Things Leaders Do
Things Leaders Do is the go-to podcast for leaders who want real, actionable strategies—not just theory. Whether you're a new leader stepping into management or a seasoned executive refining your skills, host Colby Morris delivers practical tools and processes you can start using today to lead with confidence, clarity, and impact.
Each episode breaks down key leadership topics with humor, insight, and real-world application, covering:
✅ How to communicate effectively and build trust in your team
✅ The secrets to high-performance leadership and team culture
✅ Handling setbacks and leading under pressure
✅ How to be a people-first leader without losing accountability
✅ Mastering the balance between strategy, execution, and influence
No fluff. No vague concepts. Just tactical advice that helps you grow as a leader and drive real results in your business or organization.
Subscribe now and join thousands of leaders leveling up their skills. Because leadership isn’t about what you say—it’s about what you do.
🔑 Keywords: leadership, leadership development, new managers, executive coaching, team culture, business growth, personal development, management strategies, communication skills, success, accountability, productivity
Things Leaders Do
The Conflict Series, Episode 2: How to Say Hard Things Without Burning Bridges
Struggling to have tough conversations without damaging relationships? You’re not alone—and this episode shows you how to lead with clarity and care.
In Part 2 of The Conflict Series, Colby Morris breaks down a practical 3-step framework for saying hard things as a leader—without losing trust, morale, or momentum. Drawing from years of leadership experience and a real-life story with a former supervisor, Colby reveals how consistent one-on-ones, clear expectations, and people-first leadership make tough conversations easier and more effective.
Whether you're giving performance feedback, addressing accountability gaps, or confronting team dynamics, this episode gives you the exact words, mindset, and tools you need to lead like a pro—even in the uncomfortable moments.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why avoiding tough conversations erodes trust faster than speaking the truth
- A 3-step framework for direct and compassionate feedback
- How consistent one-on-ones and feedback rhythms make accountability easier
- The biggest mistakes leaders make when delivering hard messages—and how to fix them
- A leadership challenge to help you take immediate action this week
This episode is a must-listen for new managers, seasoned executives, HR leaders, and anyone committed to building a culture of clarity, care, and high performance.
If this episode challenged or helped you, share it with your leadership team.
Colby is available for speaking engagements, team offsites, and leadership trainings focused on building people-first leaders who communicate with courage.
Connect with him on LinkedIn or reach out through the contact link below.
Hello leaders and welcome back to the TLD podcast. I'm Colby Morris and I've led at every level, from frontline supervisor to executive leadership. These episodes are designed to fit into your commute and hopefully packed with enough substance to shift how you lead the moment you walk through the door. Before we get into it, let me remind you of something I say often you don't get better at anything you don't actually practice. Knowledge doesn't change people, practice does. You can read all the leadership books you want, but if you don't actually say the hard thing, you're just stockpiling theory. Nothing changes if you don't act. So today we're continuing our conflict series with one of the most common leadership breakdowns how do you say what needs to be said without burning the bridge, whether it's feedback correction.
Speaker 1:Tough conversations, saying hard things is part of the job. Correction. Tough conversations, saying hard things is part of the job. But when you lead as a people first leader, when you've invested the time, consistent direction and built trust through one-on-ones, those hard conversations get a whole lot easier. So let's talk about how to do this. Well, first I want to define the problem, and that's. Hard.
Speaker 1:Conversations often feel like choosing between truth and relationship. Brene Brown said it best Clear is kind, unclear is unkind. Most leaders don't avoid hard conversations because they're lazy. They avoid them because they're afraid of the fallout, afraid of damaging the relationship, afraid of being seen as harsh or uncaring. But if you're leading your people consistently, investing in them regularly and building a culture of feedback, then saying a hard thing isn't a betrayal of relationship. It's a result of it People first.
Speaker 1:Leadership isn't soft, it's structured, it's intentional. It means knowing your people and giving them everything they need to succeed, and that includes the truth. So I'm going to give you a framework. It's just kind of a three-part formula for hard conversations. Okay. So if we break it down, here's how we do this. It's at least the structure that I use and I coach others to use. It's simple, actionable and rooted in trust.
Speaker 1:First, I want you to acknowledge the relationship. Okay, start with the human side. Remind them of your investment in them, not because you're sugarcoating the truth, but because you're anchoring in the context. Say something like I value the work you do and I've appreciated the effort you put in. Or this isn't an easy conversation, but I'm having it because I care about you and your success here, when you've been meeting with your people regularly through monthly or biweekly one-on-ones. This doesn't feel like a surprise. Okay, it feels like a continuation of the relationship. Two, I want you to align on expectations, see. Next, you've got to make the standard clear. This is where most leaders just kind of fall apart. Okay, they assume the person should know better, but clarity beats assumption. Every time, instead of catching them off guard, you calmly reinforce what's already been discussed. Hey, we've talked about this in our previous check-ins. Or this role is responsible for this and we've had conversations around what good looks like, okay, or we've worked together to clarify expectations around this already. This is where people-first leadership pays off, because if you've been leading with consistency, this part won't feel like a landmine. Okay, it feels like like a checkpoint.
