Leading At The Next Level

Most organizations know who should grow. Very few give those people a clear path to do it. In this episode, Wes and Cindy Dove talk about the three moments that call for a development plan: after a review, when someone steps into something new, and when you spot growth potential. They share why most development plans don't fail on paper but in the next one-on-one, and how a Custom Leadership Path turns what you already know about a person into 12 to 15 lessons, Action Steps, and real support along the way. In this episode: 00:00 – Welcome 01:01 – You know someone who should grow. Now what? 01:29 – Leveraging Leadership Growth is almost here 02:14 – Growing on purpose, one person at a time 03:00 – Why the review goes in a folder 04:23 – Three moments that call for a clear path 05:29 – Growth does not require a title 06:09 – How a Custom Leadership Path works 08:01 – Where development plans really fail 08:37 – From clunky one-on-ones to a clear path 09:45 – See it in action: the Jordan Lee sample path 10:37 – The return on a clear path 12:55 – The free Growth Path Snapshot 13:23 – How to get started 14:58 – Two questions to ask yourself 15:20 – Resources and recertification credit Resources mentioned: Take the free Growth Path Snapshot: https://www.dove-development.net/growth-path-snapshot Explore the 7-day sample path (Jordan Lee, Summit Ridge Supply Company): https://www.dove-development.net/offers/uMFoiYW3/checkout Learn about the Custom Leadership Path: https://www.dove-development.net/custom-leadership-path Book a 30-minute conversation with Wes: https://calendly.com/wesdove/30-minute-video-conference Need SHRM or HRCI recertification credit? Ask about a 14-day trial of Leading At The Next Level, with more than 200 lessons carrying approved credit hours. Email [email protected]. Watch the full video episode inside the free Leading At The Next Level community.

Most organizations aren’t short on effort. They’re short on aim. In the fifth episode of our People Optimization System series, Wes & Cindy Dove explain why the same symptom, like turnover, can come from five different pillars, why a weak pillar never stays in its own lane, and how to find the one that’s actually costing you before you spend the time and money. Plus three questions to take back to your team. Three takeaways The most expensive fix is the one aimed at the wrong pillar. It’s rarely a failure of commitment. It’s a failure of sequence. The symptom you notice first is usually where the pain shows up, not where the problem lives. Aim first, then go deeper. The free POS Assessment points you to the right pillar, and each pillar’s assessment shows you where to start inside it. Chapters 00:00 Welcome 01:20 Join the Advantage Launch Team before November 19 02:01 Where this fits in our POS series 02:35 Four good things, same place 03:17 The five pillars, plus Communication 04:04 Pillars don’t stay in their own lane 04:47 What incident investigations teach about root causes 06:01 Same symptom, five root causes: turnover 06:53 What exit interviews really tell you 08:11 Stages, not scores 09:03 “Don’t just stand there”: aim before you act 10:14 How the free POS Assessment works 11:24 Three questions to take to your team 12:00 On-site dashboards and a new pillar-based 360 14:01 Resources and recertification credit 15:56 Coming next: Custom Leadership Paths Links Join the Advantage Launch Team (founding members through Nov 19): https://www.dove-development.net/the-advantage-launch-team Free POS Assessment (about 4 minutes): https://www.posframework.com/pos-assessment All POS assessments: https://www.posframework.com/assessments The Framework: https://www.posframework.com/framework On-site engagements and dashboards: https://www.posframework.com/on-site-dashboard Subscribe to the POS Letter: https://www.posframework.com/newsletters/2147913357/subscribe All POS books and guides: https://www.posframework.com/books The six POS Implementation Guides on Amazon: Values: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HHQY34RM Communication: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HJN2DFMC Direction: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HJ7598WN Leadership: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HKBCX92M Growth: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HKGQGJDM Experience: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HKPSY4XF Coming next, Custom Leadership Paths: https://www.dove-development.net/custom-leadership-path Watch the video in the Leading At The Next Level community: https://www.dove-development.net/latnl-community Need SHRM or HRCI recertification credit? Leading At The Next Level includes 200+ lessons, each approved for credit. Email [email protected] for a free 14-day trial.

