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. 

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?

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.

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.

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.

A practical guide to building high-performance teams through trust, structure, shared accountability, and intentional leadership—designed for modern organizations and leaders.

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.

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.

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.

In this interview episode of Direct Application we talk to Bennett Maxwell — entrepreneur, founder of Dirty Dough, now with Craveworthy Brands! Bennett’s journey is one of grit, reinvention, and radical transparency. He grew up knocking doors in Utah, dropped out of a pre-med track to chase communication and sales, built and sold companies in multiple industries, scaled Dirty Dough to more than 450 franchises sold, helped ignite a national “cookie war,” and then completely rebuilt his physical and mental health — losing 120+ pounds along the way.

A practical leadership guide to the IEE Continuum—Include, Engage, Empower—and why empowering employees too early leads to failure and frustration. Learn how to develop supervisors, managers, and rising leaders through intentional modeling, coaching, and earned autonomy. Includes real-world scenarios for applying the IEE model to performance conversations, meetings, and cross-department projects.

This post breaks down why excellence starts with belief, not checklists, how psychological safety fuels accountability, why leaders must model the yardstick for quality, and how ownership—not oversight—creates a culture of accountability. This post is a guide for leaders who want to strengthen culture, elevate performance, and develop truly accountable teams.

In this episode of Direct Application, host Matt Harrington breaks down one of the most practical frameworks for high-performance teamwork: the Help/Hinder list — a simple, powerful first agreement that sets the foundation for trust, accountability, and inclusive excellence.

Building a team-based culture isn’t a retreat or an initiative that fades by November. It’s a long game - years, not months - and it begins and ends with leadership commitment. In this episode of my podcast, Direct Application, I reflect on those early lessons from Deb and what they still mean for leaders today:

When you have eight to ten people on a high-stakes team, conflict is inevitable. What matters isn’t if you’ll run into it — but how you engage with it. Study after study shows unresolved workplace conflict drains productivity. One report found employees spend roughly 2.8 hours per week on conflict. But when a team accepts conflict as normal and builds a protocol around it, everything changes. This is your second protocol — the one that transforms conflict from destructive to generative.

An Interview with Cat O’Shaughnessy Coffrin on Direct Application with Matt Harrington What does it really mean to be authentic at work - without oversharing, burning out, or losing your leadership credibility? In this episode of Direct Application, host Matt Harrington sits down with Cat O’Shaughnessy Coffrin — executive communications strategist, founder of CaptivatingCo. She has partnered with global brands like Bayer, Starbucks, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce - guiding executives, founders, and C-suites through brand positioning, internal comms, and leadership storytelling.

Conflict in teams isn’t something to fear—it’s a sign of growth. In this episode, Matt Harrington unpacks Bruce Tuckman’s famous storming stage of team development and explains why conflict is not only natural but necessary. Healthy disagreement signals that a team is maturing, moving beyond surface-level cooperation, and learning to navigate real challenges together.

The real question for any leader isn’t “Do I believe in teams?” It’s “Am I willing to commit - day after day, year after year - to building and protecting the culture that allows them to thrive?”

Discover why momentum beats speed in leadership and business strategy. Drawing on insights from Chuck Hollingsworth on the Direct Application podcast and Jim Collins’ Great By Choice, this post explores the 20-Mile March, Agile sprints, and high-performance team practices. Learn how to show quick wins, build sustainable momentum, and lead with discipline in a world obsessed with speed.

High-performing teams don’t happen by accident. A team charter - your team’s roadmap - clarifies mission, goals, roles, and accountability. Drawing on insights from Lencioni, Tuckman, and Deborah Mackin, this post explores why teams stall in the storming stage and how a clear charter acts as a compass to bring them back to alignment, clarity, and results.

In today’s fast-changing world, urgent crises often crowd out the important work of long-term transformation. Drawing inspiration from outgoing Southwestern Vermont Health Care CEO Tom Dee—a humble, strategic, and community-minded mentor—this post explores the power of catalytic leadership. Catalytic leaders don’t just manage organizations; they spark momentum, align diverse stakeholders, and drive systemic change.

Welcome to the inaugural interview episode of Direct Application, the podcast where leadership theory meets Monday morning reality. Hosted by Matt Harrington, this show explores how to turn good leadership ideas into better workplaces. In this episode, Matt sits down with Karin Tierney, a seasoned HR consultant with over 25 years of experience in leadership development, organizational culture, and fractional HR.

In this Solo Blogcast episode of Direct Application, host Matt Harrington revisits the classic SWOT analysis - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats - but with a modern, practical twist. If your SWOTs feel like checkbox exercises or dusty whiteboard sessions, it’s time for a refresh.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.