Level 10 Leaders – Details, episodes & analysis

This Level 10 Leaders Power Tip is from Ruth Uribes, Heroic Voice Academy, sharing a key insight on applying the EOS® concept of GWC (Get It, Want It, Capacity to Do It) with an often-overlooked element: intuition. While GWC helps ensure the right people are in the right seats, Ruth explains that true alignment goes beyond skills and experience.

Through real-world examples, she highlights how ignoring red flags, especially when someone has to “convince” others they fit, can lead to broken trust and a damaged culture. Her message is clear: great leaders don’t rely on frameworks alone. By trusting your gut alongside GWC, you can make better decisions, protect your team culture, and lead with greater confidence and alignment.

Connect with Ruth Uribes:
LinkedIn
heroicvoice.com

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/level10leaders/

Ryan Castle sits down with Mark Stanley, EOS Implementer and co-author of "Data: Harness Your Numbers to Go from Uncertain to Unstoppable", to explore the practical realities of building and scaling a business through a data-driven lens.

Mark shares three powerful insights from his journey: the importance of truly understanding the market you operate in, why gross profit matters more than revenue, and how speed creates a meaningful competitive advantage. Drawing from decades of experience, including multiple failed ventures, he unpacks the lessons that shaped his approach to leadership, decision-making, and growth.

This episode is for entrepreneurs, founders, and leadership teams looking to simplify complexity, sharpen their numbers, and execute with greater clarity. If you’re navigating growth, struggling with focus, or want to build a more disciplined, data-driven business, Mark’s insights offer both practical tools and hard-earned perspective.

Useful links:
Connect with Mark Stanley on LinkedIn
Data: Harness Your Numbers to Go from Uncertain to Unstoppable
unstoppable-biz.com

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Where else you can find us

Website: https://www.level10leaders.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/level10leaders/

Even the best EOS® visionaries can unintentionally frustrate their teams. In this Power Tip, executive coach Ron Higgs explains why the issue is rarely a lack of ideas and almost always a lack of clarity. Thinking out loud fuels innovation, but without context it can overwhelm teams and slow execution.

Ron’s fix is simple and practical. Clarify your intent out loud. Say “I’m brainstorming” or “we need to decide.” Then actively partner with your integrator to challenge unclear moments in real time. The result is higher trust, stronger accountability, better Level 10 meetings, and traction without killing creative momentum.

Connect with Ron Higgs:
LinkedIn
Wolf Management Solutions

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Where else you can find us

Website: https://www.level10leaders.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/level10leaders/

Our host Ryan Castle sits down with Scott Anderson, former US Army Major and former UN humanitarian leader, now COO at Real Property Management Express in Sioux Falls.

Scott’s career spans 21 years in the Army, tours in Afghanistan, foreign military sales in Saudi Arabia, and nearly a decade in humanitarian operations across Gaza and Jerusalem. He shares what leadership looks like when the stakes are real and the environment is unpredictable. We dig into three leadership anchors Scott relies on: know yourself (authenticity and consistency beat charisma), drown out the noise (focus on the few inputs that drive outcomes), and hire slow, fire fast (protecting culture and momentum).

If you’re leading in a fast-moving business or managing a team under pressure, this episode offers practical lessons you can use immediately.

Useful links:

Connect with Jonathan B. Smith on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottanderson1967/

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Where else you can find us

Website: https://www.level10leaders.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/level10leaders/

In this Power Tip, Nina Schwark, founder and visionary of OpsLab, shares insights on using a State of the Company presentation to drive EOS® adoption beyond the leadership team.

Nina explains how a simple, quarterly, company-wide presentation builds clarity, trust, and alignment by answering three key questions: where the company has been, where it is now, and where it is going. She also shares practical tips on balancing wins and challenges, keeping the format consistent, and involving the full leadership team.

If you are an EOS® Integrator, fractional leader, or executive looking to create stronger alignment and buy-in across your organisation, this episode offers a practical approach you can use straight away.

Useful links:

Connect with Nina Schwark on LinkedIn
www.opslab.ca

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Where else you can find us

Website: https://www.level10leaders.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/level10leaders/

Our host Ryan Castle sits down with Jonathan B. Smith, best-selling author of Fight Less, Win More, negotiations instructor, and EOS Implementer, just after the release of his new book.

