Episodes

  • Episode #67: Leading Through Chaos: The Secret to Keeping Your Team Aligned and High-Performing When Demand Is High

    Episode #67: Leading Through Chaos: The Secret to Keeping Your Team Aligned and High-Performing When Demand Is High
    Dec 4 2025
    When your business is hit by a pandemic, a capacity crunch, or clients who treat your work like a commodity, how do you protect your people, your standards, and your own sanity? In this episode of Missing Conversations, hosts Dan Winter and Heather Neely talk with Jeff Weinberg, owner of JW Catering, who has spent 25 years in Silicon Valley "controlling chaos" as he and his team serve events from 5 to 5,000 people. Jeff shares how a chance complaint at a concert turned into a decades-long partnership, how he and his team pivoted in just five weeks to ghost kitchens and a pop-up Jewish deli during COVID, and how he keeps reinventing and reimagining the business so his people can keep working, learning, and caring for their community. His story shows how to design teams that run without you, balance demanding customers with clear boundaries, and protect capacity and morale, all while continuing to align people and vision as conditions shift. 🎧 Listen in to hear how strong leaders keep their teams coordinated and grounded when work is demanding and change is fast. Key Moments You'll Want to Hear 01:34: The accidental contract that launched a 25-year leadership journey. 03:19: Designing systems that allow teams to thrive when every day is different. 04:22: What leaders gain when they step back and let experts lead. 06:01: Building frontline teams who can adapt in the moment. 08:23: Why knowing people's lives makes leaders better at developing talent. 11:08: Navigating friend–client relationships without sacrificing your team and their capacity. 11:58: The five-week sprint that saved jobs and kept the business alive. 18:04: Making crisis decisions that take care of the people who need you most. 21:07: Reading early signals and walking away from misaligned clients. 23:03: Competing with being seen as a commodity by educating customers and staff. 26:35: Teaching a new generation what real hospitality looks like. 30:08: The secret to staying relevant through booms, busts, and a pandemic. 31:54: Managing capacity when everything is urgent and important. 34:54: How small acts of gratitude sustain teams during the most demanding times. 35:52: Providing opportunities for your team to choose who you serve in the community. 37:47: Creating true owner freedom by trusting your bench. 39:44: Holding the space for your team to learn the lessons that make them better. 41:32: Expecting your team to own outcomes with integrity and care. 42:52: Learning to speak carefully and listen differently. 44:47: The inner work of blending leadership styles so partnerships thrive. By the end of this conversation, you'll hear answers to: How do I build a team that can operate independently so I can step back without losing quality or momentum? Independence grows when leaders create space for others to truly own the work rather than wait for direction. When leaders step back with intention, they invite their staff to make decisions that reflect their own care for the work, the clients, and the people they serve. A simple question like "Can you live with this decision?" shifts the conversation from task completion to responsibility, reflection, and commitment. Over time, the team stops looking upward for permission and starts acting from shared ownership, holding the whole, not just their part, while preserving the standards and reputation of the founder. Timestamps: 04:22, 37:47, 41:32 How do I protect my team's capacity, well-being, and morale when demand outpaces resources? Capacity holds when leaders see their people as humans with limits, not just roles to be filled. Protecting the team starts with paying close attention to energy, overwhelm, and mood. When demand increases, leaders pause to ask what the human cost of a "yes" might be and how to distribute work in a way that preserves dignity and pace. Small, consistent gestures such as shared meals, coffee runs, chair massages, and moments of humor restore people's capacity and reinforce connection. When teams feel cared for, they meet challenges with steadiness, creativity, and a willingness to meet the demand together. Timestamps: 31:54, 34:31–35:39, 21:07–22:42 How do I lead through crisis in a way that protects my people while keeping the business alive? Human-centered crisis leadership begins with asking who will be most affected if the organization pulls back, and choosing to act from care rather than fear. When Covid shut everything down, Jeff rebuilt the business in five weeks so his staff could continue supporting themselves. Ghost kitchens, walk-up service, and a pop-up deli weren't just business pivots; they were commitments to dignity, stability, and community. Leading from responsibility created loyalty, resilience, and a culture strong enough to move through uncertainty together. Timestamps: 11:58–16:49, 18:04–19:22, 30:08–30:58 We need to take care of everybody from a mental, as well as physical, standpoint. About Jeff Weinberg Leveraging his ...
