The H.I.T. Podcast

We're bringing back a Halloween favorite from The H.I.T. Podcast! In this special episode, we explore creative ways to celebrate Halloween in the workplace while keeping festivities fun, professional, and inclusive.

From office costume contests and team activities to seasonal treats and decorations, we share practical ideas for boosting employee morale and strengthening workplace culture. We also discuss best practices for ensuring everyone feels comfortable participating and how HR professionals can avoid potential workplace challenges during holiday celebrations.

Whether your organization goes all out for Halloween or prefers a more low-key approach, this episode offers simple ways to encourage team spirit, build connections, and make the season memorable.

The H.I.T. Podcast, powered by Montage Insurance Solutions, delivers timely insights and engaging conversations for HR professionals, business leaders, and company executives.

Is your team performing at its full potential—or is something holding it back?

In this episode of The H.I.T. Podcast, host Toby Kennedy continues his conversation with executive coaching experts and authors **Tom Reynolds and Bryan A. Powell** about their book, "The Efficient Frontier of Teaming," and the strategies leaders can use to build stronger, more effective teams.

Tom and Bryan introduce the concept of the "teaming inefficiency gap"—the difference between where a team is performing today and what it could achieve with the right leadership, culture, and collaboration.

They also explore the bullseye method, a practical approach to setting shared goals, encouraging experimentation, and helping teams make meaningful progress without fearing failure.

The conversation goes beyond traditional leadership strategies to examine how hiring, psychological safety, vulnerability, and artificial intelligence can help organizations unlock their teams' potential.

In this episode:

• Understanding the teaming inefficiency gap and how to close it
• Using the bullseye method to set goals and build momentum
• Hiring for diverse strengths, perspectives, and team dynamics
• Why leaders should stop providing all the answers and start coaching
• Building trust through vulnerability, authenticity, and difficult conversations
• Using AI as a thought partner to strengthen creativity and critical thinking
• How a Ted Lasso-inspired AI coaching agent can help leaders navigate workplace challenges
• Insights from The Efficient Frontier of Teaming and the research behind the book

The big takeaway: High-performing teams don't happen by accident. They require intentional leadership, shared ownership, trust, and a willingness to continually learn and improve.

The Efficient Frontier of Teaming is available through major booksellers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target, and Walmart.

The H.I.T. Podcast with Toby Kennedy

What separates a team that simply gets results from one that consistently performs at its best?

On this episode of The H.I.T. Podcast, host Toby Kennedy welcomes executive and team coaching experts Bryan A. Powell and Tom Reynolds for a conversation about what it really takes to build and sustain high-performing teams.

While organizations often measure success through revenue, productivity, and performance metrics, Bryan and Tom explain why the less measurable elements—trust, psychological safety, authenticity, and shared accountability—are just as important.

The conversation explores why so many organizations believe they have high-performing teams when they may actually be maintaining the status quo. From creating space for every voice to strengthening relationships and navigating challenges, the discussion highlights practical ways leaders and employees can build stronger, more resilient teams.

In this episode:

• What truly defines a high-performing team
• Why trust and psychological safety drive better performance
• Balancing measurable results with healthy team dynamics
• The importance of conversational turn-taking and giving everyone a voice
• Creating shared ownership and accountability at every level
• How vulnerability and authenticity strengthen workplace culture
• Why high performance requires both leadership direction and employee engagement
• How HR can move beyond check-the-box training to create meaningful development opportunities

The takeaway: High-performing teams aren't built through metrics alone. They're built through relationships, intentional conversations, and a culture where everyone has the opportunity—and responsibility—to contribute.

???? The H.I.T. Podcast with Toby Kennedy

What separates leaders who simply manage people from those who inspire them? The ability to tell a story people want to be part of.

In Part 2 of Toby Kennedy’s conversation with Jonathan Lewis, President of McKee Wallwork, they explore storytelling, identity, responsibility, and what today’s workforce is really searching for. Jonathan explains why leaders need to provide context for the work their teams are doing—not simply communicate goals and expectations. A compelling story can help people understand where they’re going, why it matters, and the role they play in getting there.

The conversation also dives into Jonathan’s book, The Rebuilders, which challenges people to take responsibility for rebuilding the institutions, organizations, communities, and relationships around them rather than simply criticizing what’s broken.

They also discuss generational changes in the workplace, the search for authenticity and purpose, the dangers of comparison, and why Jonathan believes meaning comes through responsibility and commitment—not simply looking inward for fulfillment.

