Vibecast

Sometimes the most productive thing a leader can do is stop doing. Kristi sits down with Rosie Ward, CEO and co-founder of Salveo Partners, to explore what happens when we trade autopilot for intentionality. Rosie shares what she discovered while taking on the 75 Vibes challenge, including why connection is the first thing she loses when life gets busy, how "human doing" gets in the way of human being, and why the practices meant to help us should never become another stressful checkbox. From setting healthier boundaries to creating psychological safety through "F-Up Fridays," Rosie reveals how small, deliberate practices can reshape the way leaders show up for themselves and their teams. The takeaway is simple but powerful: pause before you react, question the story you're telling yourself, and create enough space to lead like a human.   Additional Resources: Connect with Rosie on LinkedIn Learn more about Salveo Partners Listen to Rosie's podcast Connect with Kristi on LinkedIn Subscribe to Kristi's YouTube for more Vibecast content! Learn more about Skutvik Consulting Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn Learn more about PeopleForward Network   Key Takeaways: Pause before reacting to disrupt your automatic patterns. Connection often disappears first when busyness takes over. Deliberate practices matter more than rigid habits. Leaders create safety by modeling vulnerability first. Healthy boundaries give teams room to step up.  

Work takes up too much of our lives to feel like a four-letter word. So how do leaders create a workplace where people genuinely want to show up? Kristi sits down with Chris Allaire, founder and CEO of Averity, to unpack what it takes to build a people-first culture rooted in purpose, appreciation, authenticity, and fun. Chris shares the "laws" that shape his company, why he hires people before skill sets, and how celebrating even the small wins can keep a remote team connected and energized. From shifting "I have to" into "I get to" to practicing his simple "feel, think, act" approach, Chris challenges leaders to stop managing numbers and start leading humans. Because when people understand their purpose, feel supported, and actually enjoy the work, the results have a way of following.   Additional Resources: Connect with Chris on LinkedIn Learn more about Averity Connect with Kristi on LinkedIn Subscribe to Kristi's YouTube for more Vibecast content! Learn more about Skutvik Consulting Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn Learn more about PeopleForward Network   Key Takeaways: Hire the person before you hire the skill set. Replace "have to" with the mindset of "get to." Celebrate small wins to strengthen connection and momentum. People-first leadership puts systems and results in perspective. Know your purpose before chasing the desired outcome.  

Nam Nguyen is the founder and CEO of Supervillain, a creative marketing agency built on the belief that the boldest voices are often the ones that get misunderstood. Before launching Supervillain, Nam served as Global Executive Creative Director at Intel, where he helped build one of the company's most diverse and innovative creative organizations. In this conversation, Nam gets personal about the experiences that shaped his approach to leadership, from growing up as the heavily bullied son of immigrants in Silicon Valley to the basketball coach who changed everything by simply saying "come play with us." He and Kristi dig into why workplace vibe is about energy, chemistry, and purpose rather than perks, why today's leaders need to think in terms of legacy rather than moments, and why the shift to remote work has made it harder than ever to truly see the people on your team.   Additional Resources: Connect with Nam Nguyen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/namnguyen/ Learn more about Supervillain: https://sv.xyz/ Subscribe to Kristi's YouTube for more Vibecast content! Learn more about Skutvik Consulting Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn Learn more about PeopleForward Network   Key Takeaways: Workplace vibe is the energy, chemistry, and purpose underneath the surface, not the free lunches and ping pong tables. Small moments of inclusion can change someone's entire trajectory, and leaders need to pay attention to who is sitting on the sidelines. Legacy-minded leaders ask what they are building that will outlast them rather than chasing recognition in the moment. Remote work makes it harder to pick up on how people are really doing, and leaders have to be more intentional about checking in. Telling your team that you see them and value their work is not optional, it is a core responsibility of leadership.

Big dreams do more than inspire people. They can transform the way people show up at work. Kristi sits down with Kate Volman, CEO of Floyd Consulting, executive coach, author, and certified Dream Manager. Kate shares how supportive leaders helped her pursue bold ideas, discover her strengths, and build a career rooted in creativity, community, and meaningful work. Together, Kristi and Kate explore why people thrive when leaders care about their personal dreams, how the Dream Manager program creates stronger relationships and healthier cultures, and the simple question that can change your next one-on-one: "What are your dreams?"   Additional Resources: Connect with Kate on LinkedIn Learn more about The Dream Manager Listen to Kate's podcast: Create for No Reason Listen to Kate's podcast: Lead with Culture Subscribe to Kristi's YouTube for more Vibecast content! Learn more about Skutvik Consulting Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn Learn more about PeopleForward Network   Key Takeaways: People thrive when leaders support their personal dreams. Autonomy creates space for creativity, growth, and ownership. Strong cultures begin with genuine care for people. Dream conversations strengthen engagement, confidence, and connection. Ask employees what they want to achieve.

What happens when the leader who's supposed to set the tone for the whole team is running on fumes, firing off reactive emails, and operating from survival mode instead of strategy? 🎙️ In this episode, Kristi Skutvik sits down with Dianne Armstrong, founder of Armstrong Performance Consulting and a somatic-certified executive coach with a career spanning Big Eight consulting, Pepsi, Neiman Marcus, Flex, and McKesson. Dianne shares her journey from leading massive organizational transformations to discovering that the most powerful lever for change is the leader's own inner state, and why she now dedicates her work to helping executives lead from the inside out. They explore what Dianne calls the "green zone," a state of nervous system regulation where leaders can access creativity, trust, and strategic thinking, versus the reactive fight, flight, freeze, or appease patterns that take over under chronic stress. Dianne breaks down the neuroscience of priming and reframing, explains how emotions get encoded in the body over time, and offers a deceptively simple starting point: five minutes of daily self-observation without judgment. Her turnaround stories show that even small shifts in awareness can transform how leaders show up for their teams, their families, and themselves. Additional Resources: Connect with Dianne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianne-armstrong-5791472/ Learn more about Armstrong Performance Consulting: https://www.linkedin.com/company/armstrong-performance-consulting/ Simon Sinek on Triggers: https://youtube.com/shorts/RDe1c5hXcdI?si=SCs6iDs7ydXeIKin Book: The Body Keeps the Score: https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma/dp/0143127748 Book: When The Body Says No: https://www.amazon.com/When-Body-Says-Understanding-Stress-Disease/dp/0470923350 Subscribe to Kristi's YouTube for more Vibecast content: https://youtube.com/@kristiskutvik?si=ZzyIX7yyCRukXgNy Learn more about Skutvik Consulting: https://www.skutvikconsulting.com/ Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peopleforward-network Learn more about PeopleForward Network: https://peopleforwardnetwork.com/ Key Takeaways: Leaders set the emotional weather for their teams, and no one around them will operate in a better state than the leader themselves. The "green zone" is a state of nervous system regulation where creativity, trust, strategic thinking, and collaboration become accessible, and chronic stress shuts all of it down. Neuroscience-backed techniques like labeling emotions and reframing stressful situations can physically change the neurochemicals in your body and shift how you experience pressure. Somatic awareness, paying attention to where stress shows up in your body, is a powerful first step toward breaking reactive patterns that have been building for years. Five minutes of daily self-observation without judgment is enough to start rewiring how you respond under pressure, and the awareness naturally moves closer and closer to the triggering moment over time. The defensive mechanisms that got you here (fight, flight, freeze, appease) deserve gratitude, not shame. The goal is not to eliminate them but to bring choice back into the equation.