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In this episode of Intelligent Money Minute, Hans Blake sits down with Mike Meilinger, managing partner of Meilinger Consulting, to unpack the leadership lessons that have shaped him over the last couple decades. Mike is quick to admit these lessons were not learned from theory alone, but through real mistakes and hard-earned experience.
Here are a few of Mike’s most powerful takeaways for business owners who want to lead better, build stronger teams, and grow the right way.
Be Positive, But Hold People Accountable
Mike points to How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie as a timeless reminder that leadership is deeply tied to people skills. In today’s work environment, he believes positivity matters more than ever, but it cannot come at the expense of accountability.
Mike shares a principle he adopted as a core value: love and accountability. In practice, that means caring about people as humans while still holding the standard.
Lead By Example And Lead With Transparency
One of Mike’s strongest beliefs is that leadership is visible. Your team watches what you do more than they listen to what you say. That’s why he emphasizes leading by example and staying transparent, especially with the numbers.
He encourages business owners to share key performance indicators with their teams, because people want to know what winning looks like and how the business is performing.
Empower High Performers, Coach Everyone Else Up
Mike highlights something that surprises many owners: high performers only represent about 14 percent of the workforce.
Because of that, leaders need to think differently about how they manage their team:
Empower your top performers and avoid micromanaging them. Coach your solid performers so they grow into confident, self led contributors.
Mike’s goal is simple: keep developing people until more of the team becomes the kind of player you can trust with real ownership.
Repeat Yourself More Than You Think You Need To
One of the most practical lessons Mike shares is also one of the most overlooked:
You have to repeat yourself. Over and over.
He explains that leaders often assume something has been communicated clearly just because it was said once. But in real organizations, repetition is what turns values and processes into habits.
Even with something as basic as following up with clients, Mike emphasizes that leaders have to reinforce the standard, and sometimes that means pushing past email and picking up the phone or sending a text.
Culture Will Form, Even If You Do Nothing
Mike also warns business owners about a major blind spot: culture is never neutral.
If you do not create culture intentionally, it will create itself.
And when culture slips, the impact shows up fast: losing key employees, losing clients, and dealing with internal dysfunction that drains the business.
Choose Conflict Today, Or Live With Dysfunction Tomorrow
Mike closes with a quote he likes from Dan Martell:
You can have conflict today and dysfunction tomorrow.
Leadership often requires addressing the hard thing early, even when it feels uncomfortable. Mike’s view is that great leaders do not avoid discomfort, they learn to seek it, because that is where growth happens.
More From Mike Meilinger
Please be sure to subscribe to our podcasts as we will be interviewing Mike on upcoming podcasts where he shares valuable insights on how proactive tax planning, disciplined financial behavior, and long-term business strategy can create lasting success.
Mike Meilinger Bio
Mike Meilinger is the leader and visionary of Meilinger. He’s worked in public accounting since 1995. He has earned over 10 prof designations and his claim to fame is that he’s never failed a professional exam.
Mike’s passion is people. His “why” is he believes that every business owner should have a spiritual vision and that vision should be how they impact the lives of the people they serve. Mike’s vision is to dramatically impact the lives of his customers, his employees, and his vendors.
Outside of work, Mike loves working out and staying healthy. He’s tremendously committed to lifelong learning and is always studying things he thinks can help his clients and his employees get to the next level.
