Face Your Warts: Unpopular Truths About Leadership with Jeff Geier
No More Leadership BS
Face Your Warts: Unpopular Truths About Leadership with Jeff Geier
January 2, 2026
Stop making excuses. Face your weaknesses. Own your impact. Get help when needed. Leadership isn't about perfection—it's about having the courage to face uncomfortable truths and do something about them.

Hard Truths: The Leadership Realities Nobody Wants to Hear
Ready for some uncomfortable truths? This episode isn't about feel-good leadership fluff—it's about the cold, hard realities that keep leaders up at night (or should, anyway).

Here's the deal: every leader has warts. Every single one. And pretending they don't exist won't make them disappear. This episode digs into the unpopular opinions and difficult truths that separate leaders who grow from those who just... don't.


The Buck Actually Does Stop Here
When team members consistently show up late, miss deadlines, or underperform, the first instinct is to blame them. But here's the truth bomb: their continued poor performance is a reflection of your leadership. Ouch. You can't control their behavior, but you absolutely control how you respond to it. That uncomfortable conversation you're avoiding? That's exactly the one you need to have.


You're Probably the Bottleneck (Sorry)
Leaders don't want to admit they're the problem, but often they are. Just because your team is silent doesn't mean they agree with you. Your best people are watching how you handle your worst people—and they're taking notes. Every decision you delay, every standard you ignore, and every excuse you make sends a message about what's really acceptable.


Motivation Isn't Your Job (Wait, What?)
Stop trying to motivate people. Seriously. People are already motivated—they showed up to work, didn't they? Your real job? Remove the obstacles that kill their motivation. Create conditions where motivated people can thrive, not exhausting cheerleading sessions that accomplish nothing.


Choose Your Hard
Everything in leadership is hard. Having the tough conversation is hard. Letting bad behavior fester is hard. The difference? One hard choice leads to growth; the other leads to toxicity. You're not avoiding the hard stuff by procrastinating—you're just choosing the worse kind of hard.

The Bottom Line: Leadership isn't about having all the answers or being perfect. It's about facing your weaknesses head-on, owning your impact on culture, and doing the hard work of actual leadership instead of just talking about it.

Tune In For:

Stop making excuses. Stop avoiding the mirror. Stop pretending leadership is supposed to be easy. It's 2026—time to face your warts and become the leader your team actually needs.

Have questions,  suggestions or just a great story to tell about some Leadership BS you have experienced? Let us know by emailing us 

Today's Featured Coach - 

  • Jeffrey Geier - Motivational Speaker, Trainer, and Coach - Helping You Win in Work & Life  Owner/Founder of Phoenix Coaching LLC Reach Jeffrey at [email protected] or 509-553-9248


The rest of the gang: