This is my hope for two reasons:

1. Leadership isn’t a reward, it’s a massive responsibility.

2. Leadership has nothing to do with assigned authority.

Waiting to finally be rewarded with a stamp of approval is a great way to miss the opportunity to lead today.

It’s easy to think of leadership as a destination, but leadership is a part of the journey.

The reward of leadership is not a title, notoriety, or a lifetime achievement award. The reward of leadership is the trust from those who choose to follow regardless of your title.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Identify three ways you can lead in your current role and take action this week. They don’t have to be sexy or grandiose. Most leadership happens quietly, behind the scenes, and without much fanfare.

What about “expensive”?

Can you tell me with any clarity what “I’ll get right on that” means?

Yeah, me neither, because each – and many other words we use every single day – are extremely contextual and based on myriad experiences that are unique to us.

We say things like, “I’ll have those numbers for you soon,” with the belief that we all agree on what soon means. Except, our definitions often vary wildly and we create expectations we didn’t intend to create when we aren’t specific.

Soon might mean tomorrow afternoon to you. And it might mean within the hour to me. 

Telling someone you will have those numbers “by 2PM tomorrow” sets a far clearer expectation, one that can be instantly renegotiated if the specified deadline doesn’t work.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Review the emails you send this week for words that avoid specificity and replace them with words that are more concrete. Monitor your interactions to see if these tweaks reduce the amount of inadvertent confusion. Monitor your own workflows to see if they benefit from clearly specified agreements.

A child of the 80’s, I remember enjoying the comic strip as a kid, but reading it as an adult is a completely different experience.

That rambunctious kid and his stuffed tiger have a lot of layers.

In a strip I read recently, the pair are careening down a hill in a red wagon while Calvin tells Hobbes that we are all victims of “luck” and that there’s nothing any of us can do about it. 

As the frames pass Hobbes leaps from the red wagon before Calvin flies off a cliff, further proving Calvin’s bad luck. 

Hobbes notes, from a safe perch atop the cliff, that the same thing happened yesterday, revealing that Calvin might be less a victim of bad luck and more a victim of taking the same unwise actions over and over again.

Sound familiar?

It’s convenient to blame bad luck for the things in your life that you don’t like, but it would be wise to examine how your day-to-day habits might be informing those outcomes.

After all, pointing your red wagon in the same direction every day is a great way to find yourself at the bottom of the same cliff.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Identify one habit that isn’t serving you well and find an alternative. Bonus points will be awarded if you enlist the help of someone else…

I wasn’t wrong about that, just shortsighted.

Turning down the tension IS an essential part of leading a team but, in the same way your car needs a brake pedal AND an accelerator pedal, it’s only half of the equation.

Leaders must be conscious of how their people are responding to a host of inputs and know when to reduce tension, tapping the metaphorical brake pedal to ensure people don’t burn out when there is too much happening at once.

BUT, leaders must also be conscious of when to introduce tension to help their people grow.

In the same way lifting weights, playing a new piece of music, or taking a class introduces tension for the purpose of expanding one’s capabilities, leaders must be willing to allow their people to navigate tension as a means to make them impervious to that tension in the future.

The job of a leader isn’t to simply alleviate tension, it is to manage it. 

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Consider those on your team and identify where alleviating tension could be useful and where introducing tension could be beneficial. Someone may need your help alleviating tension in one arena while you challenge them with increased tension in another.

It changed my life.

That might sound sarcastic given the abbreviated amount of time spent, but I’m being quite serious.

I ended those lessons because of a scheduling conflict, not because I learned it all in 4 short months, but two simple instructions my teacher used have stuck with me since.

I hadn’t read music in years when I started these lessons and found that trying to read music for two hands was a real challenge. I would invariably encounter sections of the simplest music through which I would stumble and she would calmly tell me to slow down.

It turns out that I could read and play almost anything IF I slowed down enough. It may have been painfully protracted and an absolute chore to listen to, but I was able to execute every note in the correct sequence IF I gave my brain enough time to process the flow of instructions.

And when I would finally find the tempo at which I could play the music successfully she would interrupt my celebration by asking me to do it again.

Doing it once isn’t proof of mastery. You have to be able to do it over and over again to prove that.

These are powerful phrases we can use with those we lead.

When they struggle, look for the equivalent of slow down so they can rehearse the steps and build new grooves in their brain. When confronted with our own incompetence we often consider giving up. Slowing down is the alternative that helps us reconsider our ability to overcome that incompetence.

It’s the difference between I can’t do this, and I can’t do this YET.

Monitor their progress and ensure they are doing things correctly. You don’t want them reinforcing the wrong actions. It’s like lifting weights: form is the first priority. You don’t add weight or reps until you can do the motion correctly. 

When they are able to complete the task/project/presentation, give them a high five, but then find an opportunity for them to do it again. Mastery comes from repetition. 

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Consider your team and identify opportunities to use slow down and do it again this week. Who needs someone to help them improve their presentations? Who needs someone to offer feedback about their email communication? Who needs help navigating conflict? Help them slow down. Help them do it again.

I got a few quotes from contractors but decided it would be a fun project to tackle with my dad, and I could use the money I’d save to pick up some new tools that would serve me on dozens of projects after the shed was finished.

The tools we used along the way were a hit parade of devices made to speed things up and reduce effort.

I can’t imagine time traveling back 100 years or more and tackling the same project without the aid of power drills, nail guns, and battery powered circular saws.

Would the build be possible? Of course. But it would take so much longer and require so much more effort for the same eventual reward.

If your default reaction to a vexing problem is to work harder, you may be sabotaging yourself.

I’m not going to bash hard work, but I would like to offer that sometimes the solution is not MORE EFFORT, but LESS.

If what you’re doing isn’t working, it is so easy to get fixated on the idea that MORE is the answer. 

More hours. More blood. More sweat. More tears.

It can feel like the only way to proceed, especially to highly driven folks.

Unfortunately, the value of LESS is rarely explored.

And yet, when a building project is taking too long to complete you don’t allocate MORE time to turning every screw by hand, you find a tool that makes the turning easier.

In many situations, the pathway to greater progress is literally working less.

Occam’s Razor suggests that the simplest explanation is most likely to be true, and I don’t think it’s a massive leap to suggest that the simplest solution might be the most elegant and effective.

If you want to solve more problems, faster, it’s worth considering this uncomfortable question: 

What if an obsession with working harder is amplifying the problem you are facing?

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: You will find more of what you look for. Reflect on a challenging circumstance you are currently navigating and consider the possibility that you are making it more complicated than it needs to be. Ask yourself, how could I make this simpler? Ask yourself, what could I use as a “power drill” in this situation?

It is an overwhelming document that contains the music for every instrument in the orchestra and is usually covered in handwritten notes.

It’s the conductor's job to know the inner workings of every part being played and to fully understand how they interact as the piece unfolds.

This is very different from the score handed out to an oboist, a trumpeter, or a percussionist.

These focused parts detail only what that specific musician needs to play.

Providing each musician with the master score would be overwhelming and require them to turn an infinity of pages throughout the performance, so it’s up to the conductor to share their vision for the piece, helping each player to understand how they fit into the whole.

In high school, our conductor would introduce a new piece by playing a recording first. It gave everyone context about how their part should be played, and how it interrelated with all the other parts being played.

With that context, we would each focus on our own part, but the result would be dozens of musicians working in concert to create one unified performance.

Your people don’t need to carry every detail of every project to do great work. In fact, trying to carry every detail will make it less likely for them to do that great work.

What they need is a clear understanding of the desired outcome, how the part they play will contribute to that outcome, and how their work will interact with the work of others.

Give them clarity about how it all fits together and then free them to focus on their unique contribution.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Ask your people if they have clarity about how the work they are doing relates to the goals of your organization. Do they know what song you are playing and how to play their part?

Instead of pressing forward relentlessly, they take a moment to refuel and swap tires – a pit stop – so they can be most effective in the remaining laps.

Driving on worn tires impedes their performance and can result in catastrophic accidents.

Running out of gas forces them to slow to a crawl until they can pit.

These 10-15 second pit stops aren’t exactly extended vacations, but they are symbolic of the importance of using strategic stops to help us run our race at the highest possible level.

100% effort isn’t a sustainable expectation for yourself or for your people, and the cost of never stopping is often a reduction in practical effectiveness.

I once worked with a very wise man at my printing company who, in spite of the fervor of my youth to RUNRUNRUN to meet every deadline, counseled me to slow down and ensure things were done correctly because reruns meant spending more time, a resource that was always at a premium.

Slowing down a little to ensure accurate output actually yielded better results than constantly running at full tilt, which introduced more errors.

As a leader it is so important that you take the occasional “pit stop” to refuel because, like it or not, your team is looking to you to set the standard.

What YOU DO expresses what YOU VALUE. 

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Identify one way for you and your people to enjoy a brief pit stop this week. Host a 10-minute mixer with ice cream sandwiches, send a department-wide message reminding people to pause and drink some water, or organize a short field trip inviting people to abandon their desks for a few minutes to take a lap around your building. The options are limitless. Consider your people and plan something that will fit them best.

(FYI: This essay has nothing to do with religion)

Proverbs 3:6 says, “Submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.”

That last part sounds like something a good leader would prioritize, doesn’t it?

And yet, through the years I’ve worked with so many exasperated professionals who felt like their leaders were actively working against them.

What a terrible position from which to operate.

How different it is when a leader is focused on making sure their people have the fewest roadblocks, switchbacks, and impediments to progress.

Everything speeds up. Real progress can be made without wasting time jumping hurdles.

Don’t leave their “path” to chance, and certainly don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be.

Go ahead of them and use your proverbial machete to clear a path in the metaphorical jungle.

Block for them so they have a lane through which to run without being accosted.

Fill a few potholes so they can maximize their progress.

The point is this: as a leader you have the ability to introduce unnecessary chaos or to reduce friction for your people.

Use your influence to make it as easy as possible for them to do great work.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Consider the work in which your people are engaged and look for ways to “block” for them. If you don’t see anything you can immediately improve, ASK them if there are any obstacles you could help clear. REMEMBER: this is not about doing the work for them, it’s about creating friction-free environments in which they can do the work.

Meeting after meeting after meeting. 

End to end for eternity, with some overlapping meetings thrown into the mix for good measure.

Perhaps you can relate.

So, when I came across a sign recently that said, “THIS MEETING COULD HAVE BEEN A FISTFIGHT,” I said a quick prayer for these folks.

Stay strong.

My life couldn’t be more different. 

For example, my assistant and I concluded our bi-weekly meeting yesterday questioning if moving to monthly meetings would be sufficient. 

We started with weekly meetings, but discovered that much of what we discussed in those meetings could have been handled over email, text, or the occasional phone call, if we hadn’t been holding those agenda items back for our meetings.

The scheduled meetings literally slowed us down.

So, instead of meeting, we’ve been trading many more emails and making much more progress together.

You can’t save your people from every meeting, but you have to do your best to insulate them from as many non-essential or counterproductive meetings as possible.

I’m not arguing that ALL meetings are bad.

I’m simply offering that many meetings, perhaps most meetings, are stealing your people’s time, energy, and focus without providing the value they promise.

Your people have a finite amount of time, energy, and focus. Don’t sleep on the opportunity cost of spending those precious resources in ineffective meetings.

Perhaps this meeting shouldn’t have been a fistfight, but an email or a phone call might have worked like a charm.

Leaders help their people think critically about the value and cost of the meetings in which they participate and the meetings to which they invite others.

Coaching leaders for nearly a decade has really driven home that the names and places change, but the challenges are mostly the same.

One of the issues that has vexed almost every client I’ve worked with is a tendency to avoid uncomfortable conversations. 

They have invented a hundred or so really good reasons why this conversation is going to be a problem, but deep down they know it has to happen. Tomorrow. Or maybe the next day. Next week might work best…

If you can relate, you’re absolutely not alone. Many of my client conversations center on helping them have a conversation they’d rather not have.

The antidote to being stuck is often on the other side of a conversation you don’t want to have, so here are three ways to prepare for that conversation so you can get moving again.

Clarify the outcome
If you don’t have complete clarity about what you are trying to accomplish with this conversation, it’s going to feel far more difficult than necessary. Spend a few minutes defining what you want to change. Remember: a conversation is not something to be won. If that’s the goal, you might need to reconsider your motives.

Challenge your assumptions
Some of you are convinced the conversation is a waste of time because you already know how they will react. If you are CERTAIN of this, based on piles of evidence, you have a completely different kind of problem. BUT, if there is the slightest chance that you are allowing assumptions to influence your assessment, it’s time to examine what you believe. Try asking yourself, “how might they see this issue differently than I do?” Or, “how might I be contributing to the friction that exists?” Or, “how would I approach this conversation if I truly cared about them?”

