The People, Process, & Progress Podcast - The Right People on the Bus

Episode Date: October 31, 2025

In The Right People on the Bus, I share how a Nick Saban clip popped up in my algorithm this week, and it hit home. His message about getting the right people on the bus, and the wrong people off, speaks directly to project leadership. As project managers, we build our own teams every day, and success depends on who is on board, how we support them, and when we recognize it is time for someone to move on.In this episode, I share what Saban’s philosophy means for project teams: how to foster high performers, coach those who need direction, and help those who are ready to get off at their own stop. Leadership is about alignment, accountability, and care, not control.???? Takeaway: Make every effort to keep everyone on the bus, but recognize when it is time for someone to find a different route.???? Learn more about my books and podcast at https://peopleprocessprogress.com???? The Stability Equation: 7 Pillars for a More Balanced Life???? The People, Process, and Progress of Project Management????️ Own your mind, move your body, anchor your spirit.

Welcome, everybody, to this episode of the People Process Progress Podcast Podcast, Focus Friday, where we take a few minutes to sharpen our mindset, strengthen our teams. This week, a clip from Nick Saban popped up on my algorithm. And in that clip, he talks about getting the right people on the bus and the wrong people off. That line really hit home because whether you're leading a football program or a project team, success often comes down to who's riding with you and how aligned everyone is where you're headed. Welcome to People Process Progress. I'm Kevin Pennell, author of The Stability Equation, and The People Process and Progress of Project Management.

On this podcast and the People Process Progress YouTube channel, I share lessons from life, leadership, training, and exercise ideas to help you own your growth, align your work, and anchor your teams through practical steps. Now let's get into it. So I don't think Sabin's point was about perfection. I think it was about alignment and accountability. He's built dynasties, right? Not by filling rosters with talent alone, but with people who believed in the mission,

showed up with discipline, gave consistent effort, right, toward a shared goal. And in project management, we need to look at the same thing. We can have every tool in the timeline world, right, but projects still succeed or fail based on people. You can have a clean Gant chart and flawless communication plan, but if the wrong energy is on the team, progress stalls. Think about it. The right people take ownership. They deliver results. They lift others up.

the wrong people, drain energy, slow progress, and create friction. The best teams know how to move together, sometimes leading, sometimes supporting, but they're always aligned. As leaders, we have to recruit, retain, sometimes release, but before we make that call, we should make every effort to keep everyone on the bus, coach them, guide them, help them find their seat. Still, we also need to recognize that sometimes people are simply ready to get off at their own stop. And that's okay. Not everyone's meant to stay for the whole route. So let's talk about

a practical parallel, right? Here's how to apply this principle for the project teams. Recruit from mindset, not just resume, right? We can train skills. I can train someone how to use a tool or or update a plan, but not their attitude. To define the mission clearly, like Sabin's process, your team should understand what winning looks like and why that matters. Three, develop your high performers. Give them room to lead, mentor them, and model excellence for them. For support and re-engage before you separate, not everyone who struggles needs to leave. Sometimes they just need a reset. Five, recognize when it's time to let go. If someone's ready for a different path, help them exit with respect and clarity. When the right people fill

the right seats and when others leave at the right time, the bus moves smoother, faster, and farther. McSabin didn't just build winning teams. He built a culture that valued alignment and accountability. That's what great project leadership looks like too. So this week, or this weekend or going into next week, ask yourself, do I have the right people on the bus? Am I helping everyone find the right seat before assuming they don't fit? And am I willing to let people move on when their stop comes? The right people don't just ride. They help steer and courage and refuel the team along the way. Thanks for joining me on this Focus Friday. Please go to people process progress.com to read more, learn more about me. Find links to the podcast, which is on

every platform. Go to the YouTube channel by the books. People Process Progress of Project Management. It's your field guide to really getting stuff done or the stability equation, which will help you re-center yourself, balance yourself through the pillars of ownership, mindfulness, movement, boundaries, connections, sleep and faith. And put in the time for yourself. Subscribe, share the show. If it helped you. that you think it could help somebody's out. Keep building your team, right? Keep refining your process.

And keep making progress by owning your mind, moving your body, and anchoring your spirit. Gutspeed y'all.