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
Respond Like a Leader, Don't React Like a Boss
How People-First Leaders Handle What Bosses Just React To
Episode Description:
It’s easy to lead when everything’s running smoothly. But real leadership shows up in the messy moments—the missed deadlines, the underperforming team member, the big mistake that lands in your inbox first thing Monday morning.
In this episode of Things Leaders Do, Colby walks through five real-world scenarios leaders face every week—and shows how a people-first leader responds differently than a reactive boss.
From late arrivals to burned-out top performers, you’ll see the stark contrast between managing behavior and developing people. Through story, insight, and practical conversation prompts, Colby helps you shift from reacting to root causes to responding with intentionality, clarity, and compassion.
You’ll also hear insights inspired by Jon Acuff’s Soundtracks and Jocko Willink’s Extreme Ownership, and how the mindsets of great leaders shape their teams for the long haul.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How to handle chronic lateness without sacrificing accountability
- Why missed deadlines are often symptoms, not problems
- What to do when a high performer starts to disengage
- How to keep your best people from burning out
- How to turn a costly mistake into a system improvement
If you're ready to lead differently, respond thoughtfully, and create a culture where people grow—not just perform—this episode is for you.
Connect with Colby:
🔗 nxtstepadvisors.com
🔗 Colby on LinkedIn
Whether you're looking for coaching, training, or a keynote that moves your leaders to action—Colby helps you build a culture that performs and lasts.
Because caring for your people and getting results aren't opposites.
That’s what leaders do.
Picture this it's 9.15 am on a Tuesday. Sarah, one of your usually punctual team members walks in late. For a third time this week. Your inbox is already overflowing. You've got back-to-back meetings, and now this what's your first thought? Well, if you're like most managers, it's probably something like seriously Again, maybe you're already mentally drafting that disciplinary email. But what if I told you that your response in the next 60 seconds will either build trust or destroy it, that it will either solve the real problem or just create new ones.
Speaker 1:Hello leaders, and welcome back to the TLD podcast. I'm Colby Morris and I'm here to help you lead with clarity, courage and compassion, especially when your first instinct is to react instead of respond. Today, we're diving deep into five workplace scenarios that happen every single day in offices across the world. But here's the twist we're going to see how a typical boss handles each situation versus how a people-first leader approaches the exact same challenge. And we're not just talking theory here. I'm going to walk you through real conversations, actual responses and the long-term impact of each approach, because the difference between being a boss and being a leader isn't just about titles. It's about how you show up when things get messy.
Speaker 1:All right, let's go back to Sarah. Okay, we're going to call this scenario one the employee who's suddenly late a lot, sarah, she's had three late arrivals in five days. For someone who's usually early, this is a red flag. Now the boss's response would look something like this Sarah, you've been late three times this week. That's unacceptable Per company policy. This is a formal verbal warning and if it happens again, we'll move to written documentation. Any questions? Clean, simple, policy-driven, but completely ineffective. The people first leader response is going to be something like this hey, sarah, can we chat for a few minutes? Hey, I noticed you've been coming in later than usual this week. That's not like you. You're typically here before me. Is everything okay? Notice what just happened there. The leader acknowledged the pattern, but started with curiosity, not judgment. They referenced Sarah's normal behavior, showing they actually pay attention to their people.
Speaker 1:Here's how that conversation might continue. Sarah would say I know this sounds personal, but my child care situation just fell through. My regular babysitter moved and I'm scrambling to find someone reliable. I've been dropping my daughter off at my mom's house, but she lives across town and the traffic's just been. Sarah, thank you for telling me. I wish you'd felt comfortable bringing this up sooner. Let's figure out a solution. What if we adjusted your schedule temporarily? Could you come in at like 9 30, maybe stay till 6 30 or something like that. Look, this isn't about lowering standards. It's about understanding that life happens and good people need support to perform at their best.
Speaker 1:John Acuff talks about the soundtracks that are always playing in our heads. If you haven't read soundtrack, you really need to. The boss's soundtrack here is she's become unreliable. It's time to crack down. But the leader soundtrack was something's changed. Let me find out what. If you know who Jocko Willink is, he's the author of Extreme Ownership. Jocko would say there are no bad teams, only bad leaders. If you haven't created an environment where people feel safe bringing up personal challenges that affect their work, you're part of the problem. Six months later, sarah was back to her normal schedule, but she never forgot that her leader had her back when she needed it most.
