Three Truths Every Leader Needs to Hear

by Margie DuBois, CPC

December 3, 2025

Leaders bring me into their organizations because they want the same things: a high-performing team, a healthy culture, and stronger retention.

And while every team is different, one pattern has never changed:

The single biggest predictor of whether those goals become reality is the effectiveness of the CEO and their executive leadership team.

After working inside dozens of organizations this year, I’ve learned there are three compassionate truths that can’t be ignored if you want to create a culture where people thrive.

Truth #1: You have too many priorities — and it’s burning out your team.

Most leaders I worked with this year struggled with the same challenge: everything felt important. Shiny-object opportunities, overcrowded strategic plans, and too many “top priorities” left their teams overwhelmed and with a lack of clarity.

Here’s the truth: Hustle culture does not create sustainable success. Clarity does.

The best leaders slowed down long enough to ask: What actually matters the most to us right now? What priorities will lead to the biggest ROI for our business? And what do we need to start, stop, and continue doing?

Then they asked for support narrowing down their priorities, breaking down their year into realistic benchmarks and goals, and building momentum instead of chaos.

Truth #2: Avoiding conflict is costing you more than you think.

Some of the kindest leaders I met were unintentionally hurting their teams by avoiding uncomfortable conversations.

They worried about upsetting someone.
They made decisions to keep the peace.
They softened expectations to avoid tension.

But here’s the reality: avoidance leads to more conflict, confusion, and resentment down the road. It erodes trust, engagement, and performance.

When high-performers watched their leaders dodge tough conversations and avoid big issues, they respected them less and started to disengage. Yet when leaders practiced clarity, empathy, and accountability — trust grew, teams stabilized, and performance improved.

Navigating hard conversations is not an innate skill for any human. As a leader, your job is to seek out the right resources to build your confidence — and then put that learning into practice.

Truth #3: The most confident leaders are the people employees love working for.

Confidence isn’t charisma. It’s not extroversion. It’s not toughing it out or pretending everything’s fine.

Real confidence is built over time and demonstrated by observable behaviors. And the most confident leaders are the ones who have a relentless commitment to human-centered leadership. They’re the type of people employees love working for.

The most confident leaders I worked with this year consistently practiced three habits:

• They asked for help and acknowledged their gaps in leadership.

• They elevated others by celebrating their wins, giving credit freely, and investing in their professional development.

• They modeled a growth mindset — welcoming feedback, changing their behavior, and actively participating in team events.

Confident leaders perform better — and their teams do, too.

Note: these are the behaviors inside my 7 Habits of Confident Humans™ framework. If you want to see where you fall, my confidence quiz will highlight your confidence archetype, and give you real tools for growth. Take the three-minute, free assessment here or learn more about my confidence training for teams.

. . .

If you want to create a culture where people feel safe, committed, and proud to stay, these three truths matter. When you get clean on your priorities, get uncomfortable, and grow in your confidence, joy and progress is waiting for your team on the other end.

I’ll leave you with one reflection to carry into 2026:

Which truth is rising to the top for you — and how might it benefit your team if you choose to face it with courage?