Rhonda Williams, Author at Thunderbird Leadership Consulting

A Leadership Perspective: The Power of Self-Awareness

Rhonda Williams on August 17, 2026

When I first moved into leadership roles, I focused on what many leaders focus on: gaining knowledge, getting results, and accomplishing goals. I believed that if I worked hard, prepared well, and delivered outcomes, I would be an effective leader.

Over time, however, I learned that leadership is about more than what we accomplish. It is also about how we show up, communicate, and affect the people around us.

As I received feedback from colleagues, I began to recognize some of my blind spots. I discovered that good intentions do not always create positive results. Being knowledgeable and competent is important, but effective leadership also requires self-awareness.

Self-awareness is the ability to understand ourselves—our emotions, behaviors, strengths, weaknesses, values, and the impact we have on others. When we lack self-awareness, we may unintentionally damage trust, create misunderstandings, or reduce our effectiveness without realizing it.

One thing I have noticed is that I am naturally more self-aware when I am in a new situation, meeting new people, or facing unfamiliar challenges. In comfortable, familiar settings, I have to work harder to stay aware of how I am showing up and how I affect others.
Researcher and organizational psychologist Dr. Tasha Eurich describes two types of self-awareness:
Internal self-awareness is understanding:

Your values
Your motivations
Your strengths
Your weaknesses
Your emotional triggers
Your goals and aspirations

External self-awareness is understanding:

How others see you
The impact of your words and actions
How your leadership style affects others
Whether your intentions match your impact
The feedback you receive

Both forms of self-awareness help leaders make better decisions, build stronger relationships, and create more positive outcomes.

Ways to Strengthen Self-Awareness

Take Time to Reflect
Before or after important conversations, meetings, or events, ask yourself:

What was my intention?
How did I show up?
What emotions was I experiencing?
What impact did I have on others?
What would I do differently next time?

Reflection helps turn experience into learning.

Pay Attention to Yourself
Throughout the day, notice your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Ask:

What am I feeling right now?
How am I reacting?
What behaviors are helping me succeed?
What habits might I want to change?

This practice helps identify patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Seek Feedback
Feedback is one of the best ways to discover blind spots.
Consider:

Asking for feedback after meetings or projects
Using surveys or quick check-ins
Reviewing employee engagement data
Talking with trusted colleagues
Working with a coach or mentor

Remember, feedback is information that can help us grow.

Be Present
Self-awareness increases when we are fully engaged in the moment.
Try:

Slowing down and taking a few deep breaths
Listening to understand rather than to respond
Paying attention to verbal and nonverbal cues
Staying curious about what others are experiencing
The more present we are, the more aware we become.

Practice Self-Compassion
Learning about ourselves can sometimes be uncomfortable. When you receive difficult feedback or recognize areas for improvement, respond with kindness rather than harsh self-criticism.

Self-awareness is not about being perfect. It is about learning, growing, and becoming more effective over time.

Final Thoughts

Developing self-awareness takes practice, patience, and a willingness to learn. The more self-aware we become, the better able we are to lead with intention, humility, authenticity, and compassion.

In the end, leadership is not only about achieving results. It is also about understanding ourselves well enough to bring out the best in others.

What Version of Yourself Is Leading Today?

Rhonda Williams on August 17, 2026

Recently, I was coaching a leader when a familiar word surfaced.

“Should.”

In fact, it came up in two separate coaching conversations with two different leaders during the same week.

“I feel like I should be further along.”
“I should be more confident speaking up.”
“I should have figured this out by now.”

The word itself is rarely the issue. What follows it is often more revealing. Beneath the “should” is usually a judgment, an expectation, or a comparison to a version of ourselves we believe we ought to be.

It made me wonder how many leaders spend their days measuring themselves against an outdated expectation rather than responding to the realities of the season they are currently in.

Leadership changes us.

Not all at once, but over time.

As responsibilities increase and challenges become more complex, we adapt. We develop habits, beliefs, and ways of operating that help us navigate the demands of leadership. Many of those adaptations serve us well. Some eventually outlive their usefulness.

The determination that helped us advance may become an inability to rest. The desire to contribute may evolve into difficulty delegating. The drive for excellence may quietly become perfectionism.

Without realizing it, leaders can begin leading from versions of themselves that were built for a different season.

Different seasons require different versions of us.

The version that built the department may not be the version needed to scale it. The version that guided the team through a crisis may not be the version needed to rebuild culture afterward. The version that earned the promotion may not be the version needed to lead at the next level.

Great leaders continue to evolve. They periodically pause and ask a simple question:

What version of me is needed for this season?

Sometimes the answer is not about gaining another skill or adding another responsibility.

Sometimes it is about reconnecting with parts of yourself that leadership pressure may have crowded out.

Curiosity.
Presence.
Creativity.
Perspective.
Even joy.

Not as luxuries, but as leadership resources that influence how we think, decide, connect, and lead.

Leadership growth is not always about becoming more.

Sometimes it is about becoming more intentional about what you carry forward and what you leave behind.

Reflection

Is your leadership evolution happening by default or by design?

Author:
Rhonda Williams, MBA, MSN, RN
Chief Strategy Officer (CSO)

Shared from MAY 2026 Issue of Thunderbird Leadership Consulting ELEVATE – Tbird’s Hub for Practical Leadership Insights.

Enjoy our YouTube video below, then visit Thunderbird Leadership’s YouTube channel to watch all of our YouTube videos!

Leadership Isn’t Just a Promotion; It’s a Different Job

Rhonda Williams on August 17, 2026

When seeking ideal candidates, many organizations promote internal talent to leadership roles, which encourages development and rewards loyalty. This practice occurs across almost all industries, especially healthcare and higher education. In healthcare, it is customary for a high-performing registered nurse to be promoted to a unit manager or director position. Prior to being promoted, the employee functioned as a high-performing specialist.

These new leaders naturally try to use the same skills that made them successful specialists, which often leads to struggle, since high-performing leaders succeed as generalists. The promotion frequently happens with little to no preparation or support, creating a gap that is often overlooked.

To be effective, leaders need to shift from a task-based mindset to a broader, generalist perspective, recognizing that the behaviors that drove their own past success may actually limit their future performance.

To bridge this gap, leadership development efforts should focus on moving from “doing tasks” to “engaging in leadership.”

1. Mindset Shift: From Specialist to Generalist

Goal: Moving from solving specific problems to enabling others to solve them.
Reflective Questions:
- “How can I resist the urge to step in and do the work myself when a team member is struggling?”
- “Am I defining my success by the team’s output rather than my own individual tasks?”

2. Strategic Thinking & The “Knowing-Doing Gap”

Goal: Bridging the gap between theory and execution by aligning daily actions with long-term goals.
Reflective Questions:
- “What processes exist in my department that we ‘know’ are inefficient, yet we continue to do them anyway?”
- “Are my daily activities focused on high-impact leadership tasks, or am I staying in my comfort zone of technical specialist work?”

3. Developing Others

Goal: Shifting focus from personal technical expertise to coaching and talent development.
Reflective Questions:
- “What is one skill I can delegate today that will help a direct report grow, even if I could do it faster myself?”
- “Am I providing feedback that helps my team develop their problem-solving abilities, or am I just providing the answers?”

4. Navigating Behavioral Change

Goal: Identifying and unlearning habits from the previous role that may hinder leadership effectiveness.
Reflective Questions
- “What behaviors from my previous role are currently serving as a barrier to my leadership effectiveness?”
- “Who can provide me with honest, candid feedback on how my ‘specialist’ habits are impacting the team?”

To navigate this leap from specialist to leader, emerging managers will do well to prioritize delegation, adopt a broader generalist outlook, and intentionally shed old behaviors, thereby closing the divide between technical proficiency and impactful leadership.

