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
Being People-First Doesn’t Mean Being Passive—It Means Being Proactive
Title:
Being People-First Doesn’t Mean Being Passive—It Means Being Proactive
Episode Description:
Too many leaders confuse being people-first with being conflict-avoidant. In this episode, Colby Morris reframes that idea completely.
Great leaders don’t just react well to conflict—they prevent it. And they do that through consistent, structured one-on-ones that uncover tension before it escalates.
Drawing on insights from the One-on-One Meeting Series and the Conflict Series, Colby shares a real-world leadership story, introduces the Three Levels of Conflict Prevention, and breaks down practical ways to lead with proactive clarity instead of reactive clean-up.
If you care about people, lead a team, or want to strengthen your culture while scaling—this episode is for you.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why people-first doesn’t mean being soft or avoiding hard conversations
- How great one-on-ones help prevent most team conflict
- The Three Levels of Conflict Prevention every leader should know
- How to use energy, tone, and expectations as early warning signals
- How to apply the Four Quadrants to stay proactive as a leader
Tools and Takeaways:
- Use one-on-ones as a leadership intelligence system
- Ask: “Is there anything I should be aware of on the team?”
- Apply the 48-hour rule to avoid letting small problems grow
- Reinforce trust and alignment through the quadrant-based conversation model
Work With Colby:
Want help building leadership systems that prevent drama, drive clarity, and scale culture the right way? Colby Morris is available for:
- Executive coaching
- Leadership team development
- Corporate keynotes and training
- One-on-one and team communication system design
Start the conversation on LinkedIn or contact him via the webpage.
Hello leaders and welcome back to the TLD podcast. I'm Colby Morris. Look. Over the last few episodes, we've been deep in two of the most important things a leader can truly master running effective one-on-ones and handling tough conversations with your team. Here's what I've realized. Those aren't two separate disciplines. They're part of the same strategy, because great leaders don't just handle conflict, they prevent most of it before it even happens. And the tool they use Structured, intentional one-on-ones. This episode is about how those two worlds collide and why understanding this connection might be the most overlooked leadership skill there is. We're going to connect everything we've covered in the one-on-one series and the conflict series and reframe what it really means to be a people-first leader, and I promise, if you lean in this next 15 minutes or so, this episode will change the way you lead this week.
Speaker 1:So let's go. Let's start by killing a myth that's quietly wrecking teams. Being people first means keeping the peace. It doesn't. It means creating clarity, not comfort. It means building trust, not avoiding discomfort. And, most of all, it means proactive leadership, not passive management, because when you try to keep the peace instead of saying the hard thing, to keep the peace instead of saying the hard thing, you don't protect the relationship, you avoid the responsibility. And that's not people first, that's leader last. Here's the truth. People first. Leaders address things early. They don't wait for the fire. They notice the smoke. They build systems to catch tension before it turns into resentment and one-on-ones. Well, that's your system, that's your radar.
Speaker 1:I had a team once where two people call them Sarah and Mike. They seemed to be working fine together. Sarah was detailed, detail-driven, she was thoughtful, cautious. Mike, though, was fast-paced, big picture, he moved fast. In the team meetings there were no fireworks, there was no tension. But in the one-on-ones I started picking up signals. Sarah mentioned that decisions were feeling rushed. Mike mentioned feeling frustrated that things were getting overanalyzed. Individually nothing sounded like a problem, but I could sense friction was building. So I did what proactive leadership demands. I leaned in early. I asked Sarah what's your experience been like working with Mike? And then I asked Mike how's collaboration feeling with Sarah lately? And sure enough, both were quietly frustrated and both were holding back, and neither one of them wanted to seem like a complainer. Look, if I had waited until that spilled over, that team would have fractured. But because I caught it early, we talked about it, we set some boundaries. We made a workflow that respected both their styles and we moved forward. No drama, no cleanup that's what happens when you lead before there's a problem.
Speaker 1:There are three levels of conflict prevention, and here's how I think about it. Level one is connection. This is where you do your one-on-ones. It's where your one-on-ones live. You build trust, understand personalities, you ask about motivation and pressure points. This is emotional equity. And then level two is awareness. It's where you start noticing changes, energy shifts, tone changes, hesitations. You ask good questions and catch friction when it's still just a conversation and not a confrontation. And then level three is intervention. This is where most leaders jump in, but usually when something's already broken. But by then the damage is already done. It's fixable, sure, but it's at a higher cost. If you're consistently showing up at level one and two, then level three becomes the exception, not the norm.
Speaker 1:I believe that your one-on-ones are a leadership intelligence system, and here's what I'm listening for in my one-on-ones. First is energy shifts. Is someone normally like upbeat, but suddenly quiet? That's not random, that's data, language changes. When someone shifts from we to they or start saying things like I don't care anymore, well, obviously that's a flag. And then stress and overload. If they're burning out, they won't say it directly. Okay, you'll hear it in how they describe their day unspoken expectations the phrase I thought they were going to. That is a conflict grenade waiting to go off. And here's the question I ask in nearly every one-on-one hey, is there anything happening on the team that I should be aware of, happening on the team that I should be aware of? That's very different from any problems. That's a loaded question. But this question gives people permission to tell you what's off. Okay, without feeling like they're tattling.
Speaker 1:If you followed our one-on-one series, you know the four quadrants framework Maslow's needs. Okay, check their energy and their engagement. There's performance management Are they tracking against SMART goals? Are the expectations clear? Employee development are they growing? Do they feel like they're being invested in? And leader rounding are they seen? Are they stuck? Are they being recognized? All four of those quadrants reduce friction before it becomes conflict.
Speaker 1:This is how you lead proactively. This is how you build a culture where feedback is normal and, hopefully, drama is rare. All right, your leadership challenge. Here's your move this week. I want you to revisit your one-on-one cadence. Are they consistent? Are you asking questions that give you team intelligence and not just task updates feels off. Okay, use that 48 hour rule.
Speaker 1:If something's lingering, don't let it sit. Bring it up gently but early, and then add this to your script. Help me understand how the team's feeling lately. Anything I should be paying attention to I want you to understand. It's not about being the office therapist. It's about leading with awareness and clarity. You have a choice as a leader. Okay, you can either stay close enough for your people to catch things early or you can wait until things blow up and hope you can contain it. But trust me, proactive leadership is lighter, faster and it's far more effective.
Speaker 1:If this episode shifted your thinking and you want help building leadership systems like this whether it's coaching keynotes for your leadership team or help designing one-on-one frameworks, hey, connect with me on LinkedIn. I'd love to be able to support you and if this gave you clarity, please pass it on to another leader who needs it. And do me a favor If you're finding value from this, would you subscribe to the show? That helps me out a ton and helps leaders like you get better faster. This kind of leadership creates alignment Okay, it prevents conflict and it builds culture. 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.