Have you ever wondered how your childhood experiences shaped your work ethic today? In this solo episode, I share personal stories about growing up in a household where chores, responsibility, and initiative were non-negotiable—and how those lessons have carried over into my adult life. I reflect on how these early habits built the foundation for a strong work ethic that continues to influence my life.

But this isn’t just about childhood—it’s about leadership too. I explore how leaders can help their teams develop character skills like accountability, initiative, and effort through intentional assignments and coaching. Whether you’re a parent instilling values in your kids or a leader shaping your team’s culture, this episode is packed with actionable insights to strengthen character at every stage of life.

I’m the co-founder and president of Grow Strong Leaders. Our online resources help leaders strengthen their character and communication skills to build strong relationships and inspire others to perform at the highest level.

You’ll discover:

• How childhood chores build a lifelong work ethic
• The connection between character and leadership success
• Ways to instill responsibility in kids and teams
• Practical steps to strengthen accountability skills
• Resources for developing character in yourself and others

Watch the episode:

Connect with Meredith

Meredith’s Resources

Website

Grow Strong Leaders

Books

Connect with Your Team: Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

Grow Strong Character

Related Podcast Episodes

289: Why Strong Character Matters

284: You Can Grow Strong Character

Twelve years ago, when my father died, the funeral director made a statement to my mother, my sister, and me that I’ve never forgotten.

In this solo episode, I share what he said and how it applied to my father. I also describe seven ways Dad lived that have had a lasting impact on all of us who knew him.

I’m the co-founder and president of Grow Strong Leaders. We’ve created online resources that help leaders strengthen their character and communication skills to build strong relationships and inspire others to perform at the highest level.

You’ll discover:

• Why my father never made one enemy throughout his entire life
• How a strong work ethic drove everything he did
• What Dad did to build trust instantly
• The 3 words of sage advice Dad passed on to everyone in the family
• Questions you can ask yourself as you reflect on your life and how you want to be remembered

Watch the episode:

Connect with Meredith

Meredith’s Resources

Website

Grow Strong Leaders 

Books

Connect with Your Team: Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

Peer Coaching Made Simple

I’ve been hosting my podcast for more than five years, since June 2019, and have never done a solo episode. That changes with this episode! Many of my listeners have requested that I share some of my thoughts about leadership, so I’ve decided to devote one episode each month to speaking directly with you.

For this episode, I focused on the topic of character—what it is and two specific areas that show why it’s essential for leadership. My business partner Denny Coates and I have been immersed in this aspect of leadership development for decades, and even more so in the past two years as Denny has worked on his latest book, Grow Strong Character, and the two of us have created content for our new self-paced leadership development program, GSL SkillBuilder.

I’m the co-founder and president of Grow Strong Leaders, a company that publishes software tools and books to help people build strong relationships at work and at home.

You’ll discover:

• What strong character consists of
• The role of character in leadership
• Why character development strengthens emotional intelligence
• The importance of helping people live into an organization’s core values
• Resources that can help you strengthen your own character

Watch the episode:

Connect with Meredith

Meredith’s Resources

Website

GrowStrongLeaders.com

Books

Connect with Your Team: Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills

Peer Coaching Made Simple

Want to know what separates peak performers from everyone else? Dr. Ruth Gotian has studied super successful people for decades and shares the four elements that set them apart. You can learn and adopt these same behaviors.

Ruth is the author of The Success Factor: Developing the Mindset and Skillset for Peak Performance and a contributor to Forbes and Psychology Today where she writes about optimizing success. She won the Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement “Radar” Award, ranking her the #1 emerging management thinker in the world to bridge theory and practice.

You’ll discover:

• A definition of success that has nothing to do with money
• The single sentence from one of Ruth’s mentors that totally changed the focus of her work
• The four elements that all super successful people have in common
• What you can do to identify and work with a mentor
• How the mindset of very high achievers differs from everyone else

Watch the episode:

Connect with Dr. Ruth

Dr. Ruth’s Website

Ruth Gotian

Dr. Ruth’s Book

The Success Factor: Developing the Mindset and Skillset for Peak Business Performance