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    48 mins
  • Episode #66: Facing Uncertainty? Here's The One Thing Your Team Needs Most From You Today

    Episode #66: Facing Uncertainty? Here's The One Thing Your Team Needs Most From You Today
    Nov 26 2025
    When your organization is moving fast and uncertainty spikes, your leadership presence becomes the difference between a team that breaks and one that moves forward together. In this episode of Missing Conversations, hosts Lynette Winter and Ellen Burton sit down with Amy Riley, an internationally respected leadership coach, speaker, and author who has spent over two decades helping leaders bring out the best in their teams. Amy shares insights from rooms where jobs were on the line, strategies were rewritten overnight, and leaders had to align vision and reality in real time—VPs steadying anxious sales teams, presidents leading through layoffs with honesty and care, and CEOs saying "yes" to their teams so ownership and capability could grow. Together, they explore how to name what you know and what you don't, invite multiple perspectives into the conversation, ground tough decisions in values, and rebuild trust moment by moment so that people feel seen, stay engaged, and move with you through uncertainty. Key Moments You'll Want to Hear 01:49: The one simple action leaders can take to understand what their teams really need. 02:42: Why transparent, forward-focused dialogue strengthens trust and anchors teams during change. 04:14: How one VP calmed a rattled salesforce by clearly stating what's known, what's unknown, and how they'll figure it out together. 07:14: How leaders can confidently say "I don't know" without losing credibility 08:58: The practical questions leaders can use to surface alternative perspectives and expand what's possible. 10:20: What people invent in the absence of information, and how silence drains focus, loyalty, and trust. 11:43: Leading through layoffs: How one president met people with empathy and honesty, inspiring them to come back when stability returned. 13:33: How to stay present, human, and connected in the hardest conversations. 15:15: The link between emotional intelligence and the courageous decisions leaders must make under pressure. 16:07: How one CEO protected culture, deepened ownership, and still got to a better solution by saying "Yes" to a team idea he wasn't so certain would work. 17:32: Why letting teams try, fail, and adjust grows more capability than directing them from the corner office. 18:58: The leadership pause: a quick reset that interrupts reactivity, checks assumptions, and leads to more intentional action. 21:05: Why naming your assumptions out loud opens up better strategies and clearer decision-making. 22:18: How leaders can design the conditions where teams step up, take ownership, and make strong decisions. 25:09: How values anchor tough decisions, protect standards, and guide hard conversations. 29:06: "How do we want to be together?"—the question that grounds teams through disruption. 30:16: The one thing we have control of in times of change and uncertainty: how we show up. 32:01: How presence, transparency, and follow-through rebuild trust faster than most leaders realize. 34:32: A simple trust equation leaders can use to repair relationships and strengthen commitment. By the end of this conversation, you'll hear answers to: How do I communicate confidently when I don't have all the answers? Leaders strengthen trust by naming what they know, naming what they don't, and engaging the room in co-creating the path forward. Amy shows that the alternative—silence, vague messaging, or overconfidence—erodes credibility fast. Leaders who openly acknowledge uncertainty while grounding people in what is clear create shared ownership and forward movement. Timestamp: 04:14–08:58 How can I keep my team focused and grounded when anxiety, change, or disruption is high? Teams stay engaged when leaders check in, ask what people are actually experiencing, and make space for the emotions already in the room. Amy explains that in the absence of information, people invent their own stories—and those stories usually lean toward fear. Leaders who provide honest updates, name the tension, and invite open dialogue protect trust and reduce reactivity. Timestamp: 10:20–14:58 What is the one thing I can do as a leader to build trust quickly, even after layoffs, missteps, or tough calls? Trust is rebuilt moment by moment through transparency, follow-through, and presence. Amy's examples—from a president leading layoffs with humanity to a CEO saying "yes" so his team could learn by doing—show how trust grows when leaders listen fully, own their mistakes, invest in their people, and model the behavior they expect. Trust doesn't require years; it's created in how leaders show up every day. Timestamp: 11:43–17:54 and 32:01–34:32 Whatever the situation, there are opportunities to show up for others. 🎧 Carrying your team through uncertainty? Ground yourself in what works. Listen now. About Amy Riley Amy L. Riley is an internationally renowned speaker, author, and consultant. She has over 2 decades of experience developing leaders at all ...
