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

Enjoying the show? Leave a review 

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&rsquo;s distilled into a private handbook for his family &mdash; principles on extreme ownership, discipline over excuses, ego control, trust, assumptions versus facts, and having the tough conversations you&rsquo;d rather avoid. It&rsquo;s a practical, values-driven episode about the behaviours that shape leadership, and the legacy they leave behind.&nbsp;
Takeaways &nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Own your decisions; your life reflects accumulated choices.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Discipline today prevents regret and difficulty tomorrow.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Excuses feel comfortable now but compound future consequences.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Ego silences wisdom and weakens effective leadership.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Trust grows through credibility, reliability, intimacy, reduced self-interest.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Assumptions destroy clarity; facts create better decisions.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Have difficult conversations early; delay magnifies damage.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Family matters most; time invested becomes enduring legacy.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Follow Steve Stanley <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanleysteve/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanleysteve/</a>&nbsp;
Books recommended Shift Code Leadership by Preetie Boler <a href="https://amzn.to/3MZrN5b">https://amzn.to/3MZrN5b</a> Watch the episode on YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@TheEvolutionPartners">https://www.youtube.com/@TheEvolutionPartners</a>&nbsp;
Newsletter &ndash; each week I share interesting insights, articles and ideas you can use. Join other leaders and subscribe to The Evolution Partners newsletter <a href="https://evolutionpartners.com.au/subscribe/">https://evolutionpartners.com.au/subscribe/</a>
Books &ndash; Learn more about our books&nbsp;<a href="https://evolutionpartners.com.au/books/">https://evolutionpartners.com.au/books/</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://evolutionpartners.com.au/made-to-thrive/"> Made to Thrive:</a> The practical, prescriptive guide on how to be a great CEO <a href="https://evolutionpartners.com.au/onboarded/">Onboarded:&nbsp;</a>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.&nbsp; <a href="https://evolutionpartners.com.au/onboarded-for-managers-book/">Onboarded for Managers:</a> Helping managers bring new hires to the point where they are more effective faster.&nbsp; <a href="https://evolutionpartners.com.au/bigger-isnt-better/">Bigger isn&rsquo;t Better, Better is Better:</a> Avoiding the pressure of endless growth to build a better business (and better life)&nbsp;
Follow me: on <a href="https://au.linkedin.com/in/bradleygiles">https://au.linkedin.com/in/bradleygiles</a>&nbsp; on <a href="https://twitter.com/Evolution_Perth">https://twitter.com/Evolution_Perth</a>
Enjoying the show? Leave a review&nbsp;

A place for the world’s leading thinkers, planners and doers.

The Evolution Partners is a weekly podcast hosted by Brad Giles. Join Brad as he engages in conversations with some of the world’s sharpest minds, learning a bit more about them and delving into what makes them tick.

A place for the world’s leading thinkers, planners and doers.
The Evolution Partners is a weekly podcast hosted by Brad Giles. Join Brad as he engages in conversations with some of the world’s sharpest minds, learning a bit more about them and delving into what makes them tick.

The Evolution Partners

Each week Brad Giles talks with the world’s leading thinkers, planners and doers who are helping to build great companies in their own way.

We learn how the work they’re doing is creating an impact and get to know a little bit more about them, and what makes them tick.

Each week Brad Giles talks with the world’s leading thinkers, planners and doers who are helping to build great companies in their own way.
We learn how the work they’re doing is creating an impact and get to know a little bit more about them, and what makes them tick.