What if the real problem on your team isn’t “people problems,” but the problems your people carry? We sit down with Matt Granados—founder of Life Pulse, author of Motivate the Unmotivated and The Intentional Week—to rethink leadership from the ground up. Matt makes a clear, compelling case for aiming at optimal performance: high output at a sustainable pace compared to yourself. No burnout badge. No hustle theater. Just systems that help humans do their best work without losing themselves.

We break down a simple weekly cadence that top teams use to spot issues before they explode. Three questions—What are you focused on? What are you grateful for? What are you working toward?—surface trends, context, and capacity. Matt explains why leaders should listen for patterns over one-off answers, and how kindness (truth with care) beats niceness (comfort without growth). You’ll hear the four levels of performance, the pitfalls of managing like a babysitter, and the practical steps to equip rather than enable.

• the claim that people don’t have people problems, people have problems
• what equipping looks like versus enabling
• three weekly questions that reveal trends fast
• the difference between high and optimal performance
• why kindness beats niceness for real growth
• using structure and rhythm to prevent burnout
• Eagle U’s role in early systems thinking
• the Take Part Foundation’s focus on research, resources, storytelling
• daily disciplines to abide and lead with integrity

Matt also shares the heart behind the Take Part Foundation, co-founded with his wife Maria after their daughter Natalie was diagnosed with an ultra-rare genetic condition. Their mission—fund research, provide resources like genetic testing, and tell stories—shows what hope looks like in action. It’s a masterclass in leading through adversity: build structure, choose obedience over opportunism, and serve people with courage and clarity.

If you lead teams, coach leaders, or care about culture, you’ll leave with a playbook to boost output without sacrificing well-being. Try the three questions for four weeks and watch the signal emerge. Then act with curiosity, not judgment. If this conversation moved you, share it with a leader who needs it, subscribe for more thoughtful interviews, and leave a review so we can reach more uncommon leaders.

Connect with Matt Granados:
➡️ LinkedIn (primary): https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt87granados/
➡️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lifepulseinc7163
➡️ Website: http://www.lifepulseinc.com/uncommonleader

Thanks for listening in to the Uncommon Leader Podcast. Please take just a minute to share this podcast with that someone you know that you thought of when you heard this episode. One of the most valuable things you can do is to rate the podcast and leave a review. You can do that on Apple podcasts, or rate the podcast on Spotify or any other platform you listen.

Did you know that many of the things that I discuss on the Uncommon Leader Podcast are subjects that I coach other leaders and organizations ? If you would be interested in having me discuss 1:1 or group coaching with you, or know someone who is looking to move from Underperforming to Uncommon in their business or life, I would love to chat with you. Click this link to set up a FREE CALL to discuss how coaching might benefit you and your team)

Until next time, Go and Grow Champions!!

Connect with me

A plant on the brink. Labor unrest, safety issues, shaky quality, and a community that had lost faith. Steve Matteson stepped into that storm with almost no runway and chose an unconventional starting point: listen deeply, walk the floor, and build a system people actually believe in. What followed is a rare, practical blueprint for turning a failing operation into a proud, profitable, and resilient culture.

We dive into the first 48 hours—hour-long one-on-ones, a real gemba tour, and the surprising power of choosing leaders for connection rather than technical stardom. Steve Matteson explains how he ended “mandatory meetings,” made safety and quality everyone’s job, and installed a weekly cross-functional cadence with clear inputs and outputs. You’ll hear how accountability with dignity defused tension, why inviting injured teammates into root-cause problem solving changed behavior, and how a simple, employee-led newsletter amplified trust and momentum across a 1,000-person workforce.

