Things Leaders Do

Stop Chaos Before It Starts: The Leader’s Playbook

• Colby Morris

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Episode Title: "Stop Chaos Before It Starts: The Leader’s Playbook"

Host: Colby Morris
Episode Overview

Chaos doesn’t have to define your leadership. In this episode, Colby Morris turns Jocko Willink’s chaos-detachment mindset into a proactive game plan. Learn three practical tools—clear expectations, extreme ownership, and relentless communication—to build a team culture that stops mayhem in its tracks. Packed with real-world stories and steps you can use today, this is leadership made simple.

Key Topics: Leadership strategies, chaos-resistant culture, team clarity, ownership, communication

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Available on your favorite podcast platform—search "Things Leaders Do" and hit play!

Key Takeaways

  1. Set Clear Expectations: Use Role Clarity Conversations to wipe out confusion and keep chaos away.
  2. Build Ownership: Teach your team to ask, “What can I own?”—it’s the ultimate chaos-stopper.
  3. Communicate Relentlessly: Run a 10-minute Daily Huddle to keep your team synced and surprises at zero.

Listener Challenge: Try one tool this week—like the Daily Huddle—and let me know how it goes on LinkedIn!

Episode Highlights

  • Colby shares how a team turned chaos into calm by asking, “What’s your top three?”—a simple fix with big impact.
  • Inspired by Extreme Ownership, hear about a project manager who saved a deadline by stepping up when it wasn’t “his job.”
  • The Daily Huddle in action: Colby contrasts a CEO’s launch flop with a team that nailed it through daily syncs.
  • A final nudge: Pick one tool and run with it—plus, a hint about next week’s episode!

Resources Mentioned

Why You’ll Love This Episode

Overwhelmed by team chaos? Colby Morris, COO and leadership expert, breaks down three tools—clarity, ownership, and communication—to stop mayhem before it starts. From a team turnaround to a deadline-saving win, this episode delivers real examples and a clear plan to lead with less stress. Perfect for new managers or seasoned pros.

SEO Keywords: Leadership in chaos, proactive culture building, team clarity, ownership, communication strategies

Get Involved

  • Share Your Story: Have a chaos tale? Connect or message on LinkedIn—it could feature next time!
  • Rate & Review: Loved it? Drop a 5-star review on your podcast platform—it helps us reach more leaders.
  • Connect: Share your favorite tool with #ThingsLeadersDo and tag @ColbyMorris.


Speaker 1:

Welcome to Things Leaders Do, the podcast that uncovers the secrets of becoming an extraordinary leader. If you're a leader who's constantly seeking growth, inspiration and tangible ways to level up your leadership, then you've come to the right place. Remember, the world needs exceptional leaders, and that leader is you. Now here's your host, colby Morris.

Speaker 2:

Hey leaders, welcome back to the TLD podcast. Who am I? I'm Colby Morris, your host and fellow leadership traveler. If you're new here, here's the quick rundown. I've been in the game from grinding out on the front lines to steering the ship from the executive suite. My mission To hand you tools that make you better, make you a better leader, that make you a better, faster leader, starting right now. No fluff, just stuff you can use now. No fluff, just stuff you can use.

Speaker 2:

Today. We're diving into chaos because if you've led for more than a hot minute, you've felt it creeping in. This week's not about just surviving chaos, though. It's about building a culture so rock solid that chaos doesn't even get a foothold. I kicked off on LinkedIn this week with a gem from Jocko Willink, retired Navy SEAL. He was the co-author of Extreme Ownership. He said Spot on is actually happening. Spot on, jocko.

Speaker 2:

Detaching is critical when the storm hits, but here's the twist. What if we didn't have to deal with so much chaos to begin with? What if we could forge a team culture so tight, so aligned, that chaos barely gets a chance to breathe? That's where we're going today Three tools to create a chaos-resistant culture. Let's roll. Tool number one. Set clear expectations from day one. Here's why it works. Chaos thrives in confusion. When people don't know what's expected, they guess they wing it, and that's when things start to spiral. Clear expectations, man. They're like. That's like spraying chaos, repellent all over your team. Here's how to do it. I want you to kick off a role clarity conversation for every team member. Lay it out this way One, what success looks like in their role. Two, their top three priorities. Keep it tight like no laundry list here. And then three, how their work ties into the bigger mission. Do this on day one and then revisit it every quarter to keep it fresh.

Speaker 2:

Let me take you back to a time when I inherited a team that was pure chaos. Picture this Everyone's busy, right, but nothing's moving forward. Projects are stalled, stress is sky high. I'm sitting there thinking do I just start barking orders to stop the bleeding? But I didn't. Instead, I pulled each person aside for a role clarity conversation. I'd ask what do you think your top three priorities are? Half the time, their answers didn't even match what I needed.

Speaker 2:

One guy, great worker, total hustle thought his gig was answering customer emails all day. Turns out he was hired to lead product demos. No wonder clients were starting to ghost us. Then there was Sarah. She was drowning in admin tasks spreadsheets, follow-ups, you name it. I sat her down and said your role is to own client onboarding, not chase paper trails. We reset her priorities. She started actually delegating and within a month our onboarding process and onboarding times dropped by 30%, she told me later. I just didn't realize how much I was spinning my wheels until it got clear.

