Compass To Practice

Antonio Irizarry

Compass to Practice helps leaders turn pressure into trustworthy action. Each weekly episode names one real-world leadership pattern, explains the principle behind it, and gives you one practice to use the same week. Hosted by Antonio E. Irizarry Velez and guided by Humility, Clarity, Courage, and Empathy. Follow the show for practical tools on honest performance, escalation, accountability, and decision-making under pressure. More at https://www.compasstopractice.com.

Episodes

  1. The Hero Trap: Episode 6

    1d ago

    The Hero Trap: Episode 6

    Subtitle: Why Your Best People Are Exhausted Every organization has one: the person everyone calls when something goes wrong. At first, heroes feel like a blessing. Over time, heroics can hide deeper problems: undocumented knowledge, weak processes, dependency, burnout, and organizational fragility. In this episode, Antonio Irizarry explores why many organizations do not have a process problem; they have a hero problem. Through lessons from Toyota, Southwest Airlines, healthcare, Apple, and growing businesses, you will learn why great leaders build systems that scale instead of relying on extraordinary effort. The goal is not better firefighters. The goal is fewer fires. Practice this week: Ask: - Who gets called when everything goes wrong? - What knowledge exists only in their head? - What meetings cannot happen without them? - What decisions wait for them? - What would break if they left tomorrow? Then ask: "What system should exist instead?" Follow Compass To Practice for weekly leadership practices. On Spotify, answer the poll: Have you seen the Hero Trap? More: https://www.compasstopractice.com References: - Toyota Production System: standard work. - Toyota Kata: Mike Rother. - Peter Senge: The Learning Organization. - W. Edwards Deming: systems thinking. - Southwest Airlines operational excellence. - Healthcare patient handoff research. - Eliyahu Goldratt: constraints and dependency. - Jim Collins: Good to Great. - Apple leadership succession studies. Disclaimer: The views shared on Compass To Practice are my personal views and do not reflect those of my employer or any current or former company. I do not share confidential, proprietary, customer-specific, or employer-specific information on this podcast.

    12 min
  2. The Cost of Waiting: Episode 5

    Jul 4

    The Cost of Waiting: Episode 5

    Subtitle: How Small Delays Become Big Problems Most organizational failures do not begin with a bad decision. They begin with a delayed decision. In this episode, Antonio Irizarry explores the hidden cost of waiting: waiting to have the difficult conversation, waiting to make the decision, and waiting to address the risk everyone can already see. Through lessons from Challenger, Kodak, Nokia, Blockbuster, and the AI revolution, this episode shows how delays compound quietly until reality sends the invoice. Practice this week: Perform a Waiting Audit. Ask: - What issue have I known about for more than 30 days? - What conversation have I postponed? - What decision am I waiting to make? - What risk am I managing with a workaround? Then ask: "What would happen if I waited another 90 days?" The answer usually reveals the true cost. Follow Compass To Practice for weekly leadership practices. On Spotify, answer the poll: Where does waiting usually cost your team most? More: https://www.compasstopractice.com References: - Diane Vaughan: Normalization of Deviance. - NASA Challenger Investigation. - Kodak and digital transformation studies. - Nokia and strategic change. - Blockbuster and business model disruption. - Artificial intelligence industry transformation. - Peter Drucker: decision making and effectiveness. Disclaimer: The views shared on Compass To Practice are my personal views and do not reflect those of my employer or any current or former company. I do not share confidential, proprietary, customer-specific, or employer-specific information on this podcast.

    11 min
  3. Pressure Without Panic: Episode 4

    Jun 27

    Pressure Without Panic: Episode 4

    Pressure is unavoidable. Panic is optional. In this episode, Antonio Irizarry breaks down how leaders accidentally turn urgency into fear, and how that fear creates false green, silence, and late surprises. You will learn a simple Pressure Protocol to run hard conversations with calm authority: name what is known, protect signal, and turn uncertainty into the next action with clear ownership and timing. Practice this week: In your next meeting, ask, "What are we carrying quietly to keep it green?" Then run the Pressure Protocol and commit to one visible 7-day action. Follow Compass To Practice for weekly leadership practices. On Spotify, answer the poll: What helps you stay clear under pressure? More: https://www.compasstopractice.com References: - High Reliability Organizing principles. - Sterile cockpit concept: signal-to-noise under pressure. - Incident Command System: role clarity during crises. Disclaimer: The views shared on Compass To Practice are my personal views and do not reflect those of my employer or any current or former company. I do not share confidential, proprietary, customer-specific, or employer-specific information on this podcast.