Authors:
Philip Espinosa, B.S., M.S.A., Ph.D. Bus Mgt; Executive Coach
Jill Bachman, MSN, BSN; VP Strategic Programs

Shared from JUNE 2026 Issue of Thunderbird Leadership Consulting ELEVATE – Tbird’s Hub for Practical Leadership Insights.

Enjoy our YouTube video below, then visit Thunderbird Leadership’s YouTube channel to watch all of our YouTube videos!

People Don’t Leave Missions. They Leave Experiences.

Rhonda Williams on August 17, 2026

Most employees do not join an organization because they are excited about a policy manual, reporting structure, or organizational chart.

And although some may join for the paycheck, many join because they believe in something.

A purpose. A mission. A chance to make a meaningful contribution.

This is especially true in healthcare, higher education, nonprofit organizations, and other mission-driven environments where people feel a deep connection to the work itself.

Yet many organizations find themselves facing an uncomfortable reality. The very employees who remain passionate about the mission sometimes choose to leave anyway.

Why?

Because people experience organizations through their daily interactions, not through the mission statement hanging on the wall.

Where Mission Meets Experience

Our clients often have big, bold missions. Missions such as preparing the community for the future through education, advancing and optimizing the health of the population you serve, and supporting the goal of stable housing for all those facing homelessness, just to name a few.

While the mission may inspire someone to join. Their experience often determines whether and how long they stay.

Employees experience an organization through the quality of leadership they encounter, the relationships they build, the support they receive, and the extent to which they feel valued and heard. They experience it through communication, trust, accountability, and the ability to contribute in meaningful ways.

When those experiences are positive, commitment to the mission and the team leading it grows stronger.

When they are consistently frustrated, exhausted, or disconnected, the mission becomes overshadowed by the reality and heaviness of everyday work.

We’ve all heard and seen it. The leader labeled “trouble” as they try to bring awareness to challenges. The employee who says, “things will never change.” The executive who made the cringe-worthy comment publicly that shut down an entire discussion.

This is one reason engagement deserves ongoing attention from all leaders. While compensation, benefits, and career opportunities matter, Gallup’s research consistently shows that factors such as feeling valued, having opportunities to contribute, receiving meaningful feedback, and experiencing supportive leadership strongly influence engagement and retention.

The encouraging news is that many of these factors are within a leader’s sphere of influence.

Leaders may not be able to eliminate every challenge employees face. They can, however, shape the experience of work. They influence how communication occurs, how decisions are explained, how concerns are addressed, and whether people feel connected to something larger than themselves.

Statements about culture are nice. However, in truth, culture is built through thousands of interactions that tell people what it feels like to work here.

Organizations rarely lose people because the mission stopped mattering.

More often, they lose people because the experience no longer reflects the mission they believed in.

Reflection

What is the day-to-day experience employees are having in your organization?
Where might the employee experience be inconsistent with your stated values?
What is one action leaders could take this month to strengthen connection, trust, or belonging?

When mission and experience align, engagement reflects a culture where people want to contribute, grow, and stay.

Shared from JUNE 2026 Issue of Thunderbird Leadership Consulting ELEVATE – Tbird’s Hub for Practical Leadership Insights.

Enjoy our YouTube video below, then visit Thunderbird Leadership’s YouTube channel to watch all of our YouTube videos!

The Missing Step in Leadership Onboarding

Rhonda Williams on August 17, 2026

Why introducing the organization isn’t the same as integrating a leader.

Most organizations have a structured onboarding process. New leaders receive:

compliance training
policies
systems access
organizational charts
strategic priorities

All important.

Yet one of the most critical onboarding elements is often overlooked: Helping leaders understand the human system they are entering.

The Strategic Insight

True leadership success lies in the systems and processes that support formal and informal integration. They succeed because they understand:

how decisions actually get made
who influences outcomes
how trust is built
what employees have experienced before they arrived
what the expectations are
where the organization is thriving and where it is struggling

Without this understanding, capable leaders often spend their first months solving the wrong problems.

