Let’s get one thing straight—you probably didn’t become a leader to be irrelevant. You didn’t raise your hand, take that promotion, or volunteer to coach the softball team because you wanted to be ignored and left off email chains. No, you stepped up because a voice inside you said, “I can do this.”
Whether you’re managing a boardroom, a classroom, or your kid’s meltdown over screentime, you’re a leader. And the reality is, leadership matters now more than ever. In a world full of noise, disruption, and social media posts about quitting jobs, people are starving for real leadership.
So, what is leadership, really, and why does it matter?
It’s time we all check our egos at the door. Leadership isn’t about giving orders, being in absolute control, or flexing a title. It's about enabling success and protecting morale. It’s about embracing the crazy we all live with (and sometimes just need a listening ear for) and stepping into the chaos with clarity, empathy, and conviction.
The best leaders aren’t the loudest in the room—they make other people louder. They help others win. They don’t just take the hill; they inspire their team to climb it together.
Want to know what kills culture the fastest? A leader who thinks their job is to be in charge, rather than to be in service.
You can have the best strategy in the world, a flawless project plan, and a weekly ROI meeting with color-coded spreadsheets, but if your culture stinks, your results will too. Culture is the collective “what” your people experience every day. Spoiler alert: culture is a direct reflection of leadership.
If you allow tardiness, you teach that time doesn’t matter. If you only reward the squeaky wheels, you burn out your silent rock stars. If you ignore bad behavior just because “they’re a high performer,” then congratulations—you’ve created a monster (and a revolving door for everyone else).
If you want a culture of accountability, start meetings on time. If you seek innovation, celebrate good ideas from everyone, not just the usual suspects. And if you want trust, then be trustworthy. Culture isn’t created in an offsite workshop. It’s born and reinforced through every decision, every interaction, every tiny, seemingly insignificant moment when a leader chooses what to tolerate, what to reward, and what to ignore.
Let’s talk about the new workforce. There’s tired rhetoric that young professionals are disengaged and disloyal. But here’s the truth: they’re not disengaged, they’re disillusioned by outdated value systems. They’re not clocking out mentally, they’re just looking for meaning.
Purpose. Growth. Well-being. That’s what drives them—and honestly, many others are starting to want the same things, even if they won’t admit it out loud.
It turns out that people—all people—want to feel valued, not used. They want to know that their work matters. That they matter.
The organizations that get this and act on it will be the ones that win. Because when you win on the talent front, all the other “important” metrics will follow. People build strategy. People execute objectives. And last I checked, even with all the AI, automation, and robots doing backflips, there’s still no substitute for human judgment, connection, and leadership. There are still coaches, managers, pilots, and parents showing up every day, making the hard calls and building the future—one relationship at a time.
Leadership isn’t magic, it’s not in your DNA, and it isn’t something you “just have” because you were promoted. It’s a learned skill—like welding, engineering, or hitting a curveball. You likely became a leader because you were really good at what you did. Congrats! But being good at your job isn’t the same as being good at leading people who do that job. In fact, it’s easy to default to doing the work yourself, instead of helping others do it better.
The best leaders ask:
Leadership is building others up so that when you’re not in the room, progress still happens.
Does this mean all leaders should become passive peacemakers? Absolutely not! Being a kind leader doesn’t mean avoiding hard conversations. In fact, the kindest thing you can do is tell someone the truth—even when it’s hard.
Being nice avoids discomfort. Being kind delivers growth.
As Kim Scott puts it in her book, radical candor is about caring personally while challenging directly. Your team doesn’t need a cheerleader who ignores problems. They need a coach who sees their potential and holds them accountable.
It’s not always comfortable, but neither is transformation.
Let me take a personal detour. Coaching my daughters in sports changed how I think about leadership. I realized something powerful: my legacy might not even carry my last name. It’s not about me—it’s about them.
Every time I see the name on the back of their jersey, I’m reminded they carry something I gave—but they’re making it their own. That’s leadership. Giving what you have so others can become who they’re meant to be.
"It came from me, but it belongs to you."
Leadership is about letting go of the spotlight and cheering the loudest from the sidelines. It’s about passing the baton, not clinging to the podium.
Leadership matters because it is the only thing that ties it all together. Culture, engagement, innovation, performance, trust—it all flows from leadership.
Great leadership creates great culture. Great culture attracts great people. Great people build great things.
It doesn’t matter if you’re running a company, coaching your kid’s team, or managing the organized chaos of family dinner. How you lead determines what gets built—and what breaks.
Leadership is a choice. Choose to lead. Choose to listen. Choose to care. Choose to be the reason someone stays, grows, and thrives.
Because no matter your title or tenure, if you influence people, you are a leader. And that, my friend, is why leadership matters more than ever.
Michael “Keith” Cutter is the Vice President of Talent Strategy at Delek US Holdings Inc., a downstream energy company. A licensed attorney in Texas, Keith has over 15 years of experience in human resources and labor relations. Passionate about culture and leadership, Keith has led strategic initiatives in talent management, diversity, and organizational development, primarily in the oil and gas industry.