The Leadership Skill No One Trains You For: Building Trust
The C-Suite Mentor - Business Growth for Small Business Leaders with Theresa Cantley
Release Date: 01/19/2026
The Leadership Skill No One Trains You For: Building Trust
The C-Suite Mentor - Business Growth for Small Business Leaders with Theresa Cantley
Trust is no longer built after the first meeting — it’s built before you ever walk into the room. In this episode of The C-Suite Mentor Podcast, Theresa Cantley sits down with leadership advisor and storyteller Matt Stone to explore how human connection, intentional communication, and storytelling shape trust in today’s business landscape. From navigating conflict and toxic leadership to understanding how personal history influences workplace behavior, Matt shares powerful insights drawn from his background in law, leadership consulting, and organizational psychology. Together, Theresa...
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Why Entrepreneurs Must Redefine Wealth to Truly Win
The C-Suite Mentor - Business Growth for Small Business Leaders with Theresa Cantley
In this insightful episode of The C-Suite Mentor Podcast, Theresa Cantley sits down with Anthony Engler, founder of Alpha Advisory and former Goldman Sachs executive, for a powerful conversation about radical resilience, wealth creation, identity, and intentional leadership. Anthony shares his journey from corporate finance to entrepreneurship, revealing how early beliefs about money, success, and validation shaped his career — and how those beliefs eventually evolved. Together, Theresa and Anthony unpack why traditional wealth management often fails entrepreneurs, the real difference...
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How to Thrive as a Leader in a World Full of Noise, Change, and Uncertainty
The C-Suite Mentor - Business Growth for Small Business Leaders with Theresa Cantley
Trust is low. Change is constant. And leaders everywhere are feeling the pressure to keep it all together while navigating layoffs, AI disruption, cultural challenges, and nonstop external noise. In this episode of The C-Suite Mentor, Theresa Cantley shares a powerful six-part framework to help leaders stay above the line, close the execution gap, and thrive—without burning out or losing themselves in the chaos. Drawing from real conversations with clients, mentors, and lived experience, Theresa explains why leadership today isn’t about proving yourself—it’s about clarity, intention,...
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The Spirit of Phygiality: Leading with Humanity in an AI-Driven World
The C-Suite Mentor - Business Growth for Small Business Leaders with Theresa Cantley
Episode Description: As technology accelerates and AI continues to reshape the way we lead, many business owners feel overwhelmed, disconnected, or pressured to “keep up” at the expense of their people. In this powerful C-Suite Mentor episode, Theresa Cantley introduces The Spirit of Phyigiality — her signature leadership philosophy that blends human essence with technological structure. Theresa explores why organizations lose their soul when they treat people as replaceable, how misplaced efficiency is hurting creativity and culture, and what leaders can do to...
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Leading Through Change: How Great CEOs Navigate Challenge, Vision, and Team Transformation
The C-Suite Mentor - Business Growth for Small Business Leaders with Theresa Cantley
In this power-packed “Amuse Bouche” leadership mini-series, Teresa shares the real, behind-the-scenes conversations she’s having with CEOs and leaders navigating massive change—economic uncertainty, team restructuring, rising costs, AI disruption, and the emotional weight of leading when everyone is looking to you for answers. You’ll learn how to summon the best of who you are as a leader, regulate emotions under pressure, communicate vision with conviction, and guide teams who may resist change, avoid accountability, or fear the unknown. Teresa breaks down the 3 types of people in...
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Leading Through Change: Becoming the Difference Maker When Your Team Resists Transformation
The C-Suite Mentor - Business Growth for Small Business Leaders with Theresa Cantley
In this Amuse Bouche leadership episode, Theresa Cantley shares how to lead through change, adversity, and transformation — especially when your team is resistant, risk-averse, or uncomfortable with uncertainty. Through real case examples from the hospitality industry and her own leadership experience, Theresa reveals how to summon the best of who you are, communicate with conviction and adaptability, and create alignment even when the path forward is unclear. If you're navigating restructuring, growth, or major shifts in your business model, this episode gives you the mindset and practical...
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How Great Leaders Create Unforgettable Business Experiences | Leadership & Team Growth Tips
The C-Suite Mentor - Business Growth for Small Business Leaders with Theresa Cantley
Creating a great experience in business isn’t just about your customers — it starts with your team. In this episode of C-Suite Mentor, host Theresa Cantley shares powerful lessons from 30+ years of leadership, exploring how to design experiences that elevate your employees, delight your customers, and build a thriving culture that drives long-term growth. From selling luxury shoes to leading corporate sales events and running multiple businesses, Theresa reveals how intentional leadership, alignment, and human connection can transform your company from the inside out. ✨ Things to...
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How Leaders Can Support Employees Through Divorce with Rhonda Noordyk
The C-Suite Mentor - Business Growth for Small Business Leaders with Theresa Cantley
Divorce is a personal matter, but its effects on a business are significant. So what can business leaders do to support their team members through it? In this episode of C-Suite Mentor, Theresa Cantley chats with Rhonda Noordyk, Certified Divorce Financial Analyst. Rhonda is also the host of the top-rated podcast Disrupting Divorce: Conversations for Women. Together, Theresa and Rhonda tackled a topic that’s often left unspoken in the workplace: how divorce affects both individuals and organizations… and what leaders can do to help. Things to listen for: How Rhonda began helping...
