The Science of Leading

Claire Monroe and Edwin Carrington unpack why comparing your people metrics to industry averages can lead to mediocrity, missed signals, and costly transformation failures. They also outline a simple 30-to-90-day internal benchmarking approach to identify what actually drives performance inside your organization.

Claire Monroe and Edwin Carrington break down why high-growth startups often fail by scaling inputs before proving outputs, from premature hiring and overspending to the hidden danger of weak retention. They also explore how a one-page strategic plan and behavioral data can help leaders build the right team and scale sustainably.

Claire Monroe and Edwin Carrington unpack why trust falls and offsite games rarely create lasting change, arguing that the team itself—not just individuals—is the real unit of change. They explore how behavioral data, decision logs, and coaching in the flow of work can turn conflict into chemistry and boost performance.

Learn how small businesses can escape chaotic, gut-feel recruiting by choosing the right hiring tool for their volume and stage of growth. The episode also breaks down why structured assessments and behavioral data can improve candidate fit, reduce bad hires, and streamline the process in under 30 days.

This episode challenges gut-feel management and explores how behavioral analytics can reveal what truly drives motivation, engagement, and retention. Learn how tools like OAD, along with Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory and structured feedback loops, can help managers tailor coaching and improve performance.

Claire Monroe and Edwin Carrington unpack why most team conflict is really a predictability problem, not a personality problem, and why managers have such an outsized impact on engagement. They also explore how OAD helps scaling teams build a shared, objective language that turns assessments into daily action instead of shelfware.

This episode explores the hidden cost of disengagement, why pizza parties and perks rarely move the needle, and how manager behavior shapes team motivation. It also breaks down a practical approach: run a small pilot, focus on a few key motivational drivers, and close the feedback loop with honest communication.

This episode breaks down why unstructured interviews and “hire by vibe” decisions so often mislead leaders, from first-impression lock-in to similarity bias and vague culture fit. It then shows how structured interviews, work samples, and scorecards create a more reliable system for predicting real job performance.

Smart leaders often confuse speed with decisiveness, but rushed calls can hide weak assumptions and poor process. This episode breaks down decision-making traps, the four types of decisions, and simple frameworks like decision rights and LAAL to help teams move faster after the logic is clear.

This episode breaks down the hidden ripple effects of a single bad hire and why reactive recruiting can quietly damage culture, morale, and performance. It also explores how structured interviews, work samples, and clearer role definitions make hiring both more predictive and more equitable.