Podcasts about Psychological safety

Summary In this episode, Andy sits down with Dr. Jeremy Pollack, a social-organizational psychologist and founder of Pollack Peacebuilding Systems, author of Wired for Peace: Using 7 Neuroscience-Based Principles to Resolve Conflicts. Jeremy looks at conflict through the lens of the brain and nervous system, which helps explain why disagreements escalate so quickly and why the fixes we reach for often make things worse. Andy and Jeremy talk about why de-escalation has to come before problem-solving, since solutions and stress do not mix. Jeremy walks us through his Sapien Model of six basic psychological needs, giving us a far more useful lens than labeling a stakeholder difficult, defensive, or resistant. You will hear how memory and prediction shape the way we read the person in front of us, what a team learns when its leader consistently avoids conflict, and why changing our experience of conflict requires new experiences, not just new beliefs. Jeremy also shares how this shows up at home, in marriage and parenting. If you're looking for a practical, evidence-based way to handle the conflicts that come with leading, this episode is for you! Sound Bites "The most fruitful relationships from what I've seen at work, at home, et cetera, are those that can weather storms without the real fear of abandonment." "That was pretty interesting to me to see how much of the science is telling us that, like, our brain is mostly a predictive machine." "Anytime we're in an escalated or emotionally charged state, there's something going on in our brains, usually subconsciously, that's tracking a threat or an impediment to our basic needs." "It's de-escalate first because solutions and stress just don't mix." "What I'm feeling right now is not a result of what the person's saying. It's a result of the way my body is responding." "I call it an experiential thumbprint. It's completely unique to you and no one else has your nervous system, and you don't have anyone else's." "If we have a negative experience with someone and we go into a place of fear or pain or anger or something like that, the way that we see them going forward can change very, very quickly, and it's a lot harder to get us to unsee that." "We access memories in edit mode. And so after we retrieve it, and when we write it back, it's not always quite the same thing, and that's always made me question not is that memory correct as much as is it completely correct." "All conflict is an opportunity for learning." "The threat of abandonment is the big thing to really watch for when we're having arguments." Chapters 00:00 Introduction 02:27 Start of Interview 02:35 The Family Cultures That Shaped How Jeremy Sees Conflict 05:51 In Awe of How Much We Still Do Not Know About the Brain 07:49 The Brain as a Prediction Machine 09:55 The Salad Lady and What Sits Underneath Defensive Behavior 12:45 An Introduction to the Sapien Model 16:19 Why a Framework Beats a Label 16:58 De-escalate First: Catching Yourself Before It Is Too Late 20:54 When Our De-escalation Attempts Backfire 22:43 Empathy Without Having to Agree 25:03 How Memory Distorts the Person in Front of Us 27:46 We Do Not Access Memory as Read-Only 30:45 Joe, the Conflict-Avoidant CEO, and What a Team Learns 33:03 Taking Inventory When Nobody Pushes Back 34:53 New Experiences of Conflict, Not Just New Beliefs 38:08 Tell Me More: Creating a Gap Between Stimulus and Response 40:31 Peace Starts in Small Ways 42:49 Interrupting the Pavlovian Pattern 44:19 Bringing It Home: Marriage, Parenting, and Attachment 47:17 End of Interview 47:57 Andy Comments After the Interview 51:57 Outtakes Learn More You can learn more about Jeremy and his work at CoachJeremyPollack.com. For more learning on this topic, check out: Episode 371 with Amanda Ripley. Amanda is an amazing writer, and her book High Conflict is a great follow-up to today's discussion. Episode 148 with Dan Shapiro. The title of his book Negotiating the Nonnegotiable sounds like it's about negotiating, but it's really about navigating the conflicts that suck the life out of us. Episode 61 with Mike Roberto. That discussion was over 15 years ago, and there are ideas from it that Andy still uses to this day. Chat with PMeLa You can chat directly with PMeLa, the podcast's AI persona, to get episode recommendations and answers to your project management and leadership questions. Visit PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/PMeLa to chat with her. Join Us for LEAD52 I know you want to be a more confident leader–that's why you listen to this podcast. LEAD52 is a global community of people like you who are committed to transforming their ability to lead and deliver. It's 52 weeks of leadership learning, delivered right to your inbox, taking less than 5 minutes a week. And it's all for free. Learn more and sign up at GetLEAD52.com. Thanks! Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills Topics: Leadership, Project Management, Conflict Resolution, Neuroscience, De-escalation, Psychological Safety, Emotional Regulation, Memory, Stakeholder Management, Team Culture, Accountability, Parenting The following music was used for this episode: Music: On Point by Steven O'Brien License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Energetic Drive Indie Rock by WinnieTheMoog License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

How much does misalignment really cost? Most people think about missed goals or lost revenue. Anthony "AJ" Vaughan challenges you to look deeper and consider the human cost when leaders fail to communicate, listen, and create environments where people feel safe speaking up. Through stories from his own successes and painful failures, AJ explains why alignment begins long before strategy meetings. You'll discover how honest communication, thoughtful onboarding, rewarding courage, and putting employees first can transform the way people work together. By the end of this episode, you'll likely find yourself looking differently at your own team—and asking where better communication could prevent tomorrow's biggest problems. AJ is a partnerships and growth leader, an HR tech strategist, and founder of The E1B2 Collective, built on the belief that when organizations put employees first, stronger business outcomes follow. He works across three areas—leadership behavior, employee experience, and business performance— to help companies close the gap between what they say matters and how their teams actually operate. AJ is also the host of The Business of Alignment podcast, where he has led more than 1,000 conversations with HR and business leaders around trust, clarity, alignment, and what it really takes to build healthy organizations. You'll discoverWhy misalignment hurts people before profits How one ignored conversation changed AJ's career What great onboarding really accomplishes Why rewarding courage changes culture How honest communication prevents costly mistakesConnect with Anthony (AJ) Vaughan on Social MediaLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-vaughan-8ba8a8172/ Website The E1B2 Collective https://thee1b2collective.com/ Check out all the episodesLeave a review on Apple PodcastsConnect with Meredith on LinkedIn

Host Todd Conklin chats with Harvard's Amy Edmondson about psychological safety, learning from failure, and how leaders can create workplaces where people speak up and learn. They cover just culture, systems thinking, and practical steps to choose curiosity over certainty. This warm, wide-ranging conversation blends research with real-world stories and leaves listeners with a clear call to action: build environments that support candid dialogue and collective learning.

Profit or cash. Efficiency or flexibility. Speed, or doing it right.Leaders feel like they have to make trade-offs like these all the time. But the choice often isn't real.Some contradictions are unavoidable. Others only look that way until you understand the real problem. The most effective organizations realize they don't have to pick a side if they can resolve the underlying tension.Olivier Larue has spent three decades helping companies do this, which he's documented in his three-book series The Toyota Economic System: a philosophy about people and society, the technical design that turns it into results, and the management practices that keep it alive through continuous learning.The real breakthrough is never the tools, optimizing one part of the system, or making unnecessary tradeoffs. It's how every part connects, and understanding the real problem to solve, so people remain the focus and results last.You'll Learn:How to tell a contradiction that's real from one that only looks real, so you stop choosing between things you can't afford to loseWhy an economic lens, not an operational one, changes where you look for the answerWhy the number and order of Toyota's seven wastes aren't arbitrary, and why the first one drives how you understand the restWhy declaring people "empowered" means nothing without the conditions that let them act on itHow respect for people extends to avoiding layoffs even in downturns, and why that matters in a world of AI and supply chain disruptionsABOUT MY GUEST:Olivier Larue was trained by Toyota Motor Corporation and has spent thirty years helping Fortune 500 companies design and implement industrial manufacturing solutions, including more than a decade as a consultant with TSSC, the Toyota Production System Support Center, and hands-on work in the biopharmaceutical industry. He is the founder and president of Ydatum, and the author of the three-book series The Toyota Economic System.IMPORTANT LINKS:Full episode show notes: ChainOfLearning.com/82 Connect with Olivier Larue: linkedin.com/in/olivierlarue Purchase a copy of The Toyota Economic System (three-book series): https://www.amazon.com/Toyota-Economic-System-Environmental-StewardshipLearn more about Ydatum: ydatum.com Follow me on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kbjanderson Subscribe to my newsletter: kbjanderson.com/newsletter Check out my website for resources and working together: KBJAnderson.com Join us on the Japan Leadership Experience: KBJAnderson.com/japantrip TIMESTAMPS FOR THIS EPISODE:02:43 How a NUMMI experience shaped Olivier years later05:14 Why call it the Toyota Economic System?09:42 Profit vs. cash: the trade-off companies get wrong12:32 Why Just-in-Time doesn't mean zero inventory16:30 What happens when company values and work conflict20:20 Why leaders have to “earn” how they manage21:42 Why Toyota's seven wastes are in a specific order23:38 The hidden cost of human waiting27:20 Why leadership skills alone aren't enough30:05 Why organizations keep repeating the same problems31:26 What Andon actually means for empowerment35:17 The leadership response that makes problems safe to surface39:16 Why Toyota can avoid layoffs during downturns44:30 The unanswered question about AI and economic growth48:30 How enthusiasm turns pull into push50:44 Why isolated improvements don't transform systems54:35 Refusing the either/or trade-off Learn more and apply for the November 2026 cohort of my Japan Leadership Experience: https://kbjanderson.com/japantrip/

What if trying to keep everyone comfortable is actually making your team less safe? In this episode of Becoming Unshakable, I tackle one of the biggest misconceptions I see around psychological safety: the idea that good leaders protect people from difficult conversations, disagreement, or discomfort. They don't. Psychological safety means people can question decisions, admit mistakes, raise concerns, and bring uncomfortable truths into the room without fearing embarrassment, punishment, or retaliation. That doesn't remove accountability. In fact, when safety and accountability exist together, teams are far better equipped to learn, challenge one another, and perform under pressure. I share what Amy Edmondson's work on psychological safety can teach us, lessons from Google's Project Aristotle, and an experience from my own consulting work where a leadership team believed they had created a safe culture until listening sessions revealed something very different. I also offer a simple practice leaders can use immediately. At the end of an important meeting, ask: "What are we missing?" Then stay quiet long enough to hear the answer. Because trust isn't built by avoiding hard conversations. It's built when people learn they can tell the truth and still be respected. How safe is it really for someone on your team to disagree with you? Listen to the episode and share your thoughts with me.  

“Over time, what works is truly showing up in a way where you actually care, you're actually trying to give value.” In a culture that rewards boldness and visibility, quieter voices can be easy to overlook. But Susan Cain, a former Wall Street lawyer, negotiation consultant, and bestselling author of Quiet and Bittersweet, argues that introverts bring powerful strengths to communication and leadership, from deep listening to thoughtful reflection. In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Cain joins Matt Abrahams to explore how introverts can communicate with confidence without pretending to be extroverts. From overcoming speaking anxiety to embracing quiet leadership, she shares how sincerity and self-awareness can help us show up at our best.Key Takeaways:Introversion is a strength, not a limitation. Deep listening, thoughtful reflection, and strong one-on-one relationships can make quieter communicators highly effective leaders, even when those qualities are less visible.Confidence doesn't require changing who you are. By gradually building comfort in challenging situations and communicating with sincerity, you can become more confident while staying true to your natural communication style.Activity:Redesign a meeting. Choose one recurring meeting and change one element to make space for quieter voices. Try sending questions in advance, adding silent thinking time, or using Susan's think-pair-share approach before opening the discussion to the group.To listen to the extended Deep Thinks version of this episode, please visit FasterSmarter.io/premium.Episode Reference Links:Susan CainSusan's Books: Quiet / BittersweetEp.69 Feeling Nervous? How Anxiety Can Fuel Better Communication Connect:Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart PremiumEmail Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.ioEpisode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart WebsiteNewsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.ioThink Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTubeMatt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn Chapters:(00:00) - Introduction (01:01) - The Extrovert Ideal (04:28) - Introversion vs. Anxiety (06:16) - Building Confidence (09:00) - Quiet Leadership (10:11) - Introvert-Friendly Workplaces (13:29) - Vulnerability and Trust (16:40) - The Final Three Questions (21:47) - Conclusion ********Thank you to our sponsors.  These partnerships support the ongoing production of the podcast, allowing us to bring it to you at no cost.Unleash your Superhuman potential with AI that meets you where you work. Learn more at superhuman.comJoin our Think Fast Talk Smart Learning Community and become the communicator you want to be. 

