We think we’re supposed to want to grab that Boss brass ring, because many our co-workers are clamoring to break out of the cube farm and earn the right to an office with an actual door. But what if the glamorized idea of leadership just isn’t for you? What’s a stellar individual contributor in a workplace that’s all about climbing the ladder, not contentedly camping out on the third rung, to do?

One of the most daunting things about being a leader is that you’re almost always being watched by your team, and that it almost always matters– even when you think the stakes are low or there are no stakes at all. There are always stakes in leadership.

The person you are today, not the you that showed up on your first day.

There are few things worse as the incumbent leader of a team than inheriting crappy team members because the leader before you had no spine.

Delegating can be hard for even the strongest leaders, but it’s not the assignment of work that causes us to stumble most often. It’s practicing the art of the kickback.

Speaking of scary (other than the number of years between us), I’ve noticed a trend in their experience of work and how they view their futures at the companies where they’re gainfully employed: they want nothing to do with the work lives their bosses are living.