Listen to Episode 14 Now: Assists and Glue People: The Teammates Who Make Everything Work
Leadership isn’t always loud. Sometimes, it’s the steady hand holding everything together—quietly.
Most teams celebrate the big wins—the product launch, the hero save, the high-profile hire. But behind every goal scored is someone who made the pass. Someone who paved the way. Someone who made sure nothing fell through the cracks.
At Leadership Explored, we call these people glue people—and in Episode 14, we shine the spotlight where it rarely lands.
Who are the glue people?
They’re the ones who:
Make key intros across teams
Keep meetings grounded and productive
Follow up so decisions don’t die in Slack
Quietly elevate others without seeking credit
They don’t show up in dashboards or OKRs. But their absence? You feel it immediately.
Why do we miss them?
Glue people often fly under the radar because they:
Aren’t loud or self-promoting
Work behind the scenes
Do things that don’t show up on reports
Avoid drama and stay emotionally steady
Research shows we fall for visibility bias and recency bias—we praise what’s flashy, not what’s foundational.
That’s how glue people get burned out, passed over, and eventually leave. And when they do, systems break in ways that are hard to trace but easy to feel.
In this episode, we unpack:
✅ Why assists matter more than heroics
✅ How glue behavior shows up in sports, teams, and systems
✅ What happens when leaders ignore invisible contributions
✅ How to design teams that distribute glue, rather than dumping it on one person
✅ How Ed’s personal story of burnout reframed his leadership philosophy
✅ How Andy fosters connection and stability without performative leadership
If you’ve ever felt like the one holding the team together, or if you’ve lost someone who did—that quiet MVP—this episode is for you.
🎧 Listen now on your favorite podcast platform:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon | Audible | Substack | YouTube
Or visit: www.leadershipexploredpod.com
🧠 Reflection Prompts:
Who is the glue on your team?
What would fall through if they took a week off?
Have you ever been the glue? Was it fulfilling—or just exhausting?
What’s one thing you could do this week to recognize and support that kind of work?
We’d love to hear your answers.
Reply to this post, email us at leadershipexplored@gmail.com, or connect with us on LinkedIn.
Until next time—
Lead with purpose,
– Leadership Explored