THIS Leader Podcast

Someone at the top makes a decision. A new priority, a new initiative, a new direction. And then it lands on someone else — someone who wasn't in the room when the decision got made, who doesn't have the context or the backstory or the why. And they're supposed to just execute. Fast. So they ask a question. They hesitate. And if you're the leader carrying the directive, that response can start to look like resistance. This week I want to reframe that, because in my world that's not a resistance problem. That's an opportunity. In this episode, you'll hear about: Two human reactions directed at each other Nobody wants to be simply told what to do. We want to be included in the decisions that affect us, we want to understand the why, and we want to contribute to the how. When that's missing, what shows up isn't defiance — it's a concern trying to get some air. But the leader on the other side of that conversation is under real pressure too, and that flash of we don't have time for this is just as human. Both reactions are legitimate. What happens next is our episode. Behind the scenes of a real team training A client brought me in to help her team get better at working with change. She felt like she got constant pushback. I walked into the room and opened with a question. The team she'd described as resistant lit up — with real concerns, meaningful feedback, and tactics for improvement I wouldn't have thought of. What we're actually calling "resistance" If you're a regular listener, you might remember SARAH — the acronym describing the stages of our reactions to change: Shock, Anger, Resistance, Acceptance, and Hope. Resistance is a stage, not a character flaw, and it isn't a referendum on your leadership. Think of it like a smoke detector: loud, inconvenient, and not the fire. It's pointing at something, and your job is to go find out what. Why concerns show up in the first place. Your brain is built to notice difference. When everything's the same as it was yesterday, your brain coasts. The moment something changes, it snaps to attention. That's not dysfunction — that's the system working exactly as designed. So when someone on your team raises a concern about a change, they're not malfunctioning. Their brain is doing its job. The iCVA Framework  A framework I use constantly. It's like an accordion — it scales up to a day-long session and down to a single hallway conversation.  i — Intention. Do your work first. Decide, before the conversation starts, that whatever comes up is information you want and not an attack you need to defend against.  C — Concerns. Explore the other person's experience — their worries, questions, or ideas. Let them flow like water. Don't dam them up, don't redirect them, and don't argue. V — Vision. Underneath every concern is something the person hopes for instead. Ask the bridge question: given your concerns, what would you like instead? A — Action. This is the part most of us want to jump to first. But it works far better once the other three are done, because now you're building a plan together instead of selling one. Try This First, notice the urge to combat a concern — and don't. When someone raises an objection, there's an instinct to answer it right away with why they're wrong. It feels productive. It isn't. So this week, when a concern surfaces, ask one more question. Then ask one more after that. See what's underneath it before you respond.  Second, run iCVA through one conversation. It doesn't have to be a meeting, and you don't have to announce that you're doing it. Get your own intention straight before you walk in. Ask about their concerns and genuinely stay on their topic. Then ask what they'd want instead — that's the vision. Only then, talk about what to do. What you'll likely notice is that the plan you land on together is one nobody has to be convinced to implement, because it's theirs. A cohesive team isn't one where everyone agrees. It's one that can raise real concerns, be heard, and still find their way to a shared plan. Resources Mentioned Episode 9: You ARE a Change Leader — the SARAH model of change reactions — https://www.clairelaughlin.com/09 EVOLVE — not just a program, but a community of leaders working through real situations like this one, in real time, with each other — https://www.clairelaughlin.com/evolve Ready to go deeper? If you want to build real clarity, trust, and cohesion into how your team handles change, reach out for a free consultation. Visit clairelaughlin.com and click "Schedule a Consult" at the top of the page. Subscribe & share: If this episode resonated, share it with a leader who needs to hear it. It helps more than you know! Until next time, lead the way!

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: Aspirations to Operations by Dr. Lisa Riegel  NeuroWell by Dr. Lisa Riegel  Dr. Lisa Riegel's author page Learn more about Lisa's keynotes, workshops, and book studies 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!

The 'THIS Leader' podcast explores the transformational, high-impact secrets that turn the ordinary people into extra-ordinary leaders! THIS Leader is hosted by Claire Laughlin, an organizational development consultant. She and her guests will explore: How individuals can enhance their leadership impact by showing up as their personal best, how teams can leverage connection and clarity to experience tremendous results, and how organizations can increase trust and engagement and improve outcomes by putting people and relationships at the center of the business. 