Script the opening
You might feel the need to rehearse the conversation multiple times before you actually have it. Doing so can be a great way to clarify the points you want to make, but the conversation will never go the way you think it will. Instead of trying to script every aspect of the conversation, just script the opening. Come up with a 1 or 2 sentence opener that sets that stage for an authentic, organic exchange. Getting started is always the most difficult part.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Is there a conversation you need to have in order to get unstuck? Find 30 minutes to clarify the outcome, challenge your assumptions, and script the opening…and get that conversation on the calendar. 

I love the idea of delegating until something breaks or things get really stressful.

For example, I was recently navigating a particularly difficult circumstance in my printing company and was overwhelmed by the desire to swoop in and just fix all the things. 

But swooping in and fixing all the things doesn’t give my team an opportunity to 1. learn how to fix similar issues in the future and 2. learn to self-regulate in the face of complex and stressful obstacles.

I had to force myself to pause for a moment and evaluate which parts of the issue required my intervention, and which parts provided an uncomfortable, but valuable learning opportunity for my team.

Your team may need your input or help from time to time, but probably not as often as you think they do.

Skip the rescuing and focus your time and energy on ensuring they have what they need to solve problems for themselves.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Reflect on a situation in which you’ve been the rescuer and identify things you may need to teach your team to ensure they don’t need to be rescued.

They are likely few and far between, but I can say with complete certainty that the song “Grudges” by Paramore changed my marriage for the better.

In the first verse, singer Hayley Williams poses a couple fascinating questions to someone in her life:

When I heard those words I was immediately struck by how often my wife could be asking the same questions of me.

Gross.

This woman is my favorite person on the planet and yet I’m perpetually ready to highlight the handful of things that frustrate me about her. What is that about?

Those two little questions really opened my eyes to how easy it is to crush intimacy and trust by choosing to repeatedly highlight what bothers you about someone.

As a developmental leader, you have the power to influence those you lead for better or worse. The things you choose to highlight will shape how they see themselves and what they believe they are capable of, so choose your words carefully.

This is not to say you shouldn’t address performance issues, but that you should take a constructive approach. Coaches don’t view substandard performances by their players as an opportunity to kick them why they are down. They are looking for ways to lift them up.

Your people will become what you highlight. 

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Who comes to mind as you read this? Consider how you might be contributing to the frustration you are experiencing. Are you creating an environment where they have the greatest opportunity to thrive or does your frustration with them result in greater separation and fewer opportunities to prove you wrong?

The elevator shaft constitutes the center of the tower, with each room wrapping around it, relatively equidistant. 

Which means every room, on every floor, is the worst room in the joint. 

The first night here I thought it was going to make me lose my mind. On night two I was much less aware of it. I expect I won’t notice it at all by the time I leave. 

Adaptability is part of what makes humans so amazing and part of what sets great leaders apart. While some struggle to process environmental changes and help others navigate them in parallel, the best leaders see critical pathways and gracefully alter their behaviors to succeed in new circumstances. 

The problem arises when we allow short term adaptation to result in permanent behaviors. 

Quickly getting used to the sound of a loud elevator is a useful adaptation when you are only visiting for a few days, but it’s also a great way to never fix the elevator. 

Here are three ways to collaborate with your team to survey your workflows for workarounds that still need permanent solutions: 

Do a “Patch vs. Pillar” review - Work with your team to develop a list of workflows and processes that are used regularly. Evaluate them to determine if they were 1) developed in response to a crisis and 2) if they are the best option long-term, or if they mask a more fundamental issue.

Find the anomalies - Probe these workflows and processes to identify which ones are regularly avoided in favor of an alternative method. Interrogate these anomalies for clues as to whether to update the procedures to match best-practice behaviors or update irregular behaviors to match best-practice procedures.

Time travel to the future - Project yourself 18-months into the future and ask yourself if these workflows and processes made it more or less difficult to optimize your efforts for success.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Let your team know you want to evaluate workflows to determine if they are hiding underlying issues that need to be fixed and you need their help. Invite them to share any practices that may be suspect and use 1-1 conversations to ask them about their routines to learn more about what is working and what isn’t.

Lael shares lessons from her leadership journey and we talk about the mindset shift from doing it all yourself to truly leveraging your team, and how embracing the idea of completion over competition has shaped her approach to work and life.

Also: what happens when a self-proclaimed “non-athlete” decides to run four marathons and teach indoor cycling classes? (Spoiler: a lot of humility and a surprising amount of fun.)

This conversation is full of heart, humor, and practical wisdom for anyone looking to lead with more purpose and a bit less pressure.

LinkedIn | Alaska529Plan.com

You certainly have room to grow. We all do.

But this is your friendly reminder that you’re doing better than you think.

How do I know?

It’s a paradox, but the fact that you are concerned about being a good leader is a key indicator that you are focused on developing the skills and traits needed to be a good leader.

The people who are truly failing as leaders won’t be reading this email or stressing out about how they are doing as leaders.

The fact that you worry about being a good leader is proof that you don’t need to worry about being a good leader.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Set aside 5 minutes this week to reflect on the progress you’ve made as a leader in the past year. What have you learned? How have you helped your people overcome obstacles? What new opportunities have you helped them navigate? Spend a few minutes celebrating your progress and reminding yourself that you’re doing just fine.

We unpack common leadership misconceptions, like thinking a one-time meeting invitation counts as fostering openness (spoiler: it doesn’t). Shed shares personal stories—including growing up with a stutter—and reveals how those experiences shaped his deep passion for helping people find their voice. The conversation spans practical strategies, like how to respond when people don’t speak up, and powerful leadership habits like asking, “Tell me more.”

Whether you're leading a team, influencing from the middle, or just trying to make meetings suck less, this episode delivers tools, truths, and a few dad jokes to help you lead with more curiosity, compassion, and consistency.

Learn more about Shed’s work at shedinspires.com or connect with him on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/stephenshedletzky

Not procrastinating. Not distracted. Just…stuck.

I have plenty of other things to do today, and every time I look at the clock it seems to have changed time zones.

I’ve jotted half-thoughts, re-read old notes, written half an essay 3 times....but nothing is quite clicking.

And then I thought, maybe this experience is what I need to write about.

Some days I’m inspired and the words just flow. Other days I wonder if perhaps English isn’t my native language after all.

So perhaps the point of this essay is that we all encounter moments when we try and try, but nothing seems to work the way we hope. 

For me, at this moment, that’s a writing project that won’t cooperate. For you, it might mean a project that feels cursed or someone on your team to whom you can’t seem to get through.

Here’s my reminder to both of us: this is normal.

I don’t know how to write the essays I was trying to write (yet), but I know how to write this one. Sometimes a this-just-isn’t-working experience is telling you to call an audible, to take another path.

If pushing forward isn’t working, pull back. Change your method. Change your setting. Talk it out (call me?). Move your body. Take your hands off the wheel for a bit and trust that your brain is still working the problem in the background.

Leadership isn’t about having every answer, for every problem, on demand. It’s about learning to navigate uncertainty with grace and creativity—and sometimes, just enough stubbornness to keep going.

That’s what I’m doing now.  

Still stuck. Still writing anyway.  

And maybe that’s the point.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: If something isn’t working, try something new. If that doesn’t work, try something weird. This is a game of adaptation. Think like a scientist arriving at the correct answer by eliminating the wrong ones.

You can connect with Travis on LinkedIn or learn more about Golden Valley Electric Association at gvea.com.

Originally from Moldova and now raising three boys in Fairbanks, Alaska, Elena shares how growing up in a different culture shaped her leadership lens—and how blending those perspectives has helped her guide a complex public utility with heart and humility. We explore how she spots and cultivates potential in her team, even before they see it in themselves, and why staying curious is one of her most important leadership strategies.

This conversation is a reminder that great leadership isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about staying open, encouraging others, and learning as you go.

The message was simple: you don’t have to be a perfect parent to become a foster parent, you just have to care.

It seems that a major impediment to recruiting people to take in a child in the foster care system was that people didn’t believe they were “good enough” to be foster parents.

But no one has perfect parents, and these kids just needed someone who would be there for them during a really challenging time.

The same can be said about leadership.

You will never be a perfect leader, but don’t let that stop you from showing up.

Improving your skills is admirable, but the most important thing you can bring to bear is caring about helping your people grow.

You’ll stumble along the way. You will absolutely get it wrong from time to time. But you’ll also have a tremendous impact on the people you choose to lead if you are willing to show up and care.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Write yourself a note and refer to it each morning: Perfection is reserved for people who don’t show up. Showing up is messy, but it's the only way to make a difference.

My free PDF, “100 Questions for Better 1-1 Meetings,” will help you upgrade the 1-1 conversations with your people so you can easily unearth their hidden potential and uncover valuable insights about your organization. Grab it today!

It’s like trying to go for a swim without getting wet.

Here’s a better alternative: create an environment in which no mistakes are wasted.

Mistakes are inevitable. Growth is optional.

The worst kind of mistake is one that gets repeated because no one learned from it.

Focusing on excellence is wonderful. Challenging your people to make their greatest contribution is marvelous.

But aiming for perfection is a fool’s errand and creates an atmosphere in which people are more likely to hide their (valuable) mistakes out of fear.

Instead of learning from their mistakes, they learn to hide mistakes and those mistakes are wasted.

Convincing your people that it’s safe (and desirable) to bring missteps forward will take time and consistent curiosity, but it will fundamentally change the number and kinds of mistakes that happen next.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Tell your staff you want to create a culture where every outcome – successes and failures – are mined for learning opportunities and define 3-5 questions you will use to unearth these insights.

From a 3-hour marathon, to a crisp 60-minute sprint, I saw four people I love graduate from four different schools with one common denominator: everything.

I’m sure this is going to sound a little cynical and act as the perfect reminder that I am aging rapidly, but when you hear half a dozen speakers say the same thing with the complete conviction that they are doing it in the most original way… 

But it’s okay because these ceremonies aren’t supposed to be original. 

They are rites of passage.

They are comforting reminders that hard work should be celebrated and that we need to remind one another about our hopes for the future.

There is a time and place for originality. A time and place for putting away the old way and doing something different. A time to be the enemy of the status quo and chart a new path.

But there is also a time and place for tradition and shared history. A time and place for wearing the uniform and reveling in unity. A time to remind one another that many have gone before and many will come after.

As a leader it can be irresistible to focus exclusively on what’s next, but don’t forget that everyone needs to celebrate their victories and be united by shared experience from time to time.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: What is one way you can leverage tradition (or at least repetition) to help unify your people this week?

My free PDF, “100 Questions for Better 1-1 Meetings,” will help you upgrade the 1-1 conversations with your people so you can easily unearth their hidden potential and uncover valuable insights about your organization. Grab it today!

She also drops gold on how to prep for conferences (spoiler: it’s all about expectations), how to avoid sabotaging your own delegation attempts, and why handing off decisions isn’t abdication—it’s the only path to true interdependence. Oh, and if you’ve ever felt like your job has to be hard to be worthwhile, Tara might just rewire your brain.

Connect with Tara at bellrock.ca or on LinkedIn.

My answer: having the explicit license to not be productive.

I am often so compelled to be working on something that spending AN ENTIRE WEEKEND without a project is a rarity.

It’s not that I can’t find a way to kill a rainy afternoon on the couch watching movies, but that in the back of my mind I usually have a nagging sense that I should be working on something.

Camping is a good reminder to me that an essential part of growth is rest.

Unfortunately, we often think of growth as being synonymous with MORE.

We presume the point of growth to be about doing more, making more, accomplishing more, being more… But some of the most profound growth is about letting go.

We grow when we realize we don’t have to be perfect. We grow when we adopt boundaries that insulate us from experiences that are harmful to us. We grow when we see that being productive isn’t the highest goal and there is a time and place to prioritize renewal. 

Being productive in your work matters, but so does pausing to reflect on whether your effectiveness is being hindered by a project, habit, or mindset that you need to let go of.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Check in with your team…and yourself…by asking, “are there things we need to let go of?”

My free PDF, “100 Questions for Better 1-1 Meetings,” will help you upgrade the 1-1 conversations with your people so you can easily unearth their hidden potential and uncover valuable insights about your organization. Grab it today!

We talk about how practice and preparation show up in his leadership, and the importance of giving team members room to run. Brock reflects on the balance between performance and development, both in athletics and leadership, and how he’s fostering a culture at UAF where people feel trusted, supported, and motivated.

