Leveraging Operations in Leadership
Most small business leaders are great at what they do but nobody taught them how to build a team around it.
Leveraging Operations in Leadership is the podcast for entrepreneurs and small business leaders navigating the shift from solopreneur to team. Hosted by Tonya D. Harrison, Founder of Cignal Partners, each episode blends practical leadership development with the operational systems you need to grow a small team sustainably without burnout or overwhelm.
Whether you're hiring your first employee or learning to delegate as a business owner with a growing team, you'll learn how to:
• Strengthen your decision-making and leadership systems
• Improve team communication, accountability, and performance
• Build business operations that reflect your values and scale with your vision
Great leadership starts with values but it's sustained through systems.
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Leveraging Operations in Leadership
The Five Leadership Traps Holding You Back from Excellence
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Are the leadership beliefs you’ve always heard actually sabotaging your success?
In today’s episode, we dig into five persistent leadership myths that sound true, but could be limiting your growth and your team’s performance.
Discover why needing all the answers, proving yourself, glorifying busyness, saying yes to everything, and doing it all yourself are outdated habits, and learn practical strategies to replace them.
Step into a new, empowered approach to leadership that drives collaboration, clarity, and real results.
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Introduction to Leadership Myths
Speaker 1Hey there and welcome back to another episode of Leveraging Operations in Leadership podcast . This is the podcast where we help business leaders like you lead high performing teams by bridging the gap between operational excellence and leadership development . I'm your host , tanya Harrison , an operations and leadership consultant and founder of Signal Partners , a boutique training and consulting firm that empowers leaders to lead with confidence , clarity and capability . In today's episode , we are unpacking five leadership myths . Now , I know there's a lot more than that , but we're going to start with five . And these five leadership myths . They sound like truth , but they may actually be holding you back from your next level .
Speaker 1These myths are subtle . They've been passed down time over time , so they are really outdated , but they still play a vital role when it comes to holding people back . A lot of times , our new and emerging leaders . They fall for this because you're still learning , you're growing and you just don't know . Yet what we find is that they're actually baked into the way we've been taught to lead . So until you develop your own way of leading , your own rhythm , you may fall privy to some of these things and , if left unchallenged , they will definitely lead to burnout , poor team performance and missed opportunities .
Speaker 1So I want to go ahead and dig in and break these down . I'm going to start with myth number one , and this is leaders need to have all the
Myth 1: Leaders Need All Answers
Speaker 1answers . This myth is one of the fastest ways to burn out and it creates a culture of dependency . Now I'm the one that has all of the answers , so my team is always dependent on me , so my team is always dependent on me . Everybody is always calling . You know me , and in the beginning you may think that this is a good thing , but it's really not . This is the quickest way , the quickest route to burning yourself out .
Speaker 1There's this belief that once you become a leader , you should suddenly know everything and have all of the answers , and that is far from the truth . You should have solutions , you should have strategy and you should have right words in every situation Right , wrong , wrong . That's not leadership , that's pressure and that's not leadership . That's pressure and that's not sustainable . The truth is , great leaders do not have all of the answers . They ask better questions . As you become really good at asking the right questions , you are going to be growing in your leadership .
Speaker 1It's not about having all of the answers . If you need to have all of the answers , then why do you need a team ? Why do you need people around you ? Your real power as a leader lies in being able to facilitate conversations , being able to pull out your team's strengths , being able to guide decision-making not necessarily making every decision on your own . You're making it with the input of your team . Of course , are there some decisions that you have to make alone ? Yes , from a leadership perspective , there may be some , but when we're talking about day-to-day work and how to get things done and solutions , a lot of that input should be coming from your team . That's why we hire great people . That's why we develop our team . That's the whole purpose of having a high-performing team .
Speaker 1When you let go of the need to know it all , you unlock collaboration . People are going to be more open to share with you . You show your team that it's okay to think , to experiment , to problem solve , to brainstorm together in a collaborative setting , and what you do is you give your team the opportunity to show their value , to display some of their ideas , and now they are a part of the solution . That helps with accountability . Remember , you don't need to be the expert in everything . You need to build a team that can execute with confidence even when you're not in the room , because , hopefully , you want to go on vacation sometimes , right , okay , just checking .
Speaker 1That's myth number one . Let's move on to myth number
Myth 2: Proving Yourself Earns Respect
Speaker 1two . This one is near and dear to my heart Because , you know , this is definitely one that I had to work on . Myth number two is proving yourself . Is the key to respect ? Yeah , no , no , it's not the key to respect and it's not the key to unlock your next level . So this one shows up really strong for new and emerging leaders , right ? So we have been promoted into this new position and now we have to show everybody why we are here .
