Dave Kline

Become the Leader You’d Follow | Founder @ MGMT | Coach | Advisor | Speaker | Trusted by 250K+ leaders.

Hey, I’m Dave Kline.

I teach leaders how to build All-Star teams and level up their careers.

After decades of leading in pretty intense environments, from Bridgewater Associates to Moody’s Analytics, I know what it takes to be the manager your team remembers (for the right reasons).

Why I can help you is simple:

I’ve been through it.

And to prove it, here’s my background (by the numbers) ⤵️

2: Decades leading high-impact teams in asset management (Bridgewater), consulting (PwC), & financial services (Moody’s Analytics).

4: Years as an entrepreneur. My portfolio includes Skillscouter (an online course & career site), and MGMT Accelerator (a cohort-based management training course).

14: Cohorts of early-career leaders that I’ve taught at multiple companies.

100: Managers I recruited, onboarded & mentored at Bridgewater Associates.

1,000: Performance evaluations with grace and respect for stars and terminations alike.

205,000+: My community across LinkedIn & Twitter interested in management tactics & leadership lessons

385,000,000: My team’s top revenue year at Moody’s.

Now that we’ve covered the why, here’s the how:

- The MGMT Accelerator – an intensive management training course for both new and senior leaders
- MGMT Fundamentals – a course that covers all the need-to-know management basics for rookie leaders
- The MGMT Playbook – a weekly newsletter that gives practical management insights

Through our MGMT courses, my wife Marsden and I have played the assist with over 1,100 leaders so far, who’ve now learned how to:

- Practically tackle the most common leadership challenges
- Build their Management OS’s CODE (Coach, Operate, Delegate, Engage)
- Refine their individual leadership Decision-Making System

With our 30+ years of combined experience, you won’t just get our knowledge.

You’ll get to ask us questions directly and get access to coaching that’s more tailored to your own experience.

We always say – if we could do it like a dinner party, we would.

If you’re interested in leadership advice (that doesn’t just sound nice but actually works), drop me a follow – I post daily.

And if you like what you see, our MGMT courses could be just what you need to level up.

DM me if you’re interested.

Co-Founder

We created the MGMT Accelerator to help managers rapidly develop into trusted leaders by combining the art & science of management. 

This 4-week program consistents of eight 90-minute modules where I share the tactics I learned leading high-performing teams for 25 years. During each session, we tailor those insights together to build your personalized management system together. 

You'll learn alongside ~50 peers and become part of an expert community of more than 300 alums.

Most CEOs are wrong about talent.

"Hire fast, fire faster" is awful advice.

99.99% of companies aren't Apple or Amazon. 

• You don't have their budget. 
• You certainly don't have their brand. 

So stop trying to play by their rules.

Here's the reality:

• You can't expect "been there, done that" experience.
• You can't attract people with perfect resumes.
• You can't compete on compensation alone.

The smartest CEO I work with told me his secret:

"Invest heavily in the people you have and you won't waste money buying the people you need."

Here's why this works:

THEY GROW FASTER
• Training compounds for individuals and teams
• Development creates capability you can't hire
• Your systems become their competitive advantage

THEY WORK HARDER
• People give more effort to leaders who invest in them
• Loyalty follows investment, not just compensation
• They see a purpose, not just a paycheck

THEY STAY LONGER
• Institutional knowledge compounds over time
• Retention costs 5-10x less than recruitment
• Culture strengthens through shared experience

THEY GET THEIR TALENTED FRIENDS TO JOIN
• Your best recruiters are fulfilled employees
• Great people know other great people
• Culture becomes your advantage

The math is simple:

Replacing someone costs 1.5-2x their salary.
Developing someone costs a fraction of that.

But here's what most leaders miss:

This only works if you're good at three things:

1. SPOTTING UNDERVALUED TALENT
• Hire for character and coachability
• Look for potential, not polish
• See what others overlook

2. OFFERING WHAT OTHERS CAN'T
• Steep development curves, not empty corporate promises
• Growth opportunities, personally and financially
• Meaningful work, not fanciful perks

3. ACTUALLY DEVELOPING PEOPLE
• Stretch assignments, not just training
• Regular coaching, not annual reviews
• Real feedback, not corporate speak

The brutal truth:

"Hire fast, fire faster" does more harm than good.

The winning strategy is:
• Hire carefully. 
• Develop deliberately. 
• Retain relentlessly.

Your competitive advantage isn't who you can afford to hire.

It's who you can afford to lose.

♻️ Share this to inspire others to invest in the people they have.
🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more practical leadership insights.

PS - I have a free workshop for managers next week. 
We'll build a high-fidelity employee dashboard.
And we'll do it in under 30 minutes. 

📌 Join 920 already signed up: https://lnkd.in/e3h3aRDa

Developing people is easier when you know them better than they know themselves.

skillscouter

mgmt-accelerator

Talks about #training, #leadership, #management, #careerpivot, and #entrepreneurship

Your team isn't drowning in work.

They're lost in your bad leadership habits.

You think you're helping. 
You're actually hurting.

Strong teams can handle hard work.