How do you protect your business's value when costs keep rising and uncertainty shows no sign of easing – and why does psychological safety matter in your workplace? In this week's episode, business sales and acquisitions expert Simon Bedard explains how rising costs, inflation and economic uncertainty are reshaping business value. Simon – who is Managing Director of Exit Advisory Group, and author of new book Exit Like an Expert - also unpacks why many owners are absorbing costs instead of passing them on, and where to focus to build a stronger, more resilient business. Then senior psychologist and managing director at Barrington Centre, Rhonda Andrews, explores why psychological safety is far more than a compliance issue. She explains how creating a workplace where people feel safe to speak up can improve performance, innovation and retention – and why doing nothing is now the biggest risk of all. If you’re considering launching a podcast to grow your authority and client base, reach out to our team to learn how we can support you. Business Essentials is produced by soundcartel.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Summary Employee engagement and mental health are often treated as separate line items on an HR dashboard, but they are actually two sides of the same coin. With global engagement falling to just one in five employees and stress levels rising, CEOs must recognize that disengagement is frequently a symptom of unaddressed psychological strain. In this episode, we dive into why traditional "wellness perks" aren't enough and how structural changes—from manager workload to AI deployment—are the real keys to a high-performing, healthy workforce.   Key Topics Discussed The Hidden Link Between Engagement and Mental Health: Why disengagement is often a symptom of chronic stress rather than a lack of motivation. The Manager Factor: How manager burnout and excessive "span of control" (more than 10-12 direct reports) act as a systems failure that erodes team health. Psychological Safety as a Foundation: Drawing on Harvard Business School research, we discuss why interpersonal risk-taking is the strongest predictor of both engagement and well-being. The "AI Factor": How deploying AI without clear communication about job security and new skill paths creates deep-seated anxiety and trust issues. Leadership and AI Deployment: Insights into Michael Levitt's approach to a "LeadershipOS," where technology change management is treated as a mental health intervention. Moving the Needle: Why organizations that pair mental health investment with structural changes like flexible scheduling and manageable workloads see significantly higher retention. Actionable Insights for CEOs Audit Manager Workload: Treat manager capacity like a production line; reduce the number of direct reports and give them the authority to adjust workloads without red tape. Cross-Reference Your Data: Pull your engagement surveys and layer them over absenteeism and turnover data to find exactly where your organization needs the most help Structural Safety: Build psychological safety by rewarding managers who surface problems early and creating forums where employees can raise concerns safely. The 90-Day Pilot: Commit to one structural change—whether it's a new AI communication protocol or reducing span of control—with a designated owner and a clear measurement data Resources Mentioned 3 Ways To Boost Employee Engagement In Your Workplace 6 Ways To Embrace Mental Health In Your Company Employee Retention: Calculating The True Costs Of Burnout And Turnover Research References: Gallup State of the Global Workplace, SHRM Workplace Research, and McKinsey workforce data https://BreakfastLeadership.com/

"The first negotiation is actually a negotiation I have with myself about my own story."Before you can have hard conversations with others, you need to have an honest conversation with yourself. That's the counterintuitive advice from Sheila Heen, a Harvard Law School lecturer and co-author of Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most, who says our own internal narratives often derail our attempts at negotiation and conflict resolution. In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart , Heen joins Matt Abrahams to explore effective communication in high-stakes situations. From giving and receiving feedback with her “ACE” framework (Appreciation, Coaching, and Evaluation) to recognizing the "degrees of difficulty" in disagreements, she offers practical strategies for having productive conversations even when emotions run high.Key Takeaways:Difficult conversations start with understanding yourself. Before trying to change someone else's mind, examine your own assumptions, emotions, and goals to create space for a more productive dialogue.Curiosity turns conflict into collaboration. Replacing blame with genuine questions and focusing on understanding rather than convincing helps build trust, reduce defensiveness, and move conversations forward.Activity:Decode feedback. The next time someone asks for feedback, don't answer immediately. Implement the ACE framework. First ask: "Are you looking for appreciation, coaching, or evaluation?" Then tailor your response to match what they actually needEpisode Reference Links:Sheila HeenSheila's Book: Difficult ConversationsEp. 204 Tough Talks: Turn Tension Into Trust Connect:Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart PremiumEmail Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.ioEpisode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart WebsiteNewsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.ioThink Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTubeMatt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn Chapters:(00:00) - Introduction (01:40) - Facing Difficult Conversations (03:53) - The Feelings Beneath Conflict (07:02) - The Stories We Tell Ourselves (08:19) - Start with the Third Story (09:59) - The Power of Questions (12:36) - Breaking an Impasse (16:15) - The Language of Curiosity (17:12) - Feedback That Lands (20:18) - Asking for Better Feedback (22:38) - Looking Beneath the Surface (24:15) - The Final Three Questions (31:30) - Conclusion ********Thank you to our sponsors.  These partnerships support the ongoing production of the podcast, allowing us to bring it to you at no cost.Unleash your Superhuman potential with AI that meets you where you work. Learn more at superhuman.comJoin our Think Fast Talk Smart Learning Community and become the communicator you want to be. 

Most leaders try to manage a crisis with logic; it rarely works. In this episode of Leading Through Crisis, host Céline Williams sits down with Doug Noll — a former trial lawyer, peacemaker, and author of De-Escalate — who spent over a decade teaching maximum-security inmates how to stop fights before they start. Doug breaks down the neuroscience of conflict: why 95% of the brain is emotional (not rational), why the prefrontal cortex shuts down under threat, and why leading through logic during a crisis is fighting biology itself.  He introduces a simple, research-backed technique called affect labeling (saying "you feel" and naming someone's emotion) that can calm a nervous system in under two minutes, whether you're in a boardroom, a family crisis, or a prison yard. Along the way, Doug shares one of the most powerful stories from his 10 years working in California and Connecticut prisons: a woman serving a 25-to-life sentence who used this exact skill to reconnect with the son she had relinquished 18 years earlier. If you're a business owner, executive, or leader who wants practical tools for leading through change, conflict, and crisis — not just theory — this conversation will change how you show up in every hard conversation you have next. — Douglas E. Noll, JD, MA, is a lawyer-turned-peacemaker. He is an award-winning author, teacher, trainer, and highly experienced mediator. Doug's work carries him from international work to helping people resolve deep interpersonal and ideological conflicts. His training has included everything from teaching life inmates to be peacemakers and mediators in maximum-security prisons to training analysts at the Congressional Budget Office how to de-escalate members of Congress and staff. You can learn more at https://dougnoll.com. The special site with resources for our listeners, https://dougnoll.co/crisis, goes live August 17th. You can also connect with Doug on... LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougnoll/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/DouglasNoll Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/douglasenoll/ Or subscribe to his YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtAHXdBT1Y0Pl7SGrM_HcFw Doug's new book, Empathy Leadership, comes out at the beginning of September. Pre-order here: https://dougnoll.com/books/empathy-leadership

Cindy Esliger looks into the gap between who we have become and what we still won't allow ourselves to believe is possible. Many accomplished women in engineering have already exceeded anything their younger selves could have imagined, but continue to play smaller than their capabilities suggest because of learned patterns that prioritize safety over possibility. Cindy explains how these patterns develop, why they persist long after the original threat has passed, and how they quietly limit career opportunities. Rather than chasing more achievements, she encourages us to give ourselves permission to imagine what comes next and to build careers rooted in curiosity instead of fear. Much of what holds us back is not a lack of confidence but a nervous system that learned to stay safe through appeasing others. Cindy introduces the concept of the fawn response and how it can appear in everyday work situations, from staying quiet in meetings to over apologizing, overcommitting, or constantly managing other people's comfort. She explains the difference between perfection and wholeness, encouraging us to stop measuring ourselves against impossible standards and instead embrace growth as an ongoing process. Rather than trying to become a polished, finished version of ourselves, she reminds us that we can be whole while still evolving. Cindy offers practical ways to begin shifting these deeply ingrained patterns: Pause before automatically saying yes to requests, ground ourselves by reconnecting with our senses when our minds start anticipating threats, ask ourselves what we genuinely think and want instead of defaulting to what is expected of us, and follow the threads of curiosity that fascinated us as a child. Treat career growth as an ongoing practice of experimentation rather than something to perfect. Cindy reminds us that by choosing curiosity over control and trusting our own instincts, we become examples of what's possible for anyone who comes after us. Resources discussed in this episode: Guide to Becoming Whole Astronomic Audio Confidence Collective — Contact Cindy Esliger  Career Confidence Coaching: website | instagram | facebook | linkedin | email Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Want to improve team communication, training retention, and workplace culture without losing your credibility? This episode breaks down how humor builds psychological safety, strengthens leadership, and makes mandatory training actually stick.In this episode of the Build a Vibrant Culture Podcast, Nicole Greer sits down with commercial pilot, comedian, and Highbrow Safety Werks co-founder Robb Patton to explore how intentional humor transforms serious industries like aviation into environments where people learn faster and speak up more.You'll learn:✔️ How humor builds psychological safety on any team✔️ Why baking levity into training beats hiring a funny facilitator✔️ The rule of three and the callback, two easy tools anyone can use✔️ How emotional intelligence and radical candor work together with humor✔️ Why AI is opening new doors for leaders who aren't naturally funnyThis episode is for leaders, trainers, and HR professionals who want to build a stronger organizational culture and make learning stick.Topics covered include work culture, psychological safety, leadership development, team communication, and training and development.Connect with Robb Patton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robb-patton-49a3b310 And on his website, Highbrow Safety Werks: https://www.highbrowsafety.com/teamThe Build a Vibrant Culture Podcast helps leaders improve work culture, communication, and business performance through real-world leadership strategies and practical insights. Click here to view the episode transcript. Learn more about training, coaching, and courses at https://vibrantculture.comConnect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/build-a-vibrant-culture-nicole-greer/For speaking inquiries: https://vibrantculture.com/speaker-kit-request/Download our training catalog: https://vibrantculture.com/catalog-request/Want to be a guest? Send your request to podcast@vibrantculture.com

How do you lead 16 agencies and serve 8.2 million people without losing sight of the individual? NYC's Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services Helen Arteaga shows what happens when a leader moves beyond the binary of efficiency vs. compassion, using data and local insights to get both right. In this episode, you'll learn: Why a structured system for serving people from birth through end-of-life means better, consistent care. How to use neighborhood-level data and geographic targeting to serve people before they hit crisis. How to get the right processes in place before feeding data to an AI. The importance of early intervention with babies and children. Why ensuring equal access to good care is so personal for DM Arteaga, and how she honors her father's legacy by doing so. Guest: New York City's Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services Helen Arteaga Listener Survey: bit.ly/datasmartpod Music credit: Summer-Man by Ketsa About Data-Smart City Solutions Data-Smart City Solutions, housed at the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, is working to catalyze the adoption of data projects on the local government level by serving as a central resource for cities interested in this emerging field. We highlight best practices, top innovators, and promising case studies while also connecting leading industry, academic, and government officials. Our research focus is the intersection of government and data, ranging from open data and predictive analytics to civic engagement technology. We seek to promote the combination of integrated, cross-agency data with community data to better discover and preemptively address civic problems. To learn more visit us online and follow us on LinkedIn.