You’ve taken a People Optimization System assessment and you have your result. Now what? In the fourth episode of our POS series, Wes & Cindy Dove walk through what to do next, using the Values pillar as the example. You’ll hear how to read a pillar result (and why your stage is set by your weakest lens, not an average), the five Values stages, why Values Avoidance stalls so many teams, and a simple plan for your next 30 days. We also share a few takeaways from yesterday’s 2026 Executive Summit. Three takeaways Your result is direction, not a diagnosis. Don’t file it away, and don’t try to fix everything at once. Your stage is set by your weakest lens. A system is only as strong as the part holding it back. The 30-day plan: one stage, one lens, one action. Bring a small group in, and put a date on the calendar to retake the assessment. Chapters 00:00 Welcome and a recap of the 2026 Executive Summit 01:46 Why leaders learn the most from each other 03:25 Where this fits in our POS series 04:04 The two ways people react to assessment results 06:12 How to read a pillar result 07:05 Honest answers, and why we’re using Values as the example 08:22 How the free Values assessment works 09:48 Stage 1: Values Void 10:46 Stage 2: Stated Values 11:18 Stage 3: Values Avoidance 12:18 Stage 4: Values Disconnect 13:09 Stage 5: Values in Motion 14:10 Back to Values Avoidance: lessons from safety, construction and mining 15:54 What the guide has you do at Stage 3 16:25 Using the Implementation Guide and its back-check questions 17:42 Free printables 18:44 Your 30-day plan: one stage, one lens, one action 19:19 When the gap is a leader, not the system 20:29 Free assessments, the Implementation Guides and the POS Letter 21:27 SHRM and HRCI recertification credit Links Free Values assessment (about 5 minutes): https://www.posframework.com/values-assessment Free POS assessment (about 4 minutes): https://www.posframework.com/pos-assessment All POS assessments: https://www.posframework.com/assessments Free Values printables: https://www.posframework.com/values Subscribe to the POS Letter: https://www.posframework.com/newsletters/2147913357/subscribe All POS books and guides: https://www.posframework.com/books The six POS Implementation Guides on Amazon: Values: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HHQY34RM Communication: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HJN2DFMC Direction: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HJ7598WN Leadership: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HKBCX92M Growth: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HKGQGJDM Experience: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HKPSY4XF Watch the video in the Leading At The Next Level community: https://www.dove-development.net/latnl-community Need SHRM or HRCI recertification credit? Leading At The Next Level includes 200+ lessons, each approved for credit. Email [email protected] for a free 14-day trial.

For more than a decade, almost everything we've built has focused on individual leaders. That work matters. But we kept seeing the same thing happen: a great leader grows, goes back into an organization with no system to support what they learned, and when they're promoted or leave, the progress leaves with them. In this episode, we explain why the People Optimization System (POS) looks at the whole organization, and how the free POS assessments show you where to build first for the best return. We cover the 25-question POS Assessment, the five stages in each pillar assessment, why we never average results, the leader-versus-team gap the Leadership assessment uncovers, and how the Communication assessment works. And as of October 10, all six POS Implementation Guides are available. In this episode 00:00 Welcome, and where this POS series has been 01:28 All six POS Implementation Guides are now live 02:07 From individual leaders to organizational systems (the "three-month cruise" test) 04:39 Why the individual approach alone leaves a gap 05:26 Two identical assembly lines, two different results, and the free POS Assessment 09:06 Pillar assessments: five stages, never averaged, built on what actually happened 10:25 The Leadership assessment: four lenses and the leader-vs-team gap 12:21 The Communication assessment, and why answers stay confidential 13:05 What happens with the results 15:06 Where our individual-leader content still fits 16:28 Three steps to start 17:03 Wrap-up and continuing education credit Three steps to start Take the free POS Assessment (about four minutes) to find your starting pillar. Subscribe to The POS Letter, our free monthly newsletter. Pick up the Implementation Guide for your pillar at posframework.com/books. Links from this episode Free POS Assessment (start here): https://www.posframework.com/pos-assessment All POS assessments: https://www.posframework.com/assessments Subscribe to The POS Letter: https://www.posframework.com/newsletters/2147913357/subscribe All POS books and guides: https://www.posframework.com/books Values Optimization Implementation Guide: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HHQY34RM Communication Optimization Implementation Guide: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HJN2DFMC Direction Optimization Implementation Guide: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HJ7598WN Leadership Optimization Implementation Guide: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HKBCX92M Growth Optimization Implementation Guide: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HKGQGJDM Experience Optimization Implementation Guide: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HKPSY4XF What an on-site engagement includes: https://www.posframework.com/on-site-dashboard The framework: https://www.posframework.com/framework Watch the full video in our free community: https://www.dove-development.net/latnl-community Continuing education credit Need SHRM or HRCI continuing education credit? Email us at [email protected] for a 14-day trial of the full Leading At The Next Level program.