They can't handle:
🚩 Meaningless tasks
🚩 Unnecessary work
🚩 Useless meetings
🚩 Constant edits
🚩 Toxic politics

Here are 10 well-intentioned behaviors that backfire:

1. The "Always Available" Trap
↳ You think: "I'm showing dedication"
↳ Reality: You're setting an impossible example

2. The "I'll Just Handle It" Reflex
↳ You think: "I'm helping the team"
↳ Reality: You're stealing their growth

3. The "Hustle Harder" Signal
↳ You think: "I'm setting a strong example"
↳ Reality: You're normalizing burnout

4. The "Perfect Over Done" Mindset
↳ You think: "I'm ensuring high standards"
↳ Reality: You're encouraging analysis paralysis

5. The "Problem Solver" Identity
↳ You think: "I'm removing obstacles"
↳ Reality: You're making yourself the bottleneck

6. The "Crisis Mode" Default
↳ You think: "We're being responsive"
↳ Reality: You're burning everyone out

7. The "Positive Vibes Only" Shield
↳ You think: "I'm keeping morale high"
↳ Reality: You're preventing problem-solving

8. The "Just One More Thing" Habit
↳ You think: "It's no big deal"
↳ Reality: You're piling on too much

9. The "Meeting Marathon" Culture
↳ You think: "We're staying aligned"
↳ Reality: You're rationalizing procrastination

10. The "Instant Response" Expectation
↳ You think: "I'm keeping things moving"
↳ Reality: You're the roadblock to deep work

The uncomfortable truth:

If you want meaningful outcomes,
Stop focusing on meaningless effort. 

One shift unlocks great teams:

Stop celebrating hustle and heroics.
Start celebrating systems and sustainability.

Which habit do you need to break first?

♻️ Share to help leaders lead better
🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more leadership reality checks

PS - 1,200+ leaders are joining our free Lighting Lesson. 

⚡Grab your seat: https://lnkd.in/e3h3aRDa

We'll build a AI-Powered People Dashboard in under 30 minutes.

The soft skills are sometimes the hardest.

Which is why they're so valuable.

Think about the best person you worked with.
- The one who quietly set the standard.
- The one who made everyone else better. 
- The one you'd want to bring with you.

What made them stand out?

Yes, they were good at their job. 
But there was something more.

It was how they showed up. 

4 Underrated Career Skills:

1. Raise the Energy of the Room
→ Make others feel more capable, not less
→ Add enthusiasm when it's absent
→ Choose optimism

2. Be Enjoyable to Work With
→ Create calm in chaos
→ Blend excellence with enjoyment
→ Become everyone's "go-to" resource

3. Keep Your Commitments
→ Replace "I'll try" with "I will"
→ Build trust through reliable delivery 
→ Promise carefully, deliver consistently

4. Lead Regardless of Title
→ Tackle the problems others avoid
→ Take initiative before it's obvious
→ Make decisions that prioritize progress

The truth about these skills:

They're 100% your choice.
Only 1% do all 4.

And that's your opportunity.

Simple ≠ Easy
That's why it works.

And yes, AI is changing everything. 
Including making these skills more valuable.

⬇️ Which skill has helped your career most?

🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more
♻️ Share to help others grow

11 Simple Ideas For Lasting Success.

(#9 helps me show up every day)

Illustrations by StrengthVisuals
Follow them on Instagram.

They cover three core themes I wish I'd learned years ago:

Today's pain builds tomorrow's strength
• Choose your hard (it's all hard)

Play games you're uniquely suited to win
• Your environment shapes your future

You can't win if you don't keep playing
• Consistency beats intensity

Here are my 11 lessons:

1. Success Doesn't Follow a Straight Line

• Action -> Problem -> Diagnosis -> Change -> Try Again
• Stop planning for everything to go as expected
• The messy middle is where growth happens

2. Your Past Teaches You, It Doesn't Define You

• Stop treating old stories as gospel
• What happened shaped you, not trapped you
• It's never too late to write a new chapter

3. Today's Hard Becomes Tomorrow's Easy

• Skills that drain you now will energize you later
• Embrace the struggle, it's building your strength
• What feels impossible today becomes automatic tomorrow

4. Discipline Is Showing Up When You Don't Want To

• Motivation gets you started, discipline keeps you going
• Small daily actions compound into massive results
• Build systems that work when feelings fail

5. Fear is Good Liar

• Most things you worry about never happen
• We magnify risks and minimize our capabilities
• Act despite fear, don't wait for it to disappear

6. Your Five Closest People Shape Your Future

• You adopt the standards of those you spend time with
• Surround yourself with people who raise your bar
• Excellence and mediocrity are both contagious

7. Unmet Expectations Create Unnecessary Pain

• Reality rarely matches the script in your head
• Hold plans loosely, stay open to better paths
• Flexibility beats rigid expectations every time

8. Feelings Fade, Systems Stay

• Don't rely on motivation, it's unreliable
• Convert habits to systems that run without you
• Trust your process when emotions tell you to quit

9. Outlasting Others Is a Competitive Advantage

• Most people quit right before the breakthrough
• Staying in the game longer beats being the smartest
• Persistence turns average talent into exceptional results

10. Overnight Success Takes Years to Develop

• Success is built in private, celebrated in public
• You see the highlight reel, not the preparation
• Start now, the work compounds in silence

11. Plant Today, Harvest Tomorrow

• Meaningful progress takes time to materialize
• Start before you feel ready, adjust as you go
• Patience and action together create breakthroughs

Which idea did you pause on?
That's the one you need to act on.

🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more high-performance insights.
♻️ Share to help others find the success they deserve.

11 Simple Ideas for Lasting Success - StrengthVIsuals

The hardest, but most important leadership habit:

Don't lie. 

