THIS Leader Podcast

In this conversation with Irene van der Zande, founder of Kidpower International, we explore how to set and respect workplace boundaries with confidence and kindness.

The Boundary Bridge Technique

Skilled boundary-setters always start with something positive—what Irene calls a "boundary bridge":

• Connect first with something positive
• Use 'and' not, 'but'—bridges don't cut off communication
• Be specific and focus on behavior, not character
• Keep it simple and don't over-explain

Real Scenarios We Practiced

We role-played common workplace situations, from supervisors addressing chatty employees to colleagues setting limits on interruptions. The key is being calm, confident, and prepared for initial pushback while staying focused on the specific behavior that needs to change.

Key Takeaways for Leaders

• Be prepared for negative reactions; persistence is normal
• When someone sets a boundary with you, say, "Thank you for telling me"
• Boundaries create healthy relationships, not barriers
• Remember: it's better if someone tells you directly than talks to everyone else

Resources Mentioned:

1. Kidpower's Workplace Boundaries Personal Practice Guide Download here.
2. For more on Workplace Boundaries Personal Practice, check out this article on Kidpower's website.
3. Free resources at kidpower.org/learnmore

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

In this episode, I expose the sneaky forces that gradually erode team culture—subtle issues that well-meaning leaders overlook until significant damage is done. The biggest threats aren't obvious disasters but silent forces that creep in slowly, robbing teams of energy, focus, and trust. These culture killers are correctable, but first, you need to spot them.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

The 5 Silent Killers:

The Curse of Chaos:

Failing to align on shared priorities. When everything is a priority, nothing is. Solution: Schedule a 90-minute meeting asking, "What's the ONE most important thing we must do now?"

Lack of Urgency and Ownership:

No clear accountability or shared work plans. People work in silos instead of leveraging talents. Solution: Assign one owner for every major project.

Failure to Foster Connection:

Teams stay in "work-acquaintance friend-zone," missing opportunities to understand each other's genius. Solution: Schedule 15-minute connection conversations asking "What's energizing/draining you?"

Sloppy Behavioral Standards:

Tolerating team members who don't follow the same standards as others. This spreads like cancer, especially from executives. Solution: Set clear expectations and enforce consistently—no exceptions.

Undisciplined Process:

Achieving success without knowing how to replicate it. Solution: Document three important processes focusing on decision-making, goal-setting, and meeting design.

Key Insights:

These silent culture killers rob you of workplace joy and fulfillment, but once you can see them, you can stop them. You have the power to reset your culture, starting right now and create an environment where your team does their best work.

Action Steps:

For Culture Killer #1 (Curse of Chaos):

• Schedule a 90-minute alignment meeting with your team
• Ask: "What's the ONE most important thing we have to do now?"
• Repeat your rally cry over and over again
• Ensure each team member understands how their work contributes to that priority

For Culture Killer #2 (Lack of Urgency and Ownership):

• For every major project, assign one owner who's accountable for the outcome
• Make sure those projects are linked to your top clear priorities

For Culture Killer #3 (Failure to Foster Connection):

• Schedule 15-minute connection conversations with each team member
• Ask them: "What's energizing you right now and what's draining you?"
• Bring interesting icebreaker questions to team meetings
• Showcase one person's unique abilities each month
• Do assessments like Working Genius, SparkType, Enneagram, or Myers-Briggs

For Culture Killer #4 (Sloppy Behavioral Standards):

• Have that conversation you've been avoiding
• Set clear behavioral expectations and enforce them consistently—no exceptions

For Culture Killer #5 (Undisciplined Process):

• Document three important processes this week (decision-making, goal-setting, meeting design)
• Write down: "When we do this best, how do we do it?"
• Get input and turn it into a replicable process
• Make your standard processes visible and consistent Measure how people are using them

Remember: You didn't become a leader to manage dysfunction—you became a leader to create something better. Your team is counting on you to create an environment where they can thrive. To learn more about my services and for additional tools to enhance your leadership impact, visit ClaireLaughlin.com and connect with me on social channels @Claire Laughlin Consulting. Until next time, lead the way!

Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! New episodes are released weekly, and we'd love for you to share them with others who might benefit.

In this conversation with Stefka Anderson, HR Director for Global R&D at Driscoll's, we dive into how Driscoll's Global R&D is training leaders to increase change agility. Together, they designed and delivered a comprehensive 10-month "Change Agility" program, that transformed how their entire function (which includes hundreds of employees and spans multiple disciplines and time zones) engages in decision-making and the change process.

