Leadership Huddle with Geoff Welch

Geoff Welch
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Management
  • Updated Weekly

Leadership Huddle is a resource for developmental leaders who value communicating clearly, helping others smash limiting beliefs, and drawing the best work from themselves and those they lead.  Covering topics related to personal and developmental leadership, self-management,  delegation, and healthy mindsets, Geoff Welch uses each episode to help leaders like you enrich their people and build winning teams.

  1. 19h ago

    Leadership is Maintenance

    When the snow started to melt in the spring I discovered a leak in my camper.To make matters worse, I couldn’t find the source of the leak.I examined the roof and other surface penetrations and applied copious amounts of sealant even though none of the seals seemed compromised.The leak persisted. I was exasperated.And then it dried up. An entire summer of sun and rain transpired and not a drop of water found its way inside.Months wandered by and the camper was dry.And then, on our last camper trip of the year, we were greeted with the same leak in the same location. Half a roll of duct tape later and I *think* I’ve identified the problem, but this is where my camper and your team share a major similarity: the maintenance is never really done.You can (and should!) relish the moments when everything is going well, but entropy (and all of recorded human history) indicate it won’t last unless you keep up the maintenance.In the same way that a thermostat doesn’t get your room to the proper temperature and then self-destruct because its job is done, you can’t expect your team to enjoy productivity, happiness, and collaboration without maintaining those things.Your thermostat is working against internal and external forces that are changing the temperature of the room and it has to always be at the ready to activate the necessary systems to get the room back to the desired state.Whether it’s the temperature of a room, the integrity of a camper roof, or the effectiveness of your team, the maintenance never ends.When you buy a camper, you had best enjoy tinkering with the camper as much as you enjoy taking it out into the woods.And when you’re a leader, you had best enjoy nurturing your people and the culture as much as you enjoy seeing the team win.The maintenance is only a problem when you don’t realize it’s a fundamental part of the gig.TRY THIS: What’s working right now? What needs to be true for that to keep working? What isn’t working right now? What needs to be true for it to start working again. Pick ONE thing and do a little maintenance. And remember: You don’t need to change the oil in your car every day. Maintaining your team isn’t about fixing what isn’t broken. It’s about keeping a watchful eye and paying attention to patterns to ensure some things never break…and other things don’t stay broken.My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

  2. Sep 27

    I think we should fall in love…

    Now that I’m 50 I have lots of things I never thought I would have.Like a personal philosophy about mowing the lawn. I’ll save you the long version and just say that I set my mower as high as it goes even though it means cutting it a little more often.Years ago I cribbed this philosophy from a YouTube video in which a lawn enthusiast was extolling the benefits of this approach. Along the way he fielded a question from a frustrated viewer who didn’t like that this method would require more frequent cutting. His reply was something like, “Why is that a problem? Mowing my lawn is the most peaceful part of my week, so I don’t mind doing it a little more often.”In the same way that leaving my grass longer results in a better outcome for my lawn, but requires a little more attention…you likely aren’t enjoying the best outcomes with your team because you aren’t willing to invest the time and energy.You want a healthy, lush, lawn, but you don’t want to mow it a few extra times each summer.You want your people to win, for goals to be met, and for collaboration and trust to rule supreme, but you don’t want to have that difficult conversation, to invest time into training, or to offer more ownership to others.In the same way that there really isn’t a shortcut to a healthy lawn, there isn’t a shortcut to an impossibly effective team.You’re going to have to fall in love with nurturing your people.TRY THIS: Identify one conversation, coaching moment, or piece of feedback you’ve been putting off because it feels inconvenient. Do it THIS week. Bonus points for scheduling 5 minutes every Monday to consider how to nurture your people in the coming week. You don’t have to do it all at once, but you do have to make it something that happens over and over again.Consistency beats intensity.My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

  3. Sep 20

    If you’re reading this I’m probably still alive

    If you’re reading this, then I’m probably still alive.I’m writing this essay from the lobby of an urgent care facility to get some help with a minor medical malady. I hadn’t planned on spending my morning here, but here is where I am. I expect you’ve been in a similar situation.A morning like this is usually the moment when you realize one of two things:1. My team is actually quite capable of working effectively without my direct oversight or input.2. My team is mostly dependent on me.And if you realize #2 is true, a morning like this is far too late to fix it.My advice is to start fixing it now.Are you the bottleneck for decisions that your team should be able to make? Are you investing in training to ensure your team knows what they need to know to reduce their reliance on you?Are you documenting processes and procedures so your people have access to a library of answers?Are you actively delegating work so that your people have a chance to get real-world experience before you’re unexpectedly unavailable.I know that losing half a day waiting at the doctor is unlikely to fundamentally destroy your team goals, but what if half a day turned into a week? Or a month? What happens then?Expect the unexpected. Prepare your team to win without you. Prepare them to win without one another. You can’t prepare for every eventuality, but you should have an idea of how things would work should anyone on your team be sidelined.The moment you lose someone isn’t the moment you want to be thinking about how to navigate their absence. Start today.TRY THIS: The single simplest place to start is to simply create a shared document where you start answering the questions people pose to you. When someone asks about X, you take an extra 5 minutes to document the answer in the shared document.While you are working on reducing the places in which you are the bottleneck, training people to upgrade (and cross train) their skills, and delegating more than you ever have before…just start dropping intel into the shared document. Don’t try to capture it all today, that’s way too much, just capture whatever comes up. Where possible delegate input to others who are domain experts. In time you will have a robust library of shared, searchable information because you started today.My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

  4. Sep 13

    How am I doing?

