Sometimes the change lands on your desk, and you didn’t ask for it. A new strategy from above. A layoff decision. A shift in hours. A competitor’s surprise move. You’re still expected to lead your team through it.

In this episode of The Fault Line, hosts Gary Lancina and Kim Scribner dig into what it takes to lead through change you didn’t choose, especially when you’re not sure it’s the right call. They cover the different flavors of imposed change, from the ones you’re excited about to the ones you don’t believe in. They share stories from their own careers, including pushing back on an initiative, delivering hard news, and pivoting when events outside anyone’s control change the plan.

In this episode:

• Why limited visibility, like seeing the world through a knothole, can lead to the wrong conclusions about a change
• How to lead with curiosity and ask “why” even when you’re several levels down
• Why you need to deal with your own emotions before you communicate a change to your team
• How being transparent about what you know and don’t know builds trust
• Why the way your culture handles the question “why” says a lot about it
• Why change is a skill you can build, and how to practice it
• How to understand your own agency: pick your battles, advocate for what you believe, and make your choice

Collaboration doesn’t mean consensus, but you always have a choice in how you respond.

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It’s easy to decide what to do next. It’s much harder to decide what to stop. In this episode of The Fault Line, Kim Scribner and Gary Lancina dig into why we pile more onto our plates, and why “busy” has become a badge of honor.

They cover the habits and false urgency that keep us doing work that no longer matters, the burnout risk for high performers who keep getting handed more, and the emotional pull of staying “fully loaded.” Along the way, they share stories of the weekly report nobody read, the zombie project that kept coming back, and the moment a product’s returns start to flatten. They also talk about practical ways to create space: pausing instead of quitting, reducing frequency, separating glass balls from rubber balls, and asking “what’s changed since we last said yes?”

Whether you’re leading a team or trying to protect your own focus, this conversation will make you rethink what’s worth your time.

How much data is actually enough to make a call? In this episode of The Fault Line, Kim Scribner and Gary Lancina break down the difference between KPIs, leading indicators, and the metrics that actually drive action — plus why cluttered dashboards often signal busyness, not clarity.

The real focus: sufficiency. Gary shares stories from CPG and hypergrowth startups where "we need more data" turned out to be fear or ego in disguise — including a price decision that took two years to approve, despite data everyone already had. They also dig into AI's growing role in decision-making and how to build a culture where people are trusted to act before the picture is perfectly complete.

What happens when a consultant does too good a job? In this Fault Line Short, Kim Scribner sits down with Aniela Larson to unpack the tricky dynamic between consultants and the sponsors who hire them — and why doing less might actually be the more valuable service.

Drawing on the neuroscience of change, Aniela explains why friction is essential to real behavior change, and how "expert mode" can quietly rob clients of the ownership they need to sustain results. Kim and Aniela dig into the IKEA effect (why we value what we build with our own hands more than what's handed to us), the "watch one, do one, teach one" model borrowed from medical training, and the subtle language cues — like "you" instead of "we" — that signal an engagement is headed for trouble.

Whether you're a consultant navigating scope creep, a leader trying to get the most out of an outside partner, or just curious how lasting change actually sticks, this conversation offers a candid look at what it really takes to hand ownership back to the people who need it.

Kim Scribner and Gary Lancina return from a late-summer break to tackle a phrase that grates on both of them: "we're doing this because [so-and-so] said so." Is blind compliance ever the right move, or does it just let people off the hook from understanding the why behind a decision?

They dig into when knee-jerk, no-questions-asked action actually makes sense (crisis situations, fire drills), and when it signals a deeper problem, like fear of asking questions or leaders failing to provide enough context. Kim and Gary also talk about the difference between healthy curiosity and being combative for its own sake, how power dynamics shape whether people feel safe pushing back, and why leaders have a responsibility to be aware of how their offhand comments get acted on. Plus: practical advice for coaching junior team members to find their own voice when they disagree.

In this revealing short conversation, Gary Lancina and Kim Scribner dive into the subtle differences between leaders who build, innovate, and galvanize. They explore how understanding your innate strengths and blind spots can dramatically reshape your career and organizational impact. Learn why a brilliant idea alone isn’t enough, and discover the critical roles of self-reflection, vulnerability, and strategic team-building in moving from vision to execution. Whether you're leading a startup or managing a large organization, this episode unpacks why your true strength lies not just in ideas, but in knowing where and how to deploy them.

You'll discover:

- The key traits distinguishing builders, innovators, and galvanizers

- How to identify your leadership persona through honest self-assessment

- Why the right context boosts your effectiveness — and what happens when you ignore it

- The importance of vulnerability and having a coach to challenge your assumptions

- Actionable questions to ask yourself for sustained growth and impact

What separates a team you tolerate from one you'd follow into a snowstorm (literally)? Host Kim Scribner reunites with four former colleagues — Scott Bane, Lindsay Smith, Nate Carney, and Riley Nevil — for a candid conversation about what makes teams click. They dig into trust as something built through follow-through rather than declared on day one, why remote teams need extra intentionality to bond, how radical candor works when psychological safety is real, and the tricky balance between titles and expertise. Along the way: stories from years of working together, a three-day snowstorm, and honest talk about office politics, humility, and why "we're not family — we're a professional team" might be the healthiest framing of all. A warm, practical conversation for anyone building or leading a team they actually want to show up for.

Kim Scribner sits down with Sarah Smith, Chief Innovation Officer of Iconoclast Innovations, to talk about operational debt — the lesser-known cousin of tech debt. They dig into why onboarding often falls through the cracks, how understanding the "why" behind a process keeps it from going stale, and Sarah's Evolve Framework for assessing organizational health. Plus: how AI can help document your operations, and why no tool replaces getting out and observing how work actually gets done.