The TrustBuilt Podcast

Can your team perform without you constantly refereeing the differences between them? That's the leadership trust question Alan, CEPA, and returning guest Melanie Palmer dig into in this episode.

Melanie Palmer of Melanie Palmer Consulting joins Alan again — and this time, they turned the tables and assessed each other. Alan took CliftonStrengths for the first time, Melanie took DISC for the first time, and they use their own results to unpack how personality and strengths assessments actually build (or break) trust on a team.

If you're a business owner or leader trying to build a team that runs well without you standing over it, this conversation gives you the language to do it.

🔔 New episodes every week. Subscribe if you're a business owner building a team, and a business, that can run without you.

⏱️ Chapters

0:22 – Welcome back, Melanie Palmer

1:03 – Melanie's CliftonStrengths results, revealed

2:15 – What CliftonStrengths actually measures

3:16 – Why "well-rounded" is a fallacy

4:21 – Melanie reads Alan's top strengths: Positivity & Individualization

5:49 – Where Individualization struggles — rigid rules and procedures

6:39 – Managing opposite strengths on the same team

7:36 – Why the owner-as-gap-bridge kills business value

8:21 – Building a strengths-based culture so you're not the referee

9:20 – Turning friction into a team asset (the "Deliberative" example)

12:15 – The sports analogy: playing people in their strength position

13:47 – Alan's DISC results — and why he and Melanie "resonate"

15:29 – Natural vs. Adaptive style, explained

17:46 – Mapping a team on the CliftonStrengths grid

18:47 – Case study: a statewide nonprofit team

21:22 – Building trust through connection and compassion

22:11 – Using assessments for conflict resolution

23:10 – The visionary/implementer partnership (Jobs & Ballmer)

24:10 – DISC clashes: high-D vs. high-S styles

25:22 – How people weaponize assessments — and how not to

30:12 – Why an outside facilitator sees what you can't

32:08 – Where to find Melanie Palmer

32:27 – Final takeaway: know yourself first

Connect with Melanie: 

https://www.melaniepalmerconsulting.com/

Connect with Alan: 

https://www.trustbuiltsolutions.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanbennettcepa/

#LeadershipTrust #CliftonStrengths #DISC #BusinessPodcast #TeamBuilding #BusinessOwner

Welcome back to The TrustBuilt Podcast! Host Alan Bennett sits down with culture expert Steve Blair for a deep dive into what it really takes to build and maintain a thriving organizational culture.

Steve Blair is a master at culture, people, and community who works alongside leaders and founders to create cultures where the best people can thrive. In this episode, Steve breaks down his powerful "culture stack" framework—revealing the four critical levels where culture either flourishes or falls apart.

Whether you're a founder, leader, or manager, this episode will change how you think about building culture in your organization.

👉 Learn more about how TrustBuilt helps business owners build trust-driven teams: https://www.trustbuiltsolutions.com/

⏱️ Chapters

00:25 - Welcome & Meet Steve Blair

01:16 - Steve's Mission: Creating Cultures Where People Love Their Work

02:36 - Going Deep: The Art vs. Science of Building Culture

03:22 - Two Types of Leadership: Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up

05:03 - Finding Leaders Who "Get It"

06:53 - Creating Heroes: The Power of Mentorship

09:50 - Why Culture Can't Be Left to Chance

11:12 - The Core Framework: Understanding Culture

13:45 - Defining Culture: Values, Behaviors, and Results

16:20 - The Anatomy of Culture: Breaking It Down

19:30 - The Culture Stack: Four Critical Levels

22:15 - Level 1: Vision & Leadership

24:40 - Level 2: Organizational Systems & Processes

27:10 - Level 3: Managers - The Linchpin of Culture

29:45 - Level 4: Teams & Daily Work

32:15 - Where Most Culture Initiatives Fail

33:18 - Leveraging Tools at the Right Level

34:28 - Communication Strategies Across Levels

36:17 - Connecting Individual Purpose to Organizational Purpose

37:21 - The Danger of Resource Gaps

38:33 - Culture You Design vs. Culture You Deserve

39:23 - What Resources Really Mean (It's Not Pizza Fridays)

40:09 - Final Thoughts & Wrap-Up

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Connect with Steve

💻 https://www.linkedin.com/in/blairsteve/

🌐 https://www.fulcrumcollective.com/

When your nonprofit board isn't functioning, everything suffers—fundraising stalls, strategy gets murky, and passionate leaders burn out trying to do it all.

