9. Be Kind, Not Nice – The Leadership Skill That Gets You Promoted

Episode Summary:
Many leaders, whether new or experienced, struggle with tough conversations. We’re taught to be nice, polite, and keep the peace. But avoiding hard conversations doesn’t make you a strong leader. It makes you an ineffective one. In this episode, Lisette shares why being kind is more powerful than being nice, and how this one mindset shift can change the way you lead.

If you’ve ever felt uncomfortable giving feedback, struggled to set boundaries, or hesitated to address underperformance, this episode is for you.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✔️ Why “nice” leaders struggle and how it affects their teams.
✔️ How to be kind while still making tough decisions.
✔️ The difference between vague feedback and real leadership (and why clear communication boosts team performance by 33%).
✔️ How to move past the fear of not being liked and step into real leadership.
✔️ A real-world leadership story about handling difficult decisions and why 77% of employees who quit could have been retained with the right conversation.

Resources & Next Steps:
✅ Your Leadership Challenge: Before you close this episode, pause for 30 seconds and write down one conversation you’ve been avoiding. Schedule it for this week. Clear is kind.

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