Why Great Leaders Develop People, Not Just Businesses | Greg Harrod

In this episode of Small Business Pivots, Michael D. Morrison sits down with leadership coach and manufacturing executive Greg Harrod to discuss one of the biggest challenges facing business owners today: building leaders instead of creating dependence.

After more than 30 years in manufacturing leadership, Greg now helps business owners and executives develop stronger teams, improve communication, increase accountability, and create businesses where success no longer depends entirely on the owner.

Greg explains why leadership always begins with self-awareness before it extends to the team. He shares practical insights on recognizing early signs of employee disengagement, improving communication, delegating effectively, and creating clarity around expectations so employees can thrive.

The conversation also explores Working Genius, humility in leadership, trust, accountability, employee retention, role clarity, and why leaders should spend more time developing people instead of constantly solving problems themselves.

Whether you lead a manufacturing company, construction business, service company, family business, or growing small business, this episode offers practical leadership principles that apply across every industry.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why leadership starts with self-awareness

• The six areas Greg evaluates when diagnosing leadership problems

• Early warning signs before employees quit

• Why communication is one of the biggest leadership challenges

• How to stop becoming the bottleneck

• Building trust through humility and vulnerability

• Why role clarity improves accountability

• The Six Types of Working Genius framework

• How to delegate without creating fear

• Practical ways to improve employee engagement and retention

About Greg Harrod

Greg Harrod is a leadership coach with more than three decades of manufacturing leadership experience. He helps business owners build healthier teams through leadership development, communication, accountability, and his Leadership Clarity Scorecard.

About Small Business Pivots

Hosted by Michael D. Morrison, Small Business Pivots features entrepreneurs, business owners, authors, and industry experts sharing practical strategies that help business owners get unstuck and grow.

🏆 Ranked among the Top 10% of podcasts globally by Listen Notes.

Transcript

Welcome To Small Business Pivots

SPEAKER_01 0:02

If you're a business owner feeling stuck, overwhelmed, and ready to grow, you're in the right place. Welcome to Small Business Pivots, where founders share insights, stories, and pivots that lead to sustainable growth. I'm your host, Michael D. Morrison, a business coach helping business owners get unstuck and grow. All right, welcome to another Small Business Pivots. Today, you've got a real treat because you've got two coaches on the show. So it's coming to you from both sides, both angles, and hopefully we can help you grow your business and get you unstuck. But if you've listened to the show before, you know that I feel like there's no one that can introduce themselves and their business like the business owner. So, Greg, for those that don't know you, if you could share with us a little bit about you, maybe some upbringing, so they kind of know the angle and the upbringing that you came from so we can get caught up.

Greg Herod On Manufacturing Roots

SPEAKER_00 1:02

Yeah, thanks, Michael. I really appreciate the introduction, the opportunity to do that, be on the show, listen, listen. And as we talked about before we started recording, we've been connected on LinkedIn for years, 2022. So yeah, good to be talking here. So I'm a business coach, as you said. My name's Greg Herod, and I'm focused on helping leaders who feel like everything still depends on them stop doing work their team is ready to own. So I've spent 30 years plus in the manufacturing industry in various leadership roles. My wife Kirsten and I, we live in uh southeastern Kansas, where I grew up working in a blacksmith and welding shop, and we have a small flock of wool sheep and a business around that as well.

SPEAKER_01 1:46

All right, all right. So, what was your favorite thing being having been in that industry for so long? In manufacturing, yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:58

I tell you, Michael, it is a hard. So, as I said, I grew up in in a blacksmith and welding shop, 1970. My dad bought a blacksmith shop. I mean, actually, forge anvil, that sort of thing. And my brother's still running the business, and I'm in there too. But the thing about it is when you're in a welding shop, hands-on, doing machining, whatever it is, had to you know, working a lathe, you're building something, you're manufacturing something. And I love doing that. And uh I worked in HVAC, so seeing products that you had a part of designing and building when you drive around town or look up on a roof and you're like, oh yeah, I was a part of that. Something real came into the world. I just love that.