A book changes how you think. It doesn't change what happens in your organization on a Tuesday morning. In this episode, Wes and Cindy Dove introduce the People Optimization System (POS) Implementation Guides: six large-format workbooks, now on Amazon, built for teams to work through together rather than just read. They walk through the five POS pillars (Direction, Values, Leadership, Growth, and Experience) and the thread that runs through all of them, Communication. Wes shares how a CEO of a $100 million organization reacted to his POS Assessment results, and you'll hear what's free today, what's coming next, and three simple steps to start optimizing your organization this week. In this episode Why applying, not learning, is what changes results The five POS pillars, and why Communication is the wiring, not a sixth pillar How each guide moves a pillar through five stages until it runs whether you're in the room or not 26 to 40 free printables per pillar, available now at posframework.com Release dates: Values, Communication, and Direction (Oct 1); Leadership, Growth, and Experience (Oct 10) What's next: $397 digital courses (Values first, late 2026) and on-site implementation for teams of up to 12 Chapters 00:00   Welcome, and a quick recap of The POS Letter 01:56   The first POS Implementation Guides are now on Amazon 03:01   The "Tuesday morning problem": why good books don't change organizations 04:55   The People Optimization System in 30 seconds: five pillars plus communication 07:05   A $100M organization's CEO takes the POS Assessment 08:03   Workbooks, not books: the five stages and the free printables 10:32   Release timing and where to find the guides 11:28   Wave one: Values, Communication, and Direction 13:57   Wave two: Leadership, Growth, and Experience 16:55   Free resources: the POS Assessment, resource libraries, and The POS Letter 17:55   Pricing, digital courses, and on-site implementation (and why 12 people) 22:18   Three steps to start today 22:52   Continuing education credit and wrap-up Three steps to start today Take the free POS Assessment (about 4 to 5 minutes, 25 questions): https://www.posframework.com/pos-assessment Subscribe to The POS Letter, our free monthly newsletter: https://www.posframework.com/newsletters/2147913357/subscribe Pick up the guide for your pillar: https://www.posframework.com/books Links mentioned The People Optimization System Watch the full video episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n8hnURQchU POS home: https://www.posframework.com Free POS Assessment: https://www.posframework.com/pos-assessment All assessments (overall and by pillar): https://www.posframework.com/assessments The POS Letter (free monthly newsletter): https://www.posframework.com/newsletters/2147913357/subscribe Books and Implementation Guides: https://www.posframework.com/books On-site implementation: https://www.posframework.com/on-site-dashboard Request information: https://www.posframework.com/request-information Implementation Guides on Amazon (paperback, $147 each) Values Optimization Implementation Guide: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HHQY34RM Communication Optimization Implementation Guide: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HJN2DFMC Direction Optimization Implementation Guide: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HJ7598WN Leadership, Growth, and Experience guides (available Oct 10): https://www.posframework.com/books Free resource libraries (printables by pillar) Values: https://www.posframework.com/values Communication: https://www.posframework.com/communication Direction: https://www.posframework.com/direction Leadership: https://www.posframework.com/leadership Growth and Experience: find them through https://www.posframework.com/books Related books The Values Advantage (Revised & Expanded): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HHTL2MZF Leading With A Clear Purpose: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DRDH6PLL Dove Development & Consulting Website: https://www.dove-development.net Continuing education credit (SHRM and HRCI) and the 14-day no-cost membership trial: email [email protected] Live lessons with Q&A: typically the first and third Wednesday of each month, around 4:00 PM ET

