Leveraging Operations in Leadership

Tonya D. Harrison
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Leveraging Operations in Leadership is the podcast for values-driven leaders and business owners who are building small, growing teams. Hosted by Tonya D. Harrison, Founder of Cignal Partners and creator of the LeadOpx™ Framework, each episode explores how to lead with purpose and operate with precision — blending leadership development, team performance, and operational excellence into actionable insights. Whether you’re a business owner scaling your first team or a leader refining how your team operates, you’ll learn how to: Strengthen your leadership systems and decision-makingImprove team communication, accountability, and performanceBuild sustainable operations that reflect your values and support your vision Because great leadership starts with values — but it’s sustained through systems. Join us on this journey to elevate your leadership game and achieve outstanding results with your team.

  1. 19H AGO

    Leaving Burnout Behind: Leading in a Way That Honors Your Capacity and Yourself - Part 1

    Send a text In the world of leadership and operations, we often talk about "capacity" in terms of systems and software. But what happens when the most critical part of the operation—the leader—runs out of fuel? In this episode, I’m joined by Shani Gardner, LCSW, a psychotherapist and burnout recovery strategist, to discuss the deeply personal side of sustainable leadership. We dive into the difference between "survival mode" and sustainable wellbeing, and why honoring your identity and lived experience is essential to leading effectively. If you’ve been feeling like you’re running on empty, this conversation is your permission to pause, reflect, and rebuild a leadership style that honors both your business and your humanity. About our guest: Shani Gardner is a psychotherapist, speaker, and burnout recovery & resilience strategist with over a decade of experience supporting the mental health of Black women and women of color. Through her clinical work and workshops, she helps individuals move from survival mode to sustainable wellbeing using practical, trauma-informed tools that honor identity and lived experience. Featured Resource: The Burnout Reflection Guide Are you unsure where you stand on the burnout spectrum? Shani has provided a powerful tool for our listeners. The Burnout Reflection Guide is a short, reflective resource designed to help you: Understand how burnout shows up specifically in your body.Identify the "leaks" that have been draining your energy.Notice exactly what supports and calms your nervous system.Download the Burnout Reflection Guide Here 1:1 leadership development and advisory experience, designed for real implementation, for business owners who want more capacity, stronger structure, and a clear path to bringing on support the right way. If that resonates, you can learn more at https://go.cignalpartners.com/leadershipshift Ready to close the gap between goals and results? For a clear and consistent way to lead your business, download the free GAP Guide. Grab the download 👉🏾 https://go.cignalpartners.com/gap If this episode helped you: If this episode resonated, share it with a leader who needs it or leave a review to help more leaders find these conversations.

    38 min

  2. FEB 18

    Business Operations Audit: Increase Efficiency Before Increasing Headcount

    Send a text Are you actually ready for a new hire, or are you just tired?  In this episode, we challenge the "hiring reflex" that often leads to leadership burnout. Scaling a team into a broken system doesn't create capacity; it creates an expensive management nightmare.  We walk through the "Pre-Hire Audit," a tactical diagnostic to help you determine if your bottleneck is a lack of people or a lack of precision.  Learn how to identify Operational Drag and use the "Hierarchy of Leverage" to build a high-performance team without the premature payroll. Ready to close the gap between goals and results? For a clear and consistent way to lead your business, download the free GAP Guide. Grab the download 👉🏾 https://go.cignalpartners.com/gap If this episode helped you: If this episode resonated, share it with a leader who needs it or leave a review to help more leaders find these conversations.

    17 min

  3. FEB 11

    Why Growth Feels Heavy Without Structure (And How to Fix It)

    Send a text Growth isn’t supposed to feel this heavy. If progress depends on constant effort, pushing, and holding everything together, the problem usually isn’t a lack of motivation or discipline; it’s a lack of structure. In this episode, I discuss why growth can start to feel exhausting when structure isn’t carrying enough weight, how leaders unintentionally compensate with effort, and what it truly takes to make progress feel lighter and more sustainable. This conversation is about moving from effort-driven growth to momentum-driven growth—so leadership stops feeling fragile and starts feeling steady. If this episode resonated, share it with a leader who’s carrying too much.  I’ll see you next week. Ready to close the gap between goals and results? For a clear and consistent way to lead your business, download the free GAP Guide. Grab the download 👉🏾 https://go.cignalpartners.com/gap If this episode helped you: If this episode resonated, share it with a leader who needs it or leave a review to help more leaders find these conversations.

    16 min

  4. FEB 4

    Why Being a Great Doer Can Make You a Struggling Leader

    Send a text Many leaders struggle not because they lack skill or work ethic, but because they are still operating from a doer identity in a leadership role. In this episode, we explore why being great at execution can actually hold leaders back and how identity mismatch shows up as micromanagement, exhaustion, and stalled growth. This conversation is especially relevant for solo leaders preparing to hire and leaders already managing a team who feel like everything still depends on them. This episode challenges the idea that leadership means doing more and reframes leadership as designing clarity, workflows, and capacity so the work does not depend on you. You do not need to stop caring or lower your standards.  You need to stop being the center of execution. If this episode feels uncomfortably accurate, you are likely at a leadership transition point. 🎯 Next Step: Explore The Leadership Shift, a structured experience for leaders and solo business owners ready to move from doing everything themselves to building real leadership capacity. https://cignalpartners.com/theshift Ready to close the gap between goals and results? For a clear and consistent way to lead your business, download the free GAP Guide. Grab the download 👉🏾 https://go.cignalpartners.com/gap If this episode helped you: If this episode resonated, share it with a leader who needs it or leave a review to help more leaders find these conversations.