SPEAKER_01 2:41

Yeah, that's that's awesome. Well, it's kind of a lost art, right? That hands-on mechanical type work. And that also seems to be one of the biggest challenges that I would say contractors, manufacturers, anybody that needs that hard skilled labor force, it seems like employees or staff is always one of their biggest challenges outside of revenue, right? That's cyclical as well. But what are some of those diagnoses that a business owner can pinpoint to say this is an employee problem or this is another problem? Like, kind of give us some guidance on like where that starts because so many business owners come to us and and they say uh something just seems off and they don't know

Six Step Leadership Diagnostic

SPEAKER_01 3:30

what it is.

SPEAKER_00 3:31

Yeah, and you're right about needing to do that diagnostic. And that's part of what if you take the time to really think through, I kind of look at it in six steps, really. And the first is your personal leadership, and that is am I leading with self-awareness? So that you got to start as a leader, you have to start with yourself, and then look at your team, your team role and the strength of your team. Do people understand their roles? Do they understand their drinks? Do they understand how they're they contribute? And you've probably seen this too. Communication and decision making is a problem. Are the expectations information, decision making? Is there a clear way we do that? Execution and accountability, then the operating rhythm, like your meetings, how do you actually run your business? And then are your are your people growing? So while you know, in some ways it's not the people, it's almost always the people. Because your business grows when you develop your people. You're if you're if you don't develop your people, you're not going to grow your business. So while it's not the problem of them as a human being, in some way, as a leader, can you get more out of them for their good and for the business good?

SPEAKER_01 4:56

Time with all the just the short amount that you already said, the the first response or debate from the business owner is I don't have time. But so can you kind of share the importance of finding that time and kind of what it does, maybe share a story of a real life business owner?

SPEAKER_00 5:19

Yeah. If you think about the time that you have, you know, we all have the same amount of time. How are you going to invest it? And the the best investment that I've seen is it's from my personal experience. It's when when my leader, when I felt most supported by my leader and most effective, is when I had that regular communication with them. So they got to know me as a person, what is fueling me, what's energizing me, what's draining me, and then adjusting that. So, you know, we all make time for the things that are most important to us. And does it get on the schedule? You know, do you take a few minutes to check in with your folks at the beginning of the day every week? And from again, from my experience, when I had a leader who said, We're gonna have a one-on-one, and we may have to move it, but we're not gonna cancel it. I want to stay connected with you. And and to answer your first question a little more specifically, Michael, diagnosing it, that's what that's when you pick up on is something changed. You know, if you're if you see a person who's, you know, the last thing you want is for them to tell you there's a problem with a resignation letter. But if you notice your best employee, you know, who used to show up early, now they're coming in right as the right on time. They're not staying late. There are those warning signals that you don't there, it's a change, is the signal you're looking for. And if you don't know your people very well, then you're not able to have that conversation about are things okay? How's it really going for you? And it is hard to make time, but it's it's all down to what do you put on your calendar to make it stick.

SPEAKER_01 7:08

I may have cut you off on your six that you were sharing, but the first thing that came to mind was time, right? Because when we start sharing these tools and exercises, they're like, I just don't even know how I'm gonna fit that in. When we're talking about leadership, I know that on your website it talks about communication as well. So can you kind of define the difference? Is it communication? Is leadership part of communication? Is communication part of leadership? Because I walk into businesses and some of the things and how they talk to each other, I'm like toxic. Like, that's your problem right there. So, what can be worked on first? Like, what would you say?

SPEAKER_00 7:47

Here's here's a first step you could take.