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Leading Through Changes and Challenges: How to Guide Your Team With Vision, Empathy, and Strength
The C-Suite Mentor - Business Growth for Small Business Leaders with Theresa Cantley
When you hear the word change, what comes to mind? For many people, it’s resistance, stress, or that dreaded feeling of pushing a boulder uphill. But for others, change can be an exciting opportunity for growth and transformation. As leaders, CEOs, and business owners, we sit right in the middle of that tension. Our job is to not only navigate change ourselves but to bring our teams with us. That’s exactly what this episode of C-Suite Mentor is all about. In this first installment of the Amuse Bouche, Leadership Bites series, Theresa Cantley shares how to lead your team through...
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How to Feel Confident in Your Business Finances with Danielle Hendon
The C-Suite Mentor - Business Growth for Small Business Leaders with Theresa Cantley
If talking about your business finances makes you sweat, you’re not alone. Accounting, budgeting, and tackling your numbers can feel daunting – but it doesn’t have to. In this episode of C-Suite Mentor, Theresa Cantley chats with Danielle Hendon, former corporate accounting professional turned fractional CFO, to talk about making finances approachable, actionable, and even empowering for small business owners. Tune in to take the overwhelm out of money and take control of your finances! Things to listen for: How Danielle makes finances feel easy for business owners...
info_outlineTrust is no longer built after the first meeting — it’s built before you ever walk into the room. In this episode of The C-Suite Mentor Podcast, Theresa Cantley sits down with leadership advisor and storyteller Matt Stone to explore how human connection, intentional communication, and storytelling shape trust in today’s business landscape.
From navigating conflict and toxic leadership to understanding how personal history influences workplace behavior, Matt shares powerful insights drawn from his background in law, leadership consulting, and organizational psychology. Together, Theresa and Matt unpack why relationships either grow or decay, how small avoided conversations create massive breakdowns, and why leaders must reconnect to their own internal alignment before they can truly lead others.
The conversation also dives into Matt’s latest venture, Amped, where he helps founders and CEOs tell their stories on camera to build trust with stakeholders before the first conversation ever happens.
Things to Listen For:
• How Matt’s childhood and constant relocation shaped his ability to build trust quickly with others [7:45]
• Why trust is built through relationships — not roles, authority, or titles [8:10]
• Why leaders struggle to see greatness in others if they can’t see it in themselves [14:10]
• The parallels between family conflict and organizational breakdowns [22:45]
• Why relationships are always either moving closer or drifting apart — never staying the same [26:20]
• The hidden cost of avoiding “small” conversations in leadership and business [26:45]
• A leadership mindset shift that can transform culture and performance [29:00]
• How storytelling builds trust before stakeholders ever meet you [38:15]
• Why authenticity on camera is harder — and more important — than people realize [43:40]
• How unresolved personal experiences silently impact workplace communication [50:25]
BOOK A C-SUITE SNAPSHOT:
If you're ready to uncover where your business is breaking down and create a clear plan for the next 60–90 days, book a C-Suite Snapshot. Together we’ll identify what’s not working, what needs to change, and where the biggest opportunities for momentum exist.
https://theresacantley.com/business-audit
BOOK A COFFEE CHAT:
Want to talk through where you’re stuck or what’s shifting inside your business? Book a free virtual coffee chat and let’s explore what support you need to lead with more confidence, clarity, and alignment.
https://meetwiththeresa.as.me/virtualcoffee
Shownotes:
In this episode, Theresa Cantley welcomes leadership advisor and storyteller Matt Stone for a wide-ranging, deeply human conversation about leadership, trust, and connection.
Building Trust Through Human Connection
Matt shares how growing up in a military family — moving frequently and constantly being “the new kid” — taught him the power of building trust quickly through relationships. These early experiences shaped his belief that connection, not credentials, creates opportunity.
Leadership Is About Relationships, Not Just Results
Theresa and Matt explore how leaders often focus on outcomes while neglecting relationships — and how this imbalance erodes trust, engagement, and performance over time.
Why Small Conversations Matter
One of the most powerful insights from this episode is Matt’s explanation that relationships are never static — they’re either moving closer together or further apart. Avoiding small, uncomfortable conversations creates distance that eventually leads to major breakdowns.
Lessons from Law and Organizational Conflict
Drawing from his background in family law, Matt explains how breakdowns in trust mirror what happens in businesses — and why unresolved tension almost always results in lose-lose outcomes.
Rebuilding Trust Inside Organizations
Matt outlines how rebuilding trust starts by putting the “issue” aside and addressing the human relationship first. Once people feel heard, seen, and respected, collaboration becomes possible again.
The Inside-Out Approach to Leadership
Theresa shares her leadership framework focused on internal alignment — helping leaders reconnect with who they are and who they want to be — before expecting alignment from others.
Storytelling as a Trust Accelerator
Matt introduces Amped, his new venture designed to help founders and CEOs tell their stories on camera. He explains why video is one of the most powerful tools for building trust before a meeting, pitch, or partnership ever begins.
Authenticity, Video, and Being Seen
The conversation explores why being “authentic” on camera is difficult, why over-polishing kills trust, and how storytelling helps the right people connect — while naturally repelling the wrong ones.
The Conversations We Avoid at Work
Matt highlights one of the most overlooked leadership challenges: how personal experiences, past trauma, and unprocessed emotions silently interfere with communication and decision-making inside organizations.
Final Leadership Reflection
This episode closes with a powerful reminder: leadership is not about perfection — it’s about presence, curiosity, and the willingness to have honest conversations that strengthen trust over time.