Things Leaders Do: Leadership for Managers and Executives copertina

Things Leaders Do: Leadership for Managers and Executives

Things Leaders Do: Leadership for Managers and Executives

Di: Colby Morris | NXT Step Advisors
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A proposito di questo titolo

Things Leaders Do is a leadership podcast for managers who want practical strategies that actually work, not leadership theory that sounds good in a boardroom. No fluff. No vague concepts. Just tactical frameworks you can implement Monday morning.


Whether you're a new manager figuring out how to lead your first team, a middle manager carrying the weight of the org, or a seasoned executive refining your approach, host Colby Morris breaks down people-first leadership with humor, insight, and straight talk.


Weekly episodes cover how to communicate and build trust, run one-on-ones that actually work, handle performance reviews that don't suck, balance accountability with empathy, manage conflict and tough conversations, lead through pressure and setbacks, plan for succession, develop your people, and build team cultures where people want to stay instead of just show up.


A lot of his content is for the leaders stuck in the middle.


Gen X managers running teams while reporting to executives above them and leading Millennial and Gen Z employees below. If you've ever felt like most leadership advice was written for somebody else's generation, this show was built for you.


New episodes every Wednesday. Host Colby Morris is the founder of NXT Step Advisors, providing executive coaching, team training, and keynote speaking focused on people-first leadership that drives real business results.


Connect at NXTStepAdvisors.com or linkedin.com/in/colbymorris

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Episodi
  • How to Handle a Reactive Manager (Without Micromanaging)

    How to Handle a Reactive Manager (Without Micromanaging)
    Nov 4 2026
    An underperforming manager who is good with people still has to be managed on the work, closely and with a date, no matter their title.The email was three sentences long. A customer Colby Morris's team had kept for years was done, and he already knew whose desk he was walking to. He had seen it coming three months earlier, in a one-on-one with a vice president who reported to him. The reason he didn't stop it comes down to one sentence that VP said in that room. In this episode, Colby walks through what that sentence was, why it worked on him, what it cost, and the four moves he'd use now so one line from a senior leader doesn't buy them a quarter.Episode Reference Guide"He didn't need me to hold his hand. He needed me to hold the standard." Colby Morris"That thought is the flinch dressed up as respect." Colby MorrisWhat is The Flinch framework for managing an underperforming leader?The Flinch is a four-move framework created by Colby Morris for handling an underperforming manager or executive who pushes back on your follow-up. It's named for the moment a leader feels themselves pull back after that pushback, because catching that moment is what prevents a three-week fix from becoming a three-month problem. The four moves are:Check the altitude.Set the distance by the work, not the title.Hear the line for what it is.Set the clock out loud.How do you know if a manager is reactive instead of proactive?Change the questions you ask them for about three weeks. Colby explains the difference between "what happened" questions and "what's coming" questions, and what a responder does when you ask the second kind.Why do leaders wait too long on an underperforming VP or director?Usually because of the title. Colby uses Andy Grove's idea of task-relevant maturity to explain why a senior leader can be fully mature for one part of the job and a rookie at the part that's slipping, and why managing the rank instead of the task is where it goes wrong.What do you say when someone accuses you of micromanaging?First you figure out whether you asked how or asked whether. Colby covers the difference, the one question that sorts fair pushback from a deflection, and the exact sentence to say back, calmly, before you wait.How do you set a deadline for an underperforming manager?Out loud, with both halves. The date, and what happens the day after the date if it's missed. Colby explains why most leaders skip the second half and why saying it is the kindest thing you'll do all month.Research referencedRobert Half, November 2012 survey of more than 1,400 CFOs: supervisors spend an estimated 17% of their time, nearly one day a week, on poorly performing employees.Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, "Your Employees Want the Negative Feedback You Hate to Give," Harvard Business Review, January 2014: 72% of respondents said their performance would improve if their managers gave them corrective feedback.Andy Grove, High Output Management, on task-relevant maturity.Resources mentionedHigh Output Management by Andy GroveThe Flinch framework by Colby MorrisRelated episodesWhen to Address Underperformance (Part 1 of 2)Performance Issue or Hiring Mistake? Make the CallHow to Hold Someone Accountable Without MicromanagingHard Work Won't Save Your Team After an Acquisition (How to Manage Up to New Leadership)How to Give Your Boss Bad News (Without Making It a Surprise)Connect with ColbyColby Morris is the Founder of NXT Step Advisors, offering executive coaching, leadership training, keynotes, and fractional operating leadership for founder-led and PE-backed companies.LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/colbymorrisWebsite: NXTStepAdvisors.comSupport the showColby's LinkedIn ProfileNXTStepAdvisors.com
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    26 min
  • Hard Work Won't Save Your Team After an Acquisition (How to Manage Up to New Leadership)