Making Time For Real Check Ins

SPEAKER_00 7:50

One of the first steps that I think about when it comes to communication, and this is challenging. Who who are you really trying to serve when you're communicating? So, for example, and I apply this to writing an email, for example, when you when you write it, are you writing it to make your point or are you trying to help the other person be more successful? And that's true for every conversation. As a leader, if if we are seeking to serve our people and help them be successful, then when we go to have a one-on-one meeting with them or have a conversation in the break room, are we doing it to push our agenda, which could be good because you're you know leading the business, but ultimately are you trying to help them be more successful for successful for the business? So if you think about what your motivation is, at least for me, sometimes it's really humbling because you think, I went into that conversation really wanting to make my point, not wanting to listen and understand where they're coming from so I can help them be more successful.

SPEAKER_01 8:59

Yeah, those those are great points because I sometimes think that business owners, when they're looking for solutions or help, I think you nailed it right there. Are you really looking for help? Are you looking to maybe conform your people to think like you?

SPEAKER_00 9:17

Right. And the interesting thing that I find is that we're all wired differently. But, and and I can tell a quick story about this if you like, but when you think about what what brings us joy, energy, and fulfillment, you know, what what really turns our crank? And and you know, I used to ask an interview question to folks like, what would you do if we didn't pay you? Like, what do you love to do? You know, what are you wired to do? And as you get to know people, the more that you can free them up to do what they're made to do, then the better off they are, and the better the business is going to perform. And in the same way, there are things that just frustrate us and drain us. And if we have to do that all day, and it's not going to bring us any any joy. It's not going to want to stay there. And we won't typically do it very well because it's not what we're made to do. But when you know your team and how they're wired and you can put them together as one unit, that's when you really get that success. And that can be true of a two-person team or even in some ways, a one-person team. You know what you need to outsource and what you should actually be doing yourself. You may have experienced that in your business as you've grown it too, Michael.

SPEAKER_01 10:37

Yeah. And I know business owners, like I said earlier, especially in the contract or manufacturing service-based business, one of the biggest challenges is retention as well. So you mentioned earlier about that employee that used to show up early, used to stay late, and then all of a sudden they're not. And then, of course, that probably sends anxiety and stress throughout the business owner thinking they're going to quit any day. And versus trying to find a solution, right? Get to the problem, they're they're more worried about losing that person and what it's going to do to their business. So, what could a business owner do in that scenario when they start noticing noticing some shifts?

SPEAKER_00 11:22

Yeah. One of the best things is to start with a conversation. So being able to have a simple conversation about what have you done this week that you've enjoyed? What have you done this week that you haven't enjoyed? And when possible, you can, those are some simple, some simple adjustments that you can make. And an example, I'll give you

Working Genius And Delegating Fit

SPEAKER_00 11:45

a quick story. The uh one of the books that the tools that I use is called The Six Types of Working Genius. You may have heard of Pat Lanshone. He wrote the book and he developed it. He's also written Five Dysfunctions of a Team. But in the book, he tells about, or he was the CEO of the company. And for his entire career, he felt like he had to be the one cheerleading. And entered, you know, he would be the one up in front and rallying the troops and getting an idea going. And one of the people he worked with for a long time, Amy, she said, What's wrong with you? Why are you this way? She sensed something was off, but they couldn't put their finger on it. And through that conversation, they realized he realized, and that's how they developed this model, the six types of working genius. He realized he hated doing that, but he felt like he should because he was the CEO. And they had the conversation as a team. And Cody on his team said, I love doing that. And they made that switch. They they re-they kind of put away their job descriptions and said, Well, let's not have a bunch of should be doing things, but rather who what are we built to do? So Cody became the chief galvanizing officer, even though he wasn't the CEO. And their level of productivity and enjoyment in what they do just skyrocketed. But he was the owner, just like a small business owner. Sometimes we feel like we have to do everything. Every phase of work, whether it's the start with an idea or moving it all the way through, thinking through it, all the way down to finishing all the details. We feel that pressure that we have to do it all, and we have to do it really well, and we have to enjoy it. And that's too much pressure. That's not how we're made. Can cause for a lot of sleepless nights, can't it? It sure can. There's as and a lot of guilt. Yeah. A lot of guilt to think I'm not good enough. I'm not what am I doing running a business? I can't do everything, and I have to. But having that conversation, that realization that that's you're not built to do everything perfectly. Your weaknesses are not going to be turned into strengths. You can get better at things, but even if you get better and you hate your job every day, that's not what you, that's not why you started a business.