You can connect with Brock here:
LinkedIn
Nanooks Athletics Website

My free PDF, “100 Questions for Better 1-1 Meetings,” will help you upgrade the 1-1 conversations with your people so you can easily unearth their hidden potential and uncover valuable insights about your organization. Grab it today!

He was clearly very new to the sport and spent the majority of the video in the ocean instead of on his surfboard.

Every attempt to stand was a battle between his body, his board, and a massive uncaring ocean.

Stiff arms and wobbly knees, fighting for balance and control.

Meanwhile his instructor was gliding around on the same ocean, on the same waves, with no difficulty.

The instructor was a tiny speck in an unchangeable ocean, and yet he took what the ocean gave him and moved with grace and purpose.

It was a crisp reminder to me that most of us are fighting the waves, when we should be learning to surf. 

The Serenity Prayer highlights the importance of understanding what we can change and what we cannot change, a skill most of us could likely stand to refine.

If you can change something for the better, get to work.

If change isn’t possible from where you sit or given the tools at your disposal, learn to surf.

You can’t bend the ocean to your will, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take what the ocean gives you and turn it into something that works for you and your people.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: There are two layers here: learning to surf and teaching your team to surf. But you can’t teach them to surf if they don’t see you surfing first. Examine the most frustrating parts of your work and ask yourself, “is this something I can change or not?” If not, follow that up with, “what would it look like to ‘surf this wave’ instead of trying to fight it?” Your team needs to see you change the things you have the power to change, and navigate the rest with grace and intentionaltiy.

My free PDF, “100 Questions for Better 1-1 Meetings,” will help you upgrade the 1-1 conversations with your people so you can easily unearth their hidden potential and uncover valuable insights about your organization. Grab it today!

We talk about what drew her into journalism, how she balances creative curiosity with operational excellence, and the unique challenges (and rewards) of helping smart people do their best work. Amy opens up about imposter syndrome, embracing discomfort as part of growth, and the thrill of chasing stories born from pure curiosity. We also dig into how the media landscape is evolving — and why now, more than ever, we need trusted sources and principled editors steering the ship.

This is a conversation about leadership, ambition, and navigating change — and Amy brings both clarity and warmth to all of it.

Connect with Amy:

The sandwiches are the same as they’ve always been, but now I can get a delicious, ice cold Mountain Dew to accompany the meal.

That changes my calculus when choosing a spot to grab a quick bite to eat.

In a similar way, your leadership can be the frosty Mountain Dew that pairs with the work someone on your team loves doing.

(Is this a monumental stretch?)

Just like my restaurant choice can be influenced by the availability of my favorite beverage, the experience your people have at work is directly influenced by their relationship with you.

Here’s a question worth considering: if they had an opportunity to move to another organization and all else was equal, would their relationship with you make it easier for them to stay or easier for them to go?

This is not about pandering to their whims, but about ensuring that you are leading in a way that makes it possible for them to be successful. 

An icy Mountain Dew doesn’t solve every problem, but it sure tilts the scales.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Ask your people if they are getting what they need from you. You’re not trying to meet every preference they have, but to determine if your leadership is creating opportunities for them to be successful or obstacles that are getting in the way of that success.

(PS: Don’t worry, Jersey Mike’s, I would choose you every time if you were in Fairbanks)

My free PDF, “100 Questions for Better 1-1 Meetings,” will help you upgrade the 1-1 conversations with your people so you can easily unearth their hidden potential and uncover valuable insights about your organization. Grab it today!

I sit down with Dean Caravelis—Founder and CEO at Blezoo—to talk about what it really means to lead with intention, creativity, and a deep respect for both your team and your customers. 

Dean has spent nearly two decades helping brands show up in unforgettable ways, and he’s just released his first book, The Experience in a Box Playbook, a brilliant resource for marketing managers and leaders alike.

We get into the weeds of what it means to serve as a leader (sometimes literally taking out the trash), how presentation shapes perception, and why being deeply connected to both your team and your customer is non-negotiable. 

Dean’s philosophy? Business is a playground for meaningful experiences—and every detail matters.

You’ll hear stories, metaphors, and a few laugh-out-loud moments that will leave you thinking about how you show up—for your people, your work, and yourself.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/deancaravelis

Websites: blezoo.com and deancaravelis.com

Before I left, I diligently tied up loose ends and set up my out of office email so that I wouldn’t leave anyone hanging.

It was a blissful week of sun, sand, and sea. And naps.

And then I came home and reconnected to all the things.

I was greeted with a couple of text messages – a medium with no out of office functionality – from a client asking for feedback who likely spent the week wondering (at least once or twice) why I was ignoring them.

In that moment I realized that I needed to start proactively reaching out to clients with my upcoming availability before disconnecting.

I added the behavior to my travel prep checklist and now this gap won’t exist next time.

As leaders we need to be constantly collecting feedback (did this work?) and iterating our habits (let’s try tweaking this…) to ensure we are being more effective tomorrow than we were yesterday.

Helping your team grow into their potential starts with you consistently embracing the opportunity to do it better next time.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Reflect on the past week and identify anything that could have worked smoother. Identify something you can do (try?) to improve it and “install” it in your process for next time.

My free PDF, “100 Questions for Better 1-1 Meetings,” will help you upgrade the 1-1 conversations with your people so you can easily unearth their hidden potential and uncover valuable insights about your organization. Grab it today!

We talk about how chaos fuels her creativity, how she mentors her team using a practical coaching method called GROW, and how her introversion hasn’t stopped her from becoming one of the most connected and influential people in the company. Anna also shares her distaste for “that’s not my job” thinking, the power of delegation (and Dolly Parton children’s books), and what it really means to advocate for yourself—and for others.

Anna’s story is packed with insight, warmth, and just the right amount of Red Sox/Yankees trash talk. You’re going to love this one.

Connect with Anna:

LinkedIn: Anna Gould

Neo wouldn’t have escaped the Matrix (and did whatever the hell he did in the second and third movies) without Morpheus.

Do we really think Katniss and Peeta survive the Hunger Games without Haymitch – flawed as he was – as their guide?

To those you lead, you are a guide. You help them see opportunities they may not see and master abilities they haven’t yet developed.

To them, you are Yoda, or Morpheus, or Gandalf, or Mr. Miyagi.

And before they had you to show them the way, you had your own guide(s) who helped you.

This is your reminder that your role as a guide is incredibly important, as was the work of the one(s) who guided you.

None of us realize our full potential on our own. 

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Reflect on the people who have helped you transcend your limiting beliefs and develop unexpected capabilities…and take a moment to thank them. 

My free PDF, “100 Questions for Better 1-1 Meetings,” will help you upgrade the 1-1 conversations with your people so you can easily unearth their hidden potential and uncover valuable insights about your organization. Grab it today!

We talk about what real servant leadership looks like, why preparation is everything, and how leading well means planning your exit by developing the people behind you. Marc also shares why he believes satisfaction doesn’t mean stagnation, and how being a lifelong learner—and listener—has shaped every chapter of his leadership journey. From fighter jet missions to multimillion-dollar transportation projects, Marc’s humility and perspective are a masterclass in calm, confident leadership.

If you’ve ever wrestled with making tough calls without perfect information, or if you’re trying to lead others through service rather than control, you’re going to love this conversation.

They wanted to fix things, so they went to see a marriage counselor.

The marriage counselor listened to their problems and advised them to wait 6-months until Valentine’s Day, go have a spectacular date – really pull out all the stops, and that should fix things. 

John and Jane were taken aback.

”Isn’t there anything we should be working on on a daily basis?” They asked.

“Nope,” replied the counselor, “just carve out some time once a year for a massive gesture and your relationship will be saved.

I expect this little work of fiction sounds incredibly stupid to you, because it’s obvious that a healthy relationship requires a lot more care and feeding than an annual blockbuster event can provide.

The same thing applies to the growth and development of your people.

The annual conference you send them to can be a huge benefit to them, but it’s not enough.

The annual review is important, but it can’t be the primary feedback they get from you.

The quarterly training is helpful, but only if its content is put into routine practice.

Growth isn’t the result of the thing you do once in a while, it’s the result of the thing you practice.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Instead of focusing most of your effort on the annual retreat or the annual reviews, spend the bulk of your time thinking about the daily, weekly, and monthly habits that are helping you and your team level up with consistency.

My free PDF, “100 Questions for Better 1-1 Meetings,” will help you upgrade the 1-1 conversations with your people so you can easily unearth their hidden potential and uncover valuable insights about your organization. Grab it today!

We discuss what makes Alaska’s airports different from the rest of the country, how she leads large and geographically distant teams, and the critical role airports play as lifelines to rural communities. From breakfast pizzas to robotic wildlife mitigation dogs (yes, seriously), Angie shares what it means to run a “mini-city” where customer experience, safety, and community connection all matter.

You’ll hear her passion for servant leadership, her belief in developing people, and why she believes public service isn’t just about compliance—it’s about building something meaningful.

I love hearing about how a certain song uses a sample from a James Bond movie, but they reversed it and chopped it up and turned it into a hook that most people would never know wasn’t wholly original.

And it’s wild to me to think that every song I’ve ever loved was built on a foundational palette of 12 tones.

The piano sitting next to me has 88 keys, but it’s just 12 notes repeating in ascending scales. 

The Rolling Stones used the same 12 tones as Metallica and James Brown and Norah Jones and Mozart and Alice in Chains.

So, the next time you feel constrained by resources and wish you had more options at your fingertips, just remember that David Bowie turned those 12 tones into “Space Oddity” while Toto turned them into “Rosanna.”

Constraints – like the 12-tone scale in music – can leave you feeling under-resourced and frustrated, or they can be a catalyst for creative output that can truly separate your team from the pack.

Leadership is about helping your team make the most of what you have.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: The next time you need to brainstorm solutions ask yourself how the constraints that exist could be an advantage. Introduce additional constraints – like, how would we do this if our budget was slashed in half or what if we had 6 days instead of 6 months – when you brainstorm with your team to help stir up ideas you would never have uncovered from a singular perspective.

We dig into what makes Page Two’s hybrid model so compelling for thought leaders and entrepreneurs, why books still matter in a TikTok world, and how Jesse has intentionally shaped both her team and her leadership approach through real collaboration, curiosity, and a deep respect for the human experience.

Jesse also opens up about navigating co-leadership, parenting while scaling a business, and what acceptance has taught her about progress. If you’re thinking about writing a book—or simply want to lead with more humanity—this one’s for you.

Connect with Jesse:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessefinkelstein/
Page Two: https://pagetwo.com/submissions

My free PDF, “100 Questions for Better 1-1 Meetings,” will help you upgrade the 1-1 conversations with your people so you can easily unearth their hidden potential and uncover valuable insights about your organization. Grab it today!

There was a legitimate feeling of increased status and cachet in having such a direct connection to a rich, famous, superstar.

Except there was one big problem.

In addition to the fact that Dream Geoff had no recollection of ever having met Kelly, he was also married to our actual wife, Nicole, of whom we are both quite fond.

Dream Geoff was trying to sort out if it was legal to be married to two different people – as long as they lived in separate states – when I woke up.

I’m sure Kelly Clarkson is great, but it was a relief to wake up next to Nicole because I love Nicole.

And Nicole is real. 

In our 28 years of marriage, we’ve weathered a few storms, had a few laughs, raised a human, and been teammates in the trenches. 

Day in and day out, we’ve made it work together.

And that’s better than a sudden connection to fame and fortune.

Throughout your career you might find yourself in situations where ingratiating yourself to someone with money, or power, or influence feels like a great way to improve your status.

Just don’t do it at the expense of those who have been there, day in and day out.

And don’t confuse clever networking with loyalty and actual concern. 

Transactional relationships are fleeting. Don’t believe the hype.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Make a list of five people who matter most to your real-life leadership journey—and ask yourself: When’s the last time I invested in that relationship? This week, do something to reconnect or reinforce at least one of them.

We talk about baseball as a metaphor for leadership, what leaders can learn from kindergarten teachers, and how storytelling—even if it’s imperfect—can be a powerful tool for connection.

Luke reflects on difficult decisions like school closures, shares how he builds a leadership culture of distributed ownership, and reminds us that even in complex systems, simple, clear, actionable goals can drive meaningful change. 

His passion for lifelong learning, his humility in navigating criticism, and his commitment to getting into schools and staying connected to students and staff alike make this a must-listen for anyone in a leadership role.

Connect with Luke:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lmeinert907
Instagram: @drlukemeinert

My free PDF, “100 Questions for Better 1-1 Meetings,” will help you upgrade the 1-1 conversations with your people so you can easily unearth their hidden potential and uncover valuable insights about your organization. Grab it today!

