Shannon Waller's Team Success Podcast By Shannon Waller cover art

Shannon Waller's Team Success

Shannon Waller's Team Success

By: Shannon Waller
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 Shannon Waller, author of The Team Success Handbook, has been the entrepreneurial team expert at Strategic Coach® since 1995. Shannon Waller’s Team Success podcasts are a series of insights around teamwork and success that she’s gained from working with entrepreneurs.TM & © 2025. All rights reserved. Economics Leadership Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • How To Prevent Micromanaging

    How To Prevent Micromanaging
    Jul 3 2025
    Are you holding on too tightly to tasks that drain your energy or block your team’s growth? In this episode, Shannon Waller reveals the mindset shifts and practical tools that help entrepreneurs confidently delegate, let go of micromanagement, and elevate their teams. Discover how to create a bigger future by freeing yourself—and your business—from the delegation death grip. Download Episode Transcript Show Notes: Most entrepreneurs, even skilled delegators, have at least one area where they struggle to let go. Micromanagement often stems from a fear that no one else can meet your standards. Shifting from “doer” to “leader” requires letting go of tasks, even if you’re excellent at them. The root of micromanaging is usually a mindset of fear, uncertainty, or lack of confidence in others’ abilities. Recognizing and naming your fears around delegation are the first steps to overcoming them. There are two unhealthy delegation styles: the “death grip” (never letting go) and the “drive-by” (throwing tasks at others without clarity). Both micromanagement and drive-by delegation prevent your team from developing the skills and confidence they need to excel in their roles and drive progress forward. You must have a compelling “why” to motivate yourself to let go of tasks and delegate effectively. The Impact Filter™ is a powerful tool for clarifying your purpose, standards, and desired outcomes when delegating—and setting your team up for success. Telling best- and worst-case stories helps your team understand what great performance looks like—and what to avoid. Success criteria should be specific, measurable, and written down. Delegating “excellent” activities—things you do very well but no longer love—is often the hardest but most necessary step for growth. When you articulate your standards and expectations, you demonstrate trust in your team’s unique skills and empower them to meet (and often, exceed) those standards. Using tools like The Impact Filter transforms delegation from a risky handoff into a confident, collaborative process. Letting go of lower-value tasks frees you to focus on your areas of Unique Ability® and the bigger future you want to create. Regularly revisiting your “why” for delegating helps you avoid slipping back into old habits. When your brain is “on paper,” your team knows exactly how to win—and you can coach, not control, their progress. Resources: Unique Ability The Impact Filter TED Talk: Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Action by Simon Sinek Time Management Strategies For Entrepreneurs (Effective Strategies Only) The 4 Freedoms That Motivate Successful Entrepreneurs The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande Ego, Authority, Failure: Using Emotional Intelligence Like A Hostage Negotiator To Succeed As A Leader by Derek Gaunt The Black Swan Group EOS®
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    29 mins
  • The Partnership Mindset: No Ego, Just Results

    The Partnership Mindset: No Ego, Just Results
    Jun 19 2025
    Are you feeling trapped by your role? Are you looking for more freedom? Shannon Waller asks, “What if you shift your perspective and adopt a partnership mindset?” Challenge the traditional hierarchical thinking that stifles collaboration and results. Instead, imagine an environment where you, and everyone around you, are liberated to contribute your Unique Ability® and show up as your most evolved self, regardless of status or title. Discover how this mindset fosters collaborative teamwork, amplifies contributions, and leads to results and growth, letting you to focus on creating immense value. Download Episode Transcript Show Notes: Ditch the hierarchy. Treat yourself and others as partners, not just bosses or subordinates, for true freedom and results. Role-based thinking hinders teamwork and collaboration. Bring your most evolved version of yourself to work. Instead of your authentic self, show your “front stage” best, even internally. Value people who are different from you; they can do what you can’t. Alignment on core values keeps the focus on collaboration toward shared goals. Put your ego and authority aside. Partnership means implied equality – focusing on contributing resources, skills, and effort toward shared goals, and sharing risks and rewards. The marketplace only cares if you create value; it doesn’t care about your status. Know yourself and your unique contributions. Focus on the situation and the other person, not just yourself, to be a great partner. Don’t be trapped by your role or title, even if it’s CEO. Redesign your job to match your unique contribution for greater impact and happiness. This partnership mindset allows you to work effectively with people at any status level. The goal is to give people freedom to do what they’re best at, play full out, speak up, and contribute fully. Dan Sullivan’s solution when team members struggle is to bring in another “Who” that can do that piece of the work effortlessly. The Strategic Coach® core values, or P.A.G.E., are: positive and collaborative teamwork being alert, curious, responsive, and resourceful focusing on growth and results providing an excellent first-class experience for clients Resources: Cy Wakeman’s books No Ego: How Leaders Can Cut the Cost of Workplace Drama, End Entitlement, and Drive Big Results The Reality-Based Rules of the Workplace: Know What Boosts Your Value, Kills Your Chances, and Will Make You Happier Reality-Based Leadership: Ditch the Drama, Restore Sanity to the Workplace, and Turn Excuses into Results Ego, Authority, Failure by Derek Gaunt Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss Who Not How by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy Kolbe CliftonStrengths® PRINT®
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    18 mins
  • How Do You Talk About Your Team Members When They Leave?

    How Do You Talk About Your Team Members When They Leave?
    Jun 6 2025
    Do you praise departing team members—or subtly undermine them? In this episode, Shannon Waller breaks down why the way you talk about departures—good or bad—shapes your team’s trust, your reputation, and even who’ll want to work for you. Learn the hidden costs of venting, Dan Sullivan’s graceful approach, and the “true, kind, necessary” rule for classy goodbyes. Download Episode Transcript Show Notes: How you talk about former team members defines your reputation—both inside and outside your company. Venting about someone who left may feel good in the moment, but it’s a trust killer for your current team. If you speak poorly about others after they’re gone, your current team members will begin to wonder what you’re saying about them too. The way you handle goodbyes also tells your current team how you'll handle tough moments with them. Every departure is a chance to demonstrate emotional maturity, even when it's hard. Tough conversations should happen before someone departs. Great leaders turn departures into goodwill ambassadors, not burned bridges. Dan Sullivan’s magic phrase: “People leave for their reasons, not ours.” A-players avoid companies with a reputation for badmouthing former employees. If you can’t say something genuinely positive about a departure, silence is the wiser choice. Resources: The Self-Managing Company by Dan Sullivan Your Business Is A Theater Production: Your Back Stage Shouldn’t Show On The Front Stage Team Success Episode: From Conflict To Courage, with Marlene Chism
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    9 mins
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