Fault Lines

What happens when a successful career starts to feel hollow, and you actually do something about it?

Jeremy Hannah spent 20 years in talent management and leadership development, advising Fortune 500 companies on culture transformation, talent strategy, and building people-centered organizations. Then burnout caught up with him. Instead of pushing through, he and his wife, Valerie, made an unconventional choice: they sold almost everything they owned and spent a year traveling to over 20 countries.

That sabbatical became the foundation for Viante Talent Solutions, the executive coaching and consulting firm Jeremy now runs from Perth, Australia, the most remote major city on Earth.

In this episode, we explore:

Whether you're a senior leader rethinking your next chapter, an HR professional navigating talent strategy, or someone quietly wondering if a career break is worth the risk, this conversation offers a practical, honest look at what reinvention actually requires.

Guest: Jeremy Hannah, ACC | Co-Founder, Viante Talent Solutions | viantetalent.com

Connect with Jeremy: LinkedIn @jeremybhannah | Instagram @jeremybhannah

Why do leaders invest in training and change nothing on Monday morning? The knowing-doing gap (the distance between what leaders know about good leadership and what they actually practice) is one of the most persistent problems in organizational life. In this solo deep-dive, Richard argues the gap isn't a training problem. It's a trust problem.

Building on last week's Season 3 premiere with leadership consultant Marcy Levy Shankman, this episode pulls in peer-reviewed research on psychological safety, emotionally intelligent leadership, and organizational culture to explore why even the best leadership development programs fail to produce lasting change and what practitioners can do about it.

The Big Idea: Organizations spend over $360 billion annually on leadership development, and 75% rate their own programs as not very effective. The research suggests the problem isn't what people learn; instead, it's whether their environment makes it safe enough to act on what they know. Fear-based cultures erode both interpersonal trust and self-trust, creating a feedback loop that no amount of training can break.

Three Things You'll Learn:

Trust for Thought: Think about the last time you knew the right move at work but didn't make it. Was the obstacle really knowledge, or was it something about your environment that made the cost of trying feel too high?

Research and sources discussed: Jeffrey Pfeffer & Robert Sutton (The Knowing-Doing Gap), Amy Edmondson (psychological safety), Edmondson & Kerrissey (2024), Adam Grant (Think Again), Marcy Levy Shankman & Scott Allen (emotionally intelligent leadership), Gallup, Edelman Trust Barometer 2025.

Why do managers struggle to lead change even when they have authority? In this episode, leadership consultant Marcy Levy Shankman explains the critical difference between positional power and relational trust, and why confusing the two is the most common mistake new leaders make.

Key Takeaways

Trust For Thought

Ask someone on your team who's stuck:

Resources Mentioned

Emotionally Intelligent Leadership by Marcy Levy Shankman & Scott Allen

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In the Season Two finale, host Richard Roman looks back across the conversations that (on the surface) spanned wildly different worlds: medieval literature, organizational change, intuitive coaching, higher education, trauma-informed yoga, entrepreneurship, branding, and investigative journalism. But beneath these differences, one theme kept emerging: What do we do when the systems meant to help us are the ones causing harm? What is our role within those systems?

Drawing from each guest’s story, Richard presents a narrative about trust, power, institutional design, self-leadership, and the courage required to “stay with the trouble,” borrowing Donna Haraway’s invitation to remain present with complexity rather than flee toward false hope or collapse into despair.

The episode closes with three questions for listeners to carry into the new year:

Season Two ends with gratitude to the guests who trusted Richard with their stories and to the listeners who have journeyed through another season of this inquiry into trust. Season Three arrives in early 2026.

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If this episode resonated with you, here are a few ways to stay connected and go deeper:

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In this cross-published episode from You’ll Thank Us Later, Christine Wilson sits down with Richard for an open, clear-eyed conversation about the college application process, mainly what influences decisions, what applicants should prioritize, and how to navigate a system that often feels opaque or anxiety-inducing.

Richard shares practical insights from his experience in admissions and his ongoing doctoral research on trust in higher education. Together, they explore:

For parents, students, counselors, or anyone curious about how admissions decisions get made, this episode offers clarity, calm, and a more trustworthy pathway through a process that can otherwise feel overwhelming. Note: This episode was originally recorded in June 2025. 

