by I'm Just Getting Started
Welcome to I’m Just Getting Started — reflections on leadership, purpose, and the lessons found in everyday life. After decades with students and teams, I’ve learned growth isn’t linear. We’re all still learning, leading, and laughing as we go. <br/><br/><a href="https://imjustgettingstarted1.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">imjustgettingstarted1.substack.com</a>
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
12/3/2025
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June 30, 2026
<p>Episode Show Notes</p><p>Leadership and the Zombie Tasks Nobody Wants</p><p>Every organization has them.</p><p>The report no one owns.The committee everyone avoids.The spreadsheet that's survived three software upgrades.The responsibility that somehow keeps shambling back onto the agenda despite everyone's best efforts to ignore it.</p><p>I call them <strong>zombie tasks</strong>.</p><p>In this episode of I'm Just Getting Started, I explore why these invisible, unglamorous responsibilities may actually be some of the greatest leadership opportunities you'll ever encounter.</p><p>While most people chase high-profile projects and visible wins, the people who quietly step forward to contain organizational chaos often become the leaders their teams trust the most. The challenge isn't becoming "zombie food" by taking on every unwanted task—it's learning how to improve broken processes, create clarity, and make tomorrow a little easier than today.</p><p>We also discuss how leaders can better recognize invisible work, avoid rewarding burnout, and create cultures where stewardship is valued just as much as achievement.</p><p>In This Episode</p><p>Why every organization has "zombie tasks"</p><p>The difference between stewardship and martyrdom</p><p>Why supervisors notice the people who quietly solve messy problems</p><p>How invisible work builds trust and credibility</p><p>Why leadership isn't always glamorous</p><p>The importance of rewarding improvement instead of exhaustion</p><p>Practical ways leaders can recognize and support employees who step into difficult work</p><p>Why relief is often more valuable than brilliance</p><p>Key Takeaways</p><p>Zombie tasks survive because they're unowned, not because they're difficult.</p><p>Leadership often reveals itself during the uncomfortable silence when no one volunteers.</p><p>Trust is built through reliability more often than visibility.</p><p>Great leaders don't simply absorb chaos—they improve the system so the next person doesn't have to.</p><p>Recognition should celebrate contribution, not burnout.</p><p>Quote from the Episode</p><p>"Sometimes leadership doesn't come from slaying dragons. Sometimes it comes from grabbing a clipboard, sighing deeply, and saying, 'Fine... I'll take care of it.' Then making sure the zombie never bites anyone else again."</p><p>Thank you for listening to I'm Just Getting Started.</p><p>If this episode made you think of someone quietly carrying the invisible work on your team, share it with them. They may never ask for recognition—but they probably deserve it.</p><p><strong>Until next time... keep learning, keep leading, and remember... we're all just getting started.</strong></p> <br/><br/>Get full access to I'm Just Getting Started at <a href="https://imjustgettingstarted1.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">imjustgettingstarted1.substack.com/subscribe</a>
May 28, 2026
<p>I’m Just Getting Started</p><p>Episode: “Patriots and Professional Soldiers”</p><p>Why do organizations often reward visible passion while quietly depending on disciplined professionalism?</p><p>In this episode of I’m Just Getting Started, Dr. Anthony Donovan explores the difference between “patriots” and “professional soldiers” inside organizations — and why many leaders misunderstand the value of both.</p><p>Patriots are the true believers. They energize culture, inspire others, and carry the emotional weight of the mission. But professional soldiers bring something organizations often undervalue: steadiness, competence, discipline, and reliability even when enthusiasm fades.</p><p>This episode examines why organizations frequently chase belief when what they truly need is consistency, and why some of the strongest employees are often the quiet professionals who simply continue carrying the mission forward without fanfare.</p><p>The conversation also explores how many professional soldiers are actually “closet patriots” — people who care deeply but have learned through experience to protect themselves emotionally from unstable leadership, shifting priorities, and organizational disappointment.</p><p>Topics explored in this episode include:</p><p>The difference between belief-driven employees and competence-driven employees</p><p>Why organizations often mistake passion for reliability</p><p>How professional soldiers stabilize teams during uncertainty and change</p><p>The hidden strengths of Generation X in the modern workplace</p><p>Why visionary leaders often overvalue emotional buy-in</p><p>How organizations accidentally alienate dependable professionals</p><p>The importance of acknowledging competence and discipline</p><p>Why “every great soldier wants to follow a great general”</p><p>The leadership damage caused when organizations abandon struggling people</p><p>How professionalism can quietly evolve into deep loyalty when trust is earned</p><p>Why great soldiers train to prevent conflict, not create it</p><p>This episode challenges a modern leadership assumption:</p><p>Visible enthusiasm is not always the strongest form of commitment.