Leadership isn’t just about making decisions—it’s about shaping cultures, inspiring growth and creating environments where people thrive. Yet, many leaders step into management roles without the right support.
Zovig Garboushian, CEO and founder of Boldness Ablaze Coaching, draws from 15 years in corporate marketing to help organizations, leaders and teams expand, communicate effectively and drive positive change. Working primarily with mid-market companies across industries, she helps leaders get to the root of the problem—and then dig even deeper.
Similarly, Kham Inthirath, CEO and founder of Compound Effect, is dedicated to developing strong leaders both within his own company and as a mentor at The Venture Forum. In launching Compound Effect, Inthirath connects growing teams with top talent, fostering an ecosystem where exceptional people, cutting-edge technology and strategic thinking fuel growth.
Good leadership is built, not born
It’s safe to say that technical expertise doesn’t always translate to strong leadership. While some people are natural leaders, many rise through the ranks based on performance rather than their ability to inspire or guide others.
“I don’t know if anyone wakes up a good people manager,” says Garboushian, adding that it’s easy to focus on speed and efficiency. “What often gets missed is the experience of people along that journey, and some leaders are better at looking and listening than others.”
As Garboushian puts it, authentic leadership takes practice, presence and a willingness to be wrong. It also requires a genuine interest in others and a desire to slow down and notice what might be missing. “People who are in leadership roles are usually self-proclaimed problem-solvers, and that’s what they sort of hang their hat on… but when it comes to managing people, they’re not a problem to solve,” she says. From new managers to the C-suite, leaders often overlook that their employees have an experience of work that includes emotions, desires, motivations and vulnerabilities.
At the same time, leaders may feel pressured to be everything to everyone, a responsibility they often struggle to live up to. The mounting pressure to be a coach, therapist, mentor and cultural advocate—all while delivering their work—can be overwhelming and unsustainable. “It’s not possible to be all of those things, but what is possible is to create genuine connection and trust with your people, which just means taking a little more time,” Garboushian says. It might mean setting aside time each day or week for regular one-on-one check-ins with your team to build relationships, ask questions and truly listen to what’s happening.
Strong foundations lead to sustainable growth
From Inthirath’s perspective, there’s an ecosystem where internal growth and development come first, followed by external efforts like marketing and sales. The problem, he notes, is that most organizations focus on the external while neglecting the internal. “Alignment is not just… how do we sell or administrate our product,” he says. “It’s also… ‘How do we grow? How do we nurture our people to align with our mission?’”
Clarifying an organization’s values and mission starts with turning words into action. “It’s not that [companies] don’t want to be transparent; they just don’t know how to showcase it,” Inthirath says. He recommends using core values as a guiding framework for everything—from hiring and firing to selecting projects and clients. “If transparency is one of those core values, in a
Slack channel, praise someone who is transparent,” he says. This way, values aren’t just statements in an employee handbook—they become part of the daily culture, reinforced through recognition and action.
Alignment also means embracing diversity in background and experience, communication styles, feedback approaches and how organizations create safe growth spaces. As a CEO,
Inthirath’s ultimate goal is for people to be the happiest they can be because, from a leadership standpoint, he knows they will be performing at their best. He notes that while he has invested in Predictive Index (PI) tests, much of the insight he gathers is qualitative rather than quantitative.
The best leaders expand, not constrict
One of the most impactful ways a leader can support their team is by amplifying their voices. For Garboushian, a leader’s voice is one of their most powerful tools for lifting employees—whether by advocating for them when they’re not in the room or showcasing their work. “You are bringing them into meetings and giving them an opportunity to speak so they become more visible to others if they want to,” she says.
Beyond visibility, building strong relationships with employees is essential. Leaders can gain valuable insights simply by asking pointed questions—but trust is needed for those conversations to happen. “Even if the organization itself is a mess and it’s chaos and it’s turmoil, you can have a very connected relationship with your people if you try [to] intentionally work to build trust,” she says.
People naturally want to grow and expand, especially in the workplace. When asked whether fostering an employee’s growth prepares them to leave the company, Garboushian warns that the opposite—constraining their development—can have the same effect. “If you’re worried that they’re going to leave, you’re going to keep them in a box, and no business can grow when people are kept in a box,” she says.
Instead of limiting employees, the real challenge is ensuring they stay motivated, have opportunities to think critically, expand their skills and become more visible.
When in doubt, default to overcommunicating
To better understand what drives employees, Inthirath suggests getting curious about their priorities—whether it’s money, flexibility, benefits or side passions. Leaders can ask questions like, “What do you enjoy doing outside of work?” or “What are some of your goals?”
Beyond identifying what drives employees, Inthirath emphasizes that open communication is key to solving and preventing issues. “The type of culture I always try to stay within my team is [to] communicate and reset expectations,” says Inthirath, “When we onboard right away, we say we want to make sure you’re excelling, you’re happy, you clearly understand your role.” Inthirath also says regular check-ins help create an environment of trust and openness and encourages employees to voice what they want to learn and how he, as a leader, can improve.
To further refine communication, Inthirath relies on PI tests, which have helped him tailor his approach to different personalities. He’s learned that while he can think on the spot, others may need time to process before responding. Rather than expecting immediate answers, he asks a question and gives the person time to follow up. “If someone can answer, they’ll answer; if they can’t, this gives them an out,” he says.
Career advancement isn’t one-size-fits-all
Moving into a management role is the most obvious career step for many organizations—but it shouldn’t be the only one. Garboushian advises asking employees whether they want to manage people because not everyone does. She cites a 2024 Society for Human Resource Management survey in which 40% of respondents reported a decline in mental health after becoming managers. This drop in well-being reflects on organizations that don’t provide the support employees need to be effective managers.
That’s why having these discussions early and often is so important: It sets employees up for success and builds trust within an organization. “It would be a huge help for a leader to know if their team member wants to be a manager, and it would be a huge help to the team member to say out loud yes or no because sometimes we just sort of silently accept it and we move in that role,” she says.
According to Garboushian, one question that cascades down to lower management levels is “Who are you in this role, and is it congruent with who you want to be?” She notes that we don’t lean into philosophical questions enough at work, but asking this can prompt people to stop, reflect and consider what they’re truly working toward. “People naturally want to grow and do more, so allowing them to explore that within the design of how your organization works is super beneficial,” she says.
Supporting employees in choosing the right career path not only benefits them—it strengthens the organization as a whole. When people feel restricted in roles that don’t align with theirstrengths or professional goals, dissatisfaction builds over time. Garboushian notes that employees don’t quit over a single incident—it’s a culmination of many incidents. While companies often try to fix this by offering more money or a new title, a better approach is to examine what led to that moment in the first place.
Ready to help your team thrive? You’ll find all the resources you need when you join the SUCCESS® Leadership Lab—a dynamic, 18-day virtual course for those who want to lead with clarity, influence, and confidence. This hybrid experience combines expert-led lessons with live coaching to provide you with practical tools to build trust with your team, navigate chaos and crises, shape a healthy, driven work culture, and more. Secure your spot today.
This article originally appeared in the May/June 2025 issue of SUCCESS+ digital Magazine. Photo courtesy of fizkes/Shutterstock.