In this episode of The TrustBuilt Podcast, host Alan Bennett sits down with Melanie Palmer, founder of M. Palmer Consulting, to explore how nonprofits can build high-performing boards that drive real impact. From victim services to arts organizations, Melanie shares powerful lessons on strategic planning, meaningful board engagement, and why clarity is the foundation of everything.

Together, they dig into how to recruit the right board members, the critical role of strategic planning, why CliftonStrengths assessments transform team dynamics, and how to align your board with your mission—not just fill seats.

👉 Whether you lead a startup nonprofit or manage a mature organization, this episode will help you see trust and strategic clarity as your ultimate competitive advantage.

Learn more about how TrustBuilt helps business owners build trust-driven teams:

https://www.trustbuiltsolutions.com/

⏱️ Chapters

1:19 – Meet Melanie Palmer: From Victim Services to Nonprofit Consulting

4:38 – What It Really Means to Be on a Nonprofit Board

6:17 – The Non-Negotiable: Passion for Mission (Not Resume Building)

11:00 – The Three Questions Every Board Should Ask Before Recruiting

15:00 – How CliftonStrengths Unlocks Board Potential

22:00 – Why Nonprofits and For-Profits Have the Same Leadership Challenges

30:00 – The Hidden Gap: When No One Is Driving the Bus

35:00 – How a Strategic Plan Fixes Most Board Dysfunction

37:15 – The Fundraising Plan Most Organizations Forget to Create

45:13 – Starting with Assessment: Where Is Your Board Now?

47:24 – "It's Hard to Read the Label from Inside the Bottle"

48:05 – Connect with Melanie Palmer Consulting

Connect with M. Palmer Consulting

🌐 https://melaniepalmerconsulting.com

 💼 Schedule a free consultation to assess your nonprofit's needs

Are you a business owner who is ready to break free from the day-to-day grind & build a self-sustaining company?

👉 Set up a time to talk to Alan

 🔗 https://app.reclaim.ai/m/alan-trustbuiltsolutions/quick-meeting

What if the secret to building a thriving business isn't just about systems, it's about empathy?

In this episode of The TrustBuilt Podcast, I sit down with Jim Robinson, CEO, founder, speaker, and coach with 41 years of business experience. Jim shares the powerful moment that changed everything: realizing he needed a business coach when he thought he had all the answers.

What You'll Learn:

✅ The difference between empathy and sympathyand why it matters

✅ How to validate employees individually while building team alignment 

✅ Why making every team member a trainer transforms your business 

✅ The exact framework for developing trust in one-on-one and group settings 

✅ How to lead teams of 5 to 500+ with the same core principles

Learn more about how TrustBuilt helps business owners build trust-driven teams: https://www.trustbuiltsolutions.com/

⏱️ Chapters:

01:26 - The Realization That Changed Everything

02:02 - From Business Owner to Accredited Business Coach

03:33 - What is Leading with Empathy? (Not Sympathy)

04:00 - Empathy in the Workplace: Putting Yourself in Their Shoes

05:12 - The Power of Emotional Connection with Your Team

05:41 - Empathy vs. Sympathy: The Well Analogy

06:24 - Why You Shouldn't Anchor Bad Behaviors

07:40 - The First Two Weeks: Intentional Onboarding

08:09 - How Quick Trust Develops When You Show Up with Empathy

09:00 - The Danger of Over-Tasking New Hires

10:06 - Creating Purpose & Clarity for Your Team

11:17 - Why Small Businesses Fail: The Team Development Gap

12:55 - The Mentor Myth: Why You Need the Right Guide

15:32 - How to Validate Team Members & Get Their Input

17:17 - Why Business Owners Struggle to Let Go

19:21 - The Bottleneck Problem: When Everything Runs Through You

21:00 - Stop Micromanaging & Start Leading

22:27 - How to Develop Leaders Within Your Team

23:52 - What Happens When You Don't Develop Your People

26:03 - Leading Teams of 5 to 500: The Same Principles Apply

27:41 - The Greatest Success: When Your Team Speaks in Your Tone

28:09 - Validate Individually, Recognize Publicly

29:02 - The Magic Number for Direct Reports & Team Size

29:34 - What Happens When Your Team Feels Heard & Validated

31:14 - Turning Introverts Into Confident Trainers

32:15 - Jim's Monthly Regional Team Meetings: What He Asks

33:04 - The Textbook on Purpose in Organizations

33:31 - How to Connect with Jim Robinson & CGP Construction

Connect With Jim

📧 Email: [email protected]

🌐 Website: www.cgpconstruction.com

📚 Upcoming Book: "Lead with Empathy" (Co-authored with Chris Voss)

#TrustBuiltPodcast #LeadershipDevelopment #BusinessCoaching #TeamBuilding #Empathy #BusinessGrowth #Entrepreneurship #LeadWithEmpathy #ScaleYourBusiness #BusinessFreedom #TrustInBusiness #ChrisVoss #TeamDevelopment #CEOInsights

What does it take to build a thriving business at 20 years old out of a converted school bus, with no bank loan, and a product almost nobody was making?