    Hard Work Won't Save Your Team After an Acquisition (How to Manage Up to New Leadership)
    Oct 28 2026
    After an acquisition, new leadership judges your team by the numbers that move, not by how hard everyone looks like they're working.That's a tough shift if you built your reputation on hustle. Colby Morris tells the story of Jason, a manager who reported to him right after his company was acquired. Jason was the hardest-working, best-liked guy in the building, and he couldn't survive the new scoreboard. Colby also owns what he didn't understand yet as a young director, and what he does differently today.If your company just changed hands and nobody has told you what counts now, this episode gives you a way to find out before your first real review with new leadership, get your team pointed at it, and handle the hard conversation with the person who's working hard on all the wrong things.What You'll Find in This EpisodeWhy doesn't hard work count after an acquisition?New leadership doesn't know your history. They didn't see the late nights or the saves. What they can see is a dashboard, and when leaders can't see the work, research shows they stop trusting effort and start looking for something they can count.What is The Currency Check?The Currency Check is a framework created by Colby Morris for managers whose company has just been acquired or has had a major leadership change. It has four moves: Count your old currency. Find the new currency. Convert your team. Tell the truth about fit.How do I find out what new leadership actually measures?They almost never announce it. Colby walks through where the new priorities show up first, the one simple ask most managers never make, and what to do if your team isn't on the dashboard at all.What should I do when someone on my team is working hard but not producing results?Start with one question: is this a clarity problem or a skill problem? The answer changes everything about what you do next, including the honest conversation most leaders put off too long.Quotes from Colby Morris"Busy isn't a number.""Every organization pays you in something besides your paycheck. After a deal, the currency changes, and nobody tells you the exchange rate.""Most Jasons aren't lazy. They're playing by the last set of rules, because nobody told them the new ones."Research and Resources MentionedGallup employee engagement data: the share of U.S. employees who strongly agree they know what's expected of them at work fell from 56% in January 2020 to just under half by late 2024. AP coverageMicrosoft Work Trend Index (2022), "Hybrid Work Is Just Work": 87% of employees say they're productive, while only 12% of leaders have full confidence their team is productive. Read the reportBellezza, Paharia & Keinan, "Conspicuous Consumption of Time: When Busyness and Lack of Leisure Time Become a Status Symbol," Journal of Consumer Research. Columbia Business School summary"Never mistake activity for achievement," a line commonly attributed to Coach John WoodenRelated EpisodesYour Boss Isn't Ignoring You. They're Just Not Hearing You.How to Give Your Boss Bad News (Without Making It a Surprise)What Happens After Your Company Gets Acquired (And How to Lead Through It)Connect with ColbyIf your company just changed hands and your managers are working hard on the wrong things, Colby helps leadership teams stabilize fast after a deal.LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/colbymorrisWebsite: NXTStepAdvisors.comSupport the showColby's LinkedIn ProfileNXTStepAdvisors.com
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    25 min
  • Change Fatigue: How Gen X Leaders Can Lead a Team That’s Tired of Change

    Change Fatigue: How Gen X Leaders Can Lead a Team That’s Tired of Change
    Oct 21 2026
    Change fatigue means your team isn't resisting change, they're tired of it, and how leaders hand change down decides whether it gets worse.It's Monday morning, and a manager named Dana gets an email from her VP with the subject line "Exciting Update." It's the fourth big change her team has been handed this year. She forwards it with "FYI, new process starts the 1st," the same way it was always handed to her. Nobody pushes back. By Thursday, two of her best people have updated their LinkedIn profiles. Colby Morris walks through what Dana missed, why so many Gen X leaders hand down change the way it was handed to them, and why a quiet team is not the same as a team that's on board. Listeners on LinkedIn added a piece of this conversation too, and it made the episode.Episode Reference Guide"Your team isn't resisting the change. They're tired of it." Colby Morris"Being tired and having a say is a whole lot different than being tired and being told." Colby MorrisWhat is the Handoff framework for leading through change fatigue?The Handoff is a four-move framework created by Colby Morris for passing a change down to a team that has already been through too many. Most leaders don't get to decide which changes come. They do decide how those changes get handed down. The four moves are:Count the load.Name what's ending.Take something off the plate.Give them a piece of it.What is change fatigue at work?Change fatigue is what happens when people are asked to absorb change after change faster than they can adjust. Gartner research found the average employee went from about two major planned changes a year in 2016 to ten in 2022, while the share of employees willing to support change fell from about three in four to under half. Colby explains why that drop usually gets mistaken for resistance.What are the signs your team is tired of change?Resistance is loud. Change fatigue is usually quiet, which is why leaders miss it and read the silence as acceptance. The episode covers what tired actually looks like on a team, and what to do when your team suddenly has no questions at all.Why don't employees understand the reason for a change?Because a lot of leaders never lead with the why, and when people don't get one, they make up their own. Colby explains why the why your team needs is not the same as the one in the VP's email, and why Gen X leaders in particular tend to skip it.How do you lead a team through change you didn't choose?Most managers find out about a change only a few minutes before their team does. Colby speaks directly to the manager in the middle about what is still in their control, and to the CEO of a PE-backed company about what stacking change after a deal does to the people who have the most options to leave.Research referencedCian O Morain and Peter Aykens (Gartner), "Employees Are Losing Patience with Change Initiatives," Harvard Business Review, May 2023.Gartner Business Quarterly, Q1 2023, on the rise in planned enterprise changes and the drop in employee willingness to support change.William Bridges, Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes: "Change is situational. Transition, on the other hand, is psychological."Resources mentionedTransitions by William BridgesThe Handoff framework by Colby MorrisRelated episodesGen X Leaders: You Figured It Out Alone. Stop Expecting Your Team To.How to Communicate a Decision So It Actually Gets ImplementedHow to Give Your Boss Bad News (Without Making It a Surprise)What Happens After Your Company Gets Acquired (And How to Lead Through It)Leadership Burnout Isn't About You: The Four-Part Survival FrameworkConnect with ColbyColby Morris is the Founder of NXT Step Advisors, offering executive coaching, leadership training, keynotes, and fractional operating leadership for founder-led and PE-backed companies.LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/colbymorrisWebsite: NXTStepAdvisors.comSupport the showColby's LinkedIn ProfileNXTStepAdvisors.com
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    26 min
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