Psychological safety is more than a workplace term. It shows up in the everyday experiences employees have with their leaders, their teams, and the systems around them.In this episode of High Velocity Radio, host Lee Cantor talks with Sacha Thompson, founder of The Equity Equation, about creating authentic workplaces where people feel valued, heard, and able to contribute. Sacha shares how leaders can move beyond buzzwords and focus on what employees are actually experiencing day to day.Together, they explore the disconnect between stated culture and lived experience, the role of leadership alignment, the impact of AI on employee roles, and why investing in employee development is essential for building trust and sustaining healthy teams. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit deiafter5.substack.com/subscribe

First: There's a great story about how to create psychologically safe teams in Amy Edmondson's book, " Right Kind of Wrong."https://amycedmondson.com/books/Next: The podcast will be on pause for a bit. I'll be speaking at ATD's Core4 conference this fall, and at a few other events. I'm working on something else for you, too, so stay tuned.~Sign up for updates by subscribing on Maven (it's free):https://maven.com/kimnicol~Follow me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimnicol/~kimnicol.com

This year's Agile 2026 theme was “shaping the future with agility,” and that is exactly where Kate Megaw and Anu Smalley found the industry: mid-shift, still deciding what comes next. Back from the conference, they sit down with Ryan Smith for an honest field report. The partnership between PMI and the Agile Alliance has solidified, so the room was no longer split into project managers on one side and Scrum Masters on the other.  AI, meanwhile, has stopped being the shiny new thing bolted onto every session title and settled into the operating system of how we work, though “don't forget the human” is still treated as a footnote.  Kate and Anu wrestle with an industry in flux where no one has put a finger on what is broken yet, the Scrum Master role morphing into a dozen job titles, and Anu's growing conviction that the psychology of AI is the work that matters.  The phrase that stuck with Kate from one of the sessions says it all: we are in the age of perpetual transformation.

We often think of groundbreaking innovation in terms of technology, spreadsheets, and complex engineering. But what happens when humanity's most ambitious moonshots—literally reaching for the stars and returning to the moon—depend entirely on the subtle, daily interactions of human connection and moral courage? In this powerful episode, Chris Schembra sits down with Janet Grondin, CEO of Stellar Solutions and former U.S. Air Force Colonel.  Janet shares her journey from a small town in Iowa to directing teams of top engineers and advisors on humanity's most critical space and defense missions, including NASA's Artemis program. Together, they explore the tragedy that shaped her childhood, how to lead with moral courage through delayed gratification, why true leadership means helping every employee find their "dream job," and why human vision—not AI—will always be the ultimate driver of high-ground innovation.   10 Memorable Quotes "You won't survive in our business if you don't work hard and have a solid ethical foundation." — Janet Grondin "When you do see someone who could use a hand, reach out and take action. Don't walk by that problem." — Janet Grondin "For you to operate maritime, terrestrial forces, really hold your nation secure, you do need the high ground of space." — Janet Grondin "Processes don't build systems. Paper doesn't build systems... People build systems. People have visions." — Janet Grondin "Very subtle, small human interactions can have outsized impact on the mission." — Janet Grondin "If leadership is lonely, you're doing it wrong." — Janet Grondin "Mission success is paramount. People are paramount." — Janet Grondin "The connection is through the question, and then you have to be ready for the answer because it's not always the answer you want." — Janet Grondin "AI is not going to put those together and go, 'Hey, we should build a spaceship... to create diamonds and silicon.' Humans do that." — Janet Grondin "The work is done by people. And without people, I don't care what you're building, you're not gonna build much without people." — Janet Grondin   10 Key Takeaways The Ethical Foundation: High-stakes leadership requires an unshakeable ethical foundation and a commitment to leaving every environment better than you found it. Taking Action over Bystander Mindset: Real leadership means taking immediate action when you spot someone in need or identify a flaw in a critical system. The High Ground Advantage: Long-term security, communication, and economic innovation depend on securing and developing the "high ground" of low Earth orbit and lunar bases. Humans Build Systems, Not Spreadsheets: Technology and processes are just tools; the human connection between designers, builders, and leaders is the true "secret sauce" of complex mission success. Psychological Safety in Engineering: High-performing cultures require enough trust and moral courage for team members to raise flags when something isn't right without fear of dismissal. The "Dream Job" Culture: Regularly asking employees "Are you in your dream job?" builds deep alignment and ensures the company evolves in the direction of its people. Combating Productivity Paradoxes: Instead of letting efficiency gains get swallowed by routine administrative busywork, leaders must intentionally protect space for collaboration and connection. Intentional Community Building: Distributed and remote teams require intentional, high-touch connection points, from monthly one-on-ones to biannual retreats and collaborative strategy sessions. Human Vision vs. AI Execution: While AI excels at data sifting and routine tasks, original genius, cross-domain breakthroughs, and visionary courage remain uniquely human. Redefining Impact and Boundaries: True growth comes from recognizing you are a small, vital part of something much bigger than yourself—and expanding your sights beyond terrestrial boundaries. About Our Guest Janet Grondin is the Chief Executive Officer of Stellar Solutions, Inc., a woman-owned aerospace engineering services firm and Malcolm Baldrige Award winner serving intelligence, defense, civil, commercial, and international customers. Janet's career spans three decades across the U.S. Air Force—where she retired as a Colonel—Fortune 500 defense contractor Northrop Grumman, and now Stellar Solutions. Winner of the 2022 Women in Aerospace Leadership Award, she serves as Chair of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Space Division. Janet holds a B.S. magna cum laude in Aeronautical Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and master's degrees from AFIT, the Air War College, and the Air Command and Staff College. She resides in Reston, Virginia with her husband Pat. Learn more at stellarsolutions.com.

What does it really take to shift from a traditional career path to building your own company—and how do your earliest money experiences shape the journey? In this episode of The Angel Next Door Podcast, listeners are invited to consider how personal financial histories and mindsets can be as pivotal as business acumen in entrepreneurship, especially when the goal is empowering others. Our guest, Stephanie Guttman, brings a uniquely diverse background, having started her career in corporate finance before moving through the world of startups, eventually becoming an investor and now a founder. She shares her early fascination with financial independence—opening an IRA at eighteen, working multiple jobs in high school, and volunteering for tax preparation—all of which laid the groundwork for her deep understanding of money, its power, and its potential as a force for individual autonomy. Throughout the episode, Marcia and Stephanie Guttman dive into the founding of Huntress Wealth—a platform designed not as a typical wealth management firm but as a resource for women seeking confidence, clarity, and purpose in their financial lives. Together, they explore the investing gap, societal and psychological barriers women face, and why understanding “enough” can be the secret to true financial empowerment. This conversation is a must-listen for anyone interested in the intersections of entrepreneurship, mindset, and financial equality, as it not only surfaces actionable ideas but also challenges listeners to rethink how they approach money and self-worth.   To get the latest from Stephanie Guttman, you can follow her below! https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-guttman/   Sign up for Marcia's newsletter to receive tips and the latest on Angel Investing! Website: www.marciadawood.com Learn more about the documentary Show Her the Money: www.showherthemoneymovie.com And don't forget to follow us wherever you are! Apple Podcasts: https://pod.link/1586445642.apple Spotify: https://pod.link/1586445642.spotify LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/angel-next-door-podcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theangelnextdoorpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marciadawood

Your leadership style isn't the problem. Your default is.The gap between how you're leading and what the person in front of you actually needs is one of the most common and most invisible places leaders get stuck. Most of us default to one mode and don't notice the mismatch until something breaks down.Suzie Bishop has spent over a decade at the Center for Leadership Studies helping leaders close that gap and strengthen their leadership effectiveness. Her new book, Situational Leadership, puts nearly sixty years of research into a practical framework for reading the situation, building leadership flexibility, and adapting your approach.Suzie walks through the four leadership styles, how to read what someone needs in a given situation, and how to adapt your approach to coach, develop leaders, and lead through influence.The best leaders don't pick one style and commit. They pause, assess the situation, and flex to have the impact you intend.You'll Learn:Why "leadership is influence" reframes how you lead, and why influence has nothing to do with manipulation or controlHow to diagnose what someone needs, and why one person can require four different approaches in the same conversationHow leadership flexibility and adaptability differ—and why knowing the styles isn't the same as knowing when to use themWhy only asking coaching questions can leave people stuck, and how to know when to step in with more directive leadershipHow the "power of the pause" helps you move from reacting out of habit to adapting with intentionABOUT MY GUEST:Suzie Bishop is VP of Product Development at The Center for Leadership Studies. She's a Certified Professional in Training Management, a Stakeholder Centered Coach, and a Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coach. Suzie is co-author of Situational Leadership: The Model for Leading Others, Navigating Change and Unlocking Performance and is currently writing her next book, Match: How to Meet Leaders Where They Are, with Marshall Goldsmith.IMPORTANT LINKS:Full episode show notes: ChainOfLearning.com/81 Connect with Suzie Bishop: linkedin.com/in/suzie-bishop Purchase a copy: Situational Leadership: The Model for Leading Others, Navigating Change and Unlocking Performance by Suzie Bishop and Sam ShriverMatch: How to Meet Leaders Where They Are by Suzie Bishop and Marshall Goldsmith (November 2026)Learn more about The Center for Leadership Studies: situational.comFollow me on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kbjanderson Subscribe to my newsletter: kbjanderson.com/newsletter Check out my website for resources and working together: KBJAnderson.com Join us on the Japan Leadership Experience: KBJAnderson.com/japantrip TIMESTAMPS FOR THIS EPISODE:02:52 Why leadership is influence, not control04:43 Creating the conditions without controlling06:51 What Situational Leadership looks like in practice07:35 Flexibility vs. adaptability: the critical difference07:48 The four Situational Leadership styles11:41 How to recognize your natural leadership tendency13:08 When asking questions isn't effective coaching16:46 How to be directive without taking away ownership17:37 The cost of not adapting how you lead21:37 Why organizations need a common leadership language24:05 Creating the conditions for people to ask for help25:24 The leadership challenge even top executives struggle with29:06 How to give direction without taking over30:33 Influence versus control when you have authority31:06 Three types of power that shape your influence32:51 Why trust is your most important source of power36:02 The difference between flexibility and adaptability37:08 Practice an intention pause before you respond Learn more and apply for the November 2026 cohort of my Japan Leadership Experience: https://kbjanderson.com/japantrip/