Keywords

college admissions, higher education, trust, financial aid, application strategy, essays, public vs. private universities, student success, education policy, parental guidance

Stay Connected

If this episode resonated with you, here are a few ways to stay connected and go deeper:

And don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the podcast wherever you listen. Thank you for your support! 

Richard sits down with Chris Endersby and Mickey Wilson of Firestarter Collective to explore how identity, differentiation, and trust come together to build meaningful brands and empowered entrepreneurs. Chris and Mickey share the story of how their contrasting professional backgrounds, from social work, academia, and leadership (Chris), to early entrepreneurship, design, and creative direction (Mickey), merged into the Firestarter approach. Their work blends commercial strategy, psychology, deep coaching techniques, and creative expression to help founders uncover what makes their business truly original.

They discuss their signature DARE Formula (Differentiation, Authenticity, Resonance, Expression), why trust is always the invisible thread tying brand and behavior together, and how vulnerability, intuition, and clarity shape the strongest brands in B2B spaces. The conversation highlights the tension between creativity and structure, the value of disagreement, how to navigate trust deficits, and what happens when entrepreneurs stop trusting themselves.

In this episode of Trust Be Told, Reem Borrows shares her journey from corporate leadership to executive coaching, where she founded Dreem Coaching and Consulting. She emphasizes the importance of heart-centered leadership, resilience, ethical growth, and self-awareness in shaping strong and trustworthy leaders.

Reem reflects on her personal experiences as a Palestinian immigrant and how they influenced her identity, leadership style, and resilience. She highlights the dangers of stagnation in leadership, the value of balancing hard and soft skills, and the necessity of nurturing trust in organizations. The conversation also explores the power of storytelling to humanize leadership and freedom, concluding with insights from Unfollow the Leader (2026) and the responsibility of individuals to create meaningful change. 

Takeaways

Trust For Thought 

Keywords

Stay Connected

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In this episode of Trust Be Told, Sara Goldrick-Rab and Richard tackle the pressing issues of inequality and affordability in higher education. Sara shares her personal journey and insights into how public trust in education has shifted over time, raising questions about accessibility and equity across colleges and universities.

The conversation highlights the vital role of community colleges, the importance of flexibility in education, and the need to prioritize student voices in shaping more equitable systems. Goldrick-Rab also advocates for a reimagined approach to higher education, one that emphasizes accessibility, lifelong learning, and student-centered reform.

Takeaways

Trust For Thought

Keywords

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And don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the podcast wherever you listen. Thank you for your support! 

In this episode of Trust Be Told, Shannon Lucas shares her journey in building an innovation program at Vodafone and the challenges that come with driving organizational transformation, including burnout among change-makers. She explores the unique role of catalysts (individuals who spark and sustain change within organizations) and the importance of recognizing, supporting, and empowering them.

The discussion highlights how catalysts thrive in ambiguity, why so many transformation initiatives fail, and how organizations can design effective catalyst programs to foster innovation. Shannon also emphasizes the value of self-awareness for leaders, the importance of trust and open communication in organizations, and strategies to empower employees to adapt to change and succeed in transformation.

Takeaways

Trust For Thought

Keywords

Stay Connected

If this episode resonated with you, here are a few ways to stay connected and go deeper:

And don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the podcast wherever you listen. Thank you for your support!

In this episode of Trust Be Told, Anne Kim, a journalist, lawyer, and public policy expert, discusses the complexities of poverty in America and the systemic issues that perpetuate inequality. She examines how corporate interests in social services profit from public programs, the challenges low-income individuals face in accessing benefits, and the growing problem of youth disconnection from education and employment opportunities.

The conversation also underscores the pressing need for empathy, transparency, and trust in government institutions, highlighting the importance of addressing systemic failures in building a more equitable and sustainable society.

Takeaways

Trust For Thought

"Poverty for Profit"

Keywords

public policy, poverty in America, corporate welfare, youth disconnection, trust in government, social services, investigative journalism, Ann Kim, economic inequality, anti-poverty programs, systemic failures, welfare reform, access to benefits

Stay Connected

If this episode resonated with you, here are a few ways to stay connected and go deeper:

And don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the podcast wherever you listen. Thank you for your support!