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    38 mins
  • Episode #65: How to Create Psychological Safety at Work: Small Leadership Practices That Build Trust, Respect, and Performance

    Episode #65: How to Create Psychological Safety at Work: Small Leadership Practices That Build Trust, Respect, and Performance
    Oct 30 2025
    $2.7 billion a day. That's what U.S. workplaces lose in productivity when people don't feel emotionally or psychologically safe. Psychological safety isn't a policy. It's the everyday experience of being able to speak up, ask questions, admit mistakes, challenge assumptions, and be fully ourselves at work. In this conversation, Altus Growth Partners executive coaches Steven Jones, Ellen Burton, and Lara Guille explore how leaders build that safety through small, intentional practices: curiosity before correction, deep listening, open-ended and consent-based questions, and the courage to address workplace incivility with care. Leaders have a profound opportunity to create cultures where respect is lived, responsibility is shared, and people can contribute their best. If you lead others, this conversation will help you lead in a way that strengthens trust, belonging, and performance, starting with your next conversation. Key Moments You'll Want to Hear 00:56: The key message of psychological safety: a daily practice that leaders set in motion. 02:12: The subtle behaviors that erode trust, belonging, and performance 07:33: Billions in lost productivity and human potential. This is the cost of disrespect. 10:08: How tone and language become the real workplace culture. 11:42: What does it really mean to show courage in the workplace? 14:14: The two questions leaders should start their day with: What do my people need today? What is mine to do? 21:15: When people don't feel valued, they don't just "quiet quit." They stop offering their best thinking. 23:57: How unprocessed pain shapes workplace culture more than you think. 27:30: How practicing curiosity before correction opens possibilities. 31:09: The universal truth: every person wants to know they matter. 31:59: How micro acknowledgements grow trust, safety, and belonging. By the end of this conversation, you'll hear answers to: How can I create psychological safety on my team? Psychological safety is built through daily practice. By asking open-ended questions, listening without interruption, and using consent language, such as "Are you open to talking with me about this?", a leader can demonstrate genuine care and a sense of belonging. Timestamp: 27:30–31:59 What are the benefits of psychological safety at work? When people feel safe to speak up and contribute, organizations see higher engagement, retention, innovation, and productivity, and significantly fewer sick days linked to stress and witnessed incivility. Timestamp: 07:42–10:08 How do I address disrespect or incivility at work without shaming people? Instead of correcting behavior through blame, ask, "Does this behavior show care for your colleague?" This reframes accountability as alignment with what the person says they care about, which builds responsibility, not defensiveness. Timestamp: 16:29–18:30 Whenever we can create more safety for others, we also create more safety for ourselves. About Altus Growth Partners At Altus, we partner with CEOs and leadership teams who are serious about growth and willing to engage in new kinds of conversations to produce better results. We care deeply about helping leaders and teams collaborate more effectively, navigate complexity with confidence, and foster a culture where people thrive. It's in these environments that challenges are met with curiosity, people bring out the best in one another, and progress is anchored in shared purpose. Because when leaders and teams are truly working together, they expand what's possible and the meaningful impact they can make in their lives, their organizations, and the world around them. You can find Altus Growth Partners on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/altus-growth-partners/ About the Book Growing Groups Into Teams: How do you turn a group of individuals into a highly effective, productive team? Growing Groups Into Teams is an unusually useful book written by a team of generative consultants and coaches who have helped thousands of groups become effective teams. Through real-life stories combined with pragmatic advice, this book strengthens your ability to see what's needed and take effective action: What two promises turn a group into a team. How to engage people to make those promises. How to invite responsibility and accountability. How to include and inspire people across differences. How to build and rebuild trust, and more! Regardless of how productive your teams are today, the insights in this book will help you grow to the next level to drive your business or organization forward. Order your copy today! Order from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Groups-into-Teams-Real-life-ebook/dp/B0CJLC23VS Order directly: https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?l8SxF4Aexn9gq08iz7jFBbwutleujrftoZ2wAOFzCVH If you're looking to expand your leadership influence, shift your results, and develop a highly engaged, accountable team, we'd love to talk to you. Schedule a conversation...
