Episode 79: Decoding Leadership for First-Time CEOS with Byron Morrison

Guest Bio

If you’re a first-time CEO feeling stretched thin, overwhelmed or like you’re not being as effective as you could (or need) to be, then this will be the most important profile you’ll ever read.

My name’s Byron Morrison and after working with CEOs and business leaders in 16 countries I developed a battle-tested 5-step process called the Evolved Method to help them take control and become more effective in their role.

Recap & Takeaways

Key Takeaways

• • [00:00 – 01:37] Byron Morrison episode intro and summary: redefining leadership and the essential role of the CEO in forming, planning, and evaluating team effectiveness, decoding decision-making for CEOs, and optimizing your work week.
  • [01:50 – 04:24] Byron’s journey of transformation after his dad’s cancer, taking charge of his health and writing a book, running a company and helping people, studying psychology, and finding a niche in coaching first-time CEOs.
  • [04:24 – 05:48] Wellness and productivity, getting life and business in sync and under control. Proper sleep, nutrition, and burnout’s compounding negative effects on our health.
  • [08:19 – 10:45] “I didn’t get control back. I found it for the first time.” — CEOs can be the biggest bottleneck in most businesses, stagnating growth. People want to do good work, but it creates frustration if you don’t let them.
  • [10:45 – 12:30] Oversimplifying the CEO role, and rethinking what the CEO should be doing as a leader. Freeing a leader up to do more skills they are already excellent at.
  • [12:31 – 14:21] Zone of genius: check your ego and understand where you specialize and who to trust and listen to where you’re not as strong.
  • [14:22 – 17:35] Taking a step back and understanding if CEOs and leaders are pulled into too much they shouldn’t be. An anecdote about using the tactic “explain it back to me.”
  • [17:35 – 19:48] Understanding how you bring out the best in people. Often comes down to slowing down.
  • [19:50 – 21:08] Finding recurring patterns and understanding the pattern or where a team is not seeing results.
  • [21:09 – 23:43] The belief in the power of small teams and avoiding having too many cooks in the kitchen. “Who needs to be involved?”
  • [23:44 – 26:00] Three types of decisions to delegate to your team — day-to-day, broader implications or bigger stakes, involvement in decisions, and auditing ongoing involvement.
  • [26:03 – 27:41] Discover and codify decisions for CEOs, empowering your team to work and make decisions.
  • [27:42 – 29:06] Avoiding the micromanaging mentality but allowing for flexible structure and open communication.
  • [29:06 – 33:30] Helping CEOs get control back, what Byron is doing for energy and energy management — finding productivity and examples from Byron’s coaching experience.
  • [33:29 – 34:51] The guilt associated with calling in or being sick as a boss. Finding a culture of building energy, high performance, and longevity.
  • [34:51 – 37:57] How normalized bad behavior causes CEOs guilt, burnout, and depression from not taking more time for self-care.
  • [37:57 – 41:56] The push/pull concept, getting stuff done intentionally and taking time to pull back and rest.
  • [41:57 – 43:08] We’re our own worst enemies as leaders and high performers.
  • [43:07 – 43:59] Reaching Byron.