THIS Leader Podcast

Leadership has a way of pulling us into constant motion. Decisions to make. Problems to solve. Expectations to meet. And over time, it becomes surprisingly easy to lead from urgency instead of intention.

Without even realizing it, many of us drift away from the values, strengths, and deeper sense of purpose that once grounded us. We become highly productive, highly responsible… and quietly disconnected from ourselves.

In this episode, Claire introduces the practice of building a leadership identity and makes the case for why it's the foundation of everything else. She explores what it means to develop a leadership identity and why knowing your "true north" is foundational to sustainable, purpose-driven leadership.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

• How Claire describes leadership identity, and why it goes far beyond your title, role, or performance indicators

• Four elements that shape how you lead: your values, strengths, learning edges, and role requirements

• How leaders can slowly drift away from themselves over time even when they deeply care about their work

• Claire's personal story of discontent, reflection, and the question that changed everything: "Who am I actually trying to be?"

• How a clear sense of purpose helps you navigate difficult decisions, conversations, and seasons with more confidence and alignment

Resources mentioned:

• EVOLVE — Claire's leadership development platform, built for growth-minded leaders who want real tools and real community. Learn more at https://www.clairelaughlin.com/evolve

• Free Consultation — Not sure if EVOLVE is right for you? Grab a free call at clairelaughlin.com

What's your WHY? Share your answer with Claire on LinkedIn — she reads every one.

Don't forget to Subscribe & Share:

If this episode was helpful, please leave a 5-star review on Apple or Spotify and share it with a friend or colleague!

To learn more about my services, subscribe to my newsletter, and for additional tools to enhance your leadership impact, visit ClaireLaughlin.com and connect with me @Claire Laughlin Consulting on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! New episodes are released weekly, so be sure to subscribe.

Until next time, lead the way!

You're a capable, committed leader, but why does it sometimes feel like your best thinking disappears exactly when you need it most? In this episode, I sit down with leadership coach Lisa Alessi to explore what's actually happening in your nervous system when pressure hits and what to do about it.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why you cannot think your way out of a triggered state and what to do instead
• How to recognize the four stress responses (fight, flight, fawn, and freeze) in yourself and your team
• What might happen when the strategies that made you successful as an individual contributor work against you in a leadership role
• Practical self-regulation techniques you can use in the moment and build into your daily habits
• How your own nervous system regulation directly impacts the people you lead

Resources mentioned:

1. Lisa's Above/Below the Line handout
2. Lisa Alessi's website
3. Episode 64: Stop Feeding the Beast

Visit ClaireLaughlin.com and connect with me @Claire Laughlin Consulting on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Thanks for listening! New episodes are released weekly. Share with others who might benefit!

Telling your team "it's safe to speak up" isn't enough to create the kind of high-performing teamwork that you're looking for. In this episode, Janet Williams, founder of Progressive Discoveries and a 25-year veteran of complex, high-stakes organizations, joins me to unpack what psychological safety in an organization really is.

Here's what we dig into:

• Why silence is a signal, not a personality trait. When people stop talking, leaders lose access to their team's best thinking, and often don't even know it's happening.
• Trust is the copilot. Janet unpacks Stephen Covey's emotional bank account concept and explains why safety can't exist without consistent, daily deposits of trust.
• Timothy Clark's Four Stages of Psychological Safety- inclusion, learner, contributor, and challenger safety. We also chat about why Janet believes learner safety is the most critical for today's fast-changing organizations.
• The problem with putting people on the spot in meetings. A simple fix: share your agenda questions in advance so people can come prepared and contribute thoughtfully.
• Why assessment beats assumption. If you want to know where your team actually stands, a third-party instrument will get you honest answers that a direct conversation won't.

Psychological safety in the workplace isn't soft. It's what makes everything else work.

Resources mentioned:

1. Progressive Discoveries Website
2. Janet Williams' LinkedIn

Visit ClaireLaughlin.com and connect with me @Claire Laughlin Consulting on Instagram and LinkedIn.Thanks for listening!

New episodes are released weekly. Share with others who might benefit!

