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Mitch Frazier is the president of IBJ Media, the parent company of the Indianapolis Business Journal, Inside Indiana Business, the Indiana Lawyer, and the IBJ Podcast Network. His path there runs through the U.S. Army in Iraq, a marketing role at Exact Target through its acquisition by Salesforce, and CEO roles at Reynolds Farm Equipment and Agribusiness nonprofit AgriNovus, before reconnecting with a twenty-year colleague to join IBJ Media a little over a year ago.
In this conversation, Mitch and Katherine dig into what it actually takes to lead through communication. Mitch shares the origin of his "Friday note" habit, a weekly practice he picked up from a general he worked under and has carried into every organization he's led since, and why the discipline behind it matters as much as the note itself. They talk about the difference between informing and communicating, why leaders don't need all the answers so much as the ability to ask good questions, and how humility and consistency build the kind of trust that lets a team move fast without losing each other.
Additional Resources:
Connect with Mitch Frazier on LinkedIn
Learn more about IBJ Media
Connect with Katherine Coble on LinkedIn
Learn more about Borshoff
Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn
Learn more about PeopleForward Network
Key Takeaways:
- Mitch's "Friday note" habit, borrowed from a general he served under, became a weekly discipline he's used to keep distributed teams connected at every company he's led.
- Communication isn't just informing people, it's creating a two-way channel where people feel safe to reply, ask questions, and push back.
- Leaders don't need all the answers. They need the discipline to ask good questions and listen to the people closest to the problem.
- Katherine's one-on-ones with every employee, done twice a year, surface nuances she'd never catch from the top of the org chart.
- Trust gets built through clarity and humility together: being honest about what didn't work, and being clear about where the team is headed next.
