Willing to Grow

Surveys going out. Responses not coming in. The same ten people answer every time. If you've led a team, a practice, or an organization for any length of time, you've probably been there. In this episode, Amy Lafko shares a story from a recent facilitation experience in Alaska. What she brought to the room wasn't another survey or an open-ended group discussion. It was something far more unexpecte...

"I tried everything you recommended, Amy, and nothing has changed." In this episode, Amy tackles a message she received directly on LinkedIn from a frustrated leader who was doing "all the right things." They'd had the performance conversations, outlined the steps, and followed all the right leadership advice—but their team member's performance was still completely stalled. It's a common hurdle in...

Most attempts to resolve conflict in the workplace fail, not because the people involved aren't trying, but because they're trying to solve the wrong problem. In this episode, Amy Lafko shares a story from a recent Productive Conflict workshop where one participant came back ready to report on how she'd tried to apply Amy's model. And the conversation that followed reveals something critical about...

Eleven league championships. Eight district titles. And almost no seniors on the roster. In this episode, Amy draws on a front-row seat at her niece's swim meet to bring one of her favorite leadership concepts to life: building bench strength. What makes a team championship-level? It's rarely about having the single fastest swimmer in every race. It's about depth, and enough talent distributed acr...

What if the most powerful retention tool in your practice isn't a raise or a promotion…what if it's a question? In this episode, Amy shares a story from a recent conversation with a former client whose practice, operating across seven locations, found a creative way to keep their people engaged, committed, and genuinely excited to come to work. And it didn't require restructuring their pay scale o...

"I thought staying silent was helping me and the team. But I was actually hurting both." Are you staying quiet at work because speaking up feels too risky? That silence might be costing more than you think. In this episode, Amy shares a powerful moment from a recent client workshop that changed how one team member viewed her own silence. What started as an exercise in conflict resolution became a...

Projects going off the rails despite hiring talented people and giving them freedom to excel? The culprit might be the opposite of what you'd expect: too much freedom, not enough structure. In this episode of Willing to Grow, Amy Lafko tackles a common leadership misconception—that being "people first" means removing all constraints. Through real client stories, she reveals how the absence of clea...

If you've ever heard a team member say, "That's just the way we've always done it" and felt equal parts frustrated and stuck, this episode is for you. In this episode of Willing To Grow, Amy Lafko responds to a real question sent in via LinkedIn from a healthcare leader navigating one of the most common challenges in practice management: overcoming inertia in stagnant teams and processes. The conv...

Hiring someone with an impressive resume and then watching them struggle in a role they should have crushed? Or feeling that constant energy drain trying to coach someone into a position that just isn't working? In this episode, Amy Lafko challenges one of healthcare leadership's most persistent myths: that skills and experience are enough to predict success. Drawing from her own leadership journe...

In this episode, Amy shares her expertise on establishing team ground rules to foster respectful and productive meetings. Drawing from her experience in both healthcare and workshop facilitation, she explains why simply having "respect" as a rule is not enough, and how to dig deeper to create specific, behavioral guidelines. Amy reveals her two non-negotiable ground rules and the process of collab...

Are your interview questions falling flat?  In this episode, Amy reveals the secret sauce to crafting interview questions that will have you hiring superstars in no time! Forget the generic lists and boring behavioral questions—Amy's "cascading interview questions" framework is the key to unlocking a candidate's true potential.  Get ready to take your interviews to the next level as Amy breaks dow...

As leaders, we often rise through the ranks by boldly speaking our minds and contributing ideas. But is our tendency to talk preventing us from unlocking the full potential of our teams?  In this revelatory episode, Amy gets radically honest about her own struggles with listening and the critical mindset shifts required to transform from a motor mouth into a maestro of team dynamics.  Discover pra...

In times of organizational change, it's easy for leaders to get swept up in the whirlwind of urgent demands. But what if the true key to success lies in prioritizing your people? In this episode, Amy shares a profound conversation with a medical practice administrator that reveals the transformative power of putting your team first. Discover the simple mindset shift that can help you navigate chan...

Have you ever heard leadership advice that sounded great, but fell flat the moment you tried to put it into practice? Willing to Grow is the go-to podcast for business owners, practice leaders, and team managers who are serious about their leadership and how it impacts their team. Each episode is short and easy to digest, featuring fun, straight-to-the-point conversations filled with detailed stra...