    Someone on your team isn’t sure where they stand.They might need a reminder of what they are doing right.They might need feedback on an opportunity for improvement.They might need a high five to let them know you appreciate their contributions.They might need you to care enough about their success to hold them accountable.They might need clarity about where they can have the greatest impact this week.They might need a reminder that they are absolutely up to the challenge.It’s your responsibility to make sure they get what they need so they can stop wasting time wondering where they stand and take confident, informed action. TRY THIS: Consider each of the people you lead and what they might need from you. Don’t ever assume all is well because they “seem fine.” Check in with them. Be aware of their most recent successes and setbacks. Are they thriving? Are they stagnating? Find ways to celebrate and challenge them.My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

  5. Sep 6

    There’s only room for one person in the driver’s seat

    In one of my favorite sequences in the Mission Impossible movie franchise, two characters find themselves handcuffed together in a tiny, but incredibly high-performance car as they attempt to elude capture. One character is our hero Ethan Hunt who literally does this for a living. The other character is Grace, a clever pickpocket who has been pulled into this escapade without any background in high-speed car chases.With Grace behind the wheel at a crucial moment, struggling to control the vehicle as their pursuer gains on them, Ethan grabs the wheel from the passenger seat and forces the car onto a new path.Grace yells, “WHO’S DRIVING?”Ethan immediately pulls his hands off the wheel, “YOU’RE DRIVING! YOU’RE DRIVING!”It was such a perfect picture of how leaders confuse the situation they are trying to remedy by grabbing the wheel and leaving the people they lead unsure of who is supposed to be at the helm.The problem for you is that your people are less likely to demand clarity about who is supposed to be driving after you grab the wheel.Instead you’ll either find yourself doing the thing you intended to delegate…or they will assume you’ve fully taken back control and neither one of you will actually be driving anymore.Thankfully most of you aren’t trying to help someone you lead navigate a do-or-die car chase from the passenger seat, so the stakes are a little lower.So if you’ve put someone else in the driver’s seat, keep your hands off the wheel.TRY THIS: When you delegate to your team, are you clear on how you will and won’t be available to support them? Do they understand what it looks like for them to drive? Where might you have the inclination to grab the wheel and how can you be intentional about keeping your hands to yourself? The idea is not to abandon them, but to coach them while they drive instead of putting yourself back in the driver’s seat. My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

  6. Aug 30

    Wait. You think you’re the main character?

    Your friends, family, and even the people you lead are the supporting cast in YOUR story.But don’t forget that you are a part of the supporting cast in each of THEIR stories.This matters because we are incredibly prone to focus too much on the US of it all. I like to say that I’m selfish because I’m the only one that never leaves. No matter where I go, there I am.Being inescapably present with yourself might lead you to think that YOUR story is the most important. That the things you care about ACTUALLY ARE the most important things.But everyone around you thinks the same thing.So the next time you are confounded by the behavior of someone you lead…or are having difficulty achieving clarity…it might be because you are treating them like a supporting cast member when they see themselves as the main character.TRY THIS: Take a few minutes this week to put yourselves in the shoes of the people you lead. What do you think matters to them? When you exit stage left, what is happening in their story? The more curious you get about how everyone else thinks, the more opportunities you will have to discover what they really care about and how to connect with them more effectively.My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

  7. Aug 23

    The people you lead don’t need another friend

    The people you lead don’t need another friend.But they do need someone who is invested in their success.They don’t need a buddy. They don’t need someone who cares more about being liked than being effective. They don’t need someone who will validate all their frustrations and tell them they are infallible.They need a leader who wants them to be successful, even if it means telling them something they don’t want to hear.They need a leader who will encourage them when they are doing something right.They need a leader who will correct them when they are missing the mark.They need a leader who will offer this kind of feedback over and over again so they always know where they stand. They need a leader who will give them good news AND bad news, because a leader who only does one or the other isn’t someone they will trust.The people you lead don’t need you to be their friend.But they do need you to be so invested in their success that you refuse to avoid a difficult conversation that will help them win.TRY THIS: Who on your team needs a high five this week? Who needs some tough love? Help your people see the things they are doing well. Celebrate those successes with them. Help your people see where they could improve. Coach them through the process of upgrading skills that could be better.My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

  8. Aug 16

    Everything falls apart (a message of hope)

    Entropy is what we call the tendency for everything to trend toward chaos.In incredibly basic terms, it means that things that aren’t nurtured fall apart.Stop going to the gym and your muscles begin to atrophy.Stop practicing golf and your skills begin to diminish.Stop watering your lawn and green grass becomes brown.Stop encouraging and correcting your people and performance will regress. So will trust.Nothing stays as it is for long.Things get better because you make them better. So make things better.TRY THIS: Make sure you are nurturing your people this week. Prioritize consistent “batting practice” feedback, offering regular encouragement and correction. Ensure they know what they are doing right and where there are opportunities for growth. Your team won’t get better by accident.My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

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About

Leadership Huddle is a resource for developmental leaders who value communicating clearly, helping others smash limiting beliefs, and drawing the best work from themselves and those they lead.  Covering topics related to personal and developmental leadership, self-management,  delegation, and healthy mindsets, Geoff Welch uses each episode to help leaders like you enrich their people and build winning teams.

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