Trust doesn't break all at once. It erodes quietly, through gaps in communication, unanswered questions, and decisions that arrive without context. By the time leaders notice it's gone, the damage is already running through the numbers.

In this episode, Yolanda K. Davis, an HR executive, Gallup-certified strengths coach, and author of The Trust Advantage, makes the case that organizations treat trust like a mood when they should treat it like payroll. When the system stops running, everything stops with it.

Yolanda walks through the pressure points that are cracking trust right now: AI mandates that outpace communication, return-to-office friction, and the particular bind middle managers find themselves in when executives move fast, and employees demand answers no one has yet. Her framework cuts through the noise by giving leaders something concrete to work with,  not a values poster, but a diagnostic.

The conversation gets specific. How do you stay transparent without breaching confidentiality? What does it actually cost when a position sits open because people stopped believing in the place? And why does pretending to have the answers destroy credibility faster than just saying you don't?

This one is for the managers holding the line between leadership decisions and team trust, trying to stay credible on both sides.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why treating trust as a feeling makes it impossible to measure, scale, or fix;
• How AI adoption and return-to-office mandates are accelerating trust erosion in real time;
• What middle managers can say honestly when they don't have the answers;
• The T.R.U.S.T. framework and how it applies even during closures and major org changes; and
• Why your track record as a leader is either an asset or a liability long before a crisis hits

Highlights:

(00:00) Meet Yolanda K. Davis 
(03:00) Trust as a system, not a feeling 
(05:00) The true cost of disengagement and turnover 
(08:00) How middle managers get caught in the trust gap 
(10:00) What to say when you can't say everything 
(13:00) Transparency without breaching confidentiality 
(15:00) Navigating acquisitions, closures, and big change 
(18:00) The T.R.U.S.T. framework
(21:00) Managing the person, not the policy 
(24:00) Reliability as reputation 
(28:00) Are you smarter than AI? 

Resources:
About our guest, Yolanda K. Davis
Website: https://yolandakdavisbooks.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yolandakdavis/ 
Instagram: @iamyolandakdavis 

Follow Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpoepsel/ 

Subscribe to The Predictive Index on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePredictiveIndex

Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: shareyourgenius.com

Storytelling isn't a performance trick or a "nice-to-have" for leaders who like to talk. It's the fastest way to move a team, align a room, and make people care about work that might otherwise feel abstract. Most managers reach for dashboards, memos, and productivity systems when alignment breaks down. But for Johanna Walker, public speaking and storytelling coach and founder of Women Who Speak, the real gap isn't strategy; it's the absence of a story that makes the strategy matter.

In this episode, Matt Poepsel sits down with Johanna Walker, founder of Women Who Speak and the Speakers Playground, to dig into why the most ordinary moments make the most powerful stories, why managers who skip the story lose the room before they even start, and how the leaders who can communicate with presence and emotional honesty will hold a real edge in an AI-shaped workplace. Johanna makes the case that storytelling is not a talent you either have or don't, it's a muscle. And like any muscle, it gets built through discomfort, repetition, and a willingness to feel a little awkward before you feel confident. Together, they explore what it takes to notice, shape, and deliver stories that move people from passive listeners to committed teammates. 

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Story Is the Moving Walkway: Without a story connecting people to the why, teams move more slowly, buy in less, and fill the gaps with their own assumptions.
• Stakes Drive Every Story: A good story isn't about what happened; it's about what someone wanted, and whether they got it. That uncertainty is what makes people lean in.
• The Treasure Chest Habit: Stories don't require epic experiences. The benign, specific moments of daily work life are often the most compelling, if you're paying attention.
• Go For Awkward: Building a storytelling culture on your team will feel uncomfortable at first. That discomfort is the signal you're actually creating something new, not the signal to stop.

