A young leader, let’s call him Charles, recently approached me, struggling with his boss. Charles is a bright and promising individual who constantly seeks to improve himself within the company. He’s a team player and a strong advocate for his people. However, he worked under a leader whose inconsistent behavior made his job increasingly challenging.

In the early years of my career I rose through the ranks pretty rapidly. I had an uncanny ability to see the big picture and work at both a high and low level. I was good, really good. Being good meant that peers began to rely heavily on my knowledge and skills. When there were