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“I want you to not want to work with me. And if there’s things that I say that excite you… then let’s go do something together.” Niiamah Ashong

Join Niiamah (@niiamahashong) as he shares how stepping into his intensity changed his leadership and team-building approach. Discover why unapologetic standards attract the right collaborators and how intensity is the secret to filtering for growth. Get actionable insight and real transformation from practical experience.

Timestamps:

00:00 Defining intensity as a filter

02:13 Tolerating less, apologizing less

03:29 Building with strong agreements

04:38 Attracting true outlier allies

06:26 Scaring away wrong fit

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Are you working towards a big, audacious goal like producing 10,000 minutes of live content and wondering how to make every minute count for more than just numbers?

I was there, too. The easy path would be to keep streaming solo, piling up hours, and calling it a win. But something felt off. The real goal wasn’t just content. It was creating genuine engagement, building a community, and turning passive viewers into active participants of a movement.

Here’s what changed everything:

I asked myself and my AI collaborator not just how to rack up minutes, but how to invite people into what I’m building. The response? Stop thinking of content creation and community building as separate. Instead, combine them, find what I call the intersection of opportunity.

What Is the Intersection of Opportunity?

It’s where your goals overlap: building authority, learning in public, engaging your audience, and creating client relationships at the same time. Instead of separate silos, create a system (an engine, not just a funnel) that feeds itself and grows stronger with each action.

How to Do This Live

• Go live with intention: Frame your live streams as “Building in Public” sessions.
• Extend real-time invitations: Ask people to comment, DM, or join your platform while you’re live.
• Make action visible: Send invites, review messages, and make key decisions where your audience can participate.
• Engage directly: Use comments, reactions, or QR codes. Make the experience interactive.

Why It Takes Courage

Blending action, invitation, and transparency isn’t always comfortable. There might be dead air. It may feel unpolished. But it’s real, and people crave authenticity.

Quick Start: Build Your Invite Flow

Don’t have a complicated system yet? Good news: it can start with a simple call to action (DM “EDGE” or use a QR code). Improve as you go, but start inviting from day one.

Final Thought:
You can make your live streaming goal the engine for client creation, thought leadership, and movement-building all at once. The real prize is at the intersection of your intentions and your actions.

If you’re inspired, join the movement, comment with “EDGE,” or share your own story of building in public.

Join Niiamah (@niiamahashong) and Brittni Cosgrove as they build Brittany’s client journey dashboard live. See how simple steps can create big wins, why tracking matters, and the tools outliers use for real business growth. Learn secrets to connecting, closing, and transforming your client process.

What You’ll Takeaway:

1. Key tracking points revealed

2. Transformation table model explained

3. Live spreadsheet building walkthrough

4. Simple client tracking advice given

5. Real client journeys mapped out

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Don’t let the pursuit of perfection stop your momentum. Discover how consistent action and community can create lasting impact.

Have you ever found yourself stuck tweaking your logo, rewriting your website copy for the hundredth time, or building that “perfect” process, telling yourself, “Once this is ready, THEN the world will see what I’m about”?

But this is what I have found actually moves your mission forward.

=> Start Before You’re Ready (Seriously, Right Now)

I set a wild goal: 10,000 minutes of live streaming before the end of 2025. Sounds exciting, right? But you know what also showed up? That itch to make sure every little system was built, every email sequence perfect, every graphic just so. The whole “client creation engine” wasn’t finished, and it would have been easy to keep hiding in setup mode.

But the truth is, if you wait until you feel “ready,” you could be waiting forever. Progress comes from getting in the game even if your jersey’s still in the laundry.

=> The Power of Invitation (Bring People In Early and Often)

Let me let you in on a realization I had:
“The most important thing was to get people into the movement. To start inviting, to make sure there’s someone waiting and excited for what’s next.”

See, building a movement isn’t just about what happens behind closed doors. It’s about swinging those doors wide open and saying, “Come on in. Let’s figure this out together.” Your people want to be along for the ride, not just see the finished line photo!

