Radical candor only works when the room can hold the truth. Kim Scribner and guest Aniela Larson unpack how to give direct feedback in workplaces where psychological safety is thin and hierarchy is heavy.

This conversation was born from a LinkedIn debate a few weeks back. Here they explore why “care personally, challenge directly” can fail when the environment doesn’t support it, and what leaders can do to make honest feedback land better. You’ll hear practical ways to use context, specificity, curiosity, and data to keep feedback clear without making it feel like an attack.

If you lead teams, coach managers, or work in a complex organization, this conversation offers a more humane way to tell the truth.

What if the secret to better leadership is a mirror, not a manual? This week, Kim Scribner and Gary Lancina sit down with Julie McManus, author of The Leadership Mirror, to unpack how introspection is the real key to influence. From diamond mines in Botswana to Silicon Valley software teams, Julie breaks down the patterns that quietly sabotage leaders (defaulting to answers, ignoring feelings, assuming instead of asking) and the simple, powerful shifts that fix them: pausing before responding, asking "why," and giving people room to be human. Whether you're running a boardroom or a frontline team, this episode makes the case that vulnerability isn't weakness—it's strategy.

Imagine a workplace where politics fade away, accountability is mutual, and team members operate as a cohesive unit committed to shared goals. That’s the power of trust in action. Drawing from military insights and real-world examples, Gary and Kim explore how trust amplifies purpose, leading to better decision-making, reduced miscommunication, and collective achievement. They reveal why traditional performance reviews that solely focus on individuals fall short and how shifting to team-based accountability can unlock hidden potential.

Most companies struggle to make responsible decisions fast enough, until they discover the power of small, deliberate moves. In this episode of The Fault Line, hosts Kim Scribner and Gary Lancina break down a simple approach to decision-making that builds confidence, reduces risk, and keeps projects moving in uncertain times.

Through real-world examples from consumer products, automotive, and software, Kim and Gary show how breaking big initiatives into manageable steps, backed by continuous feedback and strategic prioritization, leads to smarter outcomes in business and in life. Start small, learn fast, adjust constantly, and turn uncertainty into opportunity.

Most organizations struggle with clarity and alignment within matrixed structures—are your teams truly on the same page? Kim and Gary discuss how to turn complexity into a competitive advantage with proven strategies from industry leaders.

Practice isn’t just repetition, it’s how athletes and leaders get better with purpose. In this episode, Kim Scribner and Gary Lancina explore how deliberate practice, scenario planning, and small moments of focused improvement can help teams grow and become better equipped to perform at a higher level.

Most organizations are aiming for AI transformation, but real progress rarely happens through one big breakthrough. It happens through purposeful, incremental change — and often from the middle of the organization.

In this episode, Melissa Reeve, author of Hyperadaptive, joins the conversation to unpack why AI is not a magic wand, but a continuous journey of adaptation. She shares how leaders can move beyond shiny tools and inflated productivity claims to ask better questions: What problem are we trying to solve? How does AI support our strategy? What needs to change in our culture, workflows, and capabilities for adoption to stick?

Together, we explore the social and organizational realities of AI adoption, including the ripple effects of change, and the importance of upskilling, resilience, and middle-out leadership.

This episode is for leaders, managers, and change-makers who want to move beyond AI headlines and understand how to create sustainable progress. Learn how purposeful change, continuous adaptation, and practical integration can help organizations unlock the real value of AI without falling into hype or panic.

Most of us struggle with the gap between who we are and who we aspire to be, especially after leaving a high-performance space like sports. In this episode, co-host Gary Lancina and guests Kate McKinnon and Sara Bradley explore how the skills developed through sports — resilience, coachability, teamwork, adaptability, feedback, and competitive drive — translate into leadership, career transitions, and life beyond the game.

The conversation looks at the identity shift that can happen when competition ends, and how former athletes can reframe what they learned on the field into strengths that serve them in the workplace and beyond.

Whether you are a former athlete, a leader supporting others through transition, or someone navigating a new chapter yourself, this episode offers a reminder that your greatest game may still be ahead.