Scaling a business isn't just about adding talent.
It’s about aligning the right people, in the right roles, with the right mindset for what comes next.
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This episode confronts one of the most gut-wrenching truths of leadership: your team’s past success might be hiding your biggest future liabilities.

In this episode, listeners will:
- Understand the three subtle but deadly people-related Warning Signs of Success that sabotage momentum—even when everyone seems “nice” or “smart.”
- Recognize how loyalty, comfort, or indecision can lead to a quiet crisis—whether it’s miscast roles (Right Idea, Wrong Person), unqualified leaders (Professionalizing Mediocrity), or passive resistance to change (Open Door, Closed Mind).
- Learn how to make tough people decisions earlier, cleaner, and with less collateral damage—and how avoiding these decisions leads to greater pain later.
- Feel less alone as they normalize what every growing company inevitably faces: the emotional tax of evolving your team to match your ambitions.
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You’re not a bad leader for having the wrong people. You become a bad leader when you keep them there.
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Episode Breakdown:
(0:00): Intro & Guiding Truth
(2:55): Is This Just About Firing?
(8:00): Why Start with People?
(13:08): Coaching, Community, & Counseling
(17:04): Kirk's Coaching Philosophy
(20:40): First Warning Sign of Success
(23:42): Right Idea, Wrong Person Matrix
(37:17): How to Give Clarity to a Role
(50:32): Second Warning Sign of Success
(56:57): Third Warning Sign of Success
(1:04:21): Next Steps
(1:06:03): Outro
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