The Worst Leadership Advice I Ever Received

This One Comment

One sentence can stick with you.
One sentence can change the trajectory of your career — if you let it.

“Brent… sometimes the best salespeople don’t make the best leaders.”

If you’ve ever had your confidence crushed in a moment, you know the feeling.
You feel done. Your confidence is shot. It’s over.

I heard that when I was a brand new leader.
No help. No guidance. Just a phrase I held onto.

I was always a worker. A top salesperson. Then I thought I should be a leader.
Maybe ego got the best of me.

But in my mind, that career was over before it even started.

Part ambition. Part survival.

I was broke. I had to get after it. I didn’t feel like I had a choice.
Well… I guess I did. But what would that do for me? For my family? For my kids?

I thought leadership was the way to guarantee I’d be okay.

Instead, it crushed my world.

When he said it, I believed it. For years.

Ten plus years.

I job hopped. I wouldn’t commit anywhere. I kept moving before people could figure me out.

Maybe I’m not good enough.
Maybe leadership isn’t for me.
Maybe I’m not wired for it.

That one phrase changed my identity as a person.

Even writing that is hard.

Then Someone Believed In Me

It took years, but when you finally find someone who believes in you — someone who wants to help you, guide you, and develop you — everything starts to change.

The hero stepped in. And she stepped in big.

Because contrary to popular belief…

Leadership isn’t something you’re born with.
Leadership is something you develop.

If you are leading people today — or want to — this is what I had to learn.

1. Build Belief in Others. Performance Comes After.

Good leaders push results.
Great leaders pull people.

They help people see what they can become before demanding what they produce.

Most people don’t struggle with effort.
They struggle with belief.

If we don’t believe we can win… why give the effort?

We all carry stories:

“I’m not good enough.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“I’ve never done that before.”

Your job as a leader is to help rewrite those stories.

You do that by:

• Creating small wins
• Giving accountability they actually want
• Building consistency
• Offering affirmation — which costs you nothing

When someone starts believing in themselves, something shifts.

The effort is no longer forced.

They want it.

2. Be Curious, Don’t Assume

Looking back now, he didn’t ask questions.

Maybe he didn’t know how.
Maybe he was never developed either.

I never looked at it this way until a good friend pointed it out years later.

He just made a statement.

Great leaders don’t jump to conclusions.

They get curious.

Instead of saying:

“You’re not a good leader.”

They ask:

What do you need help with?
What’s been the hardest part so far?
Where do you feel stuck?

Great leaders seek to understand.

They shut up.
They listen.
They care.

Because the real problem usually isn’t the one on the surface.

Just like in relationships — the argument is rarely about the thing you're arguing about. It’s about what finally surfaced.

There’s always something underneath.

Curiosity uncovers that.

Statements shut it down.

When leaders ask questions:

Trust grows
Engagement increases
People start thinking instead of just following

When you help people become problem solvers instead of problem givers…

Now you’re leading.

3. Be the Standard

Leadership isn’t a title.

It’s a standard.

You hear people say:

“I’d never ask you to do something I wouldn’t do.”

Sure…

Maybe ten years ago.

Live it.

Show up.
Stay disciplined.
Handle hard days with composure.
Stay consistent when others coast.

Because people are always watching.

They will do half of what you do right and twice what you do wrong.

They mirror your habits.

Culture isn’t built through speeches.

It’s built through standards.

When you raise your standards, the culture rises with it.

What I Learned

Great salespeople focus on winning for themselves.

Great leaders focus on building people who win.

Just because someone tells you that you can’t lead…

Doesn’t make it true.

It’s a challenge. Not a verdict.

I let that comment hold me back for almost ten years.

Don’t make the same mistake.

Leadership isn’t about knowing everything.

It’s about being willing to grow, ask for help, and develop.

You have it in you.

It’s a choice.

Final Thought

If you want to lead:

Develop.
Ask for help.
Stay curious.
Raise your standard.

When you do that, you don’t just change your results.

You change the people around you.

Reach out:
DNAcall.com