Claim OwnershipReal Talk: Leading Small Teams
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Description
Real Talk: Leading Small Teams is a weekly leadership and management podcast for founders, entrepreneurs, business owners, and people managers who want to lead high-performing teams without falling back into the work themselves.
Each week, host Lia Garvin- Fractional COO & leadership strategist, TEDx speaker, and 3x bestselling author- breaks down the real, everyday challenges of leading teams, people management, team accountability, delegation, communication, culture, and performance with practical strategies you can implement immediately. Lia’s work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, The Wall Street Journal, and Fortune.
With Lia, there’s no beating around the bush. No corporate jargon. Just actionable leadership insights that help you build your people management and leadership skills and get better results from your team.
If you’re asking leadership questions like:
• How do I get my team to take ownership and accountability for their work?
• Why do I have to repeat myself constantly as a manager?
• How do I know if I hired the wrong employee?
• How do I delegate effectively without things falling apart or micromanaging?
• How can managers tell if team members are overusing AI at work?
• What actually motivates employees today?
• How do I give feedback that actually moves the needly?
• How do I communicate vision, expectations, and strategy clearly?
• What are best practices for performance reviews, compensation, and growth conversations?
How do you lead a team through change, uncertainty, and rapid growth with confidence?
You’ll find the tools, frameworks, and leadership strategies you need to lead your team better, starting today.
Real Talk: Leading Small Teams is for:
✔ Founders & Business Owners scaling teams without burning people out
✔ Entrepreneurs balancing business strategy and people leadership
✔ Experienced leaders ready to modernize how they manage teams
✔ Corporate managers navigating continual change
New episodes drop every Tuesday, delivering leadership lessons, people management tools, and team-building strategies you can apply immediately.
Learn more at liagarvin.com
230 Episodes
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When is the last time you looked at a situation on your team and thought "I shouldn't have to deal with this"? Earlier today? Then this episode is for you. On the show I break down why this phrase is so common, especially for business owners and founders who didn't set out to be people leaders, why it makes the situation worse, and the mindset shift that actually moves things forward. In this episode you will learn: Why "I shouldn't have to" is such a natural response and why it keeps you stu...
After a pretty rough experience at Lenscrafters, Lia gets into one of the most common challenges small business owners face: how do you get your team to actually show up for customers when you can't force anyone to care? This episode is for anyone with customer-facing team members — or honestly any team member whose attitude and engagement reflects on your brand. In this episode you will learn: Why getting this right starts in the hiring and onboarding process, not after things go wrongWhat f...
You've got feedback to give. A lot of it. But every time you try, it either comes out as a running list of corrections or it never comes out at all because you don't know where to start. In this episode, Lia answers a real listener question about how to manage feedback when there's a lot to address, without losing your team's trust or making them feel like nothing is ever good enough. In this episode you will learn: Why constant corrective feedback trains your team to do the bare minimum and ...
You hired talented people, asked them to lead, and yet they're still coming to you for final approval on *everything*. It feels like you're micromanaging, even though you desperately want to be hands-off. You don't want to reject their need for support, but this constant stream of decisions, big and small, is keeping you buried in the day-to-day. This isn't just annoying; it's a critical bottleneck that prevents you from scaling and keeps your team from truly stepping into ownership. When yo...
You know the feeling. Their name pops up on your calendar and your stomach drops just a little. They are not low performers. They are actually delivering. But something about the dynamic makes leading them harder than it needs to be. In this episode of Real Talk: Leading Small Teams, we break down three common archetypes that trigger leaders and how to handle each one without avoiding hard conversations. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why “Praise-Seeking Polly” may not actually feel recognize...
You find the perfect senior hire. They have the résumé. The experience. The track record. But the salary makes your stomach drop. Do you stretch and hope it pays off? Or walk away and risk staying stuck? In this episode, we unpack the real tension leaders face when hiring senior talent in a small business and how to think about compensation without blowing up your risk tolerance. We talk about: Why overextending on a big hire can create pressure that sabotages onboarding How to thi...
What’s the cost of waiting too long to address a problem on your team? In this episode, we’re breaking down the key actions that separate leadership disasters from record-breaking success. You'll learn: How waiting too long to address team challenges can lead to massive lossesThe $250,000 mistake from one of my clients and the turnaround that followedThe positive impact of setting clear expectations and implementing systems early onHow proactive leadership resulted in a $1M revenue quarter fo...
You built a reputation for being the best. So why does it feel like your success is the very thing keeping you stuck? If clients keep asking for you by name and you cannot seem to step out of the weeds without everything pulling you back in, this episode will show you how to scale without losing trust, quality, or revenue. In this episode of Real Talk: Leading Small Teams, you’ll learn: Why believing your “magic” cannot be taught is keeping you smallHow to translate your secret sauce into rea...