SPEAKER_01 14:11

Well, you nailed another one on the head right there where the business owner starts believing that they have to do everything, right? Which then turns them into the bottleneck, whether they have good people or not. So how can they start that transition? Because right now I've got a couple of clients that they're losing employees, some key employees, and it's it's not their it's not their fault. One is relocating because of their spouse, another one got accepted into law school, et cetera, et cetera. And I mean, it's just dropping like flies. And she's like, I I'm I don't know what to do now because all my leadership, those people that I was counting on to carry the torch for the company, they're leaving. And so how do you when you start delegating and using your people in those capacities, what happens then? What are some suggestions?

SPEAKER_00 15:03

Well,

Role Clarity And Rethinking Leadership

SPEAKER_00 15:04

one of the first things that I think of is what is that, what do we actually need from that role? Because sometimes we can just pull a standard job description and either the the I like to look at the verbs. Sometimes the verbs are very vague and can be interpreted in different ways. I was working with a client recently and helping them review a job description to get make sure they had the right talent because they have a very small team. If they were going to hire somebody, this was a big impact. So we worked through words like own. They need to own the entire sales process. As we talked, we said, well, what does that really mean? Do you need someone who's built to have ideas and reinvent and come up with a brand new one and own it? Or do you need someone who's really good at turning the crank and it's already in place and they can execute? Those are two very different people. But when you get that clarity, and you talk about clarity a lot, Michael, and I agree with you. When you get that clarity about what do we actually need done for the business to be successful in this role, that causes you to get the the right person in the door, of course, around your values and who you hire, but get them in the do the right people doing the right thing. But it's that clarity of being very specific about what actions are we going to do in a business.

SPEAKER_01 16:39

So it's probably pretty important to know your business and where it's going first, right? That's absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 17:35

It's hard. But you think I don't I don't want to think at that level. I don't want to get the clarity of what what would I have that new person do if I hire when I when I hire them, what exactly do I have them do? What's their the best use of their time, both for them and for the business, and and outline that. But that takes a lot of introspection, and for me at least, it takes a lot of effort to think through that.

SPEAKER_01 18:16

Can you debunk the myth that leaders are born, or do you feel like leaders are born?

SPEAKER_00 18:23

I well, let's to do that. I think one has to think about how they view a leader. So sometimes we think of the folks who are have the big innovation or the idea, they have they have ideas, so they're the leader, or they're the ones up in front, as I said, being the cheerleader, that's a leader, or the one doing all the work, they're the leader. But there's another set of things that people do really well, like identifying problems. They don't have the solution necessarily, but they're the ones who see a change in the marketplace and say, you know, I think we need to do something about this. I'm kind of wondering about that. Or they're the ones who are the trusted advisor who helps someone think through an idea. That's leadership. And then there are those folks who are the connectors, they help other people behind the scenes. And sometimes we don't think about them as leaders, but I believe that that anyone can lead anytime, anywhere. The Kansas Leadership Center is where I've done a lot of training here in Wichita, where I live close to. It's fantastic. But that uh your leadership edge is a book, and that's the premise that anyone can lead anytime, anywhere. And that leadership looks different depending on who you are and what you're built to do. So I've had CEOs that I've worked with that are of one type, and they're more the behind the scenes and build a great team, and their teams do fantastic things. And then I've had CEOs that I've worked with who are the out in front, and everybody might be tempted to label them a better leader, but they're not. They both get the results and make the progress that's important.