Most leaders want the same thing: for their people to understand the business. But what if the thing that actually changes how people work together isn't understanding the org chart — it's understanding each other? My guest today, Kris Reyes of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, built a ten-month leadership program around exactly that idea, and the results speak for themselves: forty applications a year for fifteen spots, year after year, in a company of around 300 people. In this episode, you'll hear about: How Leadership Boardwalk came to be. Kris carried the idea for years before he put pen to paper in 2017, drawing on his own experience in Leadership Santa Cruz County — a great community program that, in his view, was missing real leadership development. A ten-month structure built around three goals. Kris designed the program so participants would understand the totality of their dynamic company, get to know colleagues they might otherwise never meet, and do real introspective work on who they are as leaders.  Hands-on days that put people in each other's shoes. Maintenance day means real coveralls, welding, and power-washing. Technical services day means programming animatronics. Security day means (optionally) firing a taser at a target. Participants also shadow a manager on duty for four hours in the fall and a security officer for four hours in the spring. The bold decision to build in 360 feedback. Every class opens their own personal 360 feedback report together in December — a vulnerable ask that Kris and Claire agree many organizations shy away from. Kris talks through why he built it in as a given from day one, and what he's watched it do for participants' willingness to seek out feedback going forward. Understanding each other, not just the business. Kris pushes back gently on the common leadership refrain of "I just want my employees to understand the business." His take: what actually helps is when people understand each other's day-to-day work well enough to be kinder and easier to collaborate with. What it takes to get buy-in. Kris's advice for any leader who wants to build something similar: find someone willing to own it, get leadership to trust the vision instead of demanding an ROI projection up front, and expect it to be a heavy — but worthwhile — lift. This week's challenge Pick one department or team in your organization that you personally don't understand well. This week, ask someone on that team if you can shadow them, sit in on a meeting, or just grab twenty minutes to hear what a normal day actually looks like for them. You don't need a ten-month program to start building this kind of understanding. You need one conversation, and the willingness to actually listen to what's hard about their work. That's usually where the real appreciation — and the real collaboration — starts. Resources Mentioned - Leadership Boardwalk: santacruzbeachboardwalk.com/leadership   Leadership Santa Cruz County: leadershipsantacruzcounty.org The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown  Wisdom Takes Work by Ryan Holiday  Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver ABOUT KRIS REYES  Kris Reyes currently serves as the Director of External Affairs and Strategic Development for the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and parent company Santa Cruz Seaside Company. In his role, Kris directs the company's political engagement, government relations, community outreach, internal and external communications, and press strategy. On behalf of the Boardwalk and Seaside Company, Kris manages public policy engagement on sensitive coastal matters and complex development projects. During his career at the Boardwalk, Kris also launched and leads a leadership development program called Leadership Boardwalk — an annual program supporting and developing the Boardwalk's current and emerging leaders. Kris has served as board chair of the California Attractions and Parks Association (CAPA) for nearly ten years. ABOUT THE PODCAST  THIS Leader is for leaders in the public sector and beyond who are committed to building workplaces where people do their best work and actually want to show up. Each week, Claire brings you honest conversations with experts in leadership development, workplace culture, and the science of human performance — because great organizations don't happen by accident. Ready to go deeper? If you want to build the kind of shared understanding and connection Kris describes into how your team operates, reach out for a free consultation. Visit clairelaughlin.com and click "Schedule a Consult" at the top of the page. Subscribe & share: If this episode resonated, share it with a leader who needs to hear it. It helps more than you know! 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 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!

What does it take to build a workplace people don't want to leave? Jason Behrmann, City Manager of the City of Elk Grove, has spent years finding out — and he's refreshingly honest that it's still a work in progress. In this conversation, we get into what he calls a "destination workplace": a place people want to work, and a place with a clear vision. Both halves matter, and you'll hear them show up again and again in this conversation. In this episode, you'll hear about: Why culture needs tending, not just intentions. Jason talks about the ongoing, sometimes unglamorous work behind Elk Grove's culture — employee surveys, stay interviews, and a willingness to keep asking what isn't working. The written leadership expectations he's revised for almost twenty years. Jason shares his executive team expectations openly with the whole organization, on purpose — so employees can hold him and his leadership team accountable. A concrete culture investment: solving childcare for shift workers. One example of how Jason's team turns a stated value into an actual policy.  The council relationship as the make-or-break variable. Jason explains why the relationship between a leader and their governing body shapes everything downstream — staff morale included. Turning "no" into a system. When a council member kept asking for one-off favors, Jason didn't just keep saying no — he built clear, repeatable rules that let him say yes within real parameters. Two Sides of a Destination Workplace  Jason's framework, named from the article he co-authored:  A place people want to go — the culture itself pulls people toward it, so they don't want to leave.  A workplace with a destination in mind — real clarity, built together with the people you lead, about where you're headed and how you'll get there. This Week's Challenge Write down three to five expectations you hold for yourself as a leader — not the aspirational values on your wall, but the specific, sometimes uncomfortable things you want the people you lead to be able to hold you accountable for. Then share it with them, the way Jason did. It's a small shift, but it moves accountability from something abstract to something visible — and it gives the people you lead permission to name it when you're off track, and to see themselves in it too. Resources Mentioned: City of Elk Grove — elkgrove.gov Jason's co-authored article on destination workplaces, forthcoming in the ICMA journal — link to come once published. About Jason Behrmann: Jason has worked for the City of Elk Grove since 2015, and has served as City Manager since January 2019, after serving as Interim and Assistant City Manager. During his tenure, Jason has focused on cultivating an innovative, service-oriented organization aimed at exceeding the expectations of its residents and business community. He's led the development of several major city projects, including Elk Grove's first animal shelter and the District 56 campus with its aquatics center, community center, and the Preserve nature area, as well as the revitalization of the city's historic district. Before Elk Grove, Jason worked for the City of Galt for over ten years, including nearly six as City Manager, and has worked in local government for more than 25 years, having also worked for the cities of Bloomington, IN, San Luis Obispo, CA, and Dublin, CA. Jason holds a Master's degree in Public Affairs from Indiana University and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Brigham Young University. About the Podcast: THIS Leader is for leaders who are committed to building workplaces where people do their best work and are fully engaged. Each week, Claire brings you honest conversations with experts in leadership development, workplace culture, and the science of human performance — because great organizations don't happen by accident. Ready to go deeper? If you want to build real clarity, trust, and cohesion into how your team operates, reach out for a free consultation. Visit clairelaughlin.com and click "Schedule a Consult" at the top of the page. Subscribe & share: If this episode resonated, share it with a leader who needs to hear it. It helps more than you know! 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 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!