In The Lead

July is vacation month. And if you're like most leaders, you're already negotiating with yourself about how available you need to stay. This episode is for you. Time is the one resource every person has in exactly equal measure — twenty-four hours — and yet something happens to it when nobody's paying attention. In this episode, Nathan Metz draws from Gordon MacDonald's Ordering Your Private World...

Great listeners aren't born — they're built. In this episode, Nathan steps back and hands the floor to one of the most-watched communication talks of the last decade. Celeste Headlee spent decades as a public radio host before she asked herself a hard question: What actually makes a conversation good? Her answer, delivered in a 2015 TEDx talk, is one of the most practical things a leader can hear.

Congrats coach! You've put in the time. You've invested. And then they get up from their chair, leave your office and...nothing changes. Why? How? The most common coaching mistake is the loss of the last two minutes. After spending the scheduled time in valuable coaching conversation, the close it where the rubber hits the road. In this episode, we focus on exactly that...the last two minutes.

Most leaders think coaching is something they schedule. A one-on-one. A development conversation. A blocked-off hour on the calendar. In this episode, we make the case that coaching is actually a language — and it happens in real time, in the flow of the work, in the moments nobody planned for. Drawing on the experiences of David Marquet, retired U.S. Navy Captain and author of Turn the Ship Aroun...

Frequently, we promote people into leadership based on a criteria that doesn't translate and often works to undercut their own success. To begin addressing the issue, we're starting with one many angles: the pressure to have the answers. In this episode, Nathan Metz introduces a concept from author Michael Bungay Stanier that every leader needs to hear: the advice monster. It's the part of you tha...

The average employee spends two hours and twenty-six minutes every workday in what researcher Cy Wakeman calls drama — not conflict, not hard conversations, but the mental energy spent rehearsing grievances, replaying meetings, and building the case for why things are unfair. Multiply that across your building. That number adds up fast. What if the lost time and energy is all a response to nothing...

What does it mean to be hard to offend? Not hard-hearted. Not checked out. But the kind of leader who can absorb a difficult moment — a sharp word, an unfair situation, a bad day — and still lead well on the other side of it. In this episode, we bring in two voices to build one argument. Neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett has spent twenty-five years studying what emotions actually are — and what...

The previous episode showed how even good leaders can get trapped in cycles that drain their teams. Today we flip it. Drawing on research from MIT's Nelson Repenning and Harvard's Amy Edmondson, we explore what happens when you invest in your people instead of burning them out. The virtuous cycle isn't motivational theory—it's science. Capability builds slowly, but when it does, the work gets easi...

Are you running as fast as you can just to keep from falling off the treadmill? In this episode of In the Lead , we kick off a vital two-part series on Efficacy —the power to produce a result. We dive deep into the "vicious cycle" of turnover and burnout that plagues many healthcare facilities, exploring the scientific reason smart leaders get stuck: The Capability Trap . Learn why we instinctivel...

In this poignant second installment on leadership and candor, we continue the conversation with Jerry Batterbee, Denise McGarvey, and Martha Blackburn. While the previous episode focused on the "spine" of leadership—the courage to speak hard truths—this session delves into its soul. Our guests challenge the modern obsession with climbing the corporate ladder, suggesting instead that true influence...

In this episode of In the Lead, host Nathan Metz sits down with guests Jerry Batterbee, Denise McGarvey, and Martha Blackburn in Brooksville, Florida, to explore the character strength of candor—the courage to speak truth with grace. Together they unpack how honesty, trust, and timing shape authentic leadership. From protecting others through tough decisions to balancing humility with decisiveness...

In our latest episode, we pull the mission statement off the wall and put it into the crosshairs of the Monday morning boardroom. We sat down with the Corporate Ops team to see what happens when the "theory" of a mission hits the "fog" of regulations, construction projects, staffing shortages and clinical pressures. What we found wasn't a rehearsed corporate script, but a raw conversation about th...

In this first episode of season two of In The Lead  we explore the mission statement’s evolution from a 1500s Jesuit mandate into a vital modern management tool. Host Nathan Metz takes this opening episode to analyze how "the fog of growth" creates organizational entropy, causing departments to drift into conflicting "mini-missions". By examining the "Corporate Trinity"—vision, values, and mission...

Following the first half of this conversation on the personal strength of celebration, we now turn to the leader. What happens when a leader celebrates? Are there right/wrong ways to do it? Has there been a leader who celebrated you in a memorable way? Host Nathan Metz is joined again by his friends (and coworkers) Angie, Kim, Amy and Brooke to discuss leaders who celebrate.

For an episode on celebration, I gathered a few of my friends around a table. They also happen to be coworkers...but as you'll hear from the conversation, they know a thing or two about the topic. Over the course of four short segments, you'll grab a few tips and tricks to help you grow in your encouragement and celebration of others.

Building of our last conversation on listening, Amy here identifies the specific impacts in leadership. The power of a listening leader is felt in every corner of the team and on every level. This episode is full of notable ideas, key takeaways and practical steps that work here and now.

What is the most treasured and rare strengths that should be normal and accessible? Listening. It sounds like an easy task. Just don't talk. Listen. But it's more than that...it's a skill. For this episode, host Nathan Metz met up with one of the best listeners he's known, Amy Luedtke. In this first episode on the topic, they discuss listening in a way that may be completely new to you. All you ne...

Why does change in leadership fail? Often, it's not the plan—it's the preparation. This episode explores the three crucial steps before change: "Seeing" reality, "Majoring on the Majors" to focus energy, and "Rallying Around the Why" to create shared commitment. Learn how to stop fixing symptoms and start leading toward a better future.

Change is the only constant. Our personal relationship with change has a dramatic impact on the way we lead through change. In this first episode on the subject, we'll focus on three ideas related to personal change. You'll get a clear picture to consider and then a minute to reflect. Take this time to invest in yourself for meaningful growth.

We're back for part two with the chaplains conversation about empathy. Sitting around a kitchen table, Alissa, Taylor and Brad share thoughts and experiences about the relationship between empathy and leadership. This rich dialogue is packed with ideas, tools and methods that will transform your leadership!

Join host Nathan Metz as he invites three chaplains for lunch around his kitchen table. They discuss empathy from all angles! What does it look like? What does it cost? How can it grow?

Leading with integrity is easier said than done. It's not just about setting goals, rules or boundaries. It's about keeping to those lines, even if it means losing sometimes. In this second episode with special guest, Gary Ott, we're covering some of the harder angles of integrity as it applies to leadership. Gary shares some of his stories and insights from nearly forty years of business.

Gary Ott founded TLC Management in the late 1980's and led thirty years of growth by doing it the right way. In this first half of our conversation, Gary outlines what he believes to be central to personal integrity. Along the way, he shares stories of his highs and lows, deep challenges and the valuable lessons he's picked up through it all.

There is a common belief in the workspace that good workers show their value with more effort, more time, and more energy. There's a difference between "more work"and "good work". In fact, in this episode we learn that working harder sometimes yields less productivity! As guest Brian Scramlin reminds us: "you can't beat biology". 

Rest is more than just sleep. It's easier than vacation. It's as necessary as water. Without rest, your body doesn't have what it needs to perform highly or healthily for the long haul. What is it? What does it do? What happens when it doesn't happen? We're joined by guest, Brian Scramlin, to gather a few insights, look at it from a new angle and even give it some real time practice.