In a world that's constantly shifting, where there's always more to do, the best leaders must make time to become even better. This is the key message behind WACO’s 2025 Annual Conference theme Time to Lead.
June’s Packed Lunch session kicked off a handful of leadership and management trainings that WACO has scheduled throughout 2025 to help our members harness even more of their powerful leadership skills.
There are hundreds of resources to help leaders build cohesive and productive teams. Whether your team takes part in a Strengths Finder course from SAO’s Center for Government Innovation, has a book club reading of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, or turns to an outside third party for deep analysis and restructuring - it’s obvious there are more tools to rank and quantify strengths and weaknesses than ever before. While the guidance from these trainings can fundamentally increase self-awareness, it’s clear from the unrelenting recruitment and retention struggles across all industries that simply knowing yourself is not enough.
Many of these tools encourage us to look inward at our capabilities, using our results and new understanding as a way to casually build camaraderie. But what if those results could be tangibly used for more than just ‘cool fact’ connections at the watercooler? HLeadership founder Sharon Andrade’s approach to people management and leader development proposes just that.
“I believe that most leaders are ultimately looking to improve outcomes—like driving results, meeting deadlines, increasing accountability, and building trust within their teams. But what they often don’t realize is that the root of these challenges usually lies in communication and clarity of expectations.”
-Sharon Andrade, HLeadership
Sharon’s work enables teams and leaders to achieve goals and accelerate results by equipping them with insights, tools and skills to leverage strengths and address obstacles - clearing their path to success. Sharon was happy to tell us all about it during WACO’s June Packed Lunch session People: Difficult or Different?
“Leaders may think the problem is follow-through or team performance, but more often it’s a breakdown in how expectations are communicated—or if they’re communicated at all.” Sharon told us, “When leaders learn how to communicate clearly, consistently, and at the right cadence—and in a way that the other person will actually ‘hear’ or receive their message, they start seeing meaningful change. Understanding style differences and how people like to receive and process information is critical to effective communication, as well as taking time to confirm understanding before moving on. Effective communication isn’t just a soft skill. It’s the lever that drives the outcomes leaders care most about.”
Sharon’s sessions and assessments, including People: Difficult or Different?, are different from most – they have a simple, practical, and relational focus. While many personality or style-based trainings offer rich insight, they often overwhelm participants with information, leaving them unsure where to begin or how to apply what they've learned for meaningful change. Sharon’s approach offers immediate actions that leaders can take to better connect with their teams – and she does this by turning the goal of self-awareness outward.
As Sharon describes it: when people sit at opposite ends of a line, misinterpretation is almost inevitable. Even with good intentions, these differences can create friction that erodes trust and makes collaboration harder in any workplace.
“The focus [of my work] is on how [leaders can] adapt their approach to work more effectively with a variety of communication and decision-making styles. This enables enhanced collaboration, reduces friction, and increases their positive influence—whether they’re engaging with customers, colleagues, leaders, or direct reports.
Most programs focus on understanding self, which is foundational. However, the real power lies in understanding yourself in relation to others. That’s where behavior shifts happen, relationships improve, and influence grows.”
In the study of organizational psychology, Sharon isn’t the only one starting to look closely at the connection between broad self-awareness, or lack thereof, and workplace discord. According to research completed by Industrial-Organizational Psychologist Dr. Tasha Eurich and The Eurich Group (a consultancy with clientele ranging from Google, Salesforce, and the NBA to the White House Leadership Development Program and Whataburger), approximately 95% of folks think that they are self-aware, but only 10-15% actually are. And that, it turns out, can make a huge difference in how we operate in our work and personal lives.
“Research suggests that when we see ourselves clearly, we are more confident and more creative. We make sounder decisions, build stronger relationships, and communicate more effectively. We’re less likely to lie, cheat, and steal. We are better workers who get more promotions. And we’re more-effective leaders with more-satisfied employees and more-profitable companies.”
-Tasha Eurich
Standard approaches to self-awareness center analysis on internalized structures of behavior, values, fears, and confidences – all valuable parts to assess, of course. But, self-awareness, especially for leaders, is not just about seeing yourself clearly. It is also about having the capacity to view your intent, and impact, on others with clarity.
“Take decision-making as an example. Someone who values speed and agility may make quick calls to keep momentum going. But if they overlook important details or fail to involve others, it can lead to mistakes or unintended consequences.” Sharon explained, “Their colleague on the opposite end, the one who values thoughtful analysis and process, might see this as careless or dismissive. They’ll likely speak up out of frustration, and if there’s no shared understanding of why each person approaches decisions differently, the result can be tension, defensiveness, and conflict.