SPEAKER_01 20:11

You're listening to Small Business Pivots with Michael D. Morrison. If you're ready to get your business unstuck and grow, let's chat. Schedule your free session at michaeldmorrison.com. Now back to the show. So we we've talked about strengths and weaknesses, right? Of a leader. What's a good resource for a business owner to find out their strengths and weaknesses? Because a lot of times self-discovery doesn't align with what we thought we knew.

SPEAKER_00 20:45

Yeah. There are a lot of there are a lot of tools out there. So one of the one of the investments that I've made personally as a coach, and you know, as a coach, you you decide what's important and what's valuable. But I became a certified facilitator for the six types of working genius. And the reason that I like it so much is it's not a personality test that says this is who I am, but rather it's about how we do work and what we're built to do. To get that self-awareness to say, I can do this very well, and I like doing it. That's what I'm built to do. And these things, try as I might, I am not going to do it as well as someone else who's built to do that. And then there's a set that are called working competencies that are those things you can do for a while, but if you do them too long, you're gonna get burnt out and frustrated. And I can I tell tell a quick story about that? Absolutely. So for me, part of my my business transition and my career transition, I've built my Career in many ways over being a details-oriented finish the job all the way to done. Pro management, program management, driving all the things all the way to done. And I'm pretty good at it. You know, I was able to have a career doing that. But what I found out was if I did it over and over and over, eventually I was leaning toward burnout. That's where that was going. So I could I could make a good career out of it. And so many folks do this. They they they go do something because they told they were told they should, or they make a lot of money, or there's pressure from their family to be a doctor or lawyer or whatever, but they didn't actually enjoy it. And that's where I was headed. I was headed toward like something's wrong, something's off. And you know, I wasn't forming at the level that I wanted to, but more importantly, I wasn't getting fulfillment from my work. But once I I realized that what I'm really built for is coaching folks, that's that's what I enjoy the most. And people tell me I'm pretty good at it, that I have that enablement and wanting my work and geniuses are enablement and discernment. So that idea of wanting to go help people and then having that discernment to be able to say, you know, that's not a really great idea. Have you thought through this? Let's talk about this. So for me personally, that's where I was able to go from a path to burnout through using this assessment to a path towards more fulfillment. And that's a business pivot, you know, that you talk about. Yeah. That was one for me that that's uh it felt it felt like a big deal.

SPEAKER_01 23:50

A lot of business owners, and we're not picking on you, we're just here to help you, right? And we work with enough of them that we hear the same, same challenges. And one of the ones that I hear from their team is, yeah, we'll see if this one sticks, right?

From Burnout To Fulfillment Pivot

SPEAKER_01 24:06

So, in other words, the leader finds a coach, I'm gonna be the best leader and I'm doing this and I'm doing that, and then three, four, or five days later, they're back to doing the same routine. So, what are some good accountability tips or resources that can hold that business owner accountable?

SPEAKER_00 24:25

Yeah, so when the team is involved, and and this sounds like a plug, perhaps, but it's I think you'll know where I'm coming from because you're a business coach as well. For example, if I come in and I can facilitate a session around helping folks understand both themselves and how they're wired, but how they function as a team. If a leader comes in with the humility to say, I'm going to be a part of this group, not bring it in and push it down on people, then we're they're just one of the many who have the same end goal, which is helping each other be as successful as possible. So if a leader has the humility to bring someone else in, and it can be someone internal, it doesn't have to be me as a coach or you as a coach, but someone who's outside, and then they can participate at the same level, recognizing that, as I gave the example with Lenshone, he was able to say, I don't have to be the guy up in front. In fact, I'm not built to do that. I'm gonna have someone who is on my staff, I'm gonna have them do that. Because it's putting the right people doing the right task based on what they're designed to do.

SPEAKER_01 25:41

This may sound overwhelming, and and it is leadership is a big thing, right? I mean, that's it all starts from the top, as they say, and we see great companies that are led by great people, and then someone else steps in and then all of a sudden it falls apart. So, what are some of those top traits that makes a great leader?

