If You’ve Said It Three Times and It’s Still Not Happening
18/06/2026 | 12 mins.
In the final episode of this three-part mini series, on why it still all comes back to you, Kate explores how to fix situations where you’ve repeated expectations multiple times and nothing changes. She argues the issue is usually not just communication, and offers a diagnostic lens: is it a clarity problem, a capability gap, or a consequence problem. With a practical weekly reset. Episode Highlights: 00:00 Series Finale Setup 00:26 Meet Your Host 00:55 The Three Diagnoses 02:41 Clarity Gap Fixes 04:27 Capability Gap Coaching 06:27 Identity Versus Scale 07:25 Consequence Gap Systems 08:32 Five Step Reset Plan 10:16 Coaching And Accelerator 11:12 Final Takeaway And Outro Useful links: The Digital Academy Online Course Free Resources and more information on Kate's coaching programmes Buy the "How to Lead" book Connect with Kate on LinkedIn Follow Kate on TikTok Contact Kate https://www.waterfallhill.co.uk/links
Why Your Team is Waiting to be Told What to do
04/06/2026 | 15 mins.
In part two of a three-part miniseries on why it still all comes back to you, Kate explores why teams often wait to be told what to do, and how leaders are inadvertently reinforcing the pattern. She outlines the cost of centralised judgment - leaders becoming the organisation’s bottleneck - and offers three shifts to build ownership while protecting quality. Episode Highlights: 00:00 Why Teams Wait 00:39 Welcome and Setup 01:17 The Linda Problem 01:39 Waiting Is Learned 02:37 What Waiting Looks Like 03:51 How Leaders Teach Waiting 06:08 The Quality Control Dilemma 06:58 Shift One Boundaries 08:13 Shift Two Coaching 09:19 Shift Three Debrief 10:36 Staying Consistent Under Pressure 11:48 Two Diagnostic Tests 12:42 Three Actions Next Week 14:02 Wrap Up and Next Steps 14:34 Outro and Subscribe Useful links: The Digital Academy Online Course Free Resources and more information on Kate's coaching programmes Buy the "How to Lead" book Connect with Kate on LinkedIn Follow Kate on TikTok Contact Kate https://www.waterfallhill.co.uk/links
Why You’re Still Doing Everything Yourself
21/05/2026 | 8 mins.
Why leaders with capable teams still end up doing everything themselves, the first episode in a three-part How to Lead mini-series. This episode, Kate explores a common pattern: leaders delegate but keep stepping back in to tweak work that’s “not quite right”. Each time you quietly redo work, you stay busy, your team improves more slowly, and ownership never leaves you, which teaches the team to hesitate and check in more. Episode Highlights: 00:00 Why It All Comes Back 00:19 Meet Your Host 01:26 The Linda Scenario 01:52 The Control Trap 02:53 Standards In Your Head 04:04 Identity And Tradeoffs 04:43 Different Versus Worse 05:54 Four Shifts This Week 06:33 What Happens If You Dont 07:02 Wrap Up And Next Steps Useful links: The Digital Academy Online Course Free Resources and more information on Kate's coaching programmes Buy the "How to Lead" book Connect with Kate on LinkedIn Follow Kate on TikTok Contact Kate https://www.waterfallhill.co.uk/links
How to Disagree Without Damaging the Relationship
07/05/2026 | 11 mins.
How leaders can disagree without harming relationships. In today's episode, Kate discusses how disagreement doesn’t damage trust by itself; trust erodes when leaders defend their identity and authority instead of examining the idea. Strong leaders separate the person, position, and problem, use steady phrases to keep focus on thinking, and avoid both dominance and conflict avoidance that leads to silence. Episode Highlights: 00:00 Disagree Without Damage 00:51 Linda Gets It Wrong 01:37 Why Disagreement Turns Personal 02:28 Separate Ego From Ideas 03:40 Steady Phrases That Work 04:13 The Hidden Cost of Avoidance 05:36 Tone Drives the Room 06:54 Language That Holds Authority 07:36 Five Practices to Try 08:58 Get Support and Practice 09:47 Final Takeaways and Outro Useful links: The Digital Academy Online Course Free Resources and more information on Kate's coaching programmes Buy the "How to Lead" book Connect with Kate on LinkedIn Follow Kate on TikTok Contact Kate https://www.waterfallhill.co.uk/links
How to Handle Attitude Issues
23/04/2026 | 10 mins.
How leaders should handle a team member’s “bad attitude,” is the subject of this episode of 'How to Lead' with Kate Waterfall Hill. Kate discusses how attitude is usually a sign, not the root issue, and recommends separating capability from behaviour, addressing issues early, asking what’s going on and listening. Leaders should also examine their own clarity, the space they create for honesty, and the broader culture. Episode Highlights: 00:00 Handling Bad Attitudes 00:46 Linda’s Team Dilemma 01:42 Stop Avoiding the Talk 02:32 Lead With Curiosity 03:19 Behavior vs Capability 04:25 Say It Early Cleanly 05:12 Ask Listen Understand 06:01 Look in the Mirror 06:44 Set Clear Expectations 07:32 From Curiosity to Accountability 08:11 Weekly Practice Checklist 09:00 Wrap Up and Next Steps Useful links: The Digital Academy Online Course Free Resources and more information on Kate's coaching programmes Buy the "How to Lead" book Connect with Kate on LinkedIn Follow Kate on TikTok Contact Kate https://www.waterfallhill.co.uk/links
How to Lead is the go-to podcast for CEOs, founders, business owners, and leaders who want to strike the perfect balance between authority and empathy.
I’m Kate Waterfall Hill - leadership coach, author, and creator of Linda, the bad manager, my alter ego who shows us how not to lead. With over 30 years’ experience working with and coaching CEOs and founders (and being one myself), I’ve helped hundreds of leaders elevate their skills and confidence.
In each episode, I’ll share simple, actionable tips and habits to take the stress out of people management. Every episode starts with Linda’s “what not to do” moment, followed by practical insights on how to handle leadership challenges with finesse.
You’ll find How to Lead on all major podcast platforms, plus video episodes on YouTube. My best-selling book, How to Lead, is also a great companion to the show.
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For coaching programmes or my self-paced Digital Academy, visit www.waterfallhill.co.uk.
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