In this intimate conversation, Cy and Charlie Pleasant, LCSW dive into the messy beauty of being human in today’s challenging environments — exploring how we navigate fear, uncertainty, and the complexity of our inner worlds. From the transformative power of anger to the importance of boundaries and truth in relationships, they unpack how Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy can be integrated into everyday life. At the heart of it all? A deep call to self-care, love, and community. Every pinpoi...
Apr 17, 2025•1 hr 11 min
In this week's episode, Cy and Alex were able to take a fan question that was submitted through the website. The question focused on what to do about negativity at work, and in particular this was part of a group that was going through a residency program. And so in this episode, Cy and Alex take a look at the question and go into some of their favorite techniques to reflect on the situation that has become negative. What are some ways that you could reset the negativity and maybe come out at a ...
Dec 05, 2024•28 min
This week's episode is all about a common pattern that happens when people are really excited about Reality-Based Leadership, or they just learned some of our new techniques after a session. They accidentally begin weaponizing Reality-Based Leadership, and the ideas. We get it, you're excited about some new approaches and really looking forward to trying to shift a place your team has been stuck, or an individual has been stuck for a long time. What often happens, is people grab the harshest par...
Nov 14, 2024•32 min
In this episode, Cy and Alex share some incredible insights from Reality-Based Leadership's Leadership Development Series! While many know them for their engaging keynotes, their deep dive programs are all about transforming teams into modern leaders who can ditch the drama and turn excuses into tangible results. They reveal some impressive data from participants, showcasing significant boosts in career satisfaction and leadership skills. For instance, 50% of respondents reported higher job sati...
Oct 31, 2024•39 min
A leader recently asked Alex and Cy, “What happens when you're trying Reality-Based Leadership or using a tool and everything goes silent? Does that mean that the tools not working? What do I do when there's silence? What do I do when that silence feels like it has some extra tension attached to it, is it working?” All of these questions came up and in this podcast, Cy and Alex explore their own experiences in coaching with running their own business facilitating tools that have led to silence. ...
Oct 17, 2024•23 min
One of the top three biggest questions we get at Reality-Based Leadership is, How do I get my team to buy-in? How do I get them to buy into what needs to be done? How do I get them to buy into strategies? How do we get people to buy into changes the organization needs us to execute on? And the next question after that is, what do I do If I thought I had buy-in, and then it turned out it was fake, or it seems to be where people say they're bought in, but the behaviors are different? So in this po...
Oct 03, 2024•42 min
Many leaders struggle with giving freedom for their employees to do their best work, because they forget to provide some structure for them to work in. In today's episode, Alex and Cy talk about leader's role in finding the balance between structure and play. In the conversation, they go into a key Reality-Based Leadership focus that all leaders need to have, is setting your nonnegotiable as a leader to then get people to buy into those. From there, people are allowed to bring their best self pl...
Sep 19, 2024•36 min
If you're a leader that is currently leading your team through change, transformation, innovation, and noticing that there is a lot of resistance concern or fear, this is the podcast for you. Cy and Alex dive deep into what they call Business Readiness, which is their modern take on traditional change management. In short, change management has been the name of the game in leadership for years and in many ways still is, but Reality-Based Leadership is starting to see that it is not ready for the...
Sep 05, 2024•38 min
In this podcast, Cy and Alex discuss an important leadership concept they discovered while working on content for Alex's new book. Traditional leadership advice often focuses on identifying the source of drama or conflict, and then applying a single tool to address it. However, Cy and Alex have found that the reality is often more complex - sometimes a sequence of tools is needed to help someone work through a barrier or frustration they're facing. The framework they'll be covering is called the...
Aug 22, 2024•29 min•Ep. 226
In this episode, Cy and Alex talk about activating the silent majority at work. Alex and Cy share how they are noticing a trend where leaders are getting a wrong read of the room, and they think they have more resistance than is actually there on their team. Too often the loudest small minority of those focused on why we can't or why we shouldn't have to, get to dominate the entire conversation in a meeting, and the rest stays silent and doesn't jump in to add their input or perspective. There a...
