151: The #1 Team Building Skill You're Missing to Lead Effectively | Brendan Rogers

Release Date: 

April 15, 2025

Release Date: Apr 8

The secret to making your team more engaged, more productive and far less likely to leave? Intentional and focused 1 on 1 meetings. Today’s guest learned this lesson the hard way.

Brendan Rogers is a leadership coach who used to believe that great teams were built through occasional team meetings and annual performance reviews. But when the world went remote during the pandemic? He was surprised to realize that without consistent, structured one-on-one conversations, leaders lose control, performance drops, and teams fall apart.

If you’re a leader who wants to elevate your team’s performance without micromanaging, this episode is packed with actionable insights.

What You’ll Learn:

  • Why one-on-one meetings are the foundation of high-performing teams
  • The three essential questions every leader should ask in weekly check-ins
  • How canceling one-on-ones destroys trust and morale
  • The right way to give and receive feedback to foster growth
  • How to run effective team meetings that drive action instead of wasting time

In This Episode:

  • 00:01 – Introduction to Brendan Rogers
  • 00:25 – Why leaders must invest deliberate time in their employees
  • 02:40 – The moment Brendan realized one-on-one meetings change everything
  • 05:48 – How COVID forced leaders to rethink employee engagement
  • 06:22 – The myth that structure kills creativity (it actually fuels it)
  • 09:06 – Brendan’s three-step framework for effective one-on-ones
  • 12:30 – Should feedback happen in one-on-one meetings or separately?
  • 16:13 – The damaging effect of constantly canceling one-on-one meetings
  • 19:21 – How leaders can get better at giving and receiving feedback
  • 22:14 – Why modeling how you receive feedback matters as a leader
  • 26:44 – The simple act of following up on feedback to build trust
  • 31:33 – A small but powerful piece of feedback that changed Brendan’s career
  • 34:05 – The number one roadblock stopping leaders from scaling their teams
  • 36:39 – How to get better at saying no as a leader
  • 39:51 – How to increase performance in a team setting beyond one-on-ones
  • 43:45 – Why great leaders aren’t born—they’re designed
  • 46:57 – Final advice: There’s always a better way to lead

Resources Referenced:

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