Lead To Grow

How long should you tolerate underperformance before it starts hurting your team, your customers and you?In this episode of Lead to Grow, Tommy Sim explains why underperformance drags on, how performance debt quietly builds, and the three moves that turn frustration into a fair, clear management process.Underperformance rarely looks like a crisis at the start. It looks like patience. A late client update, a thin handover, the same correction turning up again next month. Tommy shows why the emotion builds faster than the management process, and why patience without a process is just avoidance.IN THIS EPISODE- Why underperformance starts as patience and ends as a leadership problem- Frustration at nine out of ten, process at two: the gap that leaves managers stuck- Performance debt: how small gaps compound and who quietly pays the interest- Why avoiding the conversation is a false kindness- Move 1: define the standard and describe the gap in facts, not labels- Move 2: the four out of ten conversation, and why to have it earlier than feels comfortable- Clarity, capability or commitment: diagnose before you judge- Why to What: the one word change that stops people getting defensive- Move 3: build a written improvement pathway with a review rhythm- A simple test: is the problem the person, or the management around them?WHO THIS IS FOR Business owners, managers and team leaders who have someone drifting, a team that is quietly picking up the slack, and a conversation they keep putting off.YOUR TURNWhat is the longest you have tolerated underperformance before acting, and what finally made you move? Tell us in the comments.A NOTE ON ADVICEThis episode covers the leadership problem that shows up long before the legal one. If a situation is formal, unsafe or heading towards termination, get advice that fits your facts and your jurisdiction.ABOUT INJECTInject is an HR company trusted by Australian small to medium businesses since 2013.Website: https://www.inject.com.au/ LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/injecthrABOUT LEAD TO GROW Lead to Grow explores the people principles behind high performing businesses. Hosted by Tommy Sim, the podcast focuses on leadership, performance, culture and decision making, with practical insights leaders can apply immediately. New episodes are released regularly. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or subscribe on YouTube for future episodes.#LeadToGrow #Underperformance #PerformanceManagement #Leadership #PeopleManagement

Have you ever explained something clearly, only to discover later that the person completely missed the point?In this episode of Lead to Grow, Tommy Sim challenges a common leadership assumption: that poor listening is simply an attention problem. Instead, he argues that most people aren't failing to listen because they don't care, they're struggling because their mental capacity is already full.Tommy explains why employees often hear the task but miss the reason behind it, leading to misunderstandings, rework, frustrated clients, and unnecessary stress. More importantly, he shares practical techniques leaders can use to create clearer communication, reduce cognitive overload, and help their teams truly understand what matters most.If you've ever found yourself saying, "I already explained that," this episode offers a different perspective and a better way forward.In This EpisodeWhy "they're not listening" is often the wrong diagnosisThe hidden cost of missing the main pointHow mental capacity affects listeningWhy rework and communication breakdowns happenThe difference between tasks and meaningHow leaders unintentionally make communication harderTurning listening into a capacity conversationThe "play the main thing back" techniqueWhy preparation improves presenceThree questions every leader should ask before blaming poor listeningChapters00:00 Why Your Team Isn't Really Listening02:28 The Hidden Cost of Missing the Main Point03:31 Listening Is a Capacity Problem, Not an Attention Problem04:55 First Step: Check If It's You07:18 Have a Capacity Conversation08:01 The "Play the Main Thing Back" Framework08:52 Why Preparation Creates Better Listening09:18 Three Questions Every Leader Should AskAbout Lead to GrowLead to Grow explores the people's principles behind high-performing businesses. Hosted by Tommy Sim, the podcast focuses on leadership, performance, culture and decision-making, with practical insights leaders can apply immediately.New episodes are released regularly.Follow the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or subscribe on YouTube for future episodes.

