The StrongLead Podcast with Chad Hall

Chad flies solo to discuss anxiety and how leaders can unintentionally increase it in teams and organizations. He defines anxiety as a contagious sense of dread and high alert and describes four common ways leaders can create it: raising issues no one can act on, constantly changing priorities, sending after-hours messages that suggest everyone must always be available, and delaying important deci...

Some things you can control; most things you can't. In this episode, Chad and Allan explore where your energy goes when you obsess over pricing, the economy, or the competitor — and what shifts when you put that energy into your circle of influence instead. Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com  

Every relationship runs on an account — trust gets deposited and withdrawn one interaction at a time. In this episode, Chad and Allan explore the emotional bank account: what counts as a deposit, what drains the account fast, and whether deposits can be strategic without becoming manipulation. Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com  

Covey said it's easy to say no when there's a deeper yes burning inside. In this episode, Chad and Allan explore Quadrant II — the important-but-not-urgent work — and why living there is a courage problem, not a calendar problem. Every hour spent on what matters most is purchased by disappointing someone. Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com  

This week Chad and Allan take a break from Covey's 7 Habits to focus on Chad's newest book, Work People to Life . They discuss what it means to have a job that is life-giving, why leaders should refuse to work people to death, and practical ways to work people to life. Copies of the book are available on Amazon . Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com  

Let's be honest: most business mission statements are wallpaper. In this episode, Chad and Allan look at how a personal mission statement can be a powerful guiding force in your life and how you can take some first steps in crafting yours. Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com  

Everyone's life has a center — work, money, family, approval, self — and it gets revealed the moment something threatens it. In this episode, Chad and Allan explore Covey's alternative life centers and why principle-centered living is the only stable place to stand. Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com  

Imagine your own funeral: what do you want said about you — and does this week's calendar have anything to do with it? In this episode, Chad and Allan take Covey's most famous exercise seriously and explore what it truly means to begin with the end in mind. Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com  

Most leaders would never break a promise to a client, but break promises to themselves every single week. In this episode, Chad and Allan explore how self-trust is built the same way all trust is built — one kept commitment at a time — and why keeping your word to yourself may be the most neglected leadership discipline of all. Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com  

In this episode we talk about Stephen Covey's idea of "scripts" and how they shape our worldview, language, habits, and the way we interpret events. We discuss how scripts can be useful at first but become limiting when they turn into one-sided beliefs, and we use examples from leadership, coaching, ministry, money, and work. We also look at how leaders can notice their own patterns and "tells," a...

In this episode, we discuss Stephen Covey's weather metaphor and how it relates to leadership, emotional state, and personal agency. We talk about how the "weather" in a room or relationship can reflect tension, mood, or atmosphere, and how leaders can choose what they bring into a situation rather than simply react to it. We also explore the gap between stimulus and response, and how calm, intent...

In this episode, we continue our discussion of Stephen Covey's idea of the space between stimulus and response and how leaders often react automatically instead of responding with intention. We look at why people become reactive, including habit, wiring, and learned patterns, and we discuss examples from leadership and sales where an immediate reaction can damage relationships. We also explore way...

This week (and going forward) Allan Williams joins Chad on the podcast. The focus on this episode is Aesop's fable about the Goose and the Golden Egg and how leaders need to keep production and production capacity in balance. Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com  

Trust is like an ice-covered lake. If the ice is thick enough, you can drive a truck across it. But thin ice (and thin trust) will leave you cold, disappointed, and maybe a bit in danger. In this episode, Chad tackles five things that make a person trustworthy and how to test the ice so you can know if you should trust someone. Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com  

In this episode, Chad discusses how helping can become harmful in leadership, at work, and in relationships when it prevents people from learning and growing. We look at rescuing, answering other people's questions, smoothing obstacles, and carrying responsibilities that belong to others, with examples from meetings, parenting, sales, and goal-setting. Leadership should involve giving people back...

Managing people can feel overwhelming, but it gets simpler when you boil it down to giving people what they actually need from you. In this episode, Chad shares four of the most important things every employee needs from the person they report to — and how giving them well gets the most out of most of the people you manage. Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com  

People will disappoint you. Unfortunately, that's part of leading. Even more unfortunate is that too manyleaders either stew in the disappointment or react off the raw feeling. In this episode, Chad shares a simple way to figure out what actually let you down and respond to the real problem in a way that makes things better instead of worse. Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth....

You've been told to have an open-door policy, but a door that never closes isn't a door — it's a hole in the wall, and everybody walks through it whenever they please. In this episode, Chad shares three ways being always available costs you, your team, and your company big-time, plus how to close all of your doors — your office door, your texts, email, and the rest. Audio Production by Podsworth M...

"Driven" gets thrown around like a compliment, but the fuel under the drive matters more than the drive itself. Some leaders run on purpose; others run on anxiety and fear — and from the outside, they look the same. In this episode, Chad shares how to tell anxiety-driven leadership from purpose-driven leadership, and why one of them gets you there while wrecking the engine. Audio Production by Pod...

Of all the things you can get wrong in business, hiring someone with bad character is maybe the worst. It's costly, and it's a mistake that can feel unavoidable. In this episode, Chad shares four ways to dig past the polished resume and increase your odds of making good character hires. Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com  

Humility is one of the three traits Patrick Lencioni says every ideal team player needs—and it's also the one people most misunderstand. Real humility isn't weakness or shrinking; it's work. In this episode, Chad shares three expressions of true humility plus five practical ways to work with prideful people on your team. Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com  

Too many leadership problems get solved downstream, after the mess has already happened. Strong leaders work upstream. In this episode, Chad shares four upstream investments that prevent a hundred downstream messes you'd otherwise have to clean up. Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com  

A lot of leaders confuse managing with micromanaging—and some use the confusion as cover for not managing at all. In this episode, Chad helps identify when good managing goes too far and becomes micromanaging and when avoidance of micromanaging goes too far and become poor managing. Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com  

Most CEOs are busy, but busy doing what? In this episode, Chad shares the three things only the CEO can really provide to a company: outward focus, forward focus, and shaping culture. Whether you're at the top of the org chart or leading a team of three, this episode will help you focus your energy on the work only you can do. Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com  

If you're doing leadership the right way, you're always growing your skills to meet ever-increasing level of challenges. In this week's episode, Chad talks about the two ways to grow your skills—one that leads to strength and success and another that leads to a façade and failure. Audio Production by Podsworth Media - https://podsworth.com