The Real Deal
Most organisations don’t wake up and say, “Let’s build a leadership program.”
They wake up and say, “We need results… and we’re not getting them the way we used to.”
Under the surface, there are usually three outcomes they’re chasing:
1) Lift performance
Not just output. Sustainable performance. The kind that shows up in the messy middle of the year when the adrenaline wears off.
And performance, these days, is tied to things that may have once been considered as “the icing on the cake” - engagement, connection, and effort.
Because people don’t give their best effort to a leader they don’t trust and connect with.
They don’t stretch for a purpose they can’t feel.
And they don’t stay energised in cultures that quietly drain them.
2) Grow perspectives
Organisations need leaders who can think wider, not just faster.
Perspective is what stops teams from defaulting to yesterday’s playbook. It’s what helps leaders hold complexity without becoming controlling, reactive, or rigid.
Growing perspectives means leaders can:
- see around corners
- listen beyond their own bias
- make better trade-offs
- stay curious when the pressure is on
3) Build potential
This is the big one. Because strategy doesn’t execute itself.
Organisations need people who can step up, back themselves, and do their best work - not once, but consistently.
Building potential isn’t about pushing harder. It’s about unleashing people.
And that requires leaders who know how to create the conditions where confidence, capability, and ownership can be free to grow.
So what skills do leaders need to do all of this well?
This is where REAL Leadership comes in, not as a “model,” but as a practical standard.
REAL Leadership: does it work for organisations?
I believe it does - because it solves the exact problems organisations are trying to solve.
R - Resilient: steady under pressure, able to reset, regulate, and respond rather than react.
E - Engaged: connected to purpose and people, able to create momentum and discretionary effort.
A - Aligned: clear on what matters, consistent in decisions, and able to translate strategy into focus.
L - Leveraged: brings the best out of others, multiplies talent, and builds capability instead of bottlenecks.
And yes, you might notice I said Engaged rather than Empathetic.
Empathy matters. Deeply.
But for organisations, engagement is the visible outcome of empathy in action.
Empathy without standards becomes softness.
Standards without empathy becomes toxicity.
REAL leaders hold both - human and high-performing - at the same time.
If your organisation is trying to lift performance, broaden thinking, and build potential, the question isn’t “Do we need better leaders?”
It’s: Are we building leaders who can lead humans… and deliver outcomes?
That’s the real deal.
Reflection prompts for leaders:
- Where is performance dropping because connection is missing?
- What perspective do I need to shift before I make my next big call?
- Who on my team has potential I’m not fully leveraging yet - and why?
If you are ready to lift performance, grow perspectives and build potential then connect with me now.
#MichelleSalesLeadership #RealLeadership #Performance #Perspective #Potential #HumanLeaders