Leadership Huddle with Geoff Welch

Here’s a really paradoxical way to get more of what you want.

Stop focusing on what you want. 

Okay, not completely, but when it comes to a negotiation or when you are trying to elicit the help you need to get where you want to go, you are probably too focused on yourself.

Remember, you are the hero of your story, but you're just a supporting cast member in theirs.

Your goals and desires are central to your story, but they could literally be a distraction in their story.

Here’s a simple change in thinking that will fundamentally improve how you negotiate and how you ask for help: ask yourself WHAT DO THEY WANT?

We are so concerned with our own hopes and dreams that we focus more on trying to convince someone to want what we want or love what we love and we fail to consider that our goals are a side quest for them.

When you take even just a few minutes to consider what is important to THEM, what they care about, you will be able to craft an ask (or an argument) that is far more likely to make sense to them.

The goal is not to manipulate, but to find alignment. 

The goal is to find the area of your Venn diagrams that overlap.

OPPORTUNITY FOR ACTION: The next time you need help or need to make a compelling argument, pause for a moment to reflect on what the other party wants. What are they trying to accomplish? What matters to them? 

Every ask or argument will improve when you focus less on YOUR desired outcome and more on their interests.
My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

What if the greatest gift a leader could give someone is the confidence to see potential they haven't yet recognized in themselves? 

Andrea Benner believes that kind of confidence can change everything.

Andrea started her career at GCI Communications as a customer service representative in 2007. Today, she's the Director of Training and Professional Development, helping leaders develop the skills to bring out the best in their people.

In this episode of Leadership Huddle, Andrea and I explore the powerful idea that belief is transferable. 

When leaders genuinely believe in someone's potential, that confidence can inspire courage, growth, and extraordinary performance.

We discuss why leadership is a skill that requires daily practice, how trust and belief work together, and why holding people accountable doesn't mean giving up on their potential. 

Andrea also challenges us to reconsider the stories we've told ourselves about employees who aren't meeting expectations.

This conversation is a reminder that leadership isn't simply about what we accomplish. It's about what we help others believe they can accomplish.

Connect with Andrea on LinkedIn

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

No one is coming to save you.

And that’s actually really good news.

Because now you can stop waiting and start taking action.

There are few things more sinister than the misplaced hope that if you wait just a little bit longer all your problems will be solved by someone else.

It’s not going to happen.

No one is coming to save you. 

TRY THIS: That thing that you’ve been hoping will simply magically resolve? Yeah, you know the one. Stop sitting on your hands. Take the car out of neutral. Drive. If no one is coming to save you, what must YOU do to make things better?
My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

A teenage mistake sentenced Lydie Gutfeld to 75 hours of community service. She had no idea those hours would launch a 35-year career devoted to serving communities.

Lydie is the Community Services Director for the City of Placentia, California, and has spent her career working in parks and recreation for communities including Beverly Hills, Irvine, Mission Viejo, and San Bernardino.

In this conversation, we talk about that unlikely beginning, why leadership and title are two very different things, and how she’s learned to lead with transparency, humor, energy, and absolutely no interest in pretending to be someone she isn’t.

Lydie also shares why great leaders adapt to the communities and people they serve, how her mistakes have become some of her best teaching material, and why speaking from difficult experiences has become an important part of her leadership.

Lydie brings an infectious combination of candor, humor, experience, and genuine love for people to this conversation. I think you’re going to enjoy meeting her.

Connect with Lydie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lydiegutfeld/
My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

Success means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but there is one simple practice that will increase the likelihood of success no matter how you define it.

Do what you say you will do.

Not what you promise to do. Not what you swear on the lives of your children you will do. Not what you make a solemn oath to do.

Just do what you say you will do.

When you tell someone you’ll be there at 9:00, be there at 9:00.

When you tell someone you’ll finish the report this week, finish the report this week.

When you tell someone you want to meet for coffee, meet for coffee.

When you tell your boss you’ll hit the sales goal, hit the sales goal.