Speaker 1And this is not only for new leaders , but I find that when I'm working with women or people that are in underrepresented , that are truly underrepresented in leadership spaces , a lot of times there's that added pressure to show up differently . I got to do three , four times to work . I have to prove that I am capable . So I do that by working harder , staying later , saying yes to everything you know , burning my team out , and eventually I feel that people will finally see my worth and I'll be respected for what it is that I bring to the table . I'll , you know , I'll get that promotion . And here's what I want you to know Functioning in that way where you're always trying to prove yourself is going to keep you in a reactive state , whereas if you transition to positioning yourself , it puts you in control .
Speaker 1And this is something that I had to deal with . I was a manager , and I was a manager for several years and I had been promised a promotion over and over again and people just kept coming in . They kept bringing in people over me and I found myself training these people . You know what I mean , but I felt in my heart I did that . You know what , if I go and I work hard , eventually I'm going to be recognized for what it is that I bring to the table . And I never was , and I ended up leaving that organization was , and I ended up leaving that organization .
Speaker 1And when I went to the next organization , I decided that I needed to do things differently . And that is when I went on this search for how I needed to show up , how I needed to do things , how what I did before did not serve me , it did not work for me . So you know , when we're in a state of proving , it says let me show you , I can do it all . And that's what I was doing Heads down , working late , that's what I was doing . I mean , my team and I had a wonderful team . Anything I asked them to do , they would do it . So they were working late , they were burnt out and I had to learn how to move to a state of from proving to positioning , because , like I said before , proving says let me show you , I can do it all , whereas positioning it says here's how I provide strategic value , and that is different . So I had to learn how to go from .
Speaker 1Instead of chasing validation , I had to shift my focus to providing value , and that's what built real leadership credibility . That's how I got noticed and recognized , because I was on constant display of here's what I bring to the table , not head down trying to prove myself and validate myself . It is such a difference when you're not seeking that validation , when you know what you know . You know what you bring to the table . You bring to the table , and that is on display all the time . And it wasn't . It didn't come from me knowing or having all of the answers , it came from me positioning myself different . So you know , just keep in mind that when you lead from a place of positioning . You show up with intentionality , you're clear on your role , you're clear on your role , you're clear on your priorities , you're clear on the impact that you have with your team , with your department , with the organization , and you stop over-functioning and you start owning your lane .
Speaker 1When I started owning my lane , I blew up . I moved to the next organization . I was a manager . I went from being a manager to a director in less than 90 days and then I just kept growing from there and I contribute it all to the fact that I decided to show up different . Now it doesn't mean that I did not work hard I did but it means that I worked smarter . It wasn't about staying all night . It wasn't about heads down doing my work and hoping that someone would recognize me . It was about showing up and letting everybody see the value that I bring . And letting everybody see the value that I bring . It was about confidence and clarity in my capabilities , in my team's capabilities . So it just looked differently .
Speaker 1So definitely a myth that you think that you have to stay in this state of proving yourself and validating yourself . And the quicker you make that transition , the quicker you're going to see a change , not just in you , but in your team and in the people around you , how they look at you , how they treat you . Everything just starts to open up . And I will say this there are going to be some situations where , no matter what you do , you may not feel valued and you have to make the decision to do what's best for you . All right . So myth number three let's move on .
Myth 3: Busyness Equals Productivity
Speaker 1Myth number three being busy means being productive . There are some of us that are still in this right . Just because your calendar is filled does not mean that you have been productive . I do time management workshops and that's one of the biggest things I try to convey to leaders and business owners . It's not how many tasks you do during the day , it's not how many meetings you attend . What it is about is what you're actually getting done . If your schedule is full , you're actually getting done . If your schedule is full but your results are flat or non-existent , then you're not productive . You're just being busy , and this hustle culture has convinced a lot of leaders that motion equals progress . But in reality , busyness is not a badge of honor . It's a warning sign . It's a warning sign . It's a warning sign that you need to do something different and you have to be really conscious of what you are spending your time on .
Speaker 1As a leader of a high performing team , you don't just do more right . You don't just get more things done . You focus on doing what matters and you guide your team to focus on doing what matters . That means that you're working with clear systems , you're setting real priorities right , so you have a goal . Your team knows what that goal is , everybody knows what direction you're going in and you are setting everything up so that you are all going in the same direction and you're creating a space to think strategically . So think about this .
