Let’s just say the thing…
Most people don’t want to be ‘led’ anymore.
They want to be managed lightly, left alone, and occasionally told they’re “crushing it” like it’s a participation trophy.
And leaders?
A lot of them are out here doing leadership like it’s a popularity contest… with a Slack emoji strategy.
Here’s the BIG problem:
In 2026, leadership isn’t about being liked. It’s about being aligned.
Because when the pressure hits, your title doesn’t save you.
Your identity does.
And if your identity as a leader is built on approval…
you’re going to fold faster than a lawn chair in a hurricane.
Welcome to HEROic Leadership—the leadership framework for people who want to build teams that perform, trust each other, and don’t implode the second things get hard.
No fluff.
No BS.
No fake “we’re a family.”
(We’re not. And that’s okay. I already have enough family group chats.)
Just real leadership.
The Hard Truth: Leadership Exposes You
Leadership doesn’t make you a better person.
Leadership makes you a louder version of whoever you already are.
If you’re avoidant, leadership turns you into a professional ghoster.
If you’re insecure, leadership turns you into a micromanager extraordinaire.
If you’re ego-driven, leadership turns you into a TED Talk with legs.
Leadership is a mirror with a megaphone.
And it will drag every unhealed part of you onto center stage like:
“Ladies and gentlemen… PLEASE welcome Cory’s fear of conflict!”
As the great philosopher Mike Tyson once said:
“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
Leadership punches you in the mouth.
Hard.
Often.
Sometimes on Zoom.
So, if your leadership plan is “hope people figure it out,” you’re about to have a bad bad year.
WHO HEROic Leadership Is For
This is for:
- Execs and senior leaders who feel the culture slipping
- Sales leaders trying to drive performance without burning people out
- New managers who were promoted because they were good at the job… then realized leadership is a whole different sport
- Leaders who want high standards and high trust (yes, you can have both)
- Anyone who’s tired of being the “nice leader” and wants to become the respected leader
If you’ve ever said:
- “I hate conflict.”
- “I don’t want to hurt their feelings.”
- “I’ll talk to them next week.”
- “I just want everyone to be happy.”
Cool.
But also: that’s not leadership.
That’s emotional babysitting with a decent paycheck.
WHAT HEROic Leadership Is
HEROic Leadership is a trust-under-pressure system that helps leaders create clarity, standards, accountability, and culture—without turning into a cold, corporate Terminator.
It’s leadership that’s:
- Human
- Direct
- Emotionally intelligent
- Performance-driven
- Built on identity and alignment
Think of it like this:
Leadership is not what you intend.
Leadership is what people experience.
If you intend to be supportive but you’re unclear, you’re not supportive—you’re confusing.
If you intend to empower but you keep rescuing, you’re not empowering—you’re enabling.
If you intend to build culture but you tolerate low standards, you’re not building culture—you’re building a daycare.
(I said what I said.)
WHAT HEROic Leadership Is NOT
HEROic Leadership is not:
- Being liked
- Being the team therapist
- A ‘vibe’
- Avoiding hard conversations
- Pretending “everything is fine”
- Running your team on motivation and pizza parties
You can’t “pep talk” your way out of misalignment.
Also—pizza is great, but it’s not a substitute for standards.
WHY It Matters
(The Part Where You Feel Personally Attacked—in a Helpful Way)
Most teams don’t fail because they lack skill.
They fail because they lack:
- clarity
- courage
- consistency
- accountability
- emotional safety
- trust
And all of that starts with… you.
Your team isn’t confused because they’re dumb. (well mostly not)
They’re confused because:
You’re unclear.
Your top performers aren’t frustrated because they’re difficult.
They’re frustrated because:
You tolerate what they refuse to become.
And your culture isn’t “off” because people are lazy.
Your culture is off because:
standards aren’t being protected.
As Nick Fury once said:
“There was an idea…”
Yeah. Your culture was an idea too.
But culture isn’t built by ideas.
Culture is built by what you enforce… and what you ignore.
WHEN You Need HEROic Leadership
If any of these are happening, you need this like yesterday:
- People keep missing expectations
- You’re repeating yourself like a broken GPS
- Your best people are carrying the load
- You’re avoiding a conversation you know you need to have
- The vibe is “fine” but performance is flat
- Your team is acting like accountability is a hate crime
If you’re leading right now and feeling tired…
Not physically tired.
Emotionally tired.
That’s usually a sign you’re leading through approval instead of alignment.
And approval leadership is exhausting because it requires you to constantly manage everyone’s emotions… including your own.
Alignment leadership is freeing because you’re building a system where expectations are clear and courage is normal.
