What changes when a leader stops trying to have all the answers and creates more room for the team to contribute?
In this episode of The Mike Method, Mike Desjardins is joined by Robert Kirsch, a people-first leader with more than 25 years of experience across executive leadership, operations, coaching and sport. Rob's career has included helping scale lululemon before and after its IPO, serving as President and COO of Houston Landscapes, leading supply chain and operations at Native Shoes, and now working with leaders and organizations at ViRTUS.
Mike and Rob explore what separates a group of talented individuals from a team that can truly work together. Rob shares why some of the strongest teams operate more like a jazz band than an orchestra, with people able to adapt, contribute in different ways and step forward when circumstances change.
They also discuss why showing up matters even when you're not at your best, how leaders can create greater ownership by talking less, and why silence can be one of the most useful tools available to a leader.
The conversation explores the role of emotional intelligence and adaptability in leadership, including the importance of combining data with lived experience rather than relying entirely on either one. Mike and Rob also discuss how our job titles can limit the way we think about our contribution and why asking others what they rely on us for can reveal strengths we may not recognize in ourselves.
They finish with a powerful analogy about the counterbalance inside a skyscraper and what it can teach us about staying grounded and adaptable when circumstances around us change.
In this episode:
Resources mentioned:
Burke’s Law by Brian Burke and Stephen Brunt
CliftonStrengths / StrengthsFinder 2.0
EQ-i 2.0 Emotional Intelligence Assessment
Working with Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
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