Highlights: 

(00:00) Meet Johanna Walker 

(01:47) Why managers don't have time NOT to tell stories 

(04:08) How story connects people to purpose 

(05:02) Finding stories in ordinary moments 

(09:21) What makes a story tick: character, goal, stakes 

(15:15) Story templates as a starting point 

(18:21) Why storytelling feels unnatural at work 

(20:12) How to build a team storytelling culture 

(24:38) Are You Smarter than AI trivia question

(25:50) Engineers, dinner, and the question that changed the room

Resources: 

Follow Johanna on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannawalkerspeaking/ 

Visit Johanna's website: https://johannawalker.com

Follow Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpoepsel/ 

Subscribe to The Predictive Index on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePredictiveIndex

Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: shareyourgenius.com

Your title tells people where you sit. Your mastery tells them why you matter. Most managers spend years chasing the next promotion, only to wake up realizing the ladder was leaning against the wrong wall. Julian Lighton, Business Coach at Moo Pie Coaching Inc., former McKinsey partner, four-time Chief Strategy Officer, and one of Silicon Valley's most sought-after executive coaches, has spent 30 years studying why some people break through and others stall. The answer has nothing to do with talent.

In this episode, Matt Poepsel sits down with Julian, author of Navigating Your Next: Discover the Career You Want and the Path to Get There, to pull back the curtain on how high-stakes executive decisions actually get made, and why every manager below the C-suite needs that context. They dig into why the skills that got you here won't get you there, why AI isn't the threat most people think, and why the managers who lean into curiosity, hypothesis-building, and human judgment will come out ahead. The case Julian makes is simple: intentional navigation beats upward momentum every time.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The Room You're Not In: High-stakes decisions are shaped by asymmetric incentives and incomplete information, and understanding that dynamic changes how you lead your team through the fallout.
• Mastery Over Title: Career success isn't a ladder; it's a set of levers, and knowing which ones to pull, and when to say no, defines your trajectory more than any promotion ever will.
• The Four Life Transitions: Every manager hits the same crossroads. Recognizing which one you're in right now is the first step toward getting unstuck.
• Your Human Edge: AI will absorb the red ocean work. The people who build hypotheses, read patterns in messy data, and ask the right questions first are the ones it can't replace.

Highlights:
(00:00) Meet Julian Lighton
(01:28) What really happens in the executive room
(06:51) The "conversation that should never happen without you"
(09:57) Why leadership stops getting taught
(14:58) The four career transitions every manager faces
(17:57) Nobody's coming to rescue you
(19:07) The four-click framework for knowing who you are
(25:57) Red ocean vs. blue ocean, where AI leaves you
(33:14) The rule of three and radical focus

Resources:
Follow Julian on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/julianlighton   

Julian Lighton’s website: https://www.julianlighton.com/  

Get a copy of Navigating Your Next: Discover the Career You Want and the Path to Get There: https://www.julianlighton.com/book 

Follow Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpoepsel/ 
Subscribe to The Predictive Index on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePredictiveIndex

Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: shareyourgenius.com

Culture isn’t a poster on the wall; it’s the daily, unglamorous discipline of showing up with intention. Most businesses assume demanding results mean sacrificing relationships. But for Justin Ricklefs, founder and CEO of Guild Collective and author of the new book Give a Damn: The Catalyst for Caring Companies, the real threat to any great company isn't leniency. It's the slow, systemic drift toward apathy that makes 81% of employees dread Mondays.

In this episode, Matt Poepsel sits down with Justin Ricklefs to dig into why top talent leaves fear-based cultures, why seeking out your team's perspectives is a massive advantage, and how communicating solely for yourself has quietly destroyed value for decades. Justin challenges the idea that being nice is enough, arguing that empathy without subsequent action is ruinous. Together, they explore what it means to implement human-first frameworks and why genuine care creates compounding profitability.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The Danger of "Default Drift": Without intentional energy from leaders, organizations naturally slide into apathy and separation.
• Care as a Competitive Advantage: Giving a damn is a "hard as flint" strategy that accelerates progress and compounds profitability.
• Empathy in Action: Merely understanding an employee's feelings isn't enough; leaders must take concrete action.
• The High Cost of Confusion: A lack of clarity breeds resentment, and effective communication is always determined by the receiver.

