The Lead Up Podcast

Mike Harbour
  • 4.8 (26)
  • Management
  • Weekly

You are looking for quick answers and shortcuts. You want better results as a leader. All leaders desire better performance out of themselves and their teams, but you don't have time to waste. The Lead Up Podcast is your place for quick, actionable leadership lessons to get on the express lane of leading others. Great leaders know the way, show the way, and go the way. The best leaders step up to lead, they don't wait on others, they never stop working to make themselves better. They understand that everything rises and falls on leadership. The Lead Up Podcast exists to share ideas we have learned along the way and best practices in our interviews of thoughts leaders from around the globe.

  1. 21h ago

    Episode 509 Every Leadership Behavior Begins as a Thought

    What if the biggest influence on your leadership behavior isn't what's happening around you, but the story you're telling yourself about it? In this episode of the Lead Up Podcast, we're continuing our Leadership Behavior Advantage series by exploring how our beliefs, assumptions, and interpretations influence our leadership behaviors, the habits we develop, and ultimately the culture and outcomes of our organizations. I'll share a healthcare leadership story that illustrates how quickly an unverified assumption can change the way we treat and develop someone on our team. We'll also explore a practice I call the Meeting with Self, a simple but powerful way to pause, challenge our thinking, and choose a more intentional response when emotions or pressure threaten to take over. Because understanding the right leadership behavior doesn't guarantee we'll choose it. We have to examine the thinking that's driving our decisions. In This Episode, You'll Discover: Why leaders often respond to their interpretation of an event rather than the facts. How beliefs, assumptions, and interpretations influence leadership behavior. The connection between thinking, behaviors, habits, culture, and organizational outcomes. How assumptions affect employee engagement, development opportunities, and trust. A practical four-step process for separating facts from the stories we create. Why curiosity is one of the most valuable habits a leader can develop. Your thinking drives your behaviors. Your behaviors become habits. Your habits shape your culture. And your culture influences the outcomes you experience. Leadership begins between your ears. Step up. Lead up. Never stop working to become the leader people want to follow. If you found this episode valuable, share it with your executive team and another healthcare leader responsible for developing leaders and improving organizational performance. To continue the conversation or learn how Harbour Resources helps healthcare organizations develop, reinforce, and measure the leadership behaviors that drive stronger culture and sustainable results, reach out to Mike at Mike@harbourresources.com.

  2. Oct 23

    Episode 508 The Missing KPI in Leadership Development

    Healthcare organizations invest significant time and money in developing their leaders. They track attendance, completion rates, and participant satisfaction. But how do we know whether any of that investment is actually changing the way leaders lead? In this episode of the Lead Up Podcast, Mike Harbour challenges the way healthcare organizations measure leadership development and explores the missing KPI that matters most: leadership behavior change. Mike shares the story of a manager who left training equipped with a better approach to delegation, only to return to old habits when operational pressures took over. It's a familiar example of the gap between knowing what to do and consistently doing it. Using the Harbour Performance Equation, Mike explains why lasting organizational results depend on the leadership behaviors that become daily habits. Thinking → Behaviors → Habits → Culture → Outcomes In this episode, you'll learn: Why leaders often return to familiar habits after training. Why leadership behavior change is a critical leading indicator of organizational performance. How to identify specific, observable leadership behaviors that support strategic objectives. Why coaching, follow-up, and reinforcement are essential to making new behaviors stick. How to begin measuring leadership development by what leaders actually DO differently. Here's the challenge: Look at your organization's current leadership development efforts. Can you identify the specific behaviors you expect leaders to demonstrate differently, and do you have a way to know whether those changes are happening? Because leadership development shouldn't be measured only by what leaders learn. It should be measured by how they lead when they return to work. If you found this episode valuable, share it with your executive team and another healthcare leader responsible for developing leaders and improving organizational performance. To continue the conversation or learn how Harbour Resources helps healthcare organizations develop, reinforce, and measure the leadership behaviors that drive stronger culture and sustainable results, reach out to Mike at Mike@harbourresources.com.

  3. Oct 16

    Episode 507 What REALLY Drives Organizational Results? The Harbour Performance Equation

    Healthcare leaders spend a lot of time trying to improve employee engagement, reduce turnover, strengthen accountability, and improve patient experience. But are we focusing on the results instead of what's actually producing them? In this episode of the Lead Up Podcast, Mike Harbour introduces the Harbour Performance Equation, a practical framework that explains how leadership thinking drives behaviors, behaviors become habits, habits shape culture, and culture ultimately influences organizational results. Thinking → Behaviors → Habits → Culture → Outcomes Mike shares real-world healthcare leadership examples and explains how to work backward from disappointing results to identify where meaningful change needs to begin. In this episode, you'll learn: Why new initiatives don't always produce better results. How leadership thinking shapes daily behaviors and organizational culture. Why repeated leadership behaviors become unwritten expectations. How to work backward from outcomes to identify opportunities for improvement. Why changing one consistent leadership behavior can create meaningful momentum. Here's the challenge: Before launching another initiative, ask yourself what leadership thinking and behaviors may be contributing to the results you're experiencing. Because better organizational results begin long before they show up on a scorecard. If you found this episode valuable, share it with your executive team and another healthcare leader who needs to hear it. To continue the conversation or learn how Harbour Resources helps healthcare organizations develop, reinforce, and measure the specific leadership behaviors that drive stronger culture and organizational performance, reach out to Mike at Mike@harbourresources.com.

