# Coaching Trees, Corruption Trees, and the People Debt You Can't See on a Dashboard

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/process-debt-7039689/coaching-trees-corruption-trees-and-the-people-debt-you-can-t-see-on-a-dashboard
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/process-debt-7039689/coaching-trees-corruption-trees-and-the-people-debt-you-can-t-see-on-a-dashboard.md
Podcast: [Process Debt](https://stenobird.com/podcast/process-debt-7039689)
Published: 2026-05-22T11:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://rss.com/podcasts/process-debt/2848127
Audio file: https://content.rss.com/episodes/293248/2848127/process-debt/2026_05_22_03_44_21_d3511ece-213f-4318-8618-33d9ecb7f233.mp3
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Duration seconds: 1300

## Resource

Why do some managers keep producing great leaders — and others just keep producing turnover? In this episode of Process Debt, Chris and Toby dig into the concept of the coaching tree: how legendary coaches (and managers) pass down not just skills, but standards, culture, and ways of moving through the work. They also explore the darker flip side — the corruption tree — and why most organizations accidentally reward the people who start fires over the people who quietly prevent them. If you've ever worked for someone who made you better, or for someone who made everyone around them worse, this one will name something you've felt but never had a word for. Topics include: why great managers are invisible until it's too late, the "arsonist" pattern in business leadership, psychological safety as a precondition for any real process improvement, and what a coaching tree actually has to do with process debt. Practical, honest, and zero Six Sigma required.

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## Transcript

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