Highlights:
(00:00) Meet Justin Ricklefs
(05:56) The fear-based leadership trap

(06:59) Compassion is hard work
(11:37) Recognizing the default drift
(14:57) Lead with a question
(22:21) Empathy requires taking action
(26:32) Confusion breeds team resentment

Resources:
Follow Justin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinricklefs/
Get Justin’s new book, “Give a Damn: The Catalyst for Caring Companies” 

Guild Collective’s website: https://guildcollective.com/ 

Follow Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpoepsel/
Subscribe to The Predictive Index on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePredictiveIndex

Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: shareyourgenius.com

Most businesses assume staying profitable means staying on mission. But for Eric Ries, creator of The Lean Startup and author of the new book Incorruptible, the real threat to any great company isn't a bad quarter, it's the slow, systemic loss of the thing that made it worth building in the first place.

In this episode, Matt Poepsel sits down with Eric to dig into why good companies go bad, why trustworthiness is the most underrated asset in business, and how our conventional definition of profit has been quietly destroying value for decades. Eric challenges the idea that greed is just a personality flaw, making the case that most corporate decline is structural and entirely preventable. Together, they explore what it actually means to be mission-driven, why shareholder primacy is a recent invention and not a natural law, and how leaders can build organizations strong enough to resist the forces that corrupt them.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why Companies Lose Their Way: How success itself attracts the forces that eventually dismantle a company's mission
• The Problem with Profit: Why the conventional definition leaves leaders blind to the value they're destroying and the value they're missing
• Trust as a Business Strategy: How trustworthy organizations outperform, outretain, and outlast their competitors
• Mission-Driven vs. Mission-Hopeful: The difference between carving values on a wall and actually embedding them into how your business works
• The Shareholder Primacy Myth: Why this dominant business philosophy is younger than most people think and why its era may already be over

Highlights:
(00:00) Meet Eric Ries 
(1:04) When companies "go bad."
(3:03) The Enlightened Capitalist fallacy 
(7:47) Rethinking profit from Ponzi schemes to human flourishing 
(6:09) Trustworthiness: A vault with no lock 
(15:16) Doing the right thing upfront 
(16:29) Low trust makes business harder 
(24:48) Mission-driven or mission-hopeful? 
(26:20) The Practice Fusion story 
(21:37) Shareholder primacy is over

Listen on your favorite podcast platform. 

Resources:
Follow Eric on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eries/
Get Eric's new book, Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Companies Stay Great: https://incorruptible.co 

Follow Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpoepsel/
Subscribe to The Predictive Index on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePredictiveIndex

Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: shareyourgenius.com

Most organizations believe that more leadership training means better leaders. But for Neil Ifill, author of The Cart Before the Horse, the real problem isn't a lack of programs; it's that the wrong people keep getting access to them.

In this episode, Matt Poepsel sits down with Neil to explore breaks at the manager level, why first-line leaders are the backbone of every organization yet the last to receive meaningful development, and how a running joke among colleagues eventually became a research-backed leadership book. Neil opens up about the gap between top-floor leadership academies and the basket-weaving courses handed to everyone else and what organizations need to do differently. Together, they unpack why going through the motions is easier to spot than most leaders think, and why the most authentic version of yourself is still your greatest leadership asset.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Going Through the Motions: How to recognize when leaders are applying blanket solutions and what genuine investment actually looks like
• The Leadership Access Gap: Why first-line managers are overlooked for development despite being the backbone of execution
• Frameworks That Actually Work: How tools like the Competing Values Framework make complex leadership concepts simple and actionable
• Authentic Leadership: Why starting with who you already are is more powerful than trying to become someone you're not
• Big Company Blind Spots: How organizational size creates tunnel vision that limits leadership growth at every level

Highlights:

(00:00) Meet Neil Ifill

(01:35) The widening gap between leaders and their teams

(02:59) How a lunchtime joke became a leadership book

(11:14) The basket weaving problem in corporate training

(15:00) Why first-line managers get left behind

(19:15) Going through the motions and how to spot it

(20:31) The executive who wasn't afraid to ask for help

(24:46) Building the next generation of genuine leaders

(26:42) Why authenticity is your strongest leadership trait

Resources:
Follow Neil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-ifill-phd-67ba8a5b/

Get Neil’s book, The Cart Before The Horse: Practical Considerations for Workplace Leadership: https://www.amazon.com/Cart-Before-Horse-Considerations-Leadership/dp/1665791500 

Follow Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpoepsel/

Subscribe to The Predictive Index on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePredictiveIndex

Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: shareyourgenius.com

Most high-achieving leaders believe that working harder is the path to a fulfilling life. But for Kevin Rice, co-founder of Hathaway and host of the CEOs and ABCs podcast, the relentless pursuit of career success nearly cost him the moments that mattered most: at home, with his kids.

In this episode, Matt Poepsel sits down with Kevin to explore the deeply personal journey behind scaling a company to a nine-figure exit while becoming a solo parent to two young children overnight. Kevin opens up about slipping into "robot mode", an emotional shutdown that made him highly productive but completely numb, and the wake-up call that came when selling his company felt like just another Tuesday. Together, they unpack why ambition without presence is a losing game, and how the business frameworks we use at work can make us better parents and partners at home.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Robot Mode: How high achievers emotionally disconnect to survive pressure — and what it silently costs them at home
• Assigned vs. Authentic Leadership: Why the leadership skills that work in the boardroom translate directly to raising kids
• The SPARK Flywheel: A practical framework for building deep connection with your family, inspired by business growth strategy
• The Regulated & Connected Matrix: How to diagnose difficult parenting moments the same way you'd diagnose an underperforming employee
• Shifting Your Intention: How a subtle change in why you show up to work can unlock purpose without quitting your job

Highlights:
(0:00) Meet Kevin Rice

(1:33) Tripling a company's headcount during a pandemic — and not feeling a thing

(3:22) Becoming a solo parent to a newborn and a toddler overnight

(4:16) What "robot mode" really costs high achievers

(5:02) Why the nine-figure exit felt like just another day

(9:54) The inner child work that changed everything

(16:04) Translating corporate frameworks into a parenting playbook

(23:14) Redefining success after the peak

(25:08) How to find purpose without blowing up your career

Resources:
Listen to CEOs and ABCs: ceosandabcs.com
Follow Kevin on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kevinrice

Follow Matt on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mattpoepsel
Subscribe to The Predictive Index on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePredictiveIndex

Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: shareyourgenius.com

Most leaders believe that projecting confidence means hiding their doubts. But for Tyler Dickerhoof, author and personal development coach, the walls we build to conceal our fears and insecurities are the very things keeping us from connecting with, and truly leading, the people around us.

In this episode, Matt Poepsel sits down with Tyler to explore the deeply personal journey behind his new book, The Things We Hide. Tyler opens up about the defining moment at age 14 that shaped decades of intense, guarded behavior and the locker room epiphany that finally cracked it open. Together, they unpack why vulnerability isn't weakness, and why the things we think we're hiding are almost always already visible to everyone else.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The Four Walls: How intensity, isolation, inactivity, and insensitivity show up as defense mechanisms rooted in fear and insecurity
• Authentic vs. Toxic Vulnerability: Why "going first" as a leader creates psychological safety without oversharing or losing credibility
• Windows in Your Walls: How to invite honest feedback and start seeing yourself the way others actually do
• The BEST Framework: A practical model for showing up as your best self in service of those around you

Highlights:

(0:00) Meet Tyler Dickerhoof

(2:05) Why the things we hide block our ability to lead and connect

(8:10) The farming accident that changed everything

(9:58) Intensity as a wall and when strengths become liabilities

(13:50) The four walls: intensity, isolation, inactivity, and insensitivity

(16:11) Putting windows in your walls and asking what others see

(18:50) The BEST framework and leading by example

(25:11) Three pillars: recognize, own, and reframe

Resources:

Visit Tyler's website: tylerdickerhoof.com

Pre-order The Things We Hide: thethingswehidebook.com

Follow Matt on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mattpoepsel

Follow Predictive Index on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/the-predictive-index

Subscribe to The Predictive Index on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePredictiveIndex

Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: shareyourgenius.com

When organizations face a crossroad, the instinct is often to stick to the familiar and double down on what worked yesterday. But for Peter Georgariou, founder and CEO of karmadharma, true growth happens in the "empty room"—the space where leaders have the courage to visualize a future unburdened by the past.

In this episode, Matt Poepsel sits down with Peter to explore the integration of strategy, creativity, and people. Peter shares why he views his firm as "Deloitte for do-gooders," the necessity of leading from the heart in a world that is "breaking as a species," and how purpose-driven businesses can navigate the complex balance between making a profit and making a difference.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The Integrated Stool: Why strategy, creative, and people must be treated as one cohesive idea rather than separate departments
• Living in the Gray: How to build the risk profile necessary to take "small bets" in an unpredictable market
• Creativity as a Lens: Moving beyond logos and fonts to use creative thinking as a problem-solving tool for business models
• The ROI of Purpose: Navigating the complexity of B Corp status and why the next generation is "voting with their wallets"

Highlights:

(0:00) Meet Peter Georgariou

(02:15)Deloitte for Do-Gooders: The 10-year journey of karmadharma

(07:30) The Empty Room

(11:21) Reclaiming creativity in business 

(15:38) Why people and culture are a soul-level calling

(19:23) Purpose-led orientation

(25:29) Left Brain, Right Brain, and Heart

Resources:

Visit karmadharma’s website: karmadharma.ca

Follow Peter on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/petergeorgariou

Follow Matt on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mattpoepsel

Follow Predictive Index on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/the-predictive-index

Subscribe to The Predictive Index on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePredictiveIndex

Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: shareyourgenius.com

When we’re drowning in Slack notifications and back-to-back Zooms, most of us just try to "productivity-hack" our way out of it. But Jessica DeAngelo, founder of Hike to Become, says we’ve got it all backward. We don’t need a better app; we need to leave the phone in the car and hit the dirt.

In this episode, Matt Poepsel chats with Jessica about her book, The Wild Advantage. They dig into why your best business ideas usually happen after 30 minutes in the woods, how to beat the "convenience paradox" that’s making us all feel isolated, and the "Wet Butt Big Idea" that changed Jessica’s life. If you've ever felt like you’re "losing the plot" on your work or your life, this conversation is the wake-up call you need.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The "HIKE" Method: A simple daily ritual to stop the "drift" and get your focus back
• Your Brain on Nature: The neuroscience of why fresh air actually makes you a better problem solver
• Unplugged Leadership: Why the best "whiteboarding session" might actually be a 45-minute trail walk
• The 30-Minute Reclaim: How stepping away from your desk actually gives you two hours back in your day

Highlights:

(00:19) Meet “Chief Hiking Officer” Jessica DeAngelo

(00:10) The wake-up call: "Mom, put down your phone"

(06:22) Beautiful offices are still “boxes” 

(13:16) The "Wet Butt Big Idea" 

(15:51) "HIKE" Challenge rules

(20:48) 30 minutes to reset your brain

(24:11) Taking the boardroom to the trail

Resources:

Follow Jessica on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-deangelo-mba/

Visit Jessica’s official website: https://jessicadeangelo.com/book

Get the book: The Wild Advantage: Why Your Brain on Nature is Your Boldest Business Move

Join the challenge: Text HIKE to 33777

Follow Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpoepsel/

Follow Predictive Index on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-predictive-index/

Subscribe on YouTube: The Predictive IndexYouTube · The Predictive Index1.8K+ followers

Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: https://shareyourgenius.com/