Welcome to The Leader I Needed with James (Trig) Rosseau, Sr.
The Leader I Needed with James (Trig) Rosseau, Sr.
Empower Your Leadership Journey

The Leader I Needed with James (Trig) Rosseau, Sr.

The Leader I Needed with James Rosseau, Sr. empowers new managers to become effective people-first leaders. Each episode offers practical tools and insights to navigate the challenges of leadership while cultivating emotional intelligence. Tune in for honest conversations and actionable advice that can transform your leadership journey.

Recent Episodes

July 27, 2026

229. How To Have The Hard Conversation You've Been Avoiding

There is someone on your team you need to talk to. They've been showing up late. Dropping the ball. Bringing an attitude everyone can feel. You know the conversation needs to happen. And you've been putting it off for weeks. Here is the truth. Issues don't age well. They rot. And when you finally do have the conversation, if it comes out as "because I'm the boss, that's why," you just made it worse. In this episode, James Rosseau Sr. shares the working relationship that went sideways
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July 21, 2026

228. What New Leaders Get Wrong After Promotion

You just got promoted. Or you just walked across the stage. Or you're staring at an offer that looks perfect on paper. The phone is blowing up. The congratulations are pouring in. And underneath all of it, the pressure to make the next move is already loud. You start wondering if you're falling behind. You start scanning for the next thing. You start telling yourself the clock is ticking, when honestly, the only clock is the one in your own head. That is the urgency trap. And it is where a lo
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July 13, 2026

227. How to Answer "How's the Project Going?" in One Sentence

You got promoted, and now you're drowning in numbers. Dashboards. Scorecards with twenty-plus rows. Metrics flying at you from every direction. You're measuring everything, but you can't say in one sentence whether you're actually delivering. Then your manager stops by and asks, "How's the project going?" And you fumble. If that scene feels a little too familiar, this one is for you. In this episode, James Rosseau Sr. shares the moment a potential mentor stopped him cold with a single questi
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July 6, 2026

226. Stop Doing These 2 Things Before Your Burnout

You got promoted because you answered every email, attended every meeting, and solved every problem. Now you're a manager, you're trying to lead the same way, and you're running on fumes. Here's what no one told you. If you don't manage your energy, your team will shortly inherit your exhaustion. In this episode, James Rosseau Sr. walks through why your depletion isn't just yours, it's contagious. Your team doesn't just inherit your decisions. They inherit your state of being. When you walk in
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June 29, 2026

225. The Hidden Reason Your Projects Keep Stalling

Your projects keep stalling and you've been blaming the wrong thing. It's not your team. It's not that they lack ownership. It's not that they don't care. The real reason is something most new managers don't see coming, and once you see it, you can fix it this week. Are you leaving meetings feeling aligned, only to come back a week later and realize nothing moved? Are you constantly refereeing decisions nobody seems willing to make? Are you carrying the anxiety of entire projects because no one
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June 22, 2026

224. Treating Everyone the Same Is Failing Your Team

You were told to treat everyone the same. Same feedback, same expectations, same approach. That's fairness, right? But what if that sameness is the thing quietly tanking your team? In this episode of The Leader I Need It, James Rosseau breaks down why identical leadership is lazy leadership — and introduces four roles every leader needs to move between: coach, cheerleader, confidant, and counselor. He shares the story of a single email from his CEO that activated his fight or flight and left him