Can you name your organization's core values right now, without looking them up? Wes helped write three different employee handbooks and couldn't recite one company's values today. In this episode, Wes and Cindy pull back the curtain on the People Optimization System™ and introduce The POS Letter, a free monthly newsletter that shares one real idea at a time from the Advantage Series. They also cover the Revised & Expanded Edition of The Values Advantage (now available), the "Values Void" stage most organizations mistake for health, a family business that grew revenue 50% in under two years after naming its values, and the free assessments and printable libraries now live at posframework.com. In this episode: Why most people can't name their own company's values, and why that isn't a failure The POS Letter: what it is, why we leaned into the name, and what's in issue one The Revised & Expanded Edition of The Values Advantage, and what's new in it Values Void: the stage that looks healthy from the outside A 75-year family business: 50% revenue growth and about 5% voluntary turnover in two years Free printables for every pillar, each labeled to match its chapter The assessments: which pillar gives you the fastest return, plus the Communication assessment's four lenses Why communication is the "wiring in the walls" of the whole framework Clarity, consistency, and momentum: what the system is built to deliver Links mentioned: Sign up for The POS Letter (free, monthly): https://www.posframework.com/newsletters/2147913357/subscribe Start here, the POS Assessment (which pillar first, 25 questions): https://www.posframework.com/pos-assessment All assessments: https://www.posframework.com/assessments Values Optimization Assessment: https://www.posframework.com/values-assessment Free Values printables: https://www.posframework.com/values The framework: https://www.posframework.com/framework The Advantage Series books and Implementation Guides: https://www.posframework.com/books The Values Advantage, Revised & Expanded Edition: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HHTL2MZF Watch live, with video, in the Leading At The Next Level community: https://www.dove-development.net/latnl-community

Bad Situations Are Leadership’s Best Teacher (Executive Summit Preview Lesson 3) Wes and Cindy preview the third and final lesson for Dove Development & Consulting’s 2026 Executive Summit (October 16 in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley), following earlier lessons on responsiveness and self-talk. This capstone lesson, titled “Bad Situations Are Leadership’s Best Teacher,” draws from Wes’s upcoming book Making the Best of Your Bad Situations and focuses on reframing setbacks—like layoffs, failed launches, missed deadlines, and broken relationships—as material for growth rather than just damage. Wes shares how difficult layoff conversations taught him to balance candor with care and improved his ability to handle accountability conversations. Cindy outlines the summit format and offers three reflection questions about a recent bad situation: what it revealed about your capabilities, your values, and who showed up for you. They encourage registration and share additional learning options and tools. 00:00 Welcome 00:58 Summit Preview 01:46 Bad Situations Capstone 02:07 Layoffs and Leadership Pain 02:38 Survive or Learn 04:18 Finding the Seed Lesson 05:35 Practical Takeaways Today 06:50 Tough Conversation Story 08:44 What to Expect at Summit 09:26 Three Questions Exercise 10:23 Register and Event Details 11:16 Extra Tools and Credits 12:01 New Tools Sneak Peek   Registration is at www.L2L-Harrisonburg.com For trial access to our complete Leading At The Next Level program, email us at [email protected].

