New managers point down the org chart when asked who their team is. That answer is quietly wrong, and it's the ceiling most capable leaders bump against. The first-team principle, explained.

Self-criticism feels like accountability, but the research says managers who beat themselves up recover slower and learn less. What steadier looks like.

Managing specialists who outclass you in their craft is the normal condition of leading skilled people, not a threat to fix. Here is what the job actually requires.

The sunk cost fallacy keeps managers funding failing projects to protect what they already spent. The research behind it, and how to know when to stop.

The traits that get managers promoted are usually the ones that later sink them. What the research on leadership derailers reveals, and how to catch yours before it costs you.