Weekly Posts and Insights
“What's your plan?”
One of the most consistent leadership moves you see from Dr. Robby of hit show “The Pitt” is deceptively simple. When chaos hits, when mistakes happen, when emotions run high, he looks at his team and asks a single question: “What’s your plan?” That question does something powerful. It shifts people into ownership. It communicates trust without removing accountability. Dr. Robby doesn’t rescue his team, but he doesn’t abandon them either. He coaches in real time.
Tough Minds, Tender Hearts: Why High Standards Require High Support
If the expectation is excellence, then the work required to get there usually involves risk: trying a new approach, initiating hard conversations, innovating, confronting conflict, stretching beyond comfort, and showing up daily with discipline. That’s not a small ask. So a reasonable person will quietly assess one thing before committing to that level of effort: Do I believe my leadership (manager, boss, board, etc.) has my back?
Trust and Credibility and Why They Still Matter
When we talk about what makes communities and organizations truly successful, the first place we should look isn’t strategy documents, technology stacks, or growth plans. It’s our people — and more specifically, how we lead them. Organizations that thrive don’t do so because they’re well-funded, have better technology, or are lucky; they do so because they have the right leaders in the right positions, leaders who are able to capitalize on talents, communicate a clear and compelling vision, rally support — and build trust. This was true yesterday. It’s true today. It will be true tomorrow.
From Introspection to Team Development to Building a Vision Your Team Can Get Behind: How I Coach Leaders
Talented leaders come into the New Year energized but unsettled. They know something needs to change — how they lead, how their team functions, how their organization operates — however they can’t quite name what or how. They’ve read the books. They’ve attended the workshops. They’ve set goals before. And yet, the same friction shows up again. This is exactly why I coach the way I do.
Status, Respect, and the 10–25 Brain: Rethinking Young Talent at Work I Season 1 Finale of Direct Application with Matt Harrington
In the Season 1 finale of Direct Application, host Matt Harrington sits down with Dr. David Yeager, bestselling author of 10–25: The Science of Motivating Young People, for a timely and practical conversation on leadership, motivation, and the future of work.
Dr. Yeager’s research challenges one of the most common — and costly — assumptions in organizations today: that young people ages 10 to 25 are inherently immature or incompetent. Instead, he reframes adolescence and early adulthood as a distinct developmental window where status, respect, belonging, and purpose are the primary drivers of engagement and performance.
Together, Matt and David explore how leaders, managers, and organizations can apply these insights directly in the workplace — without lowering standards or sacrificing results.
Getting the Most Out of Your Work Teams
A practical guide to building high-performance teams through trust, structure, shared accountability, and intentional leadership—designed for modern organizations and leaders.
Tuckman’s Team Development Wheel, Revisited — Part 4: The Performing Stage
Explore the Performing stage of Tuckman’s Team Development Model and learn how high-performing teams achieve shared accountability, distributed leadership, and continuous improvement. This post blends modern research on psychological safety, shared leadership, and team resilience with practical strategies for leaders and coaches to sustain peak performance, empower teams, and navigate inevitable change without losing momentum.
Tuckman’s Team Development Wheel, Revisited — Part 3: The Norming Stage
Explore the Norming stage of Tuckman’s Team Development Model, where teams shift from conflict to cohesion and begin choosing collaboration over individuality. This post blends team-building methods with modern research on psychological safety, accountability, and shared mental models to explain how teams stabilize, strengthen trust, and build the foundation for high performance. Learn key coaching strategies for supporting autonomy, reinforcing positive norms, and guiding teams toward the Performing stage.
Tuckman’s Team Development Wheel, Revisited — Part 2: The Storming Stage
Explore the Storming stage of Tuckman’s Team Development Model and learn how teams navigate conflict, control issues, and growing pains on the path to high performance. This post offers practical strategies for leaders and coaches to guide teams through turbulence and into true collaboration.
The Team Development Wheel Revisited: The Forming Stage in Modern Teamwork
Discover how teams move through Tuckman’s Forming stage and learn practical strategies for building trust, structure, and early momentum. This post explores modern research on psychological safety, team norms, and effective coaching behaviors to help leaders accelerate team maturity and lay a strong foundation for high-performance collaboration.