The Missing Ingredient in Leadership with Luke Gromer

Mar 6

There’s a moment in youth sports when you just know. The team either believes in their coach… or they don’t.

You can see it in their body language, hear it in how they talk to each other, and, especially, feel it in the way they respond when things get hard.

The uncomfortable truth is that the same moment exists in your business as well.

In this episode of The TrustBuilt Podcast, I sat down with Luke Gromer, founder of RYG Athletics and operator of Nike Sports Camps across multiple states. We started by talking about youth sports. We ended up talking about culture, trust, leadership, and the real reason teams disengage.

The Leadership Tension Every Owner Faces

Every leader faces this tension:

I want high standards.
I want people to perform.
I want things done right.

But I also want:

Buy-in.
Engagement.
Loyalty.

And sometimes those goals feel like they’re at odds.

Luke sees this constantly in sports. Coaches who push for performance but forget connection lose the locker room. Leaders who focus only on connection without standards create chaos.

The balance is where trust lives.

The Foundation of Every High-Performance Culture

At one point in our conversation, Luke shared what he calls the “secret sauce”:

Connection + Competence = Trust.

Think about that.

Competence without connection feels cold. Connection without competence feels sloppy.

But when a leader demonstrates both, people lean in. In youth sports, that means kids want to come back to camp. In business, that means employees want to stay, grow, and take ownership of their role.

Most business owners think culture is about perks, team lunches, or core values on the wall. Anyone who has ever worked in an organization where the culture is all talk rather than the actual culture that exists knows that culture is what happens in the trenches and in the everyday.

Culture is whether your team trusts you enough to perform without you hovering over them.

Scaling Trust Across Locations

One of the things that impressed me most about Luke is that he isn’t running one small team. He’s scaling programs across multiple states.

That’s where many leaders fail.

It’s easy to build culture when you’re in the room every day. It’s much harder when you’re not.

Luke shared how intentional recognition, shared standards, and consistent experiences create alignment—even when he’s not physically present.

That’s the key to building a business that doesn’t depend on you. If your culture collapses when you’re not there, you don’t have culture; you have an aspirational slogan and personality dependence. That kind of disconnect gets exhausting over time.

Recognition Is Strategic.

One part of our conversation that stuck with me was Luke’s emphasis on intentional recognition.

Calling out effort, highlighting growth, and celebrating progress reinforces values. In sports, that builds confidence. In business, that builds ownership.

Too many leaders assume, “If they’re getting paid, that’s enough.”It’s simply not.

People want to know their work matters. They want to know someone sees them.

When recognition aligns with standards, it becomes a powerful leadership tool.

Designing Experiences People Want to Come Back To

Luke thinks deeply about experience.

What does a kid remember about camp? What does a parent talk about afterward? What makes someone say, “We’re coming back next year”?

That question applies directly to business.

What do your employees say about working for you? What do clients say about your team? What story are people telling when you’re not in the room?

If you want loyalty, you have to design for it.

That means being intentional about clarity, consistency, and leaders who understand that trust is built through repeated, positive experiences—not motivational speeches.

The Legacy Question

Near the end of the episode, we talked about legacy in business. If someone who worked for you five years ago ran into you in the grocery store, what would they say?

Would they say you pushed them to grow? Would they say you believed in them? Would they say you made them better? Or would they just say you were busy?

Leadership leaves a mark no matter what. The question is whether it’s intentional.

If You Want a Team That Performs Without You…

This conversation with Luke Gromer isn’t just about youth sports.

It’s about:

Building trust that scales
Creating a culture that outlives your presence
Designing experiences that build loyalty
Leading with both connection and competence

If you’re tired of carrying everything on your back…If you want a team that shows up engaged…If you want your business to grow beyond your personality…

This episode is worth your time.

Watch or listen here: https://youtu.be/Ep3OpbHagw8?si=vWwbYd_9QHAX25Jt