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.

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.

High-performing teams win or lose in their meetings. In Episode 20, Matt Harrington explains why team meetings are the true playing field of organizational performance and shares three practical strategies—structure, shared accountability, and role rotation—to transform meetings into high-impact collaboration.

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 Episode 19 of Direct Application, Matt Harrington talks about something every leader faces (and few prepare for): conflict in teams.

We tend to avoid it or hope it just fades away. But healthy teams design for conflict before it happens.

In this episode, I break down how to:
Recognize that conflict is a signal, not a setback
Use clarity to keep emotion in check
Apply a simple, practical framework — the RISC–PAUSE model
Build a Conflict Resolution Protocol so your team knows how to disagree productively

The best teams don’t fear tension — they use it to grow trust, creativity, and innovation.

Listen to the full episode here: [link to Spotify/YouTube]
Read the companion blog: Conflict in Teams: Why It Happens and How to Handle It Productively
Download the free Conflict Resolution Protocol Template: HarringtonBrands.com/Templates

In too many workplaces, decisions happen by default - through exhaustion, authority, or avoidance - rather than through a clear and fair process. That’s why every high-performing team needs a Decision-Making Protocol in its tool belt of protocols.

A Decision-Making Protocol defines how a team will decide before they actually have to. It’s less about hierarchy and more about equity - making sure everyone understands the process, expectations, and boundaries.

Have you ever noticed that players on a sports team have clear positions and skill sets, but in most workplaces, once you walk into a meeting, everyone just… sits down? Other than your job title, you probably don’t have a position in the meeting itself. But you should. High-performing teams understand that meetings are their playing field, and every player needs a defined role.

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.

Learn why most team meetings fail and what high-performing teams do differently to make every meeting focused, accountable, and worth everyone’s time.

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.

High-performing teams don’t just set goals—they set norms. In this post, I explain how the Help/Hinder List transforms team culture by making expectations visible and shared. Discover how this simple, early exercise helps teams communicate openly, manage conflict, and build accountability. Includes practical pro-script examples leaders can use to reinforce healthy team behavior in real time.

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?”

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.

Welcome to Episode 8 of Direct Application. In this solo episode Matt Harrington shares his best public speaking strategies - whether you’re in a boardroom, on a stage, or sharing a vision with your team. Based on years of speaking to audiences large and small—from chambers of commerce to boardrooms to conferences — Matt reveals the practical techniques that make all the difference between surviving and thriving in front of an audience.

Teams represent both a philosophical approach and a “means to an end.” Being a team is never the goal, but rather the approach that will determine the success of the goal. However, teaming is also a culture or mindset that transforms the way we interact with other people that, quite frankly, is not always familiar or comfortable for us.

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.

Public speaking can be daunting, but with practice, it becomes a powerful tool that can elevate your leadership and communication skills. Embrace these tips, and remember: every great speaker was once a nervous beginner.

In this episode of Direct Application, host Matt Harrington dives into the human dynamics of change. Whether you're launching a new vision, strategic plan, or organizational shift, how people respond matters just as much as the change itself. Learn the three core groups you’ll face: the energized Change Champions, the cautious Bystanders, and the disruptive Toxic Few (or Resistors).

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.

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.

Influence in leadership begins with a grounded sense of self-confidence—not arrogance, but clarity about one’s values, voice, and impact. When leaders doubt their influence, it often stems from internal narratives rather than external evidence. By exploring personal strengths, seeking honest feedback, and aligning with purpose, leaders can reclaim their presence and lead with authentic influence.

In this post, I reflect on my panel presentation where I shared practical, low-cost strategies for becoming an employer of choice through trust, leadership flexibility, and purposeful engagement. I emphasized that retention is driven by relationships—not resumes—and introduces frameworks like CAMP motivation, Greenthumb Leadership, and belief-behavior conversations.

In this Resilient Warrior Leader post, we explore compassion as a vital internal compass for leaders navigating uncertainty and building trust. Using the L.E.A.D. framework—Look, Empathize, Acknowledge, Decide—readers are invited to slow down, pay attention, and take meaningful action rooted in empathy. The post emphasizes that compassion isn’t soft; it’s strategic, renewable, and essential for resilient, community-centered leadership.

Continuing our Resilient Warrior Leader entry, we explore hope as a structured, strategic leadership tool, not just a feel-good emotion. Drawing on C.R. Snyder’s Hope Theory, Brené Brown’s insights on resilience, and Jim Collins' Stockdale Paradox, the post shows how real hope is forged in struggle and grounded in action. Ultimately, hope—paired with faith—is positioned as the courageous, necessary energy leaders need to move teams forward, especially in uncertain times.

I’ve long been fascinated by the human body—its capacity for endurance, resilience, and renewal. It’s truly one of God’s greatest gifts: a self-healing, constantly adapting machine. But like any machine, if we don’t put gas in the tank, oil on the pistons, or do regular 10,000-mile tune-ups, we risk breakdown.

Leadership is no different.

The physical and emotional taxation of leadership is real—and too often overlooked.

Many leaders fall into the trap of the Superhuman Syndrome, pushing themselves to exhaustion while ignoring the long-term costs to their well-being and effectiveness. This post explores how dissonant leadership and the constant chase for urgency can lead to burnout, while resonant leadership—rooted in emotional intelligence and renewal—fosters sustainable success. By embracing the Cycle of Sacrifice and Renewal, leaders can model resilience, elevate team performance, and lead with clarity and composure.

As we continue our Resilient Warrior series, it's important to start with self-awareness—understanding our patterns and recognizing how we respond under pressure. When we are overtaxed, overburdened, and exhausted, we often fall into default stress behaviors.

Are you the "Three-Ring Circus" Leader (Chaos Chaser), the "Iron Fortress" Leader (Stoic Under Pressure), the "Tsunami Shield" Leader (People-Pleaser), or the "Pressure Cooker" Leader (Procrastination Strategist)?

The runner trains, the player practices, the warrior studies—so why do we assume that leading in today’s challenging world requires anything less? Leadership today demands more than just assimilation, acceptance and mediocrity — it requires intentional training and practice, just like an elite athlete or seasoned warrior.