Episode #295 // “We make mistakes, at each new level that we move to – it's an essential part of our growth and development. But the higher up you go, the bigger the impact that those mistakes have.”

One of my recent social media posts went viral (this one - 2.7mill views as of writing this), as I outlined the three biggest mistakes I made when I was finding my feet in my first few senior leadership roles.

The good news is that, once I was aware of them, I was able to put some strategies in place to fill the holes. This had the surprising outcome of turning some of my biggest mistakes into genuine strengths.

They became part of the rock solid foundations of my leadership repertoire and, for at least one of these weaknesses, it became an unqualified strength, which gave me a competitive edge over my peers.

In this episode, I take a closer look at the three biggest mistakes I was still making when I stepped into senior leadership roles, and how I managed to turn these around. 

I’d love you to be able to do the same, without having to get quite as many scars as I did!

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Moment #65 // If you want to be a great leader, you have to learn to read the play – to know when it’s appropriate to push one of your people harder, when it’s appropriate to work more closely with them, and when it’s appropriate to stand back and let them get on with it.

In this Moment, I take a look at Situational Leadership Theory (SLT). This model gives us guidance for how to adapt our style so that we have the best chance of getting through to our people, and enabling them to be successful.

Of course, the world isn’t clear cut… there’s 1,000 shades of gray, and every individual is different. Your style will never be as definitive as the SLT model might suggest. But it’s a really good mental frame to remind us to adapt our style for the individual, rather than pursuing a one-size-fits-all strategy.

You can take a deeper dive into these insights by listening to Ep.63: Reading the Play.

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Our mission here at Your CEO Mentor is to improve the quality of leaders, globally. 

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Episode #294 // “If you can create a culture that values momentum, you will almost always outperform teams that don't!”

I often talk about the need for speed. As a leader, placing a premium on forward progress is one of the most reliable tools you have to achieve execution excellence in your team. 

If you can create a culture that values momentum, you will almost always outperform teams that don’t.

Teams that don’t value speed just seem to stagnate. I’ve seen lots of them over the years, and whenever that level of stagnation is present, it’s generally accompanied by other undesirable characteristics, like:

• A high level of conservatism
• A perfectionistic culture
• Low productivity
• Lack of challenge between team members
• Knowledge hoarding
• Lack of initiative and innovation
• Decision-making by consensus
• Over-indexing on process, and under-indexing on results

That’s why I was interested to read an article a little while back in the Wall Street Journal, which was titled, Why Bosses Should Tell Employees to Slow Down More Often.

It led me to wonder if there’s a case for deliberately slowing the tempo of the team, and under what circumstances that might make sense?

In this episode, I share some of my experiences on the virtues of speed, momentum, and forward progress. I take a good look at the findings of the WSJ article. And I offer my suggestions for the areas where I think speed is essential, and where it might be better to tell your team to back off and cool their jets.

Source Material:

Wall Street Journal article:

Why Bosses Should Tell Employees to Slow Down More Often

The Guardian article:

Sacking, revolt, return: how crisis at OpenAI over Sam Altman unfolded

Asana article:

What is Agile Methodology?

London Business School study:

The motivation of mission statements: How regulatory mode influences workplace discrimination

No Bullsh!t Leadership podcast:

Ep.266: What the Best CEOs Do

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Our mission here at Your CEO Mentor is to improve the quality of leaders, globally. 

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Moment #64 // Many CEOs and senior executives talk a good game when it comes to culture change and transformation… it’s almost expected. But, even though they might make the right noises, it doesn’t necessarily mean they have the commitment to set a higher standard, or generate the level of momentum it would take to lead the change successfully.

Pretty much every senior leader says they want a constructive, high performance culture. But very few can clearly articulate what this means… and even fewer are prepared to do what it takes to affect any lasting change.

It doesn’t mean they’re bad people, or even that they’re ineffective leaders… What it does mean is that many senior leaders are only prepared to go so far in the quest for culture change. It’s the elephant in the room that no one really talks about. 

