Most leadership training is bullsh*t — not because leaders don’t care, but because it fails to change behavior where it actually matters.

In this episode of Wingspan's Leading Without the B.S., Wingspan Performance® Leadership Performance Advisors Heather Hopkins and Mike Johnson unpack why traditional leadership training fails, and what actually works when leaders are under pressure, overloaded, and responsible for real outcomes.

Drawing on decades of experience in manufacturing, engineering, and operations, Heather and Mike talk candidly about:

• Leaders showing up disengaged before training even starts
• How multitasking and “being busy” quietly sabotage leadership effectiveness
• The cost of unspoken expectations and assumed behavior
• What real accountability looks like in meetings, conversations, and daily leadership
• How leadership performance always starts with ownership — not tools

This isn’t theory. It’s a real-time look at how leaders think, speak, and show up, and how small shifts in language, questions, and presence create outsized impact.

If you’re responsible for people and results, and tired of leadership training that sounds good but doesn’t stick, this conversation delivers what actually moves the needle.

Text us for leadership performance advice!

3 Takeaways:

1. Explore Wingspan’s Leader Team Coaching & Advising — the proven path for leaders ready to multiply performance across their teams. Schedule a Clarity Call with one of our expert Advisors right now!
2. Subscribe to the Wingspan Newsletter — get practical leadership insights, podcast episode deep-dives, client spotlights, and weekly tools delivered straight to your inbox.
3. Check out our YouTube Channel for unfiltered clips on behavioral performance and leadership actions that actually work.
4. 📲 Text us for leadership performance advice — real answers for real leaders.

💥 Subscribe to Leading Without The BS now and share this episode with other leaders who want to stop spinning their wheels and start leading with intentional energy. Someone invested in you — now pass it forward.

Share your thoughts on this episode and join the conversation on Instagram LinkedIn & Facebook!

Hosts: Ivan Konermann & Heather Hopkins

Big Promise: Leaders will leave with practical shifts they can use now and year-round to make reviews easier, clearer, and less stressful.

Core Theme: Bad reviews aren’t born in December—they’re built through avoidance or fuzziness all year. Strong reviews come from routine, honest, specific feedback tied to role expectations and observable behavior.

7 Patterns That Create Terrible Reviews

1. Avoiding feedback all year → surprise at review time, damaged trust.
   Key line: “Choose your hard.” Deal with discomfort now or misery later.
2. Lopsided reviews (all bad or all good) → demoralizing or misleading.
   Fix: highlight strengths + 2–3 priority growth areas.
3. Making it about the manager → spotlight shifts off the employee.
   Fix: focus on employee patterns/impact; remove “I” from drafts.
4. Manager underprepared → vague fluff or identity attacks (“personality”).
   Fix: role requirements + clear examples; reviews aren’t negotiations.
5. Overweighting technical performance → behavior issues ignored, toxicity rewarded.
   Truth: how results happen matters.
6. Fear of honesty with top performers (“they’ll quit”) → unhealthy team signal.
   Better question: what if they stay and keep harming the team?
7. Waiting for the formal review to give feedback → first real convo comes too late.
   Fix: ongoing small course-corrections, not annual swerves.

Memorable Lines:
“Choose your hard.” • “Fluffy cloud feedback.” • Spotlight metaphor • Driving/steering analogy.

Takeaways:
Give timely feedback, be specific, keep priorities narrow, balance strengths + gaps, prepare for the conversation (not just the form), and hold behavior accountable.

Call to Action:
If you’re dreading reviews or writing them over holidays, you’re likely stuck in these patterns. Reach out to Wingspan for help building honest, effective feedback habits year-round.

Text us for leadership performance advice!

3 Takeaways:

1. Explore Wingspan’s Leader Team Coaching & Advising — the proven path for leaders ready to multiply performance across their teams. Schedule a Clarity Call with one of our expert Advisors right now!
2. Subscribe to the Wingspan Newsletter — get practical leadership insights, podcast episode deep-dives, client spotlights, and weekly tools delivered straight to your inbox.
3. Check out our YouTube Channel for unfiltered clips on behavioral performance and leadership actions that actually work.
4. 📲 Text us for leadership performance advice — real answers for real leaders.

💥 Subscribe to Leading Without The BS now and share this episode with other leaders who want to stop spinning their wheels and start leading with intentional energy. Someone invested in you — now pass it forward.

Share your thoughts on this episode and join the conversation on Instagram LinkedIn & Facebook!

In this episode of Leading Without the BS, Ivan sits down with Wingspan Performance Advisor Heather Hopkins to explore her journey from mechanical engineering and manufacturing leadership to becoming a coach who helps leaders see—and fill—the gaps they never realized they had.

Heather shares how her pioneering early career shaped her entrepreneurial mindset, how she grew into people leadership without formal leadership training, and how joining Wingspan transformed her understanding of what truly effective leadership requires.

Key Themes

1. The Messages We Send (and Don’t Realize We’re Sending)

The episode opens with a powerful reflection on how leaders unintentionally teach people:

• “You’re not capable.”
• “You’re not bright enough.”
• “I don’t think you can do this.”

These subtle cues — often delivered through tone, delegation, or assumptions — can define someone’s trajectory for years.

2. Heather’s Engineering Origin Story

Heather’s first job was with the construction company building her university. That experience:

• Inspired her to build and create.
• Cemented the belief that she was a “pioneer.”
• Sparked a deeply ingrained entrepreneurial spirit.

3. Becoming a People Leader Without People-Leadership Training

Although she spent most of her career leading people, Heather reflects that:

• Her technical background meant she rarely encountered training that truly addressed what it means to lead humans.
• She led teams without recognizing the blind spots she had.
• Looking back, she can now see her career with far more clarity.

4. The Transformation of Joining Wingspan

Heather shares that Wingspan opened a new door to understanding leadership, including:

• What “real” leadership requires beyond expertise.
• How to see patterns and behaviors she previously missed.
• How her past leadership decisions look different in hindsight.

5. “Oh My Gosh, I Wish I Knew This 10 Years Ago”

Ivan reflects — and Heather agrees — that many leaders only realize after working with Wingspan how much they wish they had known earlier.
Common reactions:

• “I can’t believe what I used to do.”
• “I had no idea what I didn’t know.”

Text us for leadership performance advice!

3 Takeaways:

1. Explore Wingspan’s Leader Team Coaching & Advising — the proven path for leaders ready to multiply performance across their teams. Schedule a Clarity Call with one of our expert Advisors right now!
2. Subscribe to the Wingspan Newsletter — get practical leadership insights, podcast episode deep-dives, client spotlights, and weekly tools delivered straight to your inbox.
3. Check out our YouTube Channel for unfiltered clips on behavioral performance and leadership actions that actually work.
4. 📲 Text us for leadership performance advice — real answers for real leaders.

💥 Subscribe to Leading Without The BS now and share this episode with other leaders who want to stop spinning their wheels and start leading with intentional energy. Someone invested in you — now pass it forward.

Share your thoughts on this episode and join the conversation on Instagram LinkedIn & Facebook!