Headlines shout layoffs and AI disruption, but the real friction most teams feel right now is slower and sneakier: bureaucracy. Lone Rock Leadership's co-founder Russ Hill zooms out from the noise and gets specific about why mid-level layers are shrinking, how meeting creep drains momentum, and what leaders can do this quarter to cut delays without cutting trust. If you’ve sat through a pre-meeting for a pre-meeting, this conversation is your playbook for getting time and energy back.
Russ grounds the topic with context from Amazon and other tech firms, separating overhiring corrections from the still-emerging impact of AI. From factory floors to corporate hubs, the machines aren’t replacing people at scale yet; what’s stalling progress is indecision, unclear owners, and approvals stacked five deep. He shares field-tested tactics from coaching executive teams across industries: mapping value streams to find bottlenecks, collapsing decision layers, and standardizing one-page briefs that replace bloated status updates. You’ll learn how to identify high-leverage activities, protect deep work, and shift meetings from ritual to results.
This episode focuses on practical structure and process changes you can run now. Set clear decision rights, move reversible choices to the edge, and use time-boxed experiments to gain speed safely. Lead with clarity by choosing fewer priorities, naming owners, and celebrating fast, well-reasoned decisions. The outcome is a team that moves faster, feels informed, and builds market value—even as AI and volatility reshape the landscape. Subscribe, share with a teammate who’s drowning in meetings, and leave a quick review to tell us where bureaucracy hits you hardest.
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Visit the Lone Rock Leadership Website:
https://www.lonerock.io
Connect with me on LinkedIn or to send me a DM:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/russleads/
Tap here to check out my first book, Decide to Lead, on Amazon. Thank you so much to the thousands of you who have already purchased it for yourself or your company!
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About the podcast:
The Lead In 30 Podcast with Russ Hill is for leaders of teams who want to grow and accelerate their results. In each episode, Russ Hill shares what he's learned consulting executives. Subscribe to get two new episodes every week. To connect with Russ message him on LinkedIn!
