Leadership requires delegation yet it’s crucial that we recognize what should never be outsourced. While it’s tempting to hand off tasks to lighten your load, there are certain responsibilities—especially the more challenging conversations—that must be handled directly by leaders. These moments are opportunities to demonstrate values, build trust, and lead with authenticity. Leadership is about presence, and when you remove yourself from these critical conversations, the soul of your leadership has the potential to get lost.
As leaders navigate tough decisions, especially during periods of transformation or crisis, you may be tempted to delegate decisions or lean on others to communicate difficult messages. Whether it’s informing a candidate they didn’t get the role, explaining compensation changes, or simply agreeing with the majority instead of challenging groupthink, outsourcing these tasks can undermine your credibility. Over time, this erodes company culture, weakens trust, and ultimately damages team morale. True leadership requires ownership of these moments, as they define the relationship between you and your team.
Leading With Soul: Your Core
A leadership style grounded in values starts with a clear understanding of your personal values. These values act as a compass, guiding your decision-making and interactions. While it may seem like a simple exercise, explicitly defining and writing down your values ensures you have a consistent point of reference in moments of pressure. It’s essential to review these regularly and let them guide your decisions—especially the tough ones.
Being transparent about your values with your team creates alignment. When everyone knows and understands the core principles you stand by, it fosters trust and sets clear expectations. This foundation makes difficult conversations easier to navigate because both you and your team are working from the same playbook. It’s not just about “talking the talk”; it’s about modeling those values in every action you take, particularly when the stakes are high.
Owning Difficult Conversations
One of the most powerful ways to lead with soul is to be present during critical, often uncomfortable, conversations. Whether you’re delivering bad news, such as letting an employee go, or addressing an employee’s performance issue, these moments require your full attention and emotional intelligence. Outsourcing these conversations to HR or sending a generic email might seem efficient, but it can send the wrong message—one of detachment or avoidance.
A key element of leadership is showing up for these challenging interactions. It’s through these moments that employees develop trust in your leadership. When leaders personally handle tough situations, whether it’s debriefing a mistake or discussing a difficult decision, they demonstrate accountability and empathy. When you take ownership of these conversations, you create space for vulnerability, showing that you care about the well-being and growth of your team. These conversations create space for learning and foster a growth mindset. This, in turn, strengthens relationships and fosters a culture where open dialogue is valued.
Don’t Delegate Leadership
While delegating certain tasks is necessary, there are significant risks when leaders outsource responsibilities that are central to their role. These tasks are not just operational; they are deeply connected to the values you uphold and the culture you cultivate. For instance:
- Delivering tough news with empathy: Whether it’s explaining why someone didn’t get promoted at this time or sharing a project failure, these are moments that define your leadership. Passing them off to someone else or hiding behind ‘corporate speak’ and slideware can signal a lack of ownership, lack of transparency, or unwillingness to face difficult truths.
- Performance conversations that inspire change, not resentment: Addressing underperformance can feel uncomfortable, but it is essential that you take responsibility for these conversations and be as specific as possible. Outsourcing or ignoring them can undermine the clarity and trust that you need to lead effectively.
- Strategic decisions: High-stakes decisions, like those involving company direction, investments, or restructuring, are yours to make. Delegating these to others can create confusion, dilute accountability, and result in decisions that lack alignment with the company’s core values.
- Crisis management: During times of crisis, whether dealing with a public relations issue or a financial setback or an act of nature, leaders must be at the forefront. Outsourcing these decisions or relying on others to communicate or act in your place can create a sense of instability and undermine the confidence that employees and stakeholders have in your leadership.
How we lead in these moments defines who we are as leaders and the culture we shape in the organizations we lead. When these tasks are delegated to others or avoided entirely, the void is often filled with impersonal messages that undermine relationships and cause confusion. The absence of a leader in these critical moments can leave employees feeling disconnected and uncertain about the future. Leaders who step into uncomfortable situations, who engage in difficult conversations with empathy and authenticity, ultimately build stronger connections with their teams.
Reflection and Learning: Leading with Authenticity
Values-driven leadership is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It requires constant reflection, adaptation, and learning. Everyone makes mistakes, but what sets successful leaders apart is the ability to own those mistakes and learn from them. When you get it wrong, lean into vulnerability. Share the experience with your team, learn from it, and use it as an opportunity to reconnect with your core values.
True leadership is about how you show up in the moments that matter, and how you role model growth mindset for your team. By taking ownership of difficult conversations and maintaining transparency, you build a foundation of trust that strengthens your entire organization.
Lead with Soul
Leadership isn’t about simply delegating tasks; it’s about embracing responsibility for the moments that shape your organization’s culture and performance. Leading with soul comes from a place of true care and connection. It demands a steadfast commitment to your values with a healthy dose of transparency, empathy, and growth mindset. When you lead with soul, the rest will follow.
Erin McAuley is Chief People Officer at Springline Advisory, a trailblazing financial and business advisory firm that accelerates next phase growth for privately held, mid-market accounting and advisory firms across the U.S. As Springline’s CPO, Erin is responsible for leading talent strategy and developing a meaningful and rewarding organizational culture where she’s committed to co-creating one of the most irresistible employee experiences in the industry.
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