The Love Monday Podcast

Send us Fan Mail What if the way you feel about Monday isn’t about laziness, burnout, or a bad attitude—but about what you were taught to value long before you ever had a job? In this episode, I explore how our relationship with work often traces back to childhood moments when adults—usually unintentionally—taught us what was “worth” caring about. I share a personal story about an early lesson in...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ryan takes the first of the 7 Bridges — the Bridge of Attraction — and applies it to a place most people never think about: the workplace. Attraction has three parts in relationships: physical, sexual (energy), and personal. Ryan shows how those same forces determine whether people want to come to work. Because here’s the truth: Return-to-office isn’t an attendanc...

Send us Fan Mail n this follow-up to last week’s episode, I go deeper into what I’m calling Absorption Culture — the silent epidemic where good people take on more and more until they’re soaked, saturated, and squeezed dry. You’ll hear the stories of a fourth-grade teacher dealing with extreme behaviors in her classroom, and a professional whose top Career Driver is trust… and who is rapidly losin...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I dive into one of the most destructive expectations in modern work: absorption —the unspoken rule that teachers, employees, and managers should just soak up endless pressure, problems, and extra work… without complaint, compensation, or support. I share two very real stories. One is about my daughter, a teacher who’s expected to absorb the emotional load of stude...

Send us Fan Mail Two Types of Coaching — And Why You Need to Know Which One You’re In In this episode, I break down the two types of coaching most people don’t even realize exist:   Coping Coaching and Transformation Coaching. Coping Coaching helps you steady the ship — manage overwhelm, get unstuck, deal with the stress, pain, or chaos that’s right in front of you. It’s valuable, even necessary…...

Send us Fan Mail It’s time to stop managing and start coaching. In this episode, I share real success stories that show what happens when managers trade their administrator hats for coaching mindsets. When you stop fixating on tasks and start developing people, engagement goes up, productivity follows, and your team begins to love Monday just as much as Friday—just for different reasons. Join me a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I take you along on my morning walk as I talk about how I did the Career Drivers activity for myself—and what they revealed about me. We talk about how powerful it is to identify what truly fuels your motivation and joy at work, and what happens when managers and teams do this exercise together. When you uncover your career drivers, you stop chasing everything and...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ryan explores why spending time improving your weaknesses comes with a massive opportunity cost. Instead of grinding away at what you’ll never be great at, he makes the case for stepping out of your Zone of Incompetence entirely—and doubling down on your strengths. Ryan shares stories, examples, and insights to help you recognize when “fixing” a weakness actually...

Send us Fan Mail Most of us spend our careers bouncing between what we can do and what we should do—rarely getting to what we’re truly meant to do. In this episode, I break down the four zones—Incompetence, Competence, Excellence, and Genius—and share how to break free from the first three to find the one that makes you come alive. Through personal stories and real-world examples, we explore how t...

Send us Fan Mail I heard a quote this week that hit me square in the chest: “The life you want is on the other side of the work you’re avoiding.” OUCH -  but it’s true — not just for people, but for companies too. In this episode, I talk about how we all dodge the hard things — the feedback conversations, the accountability moments, the uncomfortable truths — and how those acts of avoidance quietl...

Send us Fan Mail Sometimes the smallest experiences reveal the biggest workplace truths. In this episode, Ryan shares how a quick stop to fill his tires turned into a masterclass on disengagement. When the air machine started letting air out instead of putting it in—and the station’s “warning” sign barely warned anyone—it became clear: quality suffers when employees stop caring. Ryan unpacks how p...

Send us Fan Mail Sometimes, the right conversation makes all the difference. In this episode of Love Monday , I share a powerful story from a recent manager training session. During a table discussion, one manager explained how he helped take an employee from the very bottom of the performance chart to the very top of his team. Support the show For more information on how to love Monday just like...

Send us Fan Mail Why do some employees thrive while others stall out? The answer often comes down to three simple factors: skill, will, and fit. In this episode, I break down how managers can use this framework to diagnose performance issues, take the guesswork out of coaching, and unlock hidden potential. You’ll hear real-world examples, practical questions to ask, and a simple way to know whethe...

Send us Fan Mail What if your entire organization could love Monday just like Friday? In this episode, I break down THE formula for making that happen: measure engagement, diagnose the problem, and prescribe the solution through the right management tools, training, and coaching. Engagement doesn’t improve by accident—it improves because leaders treat it like a business-critical health issue. Just...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever walked into a business and felt like your presence was an inconvenience? In this episode of Love Monday , I share a real-life experience at a property management office that made me stop in my tracks—and reminded me how easy it is to spot employee disengagement in the wild. When frontline employees repel customers with their attitude, it’s not just a bad moment—it’s...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ryan peels back the curtain on the messy middle of doing what you do best—when you’re also trying to do all the things .  Inspired by Oliver Burkeman’s 4,000 Weeks and Gay Hendricks’ Zone of Genius framework, Ryan shares what it’s really like trying to live in your genius while fighting with web builders, coaching clients, and maximizing every last hour of your we...

Send us Fan Mail What if your company actually chose managers based on their ability to lead people—not just because they were good at tasks? In this episode of Love Monday , I sit down with Robert Buckley, Chief People Architect at Enveda Biosciences, to unpack a radical idea: People create all value . From that philosophy, Robert built a world-class system for choosing people leaders—one that pr...

Send us Fan Mail Why are we still promoting the wrong people into leadership roles? In this episode, Ryan introduces his latest concept: QWERTY Management —a powerful metaphor for how outdated systems keep ineffective managers in place. Just like the QWERTY keyboard was designed to slow us down, QWERTY-style management slows down engagement, innovation, and team performance. We unpack why top perf...

Send us Fan Mail In this short but fiery episode, Ryan breaks down one of the most damaging habits in the workplace: promoting top performers into management without checking if they’re wired for people leadership. Discover what it means to be a people-genius — someone who lights up when others grow — and why coaching, empathy, and development are non-negotiables for any leader. Ryan shares simple...

Send us Fan Mail What if the secret to improving performance and employee engagement lies in what gives you energy at work? In this episode, I break down a simple yet powerful strengths-based leadership concept using Gainers & Drainers . We explore how to detect real talent—your own or your team's—by paying attention to which tasks energize you and which ones deplete you. Perfect for mana...

Send us Fan Mail There’s a long-standing myth in management: “You’re not here to be liked—you’re here to be respected.” But what if that mindset is sabotaging your team? In this episode of The Love Monday Podcast , Ryan Houmand challenges the false dichotomy of being liked vs. respected as a leader. Drawing on research from Gallup, Google’s Project Oxygen, and Don Clifton’s Soar with Your Strength...

Send us Fan Mail Why are we so afraid to say what we really think at work—or on LinkedIn? In this episode, Ryan resurrects the classic Jim Rome mantra, “Have a take and don’t suck,” to explore why so many professionals stay silent in the face of important, even urgent, conversations. From DEI and layoffs to employee well-being and leadership accountability, too many people are editing themselves o...

Send us Fan Mail Are customer and partner escalations on the rise in your company? If so — don’t blame your team. Blame your leadership habits. In this episode of the Love Monday Podcast , we pull back the curtain on one of the most common leadership mistakes managers make: unintentionally teaching their employees to escalate more. Escalations aren’t just a customer service problem — they’re a lea...

Send us Fan Mail Why are more employees disengaged, distrustful, and ready to leave than ever before? In this episode of the Love Monday Podcast , I unpack a real-world story of a dedicated employee who gave her all to her company — only to be terminated when she asked for flexibility. This isn’t an isolated case. Across industries, companies are increasingly breaking the psychological contract wi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we explore the power of praise and why so many leaders miss the opportunity to lift their people up. I share a personal story about my daughter Lauren, who, after four years with a boss who only pointed out what she could do better, finally experienced real recognition at her new job. Her new boss not only praised her directly but also made it public by cc’ing her...