Speaker 1:All right, let's move to scenario two, the missed deadline. It's Friday at 5 pm. The Johnson report was due today and it's not done. The client is expecting it Monday morning. The boss's response Mike, where's the Johnson report? It was due today. This is completely unacceptable. We promised the client Monday delivery and now we're behind. I need you to stay late tonight to get this finished. And the next time if you're going to miss a deadline, at least give me a heads up finished. And the next time if you're going to miss a deadline, at least give me a heads up. The boss is frustrated, and rightfully so, but they're treating the symptom, not the disease. The people first. Leader response looks more like this hey, mike, I'm looking for the Johnson report. Can you help me understand what happened? I want to make sure we get this right for the client and figure out how to prevent this.
Speaker 1:Moving forward, I got stuck on the data analysis section. I've been working on it all week, but I couldn't get the numbers to match what we discussed in the initial meeting. Okay, so you've been working on it, but you hit a roadblock. When did you first realize the numbers weren't matching? Tuesday afternoon, got it, and what stopped you from reaching out? Then I thought I could figure it out, but I didn't want to bother you. Now we're getting somewhere. See, this isn't about Mike being lazy or missing deadlines. This is about Mike struggling with a technical challenge and not feeling comfortable or comfortable enough to ask for help. Mike, I appreciate you wanting to solve problems independently. That's a strength. But when you're stuck on something this critical, I need you to reach out, not because you're bothering me, but because that's how we deliver quality work on time. The leader would then sit down with Mike, help resolve the data issue and then deliver the report by Monday. But, more importantly, they've established that asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.
Speaker 1:Jocko's principle of extreme ownership applies here. If your team fails, you failed. The leader asks themselves did I check in enough? Did I make it clear that questions were welcome? Did I create psychological safety for Mike to admit when he was stuck?
Speaker 1:All right, let's move to scenario three, the high performer who's suddenly disengaged. Jessica has been your star player for two years. She's the one who stays late, volunteers for extra projects and consistently exceeds expectations, but lately she's been doing the bare minimum. Her energy is flat. She's not contributing in meetings like she used. To the boss's response Jessica, I've noticed your performance has been slipping lately. You're not showing the same initiative you used to. Are you still committed to this role? Because we need people who are going to give 110%. See, the boss is concerned about declining performance, but they're approaching it like a discipline issue, a people first leader response is more like Jessica, I'd love to get your perspective on something.
Speaker 1:Over the past few weeks, I've noticed you've seen less engaged than usual. You're still doing good work, but you don't seem as energized as you typically are. What's going on? What's going on? I don't know. I guess I'm just feeling stuck, stuck, how Like I feel, like I'm doing the same things over and over. I used to learn something new every week, but now it feels like I'm just going through the motions. That makes sense. You've mastered your current role and we haven't really talked about what's next for you, and that's on me. See, this is where John Acuff's concept of changing your soundtrack becomes crucial. The boss's soundtrack was she's checked out and needs to be motivated. The leader's soundtrack was she's ready for a new challenge, and I haven't provided one.
Speaker 1:The conversation continues. What would you want to work on if you could design your ideal next six months? I'd love to learn more about the strategic side of what we do. I understand the execution, but I want to understand the why behind our decisions. Okay, well, let's make that happen. What if we started having you sit in on the Monday strategy meetings? I mean, I could use help with the Q3 planning process if you're interested. Six months later, jessica was promoted to a senior role, not because she complained, but because her leader recognized that high performers need growth, not just praise. All right.
Speaker 1:Scenario four the high performer who's burning out. This is Tom. Tom's reliable skilled. He never says no. He's become the go-to person for urgent projects, complex problems, last-minute requests. He's literally working 55-hour weeks and hasn't taken a vacation in what? 18 months? The boss's response Tom, I know you're busy, but I need to give you one more project. The Morrison account is blowing up and you're the only one who can handle it. Look, I know it's a lot, but this is why we pay you the big bucks. Right?
