What happens when the world around you feels like it is falling apart—but people are still looking to you to lead?

In this episode of Leadership Sucks, Larry Moss explores what crisis leadership demands when information is incomplete, emotions are high, and every available option seems difficult.

Using the aftermath of 9/11 as the backdrop, Larry examines how leaders can remain grounded, protect their people, simplify the mission, make decisions without certainty, and stay aligned with their values under pressure.

This episode covers seven practical crisis-leadership disciplines:

• Face reality

• Stabilize before you optimize

• Simplify the mission

• Stay visible and grounded

• Put people before the machine

• Take the next right step

• Hold onto your values when the options are bad

Because leadership in crisis is not about pretending you have all the answers. It is about creating enough clarity, stability, and trust for people to keep moving forward.

If you have ever had to lead through uncertainty, disruption, loss, or a season where there were no easy choices, this episode is for you.

Holding people accountable sounds simple until the person missing the mark is someone you respect, care about, or know is going through a difficult season.

In this episode of Leadership Sucks, we explore the tension between empathy and expectations, why leaders often avoid accountability, and what that avoidance costs the rest of the team.

We talk about why accountability should never be a surprise, how unclear expectations create unfair consequences, and why dependable employees should not become the safety net for people leaders refuse to address.

Most importantly, we look at accountability as more than discipline. Done well, accountability is an act of care. It gives people clarity, ownership, and the opportunity to improve.

Because sometimes the most caring thing a leader can do is stop making excuses, have the conversation, and hold the standard.

Holding people accountable sucks.

But avoiding it usually costs even more.

Giving difficult feedback is one of those parts of leadership that almost everyone understands—and almost everyone wants to avoid.

In this episode of Leadership Sucks, we dig into why leaders delay hard conversations, what that avoidance quietly costs the team and organization, and how to deliver honest feedback without destroying trust.

We explore the difference between clarity and cruelty, why vague feedback creates defensiveness, how empathy and accountability can exist at the same time, and why waiting too long often makes the conversation far worse.

If there’s a conversation you know you need to have but keep putting off, this episode is for you.

Because difficult feedback may suck—but avoiding it usually sucks more.

The podcast where we discuss the aspects of leadership they don't put on the motivational posters. In this episode we discuss how leadership development can suck when we view it as an event we expect to transform leaders' behavior.

Episode 12: Developing Leaders Sucks

Developing leaders sounds simple—until you actually have to do it.

Sending someone to training, giving them a new title, or assigning them a mentor doesn’t automatically create a better leader. Real leadership development requires time, honest feedback, practice, accountability, coaching, and a willingness to let people struggle while they grow.

In Episode 12 of Leadership Sucks, we explore why organizations often confuse leadership training with leadership development, why information alone rarely changes behavior, and what leaders and organizations must do differently if they want development to stick.

We also examine one of the hardest realities of developing others: sometimes you have to resist the urge to step in, solve the problem, or do it yourself—and instead create the conditions for someone else to learn.

Because developing leaders isn’t about creating people who lead exactly like you.

It’s about building their capacity to lead effectively without you.

Leadership development can be frustrating, uncomfortable, and slow.

And sometimes…developing leaders sucks.

Delegating sounds like a great leadership practice—until you hand something off and realize you could have done it faster, better, and with a lot less frustration yourself.

In this episode of Leadership Sucks, Larry Moss explores why delegation is so difficult for capable leaders and how constantly taking work back can turn you into the bottleneck you are trying to avoid. We look at the difference between protecting quality and protecting control, why delegation is really about building capability, and how to give people enough clarity, authority, and room to grow without abandoning accountability.

If you have ever thought, “It would just be easier if I did it myself,” this episode is for you.

Because maybe you can do it better yourself.

But that’s not the point.

Leadership Sucks… but it doesn’t have to. Leadership can be frustrating, exhausting, messy, and sometimes downright lonely—for the people leading and the people being led. This podcast cuts through the polished leadership clichés to have honest conversations about what it really takes to lead well when the pressure is real. Drawing on decades of leadership experience, coaching, organizational development, and a few hard-earned lessons, Larry Moss explores the mindsets, behaviors, and practical tools that help leaders create clarity, build healthier relationships, protect their time and energy, and get better results. If you’ve ever thought, “There has to be a better way to do this,” this podcast is for you. Leadership sucks sometimes—but with greater awareness, alignment, and accountability, it doesn’t have to.

Leadership Sucks Podcast: A dose of honesty for leaders and the ones they lead. Let’s face it—sometimes leadership just sucks. Whether you’re the one calling the shots or taking them, this podcast gets it. We’re here to laugh, learn, and commiserate together, delivering practical tips and tools to help you navigate the chaos and make leadership suck a little less. Think of it as your go-to guide for turning those “what-the-heck-am-I-doing” moments into wins. Join us for real talk, relatable stories, and the occasional sarcastic chuckle—because if we’re going to lead, we might as well enjoy the ride.

This week we continue our Authentic Leadership Series and discuss how authentic leaders attract followers.