We all have our "things" that frustrate us to no end— the slow driver in the fast lane, the dish that's always left in the sink by an inconsiderate co-worker, the skyrocketing grocery bill. And without realizing it, we often retell our frustrating stories, amplify our own indignation, and exaggerate the stress that comes with these experiences time and again.

In this episode, Claire explores the habit of "feeding the beast" and what it quietly costs us as leaders.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

• How the stories we tell become the lens we lead through (so beware when your stories are negative!)
• The real cost of reactive leadership, and how your nervous system state is literally contagious to your team.
• How to use your body as an early warning system to help you catch a stress overload.
• Four practical self-regulation tools, including 4-7-8 breathing, daily movement, grounding, and your morning routine as infrastructure (not just habit).
• The philosophy shift I urge you to make. And why becoming someone who actively lowers stress is a foundational leadership practice, not a luxury.

Resources Mentioned:

• EVOLVE — Claire's leadership development platform, built for growth-minded leaders who want real tools and real community. Learn more at https://www.clairelaughlin.com/evolve
• Previous episode: How to get unstuck with Dr. Ryan Gottfredson
• Earlier episode: Love Letter to Life - Claire's morning routine

Citations:

• Porges, S.W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation. W. W. Norton & Company.
• Rock, D. (2008). SCARF: A brain-based model for collaborating with and influencing others. NeuroLeadership Journal, 1, 1–9. — (Referenced in Ep. 9; relevant for threat response/stress activation)

Join the Conversation:

Are you looking for greater leadership support? What's keeping you up at night? Share your thoughts with me on LinkedIn @Claire Laughlin

Don't forget to Subscribe & Share:

If this episode was helpful, please leave a 5-star review on Apple or Spotify and share it with a friend or colleague!

To learn more about my services, subscribe to my newsletter, and for additional tools to enhance your leadership impact, visit ClaireLaughlin.com and connect with me on social channels @Claire Laughlin Consulting.

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! New episodes are released weekly, so be sure to subscribe.

Until next time, lead the way!

You're working hard. You're skilled. You're committed. So why do the same frustrations keep showing up — in your team, in your organization, and if you're honest, in yourself?

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Ryan Gottfredson — Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author, professor of leadership at Cal State Fullerton, and global authority on vertical development — to explore the question that changes everything: it's not what leaders need to do, it's who leaders need to be.

We dig into:

• The difference between your Doing Side (talent, knowledge, skills) and your Being Side (mindsets, emotional regulation, internal operating system) — and why most leaders miss their "being" side
• The three vertical development levels — Mind 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 — and why 64% of adults never move beyond the first
• What Fifth Gear leadership looks like (urgency, control, high RPMs) and why pushing harder only leads to more burnout
• How shifting into Sixth Gear allows you to move faster with less strain — and what it actually takes to get there
• Three levels of Being Side development work: surface, deeper, and deepest — and practical starting points for each
• Why our fears and unconscious programming, not our lack of skill, are what's really holding us back

Resources Mentioned:

1. Ryan Gottfredson's website & free assessments (Personal Mindset Assessment + Vertical Development Assessment)
2. Becoming Better: The Groundbreaking Science of Personal Transformation by Dr. Ryan Gottfredson
3. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
4. The Five Minute Journal by Intelligent Change
5. You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero
6. Hit Refresh by Satya Nadella

Visit ClaireLaughlin.com and connect with me @Claire Laughlin Consulting on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Thanks for listening!

New episodes are released weekly—share with others who might benefit!

You invested in someone. You coached them, advocated for them, went to bat for them. And then — they expected more than they'd earned. If that story sounds familiar, this episode is for you.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

The Three E's Framework — Engagement (the goal), Enablement (your role), and Entitlement (the signal that something needs to shift) — and why knowing the difference changes how you lead.

The Generational Reality — What the research actually says about entitlement in today's workplace, and how to tell the difference between genuine entitlement and something else entirely.

Three Patterns to Watch — The Generosity Gap, the Empathy Trap, and the Solver Problem — common ways well-meaning leaders can unintentionally feed entitlement on their teams.

