Reframe Fix | The Official Workbench Podcast

In Part 2 of this conversation, Jake Smith continues talking with Michael Cusick — founder, therapist, author, speaker, and coach — about the false self leaders build to feel safe, and what it costs them. They unpack how shame disconnects us from ourselves, from others, and from a larger sense of purpose, why it pushes leaders to either inflate or shrink, and why no amount of success, money, or ti...

What if the biggest thing holding you back as a leader isn't your strategy — it's the story you tell yourself? In this episode of Reframe Fix, host Jake Smith sits down with therapist, coach, and author Michael Cusick for a candid conversation about the inner work behind great leadership. Drawing on more than 30 years as a therapist and spiritual director, Michael unpacks why self-awareness and se...

Dan Wolgemuth spent 28 years in corporate life — nine of them at General Electric during the Jack Welch era — before serving 16 years as CEO for a national non-profit organization. What he learned along the way challenges some of the most persistent assumptions about what it means to lead. In this conversation, Dan and host Jake Smith explore the difference between authority as a right and authori...

Jay Steele is the CEO of Focus Learning, a software company he acquired through a search fund. In this conversation with host Jake Smith, Jay gets honest about the realities of stepping into a company as a first-time CEO — the relief, the pressure, and the hard work of building a culture that lasts. He covers what "people-first" leadership really means beyond the buzzword, how he approac...

Leadership coaching, role clarity, and the human cost of poor HR decisions — Evelyn Walter has seen it all from inside some of the country's largest organizations. In this episode of Reframe Fix, host Jake Smith sits down with Evelyn Walter, founder of Next Up Leadership Group and a 27-year veteran of corporate HR, including multiple Chief HR Officer roles. After managing a 1,000-person reduction...

In this episode of Reframe Fix, Jake Smith sits down with Galen Welsch — Co-Founder and CEO of Jibu, a drinking water franchise network serving nearly 700,000 people daily across eight countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Galen has led Jibu for nearly 14 years, scaling the organization to 5,000 employees and 200 franchise locations. In this conversation, he reflects on the full arc of his evolution as...

Joel Christensen on Leadership, Culture, and Building a $70M Company | Reframe Fix Ep. 3What does great leadership actually require? In Episode 3 of Reframe Fix, Jake Smith sits down with Joel Christensen, Founder & CEO of Parkwell, a fast-growing parking management company with 300 employees and $70M+ in revenue. Joel shares his journey from college valet (where he nearly got fired) to leadin...

What if the leadership move you’re avoiding is the one your team needs most? In this episode of Reframe Fix, Jake sits down with Alli Horst, CEO of Matchstick, for a candid conversation about leadership, authority, and the quiet ways we sidestep hard decisions—even when we care deeply about our people. Alli shares how her natural strength in empathy and vulnerability became a growth edge as her co...

What if the most underrated leadership skill isn’t strategy, decisiveness, or grit—but love? In this inaugural episode of Reframe Fix, Jake Smith sits down with Tony Julianelle, CEO of Atlas Real Estate, for a candid and deeply human conversation about what actually makes leaders—and organizations—thrive. Tony challenges conventional leadership wisdom, arguing that love—defined as wanting the grea...