Stop Chasing Shiny Leadership Strategies: The Basics Still Win Every Time

I’ve seen it happen so many times.

A leader hears about a new app, tool, or framework, and suddenly, it’s the silver bullet. The one thing that’s going to transform the way they lead.

The excitement is palpable. They sign up. They onboard their teams. They start tracking, measuring, and analyzing all sorts of engagement scores and sentiment metrics.

But here’s the catch. They’re still not getting what they want from their teams.

The results don’t match the promise.

I worked with a company that got caught up in this exact cycle. They introduced a feedback app to “boost engagement” and “understand how people really felt.”

It was a great tool on paper—sleek interface, easy to use, and promised all sorts of insights.

They set it up, rolled it out, and started seeing positive Net Manager Promoter Scores (NMPS) and employee satisfaction rates. Leaders were happy. Everything looked good.

But when I spoke with them, they were frustrated. They were seeing high scores in the app but struggling to connect with their people in real life.

Teams were checking the boxes in the app but still not engaged. They were answering the questions, but they weren’t opening up.

The disconnect was clear, and it went deeper than a lack of engagement.

The real issue? The leaders had skipped the basics.

When a Tool Becomes a Crutch

The feedback app was never the problem.

The problem was that leaders were using it as a substitute for real leadership.

Instead of having face-to-face conversations, they were staring at dashboards. Instead of making time to listen, they were scanning NMPS scores. Instead of building trust and rapport, they were clicking through data points.

It’s no surprise that the results felt flat.

People aren’t data points. We can’t lead people just by reading numbers on a screen.

And while the app gave them some metrics, it could never replace the power of an honest conversation or a relationship built on trust.

Chasing the Latest Isn’t Leadership

It’s so easy to get caught up in the next shiny thing.

There’s always a new framework, a new book, a new strategy. And we tell ourselves, “This is it. This is what’s going to make me a better leader.”

But if we’re not getting the basics right, those shiny things are just distractions.

Think about the leaders you admire. What do they all have in common? Is it the tech they use? The frameworks they follow? The apps they’ve integrated?

No.

It’s their presence. Their ability to listen. Their consistency in showing up. Their commitment to the fundamentals.

The Basics Never Go Out of Style

This is why I’m going back to the roots of leadership: John Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.

These principles are timeless. They’re not just another trend. They are the core foundation every leader should master before they get fancy with new strategies.

The book has been around for over 25 years. It’s sold more than 4 million copies. It’s probably the most widely read leadership book in the world.

And the reason?

Because these 21 laws aren’t about shortcuts. They’re about building the foundation of leadership.

When you master these basics, you become the kind of leader people naturally want to follow.

Let’s take a few examples:

• The Law of Influence: Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. Without influence, titles and tools mean nothing.
• The Law of the Lid: Your leadership ability is the lid on your effectiveness. No app can raise that lid. Only your growth can.
• The Law of Respect: People follow leaders stronger than themselves. If we don’t focus on being that kind of leader, no strategy will inspire true loyalty.

Introducing: The Back-to-Basics Leadership Roundtable

This is why I’m excited to share something I’ve been working on behind the scenes.

I’m putting together a Leadership Roundtable based on John Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.

It’s not about the latest trends or the shiniest tools. It’s about getting back to what really works: timeless principles that help leaders connect, engage, and inspire on a deeper level.

We’re going to dive deep into these laws and figure out how to apply them in the real world—together.

• You’ll learn how to raise your leadership lid so you can lead with more confidence and effectiveness.
• You’ll understand why people follow and how to build respect that goes beyond the title.
• And you’ll see how mastering these basics can elevate everything else you do as a leader.

Think of it as a mastermind group, but focused on making these 21 principles work for you.

This is going to be a small, tight-knit group. It’s about leaders who are serious about doing the hard work to master the basics before chasing the next shiny object.

We’ll be launching in a couple of weeks, and I’ll be sharing more details soon.

So, stay tuned if you’re ready to build your leadership on a rock-solid foundation.

Final Thought: Master the Fundamentals First

Before you invest in a new app or get excited about a new strategy, ask yourself:

Have I mastered the basics?

If the answer is no, let’s start there.

Because when your foundation is strong, every new tool you add will be that much more powerful.

Kindly,

Florin