Special Invitation: Join the Advantage Launch Team + Upcoming Book Releases (Nov 2026–Feb 2028) In this special episode of the Leading at the Next Level podcast, Wes and Cindy Dove share a new invitation for their community: the Advantage Launch Team. They recap how Wes’s three self-published books—What’s Killing Your Profitability, Leading With Clear Purpose, and The Values Advantage—became Amazon #1 bestsellers in 2024–2026 through community support rather than a publisher or big marketing budget. Wes announces his fourth book, Leveraging Leadership Growth, releasing November 19, 2026, and previews Cindy’s first solo book coming February 20, with more books planned at a faster pace through February 2028. The launch team will be asked a handful of times over about 18 months to buy the e-book during specific windows (typically $0.99) and join a free community channel for details and events, with an October 16 event to map out more. Wes also mentions continuing education credits via SHRM/HRCI through their program and a free trial by emailing [email protected]. 00:00 Welcome and Teaser 00:51 Backstory on Past Books 01:29 Amazon Bestseller Wins 02:31 New Book Release Dates 04:03 Rapid-Fire Book Plan 04:39 Join the Launch Team 05:13 Advantage Series Explained 06:05 How the Launch Works 08:00 Perks and Community Access 09:17 Call to Action and Wrap-Up 10:17 Credits and Final Sign-Off Learn more at: https://www.dove-development.net/the-advantage-launch-team Join the Advantage Launch Team at: https://www.dove-development.net/offers/ikw7oUHg/checkout  

Preview Lesson 2: The Power of Self-Talk in Leadership | 2026 Executive Summit Registration is at www.L2L-Harrisonburg.com, and questions/trials can be requested at [email protected]. Wes and Cindy share the second of three preview lessons for the 2026 Executive Summit (October 16), focusing on how a leader’s self-talk shapes decisions, responsiveness, and team culture. Building on their first preview, “The Art of Responsiveness,” they explain that barriers to responsiveness often come from internal narratives rather than scheduling. Cindy frames self-talk as a trainable leadership skill—not just “positive thinking”—and describes the costs of unmanaged self-talk: increased stress, second-guessing, and emotional tone spreading across teams. They offer a practical starting challenge: notice and write down the sentence running through your mind in hard moments, then reframe it rather than erase it. They preview Summit sessions, tools for auditing self-talk, pricing and limited seating, included resources and lunch, and available HR credits. 00:00 Welcome 00:41 Executive Summit Preview Setup 02:42 Why Self Talk Matters 04:36 Cindy’s Turning Point 05:32 The Cost of Unmanaged Narratives 07:23 Audit and Reframe Your Script 08:23 Barbara Corcoran Example 10:21 Your One Step Challenge 10:42 How the Summit Day Works 11:48 Register Now Seats Limited 13:24 Final Wrap Up

Wes and Cindy Dove preview the second annual full-day Executive Summit (Friday, October 16) for managers, supervisors, executives, and business owners, built around three lessons plus roundtable discussions to practice skills and learn from other leaders. Lesson one, “The Art of Responsiveness,” emphasizes that leadership responsiveness is more than speed—it includes listening, framing, and adapting to others’ communication styles to build influence and relationships that generate honest feedback. They discuss how responsiveness becomes an organizational culture, reference research linking email response time to satisfaction with one’s boss, and share practical systems for staying responsive (acknowledging messages, giving timeframes, lists, calendars, and habit-building). The summit includes rotating table groups to meet many leaders, provides extensive participant resources, and offers SHRM and HRCI continuing education credit, with additional access available through the Leading at the Next Level program. Registration is at www.L2L-Harrisonburg.com, and questions/trials can be requested at [email protected]. 00:00 Welcome and Setup 01:12 Executive Summit Overview 02:25 Art of Responsiveness Intro 03:23 Beyond Speed and Style 04:51 Relationship Bank Examples 07:12 Research on Response Times 08:52 Building Your Systems 12:04 One Week Action Step 13:19 Summit Culture and Details 15:28 Registration and Credits 16:35 Final Invitation and Close