- Don't lie to employees.
- Don't lie to customers.
- Don't lie to investors.

And most importantly: 

Don't lie to yourself.

It sounds easy, but the truth isn't always pleasant. 

- Businesses don't always grow. 
- Employees don't always deliver. 
- Customers don't always want more.

And lying isn't just outright deception. 

Lying takes many forms:
- Leaving out key details
- Hoarding information
- Confirmation bias
- Exaggeration
- Silence

But the cost of lies grows exponentially:
- We watch people struggle to perform
- We increase our own mental load
- We undermine trust

And no one willingly follows an erratic liar. 

Sounds obvious when I say it that way. 

And yet...

- What hard but necessary conversation are you putting off?
- What unpleasant decision is on your to-do list again?
- What is the complete version of your truth? 

But you can make hard conversations easier:

ASK THEM TO SELF-ASSESS FIRST
- "How do you think that project went?"
- Let them surface the issue before you do.

DON'T BURY THE LEAD
- Get to the point in the first 30 seconds.
- Rambling creates anxiety, not clarity.

DON'T SANDWICH FEEDBACK WITH FAKE COMPLIMENTS
- "You're great, but..." undermines both messages.
- Be direct. Be kind. Don't be manipulative.

DON'T DELAY HOPING IT'LL RESOLVE ITSELF
- Problems don't age like a fine wine.
- They age like spoiled milk.

DON'T INJECT UNNECESSARY EMOTION
- Stick to facts and business impact.
- Your frustration isn't the point. Their growth is.

Leading requires 100%. Not just the 50% that's easy.

And here's the catch: 

When you embrace the unvarnished truth...
- Your team steps up
- Your customers trust you more
- Your business tends to perform better than before

And leading somehow gets 10x easier.

Please ♻️ repost and follow Dave Kline for more leadership tips and tactics.

A group of people isn't a team.

Until they have trust.

After 25 years of working with leaders, I've learned this:

Trust isn't a given. 
It's earned. 

Slowly. 
Methodically. 

With each interaction. 
With every hard choice. 

Some leaders get there intuitively. 
The best ones build it intentionally. 

Here's their blueprint:

PILLAR 1: CHARACTER TRUST (Integrity)

Without integrity, nothing else matters.

• Do what you say you'll do
• Take radical ownership of mistakes
• Be honest even when it's uncomfortable
• Make decisions based on principles, not politics

PILLAR 2: CAPABILITY TRUST (Competence)

Respect follows competence.

• Demonstrate you know what you're talking about
• Choose problems that advance the mission
• Make good decisions under pressure
• Deliver results, not just stories

PILLAR 3: CONSISTENCY TRUST (Reliability)

Consistency compounds momentum.

• Build reliable patterns your team can count on
• Follow through on commitments repeatedly
• Codify your reliability with systems
• React calmly under stress

PILLAR 4: CONNECTION TRUST (Relatability)

People follow leaders they feel connected to.

• Care about their success, not just their output
• Understand what motivates each team member
• Be confident enough to be humble
• Invest genuinely in your people

The sequence matters:

Try to be relatable before you're reliable? 
You'll seem fake.

Try to show competence before integrity? 
You'll seem dangerous.

Build the foundation first.

Trust is harder to build than to break. 
But this is what makes it so valuable. 

When you have it, everything else becomes possible.

• Ambitious goals
• Difficult conversations
• Teams that exceed expectations

Most leaders try to drive performance before they deliver trust.

Don't be most leaders.

♻️ Share this if you think your team could be more trusting.

🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more practical leadership insights.

Tetty Delviana

Some leadership mistakes cost more than others.

Avoid these and save your team the pain.

I've made every mistake in the book.

- Worked myself into burnout and took my team with me.
- Hired the wrong person because I was desperate.
- Avoided a tough conversation until it exploded.

Here's what those mistakes taught me:

Most leadership advice focuses on what to do.
But the real insight comes from knowing what NOT to do.

The mistakes that cost the most:

Optimizing for speed over fit in hiring.
Every bad hire I rushed cost me 6 months of productivity and damaged team morale. The pain of waiting is nothing compared to the pain of fixing a bad hire.

Hoping problems resolve themselves.
Every conflict I avoided got worse. Small disagreements became big blowups. The conversation you're avoiding today will be twice as hard tomorrow.

Leading from a place of chaos.
When I was stressed, my team was stressed. When I sent midnight emails, they felt pressure to match my pace. Your energy sets the standard.

Assuming growth would just happen.
My best people didn't leave for more money. They left because they couldn't see a future. Development isn't a perk—it's a retention strategy.

Believing silence means agreement.
The higher I climbed, the less honest feedback I got. People stopped telling me when I was wrong. I had to normalize and incentivize calling out problems.

Confusing activity with progress.
More meetings didn't create better alignment. They created exhaustion. Communication isn't about talking more—it's about clarity.

Waiting for someone else to protect my time.
No one was going to set boundaries for me. Burnout was the only thing that would. I had to learn to prioritize ruthlessly.

The pattern I see:

These mistakes don't announce themselves.
They accumulate quietly until the cost becomes catastrophic.

But here's the good news:

You don't have to learn these lessons the hard way.

Swipe through the carousel to see how I'd avoid all 7 mistakes.

Every mistake I made taught me something valuable.
But you can skip the pain and go straight to the lesson.

