The Confidare Leadership Newsletter

For people who got promoted because they were good at the work, only to find out the work had changed.

I'm Sheila Weber. I've spent nearly 30 years in the nonprofit sector, first inside community-based organizations and now as a consultant, and most of that time has come down to one thing: helping people lead other people well. Twice a month I write about the parts of that job nobody trained you for. One real problem per issue, and something you can actually use. Not theory, not inspiration, not five hacks for a better Monday. I grew up on a farm, which shows up in how I talk about work. I'd rather be clear than clever.

I said we valued collaboration

I Said We Valued Collaboration. The three levels of culture (Schein) — what you say vs. what you reward Hi Reader, A few years into my nonprofit career, I was leading a team I was proud of. Smart people. Big hearts. Strong work. And every time someone asked me to describe the team’s culture, I’d say something like, “We’re really collaborative. We lean on each other.” Then one afternoon, a team member I’ll call Priya asked if she could talk to me for ten minutes. She told me she’d stopped...

29 days ago • 3 min read

The four questions that save you a week of work

I Didn’t Want to Look Unsure. The four questions that keep you from guessing. Hi Reader, Your supervisor hands you an assignment. It sounds straightforward enough. You nod. You take notes. You want to be easy to work with. Capable, competent, trusted. Then you walk back to your desk, sit down, open the file, and realize you don't actually know what "good" looks like. Here's what happens next for most of us. You do one of two things, and both of them cost you. You guess, because you don’t want...

2 months ago • 4 min read

When "why won't they take initiative?" is the wrong question

The Project That Was Only in My Head Hi Reader, You've said it out loud, or at least thought it on a Wednesday afternoon: "Why do I have to spell out every single step?" And then, quieter, right behind it: "What am I doing wrong?" Here's what I want to offer you today: that second question is the right one to ask, and the answer is better news than it feels like. Most of the time, what looks like an initiative problem on your team is actually a clarity gap in your handoff. And a clarity gap...

3 months ago • 5 min read