Leadership debt doesn’t come from bad intent. It comes from urgency. From wanting progress. From wanting it too much that they do so much.

Perfect ideas don’t exist. What succeeds are the logical ones that get shipped and shaped. Great leaders build teams where imperfect ideas see the light, get executed, and evolve.

Some of my most “perfect” hires flamed out. Some long shots became superstars. The difference wasn’t luck, it was alignment. These are the lessons 2,500 interviews left me with about hiring for the long game.

A leader is a box in the middle of chaos. The inputs come in as wiggly lines: distorted thoughts, half-baked opinions, incomplete facts,...