SummaryIn this episode, I'm joined by Mark Graban, he's an expert in Lean Leadership, Psychological Safety, and Continuous Improvement. Mark and I discuss the idea of the “smallest test of change,” a principle rooted in lean thinking that can be applied far beyond manufacturing. Speaking of manufacturing, we sort of geek out on what we've learned from being around Toyota and seeing how they work in practice, not just in theory.We also dive into why organizations reward people for sounding certain, how leaders unintentionally punish experimentation, and why psychological safety is essential if you expect people to admit what they don't know.Mark shares how he's applying these ideas to his own work by testing a new book through iterative publishing.If you want to learn more about creating a culture where people feel safe to speak up and use smaller tests to drive meaningful change, this episode is for you.TakeawaysStart with the smallest test of change - something quick, inexpensive, and focused on learning.Separate knowledge from assumptions by asking, “How do we know this is true?” before acting with certainty.Psychological safety is essential for experimentation because people must feel safe admitting mistakes, asking for help, and challenging ideas.Leaders shape culture through their reactions. Saying failure is acceptable means little if people are punished when a test does not work.Even experienced practitioners can overbuild. Mark's AI coaching experiment reinforced the need to test demand and usefulness before adding more features.Guest LinksWebsite: https://www.markgraban.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mgraban/

Most organizations think they have an AI tool problem. They do not. They have an AI behavioral problem. The licenses get bought, the workshops happen, and by Monday morning, people are back to working exactly as they did before.This episode is sponsored by Deel.Hire, manage, and pay anyone, anywhere: https://www.deel.com/nickdayhr/In this episode of @thehrldpodcast Nick Day is joined by Jamie Bykov-Brett, an AI transformation strategist, TEDx speaker, and co-founder of the Executive AI Institute. Jamie's path into AI started in youth work, supporting young people from marginalized backgrounds into STEM careers. It was there, back in 2014, that he began forecasting how automation would reshape the workforce, discovering along the way that technology adoption rarely fails because of the tools themselves; it fails because people were never taken through the change. That change management lens is exactly what he brings to AI training and organizational transformation today.Nick and Jamie explore why one-off AI workshops rarely create lasting behavior change, and why real transformation starts with human-centric skill development, not the tools. They unpack the "eliminate, automate, delegate" framework for deciding where AI actually belongs in a workflow, why psychological safety is the missing ingredient in most AI rollouts, and how legacy failed change projects can quietly sabotage adoption before training even begins. They also dig into why your most resistant employees might be your best future change agents, why highly technical people sometimes struggle most with AI adoption, why organizations should expect a temporary dip in performance during rollout rather than instant ROI, and what it actually looks like to design an AI learning intervention that turns AI into a daily working habit rather than a novelty.In a world where organizations are under pressure to prove AI adoption is working immediately, this episode makes the case that the real barriers were never technical. They are emotional, cultural, and behavioral, and the organizations that address that will be the ones that actually get results.A must-listen for HR leaders, L&D professionals, and anyone responsible for making AI adoption actually stick inside their organization.Enjoyed this? Check out our sister podcast @thepayrollpodcast for more great content!Guest and Host:Jamie Bykov-Brett's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiebykovbrett/Jamie Bykov-Brett's Website: bykovbrett.netNick Day's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickday/Find your ideal candidate with our job vacancy system: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/919cf6b9eaSign up to the HR L&D Newsletter: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/23e7b153e7Stay tuned for the next episode of the HR L&D Podcast, brought to you by Nick Day, CEO at JGA Recruitment, landing soon!Timestamps:(00:01) Why AI Training Fails: The Behavior Problem, Not a Tool Problem(03:27) Jamie's Journey: From Youth Work to AI Transformation Strategist(09:05) The AI Adoption Gap: Rising HR Burnout Despite AI Investment(10:47) AI as a Mirror: Why Technology Reflects Your Organization's Culture(14:30) Human-Centric Skills First: Curiosity, Creativity and Critical Thinking(20:31) The Eliminate, Automate, Delegate Framework(23:09) Designing AI Interventions That Actually Fit Your Organization(27:43) Turning Resistant Employees Into Change Agents(33:11) The Hidden Fears Driving AI Resistance(37:03) Case Study: How Insights Achieved a 9.7 NPS on AI Training(39:59) Why L&D Should Expect a Performance Dip Before AI Pays Off(45:43) Rapid Fire: Career Advice, Leadership, and HR's Future

You schedule the meeting, you ask for input, and the room goes quiet. Then the real conversation happens in the hallway afterward. Kate Megaw and Ryan Smith dig into why people stay silent, and what facilitators can actually do about it. Silence is rarely about a disengaged team. It is fear of looking foolish, internal processors who need time to think, a leader who anchors the room before anyone speaks, and big talkers who cannot sit with a pause. Remote meetings can quietly make all of it worse.The cost is real. Silence erodes trust, hides risks that surface mid sprint when it is too late, shrinks innovation, and hands the decision to the loudest voice in the room. Kate and Ryan share the practical moves they use to turn it around, from waiting out the silence and asking sharper questions, to silent writing, round robins, breakout pairs, stacking, and priming the pump before the meeting even starts. The throughline is simple. Facilitation is not just a soft skill, it is a design tool. Good meetings are designed, not winged, because as our friend Anu likes to say, “winging it is not a plan”!

"Meaning is about being mindful of the effect you have on other people."What makes a life meaningful? We often think purpose and meaning are the same thing, but according to Stanford professor Brian Lowery, they're fundamentally different. Purpose is what drives us. Meaning comes from the impact we have on others. In this live episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart from Stanford's LEAD Me2We event, Lowery and Matt Abrahams examine how our relationships shape who we become, why sincerity matters more than authenticity, and how leaders influence others through every interaction. Along the way, they share practical insights on giving better feedback, building stronger connections, and creating workplaces where people can thrive.Key Takeaways:Meaning comes from your impact on others. Purpose is what drives your actions, but meaning grows when your work positively influences the people around you and continues beyond your own involvement.The way you show up shapes the people around you. Leaders create better teams by practicing self-awareness, communicating with sincerity, and giving feedback that recognizes people's intentions while helping them grow.Activity:Notice your influence. At the end of each workday, write down one interaction that may have shaped someone else's experience—positively or negatively. Reflect on what you communicated beyond your words and what you want to do differently tomorrow.Episode Reference Links:Brian LoweryEp.23 Look Within: How to Lead with Self Awareness and VulnerabilityEp.84 Quick Thinks: How Others Define Us  Ep.142 Power and Persuasion: Live Insights from Stanford Experts Connect:Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart PremiumEmail Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.ioEpisode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart WebsiteNewsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.ioThink Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTubeMatt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn Chapters:(00:00) - Introduction (00:39) - Purpose vs. Meaning (02:12) - The Ripple Effect of Meaning (04:06) - How Others Shape Who We Are (05:20) - The Leader's Role in Shaping Others (08:58) - Self-Awareness & Psychological Safety (11:48) - Sincerity vs. "True Self" (12:53) - Feedback For Grow (17:13) - Becoming Better Humans (18:46) - Conclusion ********Thank you to our sponsors.  These partnerships support the ongoing production of the podcast, allowing us to bring it to you at no cost.With LinkedIn Hiring Pro, you can hire with confidence, knowing you're getting the best talent for your needs. Get started by posting your job for free at linkedin.com/fast

Summary In this episode, Andy sits down with Gustavo Razzetti, culture consultant and author of Forward Talk. Gustavo makes a case that surprises a lot of leaders: fear is only part of why people stay quiet at work. The bigger driver is what he calls the pointlessness paradox, the belief that speaking up will not change anything. Andy and Gustavo talk about conversational debt and how it compounds over time, why silence is so often mistaken for alignment, and the subtle signs that a team is drifting into avoidance, blame, or groupthink. Gustavo unpacks the difference between backward talk and forward talk, offering practical ways to turn an objection into a question that opens possibilities. You'll also hear about conversational agency, why the second person who speaks up matters more than the first, and how the CPR approach of courage, perspective, and responsibility plays out under pressure. Along the way, Andy shares stories from Alfred Sloan at GM and Alan Mulally at Ford, and Gustavo shares a memorable one about his son and a crashed car. If you're looking for a more confident way to raise the issues your team keeps avoiding, this episode is for you! Sound Bites "However, fear only explains part of why people don't speak up. At some point, people feel nothing will change." "I like to say that agreement happens in the room, alignment happens after the meeting." "When you become the team leader, the number of people giving you feedback reduces, and when you become a senior executive, no one gives you feedback.  Or if they do, it's not honest." "But what you want is people to challenge your perspective, to show you what you're missing, to see the things you're not seeing or maybe you stop seeing." "The problem is when we put being accepted, being respected over the outcome." "So forward talk is when can we frame that objection into a question." "So you're not being difficult. You're being realistic, but trying to find a solution, and you're giving the other person options." "Most people don't regret the difficult conversations they had. What we regret are the ones that we never had." "There's research that shows that the person who speaks up first is not the most important person. The second person who reciprocates is actually the one that creates the change. That moment when two people are talking about the same issue, it gives permission to the other people to jump in and also participate." "Staying silent also backfires, not only because it hurts the company, but if you're seeing the problem and you're staying silent, you become part of the problem." "It's not the absence of conflict that makes us a good team. It's that we can do it and we can work through it." Chapters 00:00 Introduction 02:05 Start of Interview 02:17 Growing Up in a Family of Nine in Argentina 05:18 Learning New Ways Beyond Your Family Culture 06:16 Why Fear Is Not the Whole Story 09:06 Why Waiting for Perfect Psychological Safety Backfires 10:37 Explaining the Pointlessness Paradox 11:37 Mistaking Silence for Alignment 13:35 Alfred Sloan and the Value of Disagreement 15:32 Subtle Signs You Are Drifting Into Groupthink 17:58 Backward Talk vs. Forward Talk 19:43 The Way to the Sun Is Through the Storm 21:05 How Organizations Quietly Reward Avoidance 23:08 When Speaking Up Gets You Labeled 25:09 Alan Mulaly, Ford, and the Power of the Second Voice 27:39 Alignment Debt, Belonging Debt, and Collaboration Debt 29:11 Why Conversational Debt Compounds 30:05 Surrendering Conversational Agency 32:40 Complaining, and the CPR Approach 36:31 You Get What You Tolerate 37:42 Applying These Ideas at Home 40:06 Conflict Is Fuel When You Channel It 41:07 End of Interview 41:37 Andy Comments After the Interview 45:10 Outtakes Learn More You can learn more about Gustavo and his work at GustavoRazzetti.com. For more learning on this topic, check out: Episode 284 with Peter Boghossian. He wrote a book about how to have impossible conversations, and it's full of ideas Andy still uses almost every week. Episode 148 with Daniel Shapiro. Dan is the author of Negotiating the Nonnegotiable, an insightful guide to dealing with difficult conversations and influence situations. Episode 371 with Amanda Ripley. Her book High Conflict offers practical guidance on navigating even the most challenging of conflicts in an empowering way. Chat with PMeLa You can chat directly with PMeLa, the podcast's AI persona, to get episode recommendations and answers to your project management and leadership questions. Visit PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/PMeLa to chat with her. Join Us for LEAD52 I know you want to be a more confident leader–that's why you listen to this podcast. LEAD52 is a global community of people like you who are committed to transforming their ability to lead and deliver. It's 52 weeks of leadership learning, delivered right to your inbox, taking less than 5 minutes a week. And it's all for free. Learn more and sign up at GetLEAD52.com. Thanks! Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills Topics: Difficult Conversations, Conversational Debt, Psychological Safety, Groupthink, Team Culture, Leadership, Project Management, Conflict, Alignment, Accountability, Communication, Speaking Up The following music was used for this episode: Music: Summer Morning Full Version by MusicLFiles License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Tropical Vibe by WinnieTheMoog License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Dr. Vitz talks about the five misconceptions about Emotional Sobriety, continuing with the difference between EMSO and your personal control, vs. psychological safety and its reliance on the behavior of others. (Originally aired 10-22-2025)