You can take a deeper dive into these insights by listening to Ep.37: The CEO Wants Culture Change… or does he?.

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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@YourCEOMentor

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Our mission here at Your CEO Mentor is to improve the quality of leaders, globally. 

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Episode #293 // “I look at my high performers with one thought in mind: What will it take for them to get to the next level?”

When you focus on setting a high standard for performance, it’s easy to fall into the habit of managing the exceptions — to focus on the people who fall behind, or don’t meet the minimum standard you’re trying to preserve. 

The old saying that the squeakiest wheel gets the oil is as true in the leadership context as it is in every other aspect of life!

When people don’t perform to the required level, it’s only natural to want to help them… to coach, guide, and motivate them, so that they can perform successfully. So you can spend a hell of a lot of time and energy focusing on people who, quite often, have absolutely no interest in lifting their performance to meet your expectations.  

And, while you’re busy focusing on the under-performers, it’s easy to forget about the people in the team who are self-sufficient… the ones who just get the job done… the ones who don’t suck your time and energy, because they consistently do things the way you expect them to.

We’re quietly grateful for the ones who don’t constantly demand our attention, but this often leads to an unintended consequence: a few of these reliable people are genuine high performers, and neglecting them costs you way more than any of your under-performers ever could!

In this episode, I start with the critical question, “Do you know who your high performers are… really?!”; I then give you some surefire ways to lead your team so that you get the most from your best; and, of course, I give you a few traps for young players that you should try to avoid.

Download the free PDF resource, 6 Tips for Leading High Performers here: https://www.yourceomentor.com/leading-high-performers

Source Material:

No Bullsh!t Leadership podcast:

Ep.231: Talent Management

Ep.240: The Talented Jerk

Amazon book link:

The Halo Effect

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Our mission here at Your CEO Mentor is to improve the quality of leaders, globally. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Moment #63 // Times are tough and, when the pressure is on, it doesn’t take long before companies start to squeeze their suppliers in an attempt to find cost savings.

Unfortunately, your suppliers are facing exactly the same pressures you are. Their costs are rising too, and they’re experiencing the same difficulty in finding and keeping their best people.

Knowing how to manage your suppliers for optimum long-term benefit is critical, especially as you seek to outsource more and more of the company’s non-core work. If you squeeze your suppliers too tight, they’ll end up cutting corners. Remember, you can outsource the activity, but you can’t outsource the risk!

You can take a deeper dive into these insights by listening to Ep.221: Managing Supplier Relationships.

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You can connect with me at:

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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@YourCEOMentor

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Our mission here at Your CEO Mentor is to improve the quality of leaders, globally. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #292 // “In team sports, “leading from the front” means a completely different thing than it does in business.”

There are a number of elements that contribute to your leadership identity. Many leaders let their identity form organically, without much conscious thought or planning. That’s fine, but there’s an enormous amount of upside to be captured, if you choose to be deliberate and methodical in your approach.

For every leader, regardless of level, industry, company size, or location, there are a number of foundational aspects of leadership that require a level of competence… but only if you want your people to thrive and perform, that is!

Because every individual is different, the way you interpret and apply these fundamentals may also be vastly different. The best leaders understand how to apply their unique style, personality, and values to a framework of strong leadership that’s guaranteed to produce extraordinary outcomes.

How deliberate are you in crafting your leadership identity? Are you thoughtful about how to integrate your own style into the tried and trusted foundations of high-performance leadership? Or are you, like many leaders, happy to leave it to chance?

FREE Resource we recommend in this episode:

Ep.186: Your Personal Leadership Audit

Ep.257: Your Leadership User Manual

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You can connect with me at:

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Our mission here at Your CEO Mentor is to improve the quality of leaders, globally. 

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Moment #62 // The board of directors is increasingly seen as the accountable body for ensuring ethical, responsible behavior from companies. But we still seem to be witnessing some pretty spectacular failures in corporate governance.