  4. Oct 8

    Episode 506 Turnover Is a Timeline, Not an Event

    A resignation hits your inbox from one of your best people. You didn’t see it coming. But was the decision really sudden, or was it only sudden to you? In this episode of The Lead Up Podcast, Mike continues the Leading Indicators series by challenging leaders to rethink how they view employee turnover. The resignation letter is rarely where the story begins. Long before someone announces they’re leaving, there may be changes in their engagement, frustration that continues to build, missed opportunities for development, or conversations that never happened. The challenge for leaders is learning to recognize those changes while there is still time to lead. In this episode, you’ll discover: Why turnover should be viewed as a timeline rather than a single event The subtle changes that can signal an employee is beginning to detach Why silence from a high performer shouldn’t automatically be interpreted as satisfaction How repeated leadership behaviors shape the employee experience over time Why productive disagreement can actually be a sign of engagement How leaders can recognize warning signs sooner and start better conversations A practical exercise for identifying what may have happened before a recent departure Mike also explores an important leadership question: When did this employee’s relationship with the organization begin to change? More departures may be preventable than leaders realize—but only if we get better at seeing what’s happening before the resignation arrives.

  5. Oct 1

    Episode 505 Preparing Clinical Experts to Lead People, Culture, and Change with Kristen Woods

    Clinical expertise can earn someone a seat at the leadership table. But it doesn’t automatically prepare them to lead people, influence peers, navigate change, or shape culture. In this episode of the Lead Up Podcast, Mike Harbour sits down with Dr. Kristen Woods, a family physician, seasoned healthcare executive, and leadership and strategy advisor, to discuss what has to change when clinical experts step into leadership. Kristen shares lessons from her own transition from practicing physician to senior healthcare leader—including the moment she realized passion and clinical knowledge weren’t enough to influence decisions at the executive level. Mike and Kristen explore why leadership requires a different way of thinking and behaving, the cultural risk of promoting high performers without preparing them to lead, and why healthcare organizations need to begin developing future leaders long before a critical position becomes vacant. They also discuss the hidden costs of disengagement, how leaders can create followership instead of relying on authority, why change efforts often stall, and the importance of learning to be kind instead of nice when giving feedback and having difficult conversations. Pasted text In this episode, you’ll hear: Why clinical excellence and leadership excellence require different skills What Kristen had to change when she moved from physician to executive The cultural cost of promoting someone who isn’t prepared to lead Where leaders should focus their energy when navigating resistance to change Why short-term wins matter during organizational transformation How “See One, Do One, Teach One” can inform leadership development Why succession planning should begin years before a leadership transition How honest feedback becomes a gift when leaders learn to be kind instead of nice Why every new level of responsibility requires new thinking and behaviors  About Dr. Kristen Woods Dr. Kristen Woods is a family physician and seasoned healthcare executive with more than 10 years of senior leadership experience transforming care delivery across complex health systems. Her work includes value-based care, physician engagement, organizational strategy, and trust-centered leadership. Today, she works with healthcare leaders and organizations to navigate sustainable change and build cultures where caregivers and patients can thrive. Listen to the full conversation to hear how healthcare organizations can better prepare clinical experts not simply to take leadership positions—but to think, behave, and lead differently when they get there. If you found this episode valuable, please leave a 5-star review and share it with another leader. To continue the conversation or learn how Harbour Resources can help your organization develop future-ready leaders and create lasting leadership behavior change, reach out to Mike at Mike@harbourresources.com.

  6. Sep 24

    Episode 504 The Most Dangerous Number in Healthcare

    In this episode of the Lead Up Podcast, host Mike Harbour asks a question every healthcare executive should consider: If we're measuring so much, why do we keep getting surprised? Healthcare organizations track turnover, engagement, patient experience, quality, safety, vacancies, financial performance, and more. But when a good employee resigns, engagement drops, or culture begins to deteriorate, leaders can still find themselves reacting after the damage has already been done. The problem isn't that these metrics don't matter. The problem is that many of them tell us what already happened. Take turnover. By the time an employee appears on a turnover report, the story behind that resignation may have started months earlier. That's why Mike challenges healthcare leaders to move upstream and look at the repeated leadership behaviors producing the outcomes on the dashboard. In this episode, you'll discover why two hospital units operating under similar conditions can produce very different results, what your traditional metrics may be missing, and what leaders should begin measuring earlier. The goal isn't another dashboard with 50 more metrics. It's identifying the specific leadership behaviors you can see, coach, reinforce, and change before the outcome shows up. A dashboard can tell you where you landed. It can't lead your people. If you found this episode valuable, share it with your executive team and another healthcare leader who needs to hear it. To continue the conversation, reach out to Mike at Mike@harbourresources.com.

