Upsize Your Leadership

08/27/2025

Are you a Christian executive or business owner who wants Christian values and outlooks to have maximum influence on your corporate culture?

Would you like to be part of a mastermind group dedicated to that very end?

Then, you'll want to check out the Christian Executive Council. It's a joint undertaking of my company (Strategic Leadership Development International) and C-Suite for Christ (a Wisconsin-based non-profit).

Earlier this week, we hosted an online informational session for people interested in the mastermind. Over 100 registered for the event and already over a dozen people have applied for membership.

Find full details about what's planned at the Council's website 𝗘𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺. We launch soon and seats are limited. So visit the site now to assure yourself a place.

08/11/2025

𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿

Your first 90 days in a new managerial post set the tone for months or years to come. What’s the most important thing for you to accomplish in those 90 days?

In my book 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘴t, I argue that your foremost task is to develop your team’s trust of both you and your leadership.

Yes, it’s essential to build faith in your competence during the first 90 days. Demonstrated competence, however, is a component of trust-building.

Moreover, if we put too much focus on proving our competence in a new role, we risk coming across quickly as a know-it-all. And people don’t instinctively trust know-it-alls.

Too much emphasis on competence can thus impede trust, not foster it.If you are doing the proper things to encourage trust, your competence will soon become evident. You won’t have to go out of your way to demonstrate it.

Three things are especially important in establishing early trust in your leadership.

𝟭. L𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴

Spend time understanding the organization’s rhythms, its pain points, and the aspirations of its people. Ask questions to gain perspective. Take note of what people identify as concerns, but don’t feel compelled to offer immediate fixes.

Ironically, we build trust faster by listening well than by having a ready solution for every problem.

𝟮. B𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲

Make it easy for people to engage you in conversation. Practice what I call “strategic mingling.”

That is, make regular opportunities to circulate among your people, not just to shake hands and learn names. Instead, ask questions which demonstrate genuine interest in each person individually.

Trust grows when people feel personally valued, heard, and understood. Use strategic mingling to convey that message in every conversation.

𝟯. B𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄-𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵

The credibility of your word is one of the most pivotal trust-builders. Especially early on, be extremely conscientious in following through with what you promise to do.

Even small commitments matter. What seems small to you may be emotionally significant for people to whom you make the promise.

Thus, failure to keep such promises risks more than their disappointment. It risks inflicting pain on them emotionally. As a rule of thumb, the more emotionally hurtful a disappointment, the most lasting the damage that it does to trust.

If you’ve recently stepped into a new role, what has helped you build trust with your team? Let’s share ideas.


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07/01/2025

We recently took a break to go to New York to watch our teenage grandson Daniel Ivey perform with the New York Pops Orchestra.

After the concert. as we were walking through Times Square, he snapped this photo of me standing beneath my billboard ad at 47th and Broadway.

06/02/2025

𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲.𝗰𝗼𝗺 has announce that for the ninth year in a row my company 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮l has been named one of the 15 best business consulting firms in Dallas.

This is not a "pay to play" award. It's an independent determination based on comparing firms against dozens of criteria. We are thrilled to have met that standard for nearly a decade now.

05/22/2025

Google AI just threw me a curve ball. Offer your thoughts on what I should do. I genuinely need your help!

Earlier this week, I did a search on my company name to see what pages on our website Google would show first.

Normally I would have only glanced at Google's AI summary above the search results. But something told me to expand the summary and read it thoroughly.

Wow! What a surprise was waiting for me. Overall, the summary was accurate, balanced, and presented the firm in a positive light.

However, it concluded by saying that we had some unfavorable reviews which described us as untrustworthy, Christian in name only, and never to be believed.

I immediately went to my Google reviews to determine the source of this devastating comment. But there was nothing remotely akin to what AI had said. In fact, the reviews were all quite favorable.

After some digging, I found the culprit. AI was quoting a review for an entirely different company half way across the country. And the review was posted on a third-party site, not the company's web page.

What confused AI is that the company's name differs from ours by only one word. Google AI failed to take this difference into account.

So far, I've been unsuccessful in getting this corrected. None of the help options on Google sites address a situation like this.

Any suggestions?

04/03/2025

In the latest episode of Upsize Your Leadership, Dr. Mike Armour dives into one of the most critical factors in business success—trust. Whether you’re running a business or a non-profit, customer and donor loyalty hinges on how much they trust you. Research shows that people are willing to pay more and stay loyal to companies they trust. But how do you build that trust?

Dr. Armour outlines five essential practices:

1️⃣ Truth – Always be honest, even when it costs you a sale. Long-term trust outweighs short-term gains.
2️⃣ Doing the Right Thing – Put customer needs first. Ethical businesses thrive because they genuinely care.
3️⃣ Honesty – Never cheat or take advantage of customers or employees. Integrity builds lasting loyalty.
4️⃣ Keeping Promises – If you say you’ll do something, do it. Broken promises erode confidence fast.
5️⃣ Respect – Treat both employees and customers with respect. A positive internal culture reflects in customer interactions.

Trust isn’t just a feel-good factor—it’s a business necessity. Companies that fail to build trust lose out to competitors who do. Want to learn more?

Check out the full podcast at https://www.upsizeyourleadership.com/episodes/2509-trust-and-loyalty.htm.

03/21/2025

With headway being made toward a peace settlement in Ukraine, my latest podcast deals with thorny challenges for postwar Ukraine that you don't hear discussed in the media. All of these challenges will take years and years to overcome. Some will take a generation or more. The postwar era will stretch the ingenuity and innovative spirit of the Ukrainians as much as the war has.

https://www.upsizeyourleadership.com/episodes/2508-postwar-ukraine.htm

02/14/2025

Advancing up the ladder of management demands critical mindset changes at successively higher levels. Failure to successfully navigate those changes derails many a career.

Here are five changes which are particularly important for someone who wants to make it to the top of the management ladder. And the changes start presenting themselves the moment you step into management.
https://www.upsizeyourleadership.com/episodes/2507-management-ladder.htm

02/05/2025

𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

To succeed in today's hyper-competitive business environment, companies need to be agile, fast, and innovative. That in turn puts a premium on having leaders who are able to build pacesetting organizations.

In my podcast this week, I examine four pillars which support pacesetting leadership. 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀, 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲, 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.

This podcast therefore centers on how each of these contributes to sustained high performance: https://www.upsizeyourleadership.com/episodes/2506-pacesetting-leadership.htm.

01/29/2025

Last week's Supreme Court decision reimposed the Beneficial Ownership Information Report on tens of millions of small businesses. But the decision could not be implemented because of a ruling from a district court in Texas.

The result is a very confusing situation for business owners. Should they file the report? Or not? Here's an update of where things stand at present.
https://www.upsizeyourleadership.com/episodes/2505-boi-coming-back.htm

01/27/2025

01/24/2025

We have no mechanism for measuring the value of a company's workforce, its capabilities, and its dedication. Good managers, however, recognize that their people are their most valuable asset.

For that reason, astute managers give just as much thought and care to their people as they would a billion dollar piece of equipment in their inventory. In particular, they never forget the importance of seven specific realities about their relationship with their people.

Today's podcast examines those seven and offers a summary of each one.
https://www.upsizeyourleadership.com/episodes/2504-seven-things.htm