The Organizational Health Advantage

Clear expectations and consistent feedback are foundational to healthy leadership—but they're also some of the most overlooked management practices. In this "Simple Ideas, Big Impact" episode, Keith and James revisit the timeless lessons of Ken Blanchard's The One Minute Manager , exploring why leaders often assume expectations are understood without ever communicating them. They d...

In this episode, James is joined by longtime Table Group Principal Consultant Rick Packer and former Principal Consultant and bestselling author Jim Brown to discuss Jim’s new book, The Imperfect CEO. Together, they explore why great CEOs don’t need to have all the answers, but they do need the humility to go first, admit limitations, build trust, and create the conditions for true collaboration....

In this episode, Keith and James explore one of the most important mindset shifts leaders can make: to see yourself as a victim of circumstances or as an agent of change. The conversation centers on three simple but powerful questions: What is our current reality? What needs to change? And what is my responsibility in making that happen?

What does “Working Genius” look like at the leadership level? In this episode, Keith and James explore which types of work leaders must personally own—and which they can delegate. They make the case that leaders don’t need to excel at all six Working Genius areas, but they must take responsibility for three critical roles: creating space for wonder, driving discernment to clear decisions, and ensu...

Rapid growth and acquisitions don’t strengthen organizations on their own—alignment does. In this episode, George Abatjoglou of EMSMC shares how the company transformed from a collection of regional EMS service providers into a unified national organization, and how organizational health became the foundation for navigating change, building trust, and creating lasting alignment across teams. From...

How do great leaders prepare for and run effective offsites? In this episode, Keith and James break down the principle of “Go first, Go last,” showing how leaders can set the tone with vulnerability and clarity, create space for real discussion, and step in at the end to drive decisions. They share practical techniques for signaling decision confidence, encouraging honest dialogue, avoiding influe...

In this episode of the Org Health Advantage podcast, Keith and James sit down with Ryan Wall, CEO of FHI, to explore his leadership journey in a multi-generational, family-owned business and the role organizational health has played in its evolution. He shares how FHI grew from a labor provider into a broader supply chain solutions company, navigating rapid growth and shifts in its business model...

Growth doesn’t break companies—lack of clarity does. In this episode, Jason McCann, CEO of Vari, shares how the company scaled rapidly and how organizational health became the key to navigating both rapid growth and major disruption. From defining core values to leading through crisis, this conversation reveals how clarity and culture drive long-term success. He also dives into what it really take...

What really gets in the way of high-performing teams? In this episode, Keith and James unpack the Five Behaviors of Cohesive Teams—and more importantly, the common habits, fears, and cultural patterns that prevent teams from actually living them out. From a lack of vulnerability and avoidance of healthy conflict to unclear decision-making and weak accountability, they explore why teams struggle an...

Clarity is the stabilizing force inside high-performing organizations — but it must reflect what is authentically true about the business and the team leading it. In this episode, Keith and James explore the six critical questions of organizational clarity and, more importantly, when it’s time to revisit them. While a company’s core purpose and values should represent its enduring DNA, even those...

Being a leader is about responsibility. Being a leader of leaders is about restraint. In this episode, we explore why the most effective CEOs stop executing — and start designing the conditions for others to lead. Leadership expert Alan Millard breaks down what it truly means to become a leader of leaders, from why micromanagement limits growth to how great CEOs shift their focus toward the future...

In this episode of The Org Health Advantage, Keith Hadley and James Felton sit down with Andrew Keyt for a candid conversation on what really makes family businesses thrive—or unravel. From founder-to-sibling-to-cousin dynamics to the hidden “hats” people wear, Andrew reveals why most family enterprises don’t fail from strategy—they fail from unresolved relationships. You’ll hear how healthy gover...

What does it look like when a leader truly owns the health of the organization he or she leads? In this episode of The Org Health Advantage, hosts James Felton and Keith Hadley sit down with Bobby Herrera, CEO of Populus Group and author of The Gift of Struggle. Bobby shares his unforgettable “bus story”—a simple act of kindness that shaped his life and company’s mission—and reveals how purpose an...

Most exec teams obsess over the rally cry—what’s most important right now—and then breeze past the everyday measures that keep the business healthy. In this no-guest deep dive, Keith Hadley and James unpack Standard Operating Objectives (SOOs): the vital signs of your organization. Learn how to pick the right 6–10 SOOs, balance leading vs. lagging indicators, tie them to your strategic anchors, an...

In this episode of The Organizational Health Advantage, hosts James Felton, Keith Hadley, and guest host Nate Nielson sit down with Scott Howe, CEO of LiveRamp, for a candid conversation on leadership, team health, and navigating growth in a fast-moving industry. From his early days at Microsoft to leading one of the world’s top data collaboration companies, Scott shares hard-earned insights on bu...

Being a "smart" team isn't enough. In this episode of The Organizational Health Advantage, Keith Hadley and Gordon Blocker dig into the healthy side of a business. Do leaders truly buy in to the problems associated with politics and confusion? If not, they won’t find the motivation needed to embrace the hard work of organizational health. Keith and Gordon share real-world stories and o...

If you want to bore, confuse or overwhelm someone, just talk about Strategic Planning! In this episode we are joined by fellow PC Joyce Schaefer to attempt to “decomplexify” the notion of Strategic Planning into its most basic parts – what questions we need to answer, how to document it and keep it on the forefront of our minds as leaders so that we put ourselves in the best position to realize ou...

Matrix organizations promise efficiency and innovation—but often deliver confusion and dysfunction instead. In this episode, Keith Hadley and James Felton are joined by UK-based consultant Sophie Dummer to unpack the paradox of the “messy matrix” and how, when grounded in organizational health, it can amplify agility and effectiveness rather than amplifying chaos. Together, they explore the key re...

Today we’re thrilled to welcome Joyce Schaefer to the podcast—someone who has truly lived out the evolving identity of HR professionals and the strategic power they can bring to the table. In this conversation, we dive into how HR leaders can move beyond traditional administrative roles and step confidently into positions of influence and impact. Joyce makes a strong case for seeing HR professiona...

Rich Arendel of Visa with guest host Joe Kay: Dubbed, the “Pod-Father” and carrying the title of “Chief Evangelist” when Currency Cloud which was acquired by Visa in 2021. Rich tells his incredible story of carved out a unique role as an internal champion of organisational health. Working with cross functional go to market “pods” to help drive clarity and cohesion and ensure the most strategic dec...

In this episode, James and Keith go deep on the Case for Vulnerability. Having seen firsthand the transformative power of vulnerability, they share why teams that can be unguarded with one another consistently outperform those that cannot. Vulnerability accelerates the identification of issues, clears the path to more effective problem-solving, and unlocks access to a wider range of ideas. More th...

Keith interviews Jon Brady, President of Midtown Athletic Club. Driven by a commitment to inspire others to transform their lives, Jon has championed the creation of an Athletic Club made true third space—a place where people are seen as human first through authentic interaction. As Jon often says, “Whatever we do, let’s do it on purpose.” In this episode, he shares the pivotal leadership decision...

In this episode, James and Keith dive into Patrick Lencioni’s first book, The Five Temptations of a CEO. Described as “temptations”, these leadership pitfalls are common, easy to succumb to, and often hard to recognize—but not impossible to overcome. Together, we unpack the destructive impact of choosing status over results, popularity over accountability, certainty over clarity, harmony over prod...

In this episode, Keith and guest host Dan O'Brien sit down with Matt Salamone, CEO of HRD Aerosystems. From packing boxes at 8 years old to being promoted to CEO, Dan has grown up with this company, and discusses with us how he has learned to step into difficult conversations by leading with vulnerability, overcoming silos of work within the company, and how Organizational Health has equipped...

In these special episodes, Julio Gonzalez joins as Guest Host to present The Case for Organizational Health—en Español! Perfect for bilingual teams and rollout sessions, we walk through the core models from Patrick Lencioni’s The Advantage, including Las Cuatro Disciplinas and The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Along the way, we uncover key language nuances—like how “compromiso” means commitment, no...