Speaker 1:I want to tell you a story Mike situation. Um well, let me back up. I had a supervisor named Mike and he reported to me. He was a great guy, loyal, consistent, the kind of person everyone liked. But over time, performance issues started creeping in. The team wasn't hitting timelines, the follow-through was slipping and I knew I needed to step in. But here's the thing We'd been doing monthly one-on-ones for months. Every time we met, we talked through goals, obstacles, team dynamics. We had built a rhythm. So when I finally sat down to have the hard conversation, it wasn't an ambush. I just said Mike, you know I've been in your corner and I want to see you win, but we've also talked about this issue in our last few meetings. Here's what hasn't changed. He didn't argue, he just nodded and said yeah, I figured we needed to talk about this soon. See, that's the power of leading with consistency.
Speaker 1:By the time you need to address a gap. It's not a shock, it's just like confirmation. Okay, now three. I want you to address the gap clearly Now. This is where leaders either step into clarity or they backpedal into vagueness. You've acknowledged the person, you've aligned on what was expected. Now you've got to say the thing Direct, measured, honest, okay, no fluff. Say something like we're still not meeting the expectations here, or here's the impact this is having on the team, or something. If you need to really address it, if we don't see a change by 30 days, we'll have to consider a shift here. The more clarity you've built through one-on-ones and real-time coaching, the less emotion and more alignment you'll have in this moment. Remember and I really want you to hear me on this the more consistent your investment, the easier your accountability. All right. That brings us to what gets in the way.
Speaker 1:Here's what leaders often get wrong. Even when leaders know they need to have the conversation, they fall into some common traps, and I've seen it at every level. I want to walk through them, because awareness here is everything. Number one leaders they overtalk and they under say Look, we've all been there. You open the meeting with praise, talk in circles, hedge the feedback and walk away, never actually saying what needed to be said. You feel better, but they leave confused.
Speaker 1:Clarity doesn't come from more words. It comes from the right words. This isn't about being cold, it's about being courageous. Start with care, land with truth, be brief, be kind, but be clear. Problem number two leaders wait too long.
Speaker 1:Avoidance is one of the fastest ways to erode leadership credibility. You wait and wait and wait, hoping the issue is just going to fix itself, but by the time you speak up, the damage is already done. Accountability delayed is accountability denied. And here's the kicker your team knows when you're avoiding the problem. Okay, they're watching, and your silence becomes a signal, one that says mediocrity is tolerated here. Is that the message you want to send? All right, and number three leaders treat every issue like a friendship conversation. Look, empathy matters, but leadership isn't friendship. You can care deeply for someone and still hold the line. You can be personal without losing your professionalism. Leadership isn't about being liked, it's about being trusted. And trust is built when you consistently show up with empathy and truth together.
Speaker 1:All right, here's your leadership challenge. Let's put this into action. Don't just listen. Practice. Number one I want you to identify a conversation you've been avoiding. What's the one thing you haven't said? But need to Write it down? Okay, get clear on what the issue actually is. To use the three-step framework I just gave you.
Speaker 1:Okay, don't wing it. Map it out. Acknowledge the relationship. Okay, align on expectations. Address the gap. Use your real words. Get it on paper. Practice saying it out loud. Yes, I know that sounds weird, but the more you practice it, the easier it's going to be to deliver it. And then three, schedule the conversation this week. Don't, don't wait for the perfect moment. Okay, leadership is the moment. Leadership is the moment. Block 20 minutes. Get in the room, say the thing Okay, leadership isn't built on theory.
Speaker 1:It's built on reps. Leaders, being people first doesn't mean avoiding hard truths. It means you care enough to deliver them with clarity and compassion. It means you've invested in your people through time, trust, coaching and connection. So when accountability shows up, it's not a surprise. It's a continuation of the relationship. Look, if you want to help building this kind of leadership culture or you're ready to reset the tone in your team, I'd love to help. You can connect with me on LinkedIn or through the link below to bring this conversation to your next leadership training or retreat, and if this episode helped you, please share it with a leader you work with. Okay, start the conversation, encourage the reps, and you know why? Because those are the things that leaders do.
Speaker 2: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.