171: "Can Companies with 5 Employees and 50 Digital Employees Thrive?" ft. Justin Coats

172: Zia Mohi: "Are You Leading… or Just Taking Credit?"

In this conversation, Erik sits down with Zia Mohi, COO of CTI Staffing, to unpack a journey that started in reluctant sales and evolved into high-level operational leadership. What unfolds is a raw, practical exploration of effort, accountability, ego, and what it really takes to build high-performing teams. Zia brings a no-nonsense perspective shaped by trial, failure, and a willingness to “finally try.” From the bullpen at Xerox to leading large teams, he breaks down the mindset shifts that separate average performers from elite leaders—and why leadership success often hinges less on intelligence and more on ownership, consistency, and emotional discipline. 👤 About the Guest Zia Mohi is the COO of CTI Staffing, where he helps companies scale through smarter hiring, operational strategy, and talent solutions. With a foundation in sales during the Great Recession, Zia built his career by mastering effort-driven performance and translating those lessons into leadership, team development, and operational excellence.  🧭 Conversation Highlights * The Moment Everything Changed. Zia realized he wasn’t losing because of skill—he was losing because he wasn’t trying. That single decision flipped his trajectory.  * Effort Beats Everything. Education, charisma, talent—they all matter less than consistent, high-volume effort over time.  * From Sales to Leadership (The Hard Way). Transitioning into leadership meant letting go of personal wins and learning how to win through others.  * Failing Forward as a Leader. A major operational bet failed—but built trust, clarified strategy, and improved team morale.  * Everyone Is in Sales (Whether They Admit It or Not). From recruiters to bookkeepers, every role involves influencing outcomes—aka selling.  💡 Key Takeaways * Effort is the ultimate differentiator. You can’t out-strategize a lack of action. Volume and consistency win.  * There are no mistakes—only repeated ones. Failure is part of the process. Repeating the same failure is the real problem.  * Leadership requires ego reduction. The shift from “look at me” to “build them” is what unlocks real influence.  * Trust is built when leaders own failure. Taking responsibility—especially publicly—creates psychological safety.  * Alignment beats compliance. People don’t care about quotas. They care about what those quotas unlock in their lives.  ❓ Questions That Mattered *  What changes when you actually decide to try?  *  How do you lead through failure without losing your team’s trust?  *  What does accountability look like when you’re the one who got it wrong?  *  How do you motivate people who don’t care about company goals?  *  What happens when you treat every role as a sales role?  🗣️ Notable Quotes *  “The only difference between me and him… is that he tries.”  *  “There are no mistakes—only learning. Unless you do it twice.”  *  “Luck is just hard work and timing meeting up.”  *  “Pass the praise, absorb the blame.”  *  “If you’re not helping with sales, your value is diminished.”  🔗 Links & Resources * Follow Zia Mohi on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ziamohi/] * Check out CTI's Website: ctistaff.com [https://ctistaff.com/]

171: "Can Companies with 5 Employees and 50 Digital Employees Thrive?" ft. Justin Coats