SPEAKER_00 25:59

Humility is the is the starting point. Because if someone thinks that they have to do everything, there is an element in that of they're not willing to admit that others might be able to do it better than them. Because that's a hard pill to swallow sometimes, especially if you're if you've always done it really well and that's what made you successful. You start the you start a business, and you think you have to be the guy or the gal to bring in someone else and say they they can actually do that better than I can. And I want what's good for my entire team and the entire business, and that means I need to step down a little bit. So humility is one for sure, and then the that builds trust. So being trustworthy as a leader, and that that often means you have to be vulnerable. So when you can say, and that comes with humility, when you can say, I didn't do that right, I know I I have a long list of things that I've done when I was in a leadership role, and like, oh, that was completely wrong. But where that turned out the best most times was when I was able to to go tell the the folks they I didn't do that right, I I made a mistake there. So that authenticity and vulnerability, because we're all we're all just people doing our best.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

How does one earn trust? In other words, I know with business partnerships, we have to kind of define our lane,

Humility Trust And Safe Delegation

SPEAKER_01 27:38

and uh what I see common with most partnerships is it that it becomes a disconnect, there's discord, and well, you're not doing your job. And one of the things I hear often is they say, Well, I just don't trust him or her as the the leader. So, how does one earn that trust when people already have a perception that's going to be difficult to challenge or change?

SPEAKER_00 28:03

It's interesting to think about what trust really means to different people. So there's there's an aspect in which trust is ethical, that I don't trust that person alone with my wallet because they'll steal from me. That's one kind of trust. And hopefully in your hiring practices, you can you can decide you can communicate well enough as you bring people into the organization that they understand the values they're working in, and that that kind of those kind of fundamental character traits are a requirement once you start, once you start with the company. The other kind of trust is that trust about competency. So, for example, I think you're a great guy, Michael. I seems like you're we both share the same kind of values, I would not trust you to do brain surgery on me because you're not qualified. And having that conversation and separating those two again comes back to humility. So if if a person is not someone who can finish the job, they're the kind of people, and there are people like this who are extremely good leaders who can't complete all the details, they're the ones who have their power turned off because they forgot to pay the light bill. But they're really, really talented in other ways. We wouldn't want to trust them on a project to finish all the details. They might be the idea person. So having if we can get rid of the guilt and judgment that comes along with that, and again, it's having that open dialogue to say, I am not good at finishing the details, for example. I try, I'm not proud of it, but please don't ask me to be the guy who pays all the bills this month. That that's where you put the right people, knowing your people and having that level of understanding of yourself and then admitting it back to the humility, that's where a a team can be formed that a leader can really be proud of.

SPEAKER_01 30:10

And I know leaders should trust the people they hire, right? And a lot of them do, but one of their concerns is what if I trust them with too much and then they leave and they take all my contents and my people. And I'm, you know, I know that's a big concern. And that's also why a lot of business owners don't delegate as much as they probably should, because of that fear of they're just going to take everything I've learned and know and just use it to start their own business.

SPEAKER_00 30:41

Yeah. What I've what I've experienced is the deeper that you can work with people and know them as a human, and that means outside of work type conversations, that will help you understand how much you can really trust them. And you can't always know. I mean, I've got personal examples where people that I did trust did a complete 180 and got it wrong. And we have to take that risk and decide ultimately what we believe is our foundation of life and who we trust ultimately. But there are signs that people will give you that you watch out for and think, okay, if you'll do that in the situation, you might also do this. For example, someone who might not exactly state something as it is or leave out a piece of information when they tell you how the project's going. They might not also tell you everything about what they did or didn't do that you're trusting them with your proprietary information and that sort of thing.

SPEAKER_01 31:48

You mentioned projects. And so, as leaders, at what point do you think, or how would they know, it's time for me to let them be creative and execute, right? So you're leading with the vision or whatever it is you're doing, but at what point can I say, okay, go fly, make it happen?

