Business Leader Breakthroughs – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of Business Leader Breakthroughs, Ryan Castle chats with early-stage tech leader and HR expert Jennifer Aubin about what it really takes to lead teams in high-growth, high-stress environments. With 20+ years in startup leadership, Jennifer brings real-world insight into how great teams stay aligned, adaptable, and emotionally intelligent—without burning out.

Jennifer introduces her “three-pronged” leadership model: IQ, EQ, and AQ (Adaptability Quotient)—a simple but powerful way to assess talent and build capable, well-balanced teams. She unpacks why smart people alone won’t get you across the line, and how adaptability is the trait that separates average teams from high performers.

Useful links:
Connect with Jennifer Aubin - LinkedIn
Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson -  Amazon (Note: We are not affiliated with this link; it’s shared for reference only.)
Grit by Angela Duckworth - Amazon (Note: We are not affiliated with this link; it’s shared for reference only.)

Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS)

Where else you can find us

Website: https://thebreakthrough.co

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-breakthrough-company

Podcast: https://thebreakthrough.co/podcast/

Blogs: https://thebreakthrough.co/blog/

In this episode of Business Leader Breakthroughs, Ryan Castle sit down with leadership coach Katie O'Malley to explore the essential qualities of great leadership—self-awareness, psychological safety, and listening skills. Katie shares her personal career journey, from pursuing political science and nonprofit work to discovering her true passion for coaching. She reveals how a misalignment between values and career choices can lead to burnout and dissatisfaction, and why developing self-awareness is the foundation of effective leadership.

Ryan and Katie also discuss how leaders can create psychologically safe workplaces where employees feel heard and empowered. Katie explains why listening is the most underrated leadership skill, how different communication styles impact team trust, and practical strategies leaders can use to foster open, productive conversations. Whether you’re looking to enhance your leadership skills or rethink how you engage with your team, this episode is packed with actionable insights.

Useful links:
Katie O'Malley’s Coaching Practice – Encourage Coaching
Dr. Amy Edmondson on Psychological Safety – Harvard Business Review article

The Five-Factor Model of Personality – The psychological framework behind Hogan Assessments

Armchair Expert Podcast – One of Katie’s favorite podcasts on psychology and leadership

Where else you can find us

Website: https://thebreakthrough.co

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-breakthrough-company

Podcast: https://thebreakthrough.co/podcast/

Blogs: https://thebreakthrough.co/blog/

In this episode of Business Leader Breakthroughs, Ryan Castle and Dr. Mike Ashby explore the art of clear communication and why it’s critical for effective leadership. Discover how to deliver your message with clarity, listen actively, and create space for meaningful contributions from your team.

With practical strategies, real-world examples, and proven frameworks, this episode equips you with the tools to improve communication, strengthen relationships, and build high-performing teams. Perfect for leaders ready to break through communication barriers and drive better results.

Check out this guide to powerful communication and team success. Subscribe now for more actionable business breakthroughs!|

Where else you can find us

Website: https://thebreakthrough.co

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-breakthrough-company

Podcast: https://thebreakthrough.co/podcast/

Blogs: https://thebreakthrough.co/blog/

In this podcast episode, Mike and Ryan address the question that most business leaders have when they are about to invest in leadership training – How do you measure the results of leadership development programmes? Since it is difficult to attribute a hard value to soft skills, or translate it directly into measures like profit, this can be a challenging question to answer. 

Mike and Ryan briefly discuss several studies that indicate that traditional leadership development programmes generally don’t work and waste a lot of money. They then go on to answer the question on measuring ROI of leadership training, by referencing the Kirkpatrick Framework. This is a four dimensional training evaluation model that has evolved over multiple decades through application by learning and development professionals around the world.

Links

• Watch this podcast on YouTube
• Scroll down on our website’s home pages to read a summary with sources of the statistics mentioned by Mike and Ryan about why traditional leadership development isn’t working.
• Read more about the Kirkpatrick model
• Listen to Troy’s testimonial
  
  

Where else you can find us

Website: https://thebreakthrough.co

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-breakthrough-company

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebreakthroughco/

Podcast: https://thebreakthrough.co/podcast/

Blogs: https://thebreakthrough.co/blog/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thebreakthroughco

In this podcast episode, Ryan has the pleasure of talking with Gihan Perera, who is an author, conference speaker and consultant. As a futurist, Gihan researches trends that will impact the future of work and brings these insights to audiences in a relevant way. 

