Aligned › Engaged › Fulfilled

Summary All season, we explored what it actually takes for a human being to engage with their work. For the Season 2 finale, Clarence goes solo—no guest, just the data and the alignment lens. He breaks down Gallup's 2026 State of the Global Workplace Report and connects its most important findings to everything Season 2 has been building toward. The result is a perspective the report itself doesn'...

Summary What if the reason most organizations struggle with equity isn't because it's too complicated but because they've been treating it as the wrong kind of problem? Not a compliance problem. Not a political problem. Not a special initiative to be managed by a dedicated team and measured in a quarterly report. A leadership problem. A management problem. A foundational organizational design prob...

Summary What does it actually mean to build a people-centric and purpose-driven culture worth fighting for? Not the version that ends up in the employee handbook. Not the mission statement on the wall. The real, daily, sometimes uncomfortable work of building something that holds together under pressure. In this episode, Clarence sits down with Jodi Scott, co-founder and CEO of Green Goo, a plant-...

What happens when the people who built the broken system decide to fix it? In this episode, Clarence sits down with career strategist, fractional HR consultant, and Emppowered co-founder Caty Toro for a candid, unflinching look at what's actually broken in today's hiring process and what it's going to take to build something better. Caty was a guest in Season 1, where she and Clarence had a two-pa...

Summary The conversation everyone is having about generational conflict in the workplace is pointed at the wrong problem. Blame has been leveled at Boomers, Millennials, and Gen Z in equal measure—but Clarence and returning guest Lynda Harvey make the case that the real crisis isn't the people. It's the systems we've built around them, and specifically, the manager sitting at the center of all of...

Summary When we are completely burned out, the idea of having to "rewire our mindset" feels like an exhausting chore. We often blame toxic cultures and broken systems for our disengagement—but what if the exact words we are using to describe our reality are the very things draining our capacity to engage? In this episode of Aligned > Engaged > Fulfilled , Clarence sits down with Stephanie Ga...

Summary Are we trying to fix our people when we should actually be fixing our systems? In today’s workplace, massive invisible forces—market disruption, AI anxiety, and the shift to remote work—are actively pulling our teams apart. The result is a collective burnout that traditional leadership playbooks simply cannot solve. In this episode of Aligned > Engaged > Fulfilled , Clarence sits dow...

Summary In this episode, Brandon Fortino, founder of Fortino Studios, shares insights on remote leadership, building borderless teams, and transforming work culture through systems, trust, and storytelling. Discover how to lead effectively across time zones, foster engagement without micromanagement, and challenge traditional beliefs about work. Takeaways How to define culture as a set of shared s...

Summary In the final installment of a trilogy on employee experience, host Clarence Maur shifts the focus from culture and architecture to the "plumbing" of a business: the backend infrastructure. Guest Kasey Devine, a veteran of industry giants ADP and Trinet, pulls back the curtain on why the Professional Employer Organization (PEO) shopping process is "broken on purpose" to profit off business...

Summary In this conversation, Clarence and Natalie discuss the architecture of the employee journey, the impact of brand activation on the employee journey, the silos and fragmentation of the employee journey, the infrastructure of the employee journey, the candidate experience, and the transactional and dehumanized candidate experience. They emphasize the importance of the employee journey as bra...

Summary In this episode, Clarence Bongalos sits down with John Formica ("The Ex-Disney Guy"), to explore tensions in the modern workplace, the crisis of employee loyalty, and the relationship between employee experience and customer experience as exemplified by Disney's magical culture. The conversation explores the importance of defining purpose, the impact of performance and disdain for a payche...

Summary In this episode, Clarence Bongalos interviews John Elbing, a growth story architect, about the power of story building in marketing and organizational culture. They explore how shifting from storytelling to story building can enhance engagement, authenticity, and alignment within companies and careers. Key Topics Difference between storytelling and story building The importance of customer...

Summary In this episode, Clarence Bongalos and Kevin Hubschmann explore how humor, improv, and social intelligence can transform leadership, boost engagement, and create a psychologically safe workplace. Kevin Hubschmann, founder of Laugh. Events, shares practical insights on integrating laughter into corporate culture to enhance productivity and well-being. Key Topics Humor as a leadership tool I...

Summary In this episode, Clarence Bongalos and guest co-host Caty Toro engage with compensation expert Vicki Shepard, CCP, SPHR, MHRLR, to explore the complexities of compensation strategies in the workplace. They discuss the stark disparities in pay between executives and employees, the importance of pay transparency, and the need for a solid compensation philosophy that aligns with company value...

Summary In this first episode of Season 2 of the Aligned › Engaged › Fulfilled podcast, host Clarence Bongalos welcomes Drs. Lisa and John Gates to discuss the evolving landscape of leadership. They explore the shift from alignment to engagement, the challenges leaders face in a complex world, the need to redefine "leadership" to fit the demands of the current times, and the growing gap between th...

Summary In this episode, Clarence Bongalos reflects on the journey of his podcast's first season, sharing personal stories and insights about leadership, workplace culture, and the importance of alignment in achieving fulfillment. He discusses the challenges of modern work environments, the crisis of misalignment, and the birth of his consulting firm, The Maur Company, aimed at helping individuals...

Summary In our penultimate episode, Clarence Bongalos and Christy Pretzinger explore the intersection of people, culture, kindness, alignment, and leadership, summarizing the key themes that have emerged as we explored the foundations of a new world of work in this first season of the show. Christy emphasizes the importance of aligning people with purpose and measuring culture with the same rigor...

Summary In this episode, Clarence Bongalos engages with Julius Alejandro, an ecosystem strategist, to explore the evolving landscape of workplace culture, strategy, and entrepreneurship. They discuss the importance of viewing businesses and careers as organic systems, the distinction between true strategy and mere tactical planning, and the necessity of integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion...

Summary In this conversation, Clarence Bongalos and Marcus Combs explore the intersection of leadership, self-awareness, and spiritual intelligence. They discuss Marcus's journey from a successful corporate career to founding numbrU, a system that combines numerology with modern strategies to help individuals find alignment, purpose, and fulfillment. The discussion emphasizes the importance of und...

Summary In this conversation, Anna Bleers shares her journey from a successful career in brand strategy at Energy BBDO to founding her own consultancy, Fearless Strategic Marketing. She discusses the importance of a positive corporate culture, the power of fearlessness in personal and professional growth, and actionable steps for leaders to energize their teams. Anna emphasizes the significance of...

Summary In this episode, Clarence Bongalos and career strategist Caty Toro continue their discussion on the evolving landscape of work and career transitions. They zoom in from their previous conversation of the broader career environment and explore the importance of proactive and innovative job search strategies, the impact of AI on career planning, and the concept of portfolio careers as a viab...

Summary In this episode, host Clarence Bongalos and career strategist Caty Toro explore the complexities of career change in today's evolving job market. They discuss the impact of the pandemic on professional identity, the rise of portfolio careers, and the duality of a tightening job market amidst a wave of resignations. Caty shares her personal journey and insights on detaching self-worth from...

Summary In this episode, Clarence Maur and Tom Circo continue their discussion about the evolving landscape of brand building and the creator economy. They shift the focus from enterprise brands to the independent creator, discussing the importance of authenticity, community, and a business mindset for those transitioning from corporate to content creator. Tom emphasizes the need for creators to a...

Summary In this first half of a 2-part episode, host Clarence Maur speaks with Tom Circo, co-founder of Matchbook, about the evolving landscape of branding and marketing. They discuss the importance of building genuine relationships, the shift from a product-first to a brand-first economy, and how connection and community are the new currencies in business. Tom shares insights from his entrepreneu...

Summary In this episode, we explore how a world-class Employee Experience (EX) is the single biggest driver of an unbeatable Customer Experience (CX) in 2025 and beyond. Manasi Shukla, Founder of Safrela Consulting, and Natalie Jackson, Founder of Crescent Consultancy and CX Strategist at Peak Fractional, join the discussion and share their insights on how investing in employees as primary custome...