May 30, 2024•47 min
In today's episode, Alex and Cy talk about a pattern they're seeing out there that is really hurting leaders, creating conflict and burning them out. It's that they are over managing and under leading, and this is a sign of leaders being a little under-skilled to handle some challenges in their current reality. In that, Cy and Alex, talk about a simple, but very powerful concept to support leaders and making sure they're not over managing and under leading called goals, roles, and procedures. An...
May 16, 2024•44 min
Alex and Cy connected with Mike Lee to talk about the new rules of the future of leadership. Although these rules are simple rules that you might already know, the key insight is that for years, they have been nice to have, and now they're really the new rules to lead the up-and-coming workforce. In the podcast, they cover some of the solid fundamentals of leadership, how keeping it simple as a leader is the most impactful. Going through what's called mental rehearsal to be a more prepared leade...
May 02, 2024•49 min
Cy and Alex got looking ahead at their schedules and couldn't believe we're already a month away from National Nurse's day, National Nurse's week, National Hospital week, and they had healthcare on their mind for this week's podcast. They wanted to talk about some of the trends they're seeing in healthcare and with the healthcare professionals they're working with in their sessions and in their coaching and wanted to share some ideas and tips on getting back to the basics, getting back to helpin...
Apr 18, 2024•35 min
One of the core philosophies of living Reality-Based Leadership at work is to stop judging, start helping. People love this as a way to get started and dive right in, but sometimes their helping becomes doing everyone else's work, or jumping in to fix a lot of things. This creates the risk of becoming an over-functioner or an enabler in your workplace. So many people that just start reality-based leadership say that I started to say how can I help and next thing you know I was busier than ever a...
Apr 04, 2024•23 min
Ever thought that doing Reality-Based Leadership might take the humanness out of work? What Alex and Cy cover in this session is that RBL actually brings the true humanness back to work. We don't try to bring our whole self to work but instead, we invite you to bring your most evolved self to work. This means that we're not trying to take the humanness out of work we're trying to limit the effect of the human condition on us doing our best work, or at least the lack of the human condition that l...
Mar 21, 2024•23 min
Join Cy and Alex on this episode as they're diving into the latest trends for 2024, inspired by the fun ideas they've seen on TikTok and social media. Listen along as they explore leadership and work trends that are in and out for the year. With minimal preparation, they're taking a fresh look at what's shaping the future of work. First, they're talking about the importance of clarity in leadership. Forget the fancy tools and strategies—what's in is getting back to basics. They're discussing re-...
Mar 07, 2024•25 min
Join Cy and Alex in this thought-provoking episode where they answer the challenging question of what to do with a 'toxic genius' or a high-perfomer that happens to be high-drama? Inspired by an episode that Alex heard in which Brene Brown, Simon Sinek and Adam Grant brought up the concept and the challenge in handling these scenarios, Cy and Alex discuss the impact of this type of employee on the workplace and how leaders can navigate the situation. Cy and Alex dive deep into research from Real...
Feb 22, 2024•31 min
Join Cy and Alex on this episode as they chat through the times someones shares, "But, we don't really have drama here." This is often where the loud drama (venting, complaining, gossip around the water cooler) isn't a big issue, but silent drama is out to play. Curious about the difference? You're not going to want to miss this episode. Just a hint, silent drama often shows up as subtle lack of alignment to the strategies your organization is laying out or chronic resistance to change. These to...
Feb 08, 2024•21 min
Join Cy and Alex as they have a fascinating conversation with Stephen Shedletzky (Shed) on how to Create a Speak Up Culture. Listen along as they dive into this topic and what it looks like when leaders in the workplace manage and nurture a safe space to empower others to speak up. You can find more on Shed by visiting his website here
Jan 11, 2024•1 hr 13 min
Back by popular demand, Cy and Alex sit down to talk about the latest topics in leadership as they are out speaking on the circuit with the top leaders across the globe. The hottest topic that is coming up is all around trust and how it fits with leading in a Reality-Based way. How does trust fit in? Can you use the tools and principles you are talking about if trust isn't there? Trust is absolutely important on a team and in a leadership moment when you are calling teams to greatness. However, ...
