Most people want the title of “leader.” It sounds good. There’s a certain status that comes with being a supervisor, manager, or executive.

But the trouble comes when the toll must be paid.

Like anything in life—sports, business, popularity—leadership has its highs and lows. The real question is:

What kind of person can endure the darker side of leadership?

Every move you make
And every vow you break
Every smile you fake, every claim you stake
I'll be watching you

A New Age of Measuring Performance

“So, how am I doing?”

In decades past, that question was met with a stiff smile, a closed door, and a score: “3 out of 5 — Meets Expectations.” One hour a year to define your worth, your future, and your potential. For many, performance reviews were something to survive; a box to check, a form to fill, a score to justify.

That model? It’s fading. And for good reason.

Culture doesn’t live in a slogan. It lives in the behavior of your leaders.

When I ask senior executives to describe their organizational culture, they often respond with confident, well-worn phrases:

• “We’re a performance culture.”

• “We’re all about the patient.”

• “We like to have fun, we’re kind of quirky around here.”

These statements may be well-intentioned, but they often reflect a surface-level understanding of what culture really is and how it’s shaped.

While we’ve poured resources into “high potential” executives, supervisors have too often been left at the back of the developmental feeding line. The result? Organizations struggle with attrition, poor engagement, inconsistent safety or quality outcomes — and yet they look to the C-suite or launch top-down campaigns to solve the problem.

Corporate America is projected to increase its leadership development investment from $166 billion to over $200 billion in the next five years. That’s a massive bet on the power of leaders to move organizations forward.

But here's the real question: If we're investing this much, why aren't more organizations teeming with leadership talent?