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E92 | Lessons Learned with Steve Stanley

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Steve Stanley is a former education CEO and Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel who has spent decades building leaders in high-stakes environments. Now a Director at the CEO Institute WA and Team Smart, he designs strengths-based leadership and change programs across business, government and elite sport, including BHP, Chevron, the West Coast Eagles and the WA Institute of Sport.

Steve shares 39 hard-won lessons he’s distilled into a private handbook for his family — principles on extreme ownership, discipline over excuses, ego control, trust, assumptions versus facts, and having the tough conversations you’d rather avoid. It’s a practical, values-driven episode about the behaviours that shape leadership, and the legacy they leave behind. 

Takeaways  

  • Own your decisions; your life reflects accumulated choices. 
  • Discipline today prevents regret and difficulty tomorrow. 
  • Excuses feel comfortable now but compound future consequences. 
  • Ego silences wisdom and weakens effective leadership. 
  • Trust grows through credibility, reliability, intimacy, reduced self-interest. 
  • Assumptions destroy clarity; facts create better decisions. 
  • Have difficult conversations early; delay magnifies damage. 
  • Family matters most; time invested becomes enduring legacy. 

Follow Steve Stanley
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanleysteve/ 

Books recommended
Shift Code Leadership by Preetie Boler https://amzn.to/3MZrN5b Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEvolutionPartners 

Newsletter – each week I share interesting insights, articles and ideas you can use. Join other leaders and subscribe to The Evolution Partners newsletter https://evolutionpartners.com.au/subscribe/

Books – Learn more about our books https://evolutionpartners.com.au/books/ 
Made to Thrive
:
The practical, prescriptive guide on how to be a great CEO
Onboarded: How to bring new hires to the points where they are more effective faster. A business case for leaders on why you should commit to an effective onboarded process. 
Onboarded for Managers: Helping managers bring new hires to the point where they are more effective faster. 
Bigger isn’t Better, Better is Better: Avoiding the pressure of endless growth to build a better business (and better life) 

Follow me:
on https://au.linkedin.com/in/bradleygiles 
on https://twitter.com/Evolution_Perth

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