Leading At The Next Level

You’ve taken a People Optimization System assessment and you have your result. Now what? In the fourth episode of our POS series, Wes & Cindy Dove walk through what to do next, using the Values pillar as the example. You’ll hear how to read a pillar result (and why your stage is set by your weakest lens, not an average), the five Values stages, why Values Avoidance stalls so many teams, and a simple plan for your next 30 days. We also share a few takeaways from yesterday’s 2026 Executive Summit.

Three takeaways

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and a recap of the 2026 Executive Summit
01:46 Why leaders learn the most from each other
03:25 Where this fits in our POS series
04:04 The two ways people react to assessment results
06:12 How to read a pillar result
07:05 Honest answers, and why we’re using Values as the example
08:22 How the free Values assessment works
09:48 Stage 1: Values Void
10:46 Stage 2: Stated Values
11:18 Stage 3: Values Avoidance
12:18 Stage 4: Values Disconnect
13:09 Stage 5: Values in Motion
14:10 Back to Values Avoidance: lessons from safety, construction and mining
15:54 What the guide has you do at Stage 3
16:25 Using the Implementation Guide and its back-check questions
17:42 Free printables
18:44 Your 30-day plan: one stage, one lens, one action
19:19 When the gap is a leader, not the system
20:29 Free assessments, the Implementation Guides and the POS Letter
21:27 SHRM and HRCI recertification credit

Links

Free Values assessment (about 5 minutes): https://www.posframework.com/values-assessment
Free POS assessment (about 4 minutes): https://www.posframework.com/pos-assessment
All POS assessments: https://www.posframework.com/assessments
Free Values printables: https://www.posframework.com/values
Subscribe to the POS Letter: https://www.posframework.com/newsletters/2147913357/subscribe
All POS books and guides: https://www.posframework.com/books

The six POS Implementation Guides on Amazon:
Values: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HHQY34RM
Communication: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HJN2DFMC
Direction: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HJ7598WN
Leadership: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HKBCX92M
Growth: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HKGQGJDM
Experience: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HKPSY4XF

Watch the video in the Leading At The Next Level community: https://www.dove-development.net/latnl-community

Need SHRM or HRCI recertification credit? Leading At The Next Level includes 200+ lessons, each approved for credit. Email [email protected] for a free 14-day trial.

For more than a decade, almost everything we've built has focused on individual leaders. That work matters. But we kept seeing the same thing happen: a great leader grows, goes back into an organization with no system to support what they learned, and when they're promoted or leave, the progress leaves with them.

In this episode, we explain why the People Optimization System (POS) looks at the whole organization, and how the free POS assessments show you where to build first for the best return. We cover the 25-question POS Assessment, the five stages in each pillar assessment, why we never average results, the leader-versus-team gap the Leadership assessment uncovers, and how the Communication assessment works. And as of October 10, all six POS Implementation Guides are available.

In this episode

Three steps to start

Links from this episode

Continuing education credit

Need SHRM or HRCI continuing education credit? Email us at [email protected] for a 14-day trial of the full Leading At The Next Level program.

A book changes how you think. It doesn't change what happens in your organization on a Tuesday morning. In this episode, Wes and Cindy Dove introduce the People Optimization System (POS) Implementation Guides: six large-format workbooks, now on Amazon, built for teams to work through together rather than just read.

They walk through the five POS pillars (Direction, Values, Leadership, Growth, and Experience) and the thread that runs through all of them, Communication. Wes shares how a CEO of a $100 million organization reacted to his POS Assessment results, and you'll hear what's free today, what's coming next, and three simple steps to start optimizing your organization this week.

00:00   Welcome, and a quick recap of The POS Letter

01:56   The first POS Implementation Guides are now on Amazon

03:01   The "Tuesday morning problem": why good books don't change organizations

04:55   The People Optimization System in 30 seconds: five pillars plus communication

07:05   A $100M organization's CEO takes the POS Assessment

08:03   Workbooks, not books: the five stages and the free printables

10:32   Release timing and where to find the guides

11:28   Wave one: Values, Communication, and Direction

13:57   Wave two: Leadership, Growth, and Experience

16:55   Free resources: the POS Assessment, resource libraries, and The POS Letter

17:55   Pricing, digital courses, and on-site implementation (and why 12 people)

22:18   Three steps to start today

22:52   Continuing education credit and wrap-up

The People Optimization System

Implementation Guides on Amazon (paperback, $147 each)

Free resource libraries (printables by pillar)

Related books

Dove Development & Consulting

Can you name your organization's core values right now, without looking them up? Wes helped write three different employee handbooks and couldn't recite one company's values today. In this episode, Wes and Cindy pull back the curtain on the People Optimization System™ and introduce The POS Letter, a free monthly newsletter that shares one real idea at a time from the Advantage Series.

