Trust, Friction, Silos & Soul: Season 1 Wrap-Up
Team Lab
That’s a wrap! Season 1 of Team Lab: Reimagining the Way We Work is in the books. Join us for a reflective walk down memory lane, surfacing the big themes, sticky challenges, and practical tools that shaped our conversations with some of the most thoughtful leaders, coaches, and practitioners this season. What You’ll Hear in This Episode The Four Biggest Challenges Teams Face Trust & Vulnerability: Why predictive trust isn’t enough and why vulnerability-based trust is the real unlock for high-performing teams. Internalized Urgency: How rushing for the sake of rushing erodes...
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Breaking Decision-Making Gridlock: Purpose, Process, and People
Team Lab
If you’ve ever sat in a meeting that felt like a never-ending swirl of competing voices and unresolved tensions, this episode will show you what’s possible when teams bring structure, trust, and purpose into their collaboration. In this episode, we’re honored to welcome Stefan Morales, Founder of Working Together Consulting, Associate with and BASE. His background spans organizational development, social design, facilitation, and public engagement — all grounded in a belief that complexity isn’t something to fear, but something we can learn to navigate together. Whether it’s...
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The Ripple Effect: How One Leader's Change Can Transform Entire Organizations
Team Lab
What does it take to move an entire organization forward—without relying on brute force leadership or toxic top-down control? In this episode, Chris Hutchinson shares how authentic leadership creates ripple effects that move teams, organizations, and entire systems. Drawing from his book Ripple, Chris explains how small, intentional leadership actions can generate long-lasting, exponential impact. He reflects on his own journey from an early experience on a challenging team in the military to building thriving leadership ecosystems. We discuss why thriving teams start with trust and...
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From Small Cog to Big Impact: Sticky Listener Situation UNPACKED!
Team Lab
What happens when you're a capable leader trapped in a challenging organizational culture? How do you create value and showcase your team's worth when you're dealing with controlling stakeholders, chaotic planning processes, and an authoritarian leadership style that permeates the entire organization? In this special solo episode of Team Lab, hosts Angela Migliaccio and Cori Caldwell unpack a real listener situation from ‘Holly*’, a senior director at a large software company navigating the complexities of a highly matrixed, high-pressure environment with challenging stakeholder dynamics....
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AI, EQ & the Future of Work: Why Humanity Still Wins
Team Lab
What if we told you that your team’s capacity to carry challenging moments without shutting down is directly related to the amount of time you invest with them to build a culture of trust, adaptability and emotional intelligence? In this wide-ranging conversation, leadership coach and global facilitator Joshua Pinchuk joins us to explore what it means to lead in a fast-changing work world. He shares stories from his own career—from a factory floor mishap that defined his leadership philosophy to coaching tech teams navigating the rise of AI. Joshua makes the case for ditching...
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Upgrade Your Toolbox: Cognitive, Emotional & Energetic Leadership with Lyssa Adkins
Team Lab
What does it mean to be a “future-fit” leader? According to our guest this week, being future-fit means improving the performance of organizational leaders to solve the challenges they face today, while expanding their capacities to be more fit for the challenges ahead. They're not just trying to be better at the old game; they're helping to create an entirely new paradigm for how we work and relate to each other. Lyssa Adkins has spent the past decade developing leadership teams worldwide, using skillful professional and organizational systems coaching. She is an internationally...
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What the Duck Are You Feeling? Getting to the Heart of Team Breakthroughs with Meredith Tozzer
Team Lab
What if the breakthrough your team needs isn't found in another strategy session or process improvement, but in a moment of unexpected connection? How can asking people to step outside their analytical comfort zone create the psychological safety that brings teams together? And why asking, "What duck are you feeling right now?" might just be what your next team meeting desperately needs? In this episode of Team Lab, we're exploring these questions with Meredith Tozzer, HR partner and team transformation coach who brings a refreshingly unconventional approach to leading technical teams. With a...
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Why Soul-Crushing Workplaces Are Killing Your Bottom Line & What Leaders Can Do About It
Team Lab
What if your workplace could energize your spirit rather than drain it? How much smoother might organizations transform if they focused on removing blockers instead of adding more processes? What would happen if we designed our work systems around human dignity, creativity, and meaningful connection? In this episode of TeamLab, we're diving into these questions with business transformation strategist and award-winning author Jardena London. As the founder of , Jardena brings over 25 years of experience leading bold transformations across organizations of all sizes. Join us for a conversation...
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Unlocking the Power of Teams with Karen Duggan - Part 2
Team Lab
Single-day team building and offsites can be powerful for identifying challenges and creating plans for change, but what happens when work resumes on Monday? How do top teams SUSTAIN success? In Part 2 of our talk with organization development expert Karen Duggan, we cut straight to the HOW: How to create norms and rituals that stick, sewing sustainable practices that fuel authentic collaboration, and so many actionable tools for leaders to help their people connect at deeper levels. Karen also shares the ONE question leaders must ask to keep their teams thriving under pressure....
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Unlocking the Power of Teams with Karen Duggan
Team Lab
Ever wonder why some teams thrive while others struggle, despite having talented people? The answer might surprise you. In this first episode, Karen Duggan, a powerhouse organization development expert who's coached literally thousands of teams throughout her career is here to break it all down! Karen reveals the three non-negotiable elements that can transform an average team into an extraordinary one. Spoiler alert: it's not what most leaders focus on! She shares so many practical exercises and strategies that you can implement TODAY to strengthen team relationships and skyrocket...
info_outlineWhat happens when you're a capable leader trapped in a challenging organizational culture?
How do you create value and showcase your team's worth when you're dealing with controlling stakeholders, chaotic planning processes, and an authoritarian leadership style that permeates the entire organization?
In this special solo episode of Team Lab, hosts Angela Migliaccio and Cori Caldwell unpack a real listener situation from ‘Holly*’, a senior director at a large software company navigating the complexities of a highly matrixed, high-pressure environment with challenging stakeholder dynamics.
This episode explores the systemic nature of workplace dysfunction, practical tools for building psychological safety, and strategies for creating positive change from within - even when you feel like "a small cog in an important wheel deep inside the machine."
*Names and details anonymized.
Tools and Techniques from the Episode
Two-by-Two Stakeholder Matrix: Map stakeholders by influence level and relationship quality to identify gaps.
"Walk in My Shoes" Exercise: Empty chair technique for building empathy and understanding across roles.
Design Alliance/Rules of Engagement: Creating team contracts for communication and decision-making.
Red Card/Green Card System: Behavioral feedback tools for team accountability.
"Yes, And" Communication: Improv-based technique for building on ideas rather than shutting them down.
More Resources
Need advice about a sticky situation with your team? Head to teamlabatwork.com, click the 'Submit a Team Dynamic Story' button and you just may hear it unpacked on a future episode!
"The Heart Aroused" by David Whyte - Referenced book on bringing humanity to corporate environments
About Team Lab
Team Lab explores the power of teams, the science and art of collaboration, and the magic of thriving relationships at work. Hosted by Angela Migliaccio and Cori Caldwell, this podcast brings you inspiring stories and insights to help you build trust, foster alignment, and unlock creativity in your teams.
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Team Lab's theme music was composed and performed by @subrasonic