The Challenge: Speed vs. Engagement

Driscoll's faced a classic leadership dilemma: how to move quickly in a rapidly changing world while still engaging their brilliant, passionate workforce in meaningful ways. With everything from climate change to AI impacting their industry, they needed a framework that honored both agility and their core values of passion, humility, and trustworthiness.

The Solution: The WIDGET Framework

They implemented the Working Genius model, using what's called the "WIDGET" process that maps how all work gets done:

• Wonder: Asking the right questions
• Invention: Generating ideas and solutions
• Discernment: Evaluating and refining options and clearly crossing the decision line
• Galvanizing: Rallying people around decisions
• Enablement: Providing support and resources
• Tenacity: Pushing through to completion

Above or Below the Decision Line

One of the most powerful concepts was helping people understand whether they're "above the decision line" (in ideation mode) or "below the decision line" (in activation or implementation mode). This clarity helped everyone understand how to contribute their genius at the right time.

The SCARF Model for Improving Emotional Intelligence

They also introduced the SCARF framework to help people understand their emotional responses to change: Status • Certainty • Autonomy • Relatedness • Fairness

Keys to Success

The program succeeded because of several critical factors: leadership commitment, where leaders learned the content first and modeled the behaviors, integration with performance goals so participants are actively applying their learning to their 2025 goals, ongoing reinforcement through regular team meetings, and connection to business strategy rather than just being an HR initiative.

Real-World Application

Post-program, teams are using the language naturally: "I'm in my wonder wheel right now" or "Who holds the D on this decision?" The framework has become a common language that reduces friction and depersonalises conflict while accelerating problem-solving.

Resources Mentioned:

1. The Working Genius Assessment by Patrick Lencioni
2. Program Design Brief available to newsletter subscribers at clairelaughlin.com. Sign up here and submit your request for the brief to [email protected].

Ready to create your own change agility? Start by identifying whether you need more speed, more engagement, or a better framework for bringing both together.

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

In this inspiring episode, I challenge leaders to shift from "accidental learning" to intentional development that accelerates career growth and impact. Most leaders treat professional development like a luxury, squeezing it between priorities or leaving it to chance. This reactive approach keeps you scattered and at risk of becoming irrelevant as leadership demands evolve.

In this episode, you'll hear:

The Problem with Accidental Learning: I share the story of a brilliant new director who felt stuck despite being hardworking and respected. When asked about her development plan, she laughed—she was consuming leadership content but had no structured approach. Without intention, we become consumers of development rather than architects of our growth.

Why This Matters

Research from the Center for Creative Leadership shows 75% of careers are derailed not by lack of technical expertise, but by lack of emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills. The world changes fast—the skills that got you here won't automatically take you where you want to go.

My Five-Strategy Framework for Intentional Development

Strategy1: Start with Clarity. Write down your current role, then your desired future role in 2-3 years. The gap reveals what skills you need to develop.

Strategy 2: Focus on Core Competencies for Your Level

Individual contributors: Self-awareness, emotional intelligence, communication, collaboration

Leads/supervisors: Add coaching, delegation, feedback skills, and conflict navigation

Function managers: Add strategic thinking, team culture development, and leading change

Strategy 3: Create a Learning Portfolio. Choose 1-3 skill areas for the year. For each, create a multi-modal approach:

• Something to read or study
• Something to implement
• Someone to learn from
• Some way to get feedback

Strategy 4: Schedule It Like You Mean It. Block 2-4 hours per month for development during peak energy time, not when you're exhausted.

Strategy 5: Make It Social. Find a development buddy, involve your manager, and join learning communities. Growth happens faster with others.

The Payoff: Leaders who commit to intentional development experience better results with less effort, renewed passion for work, and new opportunities as they become people others want to promote and collaborate with.

Resources Mentioned:

Get your Professional Development Planner HERE!

"The Leadership Challenge" by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner

Action Steps:

• Download the Professional Development Planner
• Complete the first two sections: where you are and where you want to go
• Schedule your first development block
• Share your goals with someone

Growth doesn't happen by accident—it happens by design, and you get to be the architect.

To learn more about my services and for additional tools to enhance your leadership impact, visit ClaireLaughlin.com and connect with me on social channels @Claire Laughlin Consulting. Until next time, lead the way!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! New episodes are released weekly, and we'd love for you to share with others, and give us a rave review!