In this episode, Suken provides a comprehensive mid-year check-in, exploring current trends in AI, change management, psychological safety, and leadership burnout. He shares personal updates, insights on leadership development, and practical advice for achieving goals in the second half of the year.keywords: Leadership, AI, Change Management, Psychological Safety, Burnout, Mid-Year Review, Leadership Development, Personal Growthkey topics:AI as change managementBalancing automation and human elementsPsychological safety as a performance leverBurnout among middle managersMid-career reinvention and personal growthLeadership development programsRetreats and transformational experiencesSetting and adjusting goals mid-year

Data innovation isn't about buying better tools. As Dallas and Cleveland show, it's about how leaders listen, support risk-taking, and work alongside agencies. The result? A culture where innovation thrives, and scales. Host Stephen Goldsmith speaks with Brita Andercheck, Chief Data Officer in Dallas, and Liz Crowe, Chief Innovation and Technology Officer in Cleveland, about how they drive transformative change across city governments. From reporting structures to how you listen to agencies to going out into the field yourself, they share the unglamorous work that actually drives transformation. In this episode, you'll learn: How to strike the balance between centralization and decentralization Why a problem-first approach beats technology-first Why data teams should measure their ROI The importance of collaboration and relationships How to create psychological safety so teams "fail smart" Guest: Dr. Brita Andercheck – Chief Data Officer and Director of the Office of Data Analytics and Business Intelligence, city of Dallas Dr. Liz Crowe – Chief Innovation and Technology Officer, city of Cleveland Listener Survey: bit.ly/datasmartpod Music credit: Summer-Man by Ketsa About Data-Smart City Solutions Data-Smart City Solutions, housed at the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, is working to catalyze the adoption of data projects on the local government level by serving as a central resource for cities interested in this emerging field. We highlight best practices, top innovators, and promising case studies while also connecting leading industry, academic, and government officials. Our research focus is the intersection of government and data, ranging from open data and predictive analytics to civic engagement technology. We seek to promote the combination of integrated, cross-agency data with community data to better discover and preemptively address civic problems. To learn more visit us online and follow us on LinkedIn.

Today, I'm joined by Grant "Upbeat" Bosnick, leadership expert, executive coach, keynote speaker, former professional musician, and founder of YES! (Your Empowering Solutions). For more than 25 years, Grant has helped leaders and organizations across 45 countries develop stronger leaders, build high-performing teams, and navigate change. In this episode, Grant and I explore what truly separates great communicators from everyone else. We discuss why communication is ultimately about creating connection, why the best leaders know when to speak and when to stay silent, and how trust, responsiveness, and genuine curiosity shape every meaningful conversation. We also talk about leading in the age of AI, influencing others without manipulation, and why listening with your heart may be one of the most important communication habits you can develop. Whether you're leading a team, coaching employees, managing change, or simply looking to become a stronger communicator, you'll walk away with practical ideas you can put to work immediately. Let's dive in. Additional Resources: ► Follow Communispond on LinkedIn for more communication skills tips:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/communispond ► Connect with Scott D'Amico on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottdamico/ ► Connect with Grant on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantbosnick/ ► Learn more about Grant:  https://grantbosnick.com/ ► Learn more about YES :  https://yes-sol.com/ ► Subscribe to Communicast:  https://communicast.simplecast.com/ ► Learn more about Communispond:  https://www.communispond.com

You're Invited to Podcast Club: Listeners of The Conscious Edge are coming together on Thursdays at 1pm ET for Podcast Club. Think book club, but for the podcast. We'll talk about the episodes, what landed, where it's challenging us, and how to actually apply it. It's a chance to meet other business owners, get into real two-way conversation, and stop just consuming content. RSVP for the dates you want at consciousedge.com/club.  Get full show notes at www.consciousedge.com/ep110 Come say “hi' on Instagram:@aleciastg Alecia St. Germain and her co-host Jonathan Dugger take on what actually makes change work inside a team, and it has very little to do with the process. In this month's Mindfulness Matters with Jonathan, they dig into why the phrase "change management" misses the point entirely, and what Amy Edmondson's psychological safety research uncovered when Google studied nearly 200 of its own teams through Project Aristotle. The highest performing teams in that study reported more failure than the ones anyone would have guessed were the safest bets, and they held onto their people while they did it. Alecia shares how the Immunity to Change process can be facilitated with a whole team, surfacing the big assumptions an organization runs on without ever naming them out loud. Jonathan makes the case for treating resistance as an opportunity to learn something no one has seen yet, and for letting grief have a place in professional conversations, because every change asks people to let go of something. They also get honest about what has been lost in business culture along the way, and why relational capacity is the one thing that cannot be outsourced to an algorithm. Solo entrepreneurs are not off the hook here either. A bookkeeper and the one person she calls when she needs to think out loud already add up to a team.

Culture rot is the gradual erosion of norms, trust, and standards that sets in when small problems go unaddressed — and if it persists, it's because someone who was supposed to own it didn't. In this episode, Dr. Timothy R. Clark and Tim Clark Jr. break down how to spot culture rot fast and who has to fix it.Their starting point: culture is the way we interact. Values on the wall, engagement surveys, and mission statements are ancillary — the truth shows up at the human interface. Watch who's talking, and watch the two seconds after someone disagrees. That moment of truth reveals the norms, and 15 minutes in one meeting tells you almost everything about a culture's health. And the stakes are measurable: MIT Sloan found toxic culture predicts attrition roughly 10x more strongly than compensation, and SHRM put culture-linked turnover at $223 billion over five years.When cultures rot, they fail in one of two patterns: pathological conflict, or the quieter and more dangerous one — pathological compliance, where teams fall silent, stop thinking divergently, and lose the ability to adapt. That's why culture rot is a tax on adaptation: stable markets let rotten cultures win for a while, but the moment the environment shifts, the bill comes due.So who owns it? Ownership is nested, not divided — it rolls up to the CEO as chief cultural architect, and it can't be delegated. Each leader is accountable for their span of control through two levers: modeling and holding others accountable. Run culture like a P&L — coach to acts of vulnerability with the LIVE model (Look, Identify, Validate, Encourage), patrol the boundaries of respect, and remember: you get what you tolerate.

A sharp Slack message.  A public channel.  One stressed moment. Eight months later, a six-figure client relationship gone. When George finally asked why nobody on his team said anything, the answer stopped him cold: "I didn't want to be the one to bring you bad news." That wasn't a team problem. It was a psychological safety problem. And he had created it, in five seconds, without even realizing it. Your team isn't being lazy. Your clients aren't disengaging. They're protecting themselves from your reaction. In this solo episode, George breaks down psychological safety, what it actually is, why it matters in every relationship you have, and how to rebuild it one response at a time. This is part one of a two-part series. Part two covers the five factors of trust. What You'll Learn In This Episode: What psychological safety actually is and what it's not Timothy Clark's four stages: inclusion, learner, contributor, and challenger safety Why going quiet is a learned behavior, not disengagement The silent ways we accidentally teach people it's not safe to tell us the truth Why you can't rebuild psychological safety with an all-hands meeting How to rebuild it one micro-moment at a time Why this applies equally to teams, clients, partnerships, kids, and yourself Key Takeaways: ✔️Psychological safety is not about being nice. It's a culture of rewarded vulnerability, where people can speak up, admit mistakes, push back, and not get punished for it. ✔️In that Slack channel, George taught his entire team a lesson in five seconds that took eight months to even notice they'd learned. ✔️People going quiet are not lazy or disengaged. They are successfully protecting themselves from your reaction. ✔️The four stages must build in order. You cannot have challenger safety without inclusion, learner, and contributor safety already in place. ✔️Every time you reward honesty, you add one brick. Every time you punish it, even accidentally with a sigh, a look, or picking up your phone, you tear off three. ✔️You cannot give someone something you've never given yourself. Psychological safety with your team starts with how you handle your own mistakes. ✔️This doesn't get fixed with a speech, a policy, or an all-hands meeting. It gets rebuilt in the next response. ✔️Pressure doesn't create what's inside you, it reveals it. If anger comes out when you get squeezed, that's not on the person who squeezed you. Timestamps & Highlights: [00:00] — The Slack message, the six-figure loss, and "I didn't want to bring you bad news" [01:19] — Why people going quiet is not the problem, it's the symptom [04:00] — What psychological safety actually is: a culture of rewarded vulnerability [07:00] — Timothy Clark's four stages explained [08:30] — Stage 1: Inclusion safety, do people feel like they belong? [11:00] — Stage 2: Learner safety, can they admit they don't know or made a mistake? [14:00] — Stage 3: Contributor safety, can they offer a real idea without fear? [17:00] — Stage 4: Challenger safety, the one George destroyed, and how [21:00] — Where this shows up beyond your team: clients, JVs, partnerships, kids, yourself [25:00] — How to audit where it's broken down right now [28:00] — The only way to rebuild it: one response at a time [31:00] — Why you can't give it to others if you haven't given it to yourself [33:30] — What's coming next: the five factors of trust Your Challenge This Week: Think of one relationship that's gone quieter than it used to be. Ask yourself honestly: what did I do, even by accident, that taught this person it wasn't safe to bring me the truth? Then make it safe. One response at a time. If this landed, leave a review. George reads every single one. Follow George: @itsgeorgebryant Work with George: The Alliance — Community for entrepreneurs building teams and relationships that can handle the truth.  1:1 Coaching — Limited spots. Apply at mindofgeorge.com/coaching-consulting/   Live Retreats — In-person experiences where psychological safety gets modeled, not just talked about.

"When there's a gap between our intention and our impact, we diminish others and our communication."The best leaders don't succeed because they have all the answers—they succeed because they bring out the best thinking in others. Liz Wiseman, executive advisor, CEO of the Wiseman Group, and author of the million-copy bestseller Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, has spent years studying why some leaders amplify the intelligence around them while others unintentionally hold people back. In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Wiseman joins Matt Abrahams to explore the habits of multiplier leaders, the subtle ways well-intentioned managers accidentally diminish their teams, and how curiosity, trust, and thoughtful communication create environments where people can do their best work. Together, they share practical strategies for leading with greater impact by aligning your intentions with the experience you create for others.Key Takeaways:Great leaders multiply, not diminish. Create trust, ask more than you tell, and challenge people to do their best thinking instead of stepping in with the answers.Good intentions aren't enough. The most effective communicators pay attention to the impact of their actions, ensuring their support empowers others rather than unintentionally holding them back.Activity:Ask the multiplier question. At the end of your next one-on-one or team meeting, ask: "What do you need from me to do your best work?" Listen without jumping in to solve the problem. Focus on understanding what will help others think, contribute, and perform at their highest level.To listen to the extended Deep Thinks version of this episode, please visit FasterSmarter.io/premium.Episode Reference Links:Liz WisemanLiz's Book: Multipliers147. Disrupt Yourself: How to Innovate Who You Are and Become Who You Can Be212. Break It to Make It: Disrupt Your Way to the Perfect Job FitConnect:Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart PremiumEmail Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.ioEpisode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart WebsiteNewsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.ioThink Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTubeMatt Abrahams >>> LinkedIn Chapters:(00:00) - Introduction (00:55) - Multipliers vs. Diminishers (02:26) - The Habits That Hold Teams Back (03:54) - Safety, Stretch, & Trust (05:12) - Curiosity Over Control (06:56) - The Most Important Leadership Question (09:14) - Becoming an Impact Player (12:20) - When Good Intentions Backfire (15:54) - Accidental Diminishing (19:47) - The Final Three Questions (25:07) - Conclusion

Thomas Lah welcomes social psychologist Sarah DiMuccio to talk about the human side of AI transformation. They dig into why AI adoption triggers anxiety across every role, seniority level, and demographic: it isn't resistance to a task, it's a threat to how people see themselves professionally. Sarah explains that companies are investing heavily in AI technology while investing almost nothing in enablement, treating adoption as something that happens automatically once the tool is switched on rather than a genuine redesign of how people work. That gap shows up as “quiet checkout,” a form of disengagement Sarah argues is more damaging than outright sabotage because it's invisible to leadership and never gets addressed.The conversation turns to what actually builds trust and follow-through: naming the fear directly instead of talking around it, leaders modeling experimentation in front of their teams, and co-creating AI use cases with employees rather than imposing them from the top down. Sarah introduces her framework for future-ready leadership, a Venn diagram of AI fluency, strategic agility, and relational intelligence, arguing that leaders missing the relational piece may retain talent short-term through “golden handcuffs,” but they lose the honesty, experimentation, and judgment that AI-era competitiveness actually depends on.

