I wasn’t always a good leader.
I was a good manager, but those are not the same thing.
My background in special education and a master’s in educational administration prepared me well to navigate IEP law, compliance, and policy. I knew how to protect my organization, my staff, and myself from ever landing in what I jokingly called “IEP jail.” My leadership strategy, for a long time, was to make sure no one who reported to me landed there either.
But I’ve since realized…that’s not actually leadership.
That’s liability management.
And while keeping your team legally protected is important, it doesn’t help them feel seen, valued, or energized. It doesn’t help them grow. It certainly doesn’t build a culture of engagement.
My education and training taught me how to manage systems. What it didn’t teach me was how to lead people.
That shift didn’t happen until I joined an organization that introduced me to Gallup’s Q12 - twelve simple but powerful statements that measure employee engagement. The Q12 didn’t just reveal what employees need to thrive - it showed me, for the first time, how I should show up as a leader.
Each of the twelve elements gave me clarity:
- What to focus on as a manager.
- What questions to ask.
- What conversations to have.
- And what kind of environment my team needed to do their best work.
For years, I had been trying to be the leader I thought I was supposed to be - buttoned-up, expert-level, and mistake-free. But leading isn’t about being perfect. And it’s definitely not about pretending you know what you’re doing when you don’t.
Great leaders don’t have to fake it.
They just need a framework that helps them show up in a way that’s thoughtful, consistent, and - most importantly - authentic to who they are.
That’s what the Q12 gave me. It didn’t tell me to lead like someone else. It gave me the tools to lead like me - with clarity, confidence, and connection.
So if you’ve ever felt like you were “doing all the right things” but still not reaching your team…you’re not alone. And it’s not your fault. Most of us were trained to manage compliance. Few of us were taught how to lead humans.
But here’s the good news:
You can do both.
You can lead with heart and still follow the rules.
You can build trust and keep airtight documentation.
You can connect with your team and stay far, far away from IEP jail.
It turns out, creating a thriving, engaged workplace doesn’t require choosing between compliance and connection - it just takes the right tools.
