Logo
Search
Subscribe
Sign In
Home
The Activated Leader Diagnostic
Oliver Buchannon
Lilah Jones

I help bold leaders navigate change with courage, clarity, and heart.


I hit my number. My manager told me to do it three more times. I quit.

Mar 17, 2026

•

8 min read

I hit my number. My manager told me to do it three more times. I quit.

The year everything looked right from the outside — and I knew something had to change.

Why Your Best Managers Aren't Leading (And What Training Alone Can't Fix)

Mar 13, 2026

•

6 min read

Why Your Best Managers Aren't Leading (And What Training Alone Can't Fix)

Leadership failure isn’t always a capability problem. Often, it’s an identity transition that organizations overlook. Learn how closing the identity gap unlocks real leadership performance.

I told you about the $36. I never told you what happened after

Mar 10, 2026

•

5 min read

I told you about the $36. I never told you what happened after

There's no ROI for this. That's exactly why I went.

Your High Performers Aren't Burnt Out. They're Stuck in Execution Mode.

Mar 6, 2026

•

7 min read

Your High Performers Aren't Burnt Out. They're Stuck in Execution Mode.

Most organizations think burnout is the problem. The real issue is an activation gap.

I almost sent the cancellation email. Here's what changed.

Mar 3, 2026

•

9 min read

I almost sent the cancellation email. Here's what changed.

There's no ROI for this. That's exactly why I went.

What they don't tell you about leaving

Feb 24, 2026

•

6 min read

What they don't tell you about leaving

3 months ago, I resigned from Google. Here's the one thing I wasn't prepared for.

Your Best Managers Are Winning. Their Success Still Can't Scale. Here's the L&D Problem Nobody's Naming.

Feb 19, 2026

•

7 min read

Your Best Managers Are Winning. Their Success Still Can't Scale. Here's the L&D Problem Nobody's Naming.

High-performing managers can’t scale if their success depends on them. Discover the L&D gap preventing leadership impact from compounding.

What happens if you take 30 days off?

Feb 17, 2026

•

6 min read

What happens if you take 30 days off?

Your answer reveals whether your success is compounding — or just accumulating.

The Perfectionism Tax: Why First-Time Managers Stall | L&D Guide

Feb 12, 2026

•

8 min read

The Perfectionism Tax: Why First-Time Managers Stall | L&D Guide

New managers stall not from lack of skill, but fear of imperfection. Learn how L&D leaders can close the activation gap and develop leaders who ship.

She rewrote her LinkedIn post 14 times. Still hasn't posted it.

Feb 10, 2026

•

5 min read

She rewrote her LinkedIn post 14 times. Still hasn't posted it.

Perfectionism kills more careers than failure ever will. Here's why your first attempt needs to be embarrassingly bad.

Your Leadership Development Program Is Busy. But Is It Working?

Feb 5, 2026

•

4 min read

Your Leadership Development Program Is Busy. But Is It Working?

Why Most Manager Training Creates Motion, Not Leaders? Last quarter, your organization invested $47,000 in leadership development. Twelve managers completed the program. Attendance was 94%. Course evaluations averaged 4.3 out of 5. When your VP of People asked what changed in those managers' teams? Silence. This is the leadership development motion trap.

She had 8 networking coffees. Zero applications.

Feb 3, 2026

•

5 min read

She had 8 networking coffees. Zero applications.

Motion looks productive. Movement creates results. Here's the difference and why most leaders confuse the two.

The Courage Deficit: Why Your Smartest Leaders Are Your Most Stuck

Jan 29, 2026

•

8 min read

The Courage Deficit: Why Your Smartest Leaders Are Your Most Stuck

Your leaders don't need more data; they need more courage. Discover why high performers use "due diligence" as a hiding place and how to close the gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it.

You don't need more options. You need to pick one.

Jan 27, 2026

•

6 min read

You don't need more options. You need to pick one.

Three coaches. Six assessments. Fourteen months. Still no decision. Here's what actually creates clarity.

Why Your Organization is Stuck: The Stage Most Leaders Skip

Jan 21, 2026

•

7 min read

Why Your Organization is Stuck: The Stage Most Leaders Skip

Most organizations skip the first stage of getting unstuck - acknowledging where they actually are. Learn the signs you're avoiding the truth and the one move that changes everything.

You're not stuck. You're avoiding.

Jan 20, 2026

•

6 min read

You're not stuck. You're avoiding.

A CMO spent 22 months here. When she finally told the truth, everything changed. Find out if you're stuck in Stage 1.

Why Your Manager Training Isn't Fixing Your Communication Problems (And What Will)

Jan 15, 2026

•

10 min read

Why Your Manager Training Isn't Fixing Your Communication Problems (And What Will)

What 20 years leading teams at Microsoft, Oracle, EMC, and Google taught me about developing first-time managers

Finally Free: Choosing Presence Over Everything

Jan 13, 2026

•

8 min read

Finally Free: Choosing Presence Over Everything

Why "managing" your choices is exhausting you - and how to finally stop negotiating.

How to Actually Develop Your Employees: A Leadership Guide to Skills Development That Sticks

Jan 7, 2026

•

12 min read

How to Actually Develop Your Employees: A Leadership Guide to Skills Development That Sticks

Why Most Employee Development Fails—and What Great Leaders Do Instead

The Scorecard You Should Burn in 2026

Jan 6, 2026

•

7 min read

The Scorecard You Should Burn in 2026

What my sister’s death taught me about the difference between a "successful" career and a life well-lived.

From Manager to Leader: The Day I Stopped Swimming

Jan 1, 2026

•

13 min read

From Manager to Leader: The Day I Stopped Swimming

Why the Best Leaders Have Learned to Float Instead of Hustle

What Kerala Taught Me About True Reset

Dec 30, 2025

•

8 min read

What Kerala Taught Me About True Reset

What happens when you stop driving, stop planning, and simply let yourself drift through life’s currents.

What Winning Actually Looks Like

Dec 23, 2025

•

6 min read

What Winning Actually Looks Like

I realized I was winning at the wrong game. Here is how I stopped chasing someone else’s scorecard and started actually living.

Three Leaders Asked Me the Same Question (Without Knowing It)

Dec 16, 2025

•

9 min read

Three Leaders Asked Me the Same Question (Without Knowing It)

Three leaders. Three cities. One quiet question we all avoid until it won’t leave us alone. | The Activated Leader #025

📧 The one email I send every December (steal my template)

Dec 9, 2025

•

6 min read

📧 The one email I send every December (steal my template)

Every December, I send the same email to 15 people. | The Activated Leader #024

Load more

The Activated Leader™

Modern leaders don’t need more tools—they need to infuse their organizations with a culture of courage.

Got questions?
Email me: [email protected]

Visit my website:
www.lilahjones.com

© 2026 Lilah Jones. All rights reserved..
Report abusePrivacy policyTerms of use
beehiivPowered by beehiiv