Have you ever hired someone who seemed great on paper, only to find yourself questioning the decision a few weeks into the job?Before deciding that a new hire isn't right for the role, Tommy Sim asks a more uncomfortable question: Have they failed the role, or have they failed your onboarding?In this episode of Lead to Grow, Tommy explores why good people can look average when the onboarding process is unclear. From vague expectations and inconsistent training to poor feedback and the classic “sink or swim” approach, he breaks down what managers can do to give new hires a genuine chance to succeed while getting much clearer evidence of their performance.You'll learn how to turn onboarding from an information dump into a practical process built around observable outcomes, context, practice, feedback and repetition.Because strong onboarding doesn't lower your standards. It makes accountability cleaner.In This EpisodeWhy good people can look like bad hiresThe difference between role competency and contextual competencyWhy “sink or swim” isn't a high-performance strategyHow to define what a new hire actually needs to demonstrateWhy onboarding should work backwards from the evidence you needTeaching the context behind your business, not just the tasksThe importance of identifying your “enemy customer”How simulations and role-play can build confidence before real stakesUsing AI role-play to help new hires practiseWhy shadowing without a clear lens isn't enoughBuilding feedback into the onboarding rhythmHow inconsistent training from different team members creates confusionTommy's five-part ramp-up testHow better onboarding helps managers identify poor fits fasterWhy investing time upfront can save much more time laterChapters00:00 The Onboarding Problem Nearly Every Manager Has02:26 Why “Sink or Swim” Isn't a High-Performance Strategy04:49 Stop Teaching Information and Start Building Evidence07:16 Teach the Context Behind Performance09:43 Build Practice Loops, Not Just Exposure12:10 Use the Ramp-Up Test Before You Decide Someone Is Wrong14:34 What Speed Did You Actually Build for Them?About Lead to GrowLead to Grow explores the people's principles behind high-performing businesses. Hosted by Tommy Sim, the podcast focuses on leadership, performance, culture and decision-making, with practical insights leaders can apply immediately.New episodes are released regularly.Follow the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or subscribe on YouTube for future episodes.

Why is it so hard to say no, push back, or deliver a difficult message when you genuinely want to be a supportive leader?In this episode of Lead to Grow, Tommy Sim explores the “agreement reflex”, the tendency for supportive leaders to move too quickly from understanding someone’s position to agreeing with their request.Whether it’s an urgent client request, a demanding deadline, or a difficult conversation with your team, saying yes too quickly can create bigger problems later. The team gets stretched, quality suffers, expectations become harder to manage, and the business absorbs the cost.Tommy explains how leaders can keep their warmth and supportive nature without giving away their judgment. Instead of becoming tougher or more direct for the sake of it, the answer is to build a stronger pause between hearing pressure and making a commitment.The episode introduces the Helpful Leader Reset, a practical five-step approach to separating understanding from agreement, testing urgency, creating clearer expectations, delivering hard messages with warmth and clarity, and holding your position under pressure.Because being helpful doesn't always mean saying yes.Sometimes the most helpful thing a leader can do is slow the decision down.In This EpisodeWhy supportive leaders can fall into the “agreement reflex”How saying yes too quickly can create problems for your team and businessThe difference between understanding someone and agreeing with themWhy urgency should be tested before a commitment is madeHow to give people certainty without giving a premature yesThe Helpful Leader Reset and its five practical movesHow to create clear agreements before difficult conversations happenWhy warmth is valuable, but vagueness is notHow to deliver hard messages without becoming harshWhy slowing your pace can strengthen your authorityUsing “now, not yet, next” to handle pressureFive questions to ask yourself before a pressure conversationHow to stay supportive without letting helpfulness outrun judgmentChapters00:00 The Cost of Saying Yes When Your Team Is Already Stretched01:08 Why Supportive Leaders Fall Into the “Agreement Reflex”02:27 How to Stay Warm Without Giving Away Your Judgment03:31 Pause, Test, Then Commit: A Better Way to Handle Pressure04:51 The Helpful Leader Reset: Five Moves for Difficult Conversations06:03 Test Urgency, Trade-Offs and Whether a Decision Is Really Needed07:21 Create Handles Before the Hard Conversation Happens08:42 Use Warmth With Clarity, Then Slow Down and Hold Your Position10:52 The “Now, Not Yet, Next” Framework for Pressure Conversations12:16 Five Questions to Ask Before You Agree to a Request13:24 Why Supportive Leaders Need Clarity, Not a Tougher PersonalityAbout Lead to GrowLead to Grow explores the people's principles behind high-performing businesses. Hosted by Tommy Sim, the podcast focuses on leadership, performance, culture and decision-making, with practical insights leaders can apply immediately.New episodes are released regularly.Follow the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or subscribe on YouTube for future episodes.

