The Missing Link Podcast

What if the biggest threat to your leadership credibility isn't what you say — but what you're communicating before you say a single word? In this episode, Linda sits down with Kathryn Janicek, a three-time Emmy-winning media and public speaking trainer and founder of Janicek Performance Group, who has coached C-suite leaders at Oracle, Deloitte, AbbVie, JPMorgan Chase, and UPS. Kathryn has been i...

In this episode of The Missing Link , host Linda Perry introduces the concept of the "Definition Gap" — the hidden breakdown that occurs when people use the same words but hold completely different meanings for them. Drawing on 17 years in federal courtrooms and 13 years working with founders and leadership teams, Linda argues that most organizational problems — disengagement, accountability failu...

What do most leaders miss that's quietly limiting their teams? Former President and CEO Tracie Williams built a company of fewer than 50 people to nearly $300 million in peak revenue — and she'll tell you the real driver wasn't strategy. It was people. In this episode, Tracie breaks down what it actually takes to build accountability cultures, close the connectivity gap, and lead in a way that mak...

AI is changing how teams work. But the resistance leaders are getting back isn't a change management problem — and treating it like one will make it worse. In this episode, Linda Perry breaks down what's actually happening when a team goes quiet on AI adoption, why the logical efficiency argument fails with certain teams, and how understanding your team's WHY.os changes the entire leadership appro...

Most founders assume that what made them successful as solo operators will translate to leading a team. It doesn't. In this conversation, business growth coach and former CEO Rich Palarea gets honest about what it cost him to learn that the hard way — a 15-year company, a 27-year marriage, and a trust deficit he couldn't close no matter how many resources he threw at it. He now coaches leadership...

Trust is the structural foundation of every scaling company — and most leaders are operating with a false read on how much of it they actually have. In this episode, Linda draws on what she hears in her 1:1 conversations during WHY.os team diagnostics: the hesitation, the hedging, the things people don't say. She walks through the ten trust killers she sees most often in leadership — from shifting...

Most leadership teams spend more time on hiring, marketing, and sales than they do on goals — and it shows. In this episode, Linda Perry breaks down why goals are one of the most powerful diagnostic tools she uses when working with founders, CEOs, and leadership teams. It's not about whether you're hitting them. It's about what the way you set them, own them, track them, and avoid them reveals abo...

In this episode, Linda explores how the leader's personal operating system quietly becomes the operating system of the entire organization — and how that can be what stalls growth. She explains that leadership isn't just about strategy and management tactics; it's about mindset. Using the "Why Framework," Linda breaks down how different leadership drivers (challenge, trust, clarify) shape team cul...

Why do the smartest leadership teams still struggle with communication? In this episode, Linda Perry explores how communication breakdowns aren't really about personality — they're about colliding operating systems. She explains how people interpret the same conversations through different lenses, why teams fall into the trap of labeling individuals as "difficult," and how her WHY framework reveal...

This episode explores why motivation drops on teams and why leaders often misread the real cause. Rather than being an energy or effort problem, low motivation is usually a sign of misalignment — people working in ways that conflict with how they're naturally wired. The episode introduces the WHY Framework (created by Dr. Gary Sanchez of the WHY Institute), which identifies nine core drivers behin...

This episode of  The Missing Link explores why accountability problems in organizations are usually not about effort or discipline — they're about goal design. Host Linda Perry explains that most companies achieve only about 40% of their goals, and that this isn't a people problem but a clarity problem rooted in how goals are set and tracked. She introduces her "Chain Framework," which starts with...

In Episode 2 of  The Missing Link , host Linda Perry explores the critical role of  vision  as the first link in the chain of business growth. She explains why most leaders mistake revenue targets, mission statements, or vague aspirations for a true vision — and how that confusion causes problems downstream in goals, tracking, motivation, and execution. Linda breaks down the difference between vis...

Most leaders think they know what's wrong in their organization. Deadlines slip. Communication breaks down. Two leaders clash. Motivation drops. But those are rarely the real problem. In this first episode of  The Missing Link , Linda Perry explains why most leadership teams diagnose problems at the surface level—and how the real issues are usually hidden upstream in the operating systems that dri...

Today is the last episode in the series focusing on helping you restore and overcome the limiting belief of feeling like you're broken. Today's episode is all about the art of Kintsugi - weaving threads of gold through your broken pieces to create something even more beautiful. I am going to talk about how really honoring this art from Japan can help you thread an entirely new picture of your life...

Today's episode talks about how you can go from feeling broken and settling for less, to owning your self-worth and really taking your power back in life. This is an important episode because even if you haven't shifted your belief that you're broken, you can start to own your self worth, set boundaries and live a life you dream of. You can begin to have your needs met and begin to believe in your...

When you carry the feeling that you're broken, you can think that you will feel that way forever. Or at least that you will feel that way anytime anything bad happens to you. But the truth is that you can change your belief - in fact, you can change any limiting belief you hold about yourself or the world. No matter whether you've felt or believed you were broken for 10 minutes or several decades,...

We'd like to think that the thoughts in our head, stay in our head. That they don't have impact on our lives, actions, or outer world. But the old adage of what you are or what you experience is what you think - is 100% true. Your perspective colors what you see - so even if you never tell anyone that you hold beliefs like "I feel broken", chances are you are experiencing the impact of that belief...

Oh gosh, I'm so excited for you to join me. It's been a while since I recorded a podcast and this new series I'm kicking off is important. I can't tell you how many times a week I hear from individuals and clients who tell me they're broken. And while sometimes they may say it jokingly, this single - horribly destructive - belief is at the core of why so many of us are still suffering in life or a...

Although we've talked about storytelling before on the podcast, I keep coming back to it because the truth is that there is something deep about connecting to our own personal story - it can elevate you or bring you to your knees. So, we have to be careful what stories we tell ourselves and the world. The more I experience life I know this to be true. So, on today's podcast I wanted to bring Linds...

When it comes to growing your business, it's no secret that I believe mindset needs to come first, but it's not all about working on your mindset. You have to take action if you're going to move through life's plateaus and achieve next level growth. But not all action is equal. One thing I've learned is that as a quick start I can take action, but that doesn't mean it's always right action. Same g...

It can be hard when things don't go the way you've planned or if the business you've worked hard to build suddenly feels like it's sliding downward rather than growing and thriving. But how we handle these backslides, missteps, mistakes or even failures can indicate how we'll rebound and how we'll handle the next big challenge. I often think that backslides can be an invitation to grow bigger and...

One of the things I don't often talk about on the podcast is my constant fascination and observation about the ways we run away from ourselves. We live in a society that glorifies numbing out as a way of dealing with discomfort and I see that more and more the business world seems to address stress, anxiety and crisis with substance. I know personally I have had those days where wine becomes the g...

As someone who grew up with a clear message to make myself indispensable in any situation, hustling and making things happen are almost second nature to me. But hustling can lead to a lot of frenetic business growth and personal overwhelm. I know because I have been there many times in my life. This hustle mentality is certainly encouraged by our culture with little isms like "the early bird gets...

There is nothing better than a good story to pull people in. I know I'm a sucker for a good story and love anyone who elevates storytelling to an art form. Yet most of us get stuck in the mindset that our story isn't good enough, important enough, different enough to garner attention or help us share who we are. So, instead we hide or remain uncomfortable sharing who we are. Because I often surrou...

It's interesting, but the term manifestation and manifesting seems to be popping up everywhere lately. I think when we face turbulent times like a recession or economic downturns, manifestation comes back into vogue because we aren't really sure how we're going to make it through the rough times - so instead we double down on wishing for things we want and trusting that the universe will bring it...