The Leadership Line

Are you constantly putting out fires at work? That's not a leadership strategy—it's a symptom.

Ever worked in an organization where crisis mode is the default setting? Where teams pride themselves on their ability to "turn on a dime," order late-night pizza, and heroically save the day at the eleventh hour? While this firefighting culture might feel exhilarating and even create a sense of camaraderie, it masks deeper leadership problems that ultimately damage your organization's health and sustainability.

At its core, the firefighting syndrome stems from two fundamental leadership failures: lack of clarity about what success looks like, and insufficient accountability systems. When leaders can't articulate clear expectations or resort to "I'll know it when I see it" feedback, they force their teams into endless cycles of rework and last-minute scrambles. Even worse, organizations often inadvertently reinforce this behavior by celebrating the heroes who "stayed up all night" rather than those who delivered quality work through consistent, measured progress.

Breaking free from a firefighting culture requires a significant shift in leadership approach. Rather than asking vague questions like "How's it going?", effective leaders request to see work in progress with questions like "Show me where you're at." This simple change creates transparency, enables early course correction, and prevents the procrastination that leads to crisis. Taking a page from agile development methodologies, this iterative approach actually reduces overall work by approximately 20% while producing better outcomes.

The maturity of your organization depends on your ability to evolve beyond emergency mode. While startups may thrive on adrenaline and rapid pivots, sustained success requires processes that value outcomes over activities, clarity over chaos, and sustainable pacing over burnout. What kind of culture are you building?

Reverse delegation might be silently sabotaging your leadership effectiveness and your team's growth. In this eye-opening conversation, Scott and Tammy tackle the widespread phenomenon where well-intentioned leaders find themselves taking back work they've delegated to their team members.

The hosts unpack how many of us unwittingly create this dynamic through a fundamental misunderstanding of servant leadership. "No, you're not being a servant leader. You're being a bonehead," Scott remarks in his characteristically direct style, highlighting how taking on your employees' responsibilities actually disables rather than enables them. This conversation exposes the warning signs that you're carrying too many of your team's "monkeys" – from working longer hours than your staff to constantly justifying why you should handle tasks yourself.

Drawing on the classic Harvard Business Review concept of "management monkeys," Tammy provides practical strategies for breaking this cycle without sacrificing deadlines or team morale. The discussion explores the delicate balance between supporting your team and creating unhealthy dependencies, offering insights into when stepping in is appropriate and when it undermines growth. You'll learn powerful questioning techniques to help your team think more deeply rather than simply providing solutions.

Are you creating a firefighting environment by rescuing your team at the last minute? Do you find yourself playing the "Uno reverse card" game with tasks that should remain with your employees? This frank, practical conversation will transform how you think about delegation and employee development. Listen now to become the leader who truly enables others rather than unconsciously disabling them.

Questions or topic suggestions? Let us know! [email protected]   

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/becomemoregp   

Connect with Us:   

Tammy K Rogers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammerarogers
Scott Burgmeyer:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/burgy
Producer Karman Hotchkiss: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karman-hotchkiss/   

Other Resources:  http://www.becomemoregp.com 

This week Tammy and Scott talk about how they are doing in regards to their commitments for 2025.  How do you think they are doing? What is their grade?  Whoa - Karman is holding them to it!!

Questions or topic suggestions? Let us know! [email protected]   

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/becomemoregp   

Connect with Us:   

Tammy K Rogers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammerarogers
Scott Burgmeyer:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/burgy
Producer Karman Hotchkiss: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karman-hotchkiss/   

Other Resources:  http://www.becomemoregp.com 

This week Tammy and Scott talk about strategic execution, delegation and checking in.  As you look at your organizations strategy, what percentage do you actually accomplish?

Questions or topic suggestions? Let us know! [email protected]   

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/becomemoregp   

Connect with Us:   

Tammy K Rogers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammerarogers
Scott Burgmeyer:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/burgy
Producer Karman Hotchkiss: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karman-hotchkiss/   

Other Resources:  http://www.becomemoregp.com 

This week Tammy and Scott talk about what we create as leaders and what we are responsible for.  While creating people is a core work product (check out last weeks episode) what we create and allow in the work environment is also a responsibility of the leader.  Wow...that is DEEP.

Questions or topic suggestions? Let us know! [email protected]   

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/becomemoregp   

Connect with Us:   

Tammy K Rogers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammerarogers
Scott Burgmeyer:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/burgy
Producer Karman Hotchkiss: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karman-hotchkiss/   

Other Resources:  http://www.becomemoregp.com 

This week Tammy and Scott talk about a leaders work product and how much time you should be spending on that work product....the answer may surprise you!!

Questions or topic suggestions? Let us know! [email protected]   

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/becomemoregp   

Connect with Us:   

Tammy K Rogers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammerarogers
Scott Burgmeyer:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/burgy
Producer Karman Hotchkiss: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karman-hotchkiss/   

Other Resources:  http://www.becomemoregp.com 

This week Tammy and Scott talk about change...sometimes we are the one making the decision and many times we are the one who needs to align.  Listen to find out what I need to do in either role to make the most of change. 

Questions or topic suggestions? Let us know! [email protected]   

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/becomemoregp   

Connect with Us:   

Tammy K Rogers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammerarogers
Scott Burgmeyer:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/burgy
Producer Karman Hotchkiss: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karman-hotchkiss/   

Other Resources:  http://www.becomemoregp.com 

This week Tammy and Scott talk about who's responsibility is it when it comes to making decisions and aligning to decisions.  Leaders? BOD? Individuals?  The answer might surprise you.

Questions or topic suggestions? Let us know! [email protected]   

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/becomemoregp   

Connect with Us:   

Tammy K Rogers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammerarogers
Scott Burgmeyer:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/burgy
Producer Karman Hotchkiss: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karman-hotchkiss/   

Other Resources:  http://www.becomemoregp.com 

This week Tammy and Scott talk about who's responsibility is it when it comes to engagement.  The organization?  The employee?  Both?  What do you think?

Questions or topic suggestions? Let us know! [email protected]   

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/becomemoregp   

Connect with Us:   

Tammy K Rogers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammerarogers
Scott Burgmeyer:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/burgy
Producer Karman Hotchkiss: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karman-hotchkiss/   

Other Resources:  http://www.becomemoregp.com 

This week Tammy and Scott talk about a quote that explores the perspective of great leaders being hard on themselves vs hard on others.  Who are you hardest on?  What does that quote really mean?  Listen to hear different perspectives of leadership, civility and more.

Questions or topic suggestions? Let us know! [email protected]   

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/becomemoregp   

Connect with Us:   

Tammy K Rogers: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammerarogers
Scott Burgmeyer:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/burgy
Producer Karman Hotchkiss: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karman-hotchkiss/   

Other Resources:  http://www.becomemoregp.com