Your Preshift

Ryan Bond

Your Preshift is ideas for people who lead people. I’m Ryan Bond. I’m an executive, organization-development practitioner, and a student of how people and organizations work. I spend my days trying to put these ideas into practice in a real business - sometimes successfully, sometimes not :-). This show is where I explore what research, experience, and a few experiments can teach us about leading people better.

  1. Sep 30

    When Do You Stop Coaching Someone?

    Some of the hardest leadership decisions aren’t about the person who is obviously failing. They’re about the person who’s doing okay. You’ve coached them. You’ve had the conversations. Maybe you’ve seen some improvement. Maybe they get decent results. And every time you start wondering whether it’s time to make a change, there’s a perfectly reasonable argument for giving them a little more time. So how do you know if someone is actually growing or if you’re just having the same coaching conversation over and over? In this episode, Ryan digs into what real change actually looks like, why struggling and refusing are two very different things, and the evidence to look for when deciding whether to keep investing in someone. Because eventually, “let’s give it a little more time” becomes a decision too.

    When Do You Stop Coaching Someone?

  2. Sep 23

    How Much Freedom Is Too Much?

    We want people to take ownership, make decisions, and solve problems without constantly asking for permission. But give people too much freedom without enough clarity, and empowerment can quickly turn into everyone doing their own thing. In this episode of Your Preshift, Ryan explores the tension between autonomy and alignment. How do you give people real room to lead while still making sure everyone is moving in the same direction? We’ll talk about why autonomy needs guardrails, how too much control creates dependence, and what leaders can do to build teams that don’t need permission for every decision because they understand what matters.

    How Much Freedom Is Too Much?

  3. Aug 12

    How Do You Hold the Standard Without Losing the Person?

    What happens when someone on your team falls short of the standard, but you also understand exactly why? In this episode of our Managing Leadership Tensions series, Ryan explores one of the hardest balances in frontline leadership: holding a high bar without losing sight of the human being trying to reach it. We look at why leaders tend to drift toward one of two extremes under pressure: becoming the Enforcer who protects the standard at the expense of the person, or the Peacemaker who protects the person by quietly lowering the standard. Drawing from research on psychological safety, empathy, expectations, and human cooperation, Ryan makes the case that great leadership requires both. The standard stays high, and you stay beside the person trying to meet it. Research & ideas referenced: James Suzman’s anthropological work on hunter-gatherer societies and the Ju/’hoansi; Google’s Project Aristotle and psychological safety; Laszlo Bock’s Work Rules!; the Pygmalion and Golem Effects and the impact of leader expectations; research on empathic distress and empathy’s “spotlight” effect; and Cal Newport’s work on reactivity and attention under pressure.

    How Do You Hold the Standard Without Losing the Person?

  4. Aug 5

    Just a Tease: We Need to Contribute. We Need to Belong.

    In this teaser episode for High Standards and Deep Empathy, we look at why balancing uncompromising performance standards with genuine care is one of the oldest and hardest tensions in leadership.

    Just a Tease: We Need to Contribute. We Need to Belong.

  5. Jul 29

    Sometimes You Should Just Tell Them What to Do.

    In this episode of our Managing Leadership Tensions series, Ryan tackles one of the most practical tensions every leader faces: When do you coach, and when do you simply give direction? Lean too heavily on directing, and your team becomes dependent on you for every answer. Lean too heavily on coaching, and people can become frustrated, confused, or left to struggle when they really needed someone to teach them. Through research, real-world examples, and practical guidance, this episode will help you recognize which approach the moment calls for so you can develop people without sacrificing standards, execution, or confidence.

    Sometimes You Should Just Tell Them What to Do.

  6. Jul 22

    Why Your Leadership Fixes Never Stick

    Every day, leaders are pulled between competing priorities. Move faster or slow down and coach. Hold people accountable or show empathy. Give more freedom or create more structure. Most of us treat these as choices, and that's where the trouble starts. In the kickoff to this new series on Managing Leadership Tensions, Ryan explores why leadership feels like an endless game of Whack-a-Mole. You solve one problem only to create another. Drawing on research from Ronald Heifetz, Barry Johnson, and others, he introduces a different way of thinking: the best leaders don't bounce between competing priorities. They learn to manage the tension between them. This episode lays the foundation for the next eight conversations, giving leaders a practical framework for making better decisions without getting trapped in black-and-white thinking. If you've ever felt like you're constantly overcorrecting, this episode will help you understand why, and show you a better way to lead.

    Why Your Leadership Fixes Never Stick

  7. Jun 24

    When You Inherit a Dumpster Fire

    Ryan explores what it takes to enter and lead a true turnaround. Drawing on research from psychology and organizational behavior, he explains why struggling teams often become either helpless or defensive, how to identify the quiet employees who hold the most valuable institutional knowledge, and why fixing relationships is often the first step to fixing performance. The lesson: move quickly on broken systems, but slowly on your judgments about people.

    When You Inherit a Dumpster Fire

  8. Jun 17

    What If Nothing Is Actually Broken?

    This week on Your Preshift, Ryan explores one of the hardest parts of leadership: walking into a team you didn’t build. Whether you're taking over a restaurant, a department, a school, or a shift, the pressure to prove yourself can push you into changing things before you understand them. Ryan unpacks why organizations are more like archaeological sites than blank slates, how old processes often carry the scars of past successes and failures, and why the smartest thing a new leader can do is listen before they lead. Sometimes the most important work in your first 100 days is figuring out why the fence was built before you decide to tear it down.

    What If Nothing Is Actually Broken?
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5
out of 5
27 Ratings

About

Your Preshift is ideas for people who lead people. I’m Ryan Bond. I’m an executive, organization-development practitioner, and a student of how people and organizations work. I spend my days trying to put these ideas into practice in a real business - sometimes successfully, sometimes not :-). This show is where I explore what research, experience, and a few experiments can teach us about leading people better.

Information

  • Creator
    Ryan Bond
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    67
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Ryan Bond
  • Show Website
    Your Preshift

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