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.
According to Hunt, leaders and executives are the “emotional thermostat” of their companies.
When the temperature is too high:
When the temperature is too low:
“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.
Transparency, Hunt says, does not require sharing every financial detail, but does require clarity, vision, and contribution. According to Hunt, employees want to know:
On concerns about revaluing losses or profits:
The focus, Hunts suggests, should remain on alignment and contributions, not raw data alone.
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.
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:
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.
The Small Business Show