SPEAKER_00 32:10

Mm-hmm. Well, there's a there's that, there's a couple pizzas there. And part of what I work through with clients is an idea of looking at the specific task and seeing if it's a good fit, and not just a fit in terms of like we've talked about with energy and whether they're built to do that sort of thing, but are they competent to do it? Are they have we given them the right training to position them to be successful? And what I found works the best is to give smaller experiments. So I hired, for example, I hired someone who was an intern in our in our lab when I worked in HVAC. So they they hired in as an intern and with not too much risk. So even as an intern, we put them up in front of people. And if they messed it up, this guy, if he messed it up, not that big a deal. He'd learn, he took feedback really well. And even when when we moved him into an individual contributor as a full-time employee, we had interns come in. So we gave him the opportunity to lead them, but he didn't do their performance review, for example. Then we so he had a dotted line responsibility, just a small little step to help test them, not test and like weed them out, but rather try. What do you do? Well, what can you be successful? What can you learn? And then as they grew, they took this this guy was a rock star and he just kept me doing better and better things. But we could that you know that he reported to me and others that helped promote him, that just gave him smaller things to try. He wasn't perfect at everyone, but we were able to position him in a way that didn't, he didn't, we didn't position him in in a way that would cause him to fail, but rather succeed. And if he did not quite get it right, it wasn't a big hit to him or his career or the business.

SPEAKER_01 34:10

So you brought up another point. You're good at this. He must be a coach on leadership. Another point is what about those existing businesses that have people on their team, but we'll just say that the status quo is stuck. So, in other words, they've worked for this guy or girl for 10 years, 20 years, and there's nothing gonna change. How can a business owner break through that challenge? Because they they haven't seen that side of the business owner, and so they they give up before they keep plowing through. So, what are some incremental changes? And that's why I brought that up because you were talking about incremental experiences. What are some incremental changes that they can start with to start building that? Hey, things are gonna be different, and you can count on me this time.

SPEAKER_00 35:02

Yeah, so there's so many things, Michael, there that questions that I have. The first when the statement things are never gonna change. Yeah, sometimes it's the manager who says that. And my question to them would be Is that really true? Like, why do you believe that? Help me understand what makes you think that this person will never change. And have you have you actually tried to see things start from where they are? Have you seen things from their perspective? What might what might be possible? What would have to be true for this person to change? And sometimes that leads to a conversation to say, oh yeah, I think you're right. I think that's pretty that person's pretty set with that. You've tested, you've challenged, you've asked, you've had a conversation. And I think I agree with you. They're not going to change. In that case, it is time to have a courageous conversation, to say, this is my expectation, and I'm going to hold you accountable to this. But what I often find is, well, you know, I really said anything to them. Okay. Well, step one as a leader, you need to make sure that you've been clear with your expectations. You can't hold someone accountable if you don't tell them what the the expectation is. There's a phrase you probably heard that you we can't complain about that which we allow.

SPEAKER_01 36:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:34

And that's tough to swallow sometimes. But our first step as a leader is to make sure that they truly understand what we expect of them and follow up so that they know we're going to check in and see if they're making progress or not.

SPEAKER_01 36:52

Yeah, those are those are great insights. So, for a couple of minutes here, can you share?

Scorecard Resource And Next Actions

SPEAKER_01 36:57

Because we talked about this earlier, the leadership clarity scorecard. And you were going to offer that to our listeners for their time today. Can you kind of share what that is and what it does for them?

