075: "What Does It Mean to Truly Empower a Team?" (lessons from Chris Dyer)

🧠 Erik’s Take

In this solo reaction, Erik distills three powerful insights from his recent interview with culture expert Chris Dyer. As the pace of change continues to accelerate—fueled by AI and organizational upheaval—leaders are being called to step into a very different kind of role. Erik explores what it really means to lead when you don’t have all the answers, how to unburden your team from unnecessary meetings, and how to start building real culture with two simple questions.

This is an honest and strategic debrief from a coach who’s walking the walk.

🎯 Top Insights from the Interview

• The CEO must fire themselves. Today’s leaders need to become enablers of experimentation, not just managers of execution.
• Kill the meetings. Do a meeting audit, eliminate unnecessary one-on-ones, and give people their time back.
• Email is a trap. Move comms to Slack or Teams to build transparency and turn off after-hours pressure.
• Create a team charter. Clear rules of engagement reduce assumptions and build psychological safety.
• Culture = Norms. How your team reacts when things go wrong tells you everything.

🧩 The Personal Layer

Erik’s reaction goes beyond a summary—it’s a reflection on what leaders owe their teams in times of rapid change. His big aha: leadership today isn’t about direction-setting as much as it is about removing friction, making space, and helping people feel seen. From asking “how are you showing up today?” to ditching rigid email norms, this is a personal and tactical challenge to every leader who wants to matter in the future of work.

🧰 From Insight to Action

1. Do a meeting audit this week: What can be cut, combined, or canceled?
2. Switch your default communication to a platform with visibility and off-hours boundaries.
3. Build or revisit your team charter with clear rules around feedback, response times, and communication norms.
4. Start your next meeting with “How are you showing up today?”
5. End your next meeting with “How are you leaving?” and actually listen.

🗣️ Notable Quotes

“You want your team to say: this is the best place I’ve ever worked and the best work I’ve ever done.” – Erik Berglund

“Your people don’t need you to solve everything—they need you to get out of the way and help them move faster.” – Erik Berglund

“Culture is just the norms. What do people expect will happen when something goes wrong?” – Erik Berglund

“We don’t have the discipline to ignore email after hours. That’s why the system has to change.” – Erik Berglund