You Take the Wheel
She was driving last Friday on her way to Cincinnati on a snow-white Christmas Eve
Going home to see her mama and her daddy with the baby in the backseat
50 miles to go, and she was running low on faith and gasoline
It'd been a long, hard year…
I can’t say that I’m a Carrie Underwood fan although the lyrics to “Jesus, Take the Wheel” sure do reflect the treacherous state many of us feel we’re in at the close of 2025.
But if you’re praying for someone or something to intervene as your tires begin to fishtail on the icy road of life (or you’re white knuckling it until the danger passes), I’m sorry to say that you’re taking the wrong approach. The only way – and I mean the only way – to maintain equanimity during stressful times is to take action that helps you regain a sense of control. That means you are going to take the wheel. Yes, you.
If you lead a team, a business unit, or an entire organization, I’d like to offer three deliberate actions you can take in 2026 to double down on your (and your organization’s) ability to navigate through hazards.
Reveal (and remove) the obstacles that are blocking your leaders’ full talents
Every leader develops behaviors that once worked but may now drain their energy, limit their effectiveness, or erode others’ trust. Do you know which ones key members of your team should keep and which they should discard? Neither do they.
This is why I love the Leadership Circle Profile (LCP) assessment. Unlike self-reported personality instruments such as Myers-Briggs or the Enneagram, the LCP is a true 360° that maps leadership effectiveness across 29 creative and reactive dimensions.
For newly promoted leaders, this clarity provides a focused development plan. For senior leaders who have resisted or outgrown traditional feedback, it breaks long-standing performance plateaus. For everyone - it takes less than 30 minutes to complete.
Stop mismanaging feedback once and for all
Feedback is the single most cost-effective lever for developing talent, improving performance, and sparking innovation. And yet it remains elusive, avoided, or inconsistently applied, even in high-performing organizations. Did you ever wonder why?
Reflecting on years of coaching, I identified a recurring pattern that led to a discovery about feedback. There are four hurdles that must be cleared in sequence for feedback to be given, requested, and received effectively. Most of us stumble unknowingly as we approach one or more of these hurdles, leading to frustration and stalled growth.
Identify what your organization actually needs (not what you assume it wants)
Today’s “6-Gen” workforce offers a rich diversity of communication styles, digital fluency, and career expectations. These differences are natural. The tensions beneath them, however, can quietly trigger distrust, disillusionment, and disengagement.
Many organizations respond with quick fixes or broad “change management” initiatives based on assumptions rather than shared understanding. But without alignment on what’s really happening and what success would look like, even well-designed change efforts falter. Just look at the industry-wide turbulence around the return-to-office debate.
A better starting point is facilitated dialogue—a structured, trust-building process that unites individual voices with a common goal and creates the clarity needed for effective action. When organizations begin here, they navigate change faster, strengthen cohesion, and channel more creativity into growth.
Organizations will operate below their potential if they fail to take appropriate action when and where it’s most needed. If you’re ready to take the wheel and strengthen your organization, I’m here for you.