Over time, these moments—if unaddressed—chip away at psychological safety. People become less willing to speak up, challenge ideas, or lean into collaboration. What begins as a style difference becomes a barrier to teamwork and performance.”
Sharon tells us that these differences in communication and interpersonal connection boundaries are one of the leading causes of distress in workplaces. Our impact on those boundaries causes the rifts that can lead to retention issues and stunt organizational growth and success. And if you’re unaware of your impact? Eventually, you can fully erode the trust that is crucial to your team’s success.
“True trust isn’t just about being polite or friendly, it’s about creating an environment where people can disagree openly and challenge ideas without fear of judgment or retaliation. That kind of trust enables better collaboration, faster decision-making, and stronger results.
The skills required to build and sustain trust, like active listening, empathy, and understanding differences in communication styles — are not always innate. They must be learned, practiced, and supported by leaders. Recognizing that every individual brings different perspectives, experiences, and preferences to the table is a critical starting point. From there, teams can begin to create the psychological safety needed for true collaboration and long-term success.”
Having a more robust view of self-awareness that includes the concept of impact vs. intent, and assuming positive intent utilizing curiosity, is what Sharon believes allows us to solve the problem and build trust. This is especially important in working relationships, where the vast majority of teams will contain wildly different communication and interpersonal boundary preferences between members. These preferences influence our workplace behaviors and what each of us views as acceptable in the office – almost like personal behavioral etiquette rules.
“What I’ve learned is that everyone has a choice in how they view those who operate differently. When frustration arises, it’s easy—and human—to judge, label, and withdraw: ‘I don’t like working with them,’ ‘They’re difficult,’ or ‘They never listen.’ Once those labels are in place, they’re hard to undo—unless we consciously shift our mindset.
The key is curiosity. When we choose to approach differences with curiosity instead of judgment, we create space for understanding, connection, and growth. While differences can be frustrating, they can also be powerful when leveraged well. A shift in mindset—toward openness and mutual respect—invites us to meet others halfway and discover how our contrasting strengths can complement one another and fill in our blind spots.”
While some individuals display overtly the kind of communication and connection they would respond best to, some will not. Generally, as leaders, there is a responsibility that falls upon most WACO members to begin these conversations and take the first steps towards the center of the line. For those workplace connections that are currently low in trust and respect and need nurturing, Sharon’s says you shouldn’t give up. She provided a story of a group that shifted their paradigm to start rebuilding trust.
“I have seen instances of zero trust/respect relationships getting turned around, one small step at a time. Rebuilding trust from zero is a long and often difficult journey.
One example involved two high-performing colleagues who had worked together for nearly five years but had lost both trust and respect for each other. Their personalities were vastly different: one was socially assertive—outgoing, direct, and expressive—while the other was socially cautious—reserved, thoughtful, and more measured. Over time, the socially cautious individual began experiencing their colleague as loud, opinionated, and dismissive, leading them to actively avoid any joint work. Unfortunately, this avoidance was undermining outcomes that would have benefited both.
The turning point came during a team retreat where they participated in a styles program. Through this process, they uncovered shared values, particularly around decision-making and their shared need for accuracy and thoroughness. Recognizing this common ground helped reframe their relationship. They actually had more in common than they realized. This awareness became the foundation for a more intentional, collaborative working relationship.”
If you’re unsure where your team stands and if work needs to be done, Sharon let us know that it can be easier than you think to figure it out. She explained that while many teams say they trust each other, their behaviors often tell a different story.
“When trust is strong, people feel safe to admit mistakes, to show vulnerability, and to engage in honest, respectful dialogue. But too often, we see signs that trust is missing — like the ‘meeting after the meeting,’ where real opinions are shared only behind closed doors.”
And if you do need to start the work with your team, Sharon’s session People: Difficult or Different? is now available on the WACO Education Hub for WACO members and their staff. The session is approximately 45 minutes long and covers Sharon’s approach to robust self-awareness and shifting the “difficult” paradigm our snap judgements create about the people we work with. Sharon will also be presenting a WACO Online Training in October on Effective Management Strategies and a winter session on Thriving Through Change. In addition, HLeadership will have a virtual booth at WACO’s Annual Conference next month and Sharon would be happy to discuss how her workshops can help your teams thrive.
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Thank you to HLeadership for being a WACO Education Partner!
HLeadership equips leaders and teams with relevant skills and essential tools that are easily adopted and applied to improve performance, increase engagement and expand influence through team building, training and consulting.
Learn More: https://hleadership.org/