Most business owners hit a wall around $1-2 million in revenue, not because of market conditions or cash flow, but because they can't transition from doing everything to leading effectively. In this conversation, Mark sits down with former Stetson University basketball player Dr. Nefertiti Walker to explore what real leadership looks like when you're scaling a business.
Dr. Walker, now a senior executive at UMass and nationally recognized expert in organizational culture, shares hard-earned lessons about the difference between delegation and empowerment, why psychological safety isn't "soft skills" but competitive advantage, and how the generational shift in the workforce is changing everything about how we need to lead.
Whether you're struggling to get your team to think strategically, wondering why good people keep leaving, or trying to figure out how to lead the next generation of workers, this episode breaks down the leadership evolution every scaling CEO must make.
Timestamps:
00:00 From Basketball Courts to Boardrooms
01:41 The Positional Power Problem
03:59 Stop Delegating, Start Empowering
08:29 The Real ROI of Inclusion
16:39 What Sports Teaches About Scaling Teams
23:34 Leading Through Organized Chaos
24:57 The Strategic Thinking Crisis
28:21 The "Only I Can Do" Filter
31:50 The Workforce Revolution
34:32 Leading the Therapy Generation
40:14 The Skills Gap Nobody Talks About
44:50 Lightning Round: Leadership Lessons
Connect with Nefertiti: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nefertiti-walker-5338a943/
Connect with Mark:
Mark A. Stiles, CPA Founder, MASCPA [markstilescpa.com] | Host, The Scaling CFO [LinkedIn]
📅 Book a free consult with Mark to explore your own Marketing & Sales Quadrant → https://calendly.com/mark-stiles-markstilescpa/new-meeting