In this episode, Claire explores the dangerous middle ground between unhealthy conflict and artificial harmony, and why smart teams sometimes hold themselves back by avoiding necessary strategic disagreements.

The Hidden Costs of Artificial Harmony

Most conflict avoidance comes from a good place—leaders trying to maintain relationships and avoid hurting feelings. But we've gotten really good at telling ourselves stories that justify our silence. Sound familiar?

• "This isn't the hill I'm going to die on."
• "She's already made up her mind."
• "I don't have time to fight this right now."
• "If I argue for my approach, this will all end up on my plate."

When people consistently choose these narratives over honest engagement, teams make decisions without the benefit of everyone's full thinking. Smart leaders start disengaging, bringing only 70% of their passion to work while holding back the other 30% to maintain harmony. The result? They agree publicly but resist privately, creating underground conflict that's much harder to address.

The Personal Cost of Chronic Accommodation

When you consistently accommodate and avoid, something insidious happens to you as a leader:

• You stop investing fully in your role
• Your career stalls because you're not developing critical leadership muscles
• You start feeling hopeless and disempowered
• The very relationships you're trying to protect actually begin to erode.

Building Trust Through Productive Conflict

Trust isn't built through constant agreement—it's built through moments of sharing, listening, and offering new perspectives while being respectful of others. People can't really get to know you when you're constantly withholding your real thoughts and opinions.

Four Practical Tools for Productive Disagreement:

1. "Confront Reality" Questions - Create regular opportunities to ask "What are we not talking about?" or rate agreement levels from 1-5
2. Formal Devil's Advocate Role - Assign someone to find risks and poke holes in plans, rotating this responsibility to make disagreement safe.
3. GEDI Decision-Making Framework - Gather, Evaluate, Decide, Implement, with the magic happening when you establish decision criteria before debating options
4. Risk-Mitigation Planning - Build "What could go wrong?" discussions into every significant decision to reward people for surfacing concerns.

Resources Mentioned:

Patrick Lencioni's concept of "Artificial Harmony"

The Key Message: The goal isn't to eliminate conflict—it's to make conflict productive. When you give smart people a process for productive disagreement, they stop avoiding hard conversations and start leaning into them.

To learn more about my services and for additional tools to enhance your leadership impact, visit ClaireLaughlin.com and connect with me on social channels @Claire Laughlin Consulting. Until next time, lead the way!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! New episodes are released weekly, and we'd love for you to share them with others who might benefit.

In this episode, I share a collaborative approach to project management that actually works, without overwhelming complexity. Fresh from facilitating a 3-hour session where 50 managers successfully drafted project plans, I reveal why traditional project management training fails and what works instead. The secret? You're not managing projects—you're managing people.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

The Problem with Traditional Project Management

I share the story of "Fred," an expensive consultant who delivered 40 hours of training that nobody used because it was too complicated. This pattern repeats everywhere: brilliant PMOs can't get teams to adopt complex methodologies, resulting in missed deadlines and frustrated stakeholders.

The Five-Step Process

Step 1: Get Crystal Clear on WHO and WHY

• Conduct sponsor interviews: "What does success look like?"
• Identify customers and what they actually want
• This step alone prevents most project failures

Step 2: Define Boundaries and Anticipate Risks

• Determine what's IN and OUT of scope as a team
• Ask "What could go wrong?" to identify risks upfront
• When teams set boundaries together, they own staying within them

Step 3: Map Your Stakeholders

Use a 2x2 matrix comparing influence with favorability:

• High-influence, supportive = Champions
• High-influence, resistant = Risks needing specific plans
• Create communication plans for different stakeholder needs

Step 4: Action Planning with "Swim Lanes and Sticky Notes"

• Organize work visually into categories (swim lanes)
• Identify deliverables and assign lane leaders
• When people see the whole project, they understand their role

Step 5: Resource Reality Check

Discuss what the project costs in time, money, and political capital. Better to adjust plans now than run out of resources halfway through.

The Results:

Teams experience faster execution, on-time completion, and higher engagement because everyone understands the plan and feels invested in success.

Resources Mentioned:

Project Launch Checklist - Systematic roadmap for each element

When you create understanding through collaborative planning, execution, problem-solving, and effective communication, everything flows more smoothly.

