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When numbers slip, most leaders turn up the pressure. In this episode of Calm Under Quota, Steven Werley breaks down the Stoic move that prevents panic leadership: diagnose reality before you demand more effort.

Steven shares a real coaching scene where a rep hadn’t closed a deal in 60 days. The easy move was blame. The better move was diagnosis. Using Epictetus as the lens, you’ll learn how to test your first impression, reduce uncertainty fast, and separate a “rep problem” from a “system problem.”

You’ll walk away with three diagnostic questions, a simple 60-second checklist to run before any high-pressure conversation, and a team standard you can implement immediately: diagnose with evidence before demanding more effort

Chapters / Time Markers
00:25 — Show intro
01:05 — The leader question: diagnose before you demand
01:55 — The scene: what was really blocking revenue
07:30 — Why pressure feels like action (and why it fails)
08:45 — Stoic lens #1 (Epictetus): expose the mistaken belief
11:20 — Role design vs “bad attitude”
12:40 — Stoic lens #2 (Epictetus): the problem is your judgment
15:10 — Catching overreaction in real time
16:30 — Leader move: understand reasoning before you react
18:10 — The cost of demanding first
19:20 — Practice: the 60-second diagnosis checklist
20:40 — Team standard
21:20 — How to move forward

Brought to you by https://closable.ai

Rather read it as a blog post? https://closable.ai/resources/diagnose-before-you-demand/

Rather watch the video? https://youtu.be/3-yev9z47ss

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