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    34 mins
  • Episode #64: Inside Reytek: How CEO Ed Kuyper Grows People, Strengthens Community, and Redefines Success

    Episode #64: Inside Reytek: How CEO Ed Kuyper Grows People, Strengthens Community, and Redefines Success
    Oct 16 2025
    Some leaders step into new roles; others step into new ways of leading. In this episode of Missing Conversations, Altus Growth Partners executive coaches Dan Winter and Lynette Winter talk with Ed Kuyper, CEO of Reytek Equipment, a New Mexico–based manufacturer serving the semiconductor, aerospace, and biotech industries. Ed shares the inner work and practical choices behind his transition from corporate executive to small-business CEO, and what it really means to lead with trust, humility, and care. His story reflects a leader's deepest responsibility: to grow people, strengthen communities, and create the conditions where everyone can contribute their best. From creative approaches to hiring and developing talent to rethinking time, self-care, and leadership presence, this conversation invites leaders to consider how they show up for their people, their organizations, and the communities they serve. Key Moments You'll Want to Hear 02:12: Ed shares the fear, opportunities, and inner work that opened the next chapter of his leadership journey. 09:36: Redefining trust: why it's not just about character, but context, attitude, and the courage to rebuild when it breaks. 15:09: How Ed uses Reytek to develop people while building products that last. 19:20: "Job-in-a-Box": the creative way Ed built a pipeline of local talent by meeting people where they are. 21:14: The CEO's most difficult question: how do you decide what deserves your time when everyone wants a piece of it? 24:46: Building ownership at home base, and how Ed empowers his team to make decisions when he's not in the room. 30:51: Staying true to your values when the company needs to change, and helping others do the same. 31:53: The story of a TaskRabbit turned accountant, and why character shown in small moments defines who you hire. 37:13: How listening to customers builds a "fan team" that carries your business forward. 41:02: Why taking care of your own well-being makes you better for your people, your customers, and your community. 48:18: The power of peer connection: why every leader needs a trusted circle to think, vent, and grow with. 52:57: The real meaning of practice. It's not about mastery or medals, but the doing that shapes who you become. 55:00: When breakdowns happen, how transparency, steadiness, and purpose turn repair into renewal. 59:10: A closing reminder for every leader: remember why you're there, and the difference only you can make. Your people at work need you to be the best version of you. 🎧 Explore what happens when a CEO leads not from position, but from presence, and what it unlocks for teams and communities. Listen now. About Ed Kuyper Ed Kuyper is the CEO of Reytek Equipment, a manufacturer of stainless steel cleanroom furniture and equipment based in Albuquerque, NM, serving the semiconductor, EV battery, aerospace, biotech, and pharmaceutical industries. With more than 30 years of experience in engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, and product marketing—including two decades at Intel—Ed combines technical depth with strategic vision. At Reytek, he is leading the company's modernization, integrating digital marketing, launching BIM/Revit product libraries, and strengthening customer partnerships with end customers, distribution partners, and cleanroom builders. He is also a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and holds advanced degrees in physics, mechanical engineering, and business. He and his wife, Jennifer, also own Rainforest Baskets, representing master weavers in Panama, Colombia, and Ghana to retailers and collectors around the world. You can connect with Ed here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edkuyper/ or https://www.linkedin.com/company/reytek-equipment/posts/?feedView=all Catch Ed's TedTalk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZW-uw2fm5o About Altus Growth Partners At Altus, we partner with CEOs and leadership teams who are serious about growth and willing to engage in new kinds of conversations to produce better results. We care deeply about helping leaders and teams collaborate more effectively, navigate complexity with confidence, and foster a culture where people thrive. It's in these environments that challenges are met with curiosity, people bring out the best in one another, and progress is anchored in shared purpose. Because when leaders and teams are truly working together, they expand what's possible and the meaningful impact they can make in their lives, their organizations, and the world around them. You can find Altus Growth Partners on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/altus-growth-partners/ About the Book Growing Groups Into Teams: How do you turn a group of individuals into a highly effective, productive team? Growing Groups Into Teams is an unusually useful book written by a team of generative consultants and coaches who have helped thousands of groups become effective teams. Through real-life stories combined with pragmatic advice, this book ...
