The Lead Up Podcast

Pressure doesn't create leaders. It reveals them.

Every day, healthcare leaders face situations they didn't choose—staffing shortages, difficult conversations, unexpected setbacks, and decisions that impact patients, employees, and entire organizations.

The event isn't always within your control. Your response is.

In this episode of The Lead Up Podcast, Mike Harbour sits down with Joshua Lifrak, mental performance coach, leadership consultant, and author of Win Today. Joshua also served as part of the leadership team that helped develop the championship mindset behind the Chicago Cubs' historic World Series victory.

Drawing from his work with professional athletes, Fortune 500 organizations, and championship teams, Joshua shares practical strategies for developing the mental habits that help leaders perform at their best when the pressure is highest.

Together, Mike and Joshua explore why leadership habits are rooted in our thinking, how self-belief influences performance, and why championship cultures are built long before championship results ever appear.

Whether you're leading a hospital, a department, or an executive team, the principles discussed in this conversation will help you think more intentionally, respond more effectively, and lead with greater confidence.

In this episode, you'll learn:

About Joshua Lifrak

Joshua Lifrak is a mental performance coach, leadership consultant, and author of Win Today. He has worked with professional athletes, Fortune 500 organizations, and served as part of the leadership team behind the Chicago Cubs' historic World Series championship. Today, Joshua helps leaders and teams strengthen the mental side of performance so they can thrive under pressure, lead with confidence, and consistently perform at their best.

Connect with Joshua

Website: https://joshualifrak.com/

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-lifrak-59ab5442/

If this episode encouraged you, please subscribe to The Lead Up Podcast, leave a review, and share it with another healthcare leader who is committed to developing stronger leaders and healthier organizations.

In this episode of the Lead Up Podcast, host Mike Harbour explores why most leadership problems don't begin with poor strategy, but instead with unmet human needs.

Using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as a foundation and applying it through the Harbour Resources lens, Mike shares how elite leaders intentionally build cultures where people feel secure, connected, valued, and inspired.

Rather than treating culture as a set of values on the wall, he explains how meeting fundamental human needs creates the conditions for stronger engagement, higher performance, better retention, and lasting organizational success.

In this episode, Mike discusses:

If you're looking to build a stronger culture, improve employee engagement, increase retention, and develop more effective leaders, this episode provides a practical framework you can begin applying with your leadership team today.

If you found this episode valuable, please leave a 5-star review and share it with another leader. To continue the conversation or learn how Harbour Resources can help your organization build a stronger leadership culture, reach out to Mike at [email protected].

Healthcare has never lacked talented people.

What's lacking in many organizations is the ability to stay connected to the purpose that brought those people into healthcare in the first place.

In this episode of The Lead Up Podcast, Mike Harbour sits down with former hospital CEO Richie Splitt to explore what it really takes to build a culture where people don't just perform—they thrive.

Drawing from more than 25 years of healthcare leadership and many of the ideas behind his new book, The Healer Revolution: How to Restore the Soul of Healthcare, Richie shares lessons learned while leading through an EF5 tornado, the COVID-19 pandemic, organizational transformation, and the everyday pressures that come with serving patients and leading people.

Together, Mike and Richie discuss why healthcare leaders must move beyond simply managing operations and begin restoring purpose, trust, and connection throughout their organizations.

Whether you're a hospital CEO, executive leader, director, or manager, this conversation offers practical insights to help you lead with greater purpose while navigating the realities of today's healthcare environment.

Richie Splitt is a veteran healthcare executive with more than 25 years of leadership experience, including serving as CEO of Norman Regional Health System. He is the author of The Healer Revolution: How to Restore the Soul of Healthcare, in which he challenges healthcare leaders to reconnect their organizations to purpose, service, and a culture of healing.

Connect with Richie

If this episode encouraged you, please subscribe to The Lead Up Podcast, leave a review, and share it with another healthcare leader who is committed to building stronger leaders and healthier organizations.

