In this episode of The Team Engagement Podcast, Shawn Richards speaks with Lara Hamilton, Vice President at Tectonic, about listening, tenacity, growth, and emotional wellness in leadership.

Lara shares why creating psychological safety begins with genuinely listening to your team, even when their ideas or suggestions may be delivered differently than you expect.

She also shares the story of her mother, whose journey from a difficult upbringing to a leadership role in the insurance industry taught Lara the meaning of tenacity.

When it comes to growth, Lara believes leaders don't need to be the smartest person in the room. Instead, she intentionally surrounds herself with people who bring expertise, experience, and perspectives that she can learn from.

What You'll Learn:

- Why psychological safety starts with genuine listening
- How considering someone's intent can change a difficult conversation
- What Lara learned about tenacity from her mother
- Why leaders should hire people who know more than they do
- How humility contributes to a growth mindset
- Why stepping away from work can sometimes make you a better leader
- How Lara's first job taught her to multitask and think on her feet

About Lara Hamilton

Lara Hamilton is the Vice President of Helpdesk Realty, a division at Tectonic, where she has excelled for more than 15 years. She is an experienced leader in property management technology and helps teams navigate IT infrastructure and property management software.

Lara is passionate about making technology feel human and accessible, mentoring her team, continuous learning, and creating practical solutions that bring greater clarity to business operations.

Connect with Lara:

Website:
https://teamtectonic.com

Email:
[email protected]

Sponsored by Taelor. You're running a company, managing a team, showing up to rooms that matter- and somewhere between all of that, figuring out what to wear fell off the list. Taelor handles it. A personal stylist picks clothes in your size and style and ships them to your door every month. You wear them, send them back- no shopping, no laundry, no thinking about it. Use code SHAWN30 at taelor.style for $30 off your first month.

More episodes:
https://teamengagementpodcast.com

#Leadership #TeamEngagement #Tenacity #GrowthMindset #PsychologicalSafety #LaraHamilton

In this episode of The Team Engagement Podcast, Shawn Richards welcomes back Greg Mohr, Franchise Maven and author of Real Freedom, for a conversation about entrepreneurship, franchising, leadership, and taking greater control of your future.

Greg explains why one of the biggest advantages of franchising is having a proven system already in place. Instead of trying to change everything immediately, new franchise owners can learn the system, follow the plan, and introduce new ideas once they understand what already works.

Shawn and Greg also explore how technology and AI are changing franchise operations, why the human element still matters, and how good leadership helps create a strong culture within a franchise.

Most importantly, Greg challenges listeners to define what success actually means to them. Is it building multiple businesses? Creating more income? Having greater time freedom? Spending more time with family? The right opportunity depends on the life you're actually trying to build.

The conversation leads to an important question: Are you addicted to your paycheck? Greg shares why he decided to leave the predictability of corporate life and pursue greater control over his time, income, and future.

What You'll Learn:

- Why new franchise owners should follow the proven system before changing it
- How franchising provides structure while still allowing room for creativity
- Why location still matters for many brick-and-mortar franchises
- How AI is being incorporated into franchise operations
- Why human interaction and leadership remain essential
- How to define what success actually looks like for you
- Why a franchise should be viewed as an asset rather than simply another job
- How a predictable paycheck can sometimes become a ceiling
- Why taking the first step can help you create greater control over your future

About Greg Mohr

Greg Mohr is a franchise expert, entrepreneur, author, and self-described Franchise Maven. After years of owning franchises himself, Greg now helps aspiring business owners explore franchise opportunities that align with their skills, goals, lifestyle, and definition of success. He is also the author of Real Freedom.

Connect with Greg:

Website:
https://franchisemaven.com

Sponsored by Taelor. You're running a company, managing a team, showing up to rooms that matter- and somewhere between all of that, figuring out what to wear fell off the list. Taelor handles it. A personal stylist picks clothes in your size and style and ships them to your door every month. You wear them, send them back- no shopping, no laundry, no thinking about it. Use code SHAWN30 at taelor.style for $30 off your first month.