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Episode #63: Anticipating Tomorrow: Leadership Aligned, Financial Impact Clear, and the AI Edge Defined

    Episode #63: Anticipating Tomorrow: Leadership Aligned, Financial Impact Clear, and the AI Edge Defined
    Oct 9 2025
    David Coulombe began his career as a mechanical engineer, but it was his restless curiosity that reshaped his path. He wanted to know why organizations miss what matters most, and how they could do better. That drive led him into internal auditing and risk management, where he challenged the old model of combing through past mistakes. Instead, he redefined audit as a forward-looking partner: one that tests readiness, strengthens trust, and raises capability across the enterprise. Now, David is pioneering how artificial intelligence can transform his field, and the organizations it serves. In conversation with Altus Growth Partners coaches Dan Winter and Jan Irene Miller, he shares a vision for leaders, boards, and teams: align on what truly matters, ask questions that expose real impact, and harness technology to anticipate challenges instead of react to them. This dialogue offers leaders a clear takeaway: if you want to future-proof your organization, you can't wait for AI to "happen" to you. You must decide how to drive it. Key Moments You'll Want to Hear 01:35: From engineer to auditor: David shares how curiosity and the desire to help others shaped his path. 03:35: Why the real value of audit isn't accuracy of the past, but readiness for tomorrow. 06:14: What happens when leaders agree on what's really critical and have a conversation about what they really want to achieve. 10:44: The rhythm of audit: helping leaders set objectives and anticipate risk on a 1–3 year horizon. 14:25: Why numbers are only the beginning—interpretation, impact, and readiness complete the story. 18:21: Looking beyond audit's core mandate to ask the overlooked questions that matter most. 20:45: How optimism at the top can blind teams to risks they most need to face. 21:53: Defining trust: clear expectations, honest feedback, and timely course-correction. 24:45: Why exploring a full field of possibilities helps leaders reduce risk. 25:30: Navigating data points to uncover the reality. 30:22: How AI equips auditors to look forward and anticipate challenges. 37:27: The advantage for those who adopt AI early, and the steep cost of complacency. 45:02: Why leaders need healthy skepticism in the AI era. You can wait for this to be done to you, or you can drive it yourself. 🎧 Hear how David is redefining audit, not as a backward glance, but as a forward-looking partner helping leaders align, understand impact, and realize the AI edge. About David Coulombe David is a recognized Internal Audit and risk management leader, pioneering the integration of AI into the profession and advising organizations on building future-ready audit strategies. He is currently part of an innovation-focused startup helping Internal Audit leaders harness AI to elevate risk management and audit effectiveness. Previously, David served as Vice President of Internal Audit at Lyft, where he established and scaled the company's first Internal Audit function. Throughout his career, he has specialized in technology companies, leading global audit teams at Salesforce, Juniper Networks, and Intel. He is a Certified Internal Auditor and currently serves on the boards of the San Francisco and San Jose chapters of the Institute of Internal Auditors. You can connect with David here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-coulombe-63397/ About Altus Growth Partners At Altus, we partner with CEOs and leadership teams who are serious about growth and willing to engage in new kinds of conversations to produce better results. We care deeply about helping leaders and teams collaborate more effectively, navigate complexity with confidence, and foster a culture where people thrive. It's in these environments that challenges are met with curiosity, people bring out the best in one another, and progress is anchored in shared purpose. Because when leaders and teams are truly working together, they expand what's possible and the meaningful impact they can make in their lives, their organizations, and the world around them. You can find Altus Growth Partners on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/altus-growth-partners/ About the Book Growing Groups Into Teams: How do you turn a group of individuals into a highly effective, productive team? Growing Groups Into Teams is an unusually useful book written by a team of generative consultants and coaches who have helped thousands of groups become effective teams. Through real-life stories combined with pragmatic advice, this book strengthens your ability to see what's needed and take effective action: What two promises turn a group into a team. How to engage people to make those promises. How to invite responsibility and accountability. How to include and inspire people across differences. How to build and rebuild trust, and more! Regardless of how productive your teams are today, the insights in this book will help you grow to the next level to drive your business or organization forward. Order your copy today...
