Strong communicators make strong leaders. In this episode Lone Rock Leadership co founder Russ Hill shares three tips for more efficiently communicating in meetings and in one-on-one chats.

Meetings shouldn’t feel like a maze. We walk you through a simple set of moves that transform wandering discussions into sharp decisions: take a clear, movable position, ask direct questions that reveal where people really stand, and read the story their behavior tells beyond their words. These techniques are built from years of coaching senior executives and observing what actually accelerates results inside complex organizations.

We start by reframing the opening minutes of any meeting. Instead of circling the topic, set a pace by offering a concise position that others can react to. Then prime the room: ask for perspectives, pause to show you’re listening, fill a few seconds while people gather their thoughts, and invite someone to start. When the comments come, validate fast and keep the momentum with Who’s next? This small change expands participation, reduces awkwardness, and prevents the facilitator monologue that quietly shuts a room down.

From there, we show how direct questions cut weeks of guesswork. Whether you’re pricing a keynote, aligning on a product timeline, or negotiating priorities across functions, precision prompts like What range do you need us to be in? and What do you not like about this plan? reveal constraints early and save endless back-and-forth. Finally, we confront a hard truth: most people share only 60 to 75 percent of what they think. To access the rest, ask What else am I missing? and pay close attention to consistent behavior—follow-through, responsiveness, and initiative—as the real signal of commitment.

If you’re ready to lead faster and communicate with less friction, this playbook will help you run better meetings, make cleaner decisions, and raise your value as a leader. If it helps, share it with a teammate, subscribe for more practical tools, and leave a quick review so others can find the show. What’s the first question you’ll ask differently this week?

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Visit the Lone Rock Leadership Website:
https://www.lonerock.io

Connect with me on LinkedIn or to send me a DM:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/russleads/

Tap here to check out my first book, Decide to Lead, on Amazon. Thank you so much to the thousands of you who have already purchased it for yourself or your company!

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About the podcast:
The Lead In 30 Podcast with Russ Hill is for leaders of teams who want to grow and accelerate their results. In each episode, Russ Hill shares what he's learned consulting executives. Subscribe to get two new episodes every week. To connect with Russ message him on LinkedIn!

If you’ve ever felt like you’ve hit your ceiling, this conversation is your nudge to test it. We connect three simple moments—a chaotic drive-thru, a standout service interaction, and a gym set that pushed our limits—to the deeper truth that teams mirror their leaders and capacity grows where mindset allows it. You’ll hear how one bad customer experience reveals weak standards at the top, why a single friendly voice can signal a strong system, and how small, consistent stretches rewire what you and your team believe is possible.

We also pull back the curtain on Deliver: Why Some Leaders Get Results and Most Don’t, including an audiobook sneak peek and what it really takes to ship a book that reflects years of field work with executive teams. From edits and early readers to narration and launch, we share how the same principles we coach—clarity, pace, and tolerance for imperfection—show up in the creative process. That behind-the-scenes look sets up the episode’s core theme: stop treating capacity as fixed, and start treating it as a function of standards, coaching, and the example you set every day.

You’ll leave with practical shifts you can use immediately: hire for mindset and train for skill, remove tolerances that quietly drain performance, and set visible stretch goals that raise belief without burning people out. Think of it as a reset on how to lead with energy, ship before perfect, and build a culture that leans into challenge. If you’re ready to expand your impact and help your team do the same, press play, then tell us the one place you’ll add weight—at work or in life.

Enjoyed this conversation? Follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a quick review so more leaders can find it. Your feedback helps us keep raising the bar.

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Visit the Lone Rock Leadership Website:
https://www.lonerock.io

Connect with me on LinkedIn or to send me a DM:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/russleads/

Tap here to check out my first book, Decide to Lead, on Amazon. Thank you so much to the thousands of you who have already purchased it for yourself or your company!

--
About the podcast:
The Lead In 30 Podcast with Russ Hill is for leaders of teams who want to grow and accelerate their results. In each episode, Russ Hill shares what he's learned consulting executives. Subscribe to get two new episodes every week. To connect with Russ message him on LinkedIn!

Ever feel like your team is living inside a 24-hour breaking news cycle? We’ve been there—where every email, rumor, or policy tweak turns into a fire drill and the loudest voice sets the tone. Today we unpack a simple shift that changes everything: stop breaking glass, and start to breathe and elevate. It’s not about dialing down ambition; it’s about dialing down drama so urgency becomes productive, not performative.

We talk through how media-style panic hijacks leadership judgment and why a smaller, saner information diet actually boosts performance. Then we get practical. Breathe means pause on purpose—step away, regulate, and buy time so your brain can think instead of react. Elevate means zoom out—expand the time horizon, define the real problem, and map options you can’t see when you’re nose-to-glass with the issue. With that reset, you can run two clocks: stabilize quickly on the surface while you work the root under the hood.

Along the way, we share how calm leaders set culture by how they react. Label levels of urgency so not everything becomes a five-alarm. Swap gossip loops for clear ownership and timelines. Use simple, steady language—what changed, what we know, what’s next—to lower heart rates and raise signal. If your org values constant alarms, it might cap your growth; the market increasingly rewards leaders who deliver under pressure without turning every update into a spectacle.

If you’re ready to build trust, retain talent, and make sharper calls when things go sideways, this conversation will be your toolkit. Share it with a colleague who keeps the figurative hammer within reach, and try the breathe and elevate practice on your next “emergency.” Subscribe, leave a quick review, and tell us: what helps you zoom out when the heat rises?

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Visit the Lone Rock Leadership Website:
https://www.lonerock.io

Connect with me on LinkedIn or to send me a DM:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/russleads/

Tap here to check out my first book, Decide to Lead, on Amazon. Thank you so much to the thousands of you who have already purchased it for yourself or your company!

--
About the podcast:
The Lead In 30 Podcast with Russ Hill is for leaders of teams who want to grow and accelerate their results. In each episode, Russ Hill shares what he's learned consulting executives. Subscribe to get two new episodes every week. To connect with Russ message him on LinkedIn!