You finally hired managers… so why are you still stuck in every decision, every issue, every fire? If you feel like promoting managers was supposed to free you up and somehow did the opposite, this episode breaks down exactly why that happens and how to fix it. In this episode, we talk about: How leaders accidentally train managers to defer decisionsThe simple way to teach decision-making without more meetingsWhat to do when managers do not actually want to manageThe core skills every manager...
Hiring is exhausting, and nothing messes with your confidence faster than wondering, “Did I just make a really expensive mistake?” In this episode, we take a clear-eyed, practical look at how to assess a new hire without panic, resentment, or dragging things out way too long. Plus we’ll talk about what to do when the answer isn’t obvious. In this episode of Real Talk: Leading Small Teams, you’ll learn: Why deciding someone “isn’t a fit” too fast or too late creates bigger problemsThe role onb...
You didn’t mean to become the “cool boss.” But now feedback feels awkward, boundaries are blurry and accountability keeps slipping. In this episode of Real Talk: Leading Small Teams, we break down what to do when you’ve been friend-zoned by your team, and how to reset the dynamic without becoming cold or rigid. In this episode, we cover: The subtle signs you’ve crossed from friendly leader into the friend zoneWhy feedback resistance is often a relationship problem, not a performance one...
You know that thing on your team you keep meaning to deal with… but haven’t? The underperformer. The role you should hire for. The expectations conversation you keep postponing. Avoidance feels easier in the moment — but it quietly turns leaders into bottlenecks. In this episode, we break down how avoiding hard moves is slowing your team down and what to do instead. You’ll learn: How to spot what you’re avoiding as a leaderWhy delaying a hire often costs more than making oneWhat t...
You’re full of ideas in meetings. You explain the plan. Your team nods. And then somehow… nothing changes. If that sounds familiar, you don’t have an accountability problem — you have a follow-up problem. In this episode, I break down the leadership shift that turns passive agreement into real ownership. You’ll learn: Why giving solutions can accidentally kill accountabilityWhat to say instead of answering every question yourselfHow to run 1:1s so people leave with commitmentsThe ...
Your team is asking for more. More flexibility. More pay. More exceptions. More say in decisions. And you’re sitting there thinking, when did this turn into entitlement? In this episode, we unpack what’s really happening when requests feel unreasonable — and why the root cause is usually a leadership clarity issue, not an attitude problem. You’ll learn: Why “entitlement” is often a signal, not the problemHow leaders accidentally create resentment without realizing itWhat to ...
You were going to say something. About the missed deadline. The behavior in the meeting. The way they handled the client. But you waited… and now it feels awkward, overdue, or impossible to bring up. Here’s the truth: it’s not too late. And avoiding it will cost you more than having the conversation. In this episode, I walk you through how to give feedback after the moment has passed and still strengthen trust. You’ll learn: How to reopen a conversation you should have had earlier...
You have a compensation conversation coming up. You want to reward good work. You want to be fair. You also know you can’t open the floodgates or promise something you can’t sustain. And one wrong sentence can create months of resentment. In this episode, I walk you through how to talk about pay in a way that reinforces performance, protects expectations, and keeps trust intact. You’ll learn: Why mixing compensation updates with performance feedback backfiresHow leaders accidental...
You know you should say something. About the missed deadline. The behavior in meetings. The drop in quality. But the conversation feels uncomfortable, so you wait. And that’s how small issues turn into big surprises. In this episode, I break down the most common mistakes leaders make with feedback — and how to handle tough conversations in a way that actually improves performance. You’ll learn: Why feedback triggers defensiveness (even when you’re careful)What happens to team trus...
You’ve explained the direction. The priorities. The goals. Where the company is headed. And yet your team still seems misaligned, disengaged, or focused on the wrong things. If that sounds familiar, the problem isn’t your strategy — it’s how the message is landing. In this episode, I break down how to communicate vision so people actually understand it, remember it, and act on it. You’ll learn: The biggest mistakes leaders make when sharing visionWhy one announcement is never enou...
Most people become managers with zero training. No reps. No practice. No preparation for feedback, conflict, or decision-making. They’re told to lead anyway. In this episode, I use my experience training for a HYROX endurance race to explain what leadership actually requires — and why so many managers feel behind from day one. You’ll learn: Why lack of training makes leadership feel overwhelmingWhat “training while compromised” looks like at workHow to build management muscle in real timeWhy ...
Your team keeps asking the same questions. They seem unsure. Morale feels shaky. People want clarity you cannot fully give. And you are wondering, I already explained this. Why does everyone still feel lost? In times of constant change, the problem is often not the facts. It is how those facts are being interpreted. In this episode, I break down how leaders can shift perception, create stability, and communicate in a way that rebuilds confidence even when the future is unclear. You’ll learn: ...
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