Leaderful

In this episode of The Leaderful Podcast, we sit down with Julie Hrdlicka, founder of Conflict Revolution and a transformative mediator, to explore what conflict can teach us about ourselves, our relationships, and the systems we work within.   Drawing on her experience in mediation, facilitation, community development, politics, and education, Julie offers a powerful reframe: conflict is not simp...

In this episode of The Leaderful Podcast, we sit down with Chris Downey , Vice President of Consulting Services at Achieve Center for Leadership and co-author of  You Can Manage , to explore what it really means to lead with intention, curiosity, and accountability. Drawing on more than 25 years of leadership experience, Chris offers a grounded perspective on the gap between how leaders intend to...

In this episode of The Leaderful Podcast, we sit down with Nic Etheridge-Calder to explore what it really takes to make effective decisions as a team - and why so many organizations get stuck trying. Drawing on his experience working with leaders and teams, Nic offers a nuanced perspective on team-based decision-making: not as a choice between individual authority and group consensus, but as a pra...

Time-sensitive learning opportunity if you're in the Calgary area - check out these Right Use of Power workshops for professionals, HR teams and leaders. And for more learning opportunities with The Ally Co. and our trusted partners (both virtual and in-person), you can head over to this website . Now on with today's show! We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Vinciane de Pape for a de...

We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Daniel Doerksen for a practical and thought-provoking conversation about management, leadership, and the critical role managers play in creating healthy workplaces. Daniel is the co-author of You Can Manage: A Practical Guide to Becoming the Manager Everyone Wants and a leadership consultant with a deep passion for helping organizations become plac...

We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Monica Pauls for a deeply practical conversation about designing and facilitating high-impact meetings. Monica is the Chair of the Department of Child Studies and Social Work and an Associate Professor at Mount Royal University. In this episode, she joins us (along with Nic Etheridge Calder) in real-time to workshop an upcoming full-day team meetin...

If you're listening from Calgary, Alberta (before June 18th, 2026) - join us for an afternoon workshop exploring Power, Equity, Bias and AI. In this episode of The Leaderful Podcast, we sit down with Christian Ortiz, an Afro-Indigenous decolonial social scientist, technologist, and founder of Justice AI GPT, the first decolonial AI framework designed to confront systemic bias at its roots. Drawing...

In this episode of The Leaderful Podcast, we sit down with Janet Livingstone , an Internal Family Systems-informed coach and facilitator with global experience helping leaders develop emotional intelligence, navigate complexity, and unlock deeper self-awareness. Drawing on her work across cultures and industries (from Central Europe to Asia), Janet shares a rich perspective on how leadership is sh...

WORKSHOP ALERT: Join Nic, Laura and Jeff for "The Aligned Board", a hands-on 2-part virtual workshop designed to help board members step into their power with wisdom and skill. Learn more here (spring and fall 2026 dates available). In this episode of The Leaderful Podcast, we sit down with Nic Etheridge Calder and Laura Istead to explore one of the most critical (and often overlooked) dynamics in...

In this episode of The Leaderful Podcast, we sit down with Nic Etheridge Calder , founder of Invoke Coaching, to explore how leaders can design and facilitate meetings that actually move the needle. Drawing on years of experience in leadership development and team facilitation, Nic brings a practical and human-centred lens to one of the most overlooked aspects of organizational life: meetings. Tog...

In this episode of The Leaderful Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Amanda Aguilera, Executive Director of the Right Use of Power Institute, to explore what it really means to understand and navigate power in our leadership, our relationships, and our systems. Drawing on decades of experience, Amanda shares a deeply nuanced perspective on power - not as something we possess, but as a dynamic present in...

In this episode of The Leaderful Podcast, we sit down with Mike Derricott, a seasoned municipal executive and former Chief Administrative Officer for the Town of Cochrane, to explore the realities of leading complex public-serving organizations. Drawing on his experience guiding rapidly growing municipalities, Mike shares candid insights about leadership under pressure - where competing stakeholde...

In this episode of The Leaderful Podcast, we sit down with James Docherty , Assistant Deputy Fire Chief at the Calgary Fire Department, to explore what leadership looks like when the stakes are real, the pressure is high, and the margin for error is slim. Drawing on decades of experience leading in complex, high-risk environments, James shares grounded insights on decision-making, trust, accountab...

In this episode of The Leaderful Podcast, we’re joined by Virginia Hervey and Denise Manderson, longtime leaders at Hull Services , for a grounded conversation about trauma-informed leadership, sector capacity, and leading in complex human systems. Virginia and Denise share Hull’s evolution from a primarily campus-based care model to a broad continuum focused on early intervention, prevention, and...

In this episode of The Leaderful Podcast, we welcome Ian, a leader, entrepreneur, and founder of Forge Works Advisory. Ian shares the deeply personal and professional journey that led him to leave the company he was leading, sparked by the work of The Ally Co. to uncover deeper organizational truths. Ian describes how the initial engagement with The Ally Co. was intended to solve for communication...

In this episode of the Leaderful Podcast, Pablo is joined by leadership coach and fractional COO Tina Mathas. Together, they unpack the deeply human side of startup scaling—from control and ego to purpose, burnout, and how hard it is to let go of your “business baby.” Drawing on decades of combined experience, Tina and Pablo explore what keeps founders from scaling effectively, and why bringing in...

In this episode of the Leaderful Podcast, Jeff is joined by Nogol Madani—engineer turned workplace culture strategist and founder of Glee Factor—for a deep dive into psychological safety and why it matters more than ever. Nogol shares her journey from engineering to exploring what makes teams thrive, and how a pivotal moment sparked her obsession with inclusion, team dynamics, and performance. Tog...

In this episode, Jeff Couillard and Pablo Romero dive into The Ally Co.’s Leadership Impact 360°s, powerful experiences designed to support both professional and personal development through a combination of useful feedback, meaningful review, and focused action. They discuss some of the reasons people struggle to request and receive meaningful feedback through typical performance review processes...

In their transition from working women to working mothers, Erin Smith and Saphina Benimadhu-Waters both had unique but challenging return-to-work experiences that didn’t support them in the way they needed. Now, as co-founders of The Debut Co., they provide professional coaching to help parents take charge of their career journey and help organizations champion equity. They describe a truly equita...

Tammy Arseneau is a consultant and coach who takes a science-based, systems-level approach to help leaders at all levels get to the root of common workplace challenges and build resiliency. In this episode, she joins Co. CEOs Jeff and Pablo to discuss:  Why change can be so hard for individuals, teams and organizations.  What leaders can do differently to operationalize their leadership and their...

In this episode of the Leaderful Podcast, Pablo and Jeff are joined by Lindsay Sheldrake to discuss how fractional COOs can help leaders get out of operational quicksand and into their strategic role(s), activate people around vision through focus and with trust, and operationalize power through more conscious ways of working.  Lindsay Sheldrake is a wife, a mother, a project manager, a purpose-dr...

In this episode of The Leaderful Podcast, we reflect on the last three years of The Ally Co.'s purpose and mission to create 'leaderful' teams. 🤔 What does being 'leaderful' mean and what have we been observing (and learning)? A few insights from our conversation about creating 'leaderfulness' on teams: 🧭 Foundational Alignment -- Leaderful teams are foundationally aligned on the impact (goals,...

In this episode of The Leaderful Podcast, Pablo and Jeff reflect on a part of our work that we've been doing more and more of with impact-conscious leaders and their teams - helping them with the operationalization of their core organizational values. 📽 Here are some takeaways! 🧭 Defining & Clarifying Values -- Many organizations and teams stop at nice-sounding lists with one-word values. Thi...

In this episode of The Leaderful Podcast, Co. CEOs (Pablo Romero and Jeff Couillard) reflect on TACO's journey this past year. Part of their discussion focused on the latest positioning of our offerings in today's leadership and culture space, and what's become clearer in our work to create leaderful teams.  Some highlights from the conversation:  ⚡ Foundational Alignment & Leaderfulness -- A...

Co. CEOs Jessica Xiomara García and Emily Drake of Learning for Action - an organization helping create and support equitable learning cultures in the social sector - join Jeff and Pablo to discuss the nuances of harmonizing equity-grounded and data-informed approaches into organizational practices.   Listen in as they explore:  Co. CEO origins stories => Giving us insight into how Emily and Je...