Shades of Gray in Leadership: From Hard Skills to Human Skills

Early in your career, your success is measured by how well you execute. Can you meet deadlines? Manage your time? Check the boxes?

But give it five or ten years, and the expectations start to shift. It’s not just about what you do—it’s about how well you understand your role in the bigger picture. Can you anticipate what your team or client needs before they ask? Can you adjust based on context and nuance?

Eventually, when you move into leadership, the job becomes almost entirely about soft skills—human skills, really. The ability to influence, activate, support, and guide others becomes the core of your value.

And yet, the pressure to perform, produce, and deliver never really goes away. Outside of nonprofits, most businesses exist to make money. As a leader, it’s easy to fall into the trap of chasing profit above all else.

But leadership lives in the gray.

The decisions aren’t always clear. The people aren’t always easy. Your influence isn't just measured in outcomes, but in how you show up when the answers aren't black and white.

So ask yourself:

• How are you showing up for your team?

• How are you balancing results with relationships?

• How are you modeling what it looks like to lead with both impact and integrity?

Because leadership doesn’t stop at your title. It extends to the example you set—for your coworkers, your friends, your family.

And often, the most meaningful growth happens in those in-between spaces. In the shades of gray.

To read more about my perspective on shades of gray at work, check out my blog post on the nuances of communication.