Leadership Story Talks | Leading Beyond Control — Identity, Trust, and Letting Go with Brad Farris Artwork

Narativ Leadership Story Talks

Leadership Story Talks is a podcast hosted by Jerome Deroy, CEO of Narativ, and Julienne Ryan, business author, communication and HR specialist, and frequent Narativ training contributor.In each episode, Jerome and Jules discuss the practices that engage, motivate, develop, retain, and attract people to businesses, whether these are your customers or your employees. Their principles and tools are based on real world stories that leverage listening and storytelling to become a better leader and management professional.

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Narativ Leadership Story Talks

Leadership Story Talks | Leading Beyond Control — Identity, Trust, and Letting Go with Brad Farris

January 05, 2026 • Narativ Inc

In this episode of Leadership Story Talks, hosts Jerome Deroy and Julienne Ryan are joined by leadership coach and advisor Brad Farris, who works with creative service firm founders whose businesses have outgrown the way they’re leading.

Brad shares a defining leadership experience from early in his career—stepping into a general manager role and realizing that “acting like a leader” often means pretending to have answers you don’t yet have.

You’ll Hear:
- The Cost of “Faking It” — Brad reflects on how early leadership roles can condition leaders to perform certainty, and how that pattern quietly reinforces impostor syndrome and isolation.

- From Expert to Coach — Years of consulting taught Brad that leadership isn’t about asking better questions and standing on the side of possibility.

- When Being “Nice” Gets in the Way — A powerful story about a founder who equated kindness with avoiding hard conversations—and how clarity, not comfort, ultimately created trust and success.

- The Growth Ceiling Around $1–2M — Why many founder-led firms stall when control, hustle, and identity collide—and what it really takes to move from doing the work to leading the system.

- Delegation vs. Abdication — How letting go without redefining your role sets teams up to fail—and keeps leaders stuck in a heroic rescue loop.

- Identity as the Hidden Constraint — Jerome and Brad explore how leaders’ attachment to who they’ve been can block who they need to become next.

- Values as Decision-Making Infrastructure — Why clearly articulated values allow leaders to step back without losing quality, culture, or trust.

- The Engineer’s Mindset — Brad explains how engineering training—breaking systems down, depersonalizing failure, and diagnosing what’s working—can be a powerful leadership advantage.

- Self-Leadership Comes First — Brad closes with a reflection on leading yourself before leading others, and offers a free self-leadership assessment to help leaders identify where growth is needed.

Resources & Contact Information ~ Brad Farris
Leadership Coach & Advisor for Founder-Led Businesses

Additional Resource

Self-Leadership Assessment: Available via Brad’s website (free, no email required)

Narativ’s online course in partnership with New Mexico State University Global Campus:
Lead With Your Story (self-paced, on-demand course)
Podcast listeners get 25% off - Use code NARATIV → Register Here

Learn more about how to leverage Narativ’s storytelling method for your pitch and sales team: Download our free e-book, or you’re welcome to schedule a free 15-minute call with Jerome.

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EMAIL Jerome@narativ.com
LINKEDIN https://www.linkedin.com/company/narativ-inc
TWITTER @narativ

Buy Julienne’s book here