Level 10 Leaders

Ryan Castle sits down with Jen Hamilton, Fractional COO, COO mentor and founder of Hamilton COOs, whose career took a hard left turn from CPA to operations. Jen shares how starting life in the numbers gave her a powerful edge in running businesses, and why she now prefers fixing broken systems, coaching leaders and building high performing teams over doing the detailed work herself.

Jen unpacks what a great fractional COO actually does for an EOS business: using data and scorecards to spot the real problems, turning client complaints into retention and referral engines. She explains how to separate doer seats from leader seats, why mixing them kills growth, and how to use fractional talent to avoid overpaid generalists. Finally, Jen shares her playbook for onboarding a fractional integrator the right way, including what visionaries must stop doing if they want real leverage. If you are a visionary or integrator wondering whether a fractional COO could help you get to 100 percent strong, this episode will give you clear, practical answers.

Useful links:

Connect with Jen Hamilton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferdawnhamilton/
www.HamiltonCOOs.com 

Sign up for free monthly roundtables with peers: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hamilton-coos/events

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👉 Got a Level 10 Leaders podcast tip? - Submit your tip at lvl10.us/submit-tip

Where else you can find us

Website: https://www.level10leaders.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/level10leaders/

This week’s Level 10 Leaders Power Tip comes from Shawn Dan, Fractional Integrator at Integrate to Impact, who shares a practical reminder for SMBs running on EOS®: read the room, understand the intent behind the tools, and right-size the system to fit your business. Shawn explains how his team trims meeting clutter, uses async tools to cut noise, and simplifies scorecards without losing discipline.

If you’ve been trying to run EOS® “by the book” when your company needs a leaner version, this tip will help you keep the spirit of the system while removing friction. Small tweaks to meetings, documentation, and communication can create meaningful momentum.

Connect with Shawn Dan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawndan/

👉 Resource: lvl10.us/lma-offer - Digital LMA® Diagnostic

Where else you can find us

Website: https://www.level10leaders.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/level10leaders/

Our host Ryan Castle sits down with Sarah Williams, founder of Leading Culture, whose career shifted the moment she stepped out of accounting and onto the factory floor. A single project revealed a truth that changed her path: numbers don’t transform businesses, people do! That realisation sparked a decades-long journey helping organisations turn culture into their competitive advantage.

Sarah shares the four systems every organisation needs to thrive across generations: clarity, decision-making, recognition, and belonging. She explains why Gen Z demand authenticity, why improvement ideas almost always live with the people closest to the work, and how leaders can create cultures where everyone feels they matter and they belong. If you're leading teams through generational change or want a clearer foundation for a strong culture, this episode delivers practical, grounded guidance.

Useful links:
Connect with Sarah Williams on LinkedIn

www.leadingculture.co.nz
Leading Culture Limited on LinkedIn

👉 Resource: lvl10.us/lma-offer - Digital LMA® Diagnostic
👉 Got a Level 10 Leaders podcast tip? - Submit your tip at lvl10.us/submit-tip

Where else you can find us

Website: https://www.level10leaders.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/level10leaders/

This week’s Level 10 Leaders Power Tip comes from Beth Jacob, President and Co-CEO of vChief, who delivers a sharp reminder that leadership momentum doesn’t come from perfect plans, it comes from action. Using a simple surfing story, Beth shows how progress accelerates when we stop overthinking, fill leadership gaps quickly, and get someone “in the water” now.

If you’ve been stuck in analysis paralysis or delaying key hires, this power tip will challenge you to move faster, learn faster, and keep your business rowing in the right direction. A small step this week could save months of stalled progress.

Connect with Beth Jacob:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-jacobs-55952b18/
vchiefs.com
https://www.linkedin.com/company/vchief/

👉 Resource: lvl10.us/lma-offer - Digital LMA® Diagnostic

Where else you can find us

Website: https://www.level10leaders.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/level10leaders/

Our host Ryan Castle sits down with Dan Kasper, former Navy SEAL officer and co-founder of Piloteer.ai, a relationship-intelligence platform using AI to capture real-time leadership behaviour. After leading teams in 33 countries, Dan has become obsessed with the art and science of high-performing teams and is now using technology to help leaders see what really happens in the room when they communicate, decide, and coach.

We dig into what it means to be a “chameleon with a backbone,” why great leaders flip the org chart and work for their teams, and how to turn “thought leadership” into “thought-doership.” Dan unpacks decision-making under pressure, the power of micro-wins, and how AI plus human coaches can create fast feedback loops that actually change behaviour.

If you’re scaling a fast-growing team and know your only real edge is your people, this episode shows you how to train leaders the way Olympians train in the pool – with constant reps, data, and coaching.

Useful links:
Connect with Dan Kasper on LinkedIn
Piloteer.ai on LinkedIn
Piloteer.ai

👉 Resource: lvl10.us/lma-offer - Digital LMA® Diagnostic

Where else you can find us

Website: https://www.level10leaders.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/level10leaders/

This week's Level 10 Leaders Power Tip is by executive coach and EOS Implementer Adam Goldschmiedt, who shares a practical 15-minute exercise to help leaders get unstuck and regain clarity fast. It’s a guided framework built for real decision-making: identify what you truly want more of, uncover what’s blocking you, and take specific action this week to move forward. If you’re spinning your wheels or stuck in the weeds, this power tip is your reset button.

Connect with Adam Goldschmiedt on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-goldschmiedt/

👉 Resource: lvl10.us/lma-offer - Digital LMA® Diagnostic

Where else you can find us

Website: https://www.level10leaders.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/level10leaders/

Our host Ryan Castle sits down with Gretchen Heinen, Founder and CEO of Authsnap Inc. She went from ER nurse to tech founder, driven by the injustice she saw when patients were denied insurance payout. Authsnap uses AI to turn clinical data and denial letters into fast, high quality appeal letters so more people get the care they deserve.

We focus on the leadership journey behind that leap. How she risked comfort to step into purpose. How she built structure the right way with a lawyer first approach. How she surrounded herself with elite capability and stayed transparent when she did not yet know the answers. Gretchen shares how she scaled her own capacity through coachability, discipline, and execution. This conversation is a blueprint for leaders who want to use everything they have and who refuse to leave their potential on the table.

Useful links:
Connect with Gretchen Heinen on LinkedIn
https://authsnap.ai/

👉 Resource: lvl10.us/lma-offer - Digital LMA® Diagnostic

Where else you can find us

Website: https://www.level10leaders.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/level10leaders/