You built the trust. So why does giving one piece of critical feedback still feel like it might blow the whole thing up?

In this episode of the Psych Leadership Podcast, host Luke UpChurch breaks down why most new leaders either avoid feedback conversations entirely or deliver them in a way that triggers defensiveness instead of change. Drawing on 28+ years in organizational leadership and current research on feedback withholding, goal-framing, and self-determination theory, this episode gives you a practical four-step framework for delivering feedback that actually changes behavior — instead of just changing the mood in the room.

Feedback isn't about being right. It's about being useful. Providing useful feedback is a skill, not a personality trait.

Research cited in this episode:

- Coutts, A., Koh, B.H., & Murad, Z. (2026). The Signals We Give: Performance Feedback, Gender, and Competition. Management Science. DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2024.05001.

- Andiola, L.M. (2023). How Do Reviewers' Goal Framing and Novice Auditors' Receptivity to Negative Feedback Affect Follow-Through Performance? Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory. DOI: 10.2308/AJPT-2021-068.

- Deci, E.L., & Ryan, R.M. (2000). The "What" and "Why" of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268.

- Knevelsrud, H.C., Hetland, J., Bakker, A.B., Krabberød, T., Sørlie, H.O., Espevik, R., & Olsen, O.K. (2025). Empowering leadership and employee work engagement: a diary study using self-determination theory. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology.

- Center for Creative Leadership. Situation-Behavior-Impact™ Feedback Tool. ccl.org.

Shares the release of the new book Support the show Want to be part of our mission: 👉 Donate Today NEW BOOK -- "Tactical Mentoring: A Guide to Unlocking Your Potential" - By Luke UpChurch Available on: 🍎 Apple Books & 📚Kindle Psych Leadership is a division of Rise Up Academics - A 501(c)(3) focused on building leadership and mentoring opportunities for high school and college students. All proceeds go towards this purpose. Want to connect? Email me at psychLeadership@riseupacademics.org

You delegated. You named the awkward shift with your old peers. So why does the team still feel like they're waiting to see if you're the real deal?

In this episode of the Psych Leadership Podcast, host Luke UpChurch breaks down why trust isn't something new leaders earn passively by racking up time in the role — it's built (or lost) through specific, visible behaviors in the first few critical weeks. Drawing on 28+ years in organizational leadership and research on trustworthiness, swift trust, and what actually makes people believe in a leader, this episode gives you a practical four-step framework for building real trust fast, instead of hoping it shows up on its own.

In this episode, you'll learn:

- Why trust in managers has dropped 17 points in just two years, according to DDI's Global Leadership Forecast — and what that means for the team you're walking into right now

- The three-part trust formula from a landmark 1995 study — ability, benevolence, and integrity — and why leaders who max out only one or two of them never fully earn the room

- Why warmth matters roughly twice as much as competence in whether people trust and respect a leader, according to research on more than 70,000 leaders

- The two failure extremes new leaders fall into — the Silent Operator and the Instant Friend — and why neither one builds lasting trust

- The psychological reason your first few weeks carry disproportionate weight, based on "swift trust" research from temporary team studies

- The FAST Method: a four-step framework for building trust deliberately, starting on day one

Trust isn't a reward for time served. It's built fastest in the exact window most new leaders waste by playing it safe.

Research cited in this episode:

- DDI (Development Dimensions International) (2024). Global Leadership Forecast 2023. DDI research report (trust in immediate managers declined from 46% in 2022 to 29% in 2024).

- Mayer, R.C., Davis, J.H., & Schoorman, F.D. (1995). An integrative model of organizational trust. Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 709–734.

- Zenger, J. & Folkman, J. (2013/2018). Research based on 360-degree assessment data from more than 70,000 leaders on warmth and competence in leadership trust. Zenger Folkman research; summarized in Harvard Business Review, "Connect, Then Lead," and Forbes, "Should Leaders Aspire To Warmth Or Competence?" (2018).

- Meyerson, D., Weick, K.E., & Kramer, R.M. (1996). Swift trust and temporary groups. In R.M. Kramer & T.R. Tyler (Eds.), Trust in Organizations: Frontiers of Theory and Research (pp. 166–195). Sage Publications.

Shares the release of the new book Support the show Want to be part of our mission: 👉 Donate Today NEW BOOK -- "Tactical Mentoring: A Guide to Unlocking Your Potential" - By Luke UpChurch Available on: 🍎 Apple Books & 📚Kindle

Psych Leadership is a division of Rise Up Academics - A 501(c)(3) focused on building leadership and mentoring opportunities for high school and college students. All proceeds go towards this purpose.

Want to connect? Email me at psychLeadership@riseupacademics.org

Your to-do list didn't get shorter after the promotion. It got longer. So are you actually delegating, or just adding a review step to your own workload?

In this episode of the Psych Leadership Podcast, host Luke UpChurch breaks down why so many new leaders think they're delegating when they're really just assigning tasks and quietly keeping all the authority. Drawing on 28+ years in organizational leadership and research on delegation, decision-making, and psychological ownership, this episode explains why letting go of work is really about letting go of a piece of your own identity — and gives you a five-step framework for handing off real ownership instead of just handing off busywork.

In this episode, you'll learn:

- Why CEOs with high "Delegator talent" saw 112 percentage points more growth and 33% more revenue than low delegators, according to Gallup's Inc. 500 research

- The "monkey management" concept from the classic Harvard Business Review article that explains why your team keeps handing their problems back to you

- The two failure extremes almost every new leader falls into — the Bottleneck and the Abandoner — and why neither one actually works

- The psychological ownership research that explains why letting go of a task can feel like losing a piece of your own competence

- The LET GO Framework: a five-step model for transferring real ownership — not just tasks — to your team

- Exact language to use the next time you hand off a project, so it actually stays handed off

Delegation isn't assigning tasks. It's transferring ownership — and the thing usually standing in your way isn't your team's ability, it's your own identity.

Research cited in this episode:

- Gallup (2015). Delegating: A Huge Management Challenge for Entrepreneurs. Gallup Business Journal. https://news.gallup.com/businessjournal/182414/delegating-huge-management-challenge-entrepreneurs.aspx

- Oncken, W. & Wass, D.L. (1974, reprinted 1999). Management Time: Who's Got the Monkey? Harvard Business Review.

- Pierce, J.L., Kostova, T., & Dirks, K.T. (2001). Toward a Theory of Psychological Ownership in Organizations. Academy of Management Review, 26(2), 298–310. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2001.4378028

- Hocking, S. (2024). Learning to Delegate as a First-Time Manager. Harvard Business Review, June 14, 2024. https://hbr.org/2024/06/learning-to-delegate-as-a-first-time-manager

Want to be part of our mission: 👉 Donate Today NEW BOOK -- "Tactical Mentoring: A Guide to Unlocking Your Potential" - By Luke UpChurch Available on: 🍎 Apple Books & 📚Kindle Psych Leadership is a division of Rise Up Academics - A 501(c)(3) focused on building leadership and mentoring opportunities for high school and college students. All proceeds go towards this purpose. Want to connect? Email me at psychLeadership@riseupacademics.org