♻️ Share this if you want to help other leaders.
🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more hard-won leadership wisdom.

 7 Leadership Lessons You Only Learn the Hard Way

Communication isn't what you say.

It's what they actually hear.

The hard truth every great leader eventually learns:

Your message doesn't matter if it doesn't land.

Here's how the best leaders get their message to stick:

Satya Nadella's "Model-Coach-Care"
↳ Shows the way personally first
↳ Coaches others through the change
↳ Demonstrates genuine care for outcomes
"Don't be a Know-It-All. Be a Learn-It-All."

Andy Grove's "Disagree and Commit"
↳ Encouraged vigorous debate before decisions
↳ Required full alignment after decisions
↳ Made dissent safe, but execution non-negotiable
"Let chaos reign, then rein in chaos."

Ray Dalio's "Radical Transparency"
↳ Records every meeting at Bridgewater
↳ Makes them available to all employees
↳ Uses an app for real-time feedback
"Be being assertive AND open-minded. At the same time."

Steve Jobs's "Three-Story Rule"
↳ Every product launch told three stories maximum
↳ Repeated the same core message relentlessly
↳ Made complex ideas simple and memorable
"Simple can be harder than complex."

Reed Hastings's "Context Over Control"
↳ Netflix's 125-page culture deck
↳ Shared widely for transparency
↳ Attracts the right employees
↳ Repelled the wrong ones
"Don't tolerate brilliant jerks. The cost to teamwork is too high."

The pattern?

Top leaders:

1️⃣ CREATE SYSTEMS
↳ Don't rely on one-off communications
↳ Build processes that reinforce the message

2️⃣ EMBRACE REPETITION
↳ Know that clarity requires persistence
↳ Use different formats for different thinkers

3️⃣ VERIFY UNDERSTANDING
↳ Check what was heard, not what was said
↳ Encourage (and act on) feedback loops

Remember:

When you're tired of saying it...
They're hearing it for the first time.

The best leaders aren't the best speakers.
They're the best at being understood.

🔔 Follow me for more leadership insights.
♻️ Share to help other leaders communicate with clarity.

PS - Today, we're helping 1500+ leaders tailor their communication. 
And AI is letting them do it for each employee at scale. 
Join us: https://lnkd.in/eVCMpsFP

I've made every management mistake in the book.

Here are the 15 that cost me the most.

I've led teams for 25 years.

And one lesson I learned over and over: 

The behaviors that got me promoted to manager,
Often became liabilities as a leader.

Being the best problem solver? 
-> Now I'm a bottleneck.

Always having the answer? 
-> Now my team stops thinking.

Never needing help? 
-> Now I can't delegate.

I had to unlearn to lead.

Here are 4 themes from my 15 biggest mistakes:

1. CONTROL DISGUISED AS CARE

I thought being involved in everything showed I cared.
I micromanaged highly capable people.
I solved every problem myself.

Reality: Control doesn't scale. It creates dependency, not capability.

2. AVOIDANCE DISGUISED AS PATIENCE

I avoided hard conversations hoping they'd resolve themselves.
I tolerated underperformers because I didn't want conflict.
I waited for perfect data before making decisions.

Reality: Patience with problems isn't kindness. It's cowardice.

3. ACTIVITY DISGUISED AS PROGRESS

I said yes to every good idea.
I rewarded effort over results.
I let meetings multiply unchecked.

Reality: Busy doesn't equal effective. Focus beats hustle.

4. ASSUMPTIONS DISGUISED AS CLARITY

I delegated tasks without defining success.
I had secret expectations I never voiced.
I skipped 1-on-1s when things got busy.

Reality: What's obvious to you is invisible to your team.

Want my full list of mistakes? 
Download the image in this post. 

The hardest lesson:

Everything that made you promotable can make you ineffective.

Your technical expertise? 
-> Now you need to coach.

Your ability to execute? 
-> Now you need to empower.

Your individual output? 
-> Now you need to work through others.

Management isn't about being the best player. 

It's about building the best team.
It's about developing a system that scales. 
It's about unlearning as much as it's about learning.

Which management mistake can you share?
Help others by sharing it below. 

Please repost ♻️ to help others learn from my mistakes.

Follow Dave Kline 🔔 for more hard-won leadership lessons.

Your team doesn't need you to have all the answers,

As long as you ask the right questions. 

Here are 20 questions that:

- Uncover meaningful problems
- Unlock the team's potential
- Unleash breakthrough results

And what you should listen for...

THE WORK (And How Work Gets Done)

1. What does excellence look like?
2. How do we measure success?
3. Name our three critical priorities.
4. Where do you get blocked?
5. Which processes feel unnecessary?

What to listen for:
Can they define exceptional work with specificity? 
Do they know what truly matters versus what's just noise? 
Will they challenge inefficient processes? 

Great teams have clarity and the courage to stay focused.

ENGAGEMENT (What Drives People)

6. What energizes you most?
7. How do you prefer feedback?
8. What skills do you want to build?
9. When were you most proud?
10. Where do you want to be in one year?

What to listen for:
Where does their natural energy flow? 
Do they invite improvement or avoid it? 
Are they driving their own development with purpose? 

Great teams have energy and raise everyone else's.

ALIGNMENT (Staying Connected)

11. How does your work impact our mission?
12. What's our biggest opportunity?
13. Where do you see team friction?
14. What information would help you?
15. What should we stop doing?