I’m no sleep expert, but we chatted about how he responded to this nocturnal frustration and something struck me.

Every time he woke up unexpectedly, he grabbed his phone and scrolled social media in an attempt to settle his mind and return to sleep.

And he scrolled and scrolled, night after night, unable to find rest.

Regardless of how you rate the soothing properties of Instagram, the thing that immediately jumped out at me was that he did the exact same thing every night, hoping it would produce different results.

I offered a couple alternatives that I employed from time to time and each was summarily rejected because it “wouldn’t work” for him.

And yet he was happy to grab his phone each night, a method that was already proven to be ineffective.

Here’s a wild approach: when the thing you are trying isn’t working, try something else.

When the results you are hoping for aren’t realized through the actions you are taking, act differently.

It’s not rocket science.

I don’t know exactly what you’re wrestling with right now, but I do know that the only way to get new results is to incorporate new behaviors.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Identify something you’d like to change and try a new method for producing that change this week. Do something WILD that you’re sure won’t work and see what happens. I can’t guarantee your new method will work, but I can guarantee that you’ll never find yourself closer to a solution if you keep doing the same things.

* Yes, he said I could share this…

My free PDF, “100 Questions for Better 1-1 Meetings,” will help you upgrade the 1-1 conversations with your people so you can easily unearth their hidden potential and uncover valuable insights about your organization. Grab it today!

Heather’s career spans high-profile roles in government, corporate communications, and now agency leadership, and she brings a wealth of perspective on building strong teams and maintaining high standards while fostering genuine support for her people.

We talk about what it takes to “leave your ego at the door,” why humility and accountability are essential leadership traits, and how surrounding yourself with talented, driven colleagues can accelerate everyone’s growth. 

Heather also shares how she balances high expectations with flexibility, adapts to generational shifts in the workplace, and why community involvement is both personally meaningful and professionally valuable.

Whether you’re leading a small team or a large organization, Heather’s insights on judgment, trust, and culture are a masterclass in modern leadership.

Connect with Heather: LinkedIn

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results—without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

On a recent camper trip, Nicole and I found ourselves across the path from a pair of couples with tents.

On the morning of their departure it was fascinating to watch both couples go about dismantling their tents to pack everything into a pair of Jeep Wranglers.

One couple was orderly and rehearsed. They had what appeared to be a checklist and were methodically working together – and in parallel – to pack up for the next stage of their adventure. It was evident, as I eavesdropped, that they had done this before. They seemed to have complete clarity about what they were trying to accomplish and how to best accomplish it.

The other couple was a bit more haphazard. Not fully chaotic, but they were negotiating every step of the process as though it were new to them. There was more tension in their verbal exchanges and they found themselves packing, unpacking, and repacking when things didn’t fit as they hoped.

Their lack of clarity and iffy communication was making it more difficult for them to move quickly and efficiently.

The orderly couple finished roughly the same task set much faster and with markedly less frustration.

(Side note: Nicole and I have been both couples along the way.)

This campsite vignette highlights an important difference between regular teams and Impossibly Effective teams.

Impossibly Effective teams have incredible clarity about what they are here to do and how they need to do it. And every time they do the thing they do, they learn how to do it better. 

Everyone knows their role and they have established processes and protocols that ensure there is no room for confusion, and no need for frustration.

Both kinds of teams get the job done, but Impossibly Effective teams do so faster and happier.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Ask your people, “what is the most important work on your plate this week?” Follow it up with, “How do you know?” to learn what they see as their destination and how they prioritize their work to get there. The tone is curious, not challenging.

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results—without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

In this episode, I sit down with Amber Zins, Chief Operating Officer at Northrim Bank, to talk about building leaders by growing your own, setting clear guardrails, and giving people runway. 

Amber traces her path from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, south to KPMG in Anchorage, and onto Northrim bank.

We dig into steadying emotion at work, learning by doing (yes, rolling up your sleeves at the teller line), and budgeting your minutes so both family and team get your best. 

You’ll hear practical wisdom on self-advocacy, intentional development vs. “plug-and-play” hiring, and why progress beats perfection every time. 

Also: a reminder that, like it or not, leadership and parenting are a lot alike.

Clarity is the most powerful lever leaders have to influence the success of their team.

Ensuring your people have complete clarity about the desired outcome, their role in the work ahead, the timeline, and how their work interrelates to the work others are doing is the single most important thing a leader can do to help them win.

And the best test for whether this clarity exists?

It’s not what you think.

The best test is not tracking how their actions map to the mission or how well they are collaborating.

The best indicator of complete clarity is what they say “NO” to.

The true test of clarity isn’t what happens when everything is hunky dory, the true test of clarity comes when something seeks to muddy the waters and your people refuse to be distracted.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Don’t assume your people already feel empowered to say “NO” when a course of action is about to impede progress on the desired outcome. Explicitly invite your people to push back, probe, and say “NO” when presented with a path that doesn’t help move the team toward their goals.

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results—without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

For years you’ve been fed a message suggesting that the ideal relationship between your work life and your personal life is one of balance. 

An implied 1:1 ratio.

This ratio is not only generally impossible, but it completely betrays your own preferred mix.

I’ve talked to so many people who feel a strong sense of tension about this relationship. 

Not because they hate how much they are working, but because they enjoy working more (or less) but are convinced they should be pursuing balance.

If they are thriving in an imbalanced equation, they feel tension because they believe they are doing it wrong.

Here’s my take: it’s not about balance, it’s about proportion.

Your desired proportion will look different from mine. 

Your desired proportion will change over time. 

Your desired proportion has nothing to do with what everyone else is doing.

The goal is not to match a social consensus for how much it’s okay to work (or not work), but to be checking in with yourself about your desired proportion in a given season and how to engineer circumstances that honor it.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Consider how your work fits into your life at the moment. Does it make sense for you? Do you want to incorporate new boundaries or do you want to spend some extra time working on an exciting professional pursuit? Take responsibility for understanding your desired proportion and acting in ways that get you more of what you want. 

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results—without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

“If fitness isn’t in your top three priorities, it won’t happen.”

When Caleb Whittle left the CMO chair for the weight room, he had no idea he was about to reshape how high performers think about fitness. 

Caleb now helps executives and leaders cut through the noise—ditching fad diets and overcomplicated routines—in favor of simple, sustainable habits that actually work.

In this conversation, we cover why fitness is about more than looking good in a suit, how small daily decisions compound into lasting energy and focus, and why “non-negotiables” like steps can keep you on track even when life (or travel) gets chaotic. Caleb also shares why data matters, how to dismantle excuses, and the surprising truth about nutrition that most of us don’t want to hear.

Along the way, you’ll learn why he believes “starting your day with failure” is the best way to win, how to make fitness work in the middle of a jam-packed executive schedule, and why sustainable change starts with awareness, not motivation.

Connect with Caleb: LinkedIn

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results—without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

I was really excited to cross paths and I asked them how they were doing after all this time.

They laughed, told me they were well, and said they feel like they “see me” all the time because they get these messages.

It’s a worthy reminder that the people around you are paying attention, even if you don’t realize it.

They know what you say and they know what you do. And they are constantly checking for alignment.

There will be very few occasions when they will tell you about their observations, if they ever do at all, but observations are being collected.

I don’t share this to make you paranoid, but as a friendly reminder that leaders can’t discount ANY of the choices they make about how to “show up.”

The people you lead need you to be the person you say you are.

They need your actions to prove your words.

They need you to be saturated with integrity.

They don’t need you to be perfect, but they do need you to acknowledge (and learn from) your mistakes.

(A leader who doesn’t make mistakes feels fake. And a leader who conceals mistakes can’t be trusted.)

No matter what you do, assume you’re doing it in front of everyone and act accordingly.

TRY THIS: Pick one situation where your words and actions might be out of sync and close the gap.

Maybe you’ve been preaching “work-life balance” but regularly send late-night emails.

Maybe you’ve told your team you value their ideas but haven’t asked for input in a while.

Maybe you’ve said you’re open to feedback but haven’t actually invited any.

Identify the spot, acknowledge it (out loud if appropriate), and then adjust your behavior to bring your actions into alignment with your words.

It doesn’t have to be dramatic. Even a small correction shows your people that you notice, you care, and you’re committed to integrity.

In this conversation, Nicole – who also happens to be my wife – opens up about her journey from “accidental leader” to executive decision-maker, and the surprising lessons she’s learned along the way.

We talk about the evolution of her leadership style, from sweating every detail to realizing not everything is a crisis. 

Nicole shares why she believes HR should be a strategic partner rather than the “police,” and how her team strives to support the people who care for patients every day. 

She also reflects on the value of informal mentors, the power of emotional intelligence, and the importance of being intentional in relationships at work.

This is easily the most unusual conversation I’ve recorded, but I think you’re going to love it.

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results—without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

And yet I couldn’t believe I had never heard it before.

I was walking through Costco on a particularly rainy Saturday morning when I heard a worker conclude an interaction with a customer by saying, “enjoy the rain!”

The person was being wholly genuine and my attention was immediately captured because I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone use that phrase before.

The idea that a rainy day is something to be enjoyed isn’t new. I know plenty of people, myself very much included, who love a good rainy day.

The sounds, the smells, the overall indoorsiness of it all. Delicious.

But, the idea that we should encourage people to enjoy a rainy day was new to me.

We encourage people to enjoy the sunshine, but rarely to enjoy the rain.

In fact, when I looked up ways to describe a rainy day, the results were words like dismal and melancholy and somber.

This matters because leaders like you shape how people think about the circumstances around them.

Is the challenge your team is facing something to be endured or something to be enjoyed?

Is it possible for you to shape the answer to that question?

TRY THIS: Identify a difficulty your team is currently navigating and probe for opportunities to redeem it. How is this making us better, smarter, stronger? What if solving problems like this was akin to achieving a new personal best at the gym? What if this circumstance is actually made much worse by the way we talk about it.

The goal isn’t to pretend that everything is sunshine and rainbows.

The goal is to determine if it might actually be possible to enjoy the rain.

In this conversation, I talk with Amanda Langhorst, Program Director of the Applied Management program and Instructor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks College of Business and Security Management. 

We talk about the power of self-advocacy, why listening is the most underrated management skill, and how purpose and impact can transform both classrooms and workplaces. 

Amanda shares her perspective on what today’s students need to thrive, what managers can learn from career counseling, and why leadership doesn’t have to fit one mold.

Her insights are practical, encouraging, and deeply human—perfect for leaders who want to help their people grow.

Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results—without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

It was after 6PM and the guy behind the meat counter at my local grocery store hadn’t heard the word “please” yet during his nearly completed shift.

“That’s a rough streak,” I replied.

“I mean, I can’t say ‘no’ if they don’t say ‘please’, but, you know…”

I translated his incomplete sentence to mean, “it’s still nice to hear, even if it is my job to provide a service.”

We exchanged a few pleasantries and he went out of his way to ensure my order was packed up quickly and neatly.

It was a good reminder that great leaders don’t reserve words like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ for the times when someone goes way out of their way, they spread them around like they are fertilizing a lawn.

Or fertilizing their people.

If you want to unlock your people, don’t withhold gratitude, appreciation, and basic human courtesy just because they are on the job.

TRY THIS: Say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ this week like you’re a 5 year old that just learned a swear word. Go out of your way to observe people and express appreciation. Go out of your way to reinforce courtesy and humanity with every directive.

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results—without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

You wouldn’t believe how much didn’t make it into the final cut.

Today I’m joined by Meadow Riedel, External Affairs Manager for Kinross Alaska, whose 25+ year communications career has intersected with some of Alaska’s most vital industries. 

From leading crisis response during the 2018 Anchorage earthquake to fostering trust-based partnerships in mining, Meadow shares candid insights on patience, delegation, and the art of listening. 

We talk about what it takes to move from doing everything yourself to empowering others, why lifelong learning is non-negotiable, and how leaders can balance transparency with speed in moments of crisis. 

Along the way, Meadow offers wisdom on parenting, embracing imperfection, and building resilience.

Connect with Meadow on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/meadowbailey

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results—without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

Every Major League Baseball player works on the fundamentals of baseball every day.

They hit, they throw, and they catch. Before every single game.

They are the best of the best. The top 1% of the top 1%.

And every day they work on the basics.

I find this fascinating because you would think the most elite players would be the ones most likely to roll their eyes at fielding 100 more ground balls or doing sprint work in the outfield.

But they don’t. Because they know it is their mastery of the fundamentals that makes them elite.

