Have you ever noticed when you observe someone else doing something it usually looks easy? Or have you noticed, when you think of something that needs to be done, you think, “it’s not that big of a deal, it should not take them very long”? I am guilty of this on many occasions; although, at least now I am consciously aware of it.

It was the hottest week of the summer so far and the air conditioner in my condo stopped working. Hot and moody, I called in a repair request to my leasing agent. A day passed, and not hearing from them I decided to call again. Not only was the heat rising, so was my impatience. The receptionist for the leasing agent apologized and reassured me that a ticket would be placed for first thing the next morning. ‘First thing’ came and went, the temperature rose, and by now my impatience was growing to anger and frustration. I started to mistrust this company with whom I was doing business. I felt like I couldn’t rely on them to be true to their word, or to contact me if they would be unable to fulfil a request.

It’s happened to us all: At some point in our careers we didn’t know the answer.

We were not prepared. We weren’t sure of what decision to make. And for some – this is our worst nightmare! Especially in the workplace, we are concerned with how our coworkers, bosses or clients perceive us. We want them to feel we are credible and competent additions to the team. But how do we balance that with our innate “human-ness”? The state of being imperfect – but trying to be so?

What causes a leader to fail?

The truth is, there are many things that cause failure at all levels of leadership. There is not a specific “formula” for leadership failure, just as there is not a specific “formula” for leadership success. There are however, actions or behaviors that drive a leader toward the path of success or failure.

It is almost impossible to open a business publication or business blog without seeing something about the generations at work. Often writers make it seem that all of your leadership and motivational problems will be solved once you understand and cater to the needs of "Millennials" or change your behavior and point of view and stop acting like a "Boomer".

A few years ago, one of my colleagues and I decided we wanted to explore the notion of generational conflict in the workplace. We conducted a study, using focus group methodology, to explore perceived differences between, specifically, Boomer and Gen X women in the workplace. The conversations, focusing on topics such as: jobs vs. careers,
 work life balance,
 sacrifices vs. choices,
role models,
personal fears and values,
and perceptions about the “other” group of women and the ease with which they can work together.