What if the "problem team member or leader" isn't the problem at all—but a symptom of a system protecting itself from the truth?

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Nathalie Martinek, a former cancer researcher who discovered unsettling parallels between tumor metastasis and toxic workplace behavior. After experiencing a carcinogenic work environment herself, Nathalie hung up her lab coat to study what she calls "the human lab"—how good people become participants in dysfunctional systems, often without realizing it.

The Big Questions We Tackle:

What's the difference between psychological safety and a toxic workplace? Nathalie breaks down how teams can feel safe while existing in wider systems that aren't—and why the buffer won't last forever.

How does scapegoating actually work? Unlike bullying (which is personal), scapegoating is systemic—the organization turns on someone to avoid looking at itself. And yes, entire teams can become scapegoats too.

Are narcissistic leaders born or made? Nathalie challenges us to look at our own narcissistic traits and how low-trust environments bring out self-protective behaviors in all of us. The question isn't just "who's the narcissist"—it's "how am I participating?"

Can toxic cultures change? Only if people are willing to see their own contribution to the problem.

What You Can Do Right Now

• Don't take their word for it. Watch if what leaders say matches what they do—that's how you know if you're in a trustworthy environment.

• Preserve your integrity, not your honesty. You don't owe toxic systems your truth. Sometimes staying silent about certain things is self-preservation.

• Face your trigger points. That tricky person? They're going to show up at every job until you learn what they're teaching you about yourself.

• Recognize the pattern. If someone's blocking your moves, recruiting allies against you, or giving you impossible assignments designed for failure—you're likely being scapegoated. Get out.

• For Gen Z: Don't believe everything you're told about workplace culture. See for yourself. Be compliant without being exploited. And remember: work doesn't have to fulfill your purpose—it can just be a place you show up and do good work.

Connect with Nathalie

• Substack: Hacking Narcissism Newsletter

• Website: www.drnataliemartinek.com

• LinkedIn: Dr. Nathalie Martinek

• Books: The Scapegoating at Work (ebook), The Little Book of Assertiveness

More Resources

Get the Cross-Functional Trust Repair Scorecard

What if navigating constant change isn't about moving faster, but noticing who's stuck at the edge of the bridge?

In this episode, we sit down with Suzanne Sitrin, a leadership consultant who's spent decades helping leaders guide teams through transformation: from the quality-management era to today's rapid growth and perpetual pivots. Suzanne shares what actually helps when the bar keeps moving and people are running out of runway.

The Big Questions We Tackle:

How do you lead when the goalposts keep moving? Suzanne unpacks what she's seeing in so many corporate environments: innovation at the top can translate into exhaustion at the bottom—especially when teams hit a milestone and immediately learn it "doesn't count" anymore.

What does psychological safety really require? We talk about trust, vulnerability, and how leaders create the conditions for productive disagreement (without it turning personal).

How do you lead across generations without generalizing? Suzanne shares what's changing in expectations at work—and why leaders need both clarity and flexibility: feedback and autonomy.

The Hard Truths

Not every team (or leader) is ready. Suzanne shares what happens when there isn't true willingness to do the work, and why "growth mindset" can't be lip service if transformation is the goal.

What You Can Do Right Now

• Stop assuming. Curiosity beats projection, especially in ambiguity.

• Ask more, tell less. You can name hard things if you do it with care and clarity.

• Celebrate before you raise the bar. Recognition affirms effort, and strengthens future performance.

• Build emotional intelligence on purpose. Your leadership doesn't end at 5pm; people take it home with them.

Connect with Suzanne

• Website: www.bluebirch.com

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzanne-sitrin/

• Instagram: Blue Birch Consulting

What if everything you learned about leadership is actually holding you back? And what if the secret to thriving through AI disruption and remote work chaos isn't adding new skills—it's unlearning the old ones?

In this episode, we sit down with Karen Ferris, organizational change expert, author of eight books including Be Remarkable: Learn to Unlearn, and a voice that cuts through the noise on what teams actually need from leaders today. Karen has spent her career watching organizations struggle with change—and she's seen what separates the ones that thrive from the ones that collapse under pressure.

What does it really mean to be a remarkable leader? Karen breaks down her REMARKABLE framework—Resilient, Empathetic, Mindful, Adaptive, Resourceful, Known, Accountable, Brave, Listening, and Empowering. But this isn't just another list of leadership buzzwords.

At its core, this conversation is about having the courage and self-awareness to say: What served me yesterday is no longer relevant today.

