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
What Gen X Gets Wrong About Leadership
If you’ve ever said, “Because I said so” in a meeting, you might be leading like it’s still 1989.
In this episode of Things Leaders Do, Colby Morris calls out his own generation—Gen X leaders—for the outdated habits that are quietly holding teams back.
With a mix of self-awareness, humor, and hard truth, you’ll discover:
- Why clinging to old leadership habits kills engagement—and how to evolve without losing your identity
- How “professional distance” is eroding trust, and the simple shift that builds credibility fast
- Why tenure doesn’t equal trust—and what earns it instead
- How feedback (or the lack of it) is shaping your culture more than you realize
- Why your work ethic might be intimidating your team instead of inspiring them
Drawing from insights by John Maxwell, Patrick Lencioni, Simon Sinek, and research from Harvard Business Review, this episode is packed with actionable “do this instead” strategies.
You’ll walk away with:
- A 7-day habit experiment to keep your leadership fresh
- A quick method to bring appropriate vulnerability into your team conversations
- A simple formula for delivering meaningful feedback every week
Gen X leaders have a lot to be proud of—but thriving today means challenging the habits that no longer serve you or your team.
For more people-first leadership tools, visit nxtstepadvisors.com.
Connect with Colby on LinkedIn
People First. Leadership, actionable strategies, real results this is Things Leaders Do with Colby Morris.
Speaker 2:If you've ever said because I said so in a meeting congratulations. You've just transported your team straight back to 1989. Right alongside your trapper keeper and that questionable mullet you're trying to forget. And if you've ever caught yourself thinking these younger employees just don't get it, let me let you in on just a little secret. They probably get it just fine, they just don't get you.
Speaker 2:Hey, leaders, I'm Colby Morris, and this is Things Leaders Do, where we tackle real leadership challenges with real solutions. And today I'm calling out my own people, gen X leaders, and I'm doing it because I've made every single mistake I'm about to share with you. Think of me as your leadership intervention specialist, except, instead of staging an intervention about your Nirvana vinyl collection, I'm here to help you stop leading like it's back in the Clinton administration. So let's have a little fun, be a little self-aware and get brutally honest about five big leadership blind spots that I think Gen X needs to drop, starting now. Blind spot number one the comfort zone problem. Look, we love what's familiar. We've been leading teams for years, sometimes decades, and we think, hey, if it's worked this long, why change? It's like still using MapQuest when everyone else has maps on their iPhone. Sure, it technically gets there, but you're going to miss a lot of shortcuts. But here's the reality. What worked for us in 2005 might be the very thing holding us back in 2025. Back then, we could leave with the same energy as a Blockbuster manager telling people late fees were non-negotiable. But, spoiler alert, blockbuster isn't around anymore. John Maxwell says the greatest enemy of tomorrow's success is today's success, and he's right. I mean passive wins can make us lazy. They've made me complacent and even more resistant to change than a teenager being asked to clean their room. Here's what I see happening all the time.
Speaker 2:A Gen X leader comes into a new role and immediately starts implementing the same playbook they've used for the last 15 years Same meeting structure, same communication style, same decision-making process. That worked great when people still had pagers. And then they wonder why their team seems so disengaged. The danger is this when you stop evolving, your team stops engaging, and when your team stops engaging, your leadership no longer matters. I had a client recently who prided himself on running efficient meetings, which to him meant he talked for 45 minutes and asked for questions at the end. He'd been doing it that way for 20 years, but what he didn't realize was his team had checked out in the first 10 minutes. They weren't learning, they weren't contributing, they definitely weren't bought in. So we shifted to a more collaborative format shorter updates, more discussion, actual problem solving together, and suddenly his meetings became the most productive hour of everyone's week.
Speaker 2:So here's what you need to do instead Every quarter, audit your leadership habits. Ask yourself two simple questions what's still producing real results and what's just traditional, with no real ROI anymore? And then make one intentional change. It doesn't have to be huge. Just prove to yourself and your team that you're still willing to grow. All right.
Speaker 2:Blind spot number two we're too private for our own good. We were taught to keep work and feelings separate. Don't overshare, don't get soft. Keep your personal stuff at home. Basically, we learned to communicate with all the emotional depth of a Windows 95 error message. Here's the problem with that approach. Patrick Lanchoni calls vulnerability-based trust the foundation of every healthy team. If your people don't feel safe being open with you, they're not giving you their best ideas, their honest feedback or their real engagement. Okay, they're giving you the workplace equivalent of fine when your spouse asks how your day was, and you know that fine, the one. That means anything but fine.
Speaker 2:I learned this lesson the hard way early in my leadership career. We had this massive project that was personally important to me. It was tied to a client I'd been trying to land for years and, honestly, landing it would have been a huge career win. But I never told my team any of that context. I treated it like any other task on the list, with about as much emotional expression as Keanu Reeves in the Matrix. And guess what happened? They treated it that way, the exact same way, like it didn't really matter. The project completely derailed because nobody understood the stakes. They had no idea why I was so invested, so they weren't invested either.