“Managing emotions—yours and your audience's—is hard enough, but it's even harder when you're under pressure to respond."High-pressure communication doesn't have to derail your message. In this Think Fast, Talk Smart Ask Matt Anything episode, Matt Abrahams answers real-world questions from members of the Think Fast, Talk Smart Learning Community, sharing practical advice for communicating with confidence when the stakes are high. From managing cognitive load and regulating anxiety to leading uncertain conversations and running more engaging meetings, Matt offers actionable strategies for staying focused, connecting with your audience, and communicating with clarity under pressureKey Takeaways:Manage your emotions to manage your message. Reducing cognitive load through preparation and emotional regulation helps you think and communicate more clearly under pressure.Lead with your audience in mind. Whether navigating uncertainty or running meetings, acknowledging emotions, setting clear expectations, and tailoring your message helps people stay engaged and take action.Activity:Stress-test your message. Before your next high-stakes conversation or presentation, rehearse it once under mild pressure—set a timer, record yourself, or practice with a colleague. Notice where you lose clarity, then refine those moments before the real conversation.Episode Reference Links:Think Fast Talk Smart Learning Community Connect:Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart PremiumEmail Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.ioEpisode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart WebsiteNewsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.ioThink Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTubeMatt Abrahams >>> LinkedInChapters:(00:00) - Introduction (01:07) - Speaking Under Pressure (04:01) - Calming an Anxious Audience (07:45) - More Engaging Meetings (12:33) - Communicating Change Without Fear (16:30) - Conclusion

What if your greatest leadership advantage isn't your IQ, technical expertise, or business strategy—but your ability to understand your emotions? Morgane Borzée, Founder of Equanima joins the program to explore how emotional intelligence can transform the way leaders communicate, make decisions, and build stronger organizations. Drawing from her personal journey with anxiety and her passion for making psychoeducation more accessible, Morgane shares how she turned personal challenges into a global mission to help leaders move beyond autopilot and respond with greater awareness and intention.    Highlights include:    Why emotions are valuable data—not weaknesses—and how understanding the needs behind our emotions can unlock healthier relationships, better communication, and more effective leadership.    Why leaders should build a relationship with their stress responses instead of trying to eliminate them.   The five stress responses—fight, flight, freeze, submit, and attach—and how they shape behavior.   The importance of distinguishing emotions from interpretations to reduce conflict.   How our body can provide the first clues to our emotional state.   How AI is reshaping not only work but also our sense of value and identity.   Creating a shared language around emotional intelligence fosters trust, psychological safety, and high-performing teams.    This is a fantastic conversation to support any CEO, manager, entrepreneur, coach, or therapist, looking for practical strategies to strengthen emotional awareness, improve communication, and create cultures where both people and performance thrive.  Learn more by visiting https://equanima.io/ Download the Equanima Emotional Intelligence Mobile App: https://tinyurl.com/EquanimaEQ   Timestamps: Awareness of Stressors 8:17 Impact of AI 18:31 Vulnerability & Psychological Safety 24:16 Making EQ Accessible 31:15

Are you tired of arguments that end in frustration, hurt, or disconnection? Ever wonder if “winning” an argument is really a victory—or if it leaves you and your relationships worse off? In this eye-opening episode of “Strong Mind, Strong Body,” licensed therapist & wellness expert Angie Miller reveals the surprising truth about arguments and why nobody ever truly “wins.” Drawing on years of therapy experience and powerful lessons from Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, Angie explores: ·      Why “winning” an argument can actually damage your relationships ·      The hidden costs of being “right”—including lost trust, safety, and connection ·      How defensiveness and contempt slowly erode connection ·      The crucial difference between understanding and dominating in a disagreement ·      The key role of psychological safety in all your conversations ·      Actionable “homework” to transform your next conflict from competition to meaningful connection Whether it's with your spouse, kids, coworkers, or friends—this episode gives you the mindset shift and tools you need to move from argument to understanding. If you're ready to stop the cycle of win-lose conflict and start building stronger, healthier relationships, you won't want to miss this! If you like what you just consumed, leave us a 5-star review, and share this episode with a friend to help grow our NASM health and wellness community!  The content shared in this podcast is solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek out the guidance of your healthcare provider or other qualified professional. Any opinions expressed by guests and hosts are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of NASM.  The most trusted name in fitness is now expanding into the wellness world. Become an NASM Certified Wellness Coach and you'll be able to guide and motivate clients to make lasting changes through mental and emotional well-being, recovery, and more. https://bit.ly/3EA0hTY

Learn more and apply for the November 2026 cohort of my Japan Leadership Experience: https://kbjanderson.com/japantrip/How many problems are actually visible in your organization?Research shows senior leaders see just 4%. The other 96% stay hidden — invisible, yet still there. And some aren't even recognized by employees as problems anymore, because they have become the norm.We all say we want psychological safety. But you don't get it by saying you want it. People-centered leadership is about creating conditions for people to speak up and highlight issues by how you, and leaders across your system, respond.Recorded live with a group of global leaders participating in my Japan Leadership Experience in May 2026, this special episode celebrates the sixth anniversary of Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn. You'll hear Isao Yoshino, a 40-year Toyota leader and the subject of my book, reflect on three of the book's most talked-about stories.These examples bring two of Toyota's mottos to life, "bad news first" and "no problem is a problem," and show why a leader's response is what turns problems into a culture of improvement:How his manager's response to a huge paint-shop mistake in his first months at Toyota shaped how he saw a leader's roleHow andon — signaling a problem and stopping the line — changed the culture at NUMMIHow he found the courage to highlight his failing water ski boat business to President Fujio ChoWhether on the front line or in the boardroom, creating the conditions where bad news comes first, and support follows, is what builds a culture of excellence.You'll Learn:Why a leader's response to a mistake is fundamental to effective leadership and matters more than the mistake itselfThe two actions behind a bad-news-first culture: respond down to help, not blame, and signal up when something's off courseWhy andon is a leadership practice, not just a factory signal, that works from the shop floor to the executive suiteWhat the NUMMI turnaround shows about culture change: people adopt a better way when they discover it, not when they're toldWhy "thank you for this mistake" is the keystone move for building psychological safetyABOUT MY GUEST:Isao Yoshino spent forty years at Toyota, from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, where he helped shape the people-centered learning culture the company is known for today. He was a key leader in the Kan-Pro senior-management development program and led the training of the American managers at NUMMI, the Toyota-GM joint venture, where he hired John Shook. He is the subject of Katie Anderson's Shingo Publication Award-winning book, Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn.IMPORTANT LINKS:Full episode show notes: ChainOfLearning.com/80Order your copy of Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn: LearningToLeadLeadingToLearn.comFollow me on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kbjandersonSubscribe to my newsletter: kbjanderson.com/newsletterCheck out my website for resources and working together: KBJAnderson.comJoin us on the Japan Leadership Experience: KBJAnderson.com/japantripTIMESTAMPS FOR THIS EPISODE:02:18 Andon: Why a leader's response matters03:16 The paint mistake that shaped Mr. Yoshino's leadership05:28 Why Mr. Yoshino was thanked for his mistake09:34 The leadership lesson that lasted 40 years11:22 Why Toyota starts every leader on the front line12:18 Inside the early days of NUMMI17:13 Why workers were afraid to stop the line23:34 What changed the culture at NUMMI24:40 Why leaders only see 4% of problems25:16 Responding down instead of blaming25:50 Asking for help at the leadership level28:43 Why President Cho flew to a failing business34:17 The power of bad news first35:54 Mr. Yoshino's biggest leadership regret38:19 When doing it yourself becomes the problem39:05 The response that creates culture40:28 The two behaviors every leader needs42:02 Two questions to reflect on this week Learn more and apply for the November 2026 cohort of my Japan Leadership Experience: https://kbjanderson.com/japantrip/Purchase a copy of "Learning to Lead, Leading to Learn" or gift a copy to your team: http://learningtoleadleadingtolearn.com/

AI is about to make your organization legible — and that changes what every leader does next. For the first time in history, an organization can see itself: who creates value, who's hiding, and where the free-rider problem has been quietly draining performance.Business has always been a semi-transparent, at best opaque, performance environment. The free-rider and principal-agent problems survived for one reason: monitoring cost more than it was worth, so we shrugged and called opacity "fine." AI collapses that monitoring cost toward zero. Drawing on Mancur Olson's Logic of Collective Action, the power law of contribution, and the hard truth that only ~20% of employees are engaged worldwide, Junior and Tim make the case that legibility is the real shift underneath the AI conversation — the "eye in the sky that never lies."The implications are big. When the organization holds itself accountable, the manager is no longer the mechanism of accountability — leaders move up the stack to objective-setting, alignment, judgment, and coaching. Pay starts to track the value people actually create. A players lean in (they love to be measured); everyone else feels the fog lift. And the very purpose of the organization comes back into question: not just shareholder value, but developing humans while you create it.