More episodes:
https://teamengagementpodcast.com

#Leadership #TeamEngagement #Entrepreneurship #Franchising #BusinessOwnership #GregMohr

In this episode of The Team Engagement Podcast, Shawn Richards speaks with Nathaniel Seitz, Founder of Day 91 Solutions, about trust, psychological safety, micromanagement, growth, and emotional wellness.

Nathaniel explains how micromanagement can undermine trust, even when a leader genuinely believes they're helping. Instead, he encourages leaders to create a "circle of safety" where employees feel comfortable admitting mistakes, raising concerns, and having honest conversations.

Drawing from his own career experiences, Nathaniel shares what it felt like to move from being heavily micromanaged to working for a leader who trusted him to get the job done. That experience shaped his belief that employees need room to make mistakes, learn, and improve.

He also discusses why being open to change is necessary for growth, why leaders need to truly disconnect when taking time off, and how continuing to learn can keep leaders and employees moving forward.

What You'll Learn:

- How micromanagement can erode trust
- Why psychological safety starts with trusting your people
- How to create a "circle of safety" within your team
- Why open-ended questions can lead to better conversations
- Why leaders must be open to change before they can grow
- How taking real time away from work supports emotional wellness
- Why leaders should trust their teams when they're away
- How continuous learning can keep your mind and career moving forward

About Nathaniel Seitz

Nathaniel Seitz is the Founder of Day 91 Solutions, where he focuses on improving onboarding, HR practices, employee experiences, and workplace effectiveness. His philosophy centers on helping organizations support employees beyond the traditional first 90 days. He is also the author of The 91st Day.

Connect with Nathaniel:

Website:
https://www.day91solutions.com

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanielsietz/

Sponsored by Taelor. You're running a company, managing a team, showing up to rooms that matter- and somewhere between all of that, figuring out what to wear fell off the list. Taelor handles it. A personal stylist picks clothes in your size and style and ships them to your door every month. You wear them, send them back- no shopping, no laundry, no thinking about it. Use code SHAWN30 at taelor.style for $30 off your first month.

More episodes:
https://teamengagementpodcast.com

#Leadership #TeamEngagement #PsychologicalSafety #Trust #Micromanagement #NathanielSeitz

In this episode of The Team Engagement Podcast, Shawn Richards speaks with Dr. Desiree Williams, leadership expert, author, speaker, and healthcare professional, about psychological safety, continuous learning, belief, and emotional wellness.

Desiree explains that psychological safety is determined by what happens after someone speaks up. Leaders may say their doors are always open, but employees will pay close attention to how leaders respond when someone disagrees, admits a mistake, asks a difficult question, or delivers bad news.

She also shares why leaders don't need to pretend they have every answer. Modeling continuous learning and being willing to say, "I haven't learned how to do this yet," gives teams permission to learn as well.

As Desiree puts it, growth requires room to be unfinished. 

What You'll Learn:

• Why psychological safety is determined by a leader's response
 • How curiosity helps leaders respond when employees speak up
 • Why believing in someone's potential can transform their confidence
 • How leaders can empower people to empower others
 • Why saying "I don't know yet" supports a growth mindset
 • How leaders can model continuous learning
 • Why self-awareness and boundaries are essential for emotional wellness
 • How leaders set the emotional temperature for their teams

About Dr. Desiree Williams

Dr. Desiree Williams is a leadership expert, author, speaker, and healthcare professional whose work focuses on people, culture, and strategy. She helps leaders translate leadership into practical behaviors that strengthen trust, improve culture, and create workplaces where people and performance can thrive.

Connect with Desiree:

Website:
 http://drdesireespeaks.com

Sponsored by Taelor. You're running a company, managing a team, showing up to rooms that matter- and somewhere between all of that, figuring out what to wear fell off the list. Taelor handles it. A personal stylist picks clothes in your size and style and ships them to your door every month. You wear them, send them back- no shopping, no laundry, no thinking about it. Use code SHAWN30 at taelor.style for $30 off your first month.