Speaker 2:Here's what I should have done. I should have said, said look, I want you to know why this project matters to me personally. This client represents the kind of work I've been wanting to do for our company and if we nail this, it opens doors for all of us. I'm not asking you to care as much as I do, but I'm asking you to understand why I'm so focused on getting this right. That's not oversharing, that's not being soft. That's giving your team the context they need to understand your leadership decisions. Do this instead share the why behind your decisions. Let them see that you care. They don't see that you're human, controlled. Vulnerability doesn't make you weak, it makes you credible and relatable.
Speaker 2:Blind spot number three mistaking tenure for trust. We think respect comes automatically with years on the job. We've put in our time, we've paid our dues, we've earned our stripes, so people should just naturally follow us. Right, it's like expecting people to still be impressed that you own the first PlayStation. Cool story, but what have you done lately? Simon Sinek's Start With why reminds us that we don't buy what you do. Okay, they buy why you do it. The same is true for leadership. They don't follow you because you've been in the game for 20 years or because you remember when email was new. They follow you because they believe in you for what you stand for.
Speaker 2:I've seen this all the time with experienced leaders. You know the ones who are getting frustrated when their authority is questioned or when team members push back on decisions. Their first instinct is just to pull rank. I've been doing this since before you were born, or when you have my experience, then you can question my judgment. It's the workplace equivalent of when I was your age. I walked uphill both ways to school. That kind of response doesn't build followership. No-transcript.
Speaker 2:Here's a story that illustrates this perfectly. I was working with a VP who had 30 years of experience in his industry. Brilliant guy, knew his stuff inside and out, but he was struggling with a team of younger managers who seemed to just want to challenge every decision he made. His frustration was boiling over. One day he told me they don't respect experience anymore. They think they know everything. So I asked him when's the last time you explained your reasoning to them, not just what you decided, but why you decided it? Long pause. I shouldn't have to explain myself. My track record speaks for itself. That was the problem right there. His track record might speak for itself in his mind, but it was invisible to his team. They couldn't see his thought process, his previous successes or the wisdom behind his decisions. All they saw was someone making proclamations without explanation. So do this instead. Earn influence daily. Show up with consistency, deliver on your promises, lead from your values, not just your resume, and when you make decisions, help people understand your reasoning. Your experience is an asset, yes, but only if you make it accessible to others.
Speaker 2:Blind spot number four Feedback is a foreign language. We grew up in a no news is good news culture. If the boss wasn't yelling at us, we figured we were doing fine. Annual performance reviews were pretty much the only time anyone talked about how we were doing, kind of like only calling your parents on holidays and then wondering why the relationship feels distant. Yeah, that approach doesn't work anymore and, honestly, it never worked that well to begin with. Harvard Business Review found that employees who get regular, meaningful feedback are three times more engaged than those who don't. Three times that's not a small difference. That's the difference between a team that's going through the motions and a team that's genuinely invested in their work. It's the difference between a Tamagotchi that's thriving and one that's well, let's just say it's not getting fed enough attention.
Speaker 2:I've lost good people simply because I assumed they knew I valued them. I never said it out loud. I figured my actions spoke for themselves. I gave them good projects. I included them in important meetings. I gave them good projects. I included them in important meetings. I trusted them with responsibility, but apparently I was speaking in a leadership language as unclear as dial-up internet sounds to a Gen Z kid.
Speaker 2:One person in particular still haunts me. She was doing great work, exceeding expectations, really becoming a key player on the team, but she left for another opportunity because, as she put it in her exit interview, I never really knew if I was doing a good job here. I felt like I was always wondering where I stood. That one hit me hard because in my mind she was one of my top performers. But I also never told her that. I'd never given her specific feedback about what she was doing well or how she could grow even further. Here's the thing about feedback it's not just about correction, it's about connection. It's about showing people that you're paying attention, that you care about their growth and that you see their potential. Do this instead. Give short, specific feedback every week. Make it normal, make it expected, make it about growth and not just correction. Oh, and here's the key Make sure you're giving positive feedback just as often as constructive feedback. People need to know what they're doing well, not just what needs to be fixed.
Speaker 2:Blind spot number five Our work ethic can become a weapon. We pride ourselves on being first in, last out. We wear our long hours like a badge of honor, the same way we used to show off how many CDs we could fit in that giant case organizer. We push through exhaustion, skip vacations and sacrifice personal time because, well, that's what dedication looks like, right? Here's the problem. When we treat exhaustion as a badge of honor, we send a dangerous message to our team If you want to succeed here, prepare to sacrifice your health, your relationship and your sanity. Yeah, it's like telling them the only way to win and to play a video game on the hardest difficulty setting, with no cheat codes. That's not leadership, that's burnout in disguise with a business card.
