Weekly Posts and Insights
Why Your Team Struggles to Decide (and What to Do About It)
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.
Leadership Health Assessment I Direct Application with Matt Harrington
In this Direct Application episode, host Matt Harrington explores what it means to build leadership health the same way we build physical fitness.
Do Your Team Meetings Have Positions? (They Should.)
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.
Team Protocols: Help/Hinder List I Direct Application with Matt Harrington
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.
Why Your Team Meetings Aren’t Working (and What High-Performing Teams Do Differently)
Learn why most team meetings fail and what high-performing teams do differently to make every meeting focused, accountable, and worth everyone’s time.
Leadership & Teams (and a Personal Story) I Direct Application with Matt Harrington
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:
Conflict in Teams: Why It Happens and How to Handle It Productively
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.
Responsible Authenticity Without Losing Your Seat at Work I Direct Application with Matt Harrington
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.
Help or Hinder: The First Agreement of Every Great Team
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.
Teams & Conflict I Direct Application with Matt Harrington
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.