From Founder to Employee to CEO Again: The Year That Changed How He Leads (Part 2)

Leading From the Front! · Jul 9, 2026 · 23m

The exit is the easy part to talk about. What comes after is where leadership actually gets tested.

In Part 2 of this conversation, Dr. Gary McGrath continues with his son Mike McGrath, picking up at the moment Mike walked away from a deal everyone wanted him to stay for and what the following twelve months demanded of him as a leader.

Mike acquired new companies in an unfamiliar industry, inherited teams that didn't choose him, and spent the first six months doing everything right: building rapport, respecting the culture, earning trust. He'd tell you now he waited too long to make changes…