One of the most frustrating things for a manager is that their team's not performing, and they don't know what to do about it.

The pressure starts mounting more and more. They start to doubt themselves, and things get worse and worse for everybody involved.

The solution is to evaluate your team on these five pillars and then put in a strategy to solve it.

- The five pillars that separate high-performing teams from the ones stuck firefighting, and the one score you'll walk away with that tells you exactly where to focus first

- Why hiring your way out of a broken culture never works, and what actually happens when you throw a new headcount at a team with no clear expectations

- The real cost of keeping a B-minus player on an A-player team, and why it’s causing your best people to check out or leave

- What separates a leader who manages from one who actually leads, and why AI is about to make that gap the only thing that matters

- How to build a culture that runs on its own momentum instead of one you have to hold together by sheer will every single day

Scorecard Download: https://rmichaelanderson.com/teams-scorecard

This week, score your team honestly across the five pillars, culture, purpose and vision, team makeup, engagement, and leadership, and identify the one pillar that's actually holding you back…because here's the thing, it's usually not the one you've been working on.

Ask me in the Leadership Mindset 2.0 community on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8944058/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/leadershipmindsetgroup

Doors are open for the Team Performance Accelerator, Michael's three month live programme on building a team that takes ownership without you standing over it. Six live sessions with Michael, starting October 6th, limited to 30 leaders. Enrolment closes September 28th.

Details here: rmichaelanderson.com/podteam

When trust disappears from a team, even small disagreements can turn into defensiveness, gossip, blame, and conflict...so how do you turn it around?

In this episode, Michael breaks down a five-step process for helping a team move out of dysfunction and start rebuilding trust. And it doesn't begin with forcing everyone to get along. It begins with understanding why people are defensive in the first place, including how you might be contributing to the dynamic as their leader.

Michael walks through what to address, what to say, and how to set clear expectations so you're not simply hoping the conflict will resolve itself.

- How to recognize when ego and defensiveness are driving conflict, including when your own reactions may be adding to the problem.

- Why leaders need to bring unspoken tension into the open before a team can actually work through it.

- How to set clear expectations, get genuine agreement, and hold people accountable for rebuilding trust over time.

Look at the conflict or lack of trust on your team and ask yourself which part of the five-step process needs your attention right now. Do you need to understand where ego is showing up? Name a problem that everyone is avoiding? Set clearer expectations? Get agreement from your team? Or start holding people accountable? Choose the step your team needs most and put it into action.

Ask me in the Leadership Mindset 2.0 community on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8944058/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/leadershipmindsetgroup

Never let someone come to you with just a problem. They need one to three solutions already worked out, because that is the moment a follower starts becoming a leader.

Here's the thing. A VP I coach ran a time audit and found he was spending five hours a week with one newer team member. His first instinct was to just cut that time back. That would have backfired.

- Why cutting back time with someone you have been over-supporting can blow up in your face if you handle it wrong, and the simple reframe that gets their buy-in instead of their anxiety

- The real difference between internal and external processors. One of your team members might be talking too much simply because that is how they think, not because they cannot decide

- The exact standard to set so people stop bringing you problems and start bringing you solutions. This one shift does more for someone's leadership growth than almost anything else you can teach them

- How to use phases to structure your relationship with a growing team member, so every stage has a clear, motivating focus instead of feeling like an open ended obligation

- The coaching questions that push someone to actually decide instead of staying stuck. Sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is refuse to decide for them

This week, the next time someone comes to you with a problem, ask for their one to three options before you help solve it. If they do not have any, send them back to think it through first. That one habit is what starts turning a follower into a leader.

Ask me in the Leadership Mindset 2.0 community on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8944058/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/leadershipmindsetgroup

A burned out team does not need better processes. It needs a leader who knows where they are going. The thing keeping your people stuck has nothing to do with their workload.

- Why the loudest negative person on your team is currently setting the tone for everyone else, and what you have to do about it before anything else can shift

- The difference between empathy and direction, and why leading with one while missing the other leaves your team feeling unled no matter how hard you are working

- Why workload data and process improvements cannot fix a burned out team culture, and what your people are actually waiting for from you

- How to show up to your boss with a plan and a specific ask instead of a list of problems, and why that one shift changes what help you can get

- The exact moves to make in the next two weeks to start turning the energy in your department around

This week, write the one paragraph narrative of where your team is going in the next 12 months and schedule the one conversation you have been putting off with the person whose energy is pulling the room in the wrong direction, because those two things together will move more than any process improvement you could make.

Ask me in the Leadership Mindset 2.0 community on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8944058/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/leadershipmindsetgroup

I'm away for a couple of weeks, so we're going back into the archive. New episodes return on 26 August.

"The real job of a CEO is to go from one uncomfortable conversation to another."

If you are procrastinating a phone call, letting a deadline slide, or avoiding an underperforming employee because you don't want to "rock the boat," you are not protecting the team - you are hurting them.