In this episode:

- Why great leaders are great storytellers

- Connecting everyday work to a bigger mission

- How relationships shape our identity

- The impact of social media and comparison

- Why younger generations are searching for authenticity

- Responsibility vs. resentment

- The ideas behind The Rebuilders

- Finding meaning through commitment and character

- What leaders can do to help rebuild workplace culture

What if the biggest workforce challenge isn’t compensation, benefits, or flexibility—but the story employees are being asked to believe about work?

Toby sits down with Jonathan Lewis, President of McKee Wallwork, to discuss what their national workforce research reveals about the changing relationship between employees and their organizations.

After studying 3,000 participants across the country, Jonathan describes a workforce increasingly defined by TFS: Transactional, Futureless, and Suffering. The traditional promises surrounding work, career, loyalty, and retirement no longer resonate with everyone the way they once did.

So how can leaders respond?

Jonathan introduces RQM: Relational, Quest, and Meaning—a framework for rebuilding the story of work around human connection, a shared future, and a sense of meaning in the challenges people face.

Toby and Jonathan also explore the growing “Who” problem inside organizations, why culture and brand are increasingly connected, and why leaders at every level need to become better storytellers.

In this episode:

• How the workforce changed after COVID-19

• What TFS reveals about today’s employees

• Moving from transactional relationships to relational ones

• Why employees need a future worth working toward

• Creating meaning instead of simply trying to eliminate struggle

• The organizational shift from How → Why → Who

• Why a clear internal story can strengthen workplace culture

• How leaders can connect everyday work to a larger purpose

What if your company could significantly reduce prescription drug costs without changing its pharmacy benefit manager or taking medications away from employees?

In Part 2 of The H.I.T. Podcast, host Toby Kennedy continues his conversation with Louis Gallucci, CEO of Limitless Consulting Group, about how employers can take greater control of prescription drug spending through smarter sourcing strategies.

Louis explains why self-funded employers should look beyond traditional pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and explore alternative purchasing options that can benefit both their health plans and their employees.

From analyzing pharmacy claims data to identifying high-cost medications and exploring alternative sourcing channels like GoodRx and Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs, this conversation provides practical insights for HR professionals, benefits managers, and business leaders looking to control healthcare costs.

In this episode:

• Why employees should have more flexibility in how they access prescription medications
• How identifying your five most expensive drugs can reveal potential savings opportunities
• Understanding the difference between clinical strategy and pharmacy procurement
• How employers can explore lower-cost sourcing without necessarily changing their PBM or formulary
• Why reducing out-of-pocket prescription costs can help employees access the medications they need
• How to request and analyze pharmacy claims data to identify unnecessary spending
• Why transparency matters when managing self-funded health plans and fiduciary responsibilities

Louis also shares a practical starting point for HR leaders: Request a report of your organization's 10 most expensive medications over the past 12 months. Then work with your broker or benefits advisor to explore alternative sourcing options.

The goal isn't simply to spend less on prescription drugs. It's to help employees access the medications they need while making smarter purchasing decisions for the organization.

Prescription drug costs are climbing—but the medication itself may not be the biggest problem. It may be how and where you're buying it.

On this episode of The H.I.T. Podcast, Toby Kennedy welcomes longtime friend Louis Gallucci, CEO of Limitless Consulting Group, for a deep dive into one of the biggest challenges facing employer-sponsored healthcare today: pharmacy costs.

With 20 years of experience across group benefits, carriers, voluntary benefits, benefits technology, and consulting, Louis explains why employers need to rethink the way they purchase prescription drugs—and start looking at healthcare through the lens of procurement.

Pharmacy now represents a significant portion of overall healthcare spending, and Louis shares how a surprisingly small number of medications can account for an enormous percentage of a health plan's total costs.

In this episode:

• Why prescription drug spending has grown so dramatically
• How just a handful of medications can drive a huge portion of plan spending
• Why the sourcing channel can matter as much as the medication itself
• Understanding the enormous pricing differences that can exist for the same drug
• Why rebates and traditional PBM strategies may no longer be enough
• How alternatives such as direct sourcing are changing the pharmacy landscape
• Why HR leaders should start thinking more like procurement directors
• What self-funded employers need to understand about their fiduciary responsibilities
• Why employers need to take ownership of their claims data
• The questions employers should be asking their PBMs and benefits partners

One of Louis' biggest messages is simple: employers are the buyers.

