Reality-Based Leadership

Reality-Based Leadership We are the voice that interrupts thinking, reveals the truth and settles the mind. We eliminate drama and restore sanity to the workplace and worldplace.

We translate the best research into Reality-Based Philosophies, tools, and training. Reality-Based Leadership is a revolutionary philosophy developed by Cy Wakeman, an international keynote speaker, business consultant, and New York Times bestselling author. Grounded in reality, Wakeman’s philosophy teaches leaders how to turn excuses into results and transform unhappy employees into accountable,

successful members of the workforce. With her 20 years of success working with thousands of organizations, Wakeman has designed multiple sustainability options to help hardwire Reality-Based principles into your workforce and support the message of personal accountability long into the future. So, Cy experimented with a revolutionary new approach to leadership. Instead of working to perfect the circumstances of her employees, she instead helped them learn a reality-based mindset. Through this new mindset, her employees became seemingly immune to anything that might happen to them. They begin to succeed and deliver results in spite of their circumstances.

05/27/2026

What if "playing favorites" was actually the most fair approach to leading your team?

Playing favorites is the first no-no that leaders are taught, but I've found that the best leaders know they must play favorites to be successful.
Before getting all fired up in the comments - I clarify in the video what I mean so please give it a watch.

The lesson here is that the market plays favorites, your customers or patients play favorites, the employees you are trying to recruit for your organization are playing favorites - so why wouldn't you in leadership?

The key is knowing how to do this in the right way and call people up to excellence and stepping into the workplace environment you are creating that is beyond drama. Here's how to do so.

Where did you learn this tough leadership lesson in your career and what changed after you discovered it?

05/19/2026

Psychological safety in teams means sharing what's truly on your mind and is critical as a foundation for a trusting workplace.

But I see too many leaders blurring the lines between sharing a feeling and venting.

Understanding this difference is how to truly support teams and ensure that drama is unable to take over situations when people are frustrated.

05/11/2026

I've had a few leaders recently share that they are making things happen each day but feeling "a bit lost" in their career.

This can be the scariest thing when it just feels like we are going through the motion with no energy behind what we are doing.

It brought me back to the few times I've been their and the days just dragged by and I felt nothing I did really contributed to the bigger picture.

I thought I'd take those longer conversations and distill it down to how I've supported leaders to get back into alignment, reconnected with their purpose and do so in a drama-free way.

Would love if this video helps you to text or DM the link to any friend, colleauge or family member who has mentioned they are feeling a little 'lost' over the past month or so.

Also, if you have any books, videos, podcasts, experts you follow or articles that you recommend for those to find their purpose when feeling lost, be sure to put them in the comments below.

Let's lean in this week, get back in alignment and contribute drama-free this week.

04/29/2026

If you've been somehow hoping the amount of uncertainty you are asked to lead in will settle down soon, it has become clear it won't.

With that in mind, here's the quickest way to lead your team well through uncertainty, change and disruption that the best leaders I work with are using each day.

I call it the - what we know, what we don't know and what we may never know technique and it will save you a ton of headaches and drama.

04/27/2026

"We just don't have good communication around here." has to be the most common excuse for why leaders and employees aren't syncing in the workplace.

It comes up all the time and, in my experience, many leaders don't stay in there and ask clarifying questions about what is really going on in the situation where communication is the problem.

I had a client this week share how he goes at this excuse when it comes up and at first, I thought it was super simple and obvious. But the more I reflected the more I am realizing this approach can help you drastically as a reality-based leadership out there. Hope it helps!

04/22/2026

Many people I talk to have different definitions of ego and how it shows up at work.

This is the simplest way I can explain it and how it leads to drama in the workplace.

When this is happening you will notice problems appear WAY bigger than they actually and everything is seen with a negative spin in your workplace.

If this happens, acknowledge it, call it out respectfully as part of the human condition - and call everyone involved to pull off the fuzzy glasses they accidentally have on and narrow down to the facts and what we know for sure.

This helps the situation become clear, the problem become solveable and most importantly, the next right action to add value obvious.

Keep ditchin' the drama, share this with your teams and go be great today.

04/14/2026

I always like to share this story of when I confronted a colleague that I was struggling to communicate with. I thought going right at the problem would improve our teamwork and get us beyond the drama we kept getting snagged on.

What I got as a response was a surprise and lesson that I now teach to as many leaders as I can.

I thought the technique I used would be the breakthrough, but the lesson about how the truth sets you free in these types of situations was the real takeaway.

Have you ever had a moment where a tool or technique backfired on you and provided a memorable lesson? Would love to hear in the comments.

04/06/2026

Ever feel better after a good vent? It feels good in the moment and like a quick fix. But venting actually carves a neural pathway fueled by negativity, making you want to do it more.

Most people don't realize even internal venting (aka rumination) does the same and is just as unhelpful.

What's your go-to for managing frustration at work right now? Let me know in the comments.

11/21/2025

If you've ever read our newsletter, you've realized that reducing drama should be your core focus with your team. It is the biggest unlock for people and essential for achieving results, well-being, and a healthy culture.

But when leaders set out to begin getting their arms around the drama they are now seeing, they often ask: Where do I even start?

Here's what changes everything: Drama doesn't just randomly appear on a team.

It has exactly three entry points - three roads into town, if you will. And once you see them, you can't unsee them.

In this week's video with Alex Dorr, you'll learn about these three roads and how to spot which ones are open on your team right now. This is the lesson that makes drama suddenly visible and manageable.

Watch the video, then share it with your team and ask:
Which of these three roads do we need to close: or, at the very least, start working on?

08/22/2025

Empathy so often spirals into sympathy and takes a turn for the worst if you're not careful.

This quick story helps you understand how to better walk the fine line of empathy versus sympathy to be able to issue the call to greatness to those who are stuck on your team.

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