In this episode, we discuss how leaders learn and why information alone doesn’t create growth. We explore the difference between consuming content and changing behavior, and why conversations with coaches, mentors, and teammates are often the catalyst for real transformation. Through practical examples, we highlight the importance of execution, accountability, and being willing to be challenged in order to become a better leader.

Episode Highlights & Time Stamps

0:03 Learning by Doing
2:33 Why Books Fall Short
4:07 Coaching Changes Behavior
5:49 Real Transformation Starts Here

Transcript: Learning by Doing

Today we’re going to talk about learning something as a leader. Do you learn from books that you read? Probably so. Do you learn from the audio content that you listen to or the videos? Maybe you learn from me. Maybe you learn from others. But are you really learning and applying what you know from what you learn? I have a theory out there. I’m a learner. I always have been. I read books. I listen to podcasts. I listen to YouTube. I learn from social media. I learn by talking and interviewing to people. But here’s the thing. I’ve also learned to filter out what is my very next step. I’m very good at saying no to things now. Not always, but now I say no to the things that are distractions from what I really need to do. And today I share a message with you about learning to be a better leader. And I’m going to share this from my heart and maybe I have a bias around this, but I know that you can be a better leader if you’re willing to do the work. My name is Gene Hammett. I am a founder coach, CEO coach. We do leadership development with companies that are striving to go beyond founder dependency to one that is founder-led and even team-driven. This is our core work that we’ve done for the last 16 plus years, refining our tools, refining our process, and we’d love to help you. If you want to know a little bit more about it, you don’t have to reach out.

And do anything other than download a free book, Get Founder Freedom, and you can do that at getfounderfreedom.com. And if you qualify, you can unlock the opportunity to actually have a conversation with me where for free, I will help you get unstuck. I will ask you the two questions that I’ve found to be the most powerful in the transformation of any leader I’ve ever worked with. I won’t give you those two questions today, but I will tell you those two questions can unlock you if you’re willing to take that chance. But you have to download the book first. Get founder of freedom dot com. So today I opened up with learning to be a better leader. I will call out my bias. You can read a leadership book. I’ve read probably 30 or 40 leadership books in my lifetime. Each one of them have given me some nugget, some insight, some tool. Some are better than others.

I won’t go on to list books, but I will tell you the best book I’ve ever read are the books I write because I work so deeply on those. And I’ve written The Trap of Success, and I’ve written How to Have Tough Conversations, co-authored with my wife, Amanda. And then I’ve also written Get Founder Freedom, co-authored with my wife, Amanda, who’s in the business with me. All this to be said, the books that you’re reading right now,

Why Books Fall Short

Hopefully they’re making an impact. Hopefully it’s not a distraction or just a waste of your time. But here’s what I do believe, and this is the core of this message. The book never talks back to you. The video never talks back to you. The audio that you listen to, podcast, audible books, whatever it may be, And that’s also not giving you the impact that you need. The book doesn’t talk back to you. You can listen to something and go, yeah, I do that and move right past it. But when you are working with a coach, when you’re working with someone, a mentor, a.

You’re actually having a conversation with someone on your team about this and you ask them questions. You get to explore not just your thoughts on it, but like your behaviors. I’ll give you an example. A lot of people show up a little bit late to meetings and they don’t think a big deal about it. Two minutes late, four minutes late, seven minutes late. And I’ve had CEOs come back to me and they go, well, I’m busy and my meetings run back to back and I just show up late. And I’m like, OK, but what does that say to your team? Yeah.

And if they read that in the book about showing up on time and being punctual, they’d be like, well, they would justify or rationalize what it is for them. But when I’m asking a client, what message does that send to your team? And they tell me and we probe, we discuss it. Maybe we spend five minutes on it. Maybe we spend 20. Maybe we spend an hour. Maybe we spend four sessions. What doesn’t matter. But they get to really understand not just their thinking, not just for information’s sake, but who they are. And so the book that you read, the video that you watch and listen,

Coaching Changes Behavior

The audio that you listen to, it never talks back to you. Now, I told you I was biased. You need to find someone to talk about these new insights with. Maybe you need a coach. Maybe you feel like you can’t afford a coach. Maybe I’m not the coach for you. Maybe you need to work on something very specific that I don’t work on. But I will tell you that if you could transform from reading a book, you would be a better leader already. If you could be rich by reading a book, you’d be rich already. If you could get thin by reading a book, you’d be thin. You’d be muscular.

You’d have the life and the marriage and everything that you want if you could get it from a book or an audio or a video. But they don’t talk back to you. Let that sink in as you move forward in your own progress, your own transformation as a leader. Let it sink in that you need someone to challenge you. You need someone to question you so that you don’t rationalize or you don’t just buy into your story. We all have stories that we attach to certain things. We justify these stories when you have the right mentor, the right coach. They challenge those stories and that’s where the real transformation happens. It is for me and I share this with you because I don’t know where you are in your journey but I share this and I believe this 100%.

That the book will only give you so much. That level of learning, having someone to talk about and hold you accountable to what you really want to do, how you want to show up, maybe the growth that you want to happen in your life, it doesn’t happen in the space of just reading something. It’s in the execution and it’s in the stories and the trauma and the self-sabotage

Real Transformation Starts Here

that we bring with us that we don’t even know. I share this message with you because I want you to understand how powerful it is for you to transform. I’m not saying I’ve got it all figured out, but I know that I have transformed my life over the last few decades. Yes, I’ve lost everything and rebuilt it. But even beyond that, like this year, really working on a couple of different things in my life, one personally, one professionally, they are both transforming me in ways it’s hard to describe. I won’t bore you with the details of my life, but I can tell you that both of them are driving me to question this. And I have coaches and I have people I talk to about it. I am reading and I am watching and I am listening, but I’m also going that extra step. And that’s what I offer to you.

If for some reason you feel like I’m the one that could help you, could unlock something, then all you have to do is take the next step. You can go to genehammett.com or go to coreelevation.com. That’s our business. Either one of them will unlock an opportunity to talk with me. And I’d be willing to talk with you no matter who you are. If you’ve heard me on the podcast, reach out. I’d love to talk to you about your business, about what’s going on, even if you don’t feel like you qualify, even if you’re not ready yet. I offer this to you because my life’s purpose is to help people transform, become better leaders, grow their businesses. So no matter where you are, if I can do that for you, reach out. If you want to go just a little bit further and you really want to get Founder Freedom, go to getfounderfreedom.com, download the book, and if you qualify, you will get a book there, a chance to do a call with me as well. My name is Gene Hammett. I love what I do and I want to help you. When you think of growth and you think of leadership, think of growth and think. As always, leave the courage. We’ll see you next time.

🎯Key Takeaways

• Leadership growth doesn’t come from consuming more information it comes from applying what you learn through reflection, accountability, and action. Books, podcasts, and videos can provide valuable insights, but real transformation happens when a coach, mentor, or trusted colleague challenges your assumptions, helps you examine your behaviors, and holds you accountable for meaningful change.

Ideal For:
Founders, CEOs, executives, managers, and anyone committed to elevating their leadership capacity.

Resources & Next Steps

Ready to take your leadership energy to the next level?
Explore free training and resources at training.coreelevation.com and getfounderfreedom.com
to help you identify energy leaks, strengthen your leadership presence, and elevate your team’s performance.

🌐 Explore More: training.coreelevation.com
🎧 Listen to the Full Episode: Growth Think Tank Podcast