Stop trying to motivate your team.

Fix your Energy Leak instead: Quick energy audit for your team meetings:

How much time was spent on:

• Making decisions vs. debating decisions
• Solving real problems vs. talking about problems
• Moving work forward vs. explaining why work isn't moving

The answers will help you find the source.

If I've learned one thing about leading teams the last 25 years, it's that you can't get anywhere without trust.

Here's how to build it (and keep it)🧵 There are 4 types of trust.

Each one build upon the previous:

• Character Trust (integrity)
• Capability Trust (skills)
• Consistency Trust (reliability)
• Connection Trust (relatability)

Skip one and your foundation is shaky at best.

You finally delegated important work.

But how do you know it’s being done right?

5 steps to drive great outcomes w/o micromanaging 🧵 1. Set Expectations

Without agreement upfront, oversight will be random & unwelcomed:

-> Goal: What will be accomplished
-> Standards: Quality that signifies done
-> Process: How work will get done
-> Timing: When it will be done
-> Tolerance: How much risk you can handle

The telltale signs you're tolerating a toxic culture: Toxic culture isn't always loud and aggressive.

Sometimes it's quiet and passive: • Avoiding hard conversations • Letting mediocrity slide • Never challenging ideas • Accepting "that's just how it is"

Silent toxicity kills performance just as fast as the loud kind.

Your biggest leadership challenge isn't motivating your team. It's keeping them focused.

Every request you accept is a distraction you create.

Here are 5 ways to say No with finesse: SAYING NO TO YOUR BOSS

• Build a capacity model that ties outcomes to headcount
• Show how new requests impact core results with data
• Use their agreed framework to make the decision for you

Script: "Based on our model, this means X drops by Y%. Worth it?"

Brian Armstrong's letter to a Product Manager is actually the perfect blueprint for any people manager.

Why? Your team IS your product.

Let's apply his 5 principles to leading people: 1. UNDERSTAND YOUR TEAM DEEPLY

• Regular 1:1s to understand motivations and pain points
• Map strengths, growth areas, and working preferences
• Listen to what energizes vs. drains each person
• Empathize with career goals and challenges

Most people think they're intuitive and easy to work with.

They're wrong.

Here's how my Personal User Manual fixes it: I've worked with thousands of leaders. The ones who grow fastest share one trait:

They're ruthlessly intentional about how they operate.

- Clear principles
- Known preferences
- Deliberate development

Their clarity creates speed.

As a new manager, my biggest regret is how I handled underperforming employees.

I gave them the benefit of the doubt for too long and my team suffered as a result.

Here are 3 tests I now use to act more decisively: 1. The Keeper Test.

If this employee told me they were leaving to take a role at another company, would I do everything I could to stop them?

If my answer is No, that's strike one.

I've trained 1000+ managers. The biggest problem isn't lazy employees. It's "star underperformers."

These are your hardest workers who pour energy into the wrong things. And you're probably rewarding them for it. Star underperformers excel at investing in what's easy and understood vs. what's hard and necessary.

They work incredibly hard. They're visible. They seem productive.

But they're optimizing for effort, not outcomes.

Hard to believe I graduated 30 years ago.

Here's what I wish someone had told me: 1. Mark the Moment

We're always rushing. Sprint from point A to point B.

But if you pause, there's a divine moment:

The in-between.

-> Linger
-> Raise glasses
-> Throw around hugs
-> Be gracious in your goodbyes

Never skip past that which deserves to be savored.

It's not me. It's you.

Here's my step-by-step playbook for handling underperforming employees: A common mistake many leaders make:

Confusing progress with what's required to succeed.

Both A and B are showing progress:

- But A will soon be a star.
- While B will consistently disappoint.

Here's how to decide which one your managing:

If you want to become a better manager overnight,

I would teach you this one skill: Setting expectations.

Why?

It is the single highest leverage activity you can do.

And nearly everyone leading a team does it poorly.

Or not at all.

The 5 pillars of leadership:

Mission -> What's our Why?
Strategy -> How are we different?
Talent -> How do we find our A-players?
Operations -> How do we deliver effectively?
Improvement -> How do we consistently compound?

Here's how to answer each one: MISSION: What's our Why?

The best leaders don't sell destinations.
They sell becoming part of a movement.

Your team doesn't want another goal.
They want to be part of a story bigger than themselves.

Mission isn't what you do—it's why anyone should care.

Leading a high-performing team is hard but not complicated.

You only have 5 levers to drive meaningful impact.

Here are simple tips to maximize each one: 1. Clear Goal

Call it a mission, a purpose, or a goal.
It needs to be clear and compelling.
People want a purpose, not just a paycheck.

Tip: You cannot repeat this often enough. You team should know it word for word.

95% of problems at work come down to one thing:

Unclear expectations.

Use this playbook to keep managers and employees on the same page: If you're the manager:

Setting expectations is your only job.

If your team doesn't know what you expect, you're failing them. And despite great effort, chances are they're letting you down.

The vicious cycle of frustration builds.

I've interviewed 500+ candidates.

These 5 questions reveal more in 30 minutes than most companies learn in 3 rounds.

And exactly what I’m listening for in their answers 🧵 Question 1: "Who will follow you here?"

I uncover:

- How self-aware they are
- Their standing in the community
- Their willingness to recruit & close

I’m listening for how they speak of others, how they speak of their current company, and the specific rationale for why his team members would be motivated to follow.

Simon Sinek's TED Talk is the 3rd most-watched in history for good reason.

His approach transformed organizations like Apple and the US Marines.

Use his 3 Core Leadership principles to rethink your business: 1 - Start With Why

Great companies don't sell what they make—they sell why they make it.

Compare these messages:

• "We make great computers" (What)
• "We challenge the status quo by designing differently" (Why)

Your WHY activates the emotional decision-making center of your customers' and employees' brains.

When Apple says "Think Different," they're not describing features.

They're inviting you into a movement.

The 80/20 of Management:

6 pivotal moments, each requiring one skill ⬇️ MANAGING UP

Skill: Influence

• Connect team initiatives to company-wide priorities
• Build advocates outside your reporting line
• Present solutions, not just problems

Executives want outcomes, not just effort.

If I wanted to go from manager to leader, I'd lean into these 9 essential skills.

(You might want to bookmark this for later) 1. Establish Clear Employee Expectations

💡Key Lessons:
- Author together for ownership
- Align on How, not just What
- Amplify w/ clear feedback

Bonus: Free expectations template mgmt.beehiiv.com/p/setting-clea…

More new managers fail than succeed.

Here's how the wise ones win: Active Listening

Two ears, one mouth.
Keep that ratio.

Tip: Summarize their point. It forces you to listen rather than plan your response, and it makes them feel heard.

Great leaders don't give better answers.

They ask better questions.

Here are 20 questions that drive impact: EXECUTION (How Work Gets Done)

1. "How do you measure success?"
Listen for: Precision over platitudes
✅ Are metrics clear and mission-aligned?

2. "What does excellence look like?"
Listen for: Standards over statements
✅ Can they define the exceptional?

3. "What are our three critical priorities?"
Listen for: Focus over fragmentation
✅ Do they know what truly matters?

4. "Where do you get blocked?"
Listen for: Solutions over symptoms
✅ Can they diagnose root causes?

5. "Which processes feel unnecessary?"
Listen for: Efficiency over effort
✅ Will they challenge sacred cows?