=> Perfection vs. Progress (And Why Progress Wins Every Time)

Here’s the secret: Perfection’s a great procrastination tool, but it’s terrible for traction. You win when you:

• Show up. Consistently and authentically.
• Build simple, repeatable ways for others to get involved.
• Let the rough edges show—they’re proof that you’re actually moving.
• Invite your community to drive what’s happening, not just the algorithm gods.

Okay, Time for Action

Let’s break it down. If you want a real, sustainable movement:

1. Launch. Don’t worry if you’re only 60% ready.
2. Build systems to invite others; clients, collaborators, & followers, to join in.
3. Share everything: the wins, the pivots, even the moments you’re re-recording your intro for the fifteenth time.
4. Repurpose and reuse. Let your content keep working for you.

Bottom Line: Your Vision Is Ready for the World

You have something powerful. The world needs it, and the world needs to see YOU taking action, not waiting for perfect conditions. Start now, invite people along, and let your movement build its own momentum.

Let’s keep building together. What’s the one step you’re going to take today, even if it’s imperfect?

Join Niiamah Ashong and Lori “Sas” Sase as they unpack one of the biggest obstacles leaders face: inviting others to be part of their vision. In this deeply personal segment, Niiamah introduces listeners to his “inner council,” a cast of archetypal characters that guide his decision-making, and candidly shares the emotional complexities around inviting people into his movement.

Timestamps:

10:00 Coaching Partnership

12:34 The Inner Council

17:19 Starting the Coaching Session

19:01 Exploring Resistance

24:21 Digging Deeper

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Recently, I sat down with branding maven Liz Hunt (creator of The Creative Index) during an Outliers Edge roundtable. We cut straight to the truth about leading creative teams and why so much common advice whiffs it entirely.

Creative Teams Are Wildly Misunderstood

Too many leaders treat “managing creatives” like a plug-and-play process. It isn’t. As Liz put it:
“Every type of creative needs their own type of manager.”
And honestly? You could practically hear the collective head-nods.

When Leadership Misses the Mark, Everyone Pays

We traded painful stories of burnout, bad management, and talent pushed out the door. Liz even launched her own agency after enduring one of those “this can’t be real life” seasons. Toxic cultures don’t just drain people; they damage confidence and derail innovation.

The good news is that it’s preventable.

The Archetypes: A Map for Creative Leadership

Over 14 years, Liz identified nine creative archetypes, her survival manual for navigating the chaos.

One standout: Visionaries. Always between worlds, too creative for the business crowd, too structured for the pure artists. Visionaries conduct the orchestra; they don’t play first chair.

Their power move? Pairing up with a Strategist, the process-and-systems partner who turns lofty ideas into actual outcomes.

What Great Creative Leadership Actually Looks Like

Want a team that sticks around because they’re energized, not stuck? It comes down to:

• Know Your People: Not as “resources” as humans.
• Lead With Purpose: Show them where their work lands and why it matters.
• Practice Real Empathy: The kind that sees the human behind the history.
• Iterate Naturally: Launch, learn, adjust, repeat.
• Empower the Right Partnerships: Visionaries spark; Strategists structure. Let them do what they do best.

Redefining Creative Culture—Human First

Liz built her agency around one simple idea:
“Treat people like humans, not cattle.”
Wild concept, right? And yet, it worked. Retention climbed. Honesty showed up. The work got bolder.

Imagine if more leaders made that their actual strategy.

What’s Next: “The Creative Index”

Liz’s upcoming book digs into those nine archetypes and the hard-earned lessons behind them. It’s not just a framework, it’s a movement for visionaries, strategists, and every delightful misfit in the room.

Questions worth sitting with:

• Who’s at your table?
• Which archetypes thrive in your culture and which ones need space you haven’t created yet?

If you’re asking these questions, you’re already on the right path. Lead with heart. Listen deeper. And remember: the creative edge belongs to all of us.

Drop a comment: Which archetype do you wish your leader understood better?

Journey On,
Niiamah

#CreativeLeadership #TeamCulture #OutliersEdge