In this episode of The TrustBuilt Podcast, host Alan Bennett sits down with Stella Rodda, founder of Zenith Coffee Company, a mobile coffee business built on one bold premise: coffee that's actually good for your body.

Together, Alan and Stella dig into what it really means to build a team you can trust, why hiring for personality beats hiring for a résumé, and how systems and vulnerability can coexist in a tiny mobile workspace. Alan also unpacks the three pillars of trust — clarity, connection, and consistency — and how Stella is already applying them without even realizing it.

👉 If you're a business owner who's doing everything yourself and wondering how to step back without things falling apart, this episode is for you.

Learn more about how TrustBuilt helps business owners build trust-driven teams: trustbuiltsolutions.com

⏱️ Chapters

0:30 – Welcome & Intro: What Is Zenith Coffee Company?

2:25 – The Concept: Coffee That's Actually Good for Your Body

3:16 – How She Funded It 

8:27 – Alan's Three Buckets

11:27 – The Trust Challenge: Handing Your Business Off to Other People

13:04 – Understanding Your Behavioral Style as a Leader

15:47 – Why Most Hiring Posts Attract the Wrong People

21:46 – How Zenith Got 150 Applications in 4 Hours

24:11 – Monthly Meetings, Feedback Loops & Leaning Into Strengths

26:59 – The Three Pillars of Trust: Clarity, Connection & Consistency

28:55 – Why Recognition Can Backfire (and How to Get It Right)

33:24 – The Missing Piece in Most Onboarding Processes

37:30 – Employee Engagement: Communicating Constraints to Your Team

41:29 – How Stella's Team Solves Problems Together

44:13 – Exit Planning, Business Value & Reducing Owner Dependence

47:26 – Where to Find Zenith Coffee Co

Connect with Stella & Zenith Coffee 

🌐 https://www.zenithcoffeeco.com/

💻 https://www.linkedin.com/in/stella-rodda-a9a440204/

Most business owners don’t have a marketing problem.

They have a leadership alignment problem.

In this episode of The TrustBuilt Podcast, Alan sits down with Marc Ensign, founder of LoudMouse, to unpack what a Fractional CMO actually does, why most marketing agencies fail businesses, and how misalignment between sales and marketing quietly destroys trust and revenue.

If you’re spending money on marketing but unsure what’s working—or frustrated by silos between departments—this episode will help you regain clarity, control, and confidence.

👉To learn more about how to build a business that runs without you subscribe to The TrustBuilt Podcast

⏱️Chapters

01:00 – What Is a Fractional CMO? (And Why Small Businesses Need One)

04:35 – From Broadway to Business: Marketing Is About Being Heard

08:20 – Why Most Marketing Agencies Work in Silos

11:20 – Sales vs. Marketing

16:04 – The Metrics That Actually Matter

22:22 – Marketing KPIs Every Service Business Should Measure

28:34 – Client Retention & Trust

31:44 – Why Busy Marketing Doesn’t Equal Growth

33:18 – Free Marketing Resources & How to Use AI

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Connect with Marc & LoudMouse

🌐 https://loudmouse.com/

💻 https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcensign/

What do youth sports, coaching, and business leadership have in common?

More than you think.

In this episode of The TrustBuilt Podcast, Alan sits down with Luke Gromer, founder of RYG Athletics, and operator of Nike Sports Camps across multiple states. What starts as a conversation about youth sports quickly becomes a masterclass on building trust, creating engagement, and developing culture that actually lasts.

If you're a business owner trying to build a team that performs without you micromanaging every move, this episode will hit home.

If you want your business to grow beyond you, this conversation is required listening.

👉To learn more about how to build a business that runs without you subscribe to The TrustBuilt Podcast

⏱️ Chapters

05:00 – The Leadership Tension Every Owner Faces

11:00 – The Foundation of Every High-Performance Culture

15:00 – When You Lose the Locker Room (Or the Team at Work)

24:30 – Scaling Trust: How to Build a Culture Across Multiple Locations

28:00 – The “Secret Sauce”: Connection + Competence = Trust

31:00 – Recognition as a Leadership Tool 

36:00 – Creating Memorable Moments That Build Loyalty

44:00 – How to Design an Experience People Want to Come Back To

46:30 – The Legacy Question: What Will Your Team Say About You?