The same is true in the context of leadership: Impossibly Effective leaders are constantly working on the fundamentals of leadership.

It’s the folks mired in mediocrity who are most likely to cross their arms and do a big huffy breath at the prospect of spending time on the fundamentals.

You will never be a perfect communicator. Work on it every day.

You will never be a perfect delegator. Work on it every day.

You will never create an atmosphere of perfect clarity for your team. Work on it every day.

You will never develop the perfect suite of systems. Work on them every day.

You will never give perfect feedback. Work on it every day.

The irony is the leaders most focused on improving at the small things are mostly likely to attract followers that will help them move mountains.

And the leaders who are most convinced that the fundamentals are beneath them are the leaders few want to follow.

TRY THIS: Give at least one piece of helpful encouragement or correction every day this week. Don’t wait for a formal 1-1, just observe and deploy. It doesn’t need to be monumental, just useful. Keep it short, kind, and clear. Pay attention to how people respond to learn more about how to tailor feedback to their needs.

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results—without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

I want to introduce you to Steve Pratt.

Steve’s response to my opening question, “what makes you weird,” was so good that I basically scrapped the rest of my questions and just enjoyed the ride.

From producing offbeat kids’ shows to co-founding Pacific Content—the world’s first branded podcast agency—Steve has made a life out of leaning into the unusual.

In our conversation, Steve shares how embracing what makes us weird can set leaders apart, why experiments (from growing a beard to quitting alcohol) can unlock new insights, and what it really means to earn attention in a world where interruption no longer works. 

We also dive into his book Earn It, his “Midlife Field Guide” project, and the surprising gifts that come from treating your audience—or your team—with generosity.

If you’ve ever wondered how to stand out, stay relevant, and bring more humanity into your work, Steve’s stories will leave you inspired to try your own experiments.

Connect with Steve Pratt:
LinkedIn
stevepratt.com
Midlife Field Guide

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results—without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

The goal is not to make more mistakes. That goal is to make more interesting mistakes.

Because making the same mistakes over and over again is also known as “incompetence.”

Making mistakes can be a valuable pathway to growth, but growth implies that those mistakes teach us something so that we can move on to the next, more interesting mistakes.

An example:

When running the bases in an important game, Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. made an aggressive turn at third base in an attempt to score. 

He was thrown out at the plate, but his manager applauded the gamble because it put pressure on the defense to perform perfectly. 

The result wasn’t what he hoped for, but the decision to force the action made sense.

This kind of “mistake” is very different from another moment, in another game, when he booted a ball hit right to him. 

That one was frustrating. Because he’s a professional baseball player and it’s his job to catch the balls hit right to him.

Your people need to understand that mistakes are inevitable in an environment where fast, fearless execution is the norm.

But they also need to understand that not all mistakes are created equal.

TRY THIS: Remind your team that it’s okay to make interesting mistakes when they are testing something new, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to fail at the fundamentals.

In this episode of Leadership Huddle, Scott McCrea, President and CEO of Explore Fairbanks, joins me to talk about humor, humility, and leading an organization that tells a community’s story, but I completely forgot to ask him about being a 3-time winner of the Chatanika Outhouse Races.

Thankfully we covered a lot of other good ground. A lifelong Alaskan with a background in journalism, Scott shares how curiosity, clear communication, and the courage to admit “I don’t know” have shaped his leadership. He also opens up about being an introvert leading in an extroverted industry, what it means to create space for experimentation, and how embracing “weirdness” can make us better leaders.

This is a conversation about owning your strengths, trusting your people, and keeping your sense of humor intact—no outhouse-racing experience required.

Connect with Scott McCrea on LinkedIn
Learn more at explorefairbanks.com

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results—without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

One of my favorite things to see on a baseball field is not something you’d ever expect.

If I gave you 162 guesses, I’m absolutely certain you’d never guess it.

It’s not a grand slam. It’s not a triple. It’s not a bunt to an undefended part of the infield that results in a double.

It’s not a triple play or a no hitter.

It’s when one batter makes an out, but then whispers in the ear of the next batter to share some insight about what they should be looking for.

I love it because in moments like these, players become coaches to their teammates.

I ran a leadership cohort for 8 years and each year there would be this magical moment when students would stop talking to me during a discussion and start talking to one another. 

One student would share an opportunity or obstacle they were navigating and the others students would offer their insights directly to help them win.

The information didn’t need to flow through me anymore. I was just a delighted observer.

If all the coaching is flowing from you – “the leader” – down to your team, there is a wealth of information and insight that is being wasted. Not to mention time.

Encourage your people to look for answers horizontally before they go vertical and knock on your door.

TRY THIS:
Practice these simple behaviors in the meetings you run:
1. When someone has an issue or question that doesn’t require your exclusive insight or feedback, hold on a beat or two before answering. Give others in the room a chance to chime in.
2. If no one else chimes in, try asking, “who else has run into something like this before?”

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results—without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

When Chris Rouw and his colleagues left stable jobs to launch Far Reach, they didn’t have a perfect business model. And within a few months of taking the leap into the world of entrepreneurship, they had to shift gears and take their business in an unexpected direction.

In this conversation, Chris shares how that experience shaped his approach to leadership, clarity, and problem-solving. We talk about writing code “with Mom in mind,” the art of advocating for your people, and why every leader needs to step away from the work at hand long enough for good ideas to find them.

From parenting twins on the autism spectrum to building a company that values empathy and ownership, Chris’s story is an inspiring reminder that clarity and connection often grow from uncertainty.

Connect with Chris on LinkedIn
Learn more about Far Reach: www.farreachinc.com

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results—without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

I record my podcast using a Shure SM7B microphone.

The Shure SM7B is an incredibly popular microphone for podcasters and I think most people use it because most people use it.

It looks like a professional broadcast microphone, it sounds great, and, oh by the way, you’re going to see one (or more) in almost every video clip from a podcast.

Most people aren’t going to do the homework to figure out what makes a great podcast mic. They are just going to do the thing they see other podcasters doing.

Instead of becoming more self-aware, or really trying to understand our people, we just do the things we see other leaders doing. 

You might not even know why you do some of the things you do. 

You’ve seen leaders you respect acting in a certain way, so you also act that way.

But the way you show up as a leader can’t be a random construct born out of blindly adopting habits other leaders demonstrate.

You can learn a lot from other leaders and adopt their best practices, but you have to know why you are doing it.

Copying their work is a fantastic shortcut, but only if their work solves a problem relevant to you and your team..

Becoming an Impossibly Effective leader isn’t about employing the greatest catalog of tips and tricks.

It is about making intentional choices about how YOU will show up as a leader and adopting behaviors that help you become the leader you want to be. 

TRY THIS:
Imagine that every person on your team is about to write a “leadership reference” for you to take into a new job search. 

Consider what you would like to see in those references and whether your current habits and behaviors support that outcome. What needs to be added to your repertoire? What needs to be removed? 

The more specific you are about the kind of leader you hope they see, the easier it will be to compare your current methods to a set of revised best practices.

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results—without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

Technology conspired against me, but the show must go on, so I pressed some buttons, turned some dials, and figured it out.

Stephen J Kohler  is the author of The Leadership Anthem and founder of Audira Labs, where he helps leaders unlock their potential through the lens of music. In our conversation, we explored how curiosity fuels both great bands and great organizations, why listening is the first step to leadership, and how improvisation creates space for innovation. 

Stephen shared powerful lessons from his ensemble leadership model, including why every one of us is a leader, what it looks like to “conduct” or “produce” others, and why sometimes the most important role you can play is simply being a fan of your team.

We also talked about the courage it takes to trust your intuition, the practice of asking better questions, and how leaders can transform meetings into spaces of discovery rather than obligation.

Stephen’s blend of corporate experience, creativity, and musical wisdom makes for a conversation you won’t want to miss.

Connect with Stephen on LinkedIn
stephenjkohler.com

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results—without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

The end of the song “Blink” hits me with the lyric, “the truth was bad, but the lie was worse,” and I had to sit down and write about it.

And because I’m feeling generous today, I’m going to hit you with TWO ways this simple lyric relates to leadership.

We’ve seen it over and over again: someone does something they shouldn’t have and, instead of taking responsibility and facing the consequences, they try to hide their misdeeds and end up getting fully torched when the truth inevitably surfaces. 

The truth was bad, but the lie was worse. 

Owning a mistake has the potential to BUILD trust because doing so is difficult. A genuine apology – one that says I know what I did wrong, why it was wrong, and here’s what I’m going to do about it – is a powerful medicine. It also demonstrates that no one is infallible and everyone on this team learns, grows, and improves.

But lying, and likely lying about lying, wrecks your credibility in ways that are infinitely more damaging.

The urge to gloss over a difficult truth with an underperforming team member can feel irresistible. But resist we must! 

We rationalize skipping crucial conversations because the truth is going to be a bitter pill to swallow. But withholding the truth is just another kind of lie. Withholding the truth implies things are just fine. But if things aren’t just fine, we owe our people the truth.

The truth was bad, but the lie was worse.

Having the difficult conversations lets people know where they really stand and gives them the best chance possible to understand their shortcomings and overcome them.

Having the difficult conversation gives us the opportunity to build trust by demonstrating that, good or bad, you will always be straight with them. No secrets. No surprises. 

TRY THIS:
There’s no faster way to build trust than telling the truth when it would be easier not to. Find one opportunity this week to be courageously clear, even if it’s awkward, even if it’s humbling. Honesty is leadership’s shortcut to trust.

As Dean of the UAF College of Engineering and Mines, Bill brings a performer’s energy to leadership, blending humility, humor, and humanity in every interaction. 

In this conversation, we explore how he connects performance with purpose, why he views leadership as a service role, and how “decoupling” ourselves from our titles can help us build more authentic connections. 

Bill also shares his “origin story” at UAF, his love for engaging new students, and how he’s navigating a time of massive change in higher education with optimism and realism.

Whether you’re leading a classroom, a company, or a team of engineers, Bill’s reflections on curiosity, collaboration, and courage will stick with you.

Connect with Bill on LinkedIn

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results—without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

And I think it’s because we’re thinking about comparison all wrong.

The problem most of us have with comparison isn’t really about comparison at all. 

Without comparison we literally can’t know what better looks like. 

Our problem with comparison lies in what we compare ourselves to. And why.

We’ve convinced ourselves that, “comparison is the thief of joy,” but in reality comparing ourselves to the wrong things, for the wrong reasons, is the true thief of joy.

When we compare outcomes like financial success, popularity, and professional accolades we make ourselves miserable. We become envious, bitter, and turn ourselves into victims when we focus on all the things they have that we don’t.

But what if you compared habits instead?

What if you looked at all the people who have the best outcomes (as you define them) and compared your habits to theirs?

What if instead of saying, “I need to be as good as they are at X,” you said, “I need to be as good as I can be at X and they are modeling the habits that will help me maximize my potential.”

You stop trying to become them, and simply adopt their best habits.

Comparison doesn’t have to be an exercise in self-flagellation. 

It can be a hopeful exercise to help you identify how you can intentionally lean into your potential by copying someone else’s homework.

TRY THIS:
Identify a leader who is getting the results you’d like to get, and brainstorm what you see them doing differently than you. Bonus points for reaching out to them for a candid conversation. 

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

In this episode, I talk with Megan Baldino, now Vice President of Operations Communications at CenterPoint Energy, about her journey from journalist to corporate leader, and how taking bold leaps shaped her life. From paddling the Yukon River for three months to leading national communications for global brands, Megan’s story blends courage, reinvention, and the kind of wisdom you can only earn by saying yes before you’re ready.

We explore how empathy, humor, and emotional intelligence can turn even the hardest transitions into opportunities to grow stronger, and how the best leaders make space for others to shine.

Connect with Megan on LinkedIn

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results—without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

I like to take hot showers as soon as I wake up, but doing so pumps a lot of moisture into the air. So I need to run the fan in my bathroom for a while to pull that wet air out of the house. Especially at -30.

But the fan in my bathroom is connected to one of the lights in my bathroom, so if I turn off that light, I turn off the fan.

A normal person would just flip the other switches in the bathroom to turn off all the lights except the one connected to the bathroom fan, but I am a gigantic nerd who wanders around telling Siri to turn lights on and off all day, so this is an issue of great complexity for me.

But when I tell Siri to turn off the lights in that bathroom, the fan turns off as well.

So after years of either leaving all the lights on (instead of touching physical switches) or calling out individual commands for the lights I actually want to to turn off, I finally spent 5 minutes building a simple scene that turns off all the lights in the bedroom and the bathroom, except for the light connected to the fan.

This should have been an obvious and accessible solution because I already have scenes for all sorts of things.