If you're ready to stop managing projects and start leading people through transformational work, let's talk. I'd love to explore how we can bring this approach to your team. Visit ClaireLaughlin.com and connect with me on social channels @Claire Laughlin Consulting.

Until next time, lead the way!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! New episodes are released weekly, and we'd love for you to share them with others who might benefit.

In this conversation with Roxanne Harrison, we explore how ancient wisdom meets modern leadership through the powerful combination of the Enneagram and Qigong practices.

From Resistance to Choice

Roxanne's journey began with a neck injury that forced her to slow down and discover a pattern of constant resistance—always saying "no before yes." This resistance was actually a protective mechanism covering up her natural gifts.

The Golden Buddha Metaphor

Like the famous Thai Buddha statue covered in clay for protection during wartime, we often cover our natural gifts with protective strategies. The invitation isn't to fix ourselves but to gently chisel away the clay and rediscover the gold within.

Three-Centered Awareness

The three treasures in Qigong offer us three centers of intelligence:

• Head center: Where we think and process
• Heart center: Where we feel and connect
• Belly center: Where we sense and act

Understanding Your Stress Response

The Enneagram reveals how different types respond to stress:

• Belly types: Fight response, motivated by autonomy
• Heart types: Freeze response, motivated by connection
• Head types: Flight response, motivated by security

The Five A's Framework for Growth

Dr. David Daniels' framework offers a practical path through reactivity:

1. Awareness: Recognizing what's happening
2. Acceptance: Allowing without needing to fix
3. Appreciation: Finding value in the experience
4. Action: Choosing conscious response
5. Adherence: Committing to the practice

Simple Grounding Practices

When reactive, try: feeling your feet on the ground, taking three breaths, asking "Where's my heart?" and creating a pause before responding.

The Inside-Out Principle

What happens internally reflects externally. The more peace you cultivate within yourself, the more naturally you bring that energy to your leadership.

Resources Mentioned:

Dr. David Daniels' Five A's Framework

Connect with Roxanne at roxanneharrison.com

Ready to move from reactive patterns to conscious leadership? Remember: you're not broken and don't need fixing. You're a mystery to be explored, with gifts waiting to be uncovered.

In this special AMA episode, I tackle two real leadership scenarios that feel like herding cats: uniting a fractured team and creating unified execution from scattered individuals.

Both situations share the same fundamental challenge: bringing people together to create order out of chaos, whether that involves building a shared team culture or driving collective results toward a strategic vision.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

Scenario 1: "How do I unite a fractured team after leadership turmoil?"

Meet "Julie," who inherited a 12-person team that has undergone multiple leadership changes. There's an employee who didn't get her job, showing resistance, people work in silos, and despite surface-level niceness, there's underlying dysfunction and disconnection.

Why This Happens: Research shows 40-70% of leadership transitions fail within 18 months because new leaders underestimate inherited team dynamics. Teams experiencing leadership instability develop "learned helplessness" and become stuck in a perpetual "storming" phase, never reaching the trust necessary for high performance.

The 90-Day Roadmap:

• Phase 1 (Days 1-30): Listen and Observe - Schedule one-on-ones with each team member, asking: "What's working well? What could be better? What are your strengths?" For resistant employees, approach with curiosity: "I know you were interested in this role. How can I make sure your talents are recognized?"
• Phase 2 (Month 2): Co-Create Team Direction - Facilitate a 3-hour team session to establish operating principles. Ask powerful questions like: "Think about a high-functioning team you were part of—what did they DO and NOT DO?" and "What would make THIS the team you're proud to be part of?"
• Phase 3 (Month 3): Establish New Patterns - Measure, reinforce, and implement the co-created norms. Keep promises, communicate transparently, catch people doing things right, and prove your leadership isn't going anywhere.

Scenario 2: "How do I move from managing individuals to leading unified execution?"

Meet "David," a city manager whose strategic plan gets executed in silos with different directors owning isolated parts. He seeks collaborative execution with reduced rework and increased interdependence.

Why This Happens: Up to 90% of organizations fail to execute strategies successfully due to "strategy-to-execution gaps." Without a clear focus and unified direction, teams often default to managing individual tasks rather than driving collective outcomes, as the human brain craves clarity.