    13 min

  5. JAN 28

    You Do Not Need More Motivation You Need More Capacity

    Send a text If you have been telling yourself to lock in, push harder, or be more disciplined, this episode is your reality check. The problem is not a lack of effort. It is that your capacity is maxed out.  In this episode, I break down what capacity actually is, how to recognize when it is tapped, and the simple redesigns that help leaders create space, reduce pressure, and build sustainable momentum. Ready to close the gap between goals and results? For a clear and consistent way to lead your business, download the free GAP Guide. Grab the download 👉🏾 https://go.cignalpartners.com/gap If this episode helped you: If this episode resonated, share it with a leader who needs it or leave a review to help more leaders find these conversations.

    17 min

  6. JAN 21

    Building a Solid Operational Foundation: The Leadership Work Most Businesses Skip

    Send a text If your business feels heavier than it should, or progress slows the moment you step away, the issue usually isn’t motivation, talent, or effort—it’s your operational foundation. In this episode, I break down what it really means to build a solid operational foundation and why so many leaders struggle to grow without burning out. Operational foundations aren’t about tools or hustle. They’re about structure—the systems, clarity, and leadership habits that allow work to happen consistently without everything depending on you. I walk through the five core elements every leader must put in place to create stability, capacity, and sustainable growth—starting with capacity, because leadership cannot be built on exhaustion. Ready to close the gap between goals and results? For a clear and consistent way to lead your business, download the free GAP Guide. Grab the download 👉🏾 https://go.cignalpartners.com/gap If this episode helped you: If this episode resonated, share it with a leader who needs it or leave a review to help more leaders find these conversations.

    18 min

  7. JAN 14

    The Mindset Shifts Leaders Must Make to Go From Solo to Team

    Send a text Stepping out of a solo role and into team leadership is one of the most challenging transitions a business owner or leader will make. It is not because hiring is hard. It is because leadership requires a different way of thinking once other people are involved. In this episode, I break down the core mindset shifts every leader must make to successfully move from doing everything themselves to leading a team that performs consistently and sustainably. These shifts are not about tactics or tools. They are about how you think about leadership, responsibility, and capacity. If you are preparing to hire, have recently hired, or already lead a small team but still feel overly involved in the day to day, this episode will help you see where the disconnect is and what needs to change. Key takeaway: You cannot lead a team with a solo operator mindset. If your thinking does not shift, your team never will. 1:1 leadership development and advisory experience, designed for real implementation, for business owners who want more capacity, stronger structure, and a clear path to bringing on support the right way. If that resonates, you can learn more at https://go.cignalpartners.com/leadershipshift Ready to close the gap between goals and results? For a clear and consistent way to lead your business, download the free GAP Guide. Grab the download 👉🏾 https://go.cignalpartners.com/gap If this episode helped you: If this episode resonated, share it with a leader who needs it or leave a review to help more leaders find these conversations.

    22 min

  8. JAN 7

    Stop, Start, Continue: A Leadership Reset Using the Core Pillars

    Send a text Most leaders start the new year by setting goals. Strong leaders start by deciding what needs to stop. In this episode, I break down how I use the Stop, Start, Continue method as a leadership reset, not a reflection exercise, and how pairing it with defined Core Leadership Pillars creates clarity, focus, and real capacity before annual planning begins. This is a framework I’ve used year after year in my own leadership and with business owners and team leaders who want sustainable growth without burnout. 1:1 leadership development and advisory experience, designed for real implementation, for business owners who want more capacity, stronger structure, and a clear path to bringing on support the right way. If that resonates, you can learn more at https://go.cignalpartners.com/leadershipshift Ready to close the gap between goals and results? For a clear and consistent way to lead your business, download the free GAP Guide. Grab the download 👉🏾 https://go.cignalpartners.com/gap If this episode helped you: If this episode resonated, share it with a leader who needs it or leave a review to help more leaders find these conversations.

    24 min
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About

Leveraging Operations in Leadership is the podcast for values-driven leaders and business owners who are building small, growing teams. Hosted by Tonya D. Harrison, Founder of Cignal Partners and creator of the LeadOpx™ Framework, each episode explores how to lead with purpose and operate with precision — blending leadership development, team performance, and operational excellence into actionable insights. Whether you’re a business owner scaling your first team or a leader refining how your team operates, you’ll learn how to: Strengthen your leadership systems and decision-makingImprove team communication, accountability, and performanceBuild sustainable operations that reflect your values and support your vision Because great leadership starts with values — but it’s sustained through systems. Join us on this journey to elevate your leadership game and achieve outstanding results with your team.

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