To me, an authentic leadership foundation is an internal structure built from your  principles, ideas, tenets and values that guide your actions and reactions as a leader. 

I recently worked with a client to create a dual-track Product Management career path that included a focus on Emotional Intelligence and Leadership skills - like self-awareness, empathy, self-compassion, and giving and receiving feedback - as well as functional/product skills like business acumen, customer experience and innovation.

Is there an aspect of leadership that, when you approach it, makes you feel like you're about to step off a cliff?

Maybe it's making big decisions, giving feedback to a team member, or managing up in your organisation. Or it could be handling conflict among team members, owning your own mistakes, or even displaying confidence in your own (or your team's) abilities.

Empathy is an incredibly important skill for leaders. In my previous article about empathy, I discuss in-depth why empathy is so important, along with facts and figures that show the effect empathetic leadership (or leadership that lacks empathy) can have on your workplace, culture, and bottom-line. But empathy can be elusive. How can you empathise with people when you don't understand what they are going through?