Your PBM may administer the claims, but employers need to understand what they're purchasing, where the money is going, and whether there is a more efficient way to source the same care.

And there's a personal connection to this episode, too—Toby and Louis go back nearly 20 years, from working together early in their careers to attending each other's weddings. Now they're sitting down to unpack how dramatically the benefits and pharmacy landscape has changed.

Employee mental and physical health aren't separate issues—and both can have a major impact on the workplace.

In Part 2 of The H.I.T. Podcast, Toby Kennedy continues his conversation with Andrea “Andy” Notch Mayzeles, Workforce Health Consultant at Kaiser Permanente, about the realities of employee well-being and what organizations can actually do to help.

With research showing significant levels of burnout, depression, and anxiety among today's workforce, the consequences extend far beyond individual employees. Absenteeism, healthcare utilization, retention, productivity, and even customer service can all be affected.

But mental health is only part of the equation.

Andy explores the often-overlooked connection between musculoskeletal health and mental health, including how physical pain can contribute to depression—and how depression and inactivity can make physical pain worse.

In this episode:

• The impact of burnout, depression, and anxiety in the workplace
• Why musculoskeletal health deserves more attention
• The connection between physical pain and mental well-being
• Why psychological safety helps employees speak up before problems escalate
• How micro-movement breaks can support physical and mental health
• Why simply taking a lunch break matters
• Why communicating benefits once isn't enough
• Creating a “surround sound” approach to employee wellness communication
• How leaders, wellness champions, HR, and safety teams can work together
• Why employees need to understand that resources like EAPs are confidential

One of the biggest challenges isn't always a lack of resources—it's making sure employees actually know those resources exist and feel comfortable using them.

Missed Part 1? Check out the first half of Toby's conversation with Andy on building workplace wellness that actually works.

Workplace wellness is about much more than step challenges, gym memberships, and occasional health initiatives. The everyday employee experience matters.

On this episode of The H.I.T. Podcast, Toby Kennedy sits down with Andrea “Andy” Notch Mayzeles, Workforce Health Consultant at Kaiser Permanente, to discuss how organizations can build wellness strategies that actually become part of their workplace culture.

With more than a decade of experience at Kaiser Permanente, Andy shares practical ways employers can assess their current wellness efforts, get employees involved, build leadership support, and integrate health and well-being throughout the organization.

In this episode:

• How benchmarking and scorecards can reveal where your wellness strategy stands
• Why employee wellness shouldn't live exclusively within HR
• How wellness committees and employee champions can drive engagement
• Why organizations should regularly ask employees what they actually need
• The powerful trickle-down effect of leaders modeling healthy behaviors
• The business case for wellness—from retention and healthcare costs to absenteeism and productivity
• How to make mental health part of the everyday employee experience
• Small, practical wellness rituals that managers can incorporate into their teams

One of the biggest takeaways? A quarterly wellness challenge can't make up for an unhealthy day-to-day work experience. Managers and leaders play a critical role in creating an environment where employees can thrive.

Andy also discusses Kaiser Permanente's Mental Fitness Toolkit, designed to help organizations incorporate simple, achievable mental wellness practices into the regular rhythm of work.

Great leadership isn't developed in a single training session—it takes insight, action, repetition, and real-world application.

On this episode of The H.I.T. Podcast, Toby Kennedy sits down with Maren Perry, Founder and President of Arden Coaching, to discuss how organizations can develop stronger leaders at every level.

Since founding Arden Coaching in 2007, Maren has grown the organization into a network of more than 35 executive coaches, helping leaders, teams, and organizations strengthen their people skills, improve performance, and create meaningful organizational change.

Maren breaks leadership development into three distinct domains: self leadership, relational leadership, and strategic leadership—and explains why the way we develop leaders needs to change as people progress through an organization.

In this episode:

• Self Leadership — developing self-awareness and understanding your communication style
• Relational Leadership — navigating difficult conversations, accountability, execution, and developing others
• Strategic Leadership — building the skills needed to lead at the highest levels of an organization
• Why leadership development should evolve as responsibilities increase
• Why one long training session usually isn't enough
• How repetition and multiple learning "touches" fight the forgetting curve
• Why coaching and small-group sessions help lessons stick
• Turning leadership concepts into action under real-world pressure

Maren also shares a simple but powerful formula:

INSIGHT + ACTION = RESULTS

Information can create insight, but lasting leadership development happens when people take those insights back into their actual jobs, put them into practice, and continue building on them over time.