Karen reveals why most leaders struggle to achieve 'Remarkable', because they are often missing the foundations of:

• Listening to understand

• Empowerment

• Vulnerability

• Psychological Safety

We also dig into why organizations are drowning in change fatigue—and why it's usually not about too much change, but too much badly handled change. Don't skip this episode, where Karen shares her proven formula for becoming more successful at better handling change.

• Find Karen on LinkedIn

• Visit her website: KarenFerris.com

• Check out her books, including Be Remarkable: Learn to Unlearn

• Alvin Toffler's Future Shock - The origin of "learn to unlearn and relearn"

• Daniel Pink's work on motivation - Autonomy, mastery, purpose

• Amy Edmondson's research on psychological safety

• Gallup's CliftonStrengths research - Trust, compassion, hope, stability as key factors

• Nick Shackleton-Jones on TikTok - The real reason for return-to-office mandates

• The Westpac vs. Carleen Chandler case - Groundbreaking Australian fair work decision on remote work

What if the workplace transformation everyone's worried about is actually the breakthrough we've been waiting for? What if AI agents don't replace us—they finally free us to do the work that actually matters?

Welcome back to Part 2 of our conversation with Matt Tabor, organizational performance expert and founder of BCGN Group. If you caught Part 1, you heard Matt lay out his four 2030 future of work predictions:

• AI is a Valued Team Member
• People & Teams Fuel Growth and Innovation
• Silos Collapse; Outcomes Become Shared
• Cultures Prioritize Ethics, Resilience & Critical Thinking

There's so much we unpack, but Matt helps us answer the all-important question: As information gaps and political shenanigans dissipate, how would you redirect the freed time and emotional energy?

Join us as Matt helps you get tactical about what you can do now to get yourself and your team prepared for this shift.

• Find Matt on LinkedIn

• DOWNLOAD BCGN Group's "2030 Predictions: Agentic AI Implications for People, Culture and Growth"

• Duncan Simester - Innovative Strategy requires a unique insight to create value + experimentation:

• Weekly Team Meeting Ritual to build trust - P2 - 1 Personal, 1 Professional

• LinkedIn Learning - For AI training and skill development

• Amy Edmondson's work on psychological safety

What if AI agents could finally break down the silos that have frustrated teams for decades? And what if freeing humans from task-based work actually creates the workplace we've always dreamed of?

In our first episode of Season 2, and Part 1 of 2, we welcome Matt Tabor, organizational performance expert and founder of BCGN Group, to explore a future that's closer than you think. In addition to spending 25+ years empowering companies and leaders to cultivate adaptive organizations, Matt lead teams at Zendesk watching AI transform not just technology, but how teams think, connect, and create value together.

What does work look like when AI handles 65% of our tasks? Matt has some killer predictions for 2030 where autonomous agents manage the transactional work, while humans finally get to focus on what we're actually good at—the subtle, complex, context-rich questions that drive real business growth.

At its core, this conversation is about fundamentally reimagining what it means to be on a team.

Matt introduces three critical human roles emerging right now:

• The Boss - Building and managing AI agents

• The Evaluator - Using business context to assess AI outputs

• The Superhuman Contributor - Bringing deep expertise that machines can't replicate

We dig into why so many organizations skip the most critical steps between strategy and execution, and how that creates the chaos teams live with every day. Matt reveals what happened when one company tried—and failed—three times to implement the right KPI model, and what it looked like the fourth time when it finally worked.

The conversation gets practical fast. Matt offers concrete steps teams can take today:

• Pick 2-3 tasks and hand them completely to AI (yes, completely)

• Spend one hour a week thinking about your team's higher purpose

• Rebuild your critical thinking muscles before it's too late

By the end of this conversation, you might find yourself actually excited about an AI-powered future. Because when agents handle the task work, humans finally get freed up to do what we've been squeezed out of for years—building real relationships, creating breakthrough insights, and focusing on what actually matters.

• Find Matt on LinkedIn

• Learn more about BCGN Group

• DOWNLOAD BCGN Group's "2030 Predictions: Agentic AI Implications for People, Culture and Growth"

• Vector Growth Labs - Specializing in helping companies reignite growth

• LinkedIn Learning - For AI training and skill development

• Amy Edmondson's work on psychological safety

That's a wrap! Season 1 of Team Lab: Reimagining the Way We Work is in the books.

Join us for a reflective walk down memory lane, surfacing the big themes, sticky challenges, and practical tools that shaped our conversations with some of the most thoughtful leaders, coaches, and practitioners this season.