Speaker 1:The boss sees Tom as their secret weapon and keeps pulling the trigger, but the people first leader would say something more like Tom, before I ask you to take on anything else, I need to check in with you. You've been carrying a heavy load lately. How are you feeling about your workload right now? Honestly, man, I'm exhausted. I don't want to let the team down. Tom, you're not letting anyone down by being honest about your capacity. In fact, you're helping me be a better leader by giving me real information. What would need to change for you to feel more I don't know sustainable in your role? I think I need to pass on these recurring tasks to other team members. I keep taking them on because it's faster than training someone else, but now I'm drowning. That's exactly the kind of insight I need. Let's look at your task list and figure out what can be redistributed, and I want you to take next Friday off. No emails, no calls. You need a break.
Speaker 1:Here's what the leader understands, that the boss doesn't. Burning out your best people is a short-term gain that creates long-term problems. Jocko would say discipline equals freedom. The discipline of protecting your people's capacity creates the freedom for sustained high performance the freedom for sustained high performance. And, by the way, three months later, tom was more productive than ever because he was working at a sustainable pace and the team was stronger because other members had developed new skills. All right.
Speaker 1:Scenario five the big mistake. It's 10 am on Thursday. You just got a call from your biggest client. The proposal your team submitted yesterday contains a critical error that could cost them about $50,000. The mistake was made by Amy, who's been with the company for six months. The boss's response Amy, I just got off the phone with our biggest client. There's a major error in the proposal you submitted. This could cost them $50,000. How did this happen? This is exactly the kind of mistake we cannot afford to make. The boss is in damage control mode, but they're making Amy feel like the mistake defines her.
Speaker 1:The people first leader would say Amy, I need to talk to you about the Morrison proposal. There's an error in the cost calculation that we need to address immediately. But first I want you to know that mistakes happen. We're going to fix this together. Can you walk me through your process? For the cost section, I used the template from the Henderson proposal, but I think I might have missed updating one of the multipliers. Okay, well, let's look at that together. Show me exactly what you did. They sit down. They go through the process step by step and identify not just what went wrong but why it went wrong. The template wasn't clear and there was no checklist for switching between client pricing structures. Amy, this wasn't just your mistake. This was a system failure. The template should have been clearer. We should have had a review process for proposals this size. Here's what we're going to do. First, we're going to fix this immediately. Second, we're going to improve the template so this doesn't happen again. And third, we're going to implement a peer review process for all proposals over $100,000.
Speaker 1:John Acuff reminds us that we're always writing soundtracks in our heads. The boss's soundtrack was she's careless and caught his money. The leader's soundtrack was this is a learning opportunity and a chance to improve our systems. Six months later, amy was one of the most detail oriented team members and the new proposal process prevented three similar errors. Look, here's what I've learned after about 20 years of leadership. The difference between a boss and a people-first leader isn't about being soft or being hard. It's about being smart. It's about being real. It's about being human.
Speaker 1:Bosses react to symptoms. Leaders respond to the root causes. Bosses focus on the immediate problem. Leaders focus on the long-term solution. Bosses manage behavior. Leaders develop people. And here's the thing that might surprise you People-first leadership isn't just better for your team, it's better for your results.
Speaker 1:When Sarah felt supported during her childcare crisis, she became more loyal and more productive than ever. When Mike learned it was safe to ask for help, he stopped making preventable mistakes. When Jessica got a new challenge, she became a leader herself. When Tom's workload became sustainable, his quality improved dramatically when Amy was coached. Through her mistake, she became one of the most reliable team members.
Speaker 1:So here's your challenge this week. This week, I want you to catch yourself in the moment when something goes wrong, when someone disappoints you, when you feel that familiar frustration rising. Pause, ask yourself am I about to react like a boss or am I going to respond like a leader? Then ask the person hey, help me understand what happened here. The person hey, help me understand what happened here. And then and this is the crucial part actually listen to their answer. Don't pretend to listen. Okay, listen to understand, because here's the truth Most workplace problems aren't people problems.
Speaker 1:They're communication problems, system problems or clarity problems dressed up as people problems, and you can't solve those with policy and punishment. You solve them with curiosity, compassion and a commitment to get better together, commitment to get better together. Look, if you're working on becoming a more people-first leader, I'm here to help. Whether it's a one-on-one coaching, equipping your managers with leadership tools, or speaking at your next event, I'd love to support the work you're doing. You can reach out to me at nextstepadvisorscom that's N-X-T, no E stepadvisorscom. Or you can connect with me on LinkedIn. Both of those links will be in the show notes. At the end of the day, leadership isn't about being right. It's about getting results through people. And the best way to get results through people is to actually care about the people. 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.