Three Elements Frequently Missed

Cultural Context

Most organizations explain what they do. Yet, few explain how they operate. Beyond the mission, vision, and values, they need an honest understanding of the norms, expectations, and dynamics that shape daily work. Relationship Integration. Many onboarding plans focus on tasks and checklists.

Leadership success is built through relationships.

New leaders need intentional opportunities to understand key stakeholders, informal influencers, and team members beyond formal introductions. Overt discussions about the defined role of relationships as a part of what “success” looks like for the role make it a strategic priority.

Listening Before Leading

Organizations often expect new leaders to demonstrate value quickly. What would change if an expectation of new leaders is a defined listening period?

The strongest leaders balance action with curiosity.

Before changing systems, they seek to understand what is working, what employees are experiencing, and what previous efforts have taught the organization.

Closing Thought

Organizations invest significant effort in selecting the right leader. The next challenge is helping that leader succeed with systems and processes built to accelerate effectiveness. Leadership onboarding should not end when access is granted and paperwork is complete. It should continue until the leader understands the people, relationships, and culture that drive performance.

Intentional design makes it a reality. Because leaders are not onboarding into a position.

They are onboarding into a system.

Executive Reflection

Of the three frequently missed elements listed, which would add the greatest value for your organization? Discuss it with your executive team.

Author:
Rhonda Williams, MBA, MSN, RN
Chief Strategy Officer

Shared from JUNE 2026 Issue of Thunderbird Leadership Consulting ELEVATE – Tbird’s Hub for Practical Leadership Insights.

Enjoy our YouTube video below, then visit Thunderbird Leadership’s YouTube channel to watch all of our YouTube videos!

An Epidemic of Insignificance—and What We Can Do About It

Rhonda Williams on August 13, 2025

By Rhonda Williams, RN, MSN, MBA

At Thunderbird Leadership, we sit across from leaders every day—twenty, forty, even sixty at a time— bright, motivated professionals who genuinely want to do right by their people. Yet despite good intentions, something heartbreaking continues to show up:

People feel invisible.

According to The Power of Mattering: How Leaders Can Create a Culture of Significance, Dr. Zach Mercurio outlines five sources of insignificance:

Feeling unseen
Feeling unheard
Feeling unvalued
Feeling forgotten
Feeling dispensable

He also points to research showing that nearly half of workers feel undervalued and unappreciated in the workplace—a staggering reality that echoes through every hallway, Zoom room, and leadership session we facilitate.

And here’s the paradox— most leaders don’t intend for this to happen. But it does, and not because of grand betrayals or sweeping failures.

It happens in the micro-moments:
– A rushed response instead of real presence
– A performance correction with no curiosity
– Recognition withheld, thinking “they already know they’re doing great”
– A meeting that begins without eye contact or ends without acknowledgment

Insignificance creeps in silently, but its impact is deafening.

This is why I do the work I do. It moves me deeply to know that, through intentional organizational development, we can change a life, reignite a disengaged team, and cultivate a culture where everyone knows they matter.

The work begins with awareness. But it doesn’t end there.

If you’re a leader who wants to stop the spread of insignificance in your workplace, here are three practical ways to start now:

1. See the person, not just the performer.

Ask questions that go beyond the task list. Learn what excites them, what they’re proud of, or how they’re doing as a human. Let your presence say, “You matter, even when you’re performing at your best.”

2. Make recognition specific and sincere.

Generic praise feels transactional. Instead, say, “I noticed how calmly you handled that situation with the family this morning. That really made a difference to them.” Specificity reinforces value.

3. Design trust, don’t just hope for it.

Trust isn’t built by accident. Involve people in decisions that affect them. Give them room to lead. Trust shows people they are needed, not just tolerated.

The truth is, we all want to feel like we matter.
And the beautiful thing is: we all have the power to make someone feel that way—starting today.

Reference:
Mercurio, Z. (2025). The Power of Mattering: How Leaders Can Create a Culture of Significance. Harvard Business Review Press.

Author: Rhonda Williams