Weekly Posts and Insights
Pre-Season Strategic Planning: Discover Before You Decide With Surveys
Surveys and assessments are essential tools for gathering meaningful feedback that informs strategic planning, decision-making, and organizational improvement. This blog explores how to design effective surveys, avoid common pitfalls like survey fatigue, and build trust by using and communicating results. Learn the types of surveys to consider—and why feedback is a gift that should shape, not just support, your leadership.
The One Page Strategy That Gets People to Buy In | Direct Application with Matt Harrington
In this episode of Direct Application, Matt Harrington breaks down the One Page Strategy (OPS) - a simple but powerful tool to turn big ideas into real action. If your strategic vision has ever stalled after a board meeting or team presentation, it might not be the idea - it might be how you're delivering (or showcasing) your idea.
The 4 Personalities on Every Team | Direct Application with Matt Harrington
In this Solocast episode of Direct Application, host Matt Harrington breaks down a powerful leadership concept called the “Get Family” — four essential personalities you’ll find on every team or board: Get It Done, Get It Right, Get Along, and Get Appreciated. Whether you're leading a staff meeting, managing a board retreat, or trying to strengthen your team dynamics, this quick leadership lesson will help you better understand how to identify and honor different work styles—and how to help them function together in harmony.
LAUNCH DAY: DIrect APplication Podcast with Matt Harrington
Direct Application, a new podcast and video series hosted by leadership trainer and Harrington Brands founder Matt Harrington, officially launches today. Designed for leaders at every level, the podcast focuses on practical, people-centered leadership strategies that work—both in the office and in the community.
Pre-Season Strategic Planning: Discover Before You Decide with SWOT Analysis
Kick off your strategic planning season with two essential tools: SWOT analysis and surveys. This blog explores how to facilitate meaningful SWOT sessions, engage stakeholders across sectors, and use dot voting to identify top priorities. Start with data-driven discovery to guide future decisions and build trust throughout your organization or community.
Pre Season Strategic Planning: White Papers and Executive Memos
As we hit the middle of summer, organizations should start to prepare for a new fiscal year and big picture planning; this is an ideal season to engage in strategic planning. We often encourage our clients: before setting your sights on bold goals and new horizons, you need to ground your team in knowledge, insight, and shared understanding. That work begins with curiosity about your organization, its history, its people, and the context in which it operates.
Leading the Disgruntled: How to Cultivate Renewal in Your Senior Team
In our Greenthumb Leadership framework, Stage 3 is called Disgruntled. These are your seasoned professionals. They’re knowledgeable. They’ve been in the system long enough to know how it works—and sometimes, how to work around it. But they’re tired. Jaded. Resistant. These are the overgrown plants in your garden. Once full of potential, they’ve picked up weeds, disease and bugs along the way: resentment, cynicism, and detachment. The real problem with Disgruntled C-suiters? They often hold the most power, most influence and most control. And, in that respect, they can be the most dangerous.
Accountability: Discipline vs. Empathy
This post explores the delicate balance between accountability and empathy in leadership, especially in a time when staff are feeling burned out and undervalued. Drawing from Crucial Accountability and thought leader Dr. Jay Campbell, it outlines how leaders can hold people to high standards while still showing compassion. The key is moving beyond avoidance or aggression to have respectful, clear, and constructive conversations that build trust and drive results. True leadership lives in the tension between expectation and empathy—and that’s where real transformation begins.
Becoming a Yardstick of Excellence: Accountability, Quality, and the Mindset for Excellence
In this post we explore how accountability drives organizational excellence and culture, inspired by Steve Jobs' iconic quote: “Be a yardstick of quality.” Drawing from the book Crucial Accountability and real-life leadership moments, he outlines how mindset, clarity, and consistent conversations shape high-performing teams. Learn why culture is built in the everyday "moments of truth," as leadership expert Jan Carlzon emphasized, and how to raise the bar without losing your team’s trust. Perfect for executives, team leaders, and HR professionals focused on improving accountability, trust, and performance.
The Power of Silence (and Writing)
In a world of nonstop noise, true leadership sometimes requires silence. This post explores how journaling and intentional reflection—anchored in the practices of Resonant Leadership—can deepen self-awareness, build resilience, and support authentic leadership growth. Drawing from real retreat experiences and the research of James Pennebaker and Brené Brown, it offers practical tips for starting a journaling habit that heals and empowers.