They also cover the Revised & Expanded Edition of The Values Advantage (now available), the "Values Void" stage most organizations mistake for health, a family business that grew revenue 50% in under two years after naming its values, and the free assessments and printable libraries now live at posframework.com.

In this episode:

Links mentioned:

Bad Situations Are Leadership’s Best Teacher (Executive Summit Preview Lesson 3)

Wes and Cindy preview the third and final lesson for Dove Development & Consulting’s 2026 Executive Summit (October 16 in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley), following earlier lessons on responsiveness and self-talk. This capstone lesson, titled “Bad Situations Are Leadership’s Best Teacher,” draws from Wes’s upcoming book Making the Best of Your Bad Situations and focuses on reframing setbacks—like layoffs, failed launches, missed deadlines, and broken relationships—as material for growth rather than just damage. Wes shares how difficult layoff conversations taught him to balance candor with care and improved his ability to handle accountability conversations. Cindy outlines the summit format and offers three reflection questions about a recent bad situation: what it revealed about your capabilities, your values, and who showed up for you. They encourage registration and share additional learning options and tools.

00:00 Welcome

00:58 Summit Preview

01:46 Bad Situations Capstone

02:07 Layoffs and Leadership Pain

02:38 Survive or Learn

04:18 Finding the Seed Lesson

05:35 Practical Takeaways Today

06:50 Tough Conversation Story

08:44 What to Expect at Summit

09:26 Three Questions Exercise

10:23 Register and Event Details

11:16 Extra Tools and Credits

12:01 New Tools Sneak Peek

Registration is at www.L2L-Harrisonburg.com

For trial access to our complete Leading At The Next Level program, email us at [email protected].

Special Invitation: Join the Advantage Launch Team + Upcoming Book Releases (Nov 2026–Feb 2028)

In this special episode of the Leading at the Next Level podcast, Wes and Cindy Dove share a new invitation for their community: the Advantage Launch Team. They recap how Wes’s three self-published books—What’s Killing Your Profitability, Leading With Clear Purpose, and The Values Advantage—became Amazon #1 bestsellers in 2024–2026 through community support rather than a publisher or big marketing budget. Wes announces his fourth book, Leveraging Leadership Growth, releasing November 19, 2026, and previews Cindy’s first solo book coming February 20, with more books planned at a faster pace through February 2028. The launch team will be asked a handful of times over about 18 months to buy the e-book during specific windows (typically $0.99) and join a free community channel for details and events, with an October 16 event to map out more. Wes also mentions continuing education credits via SHRM/HRCI through their program and a free trial by emailing [email protected].

00:00 Welcome and Teaser

00:51 Backstory on Past Books

01:29 Amazon Bestseller Wins

02:31 New Book Release Dates

04:03 Rapid-Fire Book Plan

04:39 Join the Launch Team

05:13 Advantage Series Explained

06:05 How the Launch Works

08:00 Perks and Community Access

09:17 Call to Action and Wrap-Up

10:17 Credits and Final Sign-Off

Learn more at: https://www.dove-development.net/the-advantage-launch-team

Join the Advantage Launch Team at: https://www.dove-development.net/offers/ikw7oUHg/checkout

Preview Lesson 2: The Power of Self-Talk in Leadership | 2026 Executive Summit

Registration is at www.L2L-Harrisonburg.com, and questions/trials can be requested at [email protected]. Wes and Cindy share the second of three preview lessons for the 2026 Executive Summit (October 16), focusing on how a leader’s self-talk shapes decisions, responsiveness, and team culture. Building on their first preview, “The Art of Responsiveness,” they explain that barriers to responsiveness often come from internal narratives rather than scheduling. Cindy frames self-talk as a trainable leadership skill—not just “positive thinking”—and describes the costs of unmanaged self-talk: increased stress, second-guessing, and emotional tone spreading across teams. They offer a practical starting challenge: notice and write down the sentence running through your mind in hard moments, then reframe it rather than erase it. They preview Summit sessions, tools for auditing self-talk, pricing and limited seating, included resources and lunch, and available HR credits.