The Four Biggest Challenges Teams Face

Trust & Vulnerability: Why predictive trust isn't enough and why vulnerability-based trust is the real unlock for high-performing teams.

Internalized Urgency: How rushing for the sake of rushing erodes excellence, and why strategic pauses are essential.

Messy Humans: Friction, conflict, and "sweaty palm" conversations—how they can fuel growth when addressed with intention.

Systemic Silos: Why silos persist under pressure and how leaders can weave alignment back into the system.

Memorable Tools & Frameworks

The Precious/Meaningful Object exercise for building deeper team trust

Sense-making pauses to keep teams aligned and engaged

Liberating structures for fast, inclusive decision-making

The playful "What the Duck Are You Feeling?" icebreaker

'Meeting hygiene' practices to trade rushed decisions for grounded agreements

Humanity at the Core Across every conversation, a common thread emerged: honoring the humanity of teams. From creating soulful workplaces (thank you, Jardena London) to recognizing seasons of rest and reflection, to designing environments where people can thrive alongside AI, this season was all about making work more relational and more bearable!

A Look Ahead to Season 2 Topics we're pondering:

AI-augmented leadership and teams

The evolving role of middle managers

Strengthening collaboration at speed

And more of your questions! Send us your anonymous "Team Dynamic Dilemmas" for a chance to have them unpacked on air.

About Team Lab

TeamLab explores the power of teams, the science and art of collaboration, and the magic of thriving relationships at work. Hosted by Angela Migliaccio and Cori Caldwell, this podcast brings you inspiring stories and insights to help you build trust, foster alignment, and unlock creativity in your teams.

Follow us on LinkedIn and subscribe/follow to never miss an episode!

Team Lab theme music composed and performed by @subrasonic

If you've ever sat in a meeting that felt like a never-ending swirl of competing voices and unresolved tensions, this episode will show you what's possible when teams bring structure, trust, and purpose into their collaboration.

In this episode, we're honored to welcome Stefan Morales, Founder of Working Together Consulting, Associate with Greater Than and BASE.

His background spans organizational development, social design, facilitation, and public engagement — all grounded in a belief that complexity isn't something to fear, but something we can learn to navigate together. Whether it's transforming conflict into productive energy, building decision-making hygiene, or unleashing creativity across silos, Stefan supports clients in practicing new ways of working that actually stick.

He's known as an open-hearted iconoclast — someone who helps groups see differently, sense together, and align around the good, big work they're here to do.

Integrative Decision-Making in Action: How he guided an executive team from gridlock to collective agreement in just 35 minutes.

Purpose as a Compass: Why defining (or redefining) shared purpose is essential for decision-making, and how frameworks like PowerStart and liberating structures can help teams co-create clarity.

Organizational "Hygiene": What it means to cleanse stuck team dynamics, untangle unspoken tensions, and build simple conflict protocols that empower direct, human conversations.

Stories We Tell at Work: How unchecked narratives and negativity bias shape team dysfunction—and what leaders can do to check the stories they're telling themselves.

Systemic Obstacles: From scarcity mindsets to organizational "cultural memory," historical systemic stories can ripple through teams and how leaders can disrupt those patterns.

Lead Together: Insights from the Lead Together framework and other experiential learning approaches that equip leaders and teams to navigate uncertainty with confidence.

The Future of Leadership: Why leaders must embrace iterative, experimental approaches to stay relevant in a world reshaped by complexity and AI.

Learn more about Stefan's work: workingtogether.io

UPCOMING WORKSHOP - 23-Sept 2025: The 12th Cohort of Liberating Structures Studio in collaboration with GreaterThan

Sign up for Stefan's Newsletter: The Diversion (sign up at workingtogether.io) Book: Lead Together by Brent Lowe, Susan Basterfield, and Travis Marsh

Book: Reinventing Organizations by Frederic LaLou

Frameworks mentioned: Consent/Integrative Decision-Making, PowerStart, Purpose to Practice, Nine Whys, Liberating Structures, Cynefin Framework

What does it take to move an entire organization forward—without relying on brute force leadership or toxic top-down control? In this episode, Chris Hutchinson shares how authentic leadership creates ripple effects that move teams, organizations, and entire systems.

Drawing from his book Ripple, Chris explains how small, intentional leadership actions can generate long-lasting, exponential impact.