    13 min
  4. The Day Your Team Stops Escalating: Episode 3

    Jun 20

    The Day Your Team Stops Escalating: Episode 3

    When teams stop escalating, problems do not disappear; they go underground. In this episode, Antonio Irizarry breaks down how no-surprises cultures quietly delay truth until it becomes expensive, and how leaders can rebuild early signal with a clear escalation standard and a simple weekly practice. This episode also connects to Norevia Rising, because stories often reveal what dashboards hide. Practice this week: Ask, "What are we calling green that feels red?" Then define four escalation triggers: customer risk, cross-functional help, heroics, and tradeoffs. Commit to one visible 7-day action. Follow Compass To Practice for weekly leadership practices. On Spotify, answer the poll: What keeps teams from escalating risk early? More: https://www.compasstopractice.com References: - NASA ASRS: confidential safety reporting. - Crew Resource Management / United 173: speak-up training. - Stop-Work Authority: a formal escalation standard. Disclaimer: The views shared on Compass To Practice are my personal views and do not reflect those of my employer or any current or former company. I do not share confidential, proprietary, customer-specific, or employer-specific information on this podcast.

    13 min
  5. The Meeting That Teaches People to Lie: Episode 2

    Jun 13

    The Meeting That Teaches People to Lie: Episode 2

    Meetings do not just review performance; they teach people what truth costs. In this episode, Antonio Irizarry explains how accountability can become theater, why teams edit reality under pressure, and how to replace it with a Truth Review so signals move early. Practice this week: Run a 15-minute Truth Review at the end of your weekly meeting: - What changed? - What's stuck? - What risk is being absorbed locally? - What must move up now? - What is the smallest 7-day action we will complete? Follow Compass To Practice for weekly leadership practices. On Spotify, answer the poll and leave a comment with one question your team needs to ask sooner. More: https://www.compasstopractice.com References: - Andon: a Lean signal system for surfacing problems early. - Jidoka: stopping for abnormality instead of passing defects downstream. - Columbia Accident Investigation Board: organizational communication and dissent. - Psychological safety: truth-telling and reporting behavior. - Amy Edmondson: reporting and learning culture insights. Disclaimer: The views shared on Compass To Practice are my personal views and do not reflect those of my employer or any current or former company. I do not share confidential, proprietary, customer-specific, or employer-specific information on this podcast.

    7 min
  6. When Numbers Stop Telling the Truth (False Green): Episode 1

    Jun 6

    When Numbers Stop Telling the Truth (False Green): Episode 1

    When the dashboard is green but your gut is red, that is signal. In this episode, Antonio Irizarry breaks down False Green: how good teams quietly edit reality under pressure, why truth arrives late, and how to restore honest performance. Practice this week: Ask, "What are we calling green that feels red on the floor?" Then make one 7-day action visible. Follow Compass To Practice for weekly leadership practices, and leave a comment on Spotify with the metric your team should look at more honestly. More: https://www.compasstopractice.com References: - Goodhart's Law: when a measure becomes a target, it stops being a good measure. - Campbell's Law: high-stakes metrics tend to be gamed and distort behavior. - W. Edwards Deming: system causes drive results; avoid managing by numbers alone. - Amy Edmondson: psychological safety helps truth arrive sooner. Disclaimer: The views shared on Compass To Practice are my personal views and do not reflect those of my employer or any current or former company. I do not share confidential, proprietary, customer-specific, or employer-specific information on this podcast.

    6 min
  7. Welcome to Compass to Practice: Episode 0

    Jun 1

    Welcome to Compass to Practice: Episode 0

    Start here. Compass To Practice helps leaders turn intention into behavior. In this short welcome episode, Antonio Irizarry explains who the show is for and how each episode works: one real-world pattern, one principle, and one practice you can use the same week. The show is guided by the Leadership Compass: Humility, Clarity, Courage, and Empathy. Follow Compass To Practice for weekly practical leadership tools, and leave a comment on Spotify with the leadership habit you want to practice next. More: https://www.compasstopractice.com Disclaimer: The views shared on Compass To Practice are my personal views and do not reflect those of my employer or any current or former company. I do not share confidential, proprietary, customer-specific, or employer-specific information on this podcast.

    5 min
  • 7 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Compass to Practice helps leaders turn pressure into trustworthy action. Each weekly episode names one real-world leadership pattern, explains the principle behind it, and gives you one practice to use the same week. Hosted by Antonio E. Irizarry Velez and guided by Humility, Clarity, Courage, and Empathy. Follow the show for practical tools on honest performance, escalation, accountability, and decision-making under pressure. More at https://www.compasstopractice.com.

Information

  • Creator
    Antonio Irizarry
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    7
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Antonio Irizarry
  • Show Website
    Compass To Practice