Speaker 1Productivity is about alignment . It's not about activity . If you're busy and you're not building , if you're not meeting milestones , if you're not getting the right things done , then something needs to shift . You need to go back to the beginning . What is the goal for me and my team ? Is the goal for me and my team ? How does every single person align with that and are we making progress ? Because you have to be measuring these things and if you are going through the day , like I said , and you are just showing up but you're not seeing outcomes and results , then you go back to the beginning and I just want to drop this , because this happens a lot .
Speaker 1Be mindful of the meetings that you go to and how you show up in those meetings . A lot of times , meetings are wasteful . There's no return on investment , there's not even an agenda . Many times , people show up in meetings that they didn't even need to be a part of . But if they had known what the meeting was about , what the intended outcome was about , what the objective was about asking a lot of questions about certain meetings and just going through your work schedule and looking and saying here's what I did , what did I really accomplish ? Did this put me on track to achieving whatever it is that I'm trying to achieve ? All right , that is myth number three being busy does not mean being productive . Okay .
Speaker 1Myth number four you can't say no
Myth 4: Leaders Can't Say No
Speaker 1as a leader . Now I understand . When you are new , you got to thinking like how do I say no to my boss ? If my boss asks me to do something , how do I tell them no ? But many leaders struggle with this one . Regardless of where they are Whether you are new , middle management , upper management a lot of leaders struggle with this one and find it to be a challenge , especially those who want to be seen as helpful and collaborative and approachable and respectful . So how do you say no , right ? Or should you even say no ? Even say no . I'm telling you as a leader someone that has been in leadership for 30 plus years that the answer is yes .
Speaker 1At some point you're going to have to say no , but it's how you do it right . So here's what I want you to think about when you say yes to everything , you blur your priorities , because that means that your priorities aren't getting done . If you're saying yes to everything and everyone , and not only that , you stretch your energy too thin . It's just not feasible . You can't do it and you make it harder for your team to focus . You got to keep in mind that when you are building a high performing team , you have to be mindful of how you guide them and how you lead them . So saying no is not a failure . It's actually a leadership skill that you have to develop . Strong leaders know how to say no with clarity and confidence . They actually protect their time , their vision and their team's focus . We're not having our teams going back and forth and doing all of these things . And I talk about how you reframe things in episode 29 , mastering the Middle , how to balance team and leadership demands . I talk about how you reframe things , and that's the same thing . When it comes to saying no , you have to be mindful of how you reframe things .
Speaker 1One of the most beautiful things I saw in a leadership meeting and this had to be like 20 years ago , but it blew my mind right we had this CEO and he always had all of these big , bright ideas and you could look around the room and you could see the people in the room , I mean from the attorney , our financial staff , our CPAs . You can look around the room and you can see people like how in the heck are we going to do that ? He was a part of the accounting team and I really liked the way he approached it right . So I realized that he wouldn't say no to our CEO . So everybody else was saying , yeah , we can do it and oh , yeah , we can make it work and all of this .
Speaker 1His take was different . He did not directly say no , but he told him what it would take in order to do it . It was kind of like , yes , we could do it , but it's going to cost a million dollars and X amount of hours and he would literally sit there and break it down , like , yes , we could do it , but here's what it's gonna take and here's what we have to forego . So he basically told him the full story and he allowed the CEO to say , no , oh , I thought that was so brilliant . I thought that was so brilliant because , while everybody else was kind of like gassing them up , like oh yeah , we can do it no-transcript . So I really liked his approach and I find that that is a way of reframing Right . So I'm not necessarily saying no , but I'm saying , ok is your decision if you want us to go down this path , but here's what that looks like . And giving them the full story , because many times I feel like people don't have the full story .
Speaker 1So there's different situations where if your senior leadership or a client or someone asks you to do something , there's this reframing that takes place and you know you provide them with the information and you allow them to decide how to move forward . And then there's gonna be instances where it's just no , I don't have the bandwidth to do X , y and Z , and there's going to be those times . You just have to decide what tactic you're going to use , but it's going to come up where you're going to have to say no , right . So make sure that you are saying no to things that don't align with your goals and you are saying yes to things that actually matter . Do X , y , z and you are asked to do something that is outside of that , that is going to take you away from that or take you off track to achieving that goal . Then you need to make a decision how you say no . I'm not saying don't say no , just how you say no . And just think a little bit about that . Right , boundaries aren't selfish , they're structure . Just think a little bit about that . Right , boundaries aren't selfish , they're structure .