Erik and Justin unpack what an “AI orchestration layer” actually means when agents move from experiments into day-to-day operations. They focus on the practical shift from building tools to managing systems: mirroring the org chart with digital agents, defining who maintains them, and creating an auditing layer so leaders can trust performance at scale. 🧭 Conversation Highlights * Teams are quickly moving from a handful of agents to managing 5 to 10 agents per person, and that forces org design questions, not just tooling questions. * Justin frames the orchestration layer as translating real job responsibilities into AI agents, then stacking the necessary “maintenance” role to keep them current and connected. * An agent’s basic structure includes channels (where it can communicate), instructions/persona (its “job description”), skills (step-by-step processes written in plain language), plus memory and access * Auditing is still emerging: some systems show activity and conversational logs, but companies will need better frameworks to measure outcomes, effectiveness, and risk across many agents. 💡 Key Takeaways * The big change is managerial: leaders (and future roles) will oversee two mirrored systems, humans in the physical org chart and agents in the digital one. * Maintenance becomes its own discipline because agents rely on specific workflows, skills, knowledge files, tool integrations, and ongoing updates. * Agent development can be lower-friction than people expect because “skills” and “instructions” can be described in natural language rather than requiring traditional software engineering. * Trust at scale will depend on auditing: what agents did, how well they did it, and whether changes (like tool updates or memory behavior) quietly degrade performance. ❓ Questions That Mattered * Who should own agent maintenance when one person might end up responsible for dozens of digital entities? * What does an agent need in order to operate reliably (channels, instructions, skills, knowledge, memory) and how do those parts change over time? * Where does visibility come from today: can you audit outcomes and correctness, not just view that the agent “worked”? * How do you measure agent effectiveness in a way that’s actually accountable, like tracking nudges, accept rates, and task completion? 🗣️ Notable Quotes * “You need to start thinking about how you manage two mirrored org charts where you have for every position 5 to 10 different digital entities.” * “What you're talking about is a new job, a new role. It lives sort of in IT, it lives sort of in HR.” * “Agents are fairly new. Last year, 2025, the infrastructure for agents to work was being worked on. Now that infrastructure exists.” 🔗 Links & Resources * Listen To Other Episodes Co-Hosted With Justin [https://www.google.com/url?q=https://podcast.languageofleadership.io/categories/i-have-some-ai-questions-with-justin-coats/&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1780528759104935&usg=AOvVaw1Ae6zodJyXV8bCEIrb8Qo1]

170: "What Changes When You Start Leading Leaders?" ft. Alli Murphy

Erik and Alli compare notes on what goes wrong when high-performing leaders move from managing individual contributors to leading leaders. They highlight recurring gaps, including losing ground-level visibility, suddenly being expected to influence strategy at higher levels, and struggling to develop and communicate effectively with the leaders beneath you. 🧭 Conversation Highlights * The IC to people-manager transition often isn’t taught, so the “leader of leaders” shift compounds the learning-by-trial-and-error problem. * A common trap is staying in the weeds and trying to personally verify what’s happening below, rather than building systems to keep you connected without micromanaging. * New leadership layers add boardroom dynamics: you’re expected to influence peers and strategy, not just execute plans handed to you. * When people are promoted over peers, they can develop a “prove I earned this” posture and also face more incomplete-information and uncertainty. 💡 Key Takeaways * Leaders of leaders need leverage, not more hands-on work: the goal is to stay informed via systems and influence rather than re-owning problems. * Strategy competence becomes an operational skill. You need time to understand what senior leadership cares about so you can connect that to execution. * Communication and development channels often break when you lose direct visibility. You need a clearer framework for discussing performance and coaching needs with the leaders under you. * Delegation and coaching are the foundational multiplier. If you get it right at the IC level, you can teach it downward through your leadership layer. ❓ Questions That Mattered * What common gaps show up when people move from leading ICs to leading leaders without being supported through the transition? * How should new leaders adjust when they no longer have ground-level visibility but are still accountable for outcomes? * What changes when you enter boardroom and peer-influence dynamics rather than only executing strategy? * Which single competency would you bet on for someone preparing for the “uncharted water” of leading leaders? 🗣️ Notable Quotes * “their job is not therapist.” * “Sometimes there isn't one.” * “learn how to delegate well and actually coach people.” * “that game of incomplete information is often new when you move into this lead leaders role” 🔗 Links & Resources * Listen To Other Episodes Co-Hosted With Alli [https://www.google.com/url?q=https://podcast.languageofleadership.io/categories/leadership-talks-with-alli-murphy/&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1778773895720838&usg=AOvVaw00t9nGBdaX0Q1OFNSxU61u]

169: "Are We Really Preparing Like it Matters?" (reflections on Scott Anderson)

