|
|
|
|
Guest: Steve Sanduski, Former Host of the CEO Coaching International Podcast.
Overview: For 11 years, Steve Sanduski sat across from hundreds of CEOs, founders, entrepreneurs, private equity leaders, and world-class coaches. As the longtime host of the CEO Coaching International Podcast, he developed a front-row view into what separates extraordinary leaders from everyone else.
In this special episode, Mark Moses turns the microphone around and interviews Steve about the BIGGEST lessons he learned from more than a decade of conversations with some of the world’s most successful business leaders.
From coachability and culture to resilience and leadership in an AI-driven future, Steve shares the patterns he has seen over and over again among leaders who achieve remarkable success.
The Best Leaders Are Coachable
When Mark asked Steve about the one trait shared by virtually every CEO who builds something significant, Steve’s first answer was coachability.
For Steve, the most successful leaders are not the ones who know it all. They are the ones who want to learn it all.
“The most successful leaders, the most successful entrepreneurs, they’re not the ones who know it all. They’re the ones who really want to learn it all.”
Steve observed that great leaders remain lifelong learners. They seek feedback, stay open to new ideas, and understand that the strengths that helped them succeed can become liabilities if they stop evolving.
“They have a great relationship to feedback.”
Key Takeaway: The best leaders combine confidence with humility and never stop learning.
Great Leaders Create Leverage Through Other People
When Steve reflected on the lessons he learned from entrepreneur Rick Sapio, one insight stood out above the rest.
Rick spent years interviewing more than 40 billionaires, looking for the patterns that separated them from other successful entrepreneurs. One billionaire explained the difference this way:
“A billionaire, when they’ve got an idea, they make sure that they get the right person to take this idea and start running with it.”
By contrast, many entrepreneurs immediately jump into execution themselves—building the website, creating the marketing plan, or developing the product.
Mark summarized the lesson in a way that has stuck with him ever since:
“Millionaires do. Billionaires point to others to do.”
Steve explained that the billionaire saw himself not as an operator, but as an architect—someone responsible for setting direction, selecting leaders, and creating leverage through other people.
“Leadership isn’t about being busy. It’s about building something that’s going to succeed and grow without you at the center of it.”
Key Takeaway: The leaders who scale the biggest businesses stop trying to do everything themselves. They build teams, create leverage, and focus on the work that only they can do.
Successful CEOs Don’t Have It All Figured Out
One myth Steve says was completely shattered during his years hosting the podcast is the idea that successful CEOs have all the answers.
They don’t.
Many of the leaders he interviewed openly discussed moments of doubt, uncertainty, and feeling overwhelmed by the weight of leadership.
What separates them is not certainty.
It’s structure.
“Success doesn’t come from certainty. Success doesn’t come from having all the answers, but it’s really more about structured execution.”
Steve repeatedly heard leaders describe the same fundamentals:
- Vision
- Annual plans
- Quarterly goals
- KPIs
- Accountability
- Meeting cadence
These systems help leaders navigate uncertainty and continue moving forward.
Key Takeaway: The best CEOs don’t have all the answers. They build systems that help them find them.
Most Growth Problems Are Leadership Problems in Disguise
One of Steve’s biggest mindset shifts came from realizing that many business growth challenges aren’t actually sales or marketing problems.
They’re leadership problems.
“Most growth problems are actually leadership problems in disguise.”
While tactics matter, Steve believes sustainable growth comes from leadership discipline.
Leaders who establish clear goals, accountability, KPIs, and meeting cadences identify problems early and make adjustments before they become major obstacles.
“It’s less about those specific things and it’s more about the discipline behind everything.”
Key Takeaway: Leadership discipline creates the framework that allows growth to happen consistently.
Culture Is the Operating System of the Business
Another lesson that surprised Steve was the importance of culture.
Early in his career, he admits he sometimes viewed culture as a buzzword.
After hundreds of conversations with successful leaders, he changed his perspective.
“Culture is not a layer on top of the company. It’s really the operating system for the business.”
Steve believes culture does the heavy lifting when leaders aren’t present. It shapes behavior, reinforces accountability, and helps organizations move toward their vision.
As companies scale, culture becomes even more important because leaders can no longer personally influence every decision.
Key Takeaway: Culture determines how people behave when nobody is watching.
Resilience Defines Breakthrough Moments
One story that stayed with Steve came from entrepreneur Sarah Dusek, founder of Under Canvas.
Early in the company’s history, a massive storm flattened her luxury glamping camp near Yellowstone National Park. Sitting in her car with her young children, she believed her business might be over.
Instead of quitting, she chose to rebuild.
Employees and customers rallied together, restored the camp, and helped the business continue growing.
For Steve, the lesson was unforgettable.
“It’s not so much about what happens to you as it is how do you respond to what happens to you.”
Years later, Dusek achieved her goal of selling the company for $100 million.
Key Takeaway: Resilience often determines whether adversity becomes an ending or a breakthrough.
The Future Belongs to Leaders Who Balance Compass and Wind
Looking ahead, Steve believes the next decade may be the most challenging one leaders have faced.
AI, changing institutions, shifting markets, and increasing complexity are forcing leaders to adapt faster than ever.
To navigate that uncertainty, Steve introduced a concept he calls “Compass and Wind.”
The compass represents staying committed to a clear direction.
The wind represents adapting when conditions change.
“The discernment is going to come in for leaders determining when do I stick to my compass heading and when am I going to shift based on which way the wind is blowing.”
Key Takeaway: Future leaders will need both conviction and adaptability.
Final Thought: Make BIG Happen Through Mastery
After interviewing hundreds of leaders, Steve believes extraordinary success rarely comes from one breakthrough moment.
Instead, it comes from showing up every day and doing the work.
“Make BIG Happen isn’t about some single breakthrough idea. It’s about doing all those little things just right day after day.”
Mastery means staying committed when progress feels slow, making adjustments along the way, and continuing to execute.
Eventually, those small actions compound into extraordinary results.
“One day you’re going to wake up and you’re going to realize, ‘Oh my goodness, I actually did make BIG happen.'”
Key Takeaway: BIG results come from consistent execution, not a single moment of brilliance.
Listen to the podcast here.
About CEO Coaching International
CEO Coaching International works with CEOs and their leadership teams to achieve extraordinary results quarter after quarter, year after year. Known globally for its success in coaching growth-focused entrepreneurs to meaningful exits, the firm has coached more than 2,000 CEOs and entrepreneurs across 100+ industries and 90 countries. Its coaches—former CEOs, presidents, and executives—have led businesses ranging from startups to over $10 billion, driving double-digit sales and profit growth, many culminating in eight, nine, or ten-figure exits.
Companies that have worked with CEO Coaching International for two years or more have achieved an average revenue CAGR of 22.8%, nearly 2X the U.S. average, and an average EBITDA CAGR of 37.5%, nearly 3X the national benchmark.
Discover how coaching can transform your leadership journey at ceocoachinginternational.com.
Learn more about executive coaching | Meet our world-class coaches