• starting a turnaround with gemba and one-on-ones
• selecting leaders for connection over individual brilliance
• weekly cadence, “no surprises,” and cross-functional glue
• accountability with dignity and ending mandatory meetings
• teaching safety and quality as everyone’s job with PDSA
• physical renewal, 5S, TPM, and visible standards
• handling naysayers through open forums and union trust
• bold process change with single-pass mixing and stabilization
• documenting habits so culture endures beyond the leader
• faith shaping mindset, humility, and service

This is a masterclass in sustainable change. We trace physical renewal and 5S as symbolic turning points, TPM to reduce downtime, and a bold shift to single-pass rubber mixing backed by meticulous stabilization and transparent communication. Steve Matteson shares how he documented a repeatable operating model in 31 concise chapters, built quarterly off-sites for senior leaders, and prepared the culture to thrive long after he moved on. Underneath it all is a candid look at mindset and faith—guarding the mind in crisis, choosing the next right step, and leading with humility and purpose.

If you’re trying to revive a team, unify a divided workforce, or make improvements stick, this story gives you the practical moves and the human touchpoints to get there. Subscribe, share this with a leader who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway so we can keep equipping uncommon leaders.

Thanks for listening in to the Uncommon Leader Podcast. Please take just a minute to share this podcast with that someone you know that you thought of when you heard this episode. One of the most valuable things you can do is to rate the podcast and leave a review. You can do that on Apple podcasts, or rate the podcast on Spotify or any other platform you listen.

Did you know that many of the things that I discuss on the Uncommon Leader Podcast are subjects that I coach other leaders and organizations ? If you would be interested in having me discuss 1:1 or group coaching with you, or know someone who is looking to move from Underperforming to Uncommon in their business or life, I would love to chat with you. Click this link to set up a FREE CALL to discuss how coaching might benefit you and your team)

Until next time, Go and Grow Champions!!

Connect with me

Growth rarely stalls because the team isn’t smart enough; it stalls because everyone is running a different playbook. We sit down with Eric Pfeiffer to explore a leadership operating system that replaces drama with trust and equips people to think clearly under pressure. Instead of chasing a new tactic for every fire drill, Eric shows how a compact set of tools can align how your team communicates, decides, and learns—so talent compounds and execution speeds up.

We start with the hard truth about complacency and the “law of the lid”: organizations cap out where leaders stop growing. From there, we dig into symptom versus system thinking. Missed handoffs, slow decisions, and tense meetings are signals of deeper root causes—unspoken norms, conflicting assumptions, and inconsistent accountability. Eric lays out why a shared operating system acts like SOPs for humans, giving teams a common language for conflict, feedback, and ownership. His sports analogy hits home: elite players still lose without a shared playbook; companies do too.

The highlight is a high-stakes story. After a confidential pricing file was sent to every vendor, the exec team veered into blame until someone paused and drew the “Kairos” framework on the board. In minutes, the mood shifted from fear to focus. They owned the mistake, aligned the response, and not one vendor defected. More important than the outcome was the reflex they rewired: under pressure, they chose a shared process over old habits. That’s the promise of a real operating system—fewer fire drills, faster learning loops, and a culture where leaders train capacity instead of renting fixes.

If you lead a growing team, this conversation is a field guide for the moments that matter. You’ll hear how to diagnose root issues, codify a simple playbook, and train weekly so the right habits stick when the game speeds up.

🎙️ Listen Now: https://coachjohngallagher.com/podcast/

Download and share this episode to build Uncommon Impact among the leaders you know.

Connect with Eric Pfeiffer:

➡️ https://mpwrcoaching.com/

➡️https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-pfeiffer-53964b173/overlay/contact-info/

Thanks for listening in to the Uncommon Leader Podcast. Please take just a minute to share this podcast with that someone you know that you thought of when you heard this episode. One of the most valuable things you can do is to rate the podcast and leave a review. You can do that on Apple podcasts, or rate the podcast on Spotify or any other platform you listen.

Did you know that many of the things that I discuss on the Uncommon Leader Podcast are subjects that I coach other leaders and organizations ? If you would be interested in having me discuss 1:1 or group coaching with you, or know someone who is looking to move from Underperforming to Uncommon in their business or life, I would love to chat with you. Click this link to set up a FREE CALL to discuss how coaching might benefit you and your team)

Until next time, Go and Grow Champions!!

Connect with me