Leadership is not defined by title, but by followership, according to Mick Hunt, host of Mick Unplugged and USA Today best-selling author of How to Be a Good Leader When You Never Had One. During today’s episode of The Small Business Show, Hunt outlines how small business growth hinges less on dashboards and KPIs and more on the emotional climate leaders create inside their organizations.
Hunt defines leadership as a “transfer of emotion,” arguing that culture and emotional connection, not just financial metrics, drive performance. He asserts that while companies measure data relentlessly, there is no formal KPI for culture, even though emotionally connected teams can outperform peers almost “like a five-to-one performance gap,” he says.
He adds that leaders must understand what motivates their teams, what causes them to disengage, and how their own behavior is reflected through employee performance.
The “emotional thermostat”
According to Hunt, leaders and executives are the “emotional thermostat” of their companies.
When the temperature is too high:
- Teams feel pressure to match a high-intensity, always-on leader
- Employees may feel they are walking on eggshells
- Unrealistic expectations around hours and turnaround times create strain
When the temperature is too low:
- Disengagement becomes visible
- “Quiet quitting” increases, with employees physically present but mentally checked out
- Founders must calibrate pace and expectations to avoid burnout and apathy
“I really believe that leaders and businesses that are emotionally connected to their teams far outperform others.”
However, Hunt notes that it’s imperative to consider the different generations and how they define loyalty and value. For instance, Hunt says the older workers may stay for pensions or 401(k) stability, even without strong emotional engagement. Conversely, younger professionals often prioritize flexibility, autonomy, and purpose over long-term benefits. Therefore, Hunt says leaders need to understand generational values rather than assume a lack of focus or commitment.
In a digital era where employees can fact-check in real time, “because I said so” leadership is no longer effective, asserts Hunt.
The new age
Transparency, Hunt says, does not require sharing every financial detail, but does require clarity, vision, and contribution. According to Hunt, employees want to know:
- What the company is building
- How their work contributes to wins
- Where they stand with leadership
On concerns about revaluing losses or profits:
- Employees often sense financial strain regardless of disclosure
- Key stakeholders may need deeper financial visibility
- If profits are strong, leaders should recognize and reward the teams that helped create that success.
The focus, Hunts suggests, should remain on alignment and contributions, not raw data alone.
The scaling challenge
Despite the common difficulty founders have with scaling, often due to an unwillingness to delegate control, Hunt identifies two fundamental principles essential for establishing trust.
- Trust that the right people are in the right seats
- Trust that different approaches can still lead to the right outcome
Leaders, according to Hunt, must first assess their own performance before evaluating their teams. If they fail to do this, they will inadvertently limit employee development, keep founders focused on day-to-day operations rather than strategic leadership, and lead to employee failure or restricted learning.
Still, Hunt reframed resilience as preparation rather than rejection. He says that leaders do not rise to the occasion; they rise to their level of preparation. Drawing on the example of Michael Jordan, Hunt notes that elite performance reflects repeated practice rather than spontaneous brilliance. He continues by outlining that for small business owners, resilience means:
- Mentally rehearsing difficult scenarios
- Building operational and emotional readiness
- Conditioning teams to respond effectively when pressure mounts
For founders feeling burned out or uncertain, Hunt said the first step is simple but intentional: be present. In hybrid and remote workplaces, passive open-door policies no longer work, and employees rarely initiate difficult conversations until they are ready to resign. Consistent, visible engagement builds trust, sharpens a leader’s understanding of team strengths and limitations, and reduces emotional strain at the top.
More broadly, Hunt emphasized that culture and emotional connection are real performance drivers, even if they do not appear on financial statements. Leaders must consciously set the emotional temperature of their organizations, align with generational values, practice transparency around vision and contribution, and trust others to scale and prepare themselves and their teams for inevitable challenges. Presence, he said, remains the foundation for effective leadership in 2026 and beyond.
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