Speaker 2:I fell into this trap early in my career, as probably most of you did. I was working 70-hour weeks, answering emails at midnight like I was some kind of corporate night owl, taking calls during family dinners, and I expected my team to match that energy. When they didn't, I questioned their commitment. I was basically the workplace equivalent of that friend who brags about only sleeping four hours a night. Yeah, what I didn't realize was that I wasn't modeling excellence, I was modeling dysfunction. My team wasn't inspired by my work ethic. They were intimidated by it. Some of them started working longer hours just to keep up, even when it wasn't necessary. Others started looking for jobs at companies with healthier cultures because, you know, probably telling their friends my boss thinks work-life balance is a myth, like Bigfoot or affordable health care. The wake-up call came when one of my best team members quit. In her exit conversation, she said I love the work and I respect you, but I can't keep up with the pace you set. I have a family and I want to be present for them. That's when I realized that my work ethic had become a barrier to building the kind of team I actually wanted to lead, that my work ethic had become a barrier to building the kind of team I actually wanted to lead.
Speaker 2:Don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating for lowering standards or accepting mediocrity. I'm talking about modeling sustainable excellence. I'm going to say that one more time. I'm not advocating for lower standards or accepting mediocrity. I'm talking about modeling sustainable excellence, showing your team that you can perform at a high level and still, yes, have a life. Do this instead. Model sustainable excellence. Show your team that you can deliver exceptional results without sacrificing everything else that matters. Take your vacation days, leave the office at a reasonable hour most nights. Demonstrate that success doesn't require martyrdom. Here's the truth. Healthy leaders build healthy teams, and healthy teams consistently outperform burned out teams over the long haul.
Speaker 2:So here's your action plan for the week. I want to make it practical. So here are three things you can do this week to start addressing these blind spots. First, find your outdated habit, pick one. This is how I've always done it belief and run a seven-day experiment. Maybe it's how long you run your team meetings. Are you still doing PowerPoint presentations that would make a 1990s corporate trainer proud? Maybe it's how you communicate decisions. Maybe it's how you structure your one-on-ones. Whatever it is, try something new for one week and see what happens. The key here is to pick something small enough that you can actually test it, but also significant enough that you can actually test it, but also significant enough that you'll notice if it makes a difference. Think of it as like a software update for your leadership operating system, okay.
Speaker 2:Second, I want you to have a vulnerability moment In your next team meeting. Share one challenge you're working through as a leader and what you're doing to solve it. This isn't about oversharing or making yourself look weak. It's about showing your team that you're human and that you're committed to growing. You don't need to go full Oprah here, but a little enthusiastic transparency goes a long way. For example, you might say something like I've been reflecting on my leadership style lately and I realize I don't always explain reasoning behind my decisions. I'm working on being more transparent about that thought process because I want you to understand not just what we're doing but why we're doing it. See Vulnerable, but not TMI either. See Vulnerable but not TMI either.
Speaker 2:Third, I want you to run a feedback sprint. Give one of your direct reports one piece of meaningful, actionable feedback this week. It can be positive or constructive. Just make it specific and useful. Don't wait for the annual review, like you're waiting for your next season of your favorite show that got canceled in the 90s and somehow came back. Don't wait for the perfect moment. Don't overthink it. Just find one thing each person is doing well or one area where they could grow and share it with them. Here's a simple formula. I noticed specific behavior, outcome. The impact was positive result or area for improvement, going forward. I'd like you to continue doing this or trying this instead.
Speaker 2:So here's my question for you which of these blind spots hits closest to home and, more importantly, what's your plan to fix it hits closest to home and, more importantly, what's your plan to fix it? Look, being a Gen X leader in today's workplace, that's not easy. We're navigating changes we never saw coming, leading people who think differently than we do and trying to stay relevant in a world that seems to change so fast, like it's the fashion trends in the 90s. But here's what I've learned the leaders who thrive aren't the ones who resist change, like they're still defending the superiority of mixtapes. They're the ones who stay curious, they stay humble and they're willing to evolve.
Speaker 2:I want to thank all of you for joining me. If you would do me a favor and leave a review, I would greatly appreciate it. And if you'd share this with another Gen X leader, or maybe someone who works for a Gen X leader and they're just trying to understand them, okay. And if you are looking for coaching, if you're looking for a keynote speaker, I do all that. You can find me at nextstepadvisorscom. That's N-X-T. There's no E there. Nextstepadvisorscom. Or, hey, connect with me on LinkedIn. All these links are in the show notes.
Speaker 2:Getting a ton of followers on LinkedIn. We're having some great conversations, in fact. Show notes getting a ton of followers on LinkedIn. We're having some great conversations, in fact. In a couple of weeks I'm going to have the 100th episode. Show will be a Q&A. If you have any of those, I'd love to hear from you. Drop some questions in the comments and I'll maybe make those one of the ones that I answer. Again, thank you for listening to the TLD podcast. I'm Colby Morris. Go out there, keep leading with humility. Evolving to the TLD podcast. I'm Colby Morris. Go out there, keep leading with humility, evolving with purpose and challenging outdated habits. 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