

    by Michelle Cummings

    Every leader faces moments where silence feels safer. A meeting where the dominant opinion goes unchallenged. A decision that doesn’t align with the team’s values. A behavior that crosses a line. In those moments, speaking up is not easy – but it’s essential. That’s the heart of managerial courage: choosing principle over popularity, clarity over comfort.

    Managerial courage is not about being loud, reactive, or confrontational. It’s about being steady, clear, and values-driven. It’s about knowing what matters most, and having the discipline to act even when the outcome feels uncertain. True courage is not the absence of fear. It’s moving forward despite it.

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  • Spot the Drain Early: A Leadership Tool for Unsticking Teams

    By Michelle Cummings

    One of the biggest challenges leaders face is knowing how to move a team forward when momentum stalls. In our Eyes of a Leader module, we help leaders develop a clear, compelling vision—and just as importantly, identify what might be pulling their team off course. This is where the Drain Model, developed by Dr. Carl Larson and Frank LaFasto, becomes such a powerful leadership tool. Based on over a decade of research with thousands of teams, their model doesn’t just explain what slows teams down—it reveals why.

    At the heart of the Drain Model is this idea of energy and focus. Larson and LaFasto describe three types of energy that a team needs to reach its goals: Mental, Physical, and Spiritual. Mental energy is your team’s collective knowledge and problem-solving ability. Physical energy is the stamina to do the work. But spiritual energy? That’s the one we overlook most often. It’s the emotional drive, the passion, and the shared commitment that keeps people connected to the goal—and to each other.

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