  7. Sep 17

    Episode 503 How Elite Healthcare Leaders Improve Retention, Culture & Patient Experience with Jennifer Snider & Leilani Scott

    Better healthcare outcomes don’t start with the metric. They start with the leadership behaviors behind it. In this episode of The Lead Up Podcast, Mike Harbour sits down with healthcare executives Jennifer Naran and Leilani Scott for a practical conversation about improving retention, patient experience, culture, and organizational performance through better leadership. Jennifer and Leilani share what this looks like inside a large, complex healthcare organization—from developing frontline leaders and strengthening accountability to building trust and creating greater consistency across teams. They discuss how their organization uses stay interviews, leadership effectiveness measures, span-of-control expectations, coaching, and greater visibility into performance data to turn leadership expectations into everyday behaviors. One theme runs throughout the conversation: dashboards alone don’t change outcomes. Leaders do. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why improving outcomes starts with changing the behaviors behind them. How stronger frontline leadership can improve retention and employee experience. Why leaders need both the skills and the time to lead effectively. How consistent follow-up turns leadership development into measurable improvement. Why trust is built through direct relationships, meaningful conversations, and follow-through. About Jennifer Naran & Leilani Scott Jennifer Naran and Leilani Scott are experienced healthcare executives whose work spans physician leadership, talent strategy, leadership development, culture, and organizational performance. Together, they offer an inside look at what it takes to translate executive priorities into consistent leadership practices across a complex healthcare organization. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to The Lead Up Podcast and share it with another healthcare leader working to strengthen retention, culture, patient experience, and performance.

  8. Sep 10

    Episode 502 Leading What's Next: Building the Future-Ready Leaders

    In this episode of the Lead Up Podcast, host Mike Harbour reflects on the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001, honoring the lives lost, the families impacted, and the first responders and healthcare professionals who demonstrated extraordinary courage, service, and resolve. Twenty-five years later, those values still matter, but the way we lead must continue to evolve. Healthcare leaders today are navigating a very different kind of challenge—high turnover, rising labor costs, manager burnout, generational differences, and growing disconnection between the executive suite and frontline care teams. The command-and-control leadership style that may work during an acute crisis isn't enough to build a healthy, sustainable healthcare organization for the future. In this episode, Mike discusses: Why today's healthcare workforce requires a different leadership approach How generational differences are changing what employees need from their leaders How leaders can maintain high standards and accountability while building stronger relationships What it means to develop “full-capacity” leaders who bring clarity, balance, and emotional regulation to their teams Why one-and-done leadership training rarely produces sustainable behavior change Why healthcare leaders must intentionally prepare the next generation to lead what comes next Mike also challenges healthcare executives to take an honest look at their leadership pipeline. Are frontline managers developing the relational skills needed to lead today's workforce—or relying on outdated command-and-control pressure? Is your organization investing in leadership development that produces lasting change—or continuing to rely on one-time training? And if your organization faced another significant crisis tomorrow, would your leadership culture remain united and resolved under pressure? As we remember September 11, this episode is both a reflection on the leadership we witnessed 25 years ago and a challenge for the leaders of today. We honor the past not by standing still, but by preparing leaders for what's next. If you're a healthcare executive working to build a future-ready leadership culture where people stay, grow, and thrive, this episode will challenge you to consider whether the way you're developing leaders has evolved alongside the workforce they're being asked to lead. If you found this episode valuable, please leave a 5-star review and share it with another leader. To continue the conversation or learn how Harbour Resources can help your organization develop future-ready leaders and create lasting leadership behavior change, reach out to Mike at Mike@harbourresources.com.

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4.8
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About

You are looking for quick answers and shortcuts. You want better results as a leader. All leaders desire better performance out of themselves and their teams, but you don't have time to waste. The Lead Up Podcast is your place for quick, actionable leadership lessons to get on the express lane of leading others. Great leaders know the way, show the way, and go the way. The best leaders step up to lead, they don't wait on others, they never stop working to make themselves better. They understand that everything rises and falls on leadership. The Lead Up Podcast exists to share ideas we have learned along the way and best practices in our interviews of thoughts leaders from around the globe.

Information

  • Creator
    Mike Harbour
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    469
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Mike Harbour and Harbour Resources
  • Show Website
    The Lead Up Podcast

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