</p><p>Sometimes the people most committed to the mission are simply the ones who keep showing up, carrying weight, protecting others, and doing the work well long after inspiration has faded.</p><p>Memorable Lines from the Episode</p><p>“Patriots ignite movements. Professional soldiers sustain them.”</p><p>“Organizations chase belief when what they actually need is reliability.”</p><p>“Competence is their language of commitment.”</p><p>“Every great soldier wants to follow a great general.”</p><p>“One of the fastest ways to lose a soldier is to tell them their fallen comrade is not worth rescuing.”</p><p>“Many professional soldiers are actually disappointed patriots.”</p><p>“Not everyone who serves the mission wears it on their sleeve.”</p><p>About the Show</p><p>I’m Just Getting Started is a podcast about leadership, culture, resilience, growth, and the complicated reality of leading people well. Hosted by Dr. Anthony Donovan, the show explores the human side of leadership — not through slogans or perfection, but through reflection, experience, and practical wisdom earned over time.</p><p>Subscribe, share, and follow for more conversations about leadership, trust, organizational culture, and becoming the kind of leader people choose to follow when things get difficult.</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to I'm Just Getting Started at <a href="https://imjustgettingstarted1.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">imjustgettingstarted1.substack.com/subscribe</a>
May 13, 2026
<p># I’m Just Getting Started</p><p>## Episode: “When the Lights Go Down: What Movie Theaters Teach Us About Culture, Focus, and Leadership”</p><p>What if one of the best leadership lessons isn’t found in a boardroom… but in a movie theater?</p><p>In this episode of I’m Just Getting Started, Dr. Anthony Donovan explores the surprising connection between movie theaters, shared attention, and organizational culture. Using the experience of sitting in a darkened theater as a metaphor for leadership, this episode examines why most teams don’t actually lack talent — they lack focus.</p><p>From dimming distractions to creating meaningful shared experiences, this conversation unpacks how leaders can stop trying to manufacture engagement and instead create the conditions where people naturally lean forward and invest in the story unfolding around them.</p><p>This episode explores:</p><p>* Why shared attention is one of the most powerful forces in culture-building</p><p>* How great leaders “dim the lights” to create clarity and focus</p><p>* Why too many priorities quietly destroy engagement</p><p>* The importance of naming the story your team is part of</p><p>* How over-controlling leadership kills curiosity and ownership</p><p>* Why healthy cultures feel more like participation than compliance</p><p>* The role of shared wins, setbacks, and moments in building connection</p><p>* What leaders can learn from pacing, silence, and audience trust</p><p>If you’ve ever wondered why some teams feel electric while others feel exhausted, this episode offers a different lens:</p><p>Maybe culture isn’t something you announce.</p><p>Maybe it’s something people feel when everyone is leaning toward the same thing together.</p><p>---</p><p>### Memorable Lines from the Episode</p><p>* “Most teams don’t lack talent. They lack focus.”</p><p>* “Culture starts with subtraction.”</p><p>* “People don’t always need louder leaders. Sometimes they need someone willing to clear the room so the story can finally come into focus.”</p><p>* “Healthy culture feels less like compliance and more like participation.”</p><p>* “Leaders don’t build culture by talking about values. They build culture by creating shared experiences people remember.”</p><p>---</p><p>### Connect with the Show</p><p><strong>Podcast:</strong> I’m Just Getting Started</p><p>Hosted by Dr. Anthony Donovan</p><p>Subscribe, share, and follow for more conversations about leadership, culture, resilience, growth, and the quiet work of becoming the kind of leader people trust when things get difficult.</p><p></p> <br/><br/>Get full access to I'm Just Getting Started at <a href="https://imjustgettingstarted1.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">imjustgettingstarted1.substack.com/subscribe</a>
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Welcome to I’m Just Getting Started — reflections on leadership, purpose, and the lessons found in everyday life. After decades with students and teams, I’ve learned growth isn’t linear. We’re all still learning, leading, and laughing as we go.
<br/><br/><a href="https://imjustgettingstarted1.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">imjustgettingstarted1.substack.com</a>
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