The New Golden Rule of Leadership
The best leaders I’ve worked for followed what Mike Fisher calls The New Golden Rule.
The Old Golden Rule was: Treat others as you’d like to be treated.
The New Golden Rule is: Treat others like they want to be treated.
It sounds simple, but it’s not always easy. This shift requires curiosity, listening, and a willingness to adapt. You have to know your people.
At first, it’s easy to assume this means putting everyone else’s needs before your own. But that’s not what this is about.
It’s not self-sacrifice. It’s about small, intentional shifts: pausing before reacting, asking instead of assuming, noticing what matters to someone else.
To me, leadership means creating a space where people can say what they need and how they want to be treated, and be heard.
That kind of safety makes sustainable productivity possible.