To me, this isn’t at all surprising. The board has very little influence over what the management team does on a day-to-day basis. 

Boards have limited control over what really goes on. I’m sure that many professional directors will disagree with me on this… but that would most likely be a reflection of their ego, rather than reality.

You can take a deeper dive into these insights by listening to Ep.248: The CEO and the Board.

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You can connect with me at:

Website: https://www.yourceomentor.com

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourceomentor

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-moore-075b001/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@YourCEOMentor

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Our mission here at Your CEO Mentor is to improve the quality of leaders, globally. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #291 // “The boundaries between our work and personal lives have shifted, and leaders need to deal with the fallout.”

When I began my corporate executive career, the only concern leaders had for safety was to ensure that people working in dangerous environments didn’t get seriously injured or killed.

Then, there were a lot of businesses that didn’t even need to think about the word “safety”, because they were predominantly white-collar, office-bound enterprises.

For most of my senior leadership career I worked in industrial businesses:

• Where people worked at dangerous heights, and in confined spaces;
• Where big machines moved with velocity; and
• Where, heat, energy, and dangerous gasses could combust with explosive force.

The world has moved on quite a bit since then. These days, what it means to keep people safe (and just how far your duty of care extends) has evolved dramatically. I’ve found that my grounding in the principles of physical safety leadership has been invaluable in meeting these evolving challenges.

These days, when we talk about safety, it’s normally couched as SHE (safety, health and the environment), and it covers everything from personal wellbeing, physical and mental health, and psychological safety, right through to ensuring a company leaves the smallest possible footprint on the communities in which it operates.

In this episode, I take a fly across the top of the safety domain, and talk about the role that you play as a leader in keeping your people safe — physically, mentally, and psychologically. 

Source Material:

No Bullsh!t Leadership podcast:

Ep.185: The Mental Health Minefield

Harvard Business School faculty profile:

Amy Edmondson

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You can connect with me at:

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Our mission here at Your CEO Mentor is to improve the quality of leaders, globally. 

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Episode #61 // What if your people knew exactly what to expect from you? What if they understood your style, the objectives that drive you, and the things you value the most?

If you want your people to be really clear on what you’re after, developing your own Leadership User Manual can be a simple but effective way to lay out the ground rules, and establish your expectations in an unambiguous way.

This could save years of trial and error, and give your people a clear path to thriving under your leadership (and delivering the performance you’re really chasing)!

You can take a deeper dive into these insights by listening to Ep.257: Your Leadership User Manual.

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You can connect with me at:

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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@YourCEOMentor

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Our mission here at Your CEO Mentor is to improve the quality of leaders, globally. 

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Episode #290 // "The best leaders do what's needed to master their stakeholder ecosystem, taking it from chaos and unpredictability to control and alignment."

In last week’s episode, I outlined the 10 key ingredients that contribute to your promotion prospects. In doing so, I realized that, after almost 300 full-length episodes of No Bullsh!t Leadership, we hadn’t yet produced one that deals specifically with the key discipline of stakeholder management. Well, this is it!

In today’s complex organizational structures, the amount of influence you can wield (and, therefore, your ability to achieve results) depends on how well you build your most critical relationships. 

As you move into more senior roles, your ability to identify and influence key stakeholders becomes increasingly important. If you don’t pay attention, your relationships are likely to be chaotic and unpredictable — and this directly impacts your performance.

The best leaders do the work to master their stakeholder ecosystem, taking it from chaos and unpredictability to control and alignment.

In this episode, I explain how to avoid the pressures, the politics, and the failures that ultimately eventuate when relationships are left to chance.

I walk you through how to identify and classify your key stakeholders, how to build their trust, and how to make every engagement deliberate and methodical. I also give you some strategies for escalation, which I know you’ll find incredibly useful.

Source Material:

No Bullsh!t Leadership podcast:

Ep.289: Improving Your Promotion Prospects

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Our mission here at Your CEO Mentor is to improve the quality of leaders, globally. 

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