When you tell your people you’ll find a solution to a problem that drives them crazy, find a solution.

And when you tell yourself you’ll hit the gym, take the trip, or enroll in the class, do it.

(Truly, breaking commitments to yourself opens the door to failure in every aspect of your life.)

Does this mean you can’t renegotiate terms when circumstances change? Of course not.

It means that you will proactively renegotiate those terms instead of just letting things slide.

This isn’t just a matter of “virtue” or “goodness,” it’s a matter of trust.Trust with others and trust with yourself.

When you do what you say you will do you become a person who others believe in…and most importantly…who you believe in. 

You don’t necessarily have to be better, smarter, and faster to win.But you do have to do what you say you will do.

TRY THIS: Become impeccable with your word. Hold yourself accountable to your agreements, even when others won’t. Proactively renegotiate terms when things change. Watch what happens.
My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

Kati Capozzi likes to ask a deceptively simple question: How do we get to yes? 
It’s an approach that has shaped a career built around finding a way forward—even when the obvious path is blocked.

Kati is President and CEO of the Alaska Chamber, where she represents hundreds of businesses and works alongside a remarkably diverse group of leaders and subject-matter experts.

In this conversation, we talk about her journey from military kid to committed Alaskan, the lessons she learned running a statewide campaign, and why leading well sometimes means accepting that you won’t be the expert in the room.

We also explore Kati’s belief that listening may be more important than talking, the importance of protecting your organization from mission creep, why “never been busier” isn’t necessarily something to celebrate, and one of leadership’s hardest disciplines: letting your people struggle long enough to grow.

Kati’s philosophy? Give people the tools, trust them to use them, and let them fail forward.

Connect with Kati on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kati-capozzi/

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

This one is a little bit embarrassing.

I started playing the drums when I was 12. The son of a drummer and pianist, I suppose it was only a matter of time.

38 years later I am a competent drummer who is very comfortable with what I can (and can’t) do with the instrument.

It feels good to be good at something but, if I’m really honest with myself, I haven’t actually improved as a drummer in about 20 years.

That feels astonishing to me.

Being a drummer is an important part of who I am and the idea that 20 years could pass while simply treading water seems crazy.

But it’s really just a matter of priorities, and growing as a drummer felt less important once I achieved a certain level of proficiency.

That might sound cocky, or woefully shortsighted, but there it is.

I did some quick math last night and if I had spent 1 hour per day for 38 years focused on developing as a drummer I would have logged nearly 14,000 hours of growth.

I’m fully convinced that the gap between me (and anyone, really) and being a truly great drummer, is that 14,000 hours of development. 

Well, not 14,000 specifically, but doing a little focused work over and over for years and decades. 

Doing 14,000 hours of work seems like a crazy commitment looking forward.But looking back, an hour a day doesn’t seem like a whole lot relative to the progress it would unlock.

For you, dear reader, this is a reminder that there will be moments when being “good enough” or “better than most” as a leader feels like an opportunity to rest.

But there is always something new to learn and there will always be a new challenge around the corner ready to test your abilities.

This is not a call to “grind” or otherwise develop a relentless obsession for more.

This is a call to never expect today’s skills to carry you through tomorrow’s problems and to invest in consistent growth that compounds over time.

You don’t need to acquire 14,000 hours of growth this year or even this decade.

But don’t discount what a few hours of learning and development each week can become over the course of a career.

TRY THIS: What is a skill you’d like to improve or something you want to learn more about? Could you take a class at a local university? Find an online course? Engage with a coach? Learn more on YouTube?

Ask yourself every single week: What did I learn this week? What should I be learning next week?

Consistency over intensity…

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

At 20, Joey Barranco was offered the kind of job most people would call a no-brainer. 

He turned it down.

Not because he was already winning, but because he believed in what he was building.

That bet paid off.

Joey is the owner of Mary’s Rose Creative Services, a documentary and brand film company he grew from a young guy with a camera into a studio serving some of Alaska’s most recognizable organizations.

