65. How Leaders Label People Without Realizing It
This episode continues Chapter 1: What Leaders Think They’re Seeing in the High Performers lens. Leaders don’t usually announce when they decide who someone is — it happens quietly, almost immediately.
In Episode 65, James Mayhew explores how internal labeling replaces curiosity, how leaders move from observing to determining, and why those unnoticed conclusions begin shaping performance long before anyone realizes it.
SHOW NOTES
Most leaders don’t intentionally limit people.
But leadership isn’t neutral.
In this episode of Leadership in 5, James Mayhew explores how leaders quietly decide who someone is — often without realizing it — and how those internal conclusions begin shaping opportunity, listening, and contribution over time.
This episode continues Chapter 1 of the High Performers lens: What Leaders Think They’re Seeing.
Listeners familiar with Leadership and Self-Deception may recognize a similar tension here: how unexamined internal conclusions distort what leaders see and how they respond.
In this episode, James explores:
- How quickly leaders form internal labels
- Why certainty feels like effective leadership
- The shift from observing to interpreting to determining
- How curiosity quietly leaves the room
- Why responsibility begins long before behavior changes
REFLECTION QUESTION
Where might certainty have replaced curiosity — without you realizing it?
About James
If this stirred something — not in a dramatic way, but in that quiet “I need to look at this more closely” way — you’re not alone.
In 2026, I’ll be spending most of my time with founders and leadership teams who are wrestling with this exact tension.
Not with hype. Not with pressure. Just honest conversations, clarity, and help seeing what’s actually shaping performance inside their walls.
If you want to talk, reach out. Even if you’re not sure what you need yet.
We’ll start there.
— James
P.S. If this kind of insight hits home, you’ll like my weekly newsletter — it’s where I go deeper on execution, leadership, and growth that actually scales.
You can subscribe here → https://www.jamesmayhew.com/newsletter-opt-in