I have a scene that turns on the lights in my office and starts playing classical music when I’m ready to get to work.

I have a scene that locks all the doors at night and turns off the lights around the house for bedtime.

I have a scene that turns off ALL the lights, including the exterior lights for optimal movie viewing, and another that turns them back on again.

But I hadn’t taken a very few minutes to solve this simple problem by spending a few minutes to build a system that would serve me over and over again.

There is something you or your team is dealing with right now that would be made exponentially simpler by investing a small amount of time to systematize.

The short term pain of documenting the process or programming the software or rearranging the shared spreadsheet will pale in comparison to the time savings that is realized over and over and over again.

TRY THIS: Whichever repetitive problem bubbled to the surface while you’ve been reading this is where you start. If you don’t already know what to do, gather your team and ask what could be done to automate or systematize the problem so that it isn’t a problem anymore. A small investment now will save you hours in the long run.

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results—without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

Instead Donnie went on to become a Parks Director, now the Director of Parks and Recreation for Missouri City, Texas, and his whole world changed for the better.

In this conversation we explore what leadership looks like when joy and service are at its core. 

Donnie shares how a single criticism from his childhood shaped his belief that every person deserves to feel seen and capable, and how that purpose drives his work creating spaces where communities thrive.

We talk about the danger of control, the courage to trust, and how his “Why and Where” meetings help staff connect to their purpose and to one another. 

Donnie’s blend of heart, humor, and humility will remind you why leadership is really about creating safety, building trust, and seeing potential in others long before they see it in themselves.

Connect with Donnie on LinkedIn

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

Be the same person every day.

You can change and grow over time, but your people need you to lead with a consistent demeanor day-to-day.

Don’t be a fun uncle/aunt one day and a strict parent the next.

Don’t rally the troops around a great idea only to completely shift gears in a day or two.

Don’t be a high five machine on Tuesday and then a scathing critic on Wednesday.

Your people need to know what they can expect from you. They need to trust you to be the same person every day.

Sure, you’re going to have days where you have to offer more correction than others. Or days when you have to redirect the workload because a plan just isn’t working. 

But these expressions of leadership should feel like facets of a person your people know well, not like The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

I’m a Yankee fan every day. Some days that’s a lot of fun and on others it’s frustrating. But none of my friends ever wonder if I’m still a Yankee fan today.

Your favorite chain restaurant is successful because it’s pretty much the same where you live as it is where I live. Knowing what to expect is part of the desired experience.

TRY THIS: Ask for feedback from your people. During your next 1-1’s, let them know you’ve been thinking a lot of the value of consistency and being trustworthy in your execution. Ask if there are times when they aren’t sure what they are going to get from you. Listen and adapt.

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

Along the way he sent a few reference tracks, finished songs from popular artists that could illustrate the mood he wanted me to capture.

I listened to one of them and then told him: I can’t do that.

I offered alternative approaches I could effectively execute, but it was incredibly liberating to just acknowledge that the thing he wanted was not a thing I could provide.

Doing so didn’t diminish the other things I am good at. 

Doing so wasn’t an admission of wholesale incompetence. 

It was just a genuine and direct acknowledgment that the thing he wanted wasn’t something I could do for him.

Instead of saying YES to something and bashing my head into a wall because I wasn’t actually equipped to make it happen, I just owned the gap in my abilities.

This approach, one that leaders everywhere should consider from time to time, requires just two things:

The self-awareness to understand your present capabilities and the confidence to know that you have plenty of value to offer, but not necessarily to everyone in every circumstance.

Sometimes the best thing we can do as leaders is to step aside and let someone else be the hero today.

Your job is not to prove that you can do everything well.

Your job is to help your team unlock their potential and deliver outsized results. 

TRY THIS: Actively look for opportunities to position members of your team as the hero. Identify people you lead whose strengths are your weaknesses and put them in a position to shine. 

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

But here we are.

Today Nickole is the Interim Chief Human Resources Officer for the University of Alaska System after an eclectic career path at the University of Alaska Fairbanks that included titles like Fiscal Technician, Director, CFO, and Chief of Staff. Nickole’s story is a masterclass in seizing opportunity, leading with influence, and having people in your life saying, “I think you can do this.”

We dig into how to balance high expectations with compassion and why true leaders never stop learning. Nickole also shares how she builds teams that can thrive without her, and how she keeps her own energy high through spin classes, travel, and relentless optimism.

If you’ve ever wondered how to turn opportunity into impact, or how to stay driven in a decades-long career, this conversation will light the way.

Connect with Nickole on LinkedIn

Think about the most meaningful, positive changes you’ve made in your life.

Now imagine you have two buckets in which to collect these important inflection points.

One bucket is labeled “I did it because it just seemed like a good idea.”

The other bucket is labeled “I did it because it was the antidote to the pain I was experiencing.”

Which bucket fills fastest?

It’s unpleasant when a deal falls apart, or you break trust with someone because you didn’t keep a promise, or you realize your current skillset won’t get you where you want to go, but that pain is the catalyst that will move you forward.

Just like physical pain, the pain you experience as a professional is a warning sign. An indication that something is wrong.

Instead of viewing the pain as the enemy, leverage it to show you the way forward.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: The next time you find yourself experiencing some amount of professional pain, ask yourself, how do I need to behave differently to prevent an experience like this in the future?

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

In this episode, I sit down with Monique Love, Operations Director at Alaska Auto Rental and a lifelong champion of servant leadership. We talk about her unexpected journey from running Frostbite Foods to guiding a rapidly evolving, employee-owned company… and how a team of teenagers helped her understand her calling in a new light.

Monique shares why deep curiosity is one of the most underrated leadership tools, and how she’s helping young team members develop strong roots before they step into the wider world. 

We dive into their culture meetings, accountability, the power of asking better questions, and the surprising joy she finds when her team no longer needs her to solve their problems.

It’s a refreshingly honest conversation about humility, growth, and building a workplace where people don’t just show up, they rise.

And if YOU are that leader, it’s time to stop holding yourself back.

Because your blind spots are, by definition, things you will never be able to see on your own.

No amount of self awareness will ever reveal your blind spots, because they are intrinsically unseeable without an external revelation.

What self awareness can do is ensure you recognize that, like everyone else, you have blind spots.

So what do you do if you can’t uncover your blind spots on your own?

Phone a friend. 

Hire a coach.

Find a trusted partner who can answer these three questions honestly because they want to help you be successful:

What is one thing you see me doing that works…and one thing that might be holding me back?

Where might I be unintentionally eroding trust or confidence?

If you were betting on my success, what’s the habit or behavior you’d want me to upgrade first?

TRY THIS: Identify someone in your world who you trust to give you honest and constructive feedback. Tell them you are on a mission to minimize your blind spots and would love to get their feedback on three questions over coffee. When they agree, send them the questions ahead of time so they can show up thoughtfully.

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

In this conversation with Erica Kemp, Vice President of Branch Administration at Global Credit Union, we explore how intentional presence, trust, and curiosity create powerful leadership cultures, especially across dispersed teams. Erica shares how she balances courage with care, empowers experimentation within safe guardrails, and develops emerging leaders by giving them space to stretch and grow.

We also dig into the rhythms that keep her grounded, from “Focus Fridays” to staying true to her values while leading teams across Alaska and the Pacific Northwest.

Erica’s reflections on clarity, ownership, and self-awareness remind us that leadership isn’t about control, it’s about creating capacity in others.

Connect with Erica on LinkedIn.

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

Through the power of my magic snowblower, and a fully charged set of Airpods, I spent an hour listening to some of my alternative rock favorites from the early 90’s while clearing copious amounts of frozen precipitation from my driveway.

Smashing Pumpkins, Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Nirvana… They were all present and accounted for.

And as these anthems of my youth carried me 30 years into the past, reminding me of a much younger version of myself, I was struck by a thought.

Why do all the loners hang out together?

It sounds silly, but if you ever need proof that everyone you meet is looking for connection, it is evidenced by the fact that, eventually, the people who just want to be left alone will find one another and unite around that desire.

Hayley Williams from Paramore may have said it best:

“You should be alone. Yeah, you should be alone. You should be alone with me.”

As a leader, it’s your job to ensure your people find this sense of connection. Not a familial connection or a romantic connection. Not a everyone-has-to-be-besties connection. 

But a connectedness that affirms, we are all pulling in the same direction and we all belong here.

Your people don’t need to have everything in common, that generally works against you. 

But they do need to have clarity about a common goal and fully understand how they contribute to a team victory.

TRY THIS: Make it a point to connect with every person you lead and express your appreciation for their contributions and reinforce how their efforts matter. This may only take 3 minutes. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or emotional. Be specific. Meet them where they are at.

In this Leadership Huddle remix episode I’m sharing clips from 5 interviews from earlier this year. Maybe you heard them months ago and this will spark a fresh insight, or maybe you missed them and this will prompt you to go back and revisit the entire conversation. Either way, these are short, power packed segments that are sure to prompt valuable insights for you. 

 The first clip comes from Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Superintendent Luke Meinert, who’s doing the work at a scale most of us can barely imagine. 33 schools spread across a district the size of New Jersey. In this clip, Luke talks about the power of distributed leadership, communicating transparently through hard decisions, and why clear, simple goals matter in a complex system. He also opens up about the human side of the job, from criticism to connection, and why the best leadership lessons still come from classrooms.

Next You’re going to hear from Nicole Welch, Chief Human Resources officer for Foundation Health Partners, whose take on leadership blends perspective, humility, and a deep commitment to supporting the people who support the people. Plus she’s my wife. In this clip, she talks about managing stress with a long view, shifting from control to trust, and redefining HR as a true partner rather than a police force. Nicole also opens up about feedback, relationships, and what it really takes to serve a mission-driven organization.

Here’s a segment from my conversation with Heather Handyside, President of Thompson & Co. Public Relations who has a gift for combining high standards with a whole lot of humanity. In this clip, she talks about the power of shared expectations, why good judgment and low ego matter, and how leaders can create environments where people take ownership without fear. Heather also digs into generational shifts, work-life balance, and the grace required to help new talent grow. 

Up next, you’ll hear from the CEO of Blezoo, Dean Caravelis, who leads with an unshakeable belief that nothing in a company is ‘beneath’ the person at the top. In this clip, he talks about service as a leadership style, staying connected to both customers and the team, and the constant balancing act between being hands-on and accidentally stepping on people’s toes. Dean also digs into how fast-changing environments force leaders to adapt without losing stability.

And finally, here’s a clip from my conversation with Brock Anundsen, who reminded me that great leaders aren’t powered by titles, they’re powered by reflection. In this clip, Brock talks about returning to the basics, sharpening old tools, and building a culture where collaboration beats command-and-control. He also digs into why SMART goals still matter, how great teammates re-energize a vision, and why micromanagement is the fastest way to kill joy. 

As with most processes, sorting through these conversations went a little faster this time around. By new years this is going to be a breeze…and then I won’t do it again until November and I’ll be back to square one. HA!

Don’t forget that you can go back and revisit any of the nearly 30 interviews I published this year whenever you need a little inspiration. Just go to geoffwelch.com/podcast or search for Leadership Huddle in your favorite podcast player. Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss a useful insight. And do a friend a favor and share this episode with them.

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

I showed up every Sunday. 

I showed up on the Sundays when I knew exactly what I wanted to say.

And I showed up on the Sundays when I wasn’t quite sure what to say.

Because showing up isn’t about being perfect or having it all figured out, it’s about contributing.

Your people don’t need you to have all the answers or get it right every single time. 

But they absolutely need you to show up.

They need you to show up on the days when you feel like the greatest leader in the world and they need you to show up on the days when you aren’t sure you can.

They need you to go to bat for them even when you might not be able to win.

They need you to clear a path for them, even when your own path is obscured.

They need you to remind them of their greatness, even when you aren’t sure of your own.

Fairweather leaders are a dime a dozen.

They show up as long as everything is working as it should.

But the true revelation of leadership comes when things start breaking and you show up anyway.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Make a commitment to show up relentlessly in the coming year. You can’t promise your team you’ll be perfect, but you can promise them that whenever they look over their shoulder, they won’t be alone.

But before we could respond we were met with a flurry of follow up texts squarely focused on the remaining 2%.

Which was ridiculous, but also incredibly familiar.

Leaders of all stripes fall into a similar trap. We forget to celebrate the 98% and find ourselves fixated on the 2%.

It’s not that looking for opportunities to improve is a bad idea, it’s that we let that pursuit of improvement absolutely decimate the opportunity to take joy in something that actually worked quite well.

