Jul 8, 2026 · 22 min · 10 segments
Productive teams do not move faster because leaders push harder; they move faster because the goal is clear. In this episode, Whitney Putnam talks with GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft about…
David AshcraftHost
Whitney PutnamHost
We are talking about productivity today, and I am so curious about how you approach this topic, David.
How do you approach productivity as a leader? Are you a check off the list kind of leader? What does this look like for you?
Whitney, I would say, first of all, what I'd look for in a staff person, and maybe the word that I would go with productivity is initiative.
And so I want somebody that's going to take initiative, that they're going to get things done.
And there would be some horses that were more trail rides and they were just plotters and they just go along and it didn't matter who was sitting on them.
And you've got to constantly be kind of pushing them along, prodding them to go faster.
And then you've got other horses where you've got to pull back the reins and slow them down.
And so what I constantly say is, For a staff person, I want somebody I'd much rather have to pull the reins back and say, ooh, slow down, where you're going off course a little bit, go this way, go that way, than somebody I've got to constantly prod and move along.
And so part of productivity in my mind is that taking initiative and running with something as opposed to waiting and being told what to do.
Do you see that leaders that typically do that, that they almost, because sometimes I can see people that they are really busy, but they're not necessarily, maybe they're busily prodding along, you know, like they can look really busy, but they're still not accomplishing the goals, which right.
We want to do the things that are, you know, the goals that we have set in place for us, but sometimes we can be productive with the wrong things.
We are talking about productivity today, and I am so curious about how you approach this topic, David.
How do you approach productivity as a leader? Are you a check off the list kind of leader? What does this look like for you?
Whitney, I would say, first of all, what I'd look for in a staff person, and maybe the word that I would go with productivity is initiative.
And so I want somebody that's going to take initiative, that they're going to get things done.
And there would be some horses that were more trail rides and they were just plotters and they just go along and it didn't matter who was sitting on them.
And you've got to constantly be kind of pushing them along, prodding them to go faster.
And then you've got other horses where you've got to pull back the reins and slow them down.
And so what I constantly say is, For a staff person, I want somebody I'd much rather have to pull the reins back and say, ooh, slow down, where you're going off course a little bit, go this way, go that way, than somebody I've got to constantly prod and move along.
And so part of productivity in my mind is that taking initiative and running with something as opposed to waiting and being told what to do.
Do you see that leaders that typically do that, that they almost, because sometimes I can see people that they are really busy, but they're not necessarily, maybe they're busily prodding along, you know, like they can look really busy, but they're still not accomplishing the goals, which right.
We want to do the things that are, you know, the goals that we have set in place for us, but sometimes we can be productive with the wrong things.
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