Gihan talks about one of the biggest trends at the moment, artificial intelligence, and explains how it is already everywhere in our lives, how it helps us do our jobs better, and how it will continue to evolve. He also discusses digital disruption and the challenges around it, skills leaders of today need to have, and innovation. He shares his insights on creating a high performance culture characterised by diversity and inclusion, as well as the importance of learning from the younger generations like Gen Z. Lastly, he talks about his book “The Future of Leadership” and some of the insights that can be learned from it.

Links

• Read more about or get in touch with Gihan Perera here 

Where else you can find us

Website: https://thebreakthrough.co

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-breakthrough-company

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebreakthroughco/

Podcast: https://thebreakthrough.co/podcast/
Blogs: https://thebreakthrough.co/blog/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thebreakthroughco

In this podcast episode, Mike and Ryan get philosophical and talk about the top 5 regrets of the dying, from the book by Bronnie Ware. Bronnie Ware has had a long career in palliative care, during which she would talk with the people she took care of, and wrote down their insights in her book. 

The Breakthrough Company has applied the lessons learned from this book for a long time, finding that business success is unsustainable and meaningless if your personal and family life is neglected. In this episode, Mike and Ryan go over the 5 main regrets of the dying, what can be learned from them, and how to apply these to improve both your business and personal life.

Links

• Watch this podcast on YouTube here
• Learn more about Bronnie Ware and her book “The Top 5 regrets of the dying” here
• Learn more about the Enneagram framework here

Where else you can find us

Website: https://thebreakthrough.co

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-breakthrough-company

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebreakthroughco/

Podcast: https://thebreakthrough.co/podcast/

Blogs: https://thebreakthrough.co/blog/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thebreakthroughco

In this podcast episode, Mike and Ryan talk about how to transform a business. They use the “leadership diamond” framework as developed by McKinsey in their book “Leadership at Scale”, and discuss and relate it to their own insights and experience with transforming organisations.

Do you have any experience or insights on transforming a business? Let us know in the comments!

Links

• Watch it on YouTube
• Find out more about McKinsey’s book “ Leadership at Scale” here 
• Read Mike’s summary of McKinsey’s insights applied to the Breakthrough here 

Where else you can find us

Website: https://thebreakthrough.co

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-breakthrough-company

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebreakthroughco/

Podcast: https://thebreakthrough.co/podcast/

Blogs: https://thebreakthrough.co/blog/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thebreakthroughco

In this podcast episode, Ryan interviews Joanne Fair, co-founder of FutureWorks Studio. FutureWorks provides an alternative solution to the traditional 9-5, by pioneering an integrated platform that allows talent to work on projects in different departments of the organisation they work in, as well as allowing the organisation to bring in external talent from other organisations on a freelancer basis. 

Joanne talks about how and why FutureWorks was founded, how it works, and its benefits. She also discusses why New Zealand needs to adopt a more flexible way of working and why the current state of technology creates opportunity for this. 

Where else you can find us 

Website: https://thebreakthrough.co 

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-breakthrough-company 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebreakthroughco/ 

Podcast: https://thebreakthrough.co/podcast/ 

Blogs: https://thebreakthrough.co/blog/ 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thebreakthroughco 

In this podcast, Mike and Ryan discuss how to effectively run a meeting, and how to deal with people and situations that get your meeting off track. They talk about why face to face meetings are so fundamental and beneficial, given they are run well. They go over 6 situations that can derail meetings and how a good meeting runner can resolve them and “rerail” the meeting.

Do you have any insights into what makes a great meeting? Share your experiences with us in the comments!

Links

• Watch it on YouTube

Where else you can find us

Website: https://thebreakthrough.co

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-breakthrough-company

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebreakthroughco/

Podcast: https://thebreakthrough.co/podcast/

Blogs: https://thebreakthrough.co/blog/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thebreakthroughco

In this podcast episode, Mike and Ryan talk about how team meetings can shape your company culture, and how they are instrumental in creating (or bringing down) energy. They talk about do’s and don’ts in team meetings and share some examples from our own meetings at the Breakthrough Co, providing a great starting point for creating an energising team meeting and culture.

How do you create energy in your team meetings? Let us know in the comments!

Links

• Watch this podcast on YouTube
• Listen to our podcast “Using "The 7 P's" to Overcome Frustration in Your Business” about how to gain clarity and awareness  

Where else you can find us

Website: https://thebreakthrough.co

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-breakthrough-company

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebreakthroughco/

Podcast: https://thebreakthrough.co/podcast/

Blogs: https://thebreakthrough.co/blog/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thebreakthroughco