More episodes:
 https://teamengagementpodcast.com

#Leadership #TeamEngagement #GrowthMindset #PsychologicalSafety #LeadershipDevelopment #DesireeWilliams

In this episode of The Team Engagement Podcast, Shawn Richards speaks with Mike Moreau, President of Concord Consulting, about feedback, psychological safety, continuous improvement, and emotional wellness in leadership.

Mike explains why leaders need to create room for mistakes and regularly invite candid feedback. When people know they can speak openly without being punished for every misstep, trust grows and teams become more willing to experiment, learn, and improve.

The conversation also explores the importance of being relentless about growth and pursuing small, consistent improvements. Mike then challenges leaders to examine whether they have become the bottleneck in their organizations and explains how better delegation and accountability can create space for both their teams and themselves to grow.

What You'll Learn:

• Why making room for mistakes strengthens psychological safety
 • How regularly asking for feedback builds trust
 • Why leaders need to be prepared to receive difficult feedback
 • How a relentless pursuit of small improvements compounds over time
 • Why leaders shouldn't become the center of every decision
 • How delegation and accountability support emotional wellness
 • Why meaningful organizational change often starts with the leader

Connect with Mike:

Concord Consulting: https://www.concordconsulting.com

More episodes: https://teamengagementpodcast.com

#Leadership #TeamEngagement #PsychologicalSafety #Feedback #GrowthMindset #MikeMoreau

In this episode of The Team Engagement Podcast, Shawn Richards speaks with Lilith Christiansen, Founder and CEO of HumanGenuity, about psychological safety, curiosity, growth mindset, and emotional wellness.

Lilith explains why leaders should actively invite dissent and different perspectives before making decisions. She also discusses the importance of providing context, maintaining consistent accountability, and ensuring leadership behavior matches what the organization says it values.

For Lilith, cultivating a growth mindset starts with curiosity. Instead of focusing only on whether an experience produced the desired outcome, leaders can ask what they learned, what they might change, and how that experience can help them approach the next challenge differently. 

What You’ll Learn:

•  Why leaders should actively invite dissent 
•  How context helps teams understand and support decisions 
•  Why consistency strengthens psychological safety 
•  How curiosity creates opportunities for growth 
•  Why setbacks can provide some of the best learning opportunities 
•  Practical approaches leaders can use to support emotional wellness 
•  How gratitude, rest, and reflection can strengthen leadership 

Connect with Lilith:

Website: https://human-genuity.com

More episodes: https://teamengagementpodcast.com

#Leadership #TeamEngagement #Curiosity #PsychologicalSafety #GrowthMindset #LilithChristiansen

In this episode of The Team Engagement Podcast, Shawn Richards speaks with Rachel Franco, Founder and CEO of Fail Smarter, about psychological safety, learning from failure, growth mindset, and emotional wellness.

Rachel explains why innovation requires an environment where experimentation and thoughtful failure are accepted. She shares how leaders can strengthen psychological safety by modeling vulnerability, responding to ideas with curiosity instead of judgment, and measuring how safe people actually feel speaking up.

Rachel also challenges leaders to examine whether they have a growth mindset toward other people, not just themselves. If leaders believe someone cannot improve, they may unintentionally stop giving that person the opportunities and feedback necessary to grow.

When it comes to emotional wellness, Rachel recommends developing greater self-awareness, seeking support from peers, and remembering one very practical habit: get up and move. Even a short walk can help leaders manage stress and approach challenges with a clearer perspective. 

What you'll learn:

•  Why psychological safety is essential for experimentation and innovation 
•  How leaders can model vulnerability around mistakes and failure 
•  Why curiosity is a better response than judgment 
•  The importance of measuring psychological safety 
•  How a leader's beliefs about other people's potential affect their growth 
•  Why self-awareness and peer support matter for emotional wellness 
•  How simply getting up and moving can help leaders reset and think more clearly 

Connect with Rachel:

Website: https://www.fail-smarter.com/about
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelfranco

More episodes: https://teamengagementpodcast.com

#Leadership #TeamEngagement #PsychologicalSafety #GrowthMindset #FailSmarter #RachelFranco

In this episode of The Team Engagement Podcast, host Shawn Richards speaks with Ashley Gibson, psychotherapist, advisor, speaker, and Founder of Meaning in Practice, about principled leadership, psychological safety, burnout, and organizational behavior.

