When we think about harvest at work, we usually picture outcomes—goals hit, results delivered, the job well done. But this episode of Your Preshift is about a different side of the harvest:

Inviting others into the moment.

Because harvest isn’t meant to be a solo act.

It’s a time to ask for help, share the work, and recognize that what we’ve grown—we’ve grown together.

In this episode, we explore:

🌾 Why asking for help isn’t a weakness, but a sign of trust and shared purpose

🌱 How inviting others in can combat loneliness—for your team and yourself

🍽 A story about farmers, shared meals, and how simple traditions can create deep connection

🧠 And why people feel most loyal to what they’ve helped build

If you’ve been carrying a lot on your own—or leading like you have to—this episode is a reminder:

You don’t have to do it all alone.

The harvest is better when it’s shared.

Click here to download personal reflections and team discussion questions.

In this episode of Your Preshift, we’re talking about what leadership actually produces—not just in your team, but in you.

Because whether you notice it or not, your leadership creates results. The way people show up. The tone of a shift. How your team handles stress. How you handle stress. That’s the fruit.

This episode helps you pay attention to:

• What’s growing around you—and why
• How your leadership habits shape the people you work with
• What you’re becoming through the way you lead
• And how to work on the root—not just the outcome—when something feels off

We also share the story of a farmer who grows apples with incredible care and patience—not because he’s chasing results, but because he knows the process shapes him too.

If you're leading a team and want to understand what you're really growing, this one's worth your time.

In this follow-up to Part 1, we continue exploring what it takes to sustain growth—especially after things have taken root.

Because once something’s growing, you don’t walk away. You prune, shape, and protect.

In Part 2, we talk about:

✂️ Pruning – making space for healthy growth by removing what no longer serves

🏗 Structure – how boundaries can free people instead of boxing them in

🛡 Protecting Vulnerable Growth – offering support without enabling or coddling

This episode reminds leaders that tending isn’t just gentle—it’s deliberate.

And sometimes, what looks like limitation is actually love.

Planting is just the beginning. The real work of leadership starts when you stick around.

In Part 1 of Tending What You’ve Planted, we explore what it means to stay present with your team after the role is assigned and the shift has started. Like gardeners, leaders have to tend—through attention, encouragement, and care.

This episode covers:

👀 Observation – how noticing patterns, effort, and energy helps you lead better

💧 Watering – why everyday recognition matters more than we realize

🌿 Weeding – how small corrections early on can prevent bigger problems later

Because what you don’t deal with grows just as fast as what you do.

You can’t outsource this part. Leadership shows up in the daily tending.

In this episode of Your Preshift, we turn our attention to one of the most powerful questions a leader can ask:

“What am I cultivating here?”

Because like a garden, your team culture doesn’t grow by accident. It grows from what—and who—you plant.

We explore how planting isn’t just about putting people in roles—it’s about why you put them there, and what you expect to grow.

You’ll hear:

• Why intentional leaders don’t just fill spots—they shape ecosystems
• How seemingly small decisions (like who trains a new hire or greets at the front door) have lasting ripple effects
• How to recognize what you're really planting—clarity or confusion, support or pressure
• And why patience, timing, and internal growth matter more than quick fixes

Whether you’re leading a restaurant team, a project group, or a classroom—this episode reminds you that every planting decision is a cultural one.

It’s not just about getting the job done.

It’s about building the kind of place where people can grow.

Before anything can grow, a gardener prepares the soil. And the same goes for leaders. In this episode of Your Preshift, we explore what it means to create the kind of environment where growth is actually possible—for your team and for you. We talk about breaking up hard ground, removing what’s in the way, and tending to the condition of your own heart and mind. Because when your leadership starts to harden with cynicism, overload, or disappointment—your people feel it first. And if you want something new to grow, you have to start with the soil.

In this kickoff to the Lead Like a Gardener series, we explore why so many leaders default to pressure, control, and quick fixes—especially in fast-paced environments. Drawing on the contrast between mechanic-style leadership and gardener-style leadership, this episode unpacks how true growth doesn’t come from tightening bolts, but from tending to the soil people grow in. If you’ve ever felt like you're the only one driving results, or like you’re stuck being the fixer instead of the leader—this conversation is for you.

Because even in a mechanic-first world, you still get to choose how you lead.

In this opening episode of the Lead Like a Gardener series, we introduce a leadership mindset that trades control for cultivation. Inspired by years of learning and leading at Thrive, Ryan contrasts “mechanic-style” leadership—quick fixes and control—with the steady, intentional work of gardeners who prepare, plant, nurture, and wait.

Great leaders don’t force growth. They create the conditions for people to thrive.

This episode lays the foundation for the series and invites listeners to rethink how they lead: not by tightening bolts, but by tending the soil

In the final episode of our Fantastic Four series, we explore how curiosity keeps teams engaged, adaptive, and human.

We unpack what healthy curiosity looks like—and how unhealthy curiosity can subtly erode trust. You’ll learn how curiosity is rooted in trust, agency, and hope—and why cultivating it makes leadership easier, not harder. We offer practical ways to model and inspire curiosity on the frontline, including how to turn reactive moments into reflective ones.

Plus, we dig into how humility powers curiosity, and how staying open as a leader helps your team grow. Because when you lead with curiosity, you don’t just solve problems—you develop people.

In this episode of Your Preshift, we explore the quiet but powerful role of hope in frontline leadership. Hope isn’t just wishful thinking—it’s the belief that the future can be better, and that we have a role in making it so. We talk about how hope grows in gritty, everyday moments, how it connects to trust and agency, and why it can feel so out of reach when people are just trying to survive. You’ll hear how leaders can inspire hope through presence, truth-telling, and belief—especially when hope is hardest to find. And we’ll close with two practical challenges to help you give hope to your team and yourself this week.

Resources:

1. Workplace Stability by Ruth Weirich