Not all rooms are created equal. Some environments look lively but produce little growth. They are filled with intensity, validation loops, or posturing. People talk a lot, but the ideas don’t compound. These are low-exchange rooms: they consume ener...

Field Notes.
By Kristen Tolbert

Most leadership books are written for managers inside stable organizations. The assumption is that leaders operate with the buffer of budgets, teams, and institutional support. Even when things get tough, the system...

You’ve probably noticed it. The raise that once felt life-changing soon feels routine. The promotion you worked years to earn becomes your new baseline. The house, the car, the recognition—what was once extraordinary becomes ordinary, and the expecta...

In business and leadership, the difference between progress and stagnation often comes down to agency. High agency leaders refuse to accept circumstances as fixed. They don’t wait for perfect conditions. They absorb the complexity of reality, then ...

Neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to rewire and adapt throughout life—is one of the most important insights of modern neuroscience. It explains how we learn, unlearn, and relearn at any age. But in leadership, neuroplasticity isn’t just about acqui...

The Law of the Instrument describes a bias as old as expertise itself: if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

It’s a simple idea, but in practice it distorts entire fields. A physician sees symptoms through the frame of their spe...

Confidence Misunderstood

In leadership circles, confidence is often equated with certainty, flawless execution, or the absence of doubt. Yet these associations are misleading. Over time, they fuel anxiety, imposter syndrome, and perfectionism—partic...

Growth is uncomfortable. It disrupts what’s familiar. It shakes our sense of competence. It asks us to stretch into things we haven’t mastered yet.

And if we’re honest, most of us don’t like being bad at things. Especially not in front of others.

 But much of what is labeled as self-awareness is actually self-description. People can articulate their tendencies, reference their attachment style, even recite insights from therapy or coaching. But the deeper question is: how does that awarenes...

 Leadership is often romanticized—sold as charisma, vision, and influence. But anyone who’s actually done the work knows that leadership is far less glamorous and far more demanding. It’s not about being the smartest person in the room or the loude...