Ashley explains why teams have a nervous system and how leaders influence that system through what they model, reward, and tolerate. She also discusses the importance of closing the gap between stated values and everyday behavior.

The conversation explores how leaders can respond to failure without immediately assigning blame, why emotional wellness must be addressed at both the individual and organizational levels, and how principled leadership creates healthier teams.

What You’ll Learn

• How leaders influence the nervous system of a team
• Why psychological safety begins with consistent behavior
• How to close the gap between intention and impact
• Why growth requires examining systems instead of assigning blame
• How workplace structures contribute to burnout
• What principled leadership looks like in daily practice

About Ashley Gibson

Ashley Gibson is a psychotherapist, advisor, speaker, and Founder of Meaning in Practice. After more than a decade as an executive and marketing leader, she transitioned into clinical work and now helps leaders and organizations understand burnout through an evidence-based, systems-level framework.

Connect with Ashley

Website: https://www.meaninginpractice.com

Listen to more episodes: https://teamengagementpodcast.com

#Leadership #TeamEngagement #Podcast #PsychologicalSafety #WorkplaceCulture #AshleyGibson

In this episode of The Team Engagement Podcast, Shawn Richards sits down with Josh Troche, Founder of PedalStomper Productions and Co-founder of The Business Fix, to discuss psychological safety, servant leadership, growth mindset, and making better leadership decisions through honest communication.

Josh shares why leaders should say the hard things, how asking "What do you need from me?" changes the leadership relationship, and why identifying opportunities others overlook creates lasting growth. He also explains why taking emotion out of difficult conversations leads to healthier teams and stronger leadership. 

What You'll Learn

•  Why clarity is one of the greatest forms of kindness 
•  How honest conversations build psychological safety 
•  The servant leader's most important question 
•  Why looking for gaps creates opportunities for growth 
•  How separating emotion from reaction improves leadership 
•  Lessons from Josh's early entrepreneurial experiences 

About Josh Troche

Josh Troche is the Founder of PedalStomper Productions and Co-founder of The Business Fix. Through podcast production, business consulting, and leadership coaching, he helps organizations strengthen communication and develop practical, people-centered leadership.

Connect with Josh

🌐 The Business Fix:
 https://www.businessfixpodcast.com/

🌐 PedalStomper Productions:
 https://pedalstomperproductions.com

🎧 Listen to more episodes:
 https://teamengagementpodcast.com

#Leadership #ServantLeadership #PsychologicalSafety #TeamEngagement #LeadershipDevelopment #TheBusinessFix

In this episode of The Team Engagement Podcast, host Shawn Richards speaks with Dr. Mickey Fitch-Collins, Human Skills Facilitator at Learnit, about trust, psychological safety, and developing a growth mindset.

Mickey explains why trust is rooted in authenticity and consistency, how leaders can create psychologically safe teams by admitting mistakes, and why adding the word "yet" to limiting beliefs opens the door to continuous growth. She also shares why work-life integration and meaningful feedback are essential for emotional wellness in today's workplace. 

What you'll learn:

• Why trust is the foundation of psychological safety
 • How "The Power of Yet" builds a growth mindset
 • Why authentic leaders admit mistakes first
 • The difference between work-life balance and work-life integration
 • How regular feedback improves emotional wellness and team performance
 • Why continuous learning helps individuals and organizations grow 

Connect with Mickey:

🌐 https://www.learnit.com/author/mickey-fitch-collins
🎓 Free Learnit Trial: https://www.learnit.com/mickey
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickey-fitch-collins/

🎧 Listen to more episodes: https://teamengagementpodcast.com

#Leadership #TeamEngagement #Podcast #GrowthMindset #MickeyFitchCollins