A leader's real job is setting clear expectations and holding people accountable. The people who actually shape our lives aren't the ones who let us off easy, they're the ones who push us harder than we thought we could go and refuse to let us fail.
The most loving thing a leader can do is tell you the truth about what is expected and then hold you to it. That doesn't sound like love in the way we've been trained to think about it in today's world. Love according to the world is supposed to be soft and warm and easy. It's a hug and a thank you card and a bonus at Christmas and you do you, boo, and everything you do is okay. I love you. But hear me when I tell you, the people who actually shape your life, the ones that you still talk about, the ones you credit in your keynotes and in your wedding toast and in your book dedications, those people did not get there by being easy on you. They got you there by holding a line you did not know you could reach, and they would not let you fall short of it because they refused to believe you were someone who would fall short.
