Do Hard Things A Podcast With Gabe Lullo Ft. Josh Gratsch

"You cannot lead someone beyond the parts of yourself you refuse to look at." - Josh Gratsch Josh joined Ascend Innovations in 2016 as a data scientist, no leadership training, no formal path. When the company's original business model failed within its first two years, he stepped into strategy and operations simply because he was willing to take initiative. Six years later, he was CEO, promoted by leaders who saw a capability in him he hadn't yet connected to himself. Then reality hit. He'd spent his whole 20s chasing the title, achieved it, and felt nothing. Within the first six months, a spinout company he chaired collapsed and a business development process he'd trusted without accountability measures turned into a cash flow crisis that cost three leadership team members their jobs. "I told myself the most effective leaders are optimistic. What I quickly understood was I didn't balance the equation. Hope is not a strategy." The real shift came from turning the lens inward, tracing his default reactions, defensiveness, control dressed up as ownership, back to where they actually came from. He noticed the gap first at home, wondering why he could stay curious with his team but lose patience with his own kids. That work reshaped how he leads now. Setting direction but actively inviting his team to tell him when he's wrong, because a team that can't have honest conflict can't truly commit to anything together.