In this episode of the Lead Up Podcast, host Mike Harbour explores the seven leadership habits that consistently separate leaders people simply work for from leaders people genuinely want to follow.

Drawing from more than 30 years of leadership experience, executive coaching, and research, Mike explains why elite leadership isn't about having all the answers—it's about consistently practicing the right behaviors. He also introduces the Harbour Performance Equation, demonstrating how leadership thinking shapes behaviors, habits, culture, and ultimately organizational results.

In this episode, Mike discusses:

If you're looking to strengthen your leadership, improve your culture, and build higher-performing teams, this episode offers practical habits you can begin applying immediately.

If you found this episode valuable, be sure to leave a 5-star review and share it with another leader. For questions or to continue the conversation, reach out to Mike at [email protected].

In this episode of the Lead Up Podcast, Mike sits down with leadership expert, bestselling author, and EOS Implementer®, Sue Hawks, to discuss one of the biggest challenges facing organizations today: the inability to solve issues quickly and permanently.

Drawing from her latest book, Issues: Remove Friction, Fast-Track Your Growth, and Ignite Your Greatness, Sue shares why many leadership teams stay stuck discussing the same problems week after week without ever addressing the root cause. Together, Mike and Sue explore why organizations often treat symptoms instead of solving the underlying issue, how psychological safety and healthy conflict work together to create high-performing teams, and why avoiding difficult conversations is one of the greatest barriers to organizational growth.

Mike and Sue also discuss leadership vulnerability, hiring and developing the right people, creating alignment around vision, building accountability through trust, and the importance of helping leaders move beyond agreement to genuine commitment. They share practical strategies for improving executive team effectiveness, creating cultures where honest conversations thrive, and developing leaders who can identify and resolve the issues that limit organizational performance.

This conversation is filled with practical leadership insights for healthcare executives and organizational leaders looking to strengthen executive team alignment, improve accountability, build healthier workplace cultures, resolve conflict more effectively, and create lasting organizational change by addressing the root causes behind today's biggest leadership challenges.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave a 5-star review on your favorite streaming platform. Mike also encourages you to reach out at [email protected] to share your thoughts and suggest future topics.

In this episode of the Lead Up Podcast, host Mike Harbour explores one of the most overlooked realities of leadership, culture, and organizational change: meaningful progress rarely happens as quickly as leaders expect.

Drawing on the principles behind Amara's Law, Mike explains why leaders often overestimate the impact of their actions in the short term while dramatically underestimating the long-term impact of consistent leadership behaviors. He challenges leaders to rethink how they measure progress and why many leadership initiatives fail, not because the strategy was wrong, but because leaders abandon it before the results have time to compound.

Throughout the episode, Mike discusses why leadership and culture transformation happen gradually, then suddenly, and how impatience often causes leaders to miss the very progress they're working to create.

In this episode, Mike explores:

If you've ever questioned whether your leadership efforts are making a difference, wondered why culture change feels slow, or felt discouraged by a lack of immediate results, this episode will provide a powerful framework for understanding how real transformation occurs.

Because leadership doesn't produce results overnight. The most meaningful changes happen gradually, then suddenly.

If you found this episode valuable, be sure to leave a 5-star review and share it with another leader. For questions or to continue the conversation, reach out to Mike at [email protected].

In this episode of the Lead Up Podcast, Mike sits down with hospital CEO, Geoffrey Hall, to discuss leadership growth, culture, burnout, employee engagement, and what it takes to lead effectively in today's healthcare environment.

Geoffrey shares the pivotal leadership moment that changed his career when, at just 23 years old, he unexpectedly found himself running a hospital and quickly learned that leadership is about more than working harder, moving faster, or having all the answers. Together, Mike and Geoffrey explore the difference between management and leadership, the dangers of promoting high performers without developing their leadership skills, and how young leaders can build trust, influence, and credibility without relying on authority.