What does it take to break through leadership barriers in medicine without sacrificing your authenticity? In this inspiring episode, Dr. Andrea Austin welcomes Dr. Shannon Udovic-Constant, as she shares her journey into executive leadership, the lessons she learned navigating spaces where women remain significantly underrepresented, and why visibility, not just hard work, is essential for career advancement. Together, Andrea and Shannon unpack the realities women physicians continue to face, from being mistaken for non-physician staff to balancing invisible labor at home while pursuing leadership opportunities. Rather than accepting these challenges as personal failures, they encourage physicians to recognize the systemic barriers that exist and develop intentional strategies to overcome them. Shannon introduces the concept of strategic visibility, explaining why saying "yes" to every opportunity isn't enough. She shares actionable advice on building relationships with decision-makers, leading high-impact initiatives, communicating accomplishments with confidence, and understanding the difference between mentorship and sponsorship. The conversation also explores psychological safety, creating healthy leadership cultures, and why diverse leadership ultimately leads to better healthcare decisions for patients. Whether you're considering your first leadership role or looking to expand your influence within medicine, this episode offers practical tools, encouragement, and a powerful reminder that authentic leadership creates lasting change—for physicians, healthcare systems, and the patients they serve. You'll Hear How They: Discuss why women remain significantly underrepresented in executive healthcare leadership despite representing the majority of today's medical graduates. Explain how strategic visibility helps physicians position themselves for leadership opportunities by intentionally building relationships with key decision-makers. Share practical techniques for communicating accomplishments confidently while remaining authentic and collaborative. Explore the critical difference between mentorship and sponsorship, and why sponsorship is often the missing ingredient in advancing women leaders. Reveal leadership practices that build psychological safety, encourage healthy disagreement, and strengthen team performance. Discuss why physician advocacy and participation in organized medicine are essential for creating meaningful healthcare reform and improving patient care. Encourage physicians to embrace leadership without compromising their values, identity, or authenticity. About the Guest "You don't have to change who you are to become an effective leader, you simply need to become visible for the impact you're already creating." — Dr. Shannon Udovic-Constant Dr. Shannon Udovic-Constant is a pediatrician, leadership coach, and advocate for women in medicine. As President of California's largest medical association, she's a trailblazer for women in leadership. Through Physician Women Rising, she empowers women physicians to pursue executive roles, building visibility, presence, and influence. Her PWR Leadership Method drives meaningful change in healthcare."

"It's not an accent, it's an identity."The way we speak shapes more than how we're understood—it shapes how we're perceived. Peter Novak believes the goal of communication isn't to eliminate an accent, but to communicate with greater clarity, confidence, and authenticity. As a linguist, communication coach, and expert in accent bias, Novak helps multilingual professionals communicate more effectively while embracing the identity their voice represents. In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, he joins Matt Abrahams to explore how accent bias influences the workplace, why clarity matters more than sounding "native," and the practical techniques anyone can use to communicate with greater confidence and impact.Key Takeaways:Clarity matters more than sounding native. Effective communication comes from making your message easy to understand, not eliminating your accent.Your accent is part of your identity. Multilingual communicators bring unique perspectives and strengths that should be embraced, not hidden.Activity:Focus on clarity. Record yourself explaining a familiar topic for one minute. Listen back and identify three words or phrases to emphasize and two places to pause. Record it again, focusing on clarity rather than sounding perfect, and compare the difference.Episode Reference Links:Peter Novak82. It's Not About You: Why Effective Communicators Put Others F… Connect:Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart PremiumEmail Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.ioEpisode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart WebsiteNewsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.ioThink Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTubeMatt Abrahams >>> LinkedInChapters:(00:00) - Introduction (00:52) - Accent Bias (03:55) - Accent and Identity (05:55) - Processing Fluency (08:25) - Clarity Over Perfection (10:26) - The Power of Prosody (15:33) - Speaking with Confidence (17:56) - The Final Three Questions (22:13) - Conclusion ********Thank you to our sponsors.  These partnerships support the ongoing production of the podcast, allowing us to bring it to you at no cost.To see what Scribe could look like for your organization, head to scribe.how/thinkfast and mention Think Fast for your first month of Scribe Capture free. 

How do we actually live out psychological safety, rather than just talking about it as some grand, academic theory? A couple of years ago, Minette Norman and Karolin Helbig came out with the Psychological Safety Playbook. I've been using her practical phrases in my own training sessions ever since (with full credit, of course!). But as any facilitator, parent, or human being knows, putting this stuff into practice is darn hard. You want to be the supportive expert, but then real-world pressures—like meeting targets, sudden organizational shifts, or just plain old fear of looking foolish—kick in. That's why I sat down with them to talk about their new follow-up book. They wrote it because change-makers kept coming to them on tour, saying, "Okay, we read the basics, but now we're hitting roadblocks. What next?" What I love about their approach is that it's completely "no fluff." They give us real, actionable strategies to bake inclusion right into the DNA of our everyday work life, even when things get a little messy. Key Themes from the Discussion Courage as Vulnerability, Not Heroics. True leadership in a psychologically safe environment isn't about having a flawless track record or acting like a superhero. It requires the humility to acknowledge that you don't have all the answers and to actively invite your team to fill in your blind spots. "It's not about the big heroic acts. It's really about the courage to be vulnerable, for example. Particularly as a leader, that's not easy to do..." — Karolin Helbig  The Intentional Practice of Listening. Listening is often treated as an obvious, baseline skill, but true listening requires a conscious commitment to sit with silence and process what is being said, rather than rushing to respond or dominate the room. "It sounds so obvious that we all know how to do it... and it is so darn hard, right? It really is. And we often think we're listening when we're not." — Minette Norman  Recognizing Personal Emotional Triggers. Building psychological safety is a slow process that can be shattered instantly by an unmanaged, defensive reaction. Developing self-awareness around your own physical stress signals helps create a vital pause between a trigger and your response. "Psychological safety is really slow to build and quick to break. And if you can avoid these breaks. By becoming more aware of your reactions and handling them more skillfully, then a lot is gained." — Karolin Helbig  Shifting the Narrative Around Failure. For teams to innovate, leaders must actively destigmatize mistakes. This means moving away from finger-pointing and instead treating unexpected outcomes as valuable learning experiments, a process that must be modeled from the top down. "If you're trying something new, and certainly if we're trying to innovate, there will be failure along the way. So the question is, how quickly can we learn from them and improve and move forward?" — Minette Norman  Designing for Inclusion via Rotating Roles. Inclusion doesn't happen by accident; it has to be deliberately engineered into team dynamics. Using a rotating role like an "Inclusion Booster" ensures that monitoring the health of a meeting becomes a shared team habit rather than solely the leader's responsibility. "Meetings by default are not inclusive. So we need to design them for inclusion. The idea of the inclusion booster is just to have a rotating role of somebody in facilitating the meeting and paying attention that we actually behave in the way we earlier defined." — Karolin Helbig  Actionable Takeaway for Listeners To move your team from theory to practice, introduce the "Inclusion Booster" role into your next recurring meeting. Rotate this responsibility among different team members each week, tasking them with observing meeting dynamics, ensuring equal airtime, and calling out interruptions using a lighthearted tool like the "ELMO" (Enough, Let's Move On) principle. Follow Karolin and Minette at https://thepsychologicalsafetyplaybook.com/

"The assumption of swift trust is really useful."Teams don't always need years to build trust—they need the right conditions to build it quickly. As a Stanford professor and expert in organizational design, Melissa Valentine studies how communication, team structure, and emerging technologies help people collaborate more effectively. In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Valentine joins Matt Abrahams to explore how leaders can foster swift trust, adapt communication as teams move from brainstorming to execution, and use storytelling to drive meaningful change. Together, they share practical strategies for building stronger teams and navigating collaboration in an AI-enabled workplace.Key Takeaways:Build trust from the start. High-performing teams assume competence, communicate openly, and address miscommunication quickly.Adapt your communication to the task. Encourage diverse thinking during brainstorming, then align your language as the team moves toward execution.Activity:Practice swift trust. In your next project with a new colleague or team, begin by assuming competence and shared intent. Delegate one meaningful responsibility early, communicate clear expectations, and reflect afterward on how starting from trust influenced the team's collaboration and results.Episode Reference Links:Melissa ValentineMelissa's Book: Flash TeamsEp.241 Team Spirit: How to Make Group Work WorkEp.268 Going Viral: How To Balance Authenticity and Spectacle Connect:Premium Signup >>>> Think Fast Talk Smart PremiumEmail Questions & Feedback >>> hello@fastersmarter.ioEpisode Transcripts >>> Think Fast Talk Smart WebsiteNewsletter Signup + English Language Learning >>> FasterSmarter.ioThink Fast Talk Smart >>> LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTubeMatt Abrahams >>> LinkedInChapters:(00:00) - Introduction (00:57) - What Makes a Flash Team? (03:01) - Building Swift Trust (04:54) - When Teams Need to Converge (07:17) - Repairing Miscommunication (09:18) - Stories That Drive Change (12:01) - Lessons for Every Team (13:47) - The Final Three Questions (16:41) - Conclusion ********Thank you to our sponsors.  These partnerships support the ongoing production of the podcast, allowing us to bring it to you at no cost.Most Work Platforms Help People Communicate.  Some help you organize, but Zoom turns conversations into outcomes. Try Zoom Mate today

Send us Fan MailInterested in Trauma 101? Click here. Both live versions with group interaction along with the option to get a recorded link. Don't let trauma continue to steal your life, learn how to navigate triggers and more! Click here.Want the trauma detective PDF? Click here.Trauma often shows up later as a trigger that makes a safe moment feel like the past is happening again. We break down what trauma is, why your nervous system flips into alarm, and how to ground yourself back in the present with a simple “Trigger Detective” process. In this episode we dive deeper into trauma, brain alterations, triggers, and more. • Trauma is defined as loss of safety or choice, including witnessing it happen to someone else (Dr. Watson's definition)• Big T traumas and the way chronic stress can become traumatic when it overwhelms capacity • The window of tolerance and why people respond differently to the same event, this is why we do not compare traumas.• Stress versus trauma, plus acute stress disorder (ASD), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Complex post traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD)• What happens when the prefrontal cortex goes offline and the amygdala takes over?• Common trigger categories, including sensory, emotional, relational, anniversaries, thoughts and body sensations. • Trigger triage steps: ask, remember, name, remain curious • “Trigger Detective” grounding questions to orient to time, place, age and safety • Trauma 101 options, including a live group and recorded version Trauma detective PDFYou ARE:SEEN KNOWN HEARD LOVED VALUED

What if your culture isn't defined by your values, but by the behavior you're willing to tolerate? Steve Harris has spent decades helping organizations create environments where employees feel safe speaking up, leaders model the right behaviors, and ethics become part of everyday decision-making. As Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer at Lincoln Financial, Steve shares practical examples of how organizations can build trust, strengthen accountability, and help managers create psychological safety within their teams.  You'll hear how Lincoln reframed speaking up from a compliance obligation to a business imperative, why frontline managers have such a powerful influence on culture, and how one difficult experience early in Steve's career shaped his view of the difference between what is legal and what is ethical. His stories offer valuable lessons for any leader who wants values to guide behavior when decisions become difficult.  In his role as Senior Vice President and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer at Lincoln Financial, Steve leads the company's enterprise compliance and sustainability programs and helps shape a culture of ethical decision-making across more than 11,000 employees. Under Steve's leadership, Lincoln Financial has been recognized five times as one of Ethisphere's World's Most Ethical Companies. Before joining Lincoln, Steve spent more than a decade at The Hartford, another long-time Ethisphere honoree, and he's built a reputation for helping organizations integrate ethics into business strategy, leadership, and culture. He's also a frequent speaker on ethics and compliance and serves on several industry and academic advisory boards.  You'll discover:Why speaking up drives business success How managers create psychological safety What trust looks like in practice Why listening builds stronger cultures The difference between law and ethicsConnect with Steve Harris on Social MediaLinkedIn Website Lincoln Financial Check out all the episodesLeave a review on Apple PodcastsConnect with Meredith on LinkedIn