SPEAKER_00 37:07

So you can find it at leadership clarity scorecard.com. So three words, leadership clarity scorecard.com. And it's about seven to ten minutes. It's a survey and it's an assessment. So if you think about the flow through it and the questions that it would help someone really pinpoint where things might be stuck in their business or they might be stuck, the first is it'll help you help them understand am I leading with clarity personally? Do my people understand how they contribute best? Are the expectations and decisions clear? Then are people equipped and accountable for results? Then do we have the rhythms in place to support that success? And are we developing people while we're growing the business? So quick set of questions that allow you to rank rate yourself, and then it gives you a score, direct email right to you, but it allows you to pinpoint point that one area that you as a leader can see and say, you know, that's right. I want to go take action right now just to make some progress. Because as business leaders, we can't do everything. But when we review, we can go through that the leadership clarity scorecard and look at it and say, you know, I am I'm I'm pretty self-aware. I'll admit that. I'll be, you know, being humble is thinking neither too highly nor too lowly of ourself. So to a leader can say, you know, I'm in pretty good shape, but I don't have any clue what my my team is good at or what they'd like to do. I've never asked the question. This will expose that and allow them to take action immediately and make some progress with our team.

SPEAKER_01 39:00

What are some ways that people can follow you, learn more about you? You've got website, do you have blogs, anything like that?

SPEAKER_00 39:10

All of those, and really leadership clarity scorecard.com is the best place. You and I are active on LinkedIn, easy to find there. But but what I love to do is to to give people that instant action, and that's what that scorecard does. We're connected via email that way. They'll get a video from me, they can they can know who I am, and if they choose to, if they want to get more help, love doing that too.

SPEAKER_01 39:35

So well, outside of the scorecard, what is a first step of action this week that every business owner can take to start getting that momentum shift rolling?

SPEAKER_00 39:48

I think that pausing long enough, and this is so hard, we we all fight the fires, but put it on your calendar to reflect on our conversation that you and I have had here and just take one takeaway. Take put time on the calendar. They've already listened to our conversation, but 15 minutes, and just say, I'm going to decide what action I'm going to take. And if they're leading a team, I would suggest that they think about how can I make how can I position my team to be more successful? Because that's within their control. What can I do as a leader to help my team be more successful? And putting it on the calendar is the action item.

unknown 40:32

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 40:32

15 minutes, put it on the calendar.

SPEAKER_01 40:34

I learned many years ago, humbly, that until I change, nothing around me changes. So that gets me, that gets me inspired every time. It's like, why don't we start here, you know, inside first before we start pointing fingers outward? Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you'd love to cover that you feel like I really wanted to get this across?

SPEAKER_00 40:58

Two things. One, Michael, I just want to thank you for what you're doing. Being a podcast host is hard. And you've done it for a hundred plus episodes. That takes a lot of fortitude. And you're doing it to serve people. I know you're serving me through this, you're serving your audience. So I just wanted to make sure you heard that. Thank you for doing what you're doing. My pleasure. Thank you. And then, and then, yeah. And then, second, is just as an encouragement to business owners, I've heard your guests say this, you've said it, and I'm going to say it again. Leadership is hard. And business, owning a business is hard. Being in corporate is hard. Doing those hard things is worth it. You're impacting people as a leader, you're impacting people's lives. And when you're able to look back and see that you impacted your employees and families in a positive way, and hopefully they go on to be leaders that impact more people, that's a worthy goal. And I would just encourage people to keep your listeners sometimes probably get discouraged, they get stuck. Keep going, get the help you need, listen to your podcast, and keep going. It's worth it.

SPEAKER_01 42:11

Amen. Because there's not anyone that does not experience the same thing, maybe different levels, but we all go through the same thing. I have coaches myself, I'm sure you have coaches yourself, and we have that support system for a reason, and it's okay to ask for help. Well, Greg, you have been a blessing to many today. I wish you continued success and thank you for your time. Thank you, Michael. It's a privilege. Thanks for listening to Small Business Pivots. If you're ready to get unstuck and grow, schedule your free coaching session at michaeldmorrison.com. On social media, you can find and connect with me using the handle Michael D.Morrison OKC. And if today's episode helped you, subscribe and share it with other business owners. Until next week, keep pivoting.