What happens when a founder-led business grows from 8 people to 18?On paper, it is only 10 more people. In reality, it can completely change the way the business needs to be led.In this episode of Lead to Grow, Tommy Sim explores the leadership inflection point that happens when founders can no longer stay directly connected to every person, decision and customer issue.The challenge isn't simply letting go. It's making sure the standards, judgment, urgency and customer focus that helped build the business can still operate when the founder isn't in every room.Tommy breaks down how to build a management layer that can carry the founder's way of working, without creating unnecessary complexity or losing the culture that made the business successful in the first place.Because founder energy should scale, but founder dependency should not.In This Episode:Why growing from 8 to 18 people changes the leadership modelThe difference between founder energy and founder dependencyWhy management is a translation layer, not just a reporting lineWhat happens when managers lack clear decision-making authorityWhy founders need to treat recurring issues as a diagnosticHow founders can stop rewarding people for bypassing managersWhy implementation is not the same as adoptionHow to slow change down enough for people to actually learnSeparating founder principles from founder preferencesHow to turn founder instinct into language managers can learnMapping the work and assigning clear accountabilityUnderstanding P, C, R and J accountabilityWhy role descriptions need to go beyond a list of tasksCreating clear decision rights and escalation guidelinesHow founders can gradually hand over decision-makingChoosing the right people for management rolesWhy being a good employee does not always mean being ready to leadCoaching managers through practice, feedback and real situationsBuilding feedback loops to reduce founder dependencyThe management rhythms that keep founders informed without being involved in everythingA practical six-question diagnostic for the 8-to-18 stageChapters00:00 The 8 to 18 People Inflection Point02:23 Why Management Becomes a Translation Layer04:49 Implementation vs Adoption05:39 Treating Founder Issues as a Diagnostic06:14 Slow the Change Down Enough to Learn07:16 Turn Founder Instinct Into Language08:10 Separate Founder Principles From Preferences08:55 Map the Work and Assign Accountability09:36 Understanding P, C, R and J Accountability10:00 Building Clear Roles and Decision Rights11:00 How Founders Can Step Back Gradually12:02 Build Management Muscle Through Practice13:00 Creating Feedback Loops That Reduce Founder Dependency14:26 The 8 to 18 Management Layer Diagnostic15:00 Have You Built the Management Layer You Need?15:30 Less Founder Dependency, Not Less Founder EnergyAbout Lead to GrowLead to Grow explores the people's principles behind high-performing businesses. Hosted by Tommy Sim, the podcast focuses on leadership, performance, culture and decision-making, with practical insights leaders can apply immediately.New episodes are released regularly.If this episode gave you something useful, share it with someone who'd get the same value from it, or with your team before your next weekly meeting.Follow the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or subscribe on YouTube for future episodes.

Why does it feel like everyone is busy all day, yet the important work still isn’t getting done?In this episode of Lead to Grow, Tommy Sim tackles one of the biggest frustrations in modern workplaces: meeting overload. From endless calendar invitations to recurring discussions that never lead to action, Tommy explores why meetings often create the illusion of progress while quietly slowing teams down.Rather than simply cutting meetings, this episode introduces a practical seven-week framework to help leaders redesign how meetings are used. You'll learn how to create clearer outcomes, improve accountability, reduce wasted time, and ensure every meeting moves work forward.Because meetings aren't the problem.Meetings without clarity, ownership, or action are.In This EpisodeWhy meetings create the feeling of progress without real progressThe hidden cost of poor meetingsHow to take back control of your team's calendarChoosing the right meeting for the right purposeWhy preparation should happen before the meetingSetting expectations in the first 60 secondsSimple techniques to keep conversations on trackThe difference between alignment and polite agreementHow to create real accountability and follow-throughTommy’s practical seven-week meeting reset frameworkChapters00:00 Why Teams Are Always Busy But Still Behind02:23 The Real Problem With Meetings03:15 The Seven-Week Meeting Reset Framework04:00 Rule 1: Take Back Control of Your Team's Calendar05:49 Rule 2: Put the Right Issue in the Right Room09:09 Rule 3: Prepare the Thinking Before People Arrive11:03 Rule 4: Set the Frame in the First 60 Seconds13:04 Rule 5: Steer the Conversation With the Right Sentence15:18 Rule 6: Build Real Alignment, Not Polite Agreement17:17 Rule 7: Turn Discussion Into Owned Commitments19:54 Putting the Seven Rules Into Practice20:50 What Is This Meeting Meant to Move?About Lead to GrowLead to Grow explores the people's principles behind high-performing businesses. Hosted by Tommy Sim, the podcast focuses on leadership, performance, culture and decision-making, with practical insights leaders can apply immediately.New episodes are released regularly.If this episode gave you something useful, share it with someone who'd get the same value from it, or with your team before your next weekly meeting.Follow the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or subscribe on YouTube for future episodes.

