The Building Champions Leadership Development Blog
Drawing upon their decades of leadership experience—and the hundreds of conversations they have each week with leaders across the country—our team of coaches deliver insights, strategies, and tips to help you improve how you lead and live.
The Opportunity of Challenge
Change has become the most reliable constant in the workplace—economic swings, technological disruptions, international conflict, and evolving employee needs can leave even seasoned leaders feeling unsteady. Yet disruption isn’t always negative. It creates opportunity for change, allowing for refinement in the way we think, work, and lead. And when we choose to view adversity as more than an obstacle to overcome, we can begin to see challenge as an asset rather than a liability.
In this article, discover how challenge fosters growth, strengthens leadership resilience, and builds the steady, effective leadership that teams need in uncertain times.
4 Steps to Improve Your Executive Thinking
Executive thinking is a critical leadership skill that helps you make smarter decisions, guide your organization through complexity, and lead with clarity. In high-stakes environments, even seasoned executives can fall into thinking patterns that limit their effectiveness—especially without fresh perspectives, new inputs, or disciplined habits. Improving executive thinking means elevating the way you lead yourself so you can better empower others and move your organization forward.
In this article, you’ll learn four proven steps to sharpen your executive thinking and become the kind of leader people want to follow.
The Mindset of an Executive
In this Coach Video Tip, CEO Mentor Gavin Kerr unpacks what it really takes to shift from leading a team to leading the whole enterprise. Drawing on years of professional experience, Gavin explains how an executive mindset trades short-term problem-solving for long-range vision, widens accountability from “my role” to “our future,” and leans on authentic, conviction-driven leadership. He also shares practical habits—delegating today’s fires, gathering outside perspectives, and staying visible and consistent—that help new executives lift their gaze and think decades ahead. In this video, learn how to refine your mindset and change the way you lead.
How to Think Like an Executive
The leap from manager to executive is more than a promotion; it’s a fundamental shift in perspective and leadership scope. It requires a transition from team-focused leadership to enterprise-level stewardship—because the way a leader thinks directly influences how they lead. And in order to have a positive impact at the executive level, you must first understand and address your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs and how they affect both your behaviors and decisions.
In this article, we cover the core beliefs that shape an executive mindset and allow for organizational impact.
The Behaviors of a High-Trust Team
If you want to understand the health of a team, don’t look at their strategy—watch how they behave. Trust is most visible in the everyday actions of a team: how they communicate, how they respond to mistakes, how they show up for one another. These behaviors reveal what kind of culture is being built. And if you're aiming to lead a high-trust team, there are essential patterns worth working toward.
In this article, we explore five fundamental behaviors that high-trust teams develop to best position them to grow together, meet their goals, and achieve collective success.
Why Team Health Starts with Trust
In this Coach Video Tip, Executive Coach Brett Barriage shares why trust is essential to team health—and how leaders play a defining role in building it. Drawing from his own experience leading executive teams, Brett emphasizes that trust isn’t declared, it’s demonstrated. It begins with modeling expectations, coaching toward them, and creating a culture of accountability. When leadership teams are healthy and aligned, the rest of the organization follows. Watch this quick Coach Video Tip to discover how high trust at the top drives team performance and culture.
Leading Through Economic Uncertainty
We’re wading through economic uncertainty—again. So, how do we lead ourselves, our teams, and our organizations well? In this special Coach Video Tip, we get to hear from Building Champions CEO and Founder, Daniel Harkavy, along with guest Dr. Peter Fisher, Founding Partner and CEO of Human Investing, a financial and wealth management firm based in Portland, Oregon. Learn how to navigate through the fear that today’s current reality of change and volatility is creating to find success both in it and through it.
Defining High Trust
When trust is high, teams are energized, aligned, and able to tackle challenges together—with clarity and confidence. But when trust is low, collaboration breaks down, communication suffers, and even the most talented individuals struggle to perform at their best. The level of trust amongst teammates ultimately determines the health of a team.
At Building Champions, we’ve seen firsthand how the right mindset can transform a group of individuals into a united, high-performing team that meets their goals and takes accountability. In this article, we explore the mindset that defines a high-trust team—and the beliefs that influence the behaviors that either build or break trust.
The Mindset & Skills of a Coaching Leader
Effective leadership is about far more than managing projects and hitting targets—it requires an intentional focus on people development. At Building Champions, we’ve seen the positive ripple effect that coaching leadership can make within an organization because it brings out the best in both manager and employee. A coaching leader invests in people through consistent, intentional conversations that helps their team members to grow both personally and professionally. This kind of leadership isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about creating space for others to think, reflect, and grow.
In this article, we discuss the mindset and three essential skills every coaching leader must develop: active listening, powerful questions, and feedback.
Unlocking the Potential of Your Teammates
In this Coach Video Tip, learn from Coach Carlos Marín on how to develop a coaching culture within your organization that unlocks the potential of your teammates, fosters a healthy organizational environment, and drives lasting results.