Robert Glazer: Scale Without Losing Your Best Talent, Team Building Strategies That Work | Leadership | YAP Classic
Timestamps are as accurate as they can be but may be slightly off. We encourage you to listen to the full context.
Podcast Summary
In this insightful YAP Classic interview, Hala sits down with Robert Glaser, founder and CEO of Acceleration Partners and bestselling author, to explore the critical concept of capacity building for high-performing teams. (02:01) Robert shares his four-part framework for elevating both individual and team performance through spiritual, intellectual, physical, and emotional capacity development.
The conversation dives deep into practical strategies for creating cultures of learning, giving effective feedback, and scaling businesses by developing people rather than burning them out. (02:09) Robert emphasizes that the key to sustainable growth lies in building teams that can scale with your vision, moving away from the outdated "grow at all costs" mentality toward a more sustainable approach that prioritizes human development alongside business outcomes.
- Main themes: Capacity building framework, sustainable team growth, effective feedback systems, creating psychological safety, and building learning cultures that enable teams to scale alongside rapidly growing businesses.
Speakers
Robert Glaser
Robert Glaser is the founder and CEO of Acceleration Partners, a global performance marketing agency with over 300 employees worldwide that manages some of the biggest affiliate programs in the world. (10:16) He's also the bestselling author of "Elevate" and "Elevate Your Team," a podcaster, and has been recognized on Glassdoor's list of top CEOs. (10:32) Robert studied industrial psychology in college, which provided the foundation for his expertise in team behavior and organizational development that has shaped his approach to building high-performing teams.
Key Takeaways
Focus on Building Capacity, Not Just Growing Revenue
Robert's central philosophy revolves around the idea that sustainable business growth requires developing your people alongside your business metrics. (27:14) He argues that the "grow at all costs" mentality of the past decade, where companies destroyed people to hit top-line numbers, is no longer viable in today's market. Instead, successful leaders must help their teams "ride the wave" of growth rather than being crushed by it. This means ensuring that team members build their capacity and grow at the same rate as the business - if your business grows 40% annually, your team leaders need to develop 40% annually just to maintain their effectiveness in evolving roles.
Redefine A-Players as Dynamic, Not Static
Traditional thinking views A-players as fixed high performers, but Robert presents a more nuanced definition: "the right person in the right seat at the right time." (27:22) This perspective acknowledges that as businesses scale rapidly, job requirements change dramatically, and some people who were stars at one stage may struggle at the next. Rather than viewing this as failure, leaders should recognize when someone's strengths no longer align with evolving role demands and help them find positions where they can excel, either internally or elsewhere.
Master the SBO Framework for Effective Feedback
Robert's Situation-Behavior-Outcome (SBO) framework transforms how leaders give constructive feedback. (39:51) Instead of attacking personality traits ("you're not strategic"), focus on specific situations, observable behaviors, and their impact. For example, rather than saying someone "sounds like an idiot" during client calls, explain the specific situation (client call), the behavior (long pauses after questions), and why it matters to them (client may question their expertise). This approach makes feedback actionable and less personally threatening.
Eliminate the Compliment Sandwich Approach
The popular "compliment sandwich" method of feedback delivery actually undermines communication effectiveness. (43:02) Robert's training demonstrates that when leaders cushion criticism between compliments, recipients often miss the critical message entirely. Instead, be direct when delivering important feedback: "This is going to be a really difficult conversation. I need to tell you some things." This clarity ensures the message lands and prevents confusion about whether someone's job performance is actually at risk.
Implement the 80/20 Rule Across All Business Areas
Robert advocates for rigorously applying the Pareto Principle to identify where to focus energy and resources. (70:25) Whether examining clients, team members, or daily activities, 20% typically drives 80% of outcomes. Leaders should systematically analyze their operations to identify that high-impact 20% and eliminate or minimize the 80% of efforts that yield only 20% of results. This principle applies universally - even to personal choices like wardrobe selection, where you likely wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time.
Statistics & Facts
- Robert's company Acceleration Partners has grown to over 300 employees globally and partners with a private equity firm to manage some of the biggest affiliate programs in the world. (10:16)
- Robert's Friday Forward newsletter grew from 300 friends and family members to over 100,000 subscribers across 60 countries, and now reaches readers in 140 countries. (12:45)
- Over 2,000 people have taken Robert's personal core values course to help them identify their fundamental driving principles. (35:19)