When I think about the best leaders I have known, they all have one thing in common. They make people feel safe enough to learn, speak up, and grow. Leadership is not only about direction and targets. It is about trust, time, and how we show up for our teams every day.
That is where my recent conversation with Samantha Ennist started. Sam has spent her career in organizational development and talent management. We met years ago while running a Women in Leadership program together. What I enjoy most about speaking with her is how real she is about the challenges leaders face right now. The world is moving fast. Teams are lean. Expectations are high. Yet at the core, the work is still human.
Sam said something that stuck with me. “It is that idea of vulnerable trust,” she said. “Own your mistakes. Ask questions when you do not know. Leaders can say, I think we could have done this better.” That type of trust is more than reliability. It is being human enough to let others see that we do not have all the answers. When a leader does that, it gives everyone else permission to do the same.
We also talked about psychological safety. I use Tim Clark’s model with many of our clients because it helps leaders see the path to safety in four clear stages. The first is inclusion safety. People feel like they belong and can be themselves. The second is learner safety. People can make mistakes without fear of blame. The third is contributor safety. Everyone can share ideas and be heard. The fourth is challenger safety. This is when someone can tell their boss, I think you are wrong, and know they will be respected for it.
When I asked Sam where she thought her team stood on that continuum, she smiled. “We are a people first culture,” she said. “There is a strong exchange of feedback.” That kind of exchange does not happen by accident. It takes steady leadership and clear intent. Leaders need to model the behavior before they expect it from others.
We shifted to a topic that keeps many leaders up at night. Time. Most leaders still have their own workload on top of managing people. Coaching and development often feel like extra tasks that require formal meetings or long sessions. Sam challenged that idea. “We can coach in real time,” she said. “You do not need a separate one hour conversation.”
That point is powerful. Leadership is not a separate part of the job. It is woven through the work itself. When you review a project, give feedback right there. When someone makes a small mistake, use it as a teaching moment instead of waiting for a performance review. When you delegate, explain your reasoning so others understand the bigger picture. Those small moments build capability faster than any classroom.
Of course, coaching in real time also helps with succession. Many organizations are losing experienced employees to retirement. The challenge is not only about filling positions. It is about keeping the knowledge and the judgment that come with experience. You cannot transfer that through a document or a handover meeting. You pass it on through daily work, conversation, and mentorship.
Sam described it well. “We are a flat organization,” she said. “It is important for us to know we have the right people in the right roles, that they have the right skills, and that leaders are coached and developed.” That balance between structure and growth is what keeps a company strong.
We also touched on mindset. A fixed mindset says things are fine the way they are. A growth mindset asks what we can learn and how we can improve. Sam linked it to her time as a teacher. “When I taught, I had to integrate subjects to cover everything,” she said. “Leadership is the same. You weave learning into daily work until it becomes part of the culture.”
I see that as the essence of great leadership. The best leaders learn alongside their teams. They do not see development as a program or an event. They see it as an ongoing practice. They listen more than they talk. They invite challenge. They stay open to change but keep a steady core of values.
If I could give one piece of advice to new leaders, it would be this. Listen to your team. Ask what helps them do their best work. Create a space where people can make mistakes and recover. Show that you care about who they are, not just what they produce. Those small actions build the trust that keeps people engaged.
At Fairwinds, we help leaders build that trust every day. Through programs like Insight to Impact, we focus on the real human side of leadership. Emotional intelligence, accountability, and communication are not soft skills. They are the hard work that drives performance.
To close, I will borrow one more line from Sam. “We need that soft place to land at work, just like we do at home.” That is what leadership looks like when it is done right. It is steady, human, and grounded in trust. When people feel safe to learn and try again, they grow. And when they grow, so does the business.