Mike and Geoffrey also discuss employee retention, healthcare burnout, leadership rounding, authentic gratitude, creating cultures where people want to stay, and why the employee experience ultimately drives the patient experience. They share practical strategies for helping leaders stay connected to the realities of the frontline while building stronger relationships, improving communication, and developing future leaders throughout the organization.

This conversation is filled with practical leadership insight for healthcare executives navigating workforce challenges, leadership development, employee engagement, burnout, succession planning, and culture transformation in today's healthcare landscape.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave a 5-star review on your streaming platform. Mike also encourages you to reach out at [email protected] to share your thoughts and suggest future topics.

In this episode of the Lead Up Podcast, host Mike Harbour explores five powerful laws that are quietly influencing your leadership every day, whether you realize it or not.

From fear-driven decision-making and unclear thinking to personal responsibility, leadership influence, and the power of better judgment, Mike breaks down how these invisible forces shape the way leaders communicate, make decisions, develop teams, and create culture.

Drawing from decades of experience, Mike explains why many leadership challenges are not operational problems at all. They are thinking problems. He challenges leaders to become more aware of the assumptions, habits, and mental models that are running in the background and influencing how they show up every day.

Throughout the episode, Mike unpacks:

The leaders who create the greatest impact aren't necessarily the busiest leaders. They're the leaders who learn to think more clearly, take greater ownership, develop stronger judgment, and intentionally shape the culture around them.

Whether you lead a healthcare organization, a department, a frontline team, or an entire company, this episode will challenge you to examine what's really driving your leadership and what those hidden influences may be costing you.

If you found this episode valuable, be sure to leave a 5-star review and share it with another leader. For questions or to continue the conversation, reach out to Mike at [email protected].

In this episode of the Lead Up Podcast, Mike sits down with Kurt Mosley and Neill Marshall of HealthSearch Partners to discuss one of the most critical periods in a leader’s career: the first 90 days.

Drawing from decades of experience placing healthcare executives and interviewing successful leaders across the country, Kurt and Neill share what separates leaders who build trust and momentum quickly from those who struggle to gain traction. They explore why many leaders fail by moving too fast, the importance of listening before acting, and how the most effective executives earn authority rather than relying on title or position alone.

Mike, Kurt, and Neill also discuss the role of symbolic leadership actions, the power of first impressions, leadership recovery after early mistakes, and why understanding culture must come before attempting to change it. Throughout the conversation, they share memorable stories from healthcare CEOs who used intentional actions to build credibility, create trust, and establish their leadership presence from day one.

This episode is packed with practical insight for healthcare executives, emerging leaders, boards, and organizations navigating leadership transitions, executive onboarding, succession planning, and organizational change.

If you're stepping into a new leadership role, preparing a leader for success, or looking to accelerate trust and credibility within your organization, this conversation offers valuable lessons you can apply immediately.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave a 5-star review on your favorite streaming platform. Mike also encourages you to reach out at [email protected] to share your thoughts, leadership challenges, and ideas for future episodes.

In this episode of the Lead Up Podcast, Mike sits down with Amanda Housh, co-founder and CEO of Oklahoma Pediatric Therapy Center, to discuss what it takes to build culture, develop leaders, and grow healthy organizations without leadership becoming the bottleneck.

Amanda shares the journey of growing OPTC from a small startup into a multi-location organization while staying anchored to mission, values, and culture. They explore the tension many healthcare leaders face when transitioning from clinician to executive leader, the importance of leadership development at every level, and why organizations become exhausted when too much depends on one person.

Mike and Amanda also discuss leadership succession, building alignment across growing teams, avoiding burnout as an executive leader, and creating systems that allow organizations to scale without losing clarity, accountability, or culture.

This conversation is filled with practical leadership insight for healthcare executives navigating growth, staffing pressure, leadership development, and organizational change inside high-pressure environments.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to leave a 5-star review on your streaming platform. Mike also encourages you to reach out at [email protected] to share your thoughts and suggest future topics.