Many leaders suffer from "Nice Guy Syndrome." We think that by avoiding conflict, we are keeping the peace. But in reality, we are losing respect.

In this episode, we break down why your brain is neurologically wired to avoid these conversations and how to overcome it every time.

-The "Nice Guy" Trap: Why trying to be liked usually results in being disrespected, and why your team actually caves accountability .

-The Psychology of Avoidance: How "Conditional Parenting" and the ego's need for safety cause us to procrastinate on high-value conversations .

-The ARC Framework: A 3-step process (Awareness, Response, Compassion) to navigate conflict without blowing up.

-Curiosity vs. Blame: How to start a difficult conversation so the other person doesn't get defensive (hint: be specific, not general) .

-The "Silence" Trick: Why you must stop talking after asking a hard question and let the silence do the heavy lifting .

-Identify: Who is the one person you have been avoiding? (A peer, an underperformer, or even a boss).

-Compose: How do you want your energy to be? (Curious, not accusing).

-Schedule: Put it on the calendar today. Do not wait for the "right time." .

Ask me in the Leadership Mindset 2.0 community on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8944058/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/leadershipmindsetgroup

Leadership isn't just about making the right decisions. It's about having the difficult conversations, earning trust, and showing up with confidence when it matters most.

In this episode, Michael answers questions from leaders who are facing challenges many of us eventually run into.

-What do you do when someone on your team isn't improving?

-How do you lead people who used to be your peers?

-And how do you walk into a room with confidence when everyone seems to be judging you before you've even spoken?

If you've ever struggled with any of those situations, this episode is packed with practical advice you can put to work right away.

- When it's time to put someone on a Performance Improvement Plan and why avoiding the conversation usually makes things worse.

- How to earn the respect of former peers after stepping into a leadership role.

- A simple routine you can use before any meeting or presentation to feel calmer, more confident, and more present.

- Why the first few moments of your presentation matter more than you think and how to make them count.

Before your next meeting or presentation, don't jump straight into your content. Pause, get grounded, and think about what your audience needs from you. Then start with an opening that grabs their attention and sets the tone for the conversation.

Ask me in the Leadership Mindset 2.0 community on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8944058/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/leadershipmindsetgroup

http://rmichaelanderson.com/glc-join

Most leaders spend their careers trying to get rid of fear. The highest performers have a completely different relationship with it.

“The day you are not afraid going into a fire is the day you should retire. Because fear is what keeps you aware, keeps you sharp, and keeps you alive.”

-Shannon Sedlacek, former attorney and Lieutenant firefighter, my guest for the episode

- Why fear is not a stop sign and never was, and what it is actually trying to tell you in the moments it shows up most powerfully in your leadership

- What a career as a litigator and then a firefighter taught Shannon Sedlacek about performing under pressure, and why the skill that transfers is not courage but self-trust

- Why self-abandonment is the hidden cost of leadership at the highest levels, and how it shows up in ways most leaders never connect back to themselves

- What the relationship between fear, doubt, and self-trust actually looks like in practice, and why building that relationship is the only thing that lets you keep taking on harder challenges

- Why your team is watching how you relate to fear more than they are listening to what you say about it, and what you are modeling whether you know it or not

Find out more:

https://rmichaelanderson.com/intensive

Ask me in the Leadership Mindset 2.0 community on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8944058/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/leadershipmindsetgroup

If your business depends on you for every major decision, you've built a bottleneck, not a scalable company.

In this episode, Michael answers a question from a founder who has successfully grown his business to $4 million but finds himself involved in every deal, every decision, and every problem. The challenge isn't working harder. It's making the transition from being the person who does everything to becoming the leader who builds leaders.

Michael shares the practical mindset shifts, leadership frameworks, and coaching strategies that help founders, executives, and managers let go of control, develop stronger teams, and create organizations that can continue growing without depending on them every step of the way.

- How to identify whether your team is truly capable of taking ownership or if you need stronger leadership talent.

- Why hiring and coaching become your most important responsibilities as your organization grows.

- A simple Before and After leadership mapping exercise that creates a clear roadmap for moving from operator to strategic leader.

- How your past experiences may be shaping your leadership style and what it takes to intentionally rewire habits that no longer serve you.

Complete your own Before and After leadership map. Write down the responsibilities you're handling today, define the leader you want to become in the future, and identify the specific changes that will help you bridge the gap. Use it as your roadmap for becoming more strategic and less dependent on doing everything yourself.

Ask me in the Leadership Mindset 2.0 community on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8944058/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/leadershipmindsetgroup

Masterclass on Hiring (1/3): Mindset & Preparation

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/3591e99b-6973-4726-8930-5890166a694e/

Masterclass on Hiring (2/3): Sourcing & Interviewing

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/ee63178d-6d2f-4ce2-999e-3b723db692fc/

Masterclass on Hiring (3/3): The Offer & Onboarding

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/0c27ad8c-3202-4c51-a8c3-e6c7c965c2d2/