Speaker 1And I know that there's times when I've had to say no to my team . Maybe I was in the middle of doing something and somebody asked me you know , hey , can I have 30 minutes ? And I'm like , yes , but not right now . So let's schedule some time for that , because I needed to complete whatever it was that I was working on at that moment . And many times , as a leader , you'll find that you'll get the interruptions right , but you have to condition people . You can't just show up to my door and expect for me to stop what I'm doing , because what happens is , if five people do that throughout the day , then you are totally off course with what it is that you want to do . If you're able to plan for the day , then you are totally off course with what it is that you want to do . If you're able to plan for those times , then you want to do that . Are there , you know , emergencies or important things that come up that this rule wouldn't apply ? Absolutely right , you have to use your best judgment , but what I'm saying is don't be afraid to say no . Just kind of think about in your mind how you're going to say no to some things . If it's just a flat out no or not right now , or here's what it would take to make that happen . Are you willing to give up this much or invest this much and let them make the decision ? So , boundaries , boundaries , boundaries . Your leadership needs structure in order to thrive . Think about how you're going to do that and practice that .
Speaker 1Okay , our last myth , myth number
Myth 5: DIY Leadership Works Best
Speaker 1five . I dealt with this one early on in leadership as well . Doing it all yourself is the only way to get it done right . How many of you have thought this ? I'm not going to give it to somebody or a delegate because my boss gave it to me and I want it to be right and it can't be messed up . And this one kind of sneaks up on us high achievers and founders especially when you believe no one can do it like you , you stop delegating and you hold on to every task and eventually you actually become the bottleneck for your team and your business .
Speaker 1But leadership isn't about control , it's about capacity . You cannot grow into the leader that your business or organization or your team needs if you're buried in the weeds . You have to learn how to delegate . So delegation it's not about don't think of it as about dumping , because when it's done right , it's not dumping , it's not just getting things off your plate . It's about building your team's confidence and confidence and then also building your capacity to take on higher level things . You have to be able to trust your team with responsibility and give them the opportunity to rise to the occasion .
Speaker 1And yes , there's a way that you should delegate right . You don't just give something to somebody and don't explain it , and you know things like that . So , yeah , absolutely , there is a way that you you delegate . So I actually have an episode on that as well , and it's called Delegation Tactics for Elevated Team Performance , and this is about delegating in a way that is effective and it makes sense for you , but not just for you , but for your team as well . So that's episode 23 .
Speaker 1You may want to go back and listen to that , but the thing about it is is that 70% of leaders find delegation challenging . So you're not alone . You are definitely not alone , but in order for you to continue to grow as a leader and in order for your team to continue to grow and become the high performing team that you want them to be , then you're going to have to be really good at delegating . You have to release in order to rise , because if not , you're going to be weighted down and that you're not going to be able to not just go to the next level . So it's not just about I want to be promoted from supervisor to manager , manager to director . It's not just about that . It's about you growing as a person and you growing as a leader , and all of this needs to happen in order for you to show up as the best version of yourself in this leadership role . So that , my friends , that's myth number five .
Speaker 1So those are the five myths that I wanted to share with you today , and I know that this went a little longer than I thought , but hopefully you find
Recap and Final Thoughts
Speaker 1it helpful . So let's just recap really quickly . Number one you do not need to have all of the answers . Your job is to guide , provide support , not to solve all of the problems , but to facilitate that conversation . You don't need to prove yourself . So you want to move from proving to positioning , and move from a state of needing to be validated to showing up and showing your value .
Speaker 1Number three being busy isn't productive . Make sure that you get aligned with what actually moves the needle . Number four saying no is not selfish . It's actually strategic and it's going to keep you on point and aligned . Number five doing it all yourself is not efficient . It's actually exhausting and it's holding you and your team back . So these myths may sound familiar , they may even feel like the truth , but they're holding you back from leading with intention , clarity and impact . The good news is is that you can break free from them . You don't have to stay in this place . You can rewrite your leadership story starting today , right now . All right . So thanks for joining me on Leveraging Operations in Leadership podcast . If this episode resonated with you , do me a favor share it with another leader who might be carrying these myths too . And if you're ready to lead from a place of strategy and strength , make sure you're subscribed to my team navigator newsletter , where I drop monthly tools and insights to help you lead smarter , not harder . Until next time , lead well , operate with intention .
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