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THIS Leader Podcast

THIS Leader Podcast

Written by: Claire Laughlin
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 The "THIS Leader" Podcast explores the transformational, high-impact secrets that turn ordinary people into extraordinary leaders! THIS Leader is hosted by Claire Laughlin, an organizational development consultant. She and her guests will explore: How individuals can enhance their leadership impact by showing up as their personal best; how teams can leverage connection and clarity to experience tremendous results; and how organizations can increase trust and engagement and improve outcomes by putting people and relationships at the center of business.2025 Economics Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • EP 51 How Crisis Reveals the Leader Within with Frances Robustelli

    EP 51 How Crisis Reveals the Leader Within with Frances Robustelli
    Jan 27 2026

    You're committed to developing your people, but what happens when a crisis hits and you need results now? This is the tension between being patient and decisive—one of the hardest parts of leadership.

    My guest, Frances Robustelli, City Manager of St. Pete Beach, Florida, faced this challenge head-on. Just months into her new role, back-to-back hurricanes devastated her community, shutting down 90% of the city's structures overnight. Crisis revealed exactly where talent lived and where dysfunction amplified chaos—and forced her to make staffing decisions faster than ever before.

    Fran's Framework for Building Healthy Organizations:

    Days 1-60: Listen First

    • Meet with every leadership level, especially mid-management (where culture lives or dies)
    • Share your leadership style and expectations clearly
    • Build trust before implementing anything new

    After 60 Days: Confirm and Commit

    • Share back what you heard—the good, bad, and the ugly
    • Build team commitments together (Fran created 10, let the team vote on which 2 to measure first)
    • Link new tools that the team asks for

    The Secret: Reinforcement Over Complexity

    • Use quarterly all-hands meetings for accountability
    • Create a clear meeting cadence around what matters
    • When things go sideways, ask: "Do we have clarity here?"

    Crisis reveals who we really are as leaders, and authenticity matters. As Fran says, "I'd rather be struck down being the real me than spend my life trying to please everybody." Her approach proves that developing people and delivering results aren't competing priorities—they're woven together.

    Resources Mentioned:

    Connect with Fran Robustelli and the City of St. Pete Beach at stpetebeach.org

    Contact me to learn about building team commitments in your organization

    Visit ClaireLaughlin.com and connect with me @Claire Laughlin Consulting on LinkedIn.

    Thanks for listening!

    New episodes are released weekly—share with others who might benefit!
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    30 mins
  • Ep 50 The Leadership Retrofit

    Ep 50 The Leadership Retrofit
    Jan 20 2026

    Welcome to Episode 50! We've made it to the top 1% of podcasters—and in this milestone episode, we're talking about why leadership transitions are so hard and what actually needs to change when you move to a new level.

    In this episode, you'll hear about:

    • The Peter Principle: Why people rise to their "level of incompetence" (spoiler: it's not about your capability—it's about operating at the wrong level)
    • The Leadership Pipeline Framework: The three things that must change at every transition—your skills, time allocation, and work values
    • The First Major Passage: Moving from individual contributor to manager, and why you can't keep doing everyone's work while also leading a team
    • The Reality of Working Managers: How to balance your own deliverables with developing your team (even when your organization expects both)
    • The Meeting Problem: Why you're working evenings and weekends, and what needs to shift in how you manage your calendar

    Key Takeaway: What got you here won't get you there. If you're struggling at a new leadership level, that's not failure—it's a sign you're at a transition point and need to retrofit your foundation.

    Resources Mentioned:

    1. The Leadership Pipeline by Ram Charan, Stephen Drotter, and James Noel
    2. New Program Alert: I'm launching a pilot program to help leaders retrofit their foundations! Only 25 spots available. Email support@clairelaughlin.com with "RETROFIT" in the subject line to learn more.

    Join the Conversation:

    What strategies have you used to successfully manage a leadership transition? Or, what challenges have you faced when moving from one role to another? Share your thoughts with me on LinkedIn or Instagram @Claire Laughlin Consulting.

    Don't forget to Subscribe & Share:

    If this episode was helpful, please leave a 5-star review on Apple or Spotify and share it with a friend or colleague who's leading through change!

    To learn more about my services, subscribe to my newsletter, and for additional tools to enhance your leadership impact, visit ClaireLaughlin.com and connect with me on social channels @Claire Laughlin Consulting.

    Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! New episodes are released weekly, and we'd love for you to share them with others who might benefit. Until next time, lead the way!
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    26 mins
  • EP 49 Building Your GOAT Mindset with Natalia Rivera-España

    EP 49 Building Your GOAT Mindset with Natalia Rivera-España
    Jan 13 2026
    In this episode, I explore how physical fitness serves as a powerful laboratory for leadership development—and why the lessons you learn pushing your body are the exact skills you need to lead yourself and others well. The Translation Between Fitness and Leadership If you're like most leaders I work with, you've heard yourself say: "I don't leave my desk for lunch." "I don't take breaks." "I don't have time to exercise." Sound familiar? But here's the paradox—when we pause to take care of ourselves, when we refuel and connect, everything else gets better. The discipline, the ability to handle discomfort, the power of shared struggle—these lessons are waiting to transform how you lead. Doing Hard Things Builds Capacity for Everything Else One profound shift that changes everything, is moving from "life shouldn't feel uncomfortable" to "I'm seeking discomfort because that's where growth happens." When you train yourself to show up and do the work every single day, you build a foundation that prepares you for those exceptional moments—the breakthrough idea, the difficult conversation, the crisis that demands your best. And doing hard things has other benefits: Recent research shows that lactate (a result of that burn you feel during intense exercise) actually improves cognition, brain plasticity, and long-term brain healthEmbracing physical discomfort can make you better at handling life's other challengesThe emotional payback is exponential—walking away from doing something hard and feeling impressed and proud of yourself is incredibly powerful The Power of Shared Challenge When you experience something difficult with others—whether in a fitness class or navigating a workplace crisis—it becomes even more meaningful: There's an accountability that happens in community that you can't get working aloneShared struggle creates bonds to the team, the outcome, and the organization itselfPeople remember how you make them feel more than anything else Support and Challenge: The Leader's Balancing Act Great instructors (and great leaders) balance on a fine line where they push you to your threshold without pushing to failure. They bring everyone up with them—sometimes above them—because the spotlight isn't for them. The best leaders create environments where each team member goes home feeling the win was their own, knowing they're capable of more than they thought. Discipline and the Decision That's Already Made Stop making exercise a daily decision. When you truly commit, you stop asking "should I work out today?" and start asking "what time?" This same principle applies to self-care, to showing up for difficult conversations, to being the leader you want to be, even when you don't feel like it. Training yourself to do hard things builds the baseline that allows you to be exceptional when it matters mostSurround yourself with people who will cheer you on and allow you to take that leapBuild a community that makes it hard to NOT show up Resources Mentioned: GOAT Santa Cruz: goatsantacruz.com (mention Claire Laughlin's name for something special!) To learn more about my services and for additional tools to enhance your leadership impact, visit ClaireLaughlin.com and connect with me on social channels @Claire Laughlin Consulting. Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! New episodes are released weekly, and we'd love for you to share them with others who might benefit.
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    29 mins
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