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Connect with Luke Gromer

💻 https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-gromer/

In this episode, Alan Bennett sits down with Solomon Burchfield, founder of New Beginnings NWA, to explore what business leaders can learn about trust, accountability, purpose, and culture from an organization working with chronically homeless individuals.

While Solomon leads a nonprofit, the leadership lessons apply directly to business owners who want stronger teams, deeper buy-in, and a culture that doesn’t collapse without them.

⏱️Chapters 

02:00 — Understanding Your “Customer”

04:20 — The Hidden Cost of Mistrust in Leadership

08:10 — Trauma, Behavior, and Why Rules Alone Don’t Work

11:15 — “You Don’t Become Homeless When You Run Out of Money”

14:45 — Building Trust Before Enforcing Accountability

17:00 — The ‘Pennies in the Cup’ Approach to Leadership

19:15 — Purpose Drives Engagement 

22:40 — Compassionate Accountability That Actually Works

26:40 — Leadership as Gardening, Not Controlling

30:30 — Horizontal Accountability vs. Top-Down Control

34:15 — Recognition, Care, and Why It’s Free but Rare

38:25 — What Business Owners Can Learn from Nonprofit Leadership

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Connect with Solomon & New Beginnings NWA

💻 https://newbeginningsnwa.org/

What happens when the biggest obstacle to growth isn’t your team, your market, or your systems, but you?

In this episode of The TrustBuilt Podcast, Alan Bennett sits down with Amanda Horn to unpack how self-awareness, trust, and emotional regulation directly impact leadership, decision-making, and long-term business sustainability.

Amanda shares her powerful personal journey and introduces her GRACE Toolkit, a practical framework leaders can use to interrupt destructive patterns, rebuild self-trust, and lead with steadiness instead of burnout.

This conversation is for business owners who feel stretched thin, stuck in reaction mode, and ready to regain control—without hustling harder.

⏱️Chapters

02:15 – The Moment Everything Breaks: Rock Bottom, Wake-Up Calls & Leadership Growth

05:40 – The GRACE Toolkit: A Framework for Breaking Self-Sabotage

09:50 – Self-Sabotage at Work: Rationalization, Perfectionism, and Control

14:10 – Why Leaders Struggle to Trust Themselves (and How to Rebuild It)

18:00 – Perfectionism vs. Progress: Why ‘Good Enough’ Builds Better Businesses

23:45 – One Step at a Time: Creating Real Change Without Overhauling Your Life

29:40 – Morning Habits, Mental Nutrition, and Leadership Energy

35:30 – Emotional Intelligence Is a Perishable Skill (And How to Protect It)

41:00 – Helping Leaders Who Don’t Know They’re Stuck Yet

Connect with Amanda Horn

💻 https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-thiebaud-horn/

💻 https://www.beewellyoga.com/reiki-yoga-appts

What if the thing holding your business back isn’t strategy… but trust?

In this episode of The TrustBuilt Podcast, Alan Bennett is back with therapists and business owners Beth Tellez and Stacey Bankston to unpack one of the most misunderstood leadership challenges business owners face: vulnerability, accountability, and trust inside growing teams.

They explore why many owners believe they have a healthy culture—yet still face high turnover, disengaged employees, and a business that can’t run without them. This conversation bridges therapy, leadership, and business ownership to show how trust is built (or broken) in real time—and why it directly impacts scalability, retention, and exit value.

If you’re tired of carrying everything yourself and wondering why your team won’t fully step up, this episode is for you.

👉To learn more about how to build a business that runs without you subscribe to The TrustBuilt Podcast 

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⏱️Chapters

02:10 — The Hidden Trust Problem in Owner-Dependent Businesses

05:28 — How Childhood Conditioning Shapes Leadership Behavior

08:58 — Accountability Without Fear: Reframing Leadership Responsibility

12:01 — Why Business Owners React Defensively to Accountability

16:15 — Psychological Safety: The Missing Link in Team Performance

21:00 — Designing a Team Model That Attracts the Right People

25:14 — Alignment vs. Misalignment in Partnerships & Teams

32:17 — Scarcity vs. Insecurity: What’s Really Driving Control Issues

37:21 — Kinship-Based Leadership & Why It Scales Better

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Connect with Beth & Stacey

🌐 https://www.creativenwa.com/