There is a massive difference between trying to improve when you’re running at 60% effectiveness and becoming the grim reaper of joy because 98% effectiveness is close, but not quite.

You know the difference, so don’t treat these circumstances the same.

Instead, celebrate that things went well, assess for reasonable opportunities for improvement, and implement new behaviors or accept that this outcome is as good as can be practically expected.

TRY THIS: The next time you find yourself unhappy with the gap between the performance of your team and “perfection” ask yourself…

“What would need to be true to close the gap?”
“Are the resources required best invested in closing the gap?”
“If closing the gap required us to focus less on other pursuits, would that make sense?”

If closing the gap is worth the effort, get to work. 

If not, celebrate the victory and move on.

In this conversation with former UAF Chancellor Dr. Dan White, we dig into what trust really looks like in practice. Not as a lofty ideal, but as a daily discipline. 

Dan shares how self-trust becomes the foundation for every other level of trust, why leaders can’t talk their way out of situations they behaved their way into, and why deposits in the “Trust Bank” matter more than ever. 

We explore how motives get misunderstood, how empathy informs effective decisions, and why clarity about expectations is a powerful accelerant.

Dan also shines a light on the role of engineering thinking in leadership, the power of dialogue agreements, and how music taught him to connect across differences. It’s a conversation about trust, humanity, courage, and the quiet work leaders do when nobody’s watching.

Not knowing the best way to thaw this roast or how long it would take, I asked ChatGPT for some help. 

I gave it the size of the roast, the temp of my freezer, the temp of my refrigerator, and the day/time I needed the roast to be ready to go in the oven.

It cited a number of sources to support its recommendation, quoting a very specific number of hours it would need to be in the fridge and telling me when I’d need to move it into the fridge. 

Except the date/time it told me was 24 hours earlier than the number of hours required.

I pushed back on the information and it replied:

Of all the things I thought AI might struggle with, math (or calendar awareness) was absolutely not one of them.

Since then, I’ve been increasingly aware of inaccuracies in the information it provides, but its confidence never wanes.

Time and time again it has returned faulty information with the absolute assurance that it is correct.

On a few occasions it has outright lied.

I asked it for a podcast recommendation for a friend who was interested in X, Y, Z and it happily provided one. Except when I went to look for it, the episode didn’t exist. Assuming a simple error, I probed further and the AI told me it made it up.

It’s time that the running joke about how inaccurate a tool like Wikipedia can be should apply to AI as well.

AI is going to be the scapegoat for a great many leaders who are abdicating critical thinking, but only a poor craftsperson blames their tools.

You’re going to have to edit what it writes for you.

You’re going to have to verify what it presents as fact.

You’re still going to have to think for yourself.

And that’s a really good thing.

TRY THIS: Maintain a healthy sense of skepticism about the feedback you get from AI tools. If you expect to be able to cut and paste what it generates without editing or verifying a few facts, you are going to find out (sooner than later, and likely in embarrassing fashion) that it isn’t infallible. 

In this episode, I sit down with workplace performance expert, speaker, and author of “Good Awkward,” Henna Pryor to unpack why discomfort, uncertainty, and “butterflies” are not obstacles to growth, but signals that you’re doing something that matters. 

We talk about why awkwardness isn’t a personality trait, how leaders accidentally create the conditions they say they don’t want, and why naming discomfort can actually accelerate trust, influence, and performance.

Henna shares powerful stories from her own career pivot, practical strategies leaders can use to normalize experimentation, and why mental skills, not just technical skills, are the real competitive advantage in today’s workplace.

We also dig into influence, authenticity, and what she calls “signal integrity” in a world full of noise, AI, and polished highlight reels.

If you lead people, build teams, or are trying to grow without losing your nerve, this conversation will give you language, perspective, and courage to lean into the awkward moments that fuel real progress.

It’s fascinating to me how many smart people I know (and work with) who will ask this question non-stop about every strategy and tactic they deploy.

They say, “I think I should go left…but what if I’m wrong?”

They say, “I think the market is shifting and we need to adapt now…but what if I’m wrong?”

They say, “I think this presentation is going to really wow the execs…but what if I’m wrong?”

But as soon as they identify a problem they are completely convinced of their razor sharp insight.

“That thing I said in the meeting is going to haunt me.” Full stop. No uncertainty at all.

HA!

The next time you are worried about something, just remember that the REAL problem is that you’re sure you’re right.

TRY THIS: When fear and worry inevitably tap you on the shoulder, don’t just accept what they tell you, start an argument.

Sara is the owner of Out of Office Studio and her background in corporate learning gives her a unique vantage point. She’s lived on both sides of the “I know I should… but ugh, do I have to?” dilemma faced by people trying to leverage video to build their businesses and grow their brands. 

In this conversation we dig into what really holds people back from getting on camera and why video has become the fastest path to building trust in a noisy digital world.

She breaks down the mental movies people play before pressing record, the surprising fears that derail even the most capable leaders, and why our scrappy, imperfect attempts matter so much more than polished production.

We talk storytelling, leadership, mindset, and how creating 100 pieces of content changed her business (and her confidence) forever. 

If you’ve been overthinking your way out of visibility and connection, this episode will feel like someone turned the lights on.

I love all my guests, but Sara just might take the prize for the most gracious guest ever. We were disconnected no less than 3 times during this chat, all due to my internet, and she rolled with the punches like a pro.

I know the violence in these movies is severe and ever present, but I think about John Wick every single day when I dive into my work around leadership and building teams that produce outsized results.

After all, John Wick might be the poster child for producing outsized results.

During the opening sequence of the second movie, one crime boss is talking to another crime boss, describing exactly why John Wick is such an interminable force.

And that’s the crux of it all, right there.

Did John Wick have what Liam Neeson would call “a very particular set of skills”? Absolutely.

But the thing that made him terrifying was his focus, commitment, and will.

He proved himself to be a wholly unstoppable force along the way and every day I want to capture just a fraction of that relentlessness.

When you think of John Wick, you might think of a guy who dispatched scores of enemies.

But I think of a model of unyielding focus and persistence. 

TRY THIS: How would adopting John Wick’s focus, commitment, and sheer will change the outcomes you experience? What would be different if you adopted just a trace of his relentlessness? When you get knocked down those merciless Montmartre steps, get back up and keep climbing.”

Leah Boltz, is the Principal for Marketing, Business Development & Community Outreach at Bettisworth North, and in this conversation we talk about how one inaccessible park turned into a citywide movement, how a terrifying TEDx talk became a launchpad for her career, and what it means to be a non-technical principal in a highly technical firm.

Leah shares candid insights on saying yes to the right things, aligning your work with what you care about most, and giving feedback that actually helps people grow. 

We also dig into visionary leadership in uncertain times and how she’s helping guide a firm celebrating its 50th anniversary into its next chapter. 

If you care about community, clarity, and courageous leadership, this conversation is for you.

Connect with Leah on LinkedIn

In this conversation, I sit down with Erika Smith, Chief Operating Officer at Credit Union 1, to explore the unlikely, adventurous arc of her leadership journey. 

From small-town barista to executive, from detours to Australia to “mad scientist mode,” and from overthinker to someone who intentionally creates space for others to grow.

Erika shares how cross-country skiing became both therapy and metaphor, why vulnerability is the real engine of leadership, and how she uses personality frameworks to better understand her team (and herself).

We dig into what it means to lead with clarity during transformation, why connection is the heartbeat of her work, and the moment she realized her job is ultimately about creating opportunities for others to thrive.

This episode is a powerful reminder of what’s possible when you pair thoughtful speed with deep authenticity.

The goal is to accurately describe the project in the shortest, simplest language so it can be easily understood by anyone on the team.

Team members will still need Puzzle Box Clarity about the detail and minutiae, but this synopsis is a way of encapsulating what DONE looks like in a way that is intentionally shareable. 

And a funny thing happens as these leaders are crafting these short, punchy summaries: they realize they don’t have the clarity they need to do it well.

The exercise is designed to get them to break the project down to its essence, but that process often reveals that they need more clarity from their own leaders.

Your people will never have more clarity about what DONE looks like than you do.

That makes it incumbent upon you to ask the smart (and “dumb”) questions of those above you to ensure you are crystal clear about what you are asking of your team.

TRY THIS: Ask your people, “Can you describe what DONE looks like for project X in one sentence?” Don’t expect eloquent answers, it’s your job to give them an eloquent synopsis, but pay attention to what they seem sure of and where they seem hesitant. You’ll know exactly where you need to increase clarity pretty quickly.

Well, in this episode, I sit down with Frank Ziede, founder of Common Ground Consulting, to talk about his wild evolution, explore what truly great facilitation looks like, and why most “mandatory training” feels like bamboo under the fingernails.

Frank brings a rare blend of performance, psychology, and real-world leadership experience to his work. We talk about why the smartest person in the room is the room, how trust is the foundation of every effective culture, and why leaders should stop trying to have all the answers and start asking better questions.

This conversation is a masterclass in engagement, ownership, and designing experiences that respect people’s time and intelligence. If you’ve ever led a meeting or attended a training you secretly dreaded, this one’s for you.

Connect with Frank:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-t-ziede-b4907931/
Website: http://ftzinc.com

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results—without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

Maybe they screwed something up, or were behaving poorly. Maybe you had to deliver some news they weren’t likely to enjoy.

I know a few people who genuinely relish diving into a challenging conversation, but most of the people I know would wish them all away if they could.

Here’s the thing: I can’t make difficult conversations go away, but I do know the secret to making them more manageable. 

Also, you aren’t going to like it.

The secret is not a conversational tactic in a book. Those can be helpful, but that’s not the real game changer.

What fundamentally changes these conversations is developing the trust-rich relationships that are necessary to be heard.

This isn’t an elixir. This isn’t a foolproof way to make sure the other person doesn’t get defensive or even angry. This is a way of establishing – in the days, weeks, and months prior to the conversation – that you care about their success and are going to give them the encouragement and correction necessary to help them win.

You can’t control how someone will react in a tension-filled moment, but you can cement in their mind that you are FOR them through your actions TOWARD them on all the days when a difficult conversation isn’t necessary.

Take an interest in the things that are important to them. Be honest with them about their performance over and over again. Offer routine encouragement and correction (Batting Practice Feedback) to help them grow. Ask for their input and feedback. Be willing to admit your own mistakes. Be honest with yourself about their capabilities and your tolerances. Resenting them for not being able to live up to your expectations is unfair. If they can’t win where they are, help them find a new path.

Generally, treat them like someone you care about.

If you can’t do that, they might not be the problem after all.

TRY THIS: Offer someone on your team encouragement this week about something they are doing well. Offer someone on your team correction this week about how they could improve something that isn’t really working. One is not good and the other bad, both are just levers to help your people WIN.

In this episode, I sit down with Wade Binkley, President of Riverboat Discovery, to explore what it really means to lead a legacy business in Alaska. We talk about growing up inside a family operation, carrying 75 years of reputation on every departure from the dock, and running a company that reinvents itself every summer.

Wade shares how he thinks about responsibility, to family, employees, guests, and community, and what it’s like to lead hundreds of mostly young, first-time employees in an environment where safety and hospitality have to coexist. 

We dig into empowering people at the front lines, setting standards without micromanaging, and why “bias toward action” has been one of his biggest leadership growth edges.

This is a conversation about stewardship, trust, and doing the right thing consistently, especially when the river, the weather, and the calendar don’t care how prepared you feel.

Connect with Wade:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wadebinkley/
Web Site: http://riverboatdiscovery.com

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

So, obviously, our relationship is perfect and there are never any tense or complicated moments between us.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Like any couple, we overreact and underreact and misunderstand and miss-speak and forget we are on the same team.

But we figured something out that makes being consistently copacetic more likely: everything just works better between us when we thank each other for the small things.

Thank you is disproportionately powerful. It costs nearly nothing to deploy, but earns miles of goodwill.

The thing about “thank you” is that the subject of the gratitude doesn’t need to be grandiose for it to matter, your expression just has to be genuine.

That’s it.

Sharing genuine gratitude for any number of silly things with the people you lead is the single easiest way to deepen connection, build trust, and help them feel valued.

TRY THIS: Say THANK YOU to as many people as you can this week. Don’t pander or flatter, just share as much genuine gratitude as you possibly can and see what happens.

In this conversation, Tasha and I talk about leadership in the moments that actually matter: when things are messy, uncertain, and human. 

From growing up around foster care systems to leading through earthquakes, pandemics, and now statewide grantmaking strategy, her story is about learning to influence without needing to be “right,” and creating environments where people can think, decide, and grow.

