New managers often assume respect comes from having every answer. It doesn't. Drawing on personal experience and strengths-led consulting work, this piece argues that listening properly, deciding without full certainty, and owning what happens next, even when the decision is wrong, is what actually earns lasting credibility with a team.

Leadership is something we talk about constantly, yet most conversations about it miss the point. It gets tied to job titles, to authority, to how long someone has held a role. But the professionals I work with have usually moved well past that stage already. They hold senior positions because of genuine expertise and talent, and on paper, everything indicates they are doing well.