Four Tactics You Can Use Now:

• Name expectations clearly and early
• Have the direct conversation — without the lecture
• Distinguish empathy from accommodation
• Stop solving. Start asking.

Resources Mentioned:

EVOLVE — Claire's leadership development platform, built for growth-minded leaders who want real tools and real community. Learn more at https://www.clairelaughlin.com/evolve

Join the Conversation:

Is your organization experiencing the effects of low trust? How do you know? What strategies are you using to address challenging, low-trust behaviors? Share your thoughts with me on LinkedIn or Instagram @Claire Laughlin Consulting.

Don't forget to Subscribe & Share:

If this episode was helpful, please leave a 5-star review on Apple or Spotify and share it with a friend or colleague!

To learn more about my services, subscribe to my newsletter, and for additional tools to enhance your leadership impact, visit ClaireLaughlin.com and connect with me on social channels @Claire Laughlin Consulting.

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! New episodes are released weekly, so be sure to subscribe.

Until next time, lead the way!

In this Q&A episode, Claire responds to two questions from leaders navigating trust challenges they didn't create — what she calls the Trust Tax.

Question 1: The Inherited Accountability Vacuum. A leader inherits a team that has always operated independently — without clear standards or consistent oversight. Now every attempt to introduce accountability is met with resistance and defensiveness. Claire's four moves for navigating this:

• Connect first — listen, share your story, and lead with authentic vulnerability
• Share your vision — give people a compelling reason to show up differently
• Co-create the norms — people defend what they helped build
• Start with new work — introduce accountability structures on fresh projects, not territory people already own

Question 2: Paying Someone Else's Trust Bill. A leader is navigating the fallout of a very public organizational scandal — with a reeling team, suffering productivity, and his own integrity under the microscope. Claire's guidance:

• Give yourself grace first — you were betrayed too
• Show up human before you show up as a leader.
• Let your actions speak louder than your words
• Stay close — don't pull back during a crisis
• Be the buffer between organizational chaos and your team
• Name the elephant, regularly

Resources Mentioned:

Building a High-Trust Workplace course

Join the Conversation:

Is your organization experiencing the effects of low trust? How do you know? What strategies are you using to address challenging, low-trust behaviors? Share your thoughts with me on LinkedIn or Instagram @Claire Laughlin Consulting.

Don't forget to Subscribe & Share:

If this episode was helpful, please leave a 5-star review on Apple or Spotify and share it with a friend or colleague!

To learn more about my services, subscribe to my newsletter, and for additional tools to enhance your leadership impact, visit ClaireLaughlin.com and connect with me on social channels @Claire Laughlin Consulting.

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! New episodes are released weekly, so be sure to subscribe.

Until next time, lead the way!

What happens when the person who helps organizations develop their people hits a wall of their own? Jeremy Hannah spent 20 years building talent ecosystems inside Fortune 500s and fast-growing companies — then burned out so completely he questioned whether he wanted to do the work at all. What followed was a globe-trotting sabbatical across 21 countries, a rediscovery of his own curiosity, and a return to this work with deeper clarity and purpose than ever. In this conversation, Jeremy shares both the personal journey and the practical frameworks leaders need to build talent pipelines that keep people engaged.

What You'll Learn

• Why burnout can be a signal worth listening to — and what bold action can look like on the other side.
• Why talent development is a team sport — and how hoarding your best people quietly destroys organizations.
• The Build, Buy, Borrow framework for thinking strategically about your talent landscape.
• Why career conversations are an act of organizational courage — even when they're uncomfortable.
• The real cost of not developing your people — and where to start.

Key Insights

1. Burnout as a catalyst, not a failure. Jeremy's decision to sell everything and travel the world wasn't impulsive — it was a values-driven response to a life that had stopped fitting. Sometimes "more of the same" is the real risk, not the bold leap.

2. Talent development is a team sport. Leaders who protect their best people by keeping them invisible are actively undermining the company. Leadership teams need to see all of their talent collectively — not in silos.

3. The Build, Buy, Borrow framework. A practical, memorable framework for workforce strategy — paired with the People, Process, Platform lens — gives leaders a concrete architecture for building talent ecosystems that actually work.

