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“Creating Successful Leaders”

Category Archives: Current Events

February 18, 2026 Small Actions Matter

It is easy to feel small—a little fish in the big, wide ocean. It is easy to feel like your work, your actions, and your words don’t matter. But they do. In fact, small actions are the foundation of major change.

Minor, everyday actions are important in all aspects of life—in work, personal life, and society. We never know how a kind word or meaningful gesture might land. We don’t know how a donation or volunteer stint might improve someone else’s life. These things have ripple effects. The compliment you give someone at the grocery store could brighten that person’s day, which might lead them to give a server an extra tip, which could make it easier for that person to pay rent that month. The point is to try—to intentionally and continually make choices that could potentially have a positive impact.

If we think on a broad scale too often, we might feel overwhelmed or helpless. It can be difficult to see how your actions and words make a difference when you’re up against a large or complex problem, but if you shrink your thinking just a little, it can be easier to fathom how you’re moving the needle. And when many people work together, that needle can be moved even faster and more assertively. There is power in numbers—we see it in mass protests, boycotts, and other actions of solidarity. One example: thirty years ago, smoking was widely accepted, and many establishments catered to smokers. The number of smokers plummeted, however, due to many factors (anti-smoking campaigns, informed consumers, smoking bans, etc.). But the plummeting number of smokers was made possible by individual decisions—one person choosing to quit here, another person choosing to quit there. Together, these individual decisions created meaningful change. They created a movement.

Another example that comes to mind when I think of meaningful change has to do with the workplace. When I was a manager at 3M, I used to compose handwritten thank you cards to my team members when they did outstanding or “above and beyond” work. One time, I was riding along with a sales rep when I noticed my thank you card tucked into his visor. When I asked him about it, he told me he would glance at it whenever he needed a reminder that he was skilled at this work and could make the sale, even when his confidence was lacking. I had no idea my message to him would resonate so deeply, and this was an excellent reminder of the power of small gestures.

Next time you’re feeling small, helpless, or overwhelmed, I suggest reminding yourself that you can only do what is within your power. You can affect your personal, professional, or societal sphere in small, but meaningful, ways. It’s difficult to know what your actions might achieve, but I encourage you to try anyway. Positive change is only possible when we choose to act—to do whatever we can. Your small actions matter, and they can add up to something great.

MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, INSIGHTS® DISCOVERY (AND DEEPER DISCOVERY) LICENSED PRACTITIONER, AND FOUNDER OF UXL. SHE HOSTS WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED CAREER OR PERSONAL GUIDANCE.

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February 4, 2026 Empathy As a Superpower

Empathy is a term that is used frequently and not always in a positive manner. It is sometimes viewed as weak or wishy-washy. And some people even see it as political. In truth, empathy is not a sign of weakness but of strength. And it isn’t political, or religious, or only meant for a certain segment of the population. Rather, it is deeply human and more necessary than ever.

It’s important to note that empathy is not the same as sympathy. Sympathy relates to feeling sorry for another, or even pitying them. Empathy is more about understanding. It’s about expanding your horizons to see another’s perspective. It’s about being curious and open enough to want to understand. This innate curiosity helps people of all backgrounds and beliefs work together, live side by side, and cooperate.

Because no two people are alike, empathy can, indeed, be a superpower. It’s a way to reach others, negotiate, and have productive dialogues. When there’s a need for creativity or brainstorming solutions, it’s a way of gathering different ideas and making sense of them. That’s because empathy goes hand-in-hand with solution seeking. It is essentially the opposite of combativeness or stubbornness.

In my experience, empathetic leaders are often skilled at bringing out the best in their teams. These individuals understand the importance of truly listening—soaking in both what someone is saying and the context or subtext related to what is being said. For example, if a team member is adamant about gearing a product toward working parents, an empathetic leader might think about what they know about that team member. Maybe they are a single mother who faces numerous everyday challenges. As such, their passion makes sense, and the empathetic leader will know they are speaking from experience. Likely, this person is not the only one who is facing similar struggles, and it is probably smart to consider their perspective when developing products or solutions.

Empathy is useful in all different contexts, both within and outside of the workplace. It’s a simple fact that everyone wants to be understood and listened to. Because of this, an empathetic person makes a good conversation partner by giving others the space to express themselves and explain their perspective. That doesn’t mean being a pushover, and it doesn’t mean an empathetic person doesn’t have their own opinions and beliefs. It simply means that they are open to listening and understanding.

In a world where things are often portrayed as black and white, empathy is a courageous but necessary choice. Without it, we would constantly be at loggerheads with others, stuck in a single perspective. That’s not productive, and it only creates animosity and hard feelings. Rather, let’s make an effort to choose empathy and start really listening to what others have to say. That can make all the difference.

MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, INSIGHTS® DISCOVERY (AND DEEPER DISCOVERY) LICENSED PRACTITIONER, AND FOUNDER OF UXL. SHE HOSTS WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED CAREER OR PERSONAL GUIDANCE.

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July 19, 2013 The Agile Learner In The Ever-Changing World

I haven’t chosen to focus on learning agility now merely to say that being agile is a healthy and beneficial attitude to possess. While this is certainly true, I’ve decided to address this topic because there are plenty of studies that show how the global economy is here to stay, and that this new environment of constant innovation demands that leaders be willing and able to adapt.

I’ll give you some examples:

1. Global trade of goods and services will more than triple to $27 trillion by 2030, which tells us that the global economy is only increasing in scope

2. The Internet has radically impacted how we do business, beyond simply e-mailing people more frequently. According to an article from John Hopkins University Press, it “became a catalyst for new business models, strategies, and organizational structures,” which is to say, the Internet turned all business on its head and forced us to rework how we do things from the ground up.

3. The quantity of new information doubles every 2 years. This means that any worker, no matter the job, will need to be retrained as new developments (like the Internet) arrive. It also means that college freshmen will need to adapt once they graduate, as the skills they learned in school will most likely become outdated even in the few years’ time they were in school.

So, we know that when we talk about business, we are talking about something that works on a worldwide level and is constantly being reinvented to meet the requirements of new information and new technology.

It is for these reasons that being agile as a leader and learner is so vital to your success in today’s world. You cannot compete by sticking to one way of doing things anymore. Instead, you must internalize the practice of remaining agile as you encounter change.

What’s more, your performance in the past no longer carries as much weight as your potential for future growth and adaptability. Since the new normal is to be ever-changing, leaders evaluate you by how much you’re able to acutely perform under change. Learning agility, not past performance, is viewed as a key indicator of potential, because “fully 71% of high performers were not high potentials.”

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