Anika sits down with Dr. Mickey Fitch Collins to expose the leadership development trap most companies fall into, uncover the psychological safety crisis silently burning out middle managers, and reveal the counterintuitive secret to sustainable organizations: it's never about the strategy. It's about the people executing it—and whether they feel confident enough to show up as their whole selves.In This EpisodeBass fishing to breakout rooms: How 30 years of professional fishing taught her more about leadership than any MBA—and why early public speaking shaped her entire careerThe leadership development gap: Why companies wait until burnout is critical to invest in leaders, and the cost of reactive vs. proactive developmentMiddle manager isolation: The push-pull stress of serving two masters, losing peer relationships, and why leaders are abandoned once they "make it"Psychological safety as the foundation: Why you can't build better leaders without first creating spaces where people can be honest, vulnerable, and wholeThe burnout epidemic: How the WHO classifies burnout as a health concern, and why control-based work models are burning people outRemote work and trust: Why flexible work aligned with individual needs enhances motivation, and why monitoring software is the opposite of trustLearn It Lounge podcast: Building community among L&D professionals by sharing authentic problem-solving storiesThe giving phase: What's next for Mickey—coaching, speaking, and helping others grow while designing a life centered around familyTimestamps00:00 Introduction: From pro bass fisherman to leadership facilitator06:23 Why she left higher education after 20 years and a PhD08:00 The pandemic pivot: From C-suite to corporate learning and development16:00 The most common breakdown when companies scale: Delayed leadership investment20:20 Why outsiders and consultants bring objective credibility24:30 The push-pull of middle management and burnout30:31 Psychological safety as the antidote to burnout34:32 Work models and control vs. trust: Why flexible work beats surveillance38:26 How Learn It Lounge started and what's next for MickeyKey Insights & TakeawaysInsight 1: Leadership Is a Learnable Skill, Not Innate ExpertiseBeing a great founder, engineer, or visionary doesn't automatically make you a great people manager. Leadership—coaching, vision-casting, conflict resolution, delegation—is a skill set that must be built. The organizations that win are the ones that invest in emerging leaders before they're in crisis mode, not after.Insight 2: Proactive Development Beats Reactive InterventionCompanies that delay leadership investment until burnout, turnover, or conflict forces their hand end up spending 3-4x more on reactive solutions. The smartest organizations identify rising stars early and develop skill sets before people are drowning.Insight 3: Psychological Safety Is the Foundation of EverythingYou cannot build better leaders, improve communication, or increase engagement without psychological safety. When people can admit mistakes and be vulnerable without fear, they stop wearing masks and performing—and that's when real growth happens.Insight 4: Control-Based Work Models Are the Opposite of TrustStrict hours, in-office mandates, and monitoring software send one message: "I don't trust you." When organizations care for the whole human—flexible work, autonomy, trust—they get higher motivation, lower turnover, and higher profitability. The research is clear.Insight 5: Storytelling Creates Meaning Beyond DataWe make decisions with data, but we make meaning with stories. In the age of AI and critical thinking, storytelling and authentic presence are just as important as problem-solving skills.Resources & Links MentionedLearn Ithttps://www.learnit.com/Learn It Lounge Podcasthttps://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-learnit-lounge/id1817436348Conversations with L&D professionals sharing authentic problem-solving stories and best practicesAbout Dr. Mickey Fitch CollinsDr. Mickey Fitch Collins is a leadership facilitator and learning strategist at Learn It, specializing in leadership self-efficacy and building confident leaders. With a PhD in Leadership and Higher Education, a master's degree in Counseling and Student Personnel, and a bachelor's degree in Psychology, Mickey spent 20 years in higher education leadership before transitioning to corporate learning and development during the pandemic.Her unique origin story includes 30 years of professional bass fishing experience—competing at the national level with 30+ sponsors, speaking at expos and on radio and TV. This early experience shaped her public speaking confidence, marketing acumen, and deep understanding of leadership in male-dominated environments.Connect with Dr. Mickey Fitch CollinsLearn It Website: https://www.learnit.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickeyfitchcollins/Open to: Coaching, speaking engagements, and mentoring emerging leadersSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Leadership development is not about checking boxes. It is about building the awareness, communication, trust, and consistency required to help people grow, perform, and feel safe enough to do meaningful work. LaTonya Wilkins brings a powerful conversation on what it really means to lead below the surface. From psychological safety and culture to coaching, delegation, community, and connection across differences, this master class challenges leaders to stop treating leadership like a static skillset and start looking at how leadership is actually experienced by the people they serve. Learn how to honestly rate your leadership by asking better questions: • How clear is your communication? • How do people experience you in meetings, emails, and difficult conversations? • Are you giving people the guardrails they need without making them too tight? • Are you creating hope, trust, compassion, and stability? • Are you developing people, or just expecting them to perform? • Are burnout, churn, poor delegation, and low trust signs of a deeper leadership problem? This conversation also explores why many leadership development programs fail because they rely on outdated models, performative culture work, and initiatives that were never truly embedded into the organization. Real culture cannot be reduced to perks, titles, slogans, or temporary programs. It has to show up in how leaders communicate, make decisions, build teams, manage change, and create belonging. LaTonya also brings a needed perspective on coaching and community in a noisy market where too many people sell quick fixes without doing the real work. Strong leadership, real coaching, and healthy culture are all relationship businesses. They require trust, self-awareness, accountability, and the right people around you at every stage. For executives, founders, HR leaders, coaches, consultants, people managers, and anyone responsible for leading others, this conversation is a reminder that real leadership still wins when it is rooted in trust, development, culture, coaching, and community. Beyond The Episode Gems: Learn More About Leading Below The Surface Book Buy LaTonya's Book, Leading Below The Surface Learn more about LaTonya's offerings for executive coaching ChangeCoaches.io Connect with LaTonya on LinkedIn Explore Change Coaches Relational Coach Training Buy Troy's Book, Strategize Up: The Blueprint To Scale Your Business StrategizeUpBook.com Discover All Podcasts On The HubSpot Podcast Network Get Free HubSpot Marketing Tools To Help You Grow Your Business Grow Your Business Faster Using HubSpot's CRM Platform Support The Podcast & Connect With Troy:  Rate & Review iDigress: iDigress.fm/Reviews Follow Troy's Socials @FindTroy: LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads, TikTok Subscribe to Troy's YouTube Channel For Strategy Videos & See Masterclass Episodes Need Growth Strategy, A Keynote Speaker, Or Want To Sponsor The Podcast? Go To FindTroy.com

You've been fitting in for so long, you've started to wonder if the full version of you was ever real. That is not a character flaw. It is a code, running underneath everything you do, protecting you from a threat that no longer exists in the room you are actually in. This is the fifth episode of season two of The Polymathic Perspective. There is a moment in this episode where a man sits across from Dov. Head down. Jaw tight. He is trying to find the words to admit he used to be a neo-Nazi recruiter. A true believer. A man who had stood in front of cameras advocating for the removal of Jews from the world.  He does not know yet that Dov is Jewish.  He looks up. And Dov is smiling. That moment is what genuine belonging looks like. Not agreement. Not forgiveness handed across a desk. A room where the worst of you is already on the table, and the other person is still there.  Most of us have never had that kind of room.  So we learned to fit in instead. And the code kept running.  The same code crushes three entirely different things in three entirely different kinds of people. It crushes the ADHD mind, which spent its life in environments designed for a system it does not have, and learned to edit its own operating system into something the room could accommodate.  It crushes nuance, in the tribally loyal person for whom exclusion registers as existential danger, and in every conversation flattened into a loyalty test at the moment nuance was needed most. It crushes paradoxical thinking, in the mind that can hold two truths simultaneously as a genuine cognitive achievement, and that learned early this complexity was too much for the room. Different neurologies. Different histories. Same code underneath. Same ask unmade.IN THIS EPISODE Oppenheimer at Trinity, at the peak, alone What the last four episodes were mapping Welcome to The Polymathic Perspective Five lenses on fitting in versus belonging Why belonging is not the problem The question this episode is built around The thesis, three minds, one code How the code runs through ADHD, loyalty, and paradox Which of the three landed in your body Personal scale, the ask that requires the unedited self Nokia's touchscreen prototype and the culture that could not receive it Intelligence, flattening, and the rooms that need clear eyes What happens to a person after years of fitting in Contextual adjustment is not the same as fitting in Tony McAleer and the impossible moment of belonging What actually helps, in this order Oppenheimer at the peak of his fitting in What to carry into your week Did he ever know who he actually was? THIS SERIES What We Want But Refuse To Accept is a ten-episode arc. Episodes one through three mapped the phenomenon and the cage. Episode four named the operating system. Episode five shows what the system crushes in three different kinds of minds. Next episode: Luck, Merit, and the Stories We Tell About Deserving.

In this episode from the archives, Tammy is joined by Nimesh Mehta. Nimesh is the Chief Information and Strategy Officer at National Life Group and is passionate about creating human experiences with AI — music to our ears! Tammy and Nimesh discuss how to implement digital transformations with empathy and purpose. Nimesh also shares his thoughts on why psychological safety is so important at organizations working at the forefront of technological change, because disruption can't happen in the presence of fear.Please note that the views expressed may not necessarily be those of NTT DATA.Links:The Trusted Advisor Learn more about Launch by NTT DATAThis podcast is presented by Catalyst, the opinions and views expressed are those of the host and participants and do not necessarily reflect National Life Group's views on the topics discussed. This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a security in any state where such offer or solicitation would be illegal. Any unauthorized use is prohibited. National Life Group is a trade name of National Life Insurance Company (NLIC), Montpelier, VT and its affiliates. This podcast was recorded on 2/21/2025. TC7784363(0325)3See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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What stops talented leaders from truly hearing honest feedback? This episode tackles that question head-on, drawing from both leading research and lived experience. While most articles, books, and workshops focus on how to give feedback, this discussion targets how to receive it. I explore why so many feedback conversations break down and how leaders can do better.Core themes include the impact of our gut reactions to critical feedback, how quickly we discount advice based on source or style, and why challenges to our identity produce the fiercest resistance. Listeners will be guided through practical, evidence-informed strategies to become better feedback recipients, creating environments where candid conversations thrive.This episode offers a refreshing, evidence-based approach for anyone committed to their own growth and eager to lead with greater effectiveness and humility.What You'll Learn- The roots of our genuine hesitation surrounding feedback conversations.- How our reactions can prevent or derail future feedback.- Although not all feedback will be delivered perfectly, you can still find value.- Don't let your relationship with the feedback-giver cloud your judgment- Feedback stings most when it challenges our identity. Podcast Timestamps(00:02) – Setting the Stagek(01:12) – The Personal Challenge of Receiving Feedback(05:17) – Truth Triggers: Dismissing Feedback Based on Tone and Delivery(08:38) – Beware of Absolutes(10:18) – Source Triggers: Who Delivers the Feedback(12:41) – Difficult Feedback from Difficult People(13:52) – Identity Triggers: When Feedback Challenges Self-Image(17:17) – Personal Reflection: My Own Struggle with Feedback that Challenged My Identity(20:01) - Strategies for Curiosity and Constructive Engagement(23:40) - Bringing it Together: Commitment to Feedback ReceptionKEYWORDSPositive Leadership, Feedback, Receiving Feedback, Giving Feedback, Leadership Growth, Psychological Safety, Critical Feedback, Defensiveness, Feedback Triggers, Doug Stone, Sheila Heen, Zenger Folkman, 360 feedback, Radical Candor, Feedback Accuracy, Feedback Source, Identity and Feedback, Evidence-Based Leadership, Coaching, Blind Spots, Core Values, Curiosity, CEO SuccessSource: Why (Senior) Leaders Struggle to Get Feedback and How to Change That - Do Good To Lead Well with Craig Dowden | Podcast on Spotifyhttps://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/why-senior-leaders-struggle-to-get-feedback-and-how/id1634491338?i=1000764642523