Should you keep a high performer that everyone struggles to work with?In this episode of Lead to Grow, Tommy Sim tackles one of leadership’s toughest questions: what do you do when someone delivers exceptional results but leaves frustration, tension, and disruption in their wake?Tommy explores the difference between headline performance and true net contribution, why some employees use their strengths as a shield against feedback, and how leaders can avoid being trapped between protecting culture and protecting results.Rather than relying on simplistic answers, this episode provides a practical framework for evaluating performance, addressing difficult behaviour, and building standards that support both accountability and growth.Because the real question isn’t whether someone produces results.It’s whether the value they create outweighs the cost everyone else is paying for it.In This EpisodeWhy high performance and high contribution are not always the sameThe hidden costs of difficult top performersHow strengths can become shields against accountabilityThe difference between headline performance and net contributionWhy managers get pulled into the wrong conversationsUsing "operating models" instead of debating past incidentsThe power of micro-agreements in leadership conversationsCreating clear behavioural standardsReducing dependency risk within teamsHow to make better decisions about difficult high performersChapters00:00 The High Performer Dilemma02:20 Headline Performance vs Net Contribution04:43 When Strength Becomes a Shield07:10 The Leadership Middle Ground08:01 Step 1: Identify the Strength and the Shield09:32 Step 2: Move From the Incident to the Operating Model11:57 Step 3: Build Alignment Through Micro-Agreements14:22 Step 4: Create If-This-Then-That Behaviours16:47 Step 5: Follow Up and Review the Evidence17:55 The Net Contribution Test18:37 Dependency Risk and Hidden Business Problems19:11 Making the Right Leadership Decision20:08 Can You Afford to Keep Protecting the Exception?About Lead to GrowLead to Grow explores the people's principles behind high-performing businesses. Hosted by Tommy Sim, the podcast focuses on leadership, performance, culture and decision-making, with practical insights leaders can apply immediately.New episodes are released regularly.If this episode reshaped how you think about high performers and standards, share it with a leader who’s carrying one of these people on their team.Follow the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or subscribe on YouTube for future episodes.

What if the problem isn't that your team lacks resilience?What if the real issue is the environment they're operating in?In this episode of Lead to Grow, Tommy Sim challenges one of the most common assumptions in leadership: that resilience is simply a personal trait that some people have and others don't.Tommy explores why leaders often mistake fatigue, confusion, stress, and poor systems for a lack of toughness. He explains how resilience is not just built within individuals, but shaped by the conditions around them.Drawing on practical leadership experience, Tommy introduces three critical foundations of resilience: constitution, perception, and actions. He unpacks how leaders influence each of these foundations and why building stronger teams requires more than simply telling people to "harden up."This episode is a powerful reminder that resilience isn't about enduring endless pressure. It's about creating the conditions that help people adapt, recover, learn, and perform when challenges arise.In This EpisodeWhy leaders often misdiagnose resilience problemsThe difference between battle-hardened, battle-weary, and battle-worn teamsHow fatigue and depletion impact performanceWhy resilience is shaped by the environment, not just the individualThe role of constitution, perception, and actions in building resilienceHow leaders influence the way teams interpret pressureThe Circle of Concern vs Circle of InfluenceWhy psychological safety strengthens resilienceThe importance of recovery, clarity, and meaningful challengeHow high-value activities reduce stress and improve performanceThe difference between stress inoculation and stress saturationPractical ways leaders can build stronger, more resilient teamsKey TakeawaysStrong teams are rarely built through pressure alone.People become more resilient when challenge is paired with clarity, support, learning, recovery, and purposeful action.The best leaders don't simply demand resilience. They build the foundations that make resilience possible.Because sometimes the issue isn't a weak team.It's capable of people operating inside weak conditions.Chapters00:00 The Resilience Blind Spot02:24 What Resilience Actually Means03:22 Lessons From Basketball and Building Capacity05:18 Foundation One: Constitution07:12 Battle-Hardened vs Battle-Weary09:38 Why Teams Get Worn Down10:45 Foundation Two: Perception12:02 Circle of Concern vs Circle of Influence14:27 Foundation Three: Actions15:18 High Value Activities and Team Focus16:50 Building Resilience Through Feedback18:08 Psychological Safety and Strong Teams18:46 Stress Inoculation vs Stress Saturation19:13 Diagnosing Resilience Problems Properly20:39 Practical Ways Leaders Build Resilience22:00 Strong Teams Are Built, Not Born About Lead to GrowLead to Grow explores the people's principles behind high-performing businesses. Hosted by Tommy Sim, the podcast focuses on leadership, performance, culture and decision-making, with practical insights leaders can apply immediately.New episodes are released regularly.If this episode helped you rethink how you approach feedback, share it with a leader who may need it.Follow the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or subscribe on YouTube for future episodes.