Speaker 2:

That's the power of clarity, see. It's not just about telling people what to do, it's about freeing them to do what matters. Chaos didn't stand a chance after that. So think about your team. When's the last time you checked their priorities? Clarity is your first shield. You need to wield it All right.

Speaker 2:

Tool number two build a culture of ownership. Here's why it works. Jocko's extreme ownership, that's not just a buzzword, it's a chaos assassin. When everyone owns their piece of the puzzle, problems don't fester, they get fixed. Chaos doesn't spread when people step up. Okay, so here's how you do it. First, train your team to ask this question what can I own here? And they do that every time something hits the fan. Two celebrate the ones who step up, even if it's not in their job description. Maybe I should say, especially if it's not in their job description. And then three show them how it's done. Own your wins and your screw-ups in front of everyone.

Speaker 2:

Here's a story for you. A few years back I had a project manager named Mike Solid guy. He was always on it. One day he gets cc'd on an email about a project Not his project, but one that's clearly slipping. The deadline's looming and the team's just dropping the ball. Most people would have shrugged and just said you know, not my circus, not my monkeys, but not Mike. He pings me and said hey, this looks off track. Want me to jump in? I said, go for it. So he rounds up, the team, rejigs some priorities and we hit the deadline with hours to spare.

Speaker 2:

That's ownership. It's seeing a fire and grabbing the extinguisher, no questions asked. But I have seen the opposite too. I worked with a marketing lead once who tanked a campaign, wrong messaging, missed targets, the works. It was bad. When I asked what happened, she said that's not my job, I just follow the brief Cue the chaos, finger pointing, blown deadlines and a client who bailed. The team scrambled for weeks to recover and morale took a serious nosedive. Ownership could have stopped that train wreck dead. It's not about taking blame, it's about taking charge.

Speaker 2:

Mike showed me what a culture of ownership looks like. Imagine if every person on your team thought like that. Chaos wouldn't know where to start. So ask yourself who's owning the chaos on your team right now? All right.

Speaker 2:

Tool number three communicate. Like your life depends on it. Silence breeds chaos. I'm going to say that one more time. Silence breeds chaos. When info doesn't flow, people guess they freak out or they check out Over. Communicate and you keep everyone locked in. No room for mayhem. And, by the way, there's really no such thing as over-communication. Here's how I want you to do it. I want you to launch a daily huddle. 10 minutes standing up, no nonsense. Everyone answers Okay. Three questions What'd you do yesterday, what's on deck today and do you have any roadblocks? Just keep it crisp. Make it daily and you will see your team sync up like cockwork.

Speaker 2:

I once consulted for a CEO whose team botched a product launch literally so bad it was almost comical. Well, if it weren't so painful, here's what happened Engineers were grinding on one feature, but marketing was hyping a totally different one. And sales? They had no clue what to pitch. Why? Because no one talked. Assumptions just piled up, wires got crossed and, yes, chaos took over. The launch flopped. They spent weeks cleaning up the mess. I asked the CEO how often do you check in as a team? He said we have a big meeting every month. A month, that's an eternity in leadership time. Contrast that, with the team I led later, we were drowning in long, pointless meetings, hours lost and still no one knew the plan. So I scrapped it all and started a 10-minute daily huddle. Day one people grumbled this feels like micromanaging. By day five they were hooked. One engineer said I didn't realize how much I needed to know what marketing was up to.

Speaker 2:

Roadblocks got flagged early, like when our designer was stuck waiting on specs. We fixed that fast. Within a week we were moving like a unit. No chaos in sight. It's really simple Talk more, flail, less. Could Huddle save your team from the next meltdown? I bet it could. So let's put it all together.

Speaker 2:

Let's circle back to Jocko's wisdom here. Detaching from chaos to make clear calls is a must-have skill. But why stop at playing defense? Build a culture where chaos doesn't even get in the door. All right, recap time. Tool one set clear expectations. Those role clarity conversations. They kill confusion. Tool number two foster ownership. Get your team asking what can I own? And tool number three communicate relentlessly, daily huddles, keep everyone aligned.

Speaker 2:

All right, I want you to pick one. Start this week, start today, Start tomorrow, but pick one and start this week and watch the shift. Your team will run smoother, and chaos It'll have to find another playground. Hey, if this fired you up and you want more, I am here to help. I speak at conventions, I run workshops and even hop on Zoom calls with teams who are wrestling chaos to the ground. Want to build your chaos-resistant culture together. You can find me on LinkedIn or you can find me on my webpage, nextstepadvisorscom. Again, next has no E, just NXT nextstepadvisorscom. And we can make it happen this week. Pick one tool maybe that daily huddle and test it out. Chaos doesn't wait, so why should you? If this hit home, hit, subscribe, share it with a leader who may be in the thick of it and drop me a note on LinkedIn. That's in the show notes. I want to hear how you're kicking chaos to the curb. Until next time, lead with purpose and kill that chaos. And you know why? Because those are the things that leaders do.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to Things Leaders Do. If you're looking for more tips on how to be a better leader, be sure to subscribe to the podcast and listen to next week's episode. Until next time, keep working on being a better leader by doing the things that leaders do.