If you want better results, start with clarity.

Leadership expert Laurie Cozart breaks down how confusion crushes performance and why aligning your leadership team is the first step toward simplicity, engagement, and results that stick.

Confusion = stress.
Clarity = progress.

#LeadershipTruths

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What if the real secret to building leaders, not followers, was simply honesty paired with care?

Nikki sits down with Steve Sorenson, Senior Director Learning and Culture at Johnsonville, to explore a leadership model rooted in humble candor, empowerment, and intentional coaching. Known for replacing “managers” with “coaches” and fostering autonomy through frameworks like the ABC Decision Method and the Simon Principle, Steve walks the talk when it comes to building trust, elevating teams, and modeling people-first leadership.

This conversation is packed with tangible tools, soul-shifting moments, and the kind of clarity that challenges old norms and makes culture come alive. Whether you're trying to turn the ship or sharpen your edge, this one will shift how you lead.

Additional Resources:

🔗 Connect with Steve on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-sorenson-994a5915/)

🔗 Learn more about Johnsonville (https://careers.johnsonville.com/)

🔗 Connect with Nikki on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkilewallen/)

🔗 Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/peopleforward-network/?viewAsMember=true)

🔗 Learn more about PeopleForward Network (https://peopleforwardnetwork.com/)

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If your team feels disconnected, the issue might not be performance, it's trust.

Laurie Cozart breaks down how poor listening and lack of connection block team success and lead to burnout.

When leaders don’t trust, they can’t delegate. And when trust is missing, teams can’t thrive.

Want better teams? Start building trust.

#LeadershipMatters #WorkplaceTrust #TeamConnection

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Leadership isn’t about being the smartest in the room.

It’s about showing your team you care and want them to succeed.

Steve Sorenson shares how your mindset can make or break trust, especially in tough conversations.

Come in with humility, leave with connection.

#LeadershipMindset #PeopleFirst #EmpoweredTeams

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What if the secret to better leadership isn’t about doing more, but being more human?

In this episode of Work Doesn’t Work (Anymore), Dr. Ryan Darby sits down with leadership expert and founder of Brain Squared Leadership Solutions, Laurie Cozart. With over 10,000 individuals and 500 teams coached, Laurie brings deep insights on how leaders can thrive in today’s complex and rapidly changing workplace.

Together, they unpack why hero leadership is outdated, why clarity is the most underrated leadership skill, and how vulnerability and relationship-building are actually strategic advantages. Laurie shares stories from her own journey and introduces practical, neuroscience-backed tools for fostering resilient leadership, trust-filled teams, and simplified work cultures that don't burn people out.

If you’re tired of the noise and looking to build magic teams that feel good and perform better, this conversation is your playbook.

Additional Resources:

🔗 Connect with Laurie on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriecozart/)

🔗 Followed Brain Squared Leadership Solutions on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/brainsquaredsolutions/)

🔗 Learn more about Brain Squared Leadership Solutions (https://brainsquaredsolutions.com/)

🔗 Connect with Dr. Ryan Darby (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsdarby/) for continued leadership insights

🔗 Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/peopleforward-network/posts/?feedView=all)

🔗 Learn more about PeopleForward Network (https://peopleforwardnetwork.com/)

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Executives thought men wouldn’t use parental leave. They were wrong. Not only did they take it, but they came back more loyal, focused, and refreshed.

Paul Sullivan shares the unexpected impact of inclusive leave policies in this Gut + Science episode with Nikki Lewallen Gregory.

It’s time to rethink what loyalty really looks like in the workplace.

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When we’re unsettled within, we project that turmoil outward.

Amy Woodall asks the question we often avoid: “What is your relationship with you?”

If you’re relying on the world to bring you peace, validation, or worth, this is your reminder that it starts with you.

Know your goodness. Know your wholeness.

#AddictedToBetterment #SelfLeadership #PeopleForwardNetwork

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Welcome to The Ruff Truth, a short-form show about leadership, team dynamics, and workplace culture.

This isn’t about canceling leaders. It’s about calling out behaviors that hold teams back and celebrating the ones that move people forward. Humor included, judgment not required.

Created with support from OnePack Plan™ by PetPartners because protection and responsibility matter in leadership, just like in teams.
Foster a pet-friendly culture with OnePack Plan pet insurance: https://www.onepackplan.com/

New shorts drop weekly starting February 25!

#TheRuffTruth #LeadershipStories #PeopleFirstLeadership #WorkplaceCulture #BetterLeadership

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Ever found yourself mid-argument thinking, “Why am I so worked up right now?” What if the real culprit… is your ego?

David is joined by Amy Woodall for a conversation that feels more like a mirror than a mic. Together, they pull back the curtain on ego, and how it sneaks into your relationships, hijacks your reactions, and disguises itself as righteousness.

Amy shows us where ego lurks and how asking one simple question, “What would love do?”, can change the tone, the outcome, and maybe even the world.

Expect to feel called out, cracked open, and challenged to stop forwarding that podcast to “someone who really needs to hear it”… and instead, take it personally. This is your invitation to check your ego, rewire your reactions, and step into leadership with radical love, not loud opinions. ❤️

Additional Resources:

🔗 Subscribe to Conscious Habit on YouTube! (https://youtube.com/@conscioushabit?si=6kdz2Vc9anYm1wQN)

🔗 Join the “Conscious Conversations” Community! (https://community.peopleforwardnetwork.com/join?invitation_token=dc329294ed25f291f9c342258d8a677a3b234098-b30ab67d-04a6-4e79-bd7f-7d4d223c2970)

🔗 Sign Up for the Conscious Habit Newsletter (https://mailchi.mp/c6b799fba777/conscioushabit)

🔗 Connect with Amy on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amywoodall/)

🔗 Learn more about Conscious Habit (https://theconscioushabit.com/)

🔗 Connect with David on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-gregory-45b15a1a5/)

🔗 Learn more about PeopleForward Network (https://peopleforwardnetwork.com/)

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What if the most overlooked group in your workplace holds the key to retention, loyalty, and a truly people-first culture?

Nikki is joined by Paul Sullivan, former New York Times columnist and founder of The Company of Dads. Paul shares the deeply personal story behind his mission to elevate and support “lead dads,” the primary caregivers often overlooked in corporate benefit structures. From the eye-opening stats on caregiving to stories of companies getting it painfully wrong, Paul challenges leaders to rethink how they message and activate the benefits they already offer.

This conversation is a wake-up call and a roadmap for anyone serious about creating workplaces that work for families. If your culture says “family first,” does your messaging and manager training back it up?

Additional Resources:

🔗 Connect with Paul on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sullivanpaulj/)

🔗 Learn more about The Company of Dads (https://thecompanyofdads.com/)

🔗 Connect with Nikki on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkilewallen/)

🔗 Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/peopleforward-network/?viewAsMember=true)

🔗 Learn more about PeopleForward Network (https://peopleforwardnetwork.com/)

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Who at work drives you crazy? According to Amy Woodall, it’s probably not just about them. 👀

When you feel triggered by someone, it may be because they’re revealing a part of yourself you haven’t fully accepted. Instead of judging outward, try asking: “What is this showing me about me?”

It’s uncomfortable, but it’s where real growth begins.

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What happens when clarity, belief, and intention collide? You get a leadership framework so simple it's unforgettable, literally, it’s the ABCs.

Nikki is joined by JM Ryerson, coach, speaker, and founder of Let's Go Win, to unpack the “ABCs” of transformational leadership: Align, Believe, and Choose. Together, they explore how alignment creates a cultural backbone, belief fuels personal and professional breakthroughs, and conscious choices keep teams moving forward, even in tough times.

From the power of simplicity and the danger of misaligned values to 4-day work weeks, this episode is full of actionable insights and real-life stories. Whether you're reworking your company values or reigniting your own leadership flame, this one will challenge you to upgrade, not change.

Additional Resources:

🔗 Connect with JM on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/letsgowin365/about/)

🔗 Watch Let’s Go Win on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOzeKQJkH4NiBG5mw390R-A)

🔗 Listen to Let’s Go Win wherever you get your podcasts! (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-go-win-podcast/id1517669567)

🔗 Learn more about Let’s Go Win (https://www.letsgowin.com/about-jm)

🔗 Connect with Nikki on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkilewallen/)

🔗 Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/peopleforward-network/?viewAsMember=true)

🔗 Learn more about PeopleForward Network (https://peopleforwardnetwork.com/)

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