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    48 mins
  • Episode #62: Redesigning Your Calendar, Expectations, and Leadership to Build Workplaces Where You and Your Team Thrive

    Episode #62: Redesigning Your Calendar, Expectations, and Leadership to Build Workplaces Where You and Your Team Thrive
    Oct 2 2025
    Do you want to be part of a workplace that drains you—or one that gives you energy, clarity, and joy? In this episode of Missing Conversations, hosts Steven Jones and Ellen Burton talk with Shani Harmon, Founder and CEO of Stop Meeting Like This, who, for over 20 years, has consulted with Fortune 500 companies and is known for unraveling the complex problems that keep leaders and teams from doing meaningful work. Shani's care began in her hometown in West Virginia, watching her father come home from long days of physical labor, and deepened when she entered the corporate world and saw how often people accepted miserable norms: endless meetings, low standards, defensive habits. Here, she shares how we can lead differently: design meetings that create value, reclaim focus time, raise standards with compassionate feedback and shared accountability, shift from having the answers to facilitating the right conversations, and close the gap between the culture you say you have as a leader and the one your team actually lives. Key Moments You'll Want to Hear 02:48: The care that led Shani into her work, and her belief that work can be both joyful and productive. 06:19: How leaders and teams reclaim time, attention, and space for what matters most. 09:19: Choosing abundance over scarcity, and why it transforms outcomes for you, your team, and your culture. 11:52: Shani's turning point: discovering the environment that unlocked her unique genius. 14:26: Building a culture of shared accountability so everyone contributes at their best. 16:47: Becoming aware of the gap between the culture you wish for as a leader and the one your team is actually living, and how to close it. 18:15: Why leaders don't need all the answers, and your real role is guiding the conversations that move teams forward. 21:13: Why the discomfort of change strengthens the brain and builds better leaders. 23:27: The single question Shani asked that expanded her compassion and deepened care for her team. 27:36: How to turn down the noise to center yourself and lead with clarity. 31:21: Creating focus time as a leader, and why it's non-negotiable. 37:58: Why presence is the greatest gift leaders can give, and what it looks like in action. 41:21: How curiosity keeps leaders open, human, and effective. 43:49: The conversations teams aren't having right now, and what's lost when they stay unspoken. 46:42: Final takeaway: people who enjoy their work contribute more of their best. We all have our unique genius. 🎧 Listen now to learn how to design meetings that matter, reclaim focus time, close culture gaps, and lead teams that contribute more of their best. About Shani Harmon Shani Harmon is the Founder and CEO of Stop Meeting Like This. As CEO, Shani's job is to inspire corporate leaders to reimagine how work gets done and then partner with them to realize that aspiration. For over 20 years, Shani has consulted with Fortune 500 companies across the globe, helping them design and implement effective operating models, decision-making processes, and collaboration practices. She's an expert at unraveling the complex problems that hold leaders and their teams back from achieving joyful productivity. Shani has an MBA and Master's of Education from Stanford University and a BA in English from Harvard University. She hails from the hills of West Virginia but now calls Chicago home. You can connect with Shani here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaniharmon/ About Altus Growth Partners At Altus, we partner with CEOs and leadership teams who are serious about growth and willing to engage in new kinds of conversations to produce better results. We care deeply about helping leaders and teams collaborate more effectively, navigate complexity with confidence, and foster a culture where people thrive. It's in these environments that challenges are met with curiosity, people bring out the best in one another, and progress is anchored in shared purpose. Because when leaders and teams are truly working together, they expand what's possible and the meaningful impact they can make in their lives, their organizations, and the world around them. You can find Altus Growth Partners on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/altus-growth-partners/ About the Book Growing Groups Into Teams: How do you turn a group of individuals into a highly effective, productive team? Growing Groups Into Teams is an unusually useful book written by a team of generative consultants and coaches who have helped thousands of groups become effective teams. Through real-life stories combined with pragmatic advice, this book strengthens your ability to see what's needed and take effective action: What two promises turn a group into a team. How to engage people to make those promises. How to invite responsibility and accountability. How to include and inspire people across differences. How to build and rebuild trust, and more! Regardless of how productive your teams are ...