He reflects on his own journey from an early experience on a challenging team in the military to building thriving leadership ecosystems. We discuss why thriving teams start with trust and interdependence, and what happens when "brilliant jerks" are no longer protected by leadership.

Chris also breaks down why efficiency is the wrong starting point for sustainable success, how micromanagement is often a survival strategy, and how leaders can better equip themselves and others for collective performance.

This is a must-listen for anyone navigating siloed environments, leading technical experts, or seeking to start a culture change ripple with their immediate team.

Resources

Ripple: A Field Manual for Leadership that Works

Sticky-note facilitation exercises for alignment

Goldilocks Curve (performance vs. overuse model)

Connect with Chris & Trebuchet Group

Website: trebuchetgroup.com

Book: rippleleader.com

About Team Lab

TeamLab explores the power of teams, the science and art of collaboration, and the magic of thriving relationships at work. Hosted by Angela Migliaccio and Cori Caldwell, this podcast brings you inspiring stories and insights to help you build trust, foster alignment, and unlock creativity in your teams.

Follow us on LinkedIn and subscribe/follow to never miss an episode!

What happens when you're a capable leader trapped in a challenging organizational culture?

How do you create value and showcase your team's worth when you're dealing with controlling stakeholders, chaotic planning processes, and an authoritarian leadership style that permeates the entire organization?

In this special solo episode of Team Lab, hosts Angela Migliaccio and Cori Caldwell unpack a real listener situation from 'Holly*', a senior director at a large software company navigating the complexities of a highly matrixed, high-pressure environment with challenging stakeholder dynamics.

This episode explores the systemic nature of workplace dysfunction, practical tools for building psychological safety, and strategies for creating positive change from within - even when you feel like "a small cog in an important wheel deep inside the machine."

*Names and details anonymized.

Two-by-Two Stakeholder Matrix: Map stakeholders by influence level and relationship quality to identify gaps.

"Walk in My Shoes" Exercise: Empty chair technique for building empathy and understanding across roles.

Design Alliance/Rules of Engagement: Creating team contracts for communication and decision-making.

Red Card/Green Card System: Behavioral feedback tools for team accountability.

"Yes, And" Communication: Improv-based technique for building on ideas rather than shutting them down.

Need advice about a sticky situation with your team? Head to teamlabatwork.com, click the 'Submit a Team Dynamic Story' button and you just may hear it unpacked on a future episode!

"The Heart Aroused" by David Whyte - Referenced book on bringing humanity to corporate environments

About Team Lab

Team Lab explores the power of teams, the science and art of collaboration, and the magic of thriving relationships at work. Hosted by Angela Migliaccio and Cori Caldwell, this podcast brings you inspiring stories and insights to help you build trust, foster alignment, and unlock creativity in your teams.

Follow us on LinkedIn and subscribe/follow here to never miss an episode!

Team Lab's theme music was composed and performed by @subrasonic

What if we told you that your team's capacity to carry challenging moments without shutting down is directly related to the amount of time you invest with them to build a culture of trust, adaptability and emotional intelligence?

In this wide-ranging conversation, leadership coach and global facilitator Joshua Pinchuk joins us to explore what it means to lead in a fast-changing work world. He shares stories from his own career—from a factory floor mishap that defined his leadership philosophy to coaching tech teams navigating the rise of AI.

Joshua makes the case for ditching outdated command-and-control leadership models in favor of compassionate, curiosity-driven cultures. He talks about how flatter organizations, mounting workplace pressures, and the speed of technological change are challenging leaders in new ways—and how adaptability, experimentation, and emotional intelligence are the remedies to meet the moment.

He also offers thoughtful insights on the future of work, including why companies must invest in early career professionals and embrace internal mobility to better maintain a flow of fresh perspective, engagement and commitment.

Joshua Pinchuk is an experienced leader in the fields of learning and coaching. Joshua has over twenty-five years of experience driving innovation in education, talent development, and organizational transformation. Recognized for his skills in people management, leadership development, and performance coaching, Joshua is passionate about enabling individuals and organizations to succeed.

Resources Mentioned

BetterUp Report → The Performance Crisis

Peter Drucker: "Culture eats strategy for breakfast."

About Team Lab

Team Lab explores the power of teams, the science and art of collaboration, and the magic of thriving relationships at work. Hosted by Angela Migliaccio and Cori Caldwell, this podcast brings you inspiring stories and insights to help you build trust, foster alignment, and unlock creativity in your teams.

Follow us on LinkedIn and subscribe/follow here to never miss an episode!