The Path Forward:

1. Create Brutal Clarity on Priorities - Limit focus to 3 major initiatives (not 13) that would make the strategic plan successful
2. Implement Short Execution Cycles - Use 90-day challenges supported by 30-day sprints to maintain urgency and focus
3. Build Collective Accountability - Weekly team check-ins where everyone reports on shared goal progress, not individual performance
4. Celebrate Collective Wins - Acknowledge what you accomplished together at the end of each cycle.

Key Insights:

Both scenarios require moving from managing chaos to creating intentional order. The breakthrough comes from recognizing that successful leaders don't wait for perfect conditions—they create them through consistent, intentional actions that build momentum over time.

Whether you're building trust and shared ownership or shifting from individual management to collective leadership, the path forward exists and is more achievable than you think.

Resources Mentioned:

Bruce Tuckman's team development model (forming, storming, norming, performing)

"The Balanced Scorecard" research on strategy execution failures

Do you have a leadership challenge you'd like me to address? Visit clairelaughlin.com/podcast to submit your question!

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

Until next time, lead the way!

In this episode, I challenge the idea that workplace misery is normal. You have a right to fairness, respect, psychological safety, and meaningful work—but rights without responsibility are just complaints.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

The Three Essential Roles: Everyone plays these roles in creating workplace culture, regardless of job title

• Owner Role - Orienting energy toward both happiness and productivity
• Manager/Leader Role - Establishing expectations and protecting culture
• Producer Role - Bringing your best self to work daily

I share how a director transformed her team's energy by simply asking: "What's one thing you accomplished this past week, and what's one thing you're excited to work on next week?"

The Happiness-Productivity Matrix: A simple way to assess your workplace with four quadrants:

• Top Right (Sweet Spot): High happiness + High productivity
• Top Left (Unsustainable): High happiness + Low productivity
• Bottom Left (Danger Zone): Low happiness + Low productivity (toxic)
• Bottom Right (Burnout Zone): Low happiness + High productivity

Seven Strategies for Positive Change: Before considering an exit strategy, try these for 6-9 months:

1. Build relationships with change-minded colleagues
2. Focus on solutions, not complaints
3. Support claims with data, not emotions
4. Make small, specific proposals
5. Find allies in leadership
6. Document your efforts
7. Model desired behavior.

Warning Signs of Toxic Workplaces: Watch for information hoarding, blame culture, inconsistent messaging, chronic overwhelm, gossip as a form of communication, a lack of psychological safety, and high turnover rates.

Resources Mentioned:

Creating Role Clarity resource - To get clear about your contribution

The Key Message: When we collectively raise standards and take responsibility for our contribution, workplaces transform. Your life energy deserves better than dysfunction.

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

Until next time, lead the way!

In this inspiring conversation with communication expert Jared Fujishin, we explore his powerful "connection's key is less of me" framework that transforms how leaders build trust, influence, and loyalty.

The Foundation: Less of Me, More Connection

The most effective leaders aren't focused on themselves—they're genuinely invested in others. When leaders operate from a "me, me, me" mentality, people comply but don't commit. They'll leave for slightly better opportunities because there's no real connection holding them there.

Moving from Authority to Influence

There's a huge difference between authority ("do it because I'm the boss") and leadership ("follow me, here's where we're going"). When people feel genuinely cared for, they give discretionary effort—the energy that transforms organizations.

Practical Connection Strategies:

1. 10-minute check-ins: Weekly conversations asking "How are you and what do I need to know?" and "What can I do for you this week?"
2. Simple acknowledgments: Follow-up emails recognizing contributions
3. Present-moment awareness: Being fully where you are with who you're with

Building Trust Through Authenticity

Trust grows when leaders create safe spaces for real conversations—both positive and difficult ones. This means having hard conversations with care, checking in when performance dips, and modeling that it's safe to be authentic.

Your North Star Exercise

Visualize the culture you want in five years. What do you want people to feel when they leave your office? Use that vision to guide daily actions that build toward that future.

Resources Mentioned:

1. Jared Fujishin's TED Talk: "How to Connect with Anyone You Meet"
2. Connect with Jared at West Valley College or on LinkedIn
3. The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything by Stephen M. R. Covey
4. Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality by Dr. Henry Cloud
5. The Natural Speaker by Randy Fujishin

(Correction: Please note - during the podcast I mentioned Randy Fujishin's book, The Natural Speaker, by the incorrect title. The correct title is "The Natural Speaker." The link to the book is provided above).

Ready to lead through authentic connection? Start by shifting from "me, me, me" to genuinely putting others first.

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