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    48 mins
  • Episode #61: From Mountains to Boardrooms: How adventure and experiential learning help leaders build trust, embrace conflict, and elevate teams

    Episode #61: From Mountains to Boardrooms: How adventure and experiential learning help leaders build trust, embrace conflict, and elevate teams
    Sep 25 2025
    "It's not about the intensity of what you do, it's about the intention." That guiding belief runs through Ryan Soares' life, from backcountry skiing to hang-gliding launches to building global practice fields where leaders experiment, stumble safely, and discover what elevates their people. In this episode of Missing Conversations, hosts Heather Neely and Amy Vodarek sit down with Ryan, founder of Soares Consulting, to explore how an adventurous spirit, deep empathy, and hands-on learning help leaders design psychological safety, embrace conflict as fuel, and turn missing conversations into trust and momentum. Listen in for practices you can use to align vision, grow your team's capacity, and move with intention in every leadership moment. Key Moments You'll Want to Hear 01:37: From athlete to banker to leader, Ryan finds his true passion: developing people to reach their best. 10:15: Experiential learning defined: act, reflect, apply, turning insight into real results. 14:51: The overlooked question that uncovers what truly drives your team. 17:24: How curiosity about others' emotions unlocks stronger conversations and sharper leadership presence. 23:48: Designing learning that reaches every learner, not just a few. 25:11: The core of experiential learning: building psychological safety so leaders see what they couldn't before. 26:49: Why embodiment is central to effective leadership. 28:27: Conflict as a growth engine: how leaders can harness it productively. 31:54: Practicing and mastering the skill leaders most avoid: having missing conversations. 36:58: The one word that inspires experimentation, learning, and growth across teams. 38:42: Levels of skill, conversation, and empathy every leader must navigate. 39:53: Inside Soares Consulting: global practice fields where leaders elevate one another. 41:48: Small tune-ups, big returns: how leaders grow even when it feels unnatural. 45:24: Leading with adventure: how Ryan's spirit (and his dad's influence) shaped his leadership path. 50:29 Final takeaway: leadership isn't about intensity; it's about intention, and moving in the world for others' good. Leadership cannot be downloaded. It must be lived. 🎧 Listen now to learn how to turn everyday moments into practice fields that build stronger teams and better results. About Ryan Soares Ryan brings 20+ years of global leadership development and coaching experience, designing transformative, experiential programs that challenge leaders to think differently and lead with purpose. Known for his dynamic facilitation, he fosters trust, dialogue, and growth. Outside of work, Ryan pursues a life of adventure with his family in California. You can connect with Ryan here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-soares-acc-70a88975/ About Altus Growth Partners At Altus, we partner with CEOs and leadership teams who are serious about growth and willing to engage in new kinds of conversations to produce better results. We care deeply about helping leaders and teams collaborate more effectively, navigate complexity with confidence, and foster a culture where people thrive. It's in these environments that challenges are met with curiosity, people bring out the best in one another, and progress is anchored in shared purpose. Because when leaders and teams are truly working together, they expand what's possible and the meaningful impact they can make in their lives, their organizations, and the world around them. You can find Altus Growth Partners on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/altus-growth-partners/ About the Book Growing Groups Into Teams: How do you turn a group of individuals into a highly effective, productive team? Growing Groups Into Teams is an unusually useful book written by a team of generative consultants and coaches who have helped thousands of groups become effective teams. Through real-life stories combined with pragmatic advice, this book strengthens your ability to see what's needed and take effective action: What two promises turn a group into a team. How to engage people to make those promises. How to invite responsibility and accountability. How to include and inspire people across differences. How to build and rebuild trust, and more! Regardless of how productive your teams are today, the insights in this book will help you grow to the next level to drive your business or organization forward. Order your copy today! Order from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Groups-into-Teams-Real-life-ebook/dp/B0CJLC23VS Order directly: https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?l8SxF4Aexn9gq08iz7jFBbwutleujrftoZ2wAOFzCVH If you're looking to expand your leadership influence, shift your results, and develop a highly engaged, accountable team, we'd love to talk to you. Schedule a conversation with an Altus Team Member here: https://calendly.com/prollin-altusgrowth/zoom-video-30-min. Follow us on social media: https://www.linkedin.com/company/altus-growth-partners https://...
