Ep. 501 - Unlock Success with Soft Skills: The Secret to Transformational Leadership

Second in Command: The Chief Behind the Chief with Cameron Herold

Second in Command with Cameron Herold

Entrepreneurship, Business, Management, Careers

4.5 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 14 August 2025

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In today's episode of the Second in Command podcast, Cameron challenges conventional thinking about what it truly means to build a high-performing team.

Rather than focusing on surface-level credentials or generic systems training, he dives deep into the often-overlooked soft skills that make or break leadership effectiveness—beginning with the critical, yet frequently neglected, art of interviewing. Drawing from his own experience scaling teams at a massive pace, he shares how operational excellence starts with equipping leaders with real training—not just theory—so they can spot who has genuinely done the work, not just learned how to talk about it.

You'll learn how most organizations get stuck teaching people what they do instead of how to do it well, missing out on key elements like situational leadership, delegation, and coaching. Using memorable real-world stories and a few surprising truths, Cameron reveals how misjudging candidates, confusing traits like hard work with tenacity, or using the wrong people to interview for the wrong roles can sabotage a company’s potential. He even flips the org chart—literally—to illustrate a leadership mindset grounded in support rather than control.

Whether you're scaling a company, hiring your next team member, or trying to sharpen your leadership edge, this episode offers a refreshing perspective on the soft skills that power high-performance cultures. It will make you rethink how you train, who you trust to interview, and what it actually takes to spot a top performer.

Want your team to master the 12 essential leadership skills? Check out the Invest In Your Leaders training program. If you've enjoyed this episode of the Second in Command podcast, be sure to leave a review and subscribe today!

Enjoy!

In This Episode You'll Learn:

The importance of training for the interview process and why such training is essential.

The common mistake companies make, training on the what and how rather than the why.

The “torque process,” which involves running a series of one-on-one interviews and cross-referencing ratings.

The 12 core skills that are essential for effective leadership, and why at least nine or ten of them cannot be replaced by AI.

The challenges of hiring salespeople and why they often do not pass HR screening due to their unconventional methods.

And much more...

Resources:

Connect with Cameron: Website | LinkedIn

Get Cameron’s latest book – "Second in Command: Unleash the Power of Your COO"

Get Cameron’s online course – Invest In Your Leaders

Disclaimer:

The views, information, or opinions expressed during this podcast are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of The Second in Command podcast or its affiliates. The content provided is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice. We make no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this podcast and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this

Transcript

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0:00.0	Yeah, but those are skills that we have to make sure.
0:26.4	I like flipping the org chart upside down. I like putting the CEO at the bottom of the org chart, supporting the C-level and VPs who support the directors and managers who support the employees, like an inverted pyramid, with all the customers here so everyone can see the vivid vision, and then you build your company inside your core purpose and your core values. Well, one of the things I have to make sure people are good at is interviewing. Again, these are skills that aren't taught in EOS or in scaling up. We give the people the systems, but we don't give them the skills to actually manage the
0:31.5	system.
0:45.4	Welcome to the Second and Command podcast, produced by the C.O. Alliance and brought to you by its founder, Cameron Harold.
0:56.4	In the Second in Command podcast, we talk to top COOs who share the insights, strategies, and tactics that made them the chief behind the chief. And now, here's your host, Cameron Herald. I've seen far too many businesses fail at hiring due to a fundamental
1:06.0	flaw, lack of formal interviewing training. In this episode, I'll emphasize the importance of structured training, practice, and feedback in interviewing skills,
1:15.3	drawing from my experience hiring thousands.
1:18.2	I'll introduce practical techniques for spotting A players and avoiding cultural misfits,
1:22.8	including how to probe with proper questions and cross-reference ratings.
1:26.6	We'll also explore the 12 core leadership skills every management team needs to master
1:31.6	and discuss how AI can help, but never replace human judgment in assessing behavioral traits.
1:41.6	How much training have you had, have you gone through the top grading training?
1:45.6	Yeah, a long time ago.
1:48.2	Did you ever have anyone video you doing interviews and give you feedback on that?
1:52.2	No.
1:52.8	Did you ever role play or practice doing interviews?
1:55.6	A little bit, but not a lot.
1:56.9	Yeah, so you've had kind of base level training on interviewing.
2:00.3	Yes.
2:00.5	To really train your team, right?
2:02.5	So at 1,800 got junk, we had to hire, well, let me back it up, at college pro painters,
2:07.5	we had four months to recruit hire and train 800 franchisees.
	...

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