The Founders Catalyst
Hosts Lee Povey and Steve Mellor are two high-performance coaches with a passion to position founders and business leaders to pursue the best version of themselves.
This podcast provides a support system for those operating in the high-stakes world of business ownership and leadership through honest and vulnerable conversations about the areas you deal with most.
The Founders Catalyst
Episode 028: Ego vs Impact: Stop Doing What Looks Good
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Steve Mellor and Lee Povey are seasoned high-performance coaches with decades of experience leading elite athletes, startup founders, and executive teams. As co-hosts of The Founders Catalyst, they translate elite performance principles into leadership practices that help founders build healthier cultures and more effective companies.
Episode Summary: Steve and Lee dig into a deceptively simple framework for becoming a more effective leadertwo annual questions popularized by Chris Williamson.
The first: What are you doing that you think is effective, but isn’tand you need to do less of? The second: What are you not doing enough of that you think isn’t effective, but actually isand you need to do more of?
They explore how ego and performative leadership distort decision-makingespecially around visibility, networking, and social media. Steve shares how stepping away from local, in-person connection in favor of online “presence” cost him momentum. Lee shares the opposite: forcing himself into networking rooms that drain him, when his real edge is deep one-to-one connection.
The conversation lands on a core principle from elite sport: outcomes are not controllableprocess is. And if you want to be more effective, you need space to think, reflect, and adjust before burnout forces the lesson.
Key Takeaways:
- Effectiveness requires ego-awareness. Ask: am I doing this for impactor to look good?
- Two questions can reveal your blind spots:
- What am I doing too much of that I think works, but doesn’t?
- What am I not doing enough of that I think doesn’t work, but does?
- What works for you matters. The “right” strategy is personalit must fit your energy, temperament, and strengths.
- Networking isn’t universally effective. For some leaders it’s fuel; for others it’s performance and drain.
- Social media can be a trap. Obsessing over details and engagement metrics often serves ego more than outcomes.
- 90% are watching quietly. Lack of likes doesn’t mean lack of impact.
- Process beats outcome. Set the goal, then focus on what you can control today.
- Founders who obsess over the exit often under-build the company. Build something sellable; the exit follows.
- Weekly reflection beats annual reflection. Small adjustments compound into major gains.
- Unstructured time is a leadership tool. Protect at least 2 hours weekly for low-cognitive-load thinking.
Resources Mentioned:
- Chris Williamson (Modern Wisdom) the two annual effectiveness questions
- Ego vs effectiveness / performative leadership
- Process vs outcome (elite sport principle)
- Gottman “bids for connection” (turn away, turn against, turn toward)
- Aggregation of marginal gains (1–2% improvements compounding)
Try this for the next 4 weeks:
- Block 2 hours of unstructured time each week (walk, museum, low-cognitive-load activity).
- Answer the two questions based on last week.Choose one small change (1–2%) and implement it immediately.
Busy isn’t a badge. It’s a signal. Adjust before burnout forces you to.
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