Episode 12 – The Next Climb: Stretch, Partner, or Step Aside?

Growth rarely moves in a smooth upward line. It climbs in stair steps, and each step asks something new from leaders—new mindsets, new systems, sometimes even new people at the helm. In this episode, Reed and Chase sit down with John Monroe to explore one of the hardest leadership questions: What do you do when what got you here won’t get you there?

John shares a behind-the-scenes look at the identity shifts, organizational pivots, and strategic recalibrations required to keep climbing without burning out your team or yourself. This is a conversation for anyone leading at the edge of what used to work, wondering what the next version of their leadership needs to become.

The first part of the conversation explores how to recognize when your current strengths are no longer a fit for what the business needs next. John lays out a framework for making the hard call—whether to stretch into something new, bring in partners to fill the gaps, or step aside to let someone else lead a different chapter. This is real leadership work, not theory. It requires a mix of humility, clarity, and a long look at the difference between loyalty to the mission and loyalty to a method.

From there, the discussion turns tactical. John highlights a blind spot in how most companies validate ideas: they measure attention, but not commitment. The real test isn’t whether someone says your product is interesting—it’s whether they’re willing to pay for it. Pricing is the moment of truth that reveals both timing and traction. When companies skip this step, they often invest in the wrong thing at the wrong time and end up with a tired team and no momentum. But when leaders use MVPs to test willingness to pay early, they avoid idea worship and build smarter, faster.

The second half of the episode zeroes in on culture. John explains how trust—not authority—creates the extra 20 percent of effort that makes a team resilient and creative under pressure. Culture shows up in those moments when people choose to lean in, even when they don’t have to. That discretionary effort comes when teams feel safe, seen, and connected to something that matters. To create that environment, leaders have to shrink the power gap. That means naming the fears people are carrying, letting frontline voices carry the message, and drawing a visible line between company mission and individual growth.

When you do that, change doesn’t feel like a threat—it feels like an invitation. Your people stop resisting and start building. Your systems stop bending and start adapting. Your leadership stops trying to keep up and starts pulling ahead with clarity.