Ever worked somewhere that felt like a leaderboard instead of a team? If you’ve ever felt tension around competitiveness at work—or wondered how some teams manage to make it energizing instead of exhausting—this episode is for you.

In today’s conversation, Sarah and Bill welcome Jessica Novich, COO of Full Tilt Logistics, a fast-growing family-run company where three of the five leadership team members have high Competition in their CliftonStrengths—and she doesn’t. Jessica brings a refreshing take on how family, fun, and feedback can turn competition into connection, and how strengths-based coaching helped transform potential tension into team trust. Whether you work with family, lead a competitive team, or just want to build a healthier culture, you’ll walk away with insights, laughter, and ideas to apply right away.

🔥 7 Main Takeaways:

1. Competition isn’t inherently toxic—but it must be coached and contextualized to help a culture thrive.
2. Jessica’s harmony and positivity balance out high competition in her leadership team, showing how complementary strengths matter.
3. Working with family adds complexity—but can also deepen trust and communication if the roles and vision are clear.
4. Fun rituals like cornhole tournaments and “Monarch of Brokerage” awards turn competitiveness into camaraderie.
5. Coaching and strengths awareness help surface misalignment before it turns into resentment or silos.
6. Every strength can be a firework or a dumpster fire—self-awareness is the difference.
7. Culture trickles down from the top; how leaders use their strengths directly influences how people show up at work.

💥 Sound Bites:

1. “Competition doesn’t ruin cultures—unmanaged competition does.”
2. “You can walk out of a job, but you can’t walk out of family.”
3. “My first reaction to your org chart was fear… and also fascination.”
4. “We work hard, play hard, and sometimes fight hard—but always come back to trust.”
5. “I’m not strategic, and that’s okay—because someone else on the team is.”
6. “If you can leverage competition to build community, not a leaderboard, you’re doing it right.”
7. “We’ve created a workplace where it’s okay to be blunt—and that honesty keeps resentment low.”
8. “I show up to meetings like, ‘Good morning!’ even when the tension’s high—and that changes the tone.”
9. “My positivity and harmony are like bubble wrap around the sharp edges of competition.”
10. “I oversee HR and I have Harmony… which means write-ups are my personal nightmare.”
11. “We crowned someone ‘Most Likely to Clap When the Plane Lands’—because culture should have a sense of humor.”
12. “Our culture works because we put people in the right seats and actually understand what they need.”
13. “Sometimes, the competition shows up as subtle ranking… and sometimes it’s a full-on cornhole trophy.”
14. “My husband has Harmony and Competition in his top five—and honestly, that’s a mystery I’m still trying to solve.”
15. “Strengths don’t ruin culture—misalignment and miscommunication do.”

Bill's Top 10 CliftonStrengths

1) Individualization

2) Developer

3) Activator

4) Woo

5) Restorative

6) Empathy

7) Harmony

8) Connectedness

9) Relator

10) Learner

Sarah's Top 10 CliftonStrengths

1) Positivity

2) Woo

3) Communication

4) Harmony

5) Activator

6) Developer

7) Input

8) Individualization

9) Responsibility

10) Arranger

Official Strengths On Fire Website: https://strengthsonfire.transistor.fm

GET MORE FROM BILL AND SARAH:
Bill's info:
https://billdippel.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamdippel/
https://www.instagram.com/billdippelcoach/

Sarah's info:
https://www.wearecollinsco.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahcoachcollins/
https://www.instagram.com/sarahcoachcollins/

In this bold and hilarious episode, Sarah and Bill are joined by guest Rachel Kagay—a coach, speaker, and unapologetic Woo—to ask the question so many have wondered: Can Woo be annoying? Together, they dig into the reputation, realities, and power of the CliftonStrengths theme Woo (Winning Others Over). Rachel brings humor, heart, and hard-won wisdom as she shares what it’s like to lead with Woo in a world that doesn’t always embrace high energy, visibility, or emotional expression. From awkward introductions to deep connections, they explore how Woo can be misunderstood—and how, when used with intention, it becomes a tool for trust-building, momentum, and genuine human connection.

Main Takeaways

1. Woo isn’t just about being outgoing—it’s about connection, momentum, and emotional awareness.
2. People with Woo can unintentionally come off as overwhelming or performative in the wrong setting.
3. Mature Woo learns to read the room and doesn’t need to be the center of it.
4. Woo builds trust quickly, which can be a massive asset in coaching, leadership, and sales.
5. The dark side of Woo is using energy to mask insecurity or avoid depth.
6. Woo and Relator often get compared, but both are powerful in their own way.
7. With self-awareness, Woo becomes less about being liked—and more about making people feel seen

Sound Bites

1. “Can Woo be annoying? Uh… yeah. Especially when it’s immature or unconscious.”
2. “I can’t help it—I want everyone in the room to like me. But I’m working on that.”
3. “Woo walks in with ‘party starter’ energy… and sometimes that’s not what the room needs.”
4. “You don’t outgrow Woo—but you can outgrow needing to be loved by everyone.”
5. “I had to learn that silence doesn’t mean I failed to connect—it just means people connect differently.”
6. “Woo isn’t about talking—it’s about reading people.”
7. “When used well, Woo makes people feel welcome, important, and remembered.”
8. “If you’ve got Woo and no self-awareness, you might just be draining the room.”
9. “Woo wants to win people over… but mature Woo asks, ‘Why? For what purpose?’”
10. “Relator and Woo aren’t opposites—they’re just different timelines of connection.”
11. “I used to chase being liked. Now I focus on making people feel seen.”
12. “The tension isn’t Woo vs. depth—it’s Woo without intention vs. Woo with purpose.”
13. “Woo helps you open the door… but you still have to walk through it with something real.”
14. “The best compliment to Woo is someone who grounds you and helps you aim it.”
15. “Woo isn’t shallow—it just likes to start at the surface before diving deeper.”

Bill's Top 10 CliftonStrengths

1) Individualization

2) Developer

3) Activator

4) Woo

5) Restorative

6) Empathy

7) Harmony

8) Connectedness

9) Relator

10) Learner

Sarah's Top 10 CliftonStrengths

1) Positivity

2) Woo

3) Communication

4) Harmony

5) Activator

6) Developer

7) Input

8) Individualization

9) Responsibility

10) Arranger

Official Strengths On Fire Website: https://strengthsonfire.transistor.fm

GET MORE FROM BILL AND SARAH:
Bill's info:
https://billdippel.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamdippel/
https://www.instagram.com/billdippelcoach/

Sarah's info:
https://www.wearecollinsco.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahcoachcollins/
https://www.instagram.com/sarahcoachcollins/

What does it really take to start something new? In this lively and thoughtful episode, Sarah, Bill, and guest Natalie Becerra explore how different CliftonStrengths can help you move from idea to action—and why there’s no “best” strength, only the best one for you. Natalie opens up about her love of Ideation and Strategic, and how they create both brilliance and tension when starting something new. Whether you launch fast with Activator, build the vision with Strategic, research endlessly with Input, or analyze every angle with Deliberative, this episode will help you embrace your own starting style, ditch the guilt of “not doing enough,” and learn how to aim your strengths with more intention.

Main Takeaways

1. There’s no single best strength for starting something new—only the one that helps you begin with clarity.
2. Strengths like Ideation and Strategic bring depth to the start by connecting patterns and purpose.
3. Activator may launch fast, but Strategic, Input, and Analytical provide crucial substance and direction.
4. Starting isn’t always a confident leap—it can be a layered, messy process driven by intention and reflection.
5. Balancing quick-start energy with long-game thinking helps avoid burnout or overwhelm.
6. Overthinking can stall progress, but fear often hides behind “research” or “analysis.”
7. Knowing your strengths helps you start better by honoring your natural rhythm instead of copying someone else’s.

Sound Bites

1. “I see the patterns that nobody else sees—and then I can’t not do something about it.”
2. “Starting strong doesn’t always mean starting fast.”
3. “Ideation is a waterfall—you think it’s one drop, and suddenly it’s pouring ideas you didn’t know were connected.”
4. “I always want to jump—but my Strategic whispers, ‘let’s think this through first.’”
5. “Woo gets the room excited, but Strategic maps the way forward.”
6. “Sometimes I’m chasing shiny new ideas, and future-me is like, ‘Really? You signed me up for that?’”
7. “Deliberative and Input don’t stop you from starting—they help you start wisely.”
8. “There’s so much power in pausing before you leap.”
9. “Your starting line doesn’t have to look like mine.”
10. “If you’re starting out of obligation, it’s not going to stick.”
11. “It’s easy to mistake movement for momentum—Strategic helps me check that.”
12. “I always come back to: is this worth my energy?”
13. “Sometimes the best way to start is to write. That’s how I make sense of my brain.”
14. “Even with Woo, I don’t want to just entertain—I want to lead somewhere.”
15. “When you understand your own strengths, you stop trying to start the way everyone else does.”

Bill's Top 10 CliftonStrengths

1) Individualization

2) Developer

3) Activator

4) Woo

5) Restorative

6) Empathy

7) Harmony

8) Connectedness

9) Relator

10) Learner

Sarah's Top 10 CliftonStrengths

1) Positivity

2) Woo

3) Communication

4) Harmony

5) Activator

6) Developer

7) Input

8) Individualization

9) Responsibility

10) Arranger

Official Strengths On Fire Website: https://strengthsonfire.transistor.fm

GET MORE FROM BILL AND SARAH:
Bill's info:
https://billdippel.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamdippel/
https://www.instagram.com/billdippelcoach/

Sarah's info:
https://www.wearecollinsco.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahcoachcollins/
https://www.instagram.com/sarahcoachcollins/