🧠 Erik’s Take Erik reflects on his conversation with Scott Anderson as a rare opportunity to learn from someone who has led where most people will never go—combat zones, humanitarian crises, and high-stakes environments where failure has real consequences. What stands out most isn’t just Scott’s experience—it’s the contrast. The gap between how leadership must operate in those environments versus how casually it’s often approached in business. Erik leans into that tension. If we claim the stakes are high in our work, why don’t we prepare like they are? 🎯 Top Insights from the Interview * Preparation scales with consequences. In the military and UN, missions often require 30–50% of total time spent in preparation. In business, it’s often close to zero.  * The range of “unknowns” defines the environment. In conflict zones, unpredictability is extreme—routes disappear, environments change instantly. In business, most risks are slower and more visible.  * You don’t get better without exposure. Leaders improve through reps—either real-world experience or structured simulation. There’s no shortcut.  * Mentorship accelerates everything. Watching how great leaders think—not just what they do—is one of the fastest ways to grow.  * Business leadership under-trains for reality. There’s a disconnect between perceived stakes and actual preparation in corporate environments.  🧩 The Personal Layer This episode hits a familiar nerve for Erik. He’s spent his career in environments where performance matters—but this conversation forces a deeper question: Are we actually preparing like it matters? There’s a quiet tension underneath his reflection: *  We say things are important  *  We feel pressure to perform  *  But we rarely build the systems to truly practice  And that gap is where performance breaks down. Scott’s experience becomes a mirror—highlighting how much of modern leadership is reactive instead of trained. 🧰 From Insight to Action * Audit your preparation habits. Before your next “important” meeting, ask: Did I actually prepare—or just show up? * Create practice environments. Don’t wait for real stakes. Simulate them. Role play, rehearse, pressure test.  * Expose your team to your thinking. Don’t just show outcomes—walk people through how you arrived there.  * Invest in reps, not just knowledge. Reading and learning isn’t enough. Build muscle memory through doing.  * Redefine what “high stakes” means for you. If it matters—treat it like it matters.  🗣️ Notable Quotes “The higher the stakes, the more time you spend preparing.” “In business, we say the stakes are high—but we don’t prepare like they are.” “You get better through exposure—either by doing it or by watching someone who has.” “The range of what can go wrong in a conflict zone is almost unimaginable.” “We don’t train leaders—we just expect them to perform.” 🔗 Links & Resources * Listen to Scott Anderson's Episode [https://podcast.languageofleadership.io/164-what-does-leadership-look-like-when-lives-are-actually-on-the-line]

168: "Building Culture That's Actually Lived, Not Just Talked About" (reflections on JD Hilzendager)

🧠 Erik’s Take Erik reflects on his conversation with JD Hilzendager as a study in intentional culture, unconventional thinking, and problem-first leadership. What stands out most isn’t just what JD has built—but how he thinks about building it. This episode is less about tactics and more about mental models: how culture is formed, how individuals decide to break away from the norm, and how great organizations create value by relentlessly solving problems.  🎯 Top Insights from the Interview * Culture is language, not perks. It’s the phrases, questions, and behaviors that become so normal they’re unconscious  * Different thinking creates different outcomes. If you want different results, you can’t follow the same playbook as everyone else  * Problem-solving is the real job. The best organizations don’t just execute—they continuously identify and solve “stupid things”  * Technology adoption is a cultural challenge. Tools only work if people feel safe using them and evolving their roles  * Great companies create roles, not just fill them. When work changes, the best leaders redefine value—not eliminate people  🧩 The Personal Layer Erik connects deeply with JD’s mindset around not fitting inside traditional corporate structures. There’s a shared recognition that some people are wired to question, push, and rethink systems—not just operate within them. He highlights the tension many professionals feel: * Do I follow the path that’s proven and stable?  * Or do I pursue something that aligns with how I naturally think?  There’s also a deeper appreciation for how culture isn’t accidental—it’s built slowly, intentionally, and often invisibly over years. 🧰 From Insight to Action * Audit your culture through language. What phrases are “normal” in your team? What does that reveal?  * Challenge default thinking. If you’re getting average results, ask: where am I just doing what everyone else does?  * Find one “stupid thing” each week. Identify inefficiencies or broken processes—and take ownership of solving them  * Reframe your role around value creation. Don’t cling to tasks—focus on problems you’re uniquely positioned to solve  * Make change feel safe. When introducing new tools or ideas, show people where they fit—not where they’re replaced  🗣️ Notable Quotes * “Culture is what’s normal to the tongue.”  * “If you’re doing what everyone else is doing, you’re going to get the same results.”  * “Find one stupid thing each week.”  * “Your job is to find problems and solve them.”  * “Great companies don’t just adopt technology—they adapt their people.”  🔗 Links & Resources * Listen to JD Hilzendager's Episode [https://podcast.languageofleadership.io/161-jd-hilzendager-building-a-business-is-more-about-how-you-think-than-what-you-think]