Can you be friends with the people you lead—and still hold them accountable?

Lauren Seymour believes you can. And she has some credibility on the subject.

Lauren leads a team of roughly 600–700 people at Insulet, and she’s one of the best leaders I’ve ever watched when it comes to building genuine relationships while still having hard conversations and holding people accountable.

In this conversation, we talk about:

• Why relationships can actually make accountability easier
• How to give difficult feedback without crushing someone
• The difference between authenticity and oversharing
• Lauren’s “trust triangle” for involving her team in decisions
• How to lead people you don’t naturally connect with
• What to do when you and your boss probably aren’t going to be BFFs

If you lead people—or work for someone who does—there’s a lot here you can put to work immediately.

Subscribe to How to Lead for practical conversations about becoming a better leader at work.

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What if self-leadership isn’t primarily a discipline problem, but a relationship problem?

In this episode, Clay explores the relationship between who you are today and the person who has to live with your decisions tomorrow. He shares three practical ways to become more generous to “future you."

And one simple question that can change how you approach your work, calendar, and leadership.

David Cain, “Do Things You’ll Love Yourself For”

(Read the article on Raptitude)

This summer, we're revisiting some of our most popular episodes.

How to End a Meeting - the last in a three part series.

Enjoy!

Produced and edited by ⁠Sound of a Rose⁠.