00:00 Welcome

00:41 Executive Summit Preview Setup

02:42 Why Self Talk Matters

04:36 Cindy’s Turning Point

05:32 The Cost of Unmanaged Narratives

07:23 Audit and Reframe Your Script

08:23 Barbara Corcoran Example

10:21 Your One Step Challenge

10:42 How the Summit Day Works

11:48 Register Now Seats Limited

13:24 Final Wrap Up

Wes and Cindy Dove preview the second annual full-day Executive Summit (Friday, October 16) for managers, supervisors, executives, and business owners, built around three lessons plus roundtable discussions to practice skills and learn from other leaders. Lesson one, “The Art of Responsiveness,” emphasizes that leadership responsiveness is more than speed—it includes listening, framing, and adapting to others’ communication styles to build influence and relationships that generate honest feedback. They discuss how responsiveness becomes an organizational culture, reference research linking email response time to satisfaction with one’s boss, and share practical systems for staying responsive (acknowledging messages, giving timeframes, lists, calendars, and habit-building). The summit includes rotating table groups to meet many leaders, provides extensive participant resources, and offers SHRM and HRCI continuing education credit, with additional access available through the Leading at the Next Level program. Registration is at www.L2L-Harrisonburg.com, and questions/trials can be requested at [email protected].

00:00 Welcome and Setup

01:12 Executive Summit Overview

02:25 Art of Responsiveness Intro

03:23 Beyond Speed and Style

04:51 Relationship Bank Examples

07:12 Research on Response Times

08:52 Building Your Systems

12:04 One Week Action Step

13:19 Summit Culture and Details

15:28 Registration and Credits

16:35 Final Invitation and Close

Wes and Cindy Dove share details about Dove Development & Consulting’s 2026 Executive Summit, a full-day leadership event on October 16 in Virginia’s central Shenandoah Valley with about 100 seats. They explain the summit’s roundtable format (table resets to build new relationships) and three lesson-and-discussion blocks: a joint opening session, “The Art of Responsiveness,” tied to Wes’s upcoming book Leveraging Leadership Growth (Nov 19); Cindy’s session on “Self-Talk in Leadership,” connected to her book Mastering the Inner Work of Leading (Feb 2027); and Wes’s final lesson from his in-progress book Making the Best of Your Bad Situations. The event targets mid-level managers, executives, and owners, includes a custom workbook and lunch, provides digital replays and tools, and offers SHRM/HRCI recertification credit. Registration is at www.L2L-Harrisonburg.com, and questions/trials can be requested at [email protected]; early-bird pricing is ending soon with a $50 increase afterward.

00:00 Welcome and Big News

00:47 Early Bird Deadline

02:00 How Executive Summit Began

03:16 What Made Year One Special

04:20 2026 Session One Overview

05:35 Cindy on Self Talk

07:24 Summit Day Flow

09:18 Who Should Attend

10:44 Workbooks and Bonuses

11:52 Credits and Pricing

14:05 Books and Final Call

15:54 Community Trials and Closing

We couldn't be more excited about the relationships we've built with the entire team at Waynesboro Landscape and Garden Center over the last several years. Shortly after graduating from High Point University, Abi Johnson joined her parents, brother, and sister-in-law in this rapidly growing family business. Abi holds responsibility for the amazing customer service experience you can count on in the Garden Center and she works with partners across the entire region through her work with Virginia Boxwood Company.

In this session, we'll talk with Abi about her clear purpose for accepting leadership responsibility and the values she and her family work so diligently to model for everyone they interact with. We'll also discuss the organization's partnership involvement with the recent 2026 LeadershipLegacy Experience (since they served as the case study the event's theme based centered around).

To learn more about Abi and the amazing teams she works with, check out:

https://waynesborogardens.com/

https://virginiaboxwood.com/

https://allseasonsirrigation.net/

https://www.facebook.com/gardensWboro

https://www.linkedin.com/company/waynesboro-landscape-garden-center/

To learn more about Applying The Values Advantage, check out:

https://www.dove-development.net/the-values-advantage

To learn how your organization can participate in the Values Optimization Pilot Program, check out:

https://www.dove-development.net/values-pilot-application

Just in case you didn't know, we've launched our "LATNL Leadership Guide" mobile app so you can access the community and all our digital courses on the go. It's available now through the Apple Store at: https://tinyurl.com/latnl-appstore

And on Google Play at: https://tinyurl.com/latnl-googleplay

Previously, we streamed the video versions from most of the live interviews for our Leading At The Next Level Podcast to our Facebook and LinkedIn business pages. Those live videos are now available ONLY in the Leading At The Next Level community, through the Open Leadership Forum or LeadershipLegacy channels.

And be sure to check out the significant upgrades we've made on ways you can access our complete Leading At The Next Level digital library, now featuring over 175 recorded lessons, a customized LATNL Guide chat agent to help you find what best fits your needs, and new lessons shared live each month. More to come at https://www.dove-development.net/LeadingAtTheNextLevel

You can always connect with us at [email protected] or on any of our social channels.