Weekly Posts and Insights
Harrington’s Top Tips, Tricks, and Tactics for Public Speaking
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.
Change Champions, Bystanders, and the Toxic Few | Direct Application with Matt Harrington
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).
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 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.
Influence Starts Within: Influence is Self-Confidence in Action
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.
We Hire on Resumes, We Retain Through Relationships: Becoming an "Employer of Choice" on a Limited Budget
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.
Resilient Warrior Leader: Compassion as the Compass
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.
Hope: The Resilient Warrior Leader’s Secret Weapon
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.
Leadership Requires Renewal: 7 Recovery Strategies for Top Performers
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.
Breaking the Superhuman Cycle: Why Great Leaders Need Rest Too
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.