In this conversation, Joey and I talk about the influence of basketball, mentors who spotted his potential early, building relationships, learning to trust his instincts, and why the supposedly “safe” career path carries risks of its own.

We also get into the difference between simply doing what a client asks and becoming the kind of trusted expert who helps them see a better solution.

Joey’s story is a terrific example of what can happen when hard work, curiosity, relationships, and a willingness to bet on yourself collide.

Connect with Joey:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joey-barranco/
Web: MarysRoseAK.com

My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

When the snow started to melt in the spring I discovered a leak in my camper.

To make matters worse, I couldn’t find the source of the leak.

I examined the roof and other surface penetrations and applied copious amounts of sealant even though none of the seals seemed compromised.

The leak persisted. I was exasperated.

And then it dried up. 

An entire summer of sun and rain transpired and not a drop of water found its way inside.

Months wandered by and the camper was dry.

And then, on our last camper trip of the year, we were greeted with the same leak in the same location. 

Half a roll of duct tape later and I *think* I’ve identified the problem, but this is where my camper and your team share a major similarity: the maintenance is never really done.

You can (and should!) relish the moments when everything is going well, but entropy (and all of recorded human history) indicate it won’t last unless you keep up the maintenance.

In the same way that a thermostat doesn’t get your room to the proper temperature and then self-destruct because its job is done, you can’t expect your team to enjoy productivity, happiness, and collaboration without maintaining those things.

Your thermostat is working against internal and external forces that are changing the temperature of the room and it has to always be at the ready to activate the necessary systems to get the room back to the desired state.

Whether it’s the temperature of a room, the integrity of a camper roof, or the effectiveness of your team, the maintenance never ends.

When you buy a camper, you had best enjoy tinkering with the camper as much as you enjoy taking it out into the woods.

And when you’re a leader, you had best enjoy nurturing your people and the culture as much as you enjoy seeing the team win.

The maintenance is only a problem when you don’t realize it’s a fundamental part of the gig.

TRY THIS: What’s working right now? What needs to be true for that to keep working? What isn’t working right now? What needs to be true for it to start working again. Pick ONE thing and do a little maintenance. 

And remember: You don’t need to change the oil in your car every day. Maintaining your team isn’t about fixing what isn’t broken. It’s about keeping a watchful eye and paying attention to patterns to ensure some things never break…and other things don’t stay broken.
My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets

Now that I’m 50 I have lots of things I never thought I would have.

Like a personal philosophy about mowing the lawn. 

I’ll save you the long version and just say that I set my mower as high as it goes even though it means cutting it a little more often.

Years ago I cribbed this philosophy from a YouTube video in which a lawn enthusiast was extolling the benefits of this approach. 

Along the way he fielded a question from a frustrated viewer who didn’t like that this method would require more frequent cutting. His reply was something like, “Why is that a problem? Mowing my lawn is the most peaceful part of my week, so I don’t mind doing it a little more often.”

In the same way that leaving my grass longer results in a better outcome for my lawn, but requires a little more attention…you likely aren’t enjoying the best outcomes with your team because you aren’t willing to invest the time and energy.

You want a healthy, lush, lawn, but you don’t want to mow it a few extra times each summer.

You want your people to win, for goals to be met, and for collaboration and trust to rule supreme, but you don’t want to have that difficult conversation, to invest time into training, or to offer more ownership to others.

In the same way that there really isn’t a shortcut to a healthy lawn, there isn’t a shortcut to an impossibly effective team.

You’re going to have to fall in love with nurturing your people.

TRY THIS: Identify one conversation, coaching moment, or piece of feedback you’ve been putting off because it feels inconvenient. Do it THIS week. 

Bonus points for scheduling 5 minutes every Monday to consider how to nurture your people in the coming week. You don’t have to do it all at once, but you do have to make it something that happens over and over again.Consistency beats intensity.
My free PDF, “The 5 Secrets of Impossibly Effective Teams,” will show you the simple leadership moves that help teams unlock their full potential and deliver outsized results, without burning out. Grab your copy now at geoffwelch.com/secrets