We explore what it means to say hard things in ways people can hear, why leaders sometimes become accidental bottlenecks, and how ego sneaks into “helping.” 

Tasha shares how crisis leadership accelerated her ability to delegate, trust, and let people struggle just enough to grow, without letting them fail in ways that cause real harm.

This is a conversation about leadership maturity, community responsibility, and the discipline of letting go of perfection.

Connect with Tasha:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tashapineda/

You will know clarity is high on your team when people start telling you “NO.”

I get it. As leaders we aren’t always hoping and praying to hear our people tell us “no,” but we should be.

Here’s why:

When clarity is high, everyone is so sure of what the team is trying to accomplish – and how their efforts contribute to that outcome – that they are instantly aware when a directive is pulling them in the wrong direction.

“No,” or at least “why,” is an indication that your people completely understand what DONE looks like and are keenly aware when a side quest is competing with that outcome.

“No” is an indication that you need to rethink your directive, or update the context for your team.

Sometimes you’ll need to find a way to block for your team so they can run for the endzone.

But sometimes the side quest is necessary. Sometimes the interruption to their regularly scheduled clarity is unavoidable.

In these cases, it’s your job as a leader to offer a new version of the Puzzle Box Clarity they are currently working from.

 

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: Ask your people the following question and see what comes up: “What are you being asked to do that doesn’t align with our goals?” 

This is a fact-finding mission. Don’t feel compelled to solve every bit of confusion in real time. 

Take some time to thoughtfully consider the feedback and determine where you need to update clarity, where you need to rethink the work at hand, and where you need to negotiate with your own leaders.

In this conversation, I sit down with author, speaker, and performance coach Collin Henderson to unpack the hidden mental patterns that shape performance, leadership, and culture. Collin shares how performance anxiety, perfectionism, and tying self-worth to outcomes nearly derailed his success before mindset work transformed his health, career, and purpose.

We explore why elite performance isn’t just about skill or effort, but about how you think before, during, and after high-pressure moments. Collin breaks down the four levels of confidence, explains why “psychology always precedes strategy,” and shares practical ways leaders can retrain their thinking and build unshakable confidence.

If you’ve ever wondered how mindset influences results, or how to help your team perform at a higher level, this conversation delivers practical insight and powerful perspective.

Connect with Collin:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/collinhendersonmindset/
Website: https://thecollinhenderson.com

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

We barely had time for the meeting, but we absolutely made time to find quiet hallways or text threads to talk about all the things we didn’t actually understand or accomplish during the meeting.

And it’s your fault.

Okay, maybe not every single time. But I’m betting you are an accidental co-conspirator often enough.

One of the biggest catalysts for the meeting after the meeting is confusion about what happened in the meeting.

No one should ever leave a meeting confused about what happened in the meeting.

If you are facilitating a meeting, make it your mission to offer the clearest recap possible and open the floor for questions if anyone needs additional clarity. “Alright, here’s what we just did. Does anyone have any questions about what we just did or what happens next?” A question asked in the meeting saves HOURS of conversation and wasted effort later.

If you are in a meeting where this recap isn’t present, interject it. “Just so I’m clear, [recap the outcome]. Does that capture it?” Someone else in the room will thank you for the summary later.

If you aren’t sure how to formulate a recap because you don’t understand what happened in the meeting, ask for clarification. “I don’t want to waste time later because I misunderstood something, so can you recap what was just decided and clarify what happens next?” Someone else in the room will thank you for posing the questions later.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: When you have a question in a meeting, write it down. If you aren’t brave enough to ask it in realtime, pay attention to how often you discover someone else had the same question. Pay attention to what is being talked about in the meeting after the meeting. Could these extra meetings have been eliminated by someone asking a “dumb” question? Feel free to pass this email around…

In this episode, I sit down with Cheyenna Kuplack, the Communications Manager at Doyon, Limited to unpack what real leadership looks like behind the scenes.

Cheyenna and I talk about leading while still feeling nervous, why “we can do hard things” is more than a phrase, and how great leaders balance compassion with accountability. 

She shares honest reflections on imposter syndrome, learning to delegate (even when it’s faster to do it yourself), and why trust and calm communication matter most when things feel uncertain.

I especially loved her perspective on mentorship –  that you can learn from anyone if you’re paying attention – and her commitment to helping people grow, even when it means pushing them outside their comfort zones. 

This conversation is a powerful reminder that leadership isn’t about perfection; it’s about showing up, asking questions, and helping others see what they’re capable of. 

Connect with Cheyenna:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheyennakuplack/

The first words out of his mouth were not at all what I had expected…

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

His delivery might have been out of line, but it also may have been genius because I instantly knew exactly how my performance of late was substandard.

It was like that moment at the end of a mystery movie where the detective sees all the pieces aligning and knows exactly how the crime was accomplished.

He literally could have said nothing else and I would have understood the problem and solved it.

What I am offering is that having a challenging conversation with someone who isn’t performing well is an important part of their development. 

Yes, choose your words to match your audience, but don’t soften the message into oblivion.

And don’t expect them to have a moment of transcendent understanding like I did. That moment was an outlier, to be sure. 

Be specific about your concerns. Reinforce that you want to help them win. Have a plan for how they can solve the issues at hand, but remain open to a collaborative exchange that includes their ideas about how to move forward.

Avoiding these conversations – or not really saying what needs to be said – isn’t helping anyone, least of all you.

TRY THIS: Consider each member of your team and identify ONE message you should deliver, but have been avoiding. Make it your mission to deliver that message this week. It doesn’t matter if it’s a big issue or a small one, the exercise is about overcoming discomfort in service of your people, your team, and yourself.

In this episode of Leadership Huddle, Stephen Flanagan, Founder of Seeks Consulting, breaks down how mid-level managers become “execution-ready” leaders by translating strategy into simple daily actions.

We talk about why deleting distractions isn’t enough (your brain will just find a new app), why “introspection” matters more than trendy self-awareness, and how leaders can build small systems that dramatically improve focus, meetings, and follow-through.

Stephen shares tactical frameworks like his “15-second scaffold” for instantly better meetings, and “The Wedge,” a simple pause that helps leaders respond with intention instead of reacting on autopilot.

If you’ve ever felt like your team understands the strategy but still can’t execute it, this conversation will give you clarity and traction.

Connect with Stephen:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/flanaganstephen/

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

I know that deep down you already know this. I know you know that NO ONE has ALL the answers.

But it just feels so good to be the one who solves for X.

And yet, how much better is it to give your people the chance to find X?

I used to worry that I wouldn’t have the answer a coaching client needed on a given call. This will be the call where they say, “Thanks for nothing. You didn’t give me the answer I needed.”

And then something wild started happening…

The calls would end with some variation of, “That question/story made me see the issue in a new light and here’s what I figured out.”

They never needed me to provide an answer, they just needed someone to help them find the answer for themselves.

How deliciously collaborative!

When someone on your team comes to you with an issue, resist the urge to go straight to SOLVE FOR X.

Instead, become the guide that helps them find their way.

Ask, “what have you tried so far?” or “what do you think the underlying problem is?” or “who else have you talked to?” or “how can I help you?”

On the surface this might sound coy and inefficient, but that’s only if you interpret the goal exclusively as finding X as soon as possible. 

My thesis is that helping your people find pathways to find X on their own is the long game.

Your job isn’t to spoon feed them the answer, it’s to help them see the obstacle through a new lens, to help them think laterally and leverage their peers, and to empower them to find the answers for themselves.

TRY THIS: When your people ask you variations of “what do I do about this?” or “why is this happening” respond with questions of your own that will help you understand what has them stuck. Don’t do for them what they should be able to do for themselves. Act like a coach. 

My free mini book, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

In this episode, I sit down with negotiation expert, author, and speaker Fotini Iconomopoulos to unpack what real negotiation looks like in everyday leadership, not power suits and table-pounding, but clarity, empathy, and trust.

Fotini shares why negotiation isn’t about “winning,” how to create more value by asking better questions, and why the most powerful move you can make in a tense conversation is often… to pause. We talk about the hidden cost of steamrolling, the underestimated advantage introverts have in negotiations, and how to shift from “yes/no” thinking to creative problem-solving that works for both sides.

If you’ve ever avoided a difficult conversation because you didn’t want to look foolish, or worried that speaking up might damage the relationship, this episode is your permission slip to stop performing and start negotiating like a leader.

Connect with Fotini:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fotiniiconomopoulos/
Website: https://fotiniicon.com/ 

1. I count to 100 in French
2. I list the 50 states in alphabetical order

But this isn’t really about sleeping better. It’s about paying attention to what we rehearse.

Because the byproduct of this exercise is that, while my conversational French is absolutely trash, I know my numbers cold.

And while I would struggle to fill in a blank US map correctly, I could make a rock solid list of the states and tell you how many states start with any letter of the alphabet. 

You get better at the things you rehearse, so it matters a great deal WHAT you rehearse.

When my daughter was younger she had a tendency to fixate on the reasons something might not work. A pastime about which I personally know a thing or two. 

I would tell her, “It sounds like you’re rehearsing your misery.” 

And I bet you can relate.

Instead of using worry and anxiety to engineer an alternative outcome, you end up reviewing and reinforcing how badly things are likely to go.

Your brain is really smart, but it’s also really dumb. 

If you feed it the same messages and images, even negative ones, it will help you make them real.

But you have a choice.

You might not be able to prevent fatalistic thoughts from arising, but you can choose whether you rehearse them or whether you rehearse something more helpful.

TRY THIS: When you find yourself confronted by an overwhelming fear or worry, ask yourself the following questions: 1. What can I do to have a positive influence on this circumstance? 2. How would [capable person you respect] navigate this circumstance? 3. What if I’m completely wrong about my assessment of this circumstance?

In this conversation, I sat down with Daniel Ponickly, Executive Director of the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra, whose background spans professional dance, film, arts education, and nonprofit leadership, a unique mix that shapes how he thinks about leadership.

We talked about how he moved to Alaska during a global pandemic, what leadership looks like inside a volunteer arts organization, and why listening may be the most underrated leadership skill.

Daniel also shared insights from the performing arts world that apply far beyond the stage, from adapting when things go wrong in live performances to building teams that can succeed without you.

What stood out most was his belief that leadership ultimately comes down to care: caring about your people, your community, and the work you’re doing together.

If you’re interested in leadership, creativity, or building something meaningful in your community, I know you’ll enjoy this conversation. 

Connect with Daniel Ponickly:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielponickly/

And for reasons not fully clear, even to me, I spent a lot of time watching old episodes of Matlock.

A couple things struck me as I took this nostalgic trip back to my youth:

Ben Matlock was far more ornery than I remembered.

Almost nothing about the court proceedings in Matlock is accurate.

It’s not that I’m some sort of legal maven, but I’ve been a juror enough times to know that a trial is more of a well-scripted performance for the jury than a night at the improv. The surprise witnesses and surprise evidence make for an exciting climax on TV, but real trials are pretty boring in comparison. 

This disparity is a good reminder that leadership also looks different in the real world than it does in scripted movies and on TV.

And even the other leaders you compare yourself to don’t necessarily have it all figured out in the way you believe.

Most leaders quietly make things better for their people without a great deal of fanfare or recognition.

The best leaders are happiest when their people are getting the accolades.

Great leaders spend a lot of time and energy on “invisible” work like coaching and mentoring their people to help them realize their potential.

Even the best leaders question themselves and aren’t as perpetually sure of themselves as you may think.

Instead of worrying about how you measure up to an idealized version of leadership in the movies – or to another leader who actually isn’t as perfect as you think – just focus on helping your people, your team, and your organization win.

All the rest is just stealing your time, energy, and focus.

TRY THIS: Spend a few minutes this week considering how to help your people win. What can you do as their leader to encourage them, correct them, and make success more likely for them? This is the crux of leadership, after all. It’s not a super hero moment, it’s showing up day after day to help your people unlock the best of themselves.

In this conversation, I sit down with Joe Sprague, former CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, to explore what it actually takes to lead at the highest levels, and why his love of aviation made his career a little bit less like work.

Joe shares how his early days working the ticket counter in Southeast Alaska shaped his leadership philosophy, why delegation didn’t come naturally (and how he learned it anyway), and the surprising role humility plays in sustained success.

We talk about balancing safety and service, leading through massive organizational change, and why the best leaders spend more time listening than talking.

But what stood out most to me was Joe’s grounded perspective: leadership isn’t about status, it’s about stewardship.

This is a conversation about clarity, curiosity, and staying centered when everything around you is moving fast.

If you lead people, or aspire to, you’ll take something meaningful from this one.

Connect with Joe Sprague on LinkedIn