Hardworking leaders often believe every disappointing result calls for more effort. When performance slips, you stay later, push harder, and question what you should have done differently. But sometimes the problem is not your commitment or capability. It is the expectation that you should be able to outwork circumstances you cannot control. The Problem Most leaders understand accountability. What many struggle with is knowing where accountability ends and self-punishment begins. You miss budget during an…

The night before Hurricane Isaias landed in Pensacola, I witnessed one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. Everything looked so peaceful. And yet, we knew what was coming. Then the storm hit. Through the night there was wind, rain, and the sounds of things happening outside that we couldn’t see. When morning finally came, the landscape we knew had changed. And in the days that followed, I realized that the storm had…