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    53 mins
  • Episode #60: Six Practices for How to Lead From What You Care About Most

    Episode #60: Six Practices for How to Lead From What You Care About Most
    Sep 18 2025
    To lead others well, we must first return to what we care about most. In this Missing Conversations episode, hosts Amy Vodarek and Ellen Burton talk with their Altus colleague Lara Guille, who blends her background as a clinical psychologist, executive coach, and generative leadership practitioner to help leaders do just that. Lara shares six practices for how to lead from your cares, elevating you as a leader and your team: "Zoom out" to see what's really driving the moment Name competing cares so you can choose with intention Use self-awareness to stay grounded amid complexity Understand trust to build trust Lead with empathy to create psychological safety Create belonging through everyday micro-moments of presence Lara is clear: when leaders get curious about what they care about and take care of those cares, it changes everything. It grounds the leader, returning them to their values, purpose, and energy so they can show up consistently and authentically. It shifts their presence, creating psychological safety because people feel seen, not managed. It builds trust because when leaders model care, others feel safer to speak honestly. It elevates team performance because alignment, belonging, and trust remove the friction that keeps teams stuck. It ripples outward because as leaders grow, their teams grow, and results follow naturally. Key Moments You'll Want to Hear 02:40: Lara reveals how anchoring in what she cared about most set the course for her leadership journey. 07:54: Why learning to be part of a team requires developing a whole new muscle. 08:48: How empathy becomes the starting point for trust when pressure runs high. 13:04: Practices for staying grounded while navigating relentless complexity. 16:15: What it means to "zoom out", and how it helps leaders reconnect to their cares and see what's really driving a situation. 19:39: How to recognize competing cares and intentionally decide which one your leadership will serve in the moment. 22:19: How moods and emotions shape the workplace culture and psychological safety. 25:31: Why belonging grows through micro-moments of presence, not grand gestures. 29:06: Side conversations: how they quietly erode trust, and how to bring the conversation back into the room. 30:47: How a simple three-legged stool from Richard Fagerlin's book, Trustology, helps leaders diagnose trust breakdowns and guide repair. 32:13: Examples for having conversations about trust without blame and opening the door to repair. 38:42: Lara's parting invitation: give yourself permission to feel what you feel and get curious. That's where real growth begins. "Most of the challenges leaders are facing aren't operational. They're developmental and they're human. And that's where the opportunity for growth comes." 🎧 Listen now to discover six practices you can use today to realign with your cares, and unlock the trust, safety, and performance of your team. About Lara Guille, PsyD With 20 years of experience, Lara has a demonstrated history of helping clients uncover and resolve the deeper personal and relational issues blocking their path to successful, sustainable results. Coaching at the intersection of psychology and business, Lara's approach combines a deep understanding of human behavior with practical wisdom to help clients reach their goals. Drawing on a wide range of research-based methodologies and frameworks, Lara helps leaders find alignment and success at the individual, team, and organizational levels. She is known for being insightful, pragmatic, intuitive, and compassionate. Her coaching brings her clients into contact with the meaning in their work, helps grow the skills required to be effective, and leaves them with the self-awareness to navigate the growing complexities of work and life. You can connect with Lara here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lara-guille-psyd-221a3a22/ About Altus Growth Partners At Altus, we partner with CEOs and leadership teams who are serious about growth and willing to engage in new kinds of conversations to produce better results. We care deeply about helping leaders and teams collaborate more effectively, navigate complexity with confidence, and foster a culture where people thrive. It's in these environments that challenges are met with curiosity, people bring out the best in one another, and progress is anchored in shared purpose. Because when leaders and teams are truly working together, they expand what's possible and the meaningful impact they can make in their lives, their organizations, and the world around them. You can find Altus Growth Partners on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/altus-growth-partners/ About the Book Growing Groups Into Teams: How do you turn a group of individuals into a highly effective, productive team? Growing Groups Into Teams is an unusually useful book written by a team of generative consultants and coaches who have helped thousands of groups become ...
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    41 mins