Space to Lead – Details, episodes & analysis

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Space to Lead

David LeBlanc

Business

Frequency: 1 episode/29d. Total Eps: 24

Welcome to Space to Lead—the podcast where leaders and teams come together to learn, grow, and thrive. Every episode, your host David LeBlanc will have engaging conversation with leaders, exploring fresh insights and strategies that inspire leaders to create dynamic, engaging cultures. Space to Lead - Powered by The LIVE. LEARN. GROW. Company We'll dive into conversations with visionary leaders and industry experts who are transforming teams and shaping the future of leadership. Whether you’re leading from the front or working within a team, Space to Lead is here to spark ideas and help you lead with purpose and passion. So, take a deep breath, make some space, and let’s lead together!"

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https://collaborativecoachinggroup.ca/
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https://thewiseheart.ca/
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https://collaborativecoachinggroup.ca
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ
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The Five Levels of Collaborative Maturity

Episode 24

Saturday, August 15, 2026 • Duration 26:09

In this episode of the Collaborative Coaching series, David and Suzanne explore the Collaborative Maturity Continuum, a framework designed to help teams move beyond simple information sharing toward true integrated performance. They argue that collaboration is not an "on and off switch" but a fluid maturity journey that reveals its true strength under pressure. By identifying where a team sits on this five-level continuum, leaders can intentionally build the capabilities needed to handle complex, interdependent work.

Key Discussion Points

The Problem with "Collaboration" as a Catch-all: We often use the word "collaboration" to describe every interaction—from a quick email to a deep strategy session. However, different types of work require different levels of maturity. Friction often occurs when the complexity of the work requires high-level collaboration, but the team's system is only capable of basic coordination.
The Five Levels of the Collaborative Continuum:
1. Coordination: Focused on information exchange and task handoffs. Communication is often reactive, and work still happens in silos, leading to a "did my part" mentality where the collective outcome can still fail.
2. Cooperation: Based on goodwill and helping others when asked. While it feels positive, the system is often dependent on specific individuals who "bridge the gaps," which can lead to burnout.
3. Collaboration: The transition to shared goals and "sense-making" before decisions are made. This level requires vulnerability and the ability to work through disagreements without retreating into silos.
4. Collective Performance: The team operates as an integrated system, making decisions with a lens on the whole organization. Trust is high enough to raise concerns early, creating a level of resilience that allows the group to adapt together when conditions change.
5. Collaborative Excellence: Collaboration is embedded in the culture and systems, no longer dependent on a specific leader or initiative. It extends "beyond borders" to partners and stakeholders and focuses on co-creating the future.

Notable Quotes

"Collaboration is not an on and off switch. It develops, it strengthens, it grows, and under pressure, it reveals how much capacity has actually been built."
"Maturity has to be built on so many levels... You can't expect people to adapt together if they don't trust one another to speak up."
"Collaborative excellence is not about perfection. It's the ability to remain collaborative when conditions are imperfect."
"Stay out of your silos. Stay in the mess. Stay in the discussion."

Reflection Questions for Listeners

Where would you place yourself on the collaborative continuum today?
What evidence supports that answer? Look at how decisions are made, how accountability is held, and how information travels.
What happens under pressure? Do people protect their own "lane," or do they remain responsible for the whole system?

If you are interested in surfacing the hidden patterns and dynamics within your team, David and Suzanne have developed a collaborative readiness assessment to help you choose your next steps intentionally. Connect with us - hello@collaborativecoachinggroup.ca

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Collaborative Coaching Series: Foundations of Trust Part II - Building Trust Through Collaborative Capacity

Episode 23

Thursday, July 23, 2026 • Duration 27:19

Episode Summary - Learn more at https://collaborativecoachinggroup.ca/

Picking up immediately from their discussion on the foundations of trust, David LeBlanc and Suzanne Fox transition from theory to practice. This episode focuses on the "how" of building high-performing teams by exploring the Four Conditions of Collaborative Capacity: Safety, Clarity, Alignment, and Repair. They discuss how these conditions interact to transform trust from a vague concept into a functional system that allows teams to navigate complexity, surface risks early, and recover from inevitable setbacks.

Key Topics & Takeaways

Safety – The Power to Tell the Truth: Moving beyond "politeness" to create an environment where risks are surfaced early, mistakes are admitted, and every member feels they belong and matter.
Clarity – The Antidote to Ambiguity: Why clear roles, responsibilities, and decision-making structures are essential to prevent the "stories and assumptions" that erode trust.
Alignment – Overcoming "False Harmony": The importance of declaring hidden tensions and organizational pressures so teams can make conscious trade-offs together rather than working at cross-purposes.
Repair – Resilience Over Perfection: Reframing team "cracks" as opportunities for growth and why the capacity to recover from a rupture is more important than avoiding one.
Trust Across the 5 Levels: A final look at how trust manifests differently at the Individual, Team, Project, Organization, and System levels.
Diagnostic Action: Practical questions for leaders to identify exactly where their collaboration is getting stuck.

Notable Quotes

"Safety isn't an extra. It's not one of those soft things that we make room for if there's time... The quality of the outcome depends on whether people can actually contribute." —

Collaborative Coaching: The Foundations of Trust - Part 1

Episode 22

Sunday, July 19, 2026 • Duration 20:57

Learn more about Collaborative coaching HERE

Episode Summary

In this first half of a two-part deep dive, David LeBlanc and Suzanne Fox explore the complex architecture of trust within leadership and collaboration. Moving beyond trust as a simple personality trait, they examine how trust is actually evidence gathered from how a whole collaborative system behaves. This episode breaks down the critical distinctions between individual trust and psychological safety, explains why "good people" can struggle in broken systems, and introduces a personal tool for repairing professional relationships: the "redo card".

Key Topics & Takeaways

The Systemic Nature of Trust: Why relationship-building exercises fail when the actual problem is a lack of clarity, alignment, or safety within the organizational structure.
Collaborative Readiness vs. Capacity: Readiness helps locate where an issue exists (individual, team, or system), while capacity helps diagnose what the collaboration specifically needs to function.
Trust vs. Psychological Safety: Understanding trust as a one-to-one relational dynamic versus psychological safety as a shared "many-to-many" climate.
The Four Dimensions of Trust: A framework to move beyond "I don’t trust them" by assessing specific gaps in competence, reliability, integrity, and care.
Safety is Not Comfort: Why real psychological safety actually makes honest accountability and productive tension possible, rather than just "being nice".
The Redo Card: A practical approach to vulnerability and repair when a leader makes a mistake in a conversation.

Timestamped Highlights

[1:56] – Defining trust beyond the abstract and its role in .

Are you ready to Collaborate: Exploring Collaborative Readiness

Episode 21

Thursday, July 2, 2026 • Duration 28:51

Are You Ready to Collaborate?

Building Collaborative Readiness for Better Outcomes

Episode Description

Collaboration has become one of the most frequently used words in leadership.

Organizations ask for it.
Projects depend on it.
Leaders encourage it.

Yet despite the best intentions, collaboration often feels difficult.

Teams become siloed.
Communication breaks down.
Trust erodes.
Decision-making slows.
People begin protecting their own priorities instead of pursuing shared outcomes.

Why?

In this episode of the Space to Lead – Collaborative Coaching Series, David LeBlanc and Suzanne Fox introduce one of the foundational concepts behind the Collaborative Coaching Group's work:

Collaborative Readiness.

Rather than viewing collaboration as simply a skill or behaviour, they explore it as a capability that exists across