The HEROic Leadership Framework (4 Pillars)
This is where the rubber meets the road.
HEROic Leadership™ runs on 4 pillars:
1) Standards: Make “Great” Non-Negotiable
If “great” isn’t defined, people will default to “good enough.”
And “good enough” is the gateway drug to mediocrity.
Your team doesn’t rise to your goals.
They rise to your standards.
So here’s a question:
What do you tolerate that is quietly training your team to lower the bar?
- late follow-up
- sloppy handoffs
- missed deadlines
- negative attitudes
- blame
- gossip
- “I didn’t know” as a lifestyle
If you tolerate it, you teach it.
Standards are love.
Not soft love.
Not Hallmark love.
Real love. (cue Mary J Blige)
The kind that says:
“I care too much about you to let you stay here.”
2) Conversations: Say the Thing (Fast. Human. Direct.)
Most leadership problems are conversation problems.
And most conversation problems are fear problems.
Fear of conflict.
Fear of being disliked.
Fear of “what if they quit.”
Let me help you out:
If you can’t have hard conversations, you don’t have a team.
You have a stage.
And you’re the one performing.
As Captain America said:
“The price of freedom is high… but it’s a price I’m willing to pay.”
The price of leadership is courage.
Pay it.
The longer you wait, the more expensive it gets.
The 10-Minute Courage Script (Totally Use This)
Open with:
- “Can I share something directly because I respect you?”
- “Here’s what I’m noticing…”
- “Here’s the impact…”
- “Here’s what great looks like…”
- “Can we agree on the next step?”
That’s it.
No speech.
No rant.
No 45-minute setup where you apologize for existing.
Just say the thing.
3) Ownership: Stop Rescuing. Start Developing.
Leaders love to rescue. (you know it)
Because it makes you feel needed.
But rescuing creates dependence.
And dependence kills performance.
If you keep saving people from consequences, they’ll never build competence.
Here’s the line:
Leaders don’t create followers. They create owners.
Owners take responsibility.
Owners solve problems.
Owners don’t need you to be their emotional crutch every time something gets hard.
If your team can’t function without you… you don’t have leadership.
You have bottlenecking with a side of burnout.
4) Energy: Your Nervous System Sets the Culture
This one stings.
Because it’s not about your strategies.
It’s about your state.
If you’re anxious, your team will feel it.
If you’re reactive, your team will hide things.
If you’re unpredictable, your team will walk on eggshells.
Your team takes cues from you like you’re the weather.
So, if you want a calm, high-performing culture…
Stop being a human thunderstorm.
Not by pretending.
By regulating.
By doing the inner work.
By leading yourself first.
Because leadership isn’t a skillset.
It’s an identity.
The “7 Leadership Tells” Your Culture Is Drifting
If you’re seeing these, your culture is leaking:
- People ask the same questions repeatedly (lack of clarity)
- Standards vary by person (lack of consistency)
- Top performers are annoyed (tolerance problem)
- Feedback is rare or sugar-coated (fear problem)
- “Busy” replaces results (avoidance)
- Accountability conversations feel like a big event (they should be normal)
- You’re exhausted from “being nice” (approval leadership)
Again—none of this makes you a bad leader.
It makes you a human leader…
who needs an upgrade.
And that’s what HEROic Leadership is.
The Leadership Shift: Approval → Alignment
Let me give you the core shift:
Approval leadership asks:
“Do they like me?”
Alignment leadership asks:
“Am I leading them toward who we said we’re going to be?”
One is emotionally expensive.
The other builds trust.
And trust is what creates performance that lasts.
A Quick Challenge (Do This This Week)
Pick one of these and execute in the next 7 days:
- Define one non-negotiable standard and communicate it clearly
- Have the conversation you’ve been avoiding
- Stop rescuing one person and coach them into ownership
- Regulate your energy before your next high-stakes meeting (breathe, pause, respond—don’t react)
Yoda said it best:
“Do. Or do not. There is no try.”
(And yes, he was a short king. But he was also right.)
Final Word (With Heart)
If you’re leading right now, I need you to hear this:
You’re not failing.
You’re being forged.
Leadership is pressure—and pressure reveals.
But it also refines.
HEROic Leadership isn’t about being perfect.
It’s about being aligned.
It’s about becoming the kind of leader people trust… especially when things get hard.
Because in the end…
Your legacy won’t be the numbers you hit.
It’ll be the people you helped become.
Your Question (Don’t dodge it)
What’s the one hard leadership conversation you’ve been avoiding?
If you want help building a leadership identity that’s clear, courageous, and unf*ckwithable…
Reach out.
Let’s make you the kind of leader your team brags about years from now.
And if you don’t know, now you know…
1,2…GO!
