🎙️ Episode 3: Glitter on Poo

What do branded slide decks, polished talking points, and a leadership “alignment” meeting have in common? Sometimes, they’re just glitter on… well, you know. 💩

In this episode of Why Not: Lead Like People Matter, your hosts tackle what happens when leaders are asked to sell something that doesn’t match reality—and why spin, no matter how shiny, erodes trust.

Join Ryan, Rory, and Nicole as they unpack: • Why polishing a lie only makes it worse (and how your team knows when you do). • What “moral injury” looks like at work—and how to heal from it. • How transparency and grief can actually make your team stronger. • The difference between managing people and leading them.

If you’ve ever sat through a meeting that made your stomach turn—or been told to “just make it sound positive”—this one’s for you.

🎧 Listen now and follow us on LinkedIn: Ryan: linkedin.com/in/ryan-sailstad Rory: linkedin.com/in/rorysylvia Nicole: linkedin.com/in/neisdorfer

And follow along on social: 📺 YouTube: @CairdLeadership 🎵 TikTok: @ryan.sailstad | @stoplyingtoyouremployees 📸 Instagram: @leadlikepeoplematter

Bonus Episode: Beyond the Buzzwords "Quiet Cracking"

Ryan and Nicole examine the workplace trends “quiet quitting” and “quiet cracking” and label them for what they truly are: red flags of broken systems and eroded trust.

With vivid analogies from wilderness leadership to Lego shelves, they reveal how catchy labels shift blame onto employees when the deeper issue is leadership silence and systems that don’t support people.

This bonus episode challenges leaders to look past corporate jargon and take responsibility for building workplaces where trust, care, and training aren’t optional; they’re essential.

What do the Eiffel Tower, a flashlight scavenger hunt gone rogue, and your weirdest meeting suggestion have in common? They all started out as “bad” ideas.

In this episode of Why Not: Lead Like People Matter, your hosts unpack why innovation depends on protecting early, unpolished ideas—and how leaders can stop killing them too soon.

Meet your hosts:

• Ryan Sailstad — Creator of the Caird Method, leadership expert, and NASA Solar System Ambassador with a background in wilderness leadership and public service.

• Rory Sylvia — Founder of The Ways We Work and creator of the RIDE Framework, helping teams move from leader-led to team-driven through small, smart experiments.

• Nicole Eisdorfer, PhD — Organizational strategist, behavioral researcher, and “HR philosopher” with a PhD in Organizational Development & Leadership, MBA in HR, and SPHR certification.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why “Yes, and…” is more powerful than “Yeah, but…” in leadership.

• The Clown Nightmare story: how a joke became one of the most loved programs ever run.

• Practical ways to make your team braver—and weirder—with their ideas.

📌 Mantra of the Episode.: Good ideas often start from “bad” ones.

If you’re done with leadership that prizes perfection over potential, this episode is for you.

🎧 Listen now and follow us on LinkedIn: Ryan: linkedin.com/in/ryan-sailstad Rory: linkedin.com/in/rorysylvia Nicole: linkedin.com/in/neisdorfer