Lead from in Front: Interview with Scott Stuart, CEO of the Turnaround Management Association

I recently went one-on-one with Scott Stuart, CEO of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA).

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth? 

Scott:  From early in my career I determined I wanted to be the master of my own destiny, in that I was tenacious, unafraid to take on challenges, and understood that failure was an option. When there were points where I needed to course correct, I did so using the learnings of where I was as the building blocks for the future.  

My setbacks and challenges have given me some of the most important learnings that have enabled my successes. For example, when advancing a startup business I co-founded, there came a point in time where doubling down on potential funding at a time when we were cash-strapped but poised for growth, could have meant the failure of the business. So instead of risking it all, my partners and I made the decision to capitalize on our strong business model and patented technology to sell the business, which we did, and while not at multiples that we believed were obtainable, were able to successfully exit, and as a result saw the business thrive, with additional upside. Had we taken a greater risk in seeking additional funding, we risked the business totally failing, leaving nothing but a patent to sell. Instead, we capitalized on the moment, and instead of becoming a statistic in a world where 80% of startups fail, we became part of that elite 20% that succeeded but did so with humility understanding that in chasing a dream, what constitutes success also needs to be rooted in reality and realistic expectations.

Adam: What are the best leadership lessons you have learned from leading an association? What are your best tips for fellow association leaders? 

Scott: Lead from in front. Be visible. Be an active listener. Engage, connect, and reinforce your support of the selfless volunteers who give their time. Embrace the organization’s mission and purpose, assuring member value is sustained and enhanced.

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams? 

Scott: Lead, but be collaborative. Assure that you consider your team's needs and balance those against the organization's business goals and mission. Address adversity with empathy, but know that hard decisions sometimes need to be made. As an organization’s leader, be prepared to make those decisions unapologetically.

Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader? 

Scott: Listening, learning, mentoring, synthesizing information so that decisions are made in an informative way, being nimble and understanding that business environments change, and being attentive so that as changes need to be made, you, as a leader, can guide the conversation as to how to best effectuate and implement changes that support the mission of your organization and its growth.

Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level? 

Scott: Engage with other leaders to get a sense of their leadership styles and how they manage their successes and failures. Engage with your teams and ensure that what they are experiencing, feeling, and navigating are taken into consideration in how you steer the ship forward. Be responsive when adversity hits, and communicate all along the way with authenticity and honesty.

Adam: In your experience, what are the keys to leading successful turnarounds? 

Scott: Staying calm, assessing the situation, looking at it from all angles, and being agile in assessing solutions that could be deployed and may even change during a turnaround. Take advice from the relevant professionals and stakeholders to ensure you are seeing the picture of the situation with the widest lens.

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders? 

Scott: For entrepreneurs - be fearless, but cautious—understanding that the entrepreneurial environment has high risk and high rewards. And in that, know that the bar to success is high and embrace the challenges that come with that. For executives - be in tune with your business, mission, and interests of your stakeholders and consumers. Be in touch with the needs of your various demographics and build a strong leadership team to support all the moving pieces necessary to sustain a successful business. For civic leaders - lead with honesty, empathy, and authenticity. Be candid, but firm, and always listen and learn as your core beliefs may be challenged; when they are, be okay with looking at your own beliefs through a new lens as you will be more respected and revered as a leader for understanding the needs of your constituencies.  

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received? 

Scott: Be honest, fair, authentic, and true to yourself so that when you look back on decisions you’ve made and courses you’ve created, right or wrong, you look back with no regrets and in that, you will set the example for a strong future.


Adam Mendler is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, educator, and nationally recognized authority on leadership. Adam is the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one-on-one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal-winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations. Adam has written extensively on leadership and related topics, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. Adam teaches graduate-level courses on leadership at UCLA and is an advisor to numerous companies and leaders. A Los Angeles native, Adam is a lifelong Angels fan and an avid backgammon player.

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