Across the years and settings that make up my career, I have been blessed to work with a few phenomenal leaders. People who walk into a conference room and are noticed; even by the person from Finance sitting with her face in her email. People who, not by virtue of their position alone, but by their very presence make others want to impress them. People who radiate energy and accomplishment. People who pay for dinner! Huh? People who pay for dinner? Yes, people who pay for dinner. You see, there is one thing I have observed about people who have the label "phenomenal leader"; those being led are always looking for the crack in the armor or the subtle, ever so discrete manifestation of one's true self that reveals that this person isn't so phenomenal after all. That crack, for most of us, comes during the work day when faced with the stress of missed commitments, failure of our teams to perform and realization that the complexities and challeng...