Jonathan is a senior practitioner with The Black Swan Group, founded by former FBI lead hostage negotiator Christopher Voss. In this conversation, Jonathan shares how elite negotiation skills apply far beyond the boardroom. We dig into how to remove yourself as a threat in high-stakes conversations, why being heard is often the real breakthrough in negotiation, and how better listening changes outcomes with clients, teams, and partners. Jonathan also unpacks practical tools for making hard decisions faster, negotiating under pressure, and avoiding the costly delay that holds leaders back.

If you lead people, run a business, or negotiate every day and want better results with less conflict, this episode offers practical, field-tested strategies you can use immediately.

Useful links:

Get the book Fight Less, Win More by Jonathan B. Smith, available now on Amazon
Connect with Jonathan B. Smith on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/staycuriousjbs/

staycuriousjbs.com

 
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Where else you can find us

Website: https://www.level10leaders.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/level10leaders/

This week’s Level 10 Leaders Power Tip comes from Hector Alvarado, Optimize Business Systems, who reminds us that the real CEO superpower isn’t hustle: it’s strategic focus. Growth doesn’t come from adding more initiatives, products, or meetings. It comes from strategic subtraction and executing a small number of aligned priorities relentlessly.

Hector draws on lessons from Bezos, Buffett, and Musk to show why saying no is often the most powerful move a leader can make. If you’re juggling too many priorities or feel your team is busy but not moving the needle, this tip reframes your role: success comes from deciding what not to do.

Connect with Hector Alvarado:
LinkedIn
The Inner Circle
optimizebusinesssystems.com

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Where else you can find us

Website: https://www.level10leaders.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/level10leaders/

Ryan Castle sits down with Megan Long, founder of Second First and longtime second-in-command, to explore what really makes the visionary–integrator partnership work. Megan explains why business operating systems like EOS® or Scaling Up are just the “Windows layer,” and how the right “software” on top – clear roles, better same-page meetings, and a shared end game – prevents organizational whiplash and turns Rocket Fuel into reality. She also unpacks why executive growth requires “extreme discomfort,” and makes the case that integrators, more than visionaries, benefit most from coaching and peer groups because they are the true force multipliers in the business.

Useful links:

Connect with Megan Long on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganclong/
Second First: https://www.secondfirst.com/
The Right Hand Roadmap podcast: https://www.secondfirst.com/podcast
Second First on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@yoursecondfirst

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Where else you can find us

Website: https://www.level10leaders.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/level10leaders/

This week’s Level 10 Leaders Power Tip comes from Dianne Cubinar, Co-Founder of RO’I Ops & Beyond, who shines a light on a hidden operational risk: the invisible pothole of uncertainty. Dianne explains how silence in a team triggers guesswork, slows execution, erodes trust, and quietly kills your rocks.

Her tip reframes feedback as a system problem, not a people problem. She shares a simple move leaders can make in their next Level 10 Meeting: pause on a metric that’s already on track and ask the owner what system or conversation kept it green. That small step turns success into a repeatable process rather than an accident. If you’ve been struggling with hesitation, rework, or a team that’s “busy but unclear,” this power tip helps you build a cleaner, clearer feedback loop, and stop uncertainty from stealing your traction.

Connect with Dianne Cubinar:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/diannecxh
RO'I Ops & Beyond roiopsandbeyond.co

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Where else you can find us

Website: https://www.level10leaders.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/level10leaders/

Ryan Castle sits down with Jen Hamilton, Fractional COO, COO mentor and founder of Hamilton COOs, whose career took a hard left turn from CPA to operations. Jen shares how starting life in the numbers gave her a powerful edge in running businesses, and why she now prefers fixing broken systems, coaching leaders and building high performing teams over doing the detailed work herself.

Jen unpacks what a great fractional COO actually does for an EOS business: using data and scorecards to spot the real problems, turning client complaints into retention and referral engines. She explains how to separate doer seats from leader seats, why mixing them kills growth, and how to use fractional talent to avoid overpaid generalists. Finally, Jen shares her playbook for onboarding a fractional integrator the right way, including what visionaries must stop doing if they want real leverage. If you are a visionary or integrator wondering whether a fractional COO could help you get to 100 percent strong, this episode will give you clear, practical answers.

Useful links:

Connect with Jen Hamilton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferdawnhamilton/
www.HamiltonCOOs.com 

Sign up for free monthly roundtables with peers: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hamilton-coos/events

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Where else you can find us

Website: https://www.level10leaders.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/level10leaders/