Behavioral Grooves Podcast The Leadership Wake-Up Call | Margaret Andrews
Nov 24, 2025
Margaret Andrews, a Harvard instructor and author of 'Manage Yourself to Lead Others,' shares her insights on effective leadership. She emphasizes that self-awareness is crucial for leaders, discussing how blind spots can hinder growth. Emotional intelligence is unpacked as a development tool, not just niceness. Margaret also introduces the 'best boss' exercise, demonstrating the importance of interpersonal skills. She offers advice for new managers, focusing on aligning intentions with actions, while sharing the value of introspection and team charters to enhance culture.
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Leadership Starts With Self-Understanding
- Leadership begins with understanding yourself before trying to lead others.
- Self-awareness reveals blind spots and improves how you interpret others' behavior.
Parenting Taught Leadership Variation
- Margaret learned leadership lessons from parenting: each child required unique approaches.
- That realization made her stop assuming people at work will respond the same way.
The 'Dr. Ventura' Moment In Class
- In class a quiet student admitted "I'm Dr. Ventura" after a case about a bullying surgeon.
- The moment exposed how common it is for high performers to be blind to their damaging behavior.
