
Whole Hearted Leadership with Lantz Howard
160 | The Fog of Work — Finding Your Way Through the Valley of Middle Management with Adam Tarnow
Lantz sits down with Adam Tarnow — author of The Fog of Work , former CPA, former church staff member, and now a leadership development coach and workshop facilitator — for a conversation about the specific brand of stress that hits every leader the moment they get promoted: being held accountable for results they don't fully control. Adam walks through the "valley" his own boss drew for him decades ago — pressure from above, pressure from below, and the leader stuck in the middle — and how he spent years looking for a way out before a mentor named Randy Marshall showed him there isn't one. There's only a way through. That way through became "Control Your Controllables," a simple fill-in-the-blank operating system built on the dichotomy of control: I don't control ___, but I do control ___, so I will ___. The conversation moves from Disney World leadership lessons to raising teenage boys who mock (and absorb) their dad's one-liners, from "awkwardophobia" to why courage — not serenity — is the thing most leaders are actually short on. It's a conversation for anyone who feels like they climbed the ladder only to find themselves stuck, stressed, and quietly looking for a villain to blame. -- "Your story doesn't have a villain, it's just got a valley." "There's no way out of the valley. But there's a way through." "I don't need more serenity. What I need is more courage." "I don't control ___, but I do control ___, so I will ___." "The mid-level leader is the backbone of the global economy — and they are hurting." "It's not that you've got the answers. It's that you've got the questions." -- If you've ever climbed the ladder only to feel stuck, stressed, or quietly looking for someone to blame — this conversation is for you. Slow down, learn your story, and find someone to help you unpack it. For your leadership and calling → lantzhoward.com For your marriage → championhusband.com If this conversation was encouraging to you, share it with the leader — or the middle manager — who came to mind while you were listening. Subscribe · Share · Leave a review Peace and courage on your leadership journey.

