Humble, Hungry, and Intentional: Josh Etress's Keys to Effective Leadership

In a recent podcast interview, I had the incredible opportunity to listen and learn from Josh Etress as he shared his insights on how to be an effective leader who develops people, fosters a healthy feedback culture, and manages time intentionally.

Here are some of the key takeaways and action steps you can implement based on Josh's wisdom and experience.

Cultivate Growth Like a Gardener

Josh compares his approach to leadership to the role of a gardener. As a leader, you can't force your people to grow, but you can intentionally cultivate an environment that allows them to thrive.

Some ways to do this:

• Prepare the soil by building trust and personal connections. Have both formal and informal interactions.
• Provide the right nutrients through coaching, training, books/resources, and growth opportunities.
• Prune as needed to encourage further development. Have honest conversations about areas to improve.
• Weed out negativity and toxicity that can spread and choke out healthy growth. Address problem team members.
• Let people launch to new opportunities if you can no longer provide what they need to keep growing. Help them take a next step.

Action Steps:

1. Schedule weekly or biweekly 1-on-1s with each direct report. Ask about their personal morale, team morale, where they're making progress, and how you can support them.
2. Identify 1-2 specific ways to provide "nutrients" to help each person grow - a stretch project, key piece of feedback, new training, etc. Discuss and implement in your 1-on-1s.
3. Reflect on your team culture. Are there any bad habits, toxic attitudes, or under-performers spreading negativity? Determine how to directly address these to maintain a healthy environment.

For more on this idea, you can read my essay on how to “Lead Like a Gardener.”

Foster a Feedback Culture

Getting honest, constructive feedback from your team is critical for your own growth as a leader. But it requires humility and intentional effort to make people feel safe being candid with you.

Josh shares some tactics:

• Explicitly invite feedback. Ask specific questions: "How can I improve in X area?" or "What's one thing I could do better as a leader?"
• Respond with appreciation, even if the feedback is hard to hear. Thank them for having the courage to share it.
• Involve them in your growth. Ask if they'll help hold you accountable and provide ongoing input as you work to improve.
• Tailor requests using different "hats." Ask for feedback on you as a manager, as a communicator, in financial acumen, etc.
• On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate my ability to...? Listen closely and amplify the development points they share after that.

Action Steps:

1. In your next 1-on-1s, humble yourself and directly ask each person for feedback in 1-2 specific areas. Respond with thanks and an acknowledgment of how you'll work to improve.
2. Pick one piece of feedback to focus on. Share this with your team and ask them to help hold you accountable. Report back on your progress regularly.
3. Do a team feedback session or survey once or twice a year. Ask each person to rate and comment on different aspects of your leadership. Compile the feedback, identify patterns, and share themes and commitments.

Manage Your Time Intentionally

Josh emphasizes that to make the most of your time, you have to proactively design your days and weeks, not just react to what comes up.

His top tips:

• Get comfortable saying no. Turn down meetings and requests that aren't a high priority so you can say yes to what matters most.
• Time block your calendar. Schedule in focused work time for your key projects and responsibilities. Make your calendar reflect your real priorities.
• Ruthlessly eliminate distractions. Turn off non-essential notifications, use apps to limit social media, put up an "away" message so you can do deep work without interruption.
• Track your time for a week. Write down how you spend your time in 30-minute increments for an entire week to see where you're really investing your hours.
• Don't overbook. Leave 20-50% of your calendar open, depending on your role. You need margin for the unexpected things that will inevitably come up.

Action Steps:

1. Review your calendar for the upcoming weeks. Remove or delegate any meetings and commitments that aren't essential or high-impact. Be willing to say "no" or "not now."
2. Schedule in time blocks for your most important work. Treat them like critical meetings. Protect that time and don't allow interruptions.
3. Pick one thing to eliminate or reduce distractions, like turning off notifications or using a website blocker for certain hours. Commit to it for at least a week.
4. Do a time tracking exercise. Keep a time log in a spreadsheet or notebook for one week. At the end of the week, review how you invested your time and identify any changes you need to make.

Leading well requires dedication, humility and intentionality. But by applying these practices from Josh — cultivating your team members' growth, welcoming candid feedback, and relentlessly prioritizing your time and attention — you can develop into the kind of leader who brings out the best in your people and yourself.

Pick one area to focus on first, and start implementing these action steps to build your leadership habits.

As Josh Etress ?? says, "There's more for you."

Keep growing and leading well.