What to listen for:
Do they see their strategic value beyond their task list? 
Can they spot future wins and surface hard truths? 
Will they challenge the status quo? 

Great teams have a shared mission and the systems to compound.

MOMENTUM (Progress & Patterns)

16. What's our best improvement this quarter?
17. Where are we falling behind?
18. What problems keep returning?
19. Which changes worked best?
20. "What one change would help most?

What to listen for:
Do they build on wins or just move to the next thing? 
Will they flag real risks honestly? 
Can they spot systemic issues versus one-off problems? 

Great teams have direction and an unstoppable desire to improve.

Remember:

The secret isn't in asking the questions.
It's listening deeply to what follows.

Great questions reveal the truth.
Great leaders do something about it.

Helpful?

🔔 Follow us (Dave Kline and Marsden Kline) for more.
♻️ Share to help others lead with better questions.

The 20 Question to Lead Your Team

I've Made Every Leadership Mistake in the Book

Here are the 25 most expensive lessons I learned:

25 years of leading teams.
100s of avoidable mistakes.
Countless sleepless nights.

These are the truths nobody tells you, 
Until experience becomes your expensive teacher. 

Steal my 25 hard-won insights here for free:

COMMUNICATION | What You Say vs. What They Hear

↳ Hard conversations never get easier with time
↳ It's not what you say, it's what they hear
↳ No one can meet your secret expectations
↳ You cannot overdo authentic praise
↳ Clear is kind

CULTURE | What You Build vs. What You Allow

↳ Culture is created by their default or your design
↳ If you're using "toxic," it's your signal to step in
↳ A-players demand A-teammates, B-players tolerate C's
↳ Process either fuels performance or prevents it
↳ Your calendar reveals your real priorities

PEOPLE | Who You Develop vs. Who You Tolerate

↳ Character outweighs credentials every single time
↳ Stop fixing B-players, help them find their A-game
↳ Skills can be taught, values must be brought
↳ Feedback creates futures, consistency builds careers
↳ Leadership is built through effort, not born through talent

DECISIONS | What You Start vs. What You Stop

↳ "No" is short-term pain, "Yes" is long-term commitment
↳ Confidence follows action, not the other way around
↳ Speed beats perfection: momentum dies in indecision
↳ Perfection is just procrastination in disguise
↳ High performers need permission to fail fast

PERSPECTIVE | What You Control vs. What You Influence

↳ Crisis reveals two things: preparation and character
↳ Time is the only non-renewable resource you have
↳ Your belief in them shapes their reality
↳ Managing up IS part of the job
↳ Purpose prevents burnout

The brutal truth about these lessons:

Reading them takes is quick.
Learning them is slow.

And HOW you learn them decides if it's painful. 

Which lesson hit hardest for you?

♻️ Share to help someone skip the expensive lessons
🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more hard-won leadership insights

 25 Hard Lessons About Leading Teams

Your team can't outrun the overwhelm.

And working harder isn't the solution.

I see it everywhere:

❌ Teams running at 120% capacity.
❌ Leaders adding more to already full plates.
❌ People burning themselves out while results plateau.

Here's the brutal truth:

More effort without better systems just accelerates exhaustion.

You can't grind your way to sustainable success.
You can't hustle your way out of a bad strategy.
You can't will your way past broken processes.

The path forward isn't more effort. 
It's more leverage.

And leverage comes from systems.

These are the 8 systems every high-performing team has built:

✅ AMBITIOUS STANDARDS
They don't compete against others.
They compete against themselves.

Good becomes invisible.
Great becomes expected.
Excellence becomes inevitable.

✅ TALENT DENSITY
They hire carefully.
Move quickly on mistakes.
Invest heavily in the right people.

Small teams of exceptional people outrun big teams of average ones.

✅ CULTURAL CONSISTENCY
Values aren't wall decorations.
They're daily decisions.

What you do repeatedly is who you become eventually.

✅ STRATEGIC SIMPLICITY
They remove what doesn't compound.
Processes. Projects. People.

Fewer moving parts equals more momentum.

✅ MUTUAL ACCOUNTABILITY
No hiding behind excuses.
No exceptions for favorites.
No finger-pointing when things break.

Accountability is oxygen. Essential for survival.

✅ CONTROLLED URGENCY
They never confuse activity with achievement.
They sprint when it matters.
They rest when it's strategic.

Busy isn't better. Pace wins the race.

✅ ITERATIVE FEEDBACK
Nobody sees their own blind spots.
That's not weakness. That's being human.

They build feedback into everything.
Small adjustments prevent big failures.

✅ CONTAGIOUS IMPROVEMENT
Tiny issues become big problems when ignored.
So they fix them while they're small.

Excellence spreads when you protect it.
Mediocrity spreads when you tolerate it.

The difference between broken teams and winning teams:

Broken teams work harder when problems arise.
Winning teams build systems that prevent problems.

Broken teams celebrate effort and hours.
Winning teams celebrate impact and results.

Broken teams add more people to solve capacity issues.
Winning teams add better systems to create leverage.

And leverage requires systems.
Systems are how you do half as much, twice as well.

Stop grinding harder.
Start building smarter.

♻️ Share this if your team needs to work less and achieve more.

🔔 Follow me for more insights on building systems that scale.

Which system would create the most leverage for your team right now?

The 8 Systems of Winning Teams

Your title says "Manager."

Your team needs a "Leader."

The distinction needs to end: 

"Managers do things right. 
Leaders do the right things."

