Leaders Bring the Weather
A stressed, panicky culture is a mirror of the leader.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 83%
Leaders Bring the Weather is the principle that a company's emotional climate is set by its leader: a stressed, panicky, emergency-driven culture is the leader's own creation. When an employee is failing, the leader's first move is a self-audit — have I clearly explained the outcomes, expectations, and required skills? — because failure usually stems from broken process, unclear communication, or a wrong seat, not bad character. Mel argues most entrepreneurs are terrible operators because artistry and systems are opposites, so the founder is frequently the real problem. Only after taking full responsibility for creating an environment where people can succeed does labeling anyone become fair.
Origin
Mel credits the phrase 'leaders bring the weather' to her business coach David Gerbitz. It fuses with lessons from her public-defender years — that people's struggles are rarely a matter of willpower — and her candid admission that she herself is a poor operator who is 'the problem' whenever she steps out of her three core creative seats.
Core principles
- 01A stressed-out, emergency-driven culture exists because the leader created it — you bring the rain or the sun.
- 02A failing employee usually signals broken process, unclear communication, missing skills, or a wrong seat — not bad character.
- 03Before labeling anyone, the leader must ask: have I explained the outcomes, the expectations, and the required skills?
- 04Most entrepreneurs are poor operators; artistry and systems are opposites, and the leader is often the real problem.
How to run it
- 1
Read the weather you're creating
Assess your culture's tone. If it's stressed, panicky, and emergency-driven, recognize that as a reflection of your own energy and leadership, not just your team.
Pro tip Your energy and whether you make people feel supported literally sets the climate — you bring the rain or the sun.
- 2
Run the leader-first diagnostic
Before labeling a struggling employee, ask: Have I explained the outcomes that measure success? Have I explained what I expect? Have I given them everything they need? Do I even know the skills the job requires?
Pro tip If you can't answer these, you're the issue and no one will succeed in that role.
Watch out Measuring success only by dollars in the bank or podcast views is measuring things people can't control.
- 3
Build the environment for success
Give people clearly owned outcomes, measurable success criteria, the tools and skills to succeed, and the freedom to execute with self-expression — then let them.
Pro tip People need space, acceptance, and dignity so change feels like their idea, not shoved down their throat.
Watch out Micromanaging trains your team that you don't trust them, causing paralysis where no one will make a decision.
In the wild
Hala asks about a bad employee — 'let them get fired.' Mel flips it: first let them reveal who they are, then let me be honest. Have I been clear about expectations and measurable outcomes? Probably not. Am I micromanaging because I never explained what I want?
→ The diagnosis shifts from the employee's character to the leader's missing systems, opening a real path to fix it.
Mel admits that if she's not behind a microphone, creating content, or doing business development — her three seats — she's in the wrong seat and becomes the problem, not her staff. Entrepreneurs, she says, are often the shittiest operators on the planet.
→ By naming her own operational weakness, she takes responsibility instead of blaming her team.
Common mistakes
Blaming the team for the culture
A panic-and-emergency culture is created by the leader's energy and lack of support; blaming the team ignores the actual source of the weather.
Judging performance you never set up to succeed
Throwing someone into the fire without clear outcomes, expectations, and required skills, then judging them when they fail, is the leader's failure masquerading as the employee's.
Is it for you?
Best for
Founders and entrepreneurs scaling a team who default to micromanaging and blame.
Not ideal for
Genuine cases where clear expectations were set, skills exist, and the person still won't perform.
From the transcript
“My business coach, uh, David Gerbitz always says, leaders bring the weather.”
“If you have a stressed out and a kind of panic emergency type culture, that's because of you. You bring the rain or you bring…”
“Most entrepreneurs are the shittiest operators on the planet. I happen to be one of them.”
From the episode
Mel Robbins: The Mindset Shift Entrepreneurs Need to Avoid Burnout
Mel Robbins