4. Career conversations as organizational courage. Supporting people in their careers — even if that means leaving your organization — is counterintuitive retention strategy. Employees who feel genuinely supported are far more likely to return.

5. Professional athletes at the top of their game still have coaches. Why don't we look at our careers the same way? High performers need outside perspective to keep growing — not just when they're struggling, but especially when they're not.

Notable Quotes

"Professional athletes at the height of their career — the best in the world — still have coaches. Why don't we look at our careers the same way?"

"I rediscovered my curiosity. I didn't realize I had lost it. And curiosity is all a great coach really is — asking the right questions to help create the path forward."

"The goal is to support people in their career — even if that means leaving your organization. Because those people are far more likely to come back once they've gotten what they needed elsewhere."

Connect with Jeremy Hannah

LinkedIn & Instagram

Website: viantetalent.com

Your Action Prompt

Who on your team hasn't had a real career conversation in the last six months? That's your starting point.

We've all been there — a conversation shifts, our chest tightens, and we either shut down or come out swinging. Neither response is what we want, but most of us were never taught how to handle conflict well. That's exactly what this episode is about.

Conflict resolution expert Maryse Postlewaite shares her Five Keys to Conflict Resolution — a practical framework built around the internal tools leaders need most:

• Trust & Affirmations — Build rapport consistently, not just when things go sideways. Try starting meetings with: "If you really knew me, you'd know..."
• Cooperation — Practice being open to other people's ideas so when conflict arises, the muscle is already there
• Communication — The words we use don't always mean what we think they mean — and unpacking that gap is powerful
• Perspective-Taking — Your lived experience shapes how you see every situation; learning to notice your unique perspective and the perspectives of others changes everything
• Neuroscience — When we're triggered, our thinking brain goes offline. Knowing this — and asking for a pause — is a skill we can all develop and one that helps you stay calm
• Maryse shares why a five-minute investment before a conflict escalates is worth more than any roadmap, and why leading with authenticity and assuming positive intent can shift the dynamic entirely.

Resources Mentioned:

1. Maryse's self-paced course
2. The Awakened Brain by Dr. Lisa Miller
3. Connect with Maryse on LinkedIn

Visit ClaireLaughlin.com and connect with me @Claire Laughlin Consulting on Instagram and LinkedIn. Thanks for listening! New episodes are released weekly—share with others who might benefit!

What if the resistance, disengagement, and burnout you're seeing on your team has nothing to do with your people — and everything to do with what's happening inside their brains?

In this episode, Claire sits down with Dr. Lisa Riegel, brain-based leadership expert and author of Aspirations to Operations, to explore the neuroscience behind why people behave the way they do at work — and what leaders can do about it.

From the invisible filters that shape every person's reality, to why culture is never about the poster on the wall, to the 3-minute daily team ritual that transformed an entire hospital culture — this conversation is packed with insights that will change how you see your role as a leader.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Welcome and intro — how Lisa went from selling grease systems for tractors to brain-based leadership
• Why culture is not words — it's a collection of actions that become "the way we do things"
• The neuroscience of belonging: what happens in the brain when people feel safe vs. threatened
• Meet Harold and Bob — Lisa's brilliant framework for understanding how her brain processes reality
• The banana and the strainer: why every person's perception of reality is different
• Why resistance to change usually has nothing to do with the change itself
• The 3-minute hospital circle ritual that reduced a team's stress load
• The "Punch It Up" culture-building program — and why voluntary, opt-in connection beats the annual pizza party every time
• Lisa's 8 C Framework from Aspirations to Operations: Culture, Clarity, Coherence, Cadence, Collaboration, Coaching, Communication, and Celebration
• The single most important question a leader can ask themselves when their team isn't following along

Resources Mentioned:

1. Aspirations to Operations by Dr. Lisa Riegel
2. NeuroWell by Dr. Lisa Riegel
3. Dr. Lisa Riegel's author page
4. Learn more about Lisa's keynotes, workshops, and book studies
5. Visit ClaireLaughlin.com and connect with me @Claire Laughlin Consulting on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Thanks for listening!

New episodes are released weekly—share with others who might benefit!