“Managers light a fire under people. 
Leaders light a fire in them.”

It's a false choice that lets mediocre managers off the hook.

Here's the truth:

Great management IS leadership.
Top talent wants managers who ARE leaders.

And when people draw the distinction, 
they're usually rationalizing bad management.

Here are the 12 subtle shifts necessary to lead: 

Takes Radical Ownership vs. Waits for Instruction
↳ Own outcomes, not just activities

Embodies High Standards vs. Accepts Mediocre Work
↳ Your standards become your team's expectation

Builds Trust Intentionally vs. Relies on Authority
↳ Authority gets compliance, trust gets commitment

Connects Authentically vs. Maintains Distance
↳ Genuine connection multiplies influence

Mutual Accountability vs. Enforces Rules
↳ Create shared ownership of outcomes

Recruits Relentlessly vs. Hires Open Roles
↳ Always be building your talent pipeline

Creates Clarity vs. Secret Expectations
↳ Unclear expectations are unfair expectations

Acts Decisively vs. Avoids Conflict
↳ Indecision is a decision to stay stuck

Thinks Systemically vs. Fights Fires
↳ Build systems that prevent problems

Develops Deliberately vs. Fires Fast
↳ Invest in development before replacement

Continuous Improvement vs. Defends Status Quo
↳ Question everything, optimize constantly

Guards Focus Courageously vs. Contributes to Chaos
↳ Protect your team's focus like your budget

The good news?
These behaviors compound.

Ownership builds trust and creates clarity.
Focus protects standards and drives improvement.
Decisiveness enables systemic thinking and development.

The uncomfortable truth:

There's no such thing as "just a manager" anymore.
There are only leaders still growing into their role.

♻️ Share to help others step into leadership
🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more practical leadership ideas

Your title won't make you a leader. 

But these 5 actions always will:

A LEADER WHO INSPIRES YOU

❌ Manages tasks and monitors compliance
✅ Shows you a bigger version of yourself
✅ Makes the impossible feel inevitable
✅ Turns obstacles into opportunities
✅ Gives energy instead of direction

Why it matters: Inspiration sustains motivation.

A LEADER WHO BELIEVES IN YOU

❌ Waits for proof before giving trust
✅ Offers trust before asking for proof
✅ Makes space for growth and failure
✅ Leads with questions, not commands
✅ Sees your potential before you do

Why it matters: People rise (or fall) to your expectations.

A LEADER WHO CHALLENGES YOU

❌ Keeps you comfortable to be "nice"
✅ Makes comfort feel like settling
✅ Sets standards that stretch you
✅ Shows you your blind spots
✅ Uses feedback to fuel growth

Why it matters: Growth happens at the edge of comfort.

A LEADER WHO SETS YOU UP TO WIN

❌ Pushes you into the deep end to sink or swim
✅ Removes barriers, not just identifies them
✅ Creates systems for repeated success
✅ Matches resources to your ambition
✅ Makes excellence repeatable

Why it matters: Amplified strengths drive outsized results.

A LEADER WHO OPENS NEW DOORS

❌ Hoards information, opportunities, and connections
✅ Thinks three moves ahead for your career
✅ Advocates when you're not in the room
✅ Networks with intention, not ego
✅ Shows you paths you didn't see

Why it matters: Opportunity ensures loyalty. 

The truth about leadership:

It's not a title on your business card.
It's not a corner office or a bigger budget.

Leadership is how you impact people.

Do they feel... 
- Challenged or coddled?
- Inspired or managed?
- Trusted or doubted?
- Set up or left out?
- Supported or stuck?

The leaders worth following do all 5.

Not perfectly. 
Not every day. 

But consistently enough that their team would follow them anywhere.

If you're striving to become this leader...

🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more
♻️ Repost to help other leaders
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Antonella L.

When failure isn't an option, average leadership won't cut it.

Here's how to lead when the stakes are highest:

The leaders I work with who weather the storm,
Used to the good times to prepare for it. 

It's not about having the best crisis tactics.
It's about building a rock-solid foundation. 

10 rules for leading when failure isn't an option:

RULE 1: EMBRACE REALITY
Operating on assumptions and hope kills teams.
Confronting the hard truth immediately saves them.

Every metric tells a story. 
Make sure you're reading the right ones.

RULE 2: PRE-DETERMINE SUCCESS
Chasing moving targets creates confusion.
Defining the win upfront creates clarity.

Success shouldn't be a surprise. 
Set the standard early. 
Make it measurable.

RULE 3: RUTHLESSLY EDIT
Taking on everything weakens your focus.
Focusing only on what matters strengthens it.

Every yes dilutes impact.
Every no concentrates it. 
Edit continuously.

RULE 4: ACT LIKE AN OWNER
Managing expenses won't save you.
Investing in value creation will.

Think like a forward-looking investor. 
Not a backward-looking accountant.

RULE 5: SETTLE OLD DEBTS
Carrying forward unresolved problems compounds them.
Clearing the path proactively prevents them.

Small issues become big ones under pressure. 
Fix them while the solution is cheap.

RULE 6: NURTURE RELATIONSHIPS
Working in isolation limits your options.
Building bridges before you need them expands them.

Your network is an asset. 
Strong teams don't succeed alone.

RULE 7: CRANK UP THE VOLUME
Assuming people understand breeds uncertainty.
Communicating consistently creates confidence.

Silence is the enemy of alignment. 
Keep your signal strong.

RULE 8: DIAL DOWN THE DRAMA
Hoping cultural problems resolve themselves makes them worse.
Addressing dysfunction directly stops the bleeding.

Bad behavior spreads like a virus. 
Your team is easily exposed. 
Fix it fast.

RULE 9: LEASE DON'T BUY
Building permanent solutions for temporary problems wastes resources.
Creating flexible capacity that adapts preserves them.

Speed beats perfection. 
Stay agile & adaptable.

RULE 10: DEFEND AGAINST DISTRACTIONS
Saying yes to everything urgent destroys focus.
Protecting what matters most preserves it.

Your team's attention is precious. 
Every interruption has a cost. 
Guard it fiercely.

The truth about high-stakes leadership:

Strong teams aren't built in crisis. 
They're tested by them.

Review the carousel below for more on each rule. 

By focusing your team now. 
You'll seize the opportunity while they strive to survive.

Helpful? 
♻️ Please share by reposting. 
🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more leadership fundamentals.

How to Lead Your Team When  Failure Isn't An Option 

13 Hidden Laws of High Performers

(#10 became my daily habit)

These images from Hidde Douna highlight each one.

Why do some people consistently outperform everyone else?
While others stay stuck despite working just as hard?

After 25 years of coaching leaders, I've learned:

High performance doesn't start with talent. 
It starts with how you see the world. 

Is it happening TO you? 
Or is it happening FOR you?

These insights drive the people drawn towards success:

1. People Only Remember How You Made Them Feel
↳ Your impact matters more than your output
↳ Build relationships first, results follow

2. Success Comes Slowly, Then All At Once
↳ High performers look like overnight successes
↳ But they are many lonely years in the making

3. Doubt Is Erased by Doing
↳ Overthinking creates hesitation
↳ Start messy, iterate quickly, win consistently

4. Indecision Fuels Fear, Action Erases It
↳ Waiting for perfect clarity creates paralysis
↳ Action creates momentum, momentum creates confidence

5. We Are More Powerful Together Than Alone
↳ Solo effort has upper limits
↳ Strategic collaboration creates uncapped leverage

6. Whether You Think You Can or Can't, You're Right
↳ Your beliefs become your reality
↳ Mindset shapes outcomes more than circumstances

7. Ideas Become More Valuable When You Share Them
↳ Hoarders isolate, collaborators dominate
↳ Ideas without execution are just wishful thinking

8. If You're 100% Qualified, Aim Higher
↳ Comfort zones slowly suffocate growth
↳ High performers live at the edge of their ability

9. Progress Is Never A Straight Line
↳ Expect setbacks, celebrate rebounds
↳ Resilience separates good from great

10. The Ideas In Your Mind Aren't As Clear As You Think
↳ What's obvious to you is invisible to others
↳ Clarity requires communication, not assumption

11. Every Master Begins as a Beginner
↳ Excellence is earned through awkward starts
↳ Give yourself space for learning and growth

12. No One Sees the Effort, Only the Outcome
↳ Behind every win are countless sacrifices
↳ Build daily habits that quietly compound

13. You Can Be a Masterpiece And a Work In Progress
↳ Perfection doesn't exist
↳ But persistence creates unforgettable results

Which insight resonates most with where you are right now?
What's the smallest step you can take to apply this lesson? 

Ideas are easy. 
It's taking hard action that delivers success. 

♻️ Share this to help others level up.
🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more insights on peak performance.

 Individual Insights For High Performers

Most people think leadership requires a title.

It doesn't.

I've watched talented people wait for an invitation to lead.

Meanwhile, the people getting promoted and followed? 
They simply started leading.

Here's what I've learned:

Leadership isn't about your position.

• It's about your impact.
• It's about your mindset. 
• It's about your attitude.

Every leader I promoted had already taken charge.

Here are 16 ways to lead without waiting for permission:
(not a single one requires talent)

ENERGY & PRESENCE
• Raise the energy - Be the spark
• Set the tone - Make it contagious
• Show up - Especially when it's hard

EXECUTION & STANDARDS
• Do the work - Actions over words
• Get started - Begin before you're ready
• Follow through - Keep your promises

DECISION-MAKING & OWNERSHIP
• Make calls - Create clarity
• Own your mistakes - Fix them fast
• Think ahead - Prepare for what's next

PEOPLE & RELATIONSHIPS
• Listen intently - Understand, don't just respond
• Learn names - They matter more than most think
• Make time - Quality beats quantity

RECOGNITION & HUMILITY
• Cheer loudly - Celebrate all wins
• Say thank you - Two powerful words
• Share credit - Honor everyone's contribution
• Be humble - Know what you don't know

The pattern I see:

They don't wait for the title to behave like a leader.
They earn the title by already being one.

The difference between waiting and leading:

Waiting: "I can't do that, it's not my job."
Leading: "How can I help solve this?"

Waiting: "That's above my pay grade."
Leading: "Let me think strategically about this."

Waiting: "Someone should fix this."
Leading: "I'll take ownership of this."

[Swipe through the carousel for tips on leading without a title]

Start small:
• Solve one problem
• Support one colleague
• Strengthen one process

Then watch what happens.

Leadership isn't a promotion you receive. 
It's a choice you make.

♻️ Share this to help others stop waiting and start leading.
🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more insights on leading without limits.

PS - Our top-rated management programs are 25% through Monday. 

Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e56vr7kE

Become the leader you'd follow.

 Anyone Can Lead

7 Red Flags You're About to Make a Bad Hire
(and how to spot them before you make them)

Desperation makes us blind.

When you're drowning in work and need help yesterday, 
Every candidate starts looking good.

That's exactly when bad hires happen.

Here are 7 warning signs I've learned to catch early:

Brand Name Credentials
❌ Elite company names create a halo effect
✅ Hide the logos. Still impressed?

Serial Job Hopping
❌ They've mastered interviewing through repetition
✅ Ask "why?" three times per move. Listen for ownership.

The Forever Employee
❌ Stability looks attractive in volatile markets
✅ Compare their growth to peers. Loyal or leveled off?

The Internal Referral
❌ Your people vouching feels like validation
✅ Notice the intensity. Great candidates don't need hard sells.

The Smooth Talker
❌ Easy rapport feels like a cultural fit
✅ Push back on something. Watch how they handle friction.

The Feedback Avoider
❌ They reframe every flaw as a strength
✅ Dig for concrete examples of learning from failure.

The Too-Perfect Candidate
❌ Perfect on paper makes us want to believe
✅ Zero concerns means you asked the wrong questions.

The hard truth:

Strong credentials ≠ Strong character

You can train people on skills like Excel.
But you can't train them to value Excellence.

The hiring principle that changed everything for me:

Hire for character and coachability.
Train for competence and capability.

Which subtle red flag have you missed before?
Which common hiring trap did I miss? 
Tell me in the comments.

If this was helpful:
🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more practical leadership insights.
♻️ Repost to help other leaders hire wisely the first time.

 7 Red Flags You’re About To Make A Bad Hire

Good teams don't become great by accident.

They pursue their purpose, on purpose.

The gap between good and great isn't talent.
It's leadership that knows which levers to pull.

It's not the transformative moonshots.
It's the bite-sized wisdom with outsized impact.

Here are 9 moves that transform good teams into great ones:

1. HONOR WHAT'S WORKING
Don't fix what isn't broken.
Acknowledge the strengths that got you here.
Ask: "What is our team's competitive advantage?"

2. NAME WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE
Don't hint at improvements vaguely.
Be specific about what stops and what starts.
Write it down: "We will no longer... We will now..."

3. MODEL THE STANDARD
Don't exempt yourself from expectations.
Be transparent about your own growth areas.
Show the team what accountability looks like.

4. CLARIFY THE TARGET
Don't rely on abstract long-term visions.
Set crystal clear 6-month milestones and metrics.
Break quarterly goals into weekly wins.

5. DEFINE WINNING BEHAVIORS
Don't settle for generic corporate values.
Codify specific, observable actions.
Spread your team's mythology.

6. BUILD NEW RITUALS
Don't add bureaucratic processes.
Create consistent, meaningful habits.
Make feedback feel like reviewing game tape.

7. CELEBRATE PROGRESS
Don't wait for perfection to recognize effort.
Acknowledge improvement and iteration.
Run weekly retrospectives to capture learning.

8. MANUFACTURE TRUST DAILY
Don't assume trust builds automatically.
Create it through authentic connection.
End every 1-on-1 with "What else?"

9. CATCH THEM WINNING
Don't offer vague "good job" praise.
Give specific recognition of impact.
Keep a daily wins journal for your team.

The truth about great teams:

They don't need another framework or methodology.

They need a leader who:
• Sees what's working and amplifies it
• Names what's not and changes it
• Models the behaviors they expect
• Celebrates progress, not just perfection

Your team already has the potential.

Your job is to unlock it.

♻️ Share this to help others.
📕 Save this playbook for your team's next plateau. 
🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more practical leadership moves.

9 Small Tweaks That Make A Good Team Great

Most career advice is designed to keep you safe.

High performers know it does the opposite.

They learned early: 

Conventional wisdom keeps you comfortable.
Ignoring it makes you exceptional.

7 silent career killers disguised as common sense:

KILLER #1: SEEKING PERMISSION INSTEAD OF ASKING FORGIVENESS
• Permission-seeking trains dependency, not leadership
• High performers make decisions, then communicate clearly
• Start small with low-stakes choices

KILLER #2: CONFUSING COMFORT WITH COMPETENCE
• Comfort is the enemy of growth
• You become excellent at work that doesn't matter anymore
• Spend 20% of your time slightly uncomfortable

KILLER #3: CHASING PERFECTION OVER PROGRESS
• While you polish, competitors ship and learn
• Perfectionism is procrastination disguised as standards
• Share at 80% and iterate on feedback

KILLER #4: WAITING TO BE DISCOVERED
• If you don't advocate for yourself, no one else will
• Invisible excellence gets invisible rewards
• Share your wins and make your impact visible

KILLER #5: SAYING YES TO EVERYTHING
• Saying yes to everything means saying no to what matters
• You become known for being busy, not valuable
• Protect your focus for great opportunities

KILLER #6: AVOIDING DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS
• Avoiding conflict creates bigger problems later
• Unaddressed issues compound into career-limiting blowups
• Address problems early with direct feedback

KILLER #7: STAYING IN YOUR LANE
• Career growth happens outside your current role
• You become replaceable by doing only what's expected
• Solve problems adjacent to your role

[Swipe through the carousel for more]

The pattern I see:

Average performers follow the rules.
High performers rewrite them.

♻️ Share this to help others.
🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more.

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