What does it take to lead a successful business into its next chapter of growth?In this episode of Lead to Grow, Tommy Sim sits down with Peter Antonius, CEO of Liston Newton, to explore the realities of stepping into a long-established business and helping shape its future.From becoming the firm's first-ever Group CEO to developing a new strategic direction, Peter shares the leadership lessons he's learned about balancing tradition with innovation, earning trust, developing people, and preparing an organisation for a rapidly changing professional services landscape.The conversation explores talent development, competency frameworks, collaboration, AI adoption, strategic growth, and the importance of aligning people around a shared vision.Whether you're leading a growing business, stepping into a senior leadership role, or preparing your team for the future of work, this episode offers practical insights on building sustainable growth without losing what made the business successful in the first place.In This EpisodeTransitioning into the CEO role of a long-established businessLeading change while respecting organisational historyWhy listening matters before taking actionBuilding and implementing a five-year strategyThe challenge of scaling a people-focused businessCreating clear career pathways through competency frameworksDeveloping talent based on capability, not tenureBuilding a culture of collaboration across teamsKeeping clients at the centre of decision makingAI's impact on professional servicesPreparing future leaders and trusted advisorsBalancing growth, culture, and operational excellenceThe importance of board alignment and strategic clarityChapters00:00 Building the Firm of the Future00:48 Why Peter Joined Lister Newton02:37 Leading an Established Business Through Growth03:33 The Challenges of Becoming the First CEO04:57 Listening Before Leading06:35 What Breaks First During Growth07:37 Solving the Talent Development Challenge09:23 Building Career Pathways Through Competency Frameworks10:43 Creating a Development Framework That Works11:52 Why Collaboration Is a Core Business Value13:32 Creating the Conditions for Team Collaboration14:26 Looking Ahead to the Next Five Years16:02 Preserving Culture While Driving Change16:53 Evolution vs Revolution in Leadership18:17 Balancing Direction and Buy-In18:39 Creating Alignment at the Board Level20:02 Disagree, Then Commit21:20 Final Leadership Reflections About Lead to GrowLead to Grow explores the people's principles behind high-performing businesses. Hosted by Tommy Sim, the podcast focuses on leadership, performance, culture and decision-making, with practical insights leaders can apply immediately.New episodes are released regularly.Follow the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or subscribe on YouTube for future episodes.

A lot of companies hire “proven” industry salespeople hoping they’ll bring their contacts and magically fix sales.In this episode, Tommy Sim breaks down why that almost never plays out the way you hope, and what to do instead so you can build a more reliable, repeatable way to grow sales in your businessWhat This Episode CoversYou’ll learn:Why the “little black book” myth rarely translates into real resultsThe difference between borrowed credibility vs real sales skillWhy targets and past performance can be misleadingHow context (brand, market, support, timing) skews perceptionThe risk of hiring based on urgency instead of strategyWhy “convenient hires” often become long-term problemsA salesperson’s success is not just about them.It’s about:The brand they representedThe market conditions they operated inThe leads and support they were givenThe system they were part ofRemove that context… and performance often changes.That’s why:A result without context creates false certainty.Mentioned in this episode:Why You Keep Hiring the Wrong Person (And How to Finally Fix It)https://open.spotify.com/episode/078MEhCb8snUM4XrWSHwvN?si=Y4488-QSQgub3qX8B2rzww00:00 The Myth of the “Ready-Made” Salesperson01:52 Why Clients Don’t Follow Salespeople02:20 The Problem with “He Seems Good”04:20 Why Targets Can Be Misleading06:04 Urgency vs Strategy in Hiring07:27 Defining What a Sales Role Actually Is09:31 How to Properly Assess Sales Talent11:17 Building Your Own Sales Talent Pipeline16:03 Why Quick Hires Create Long-Term Pain17:26 Final Thoughts on Sustainable Sales Teams