Nov 16, 2023•39 min
Join Cy in her interview with the amazing Dr. Laura, an Industrial/Organizational and Career Psychologist who has over 20+ years experience in the field. She is also a keynote speaker, thought leader, author and hosts her own podcast Where Work Meets Life . In this episode, they discuss how to lead your team effectively and efficiently while working remote. How to create a workplace, that supports people's mental well being. You can find Dr. Laura's work on her website at DrLaura.live...
Nov 09, 2023•48 min
Join Cy in her interview with Chip Conley, founder of Modern Elder Academy where they discuss his transition from being a boutique hotelier for 24yrs to opening up the first midlife wisdom school in Baja, Mexico. Listen as he talks about what the school has to offer and what it means to say no to the narratives and the limits of past generations. You can learn more about him and his academy at Chipconley.com or by visiting the link above where you can also read his blog....
Nov 02, 2023•25 min
Join Cy in her interview with Adrian Koehler, host of The Naked Leadership Podcast where they discuss his transition from pediatric intensive care to running his own consulting company, being comfortable with what you don't know, managing your own needs, narrating your own story, and pushing through sources of fear. Find him on Instagram @adrian.k or his website takenewground.com
Sep 28, 2023•1 hr 8 min
Join Cy in her discussion with Tim Davisson, former #1 consultant at Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) as they dive into the reality of imposter syndrome and finding your career path, the importance of inner work and staying present and curious. Want more? You can find Tim at www.thehigherimpactgroup.com
Aug 24, 2023•53 min
In this episode, Cy chats with Henry Albrecht, founder of Limeade, an industry-leading SaaS employee well-being company about the lessons he has gleaned from mining the data on the contributors to disease and well-being as well as how he moved beyond the “hustle” culture to create a life well-lived.
Jul 13, 2023•47 min
In this episode, Cy is joined by Mike Robbins, an expert in bringing humans together to do great work, to talk about the new leadership competencies of “holding space” “doing your inner work” and “tapping into the genius of the collective”. Discussions range from invitations to gather together to decide how and where we will work together to the fact that leaders can’t lead anyone where they aren’t themselves willing to go emotionally. Check out Mike and his work at Mike-Robbins.com....
Jun 22, 2023•52 min
Renee Smith, founder and CEO of A Human Workplace joins Cy on this episode to make the case for LOVE and why it belongs in the workplace. A great conversation on how to move from fear to love in your leadership. Check out Renee’s work at www.MakeWorkMoreHuman.com
Jun 02, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Do you ever assume that mindfulness is what we do outside of the workplace to try and deal with the stress inside the workplace? That practices like meditation and gratitude are personal and that work is well all about achieving results? Then join me for a great paradigm-shifting conversation with Eric Holesapple, successful developer and entrepreneur and author of Profit with Presence and hear about how he has used mindfulness to transform his life and business and helps others to do the same. ...
Mar 09, 2023•36 min
In this episode, Cy Wakeman is joined by Tad Worku, songwriter, singer, Nurse Practitioner, ER / Trauma nurse, and Mission Coach at Inland Empire Health Plan, who not only shares his story of finding the intersection of purpose, gifts, and passion but also provides strategies for keeping the focus on humanity of our patients in order to keep hope alive and love always remaining. AND - at the end - Tad gives us all a special gift - he performs one of his songs live, heart touching and a wonderful...
Nov 17, 2022•1 hr 12 min
Bestselling Author Dr. Sasha Shillcutt joins Cy in this episode to offer guidance and practical tools to help us all set boundaries to protect our physical and mental health and to live an empowered and peaceful life. This episode is full of great content as both Cy and Sasha share their personal and professional expertise on how we can overcome burnout and take back control of our time and our life by learning to set clear work-life boundaries.
Nov 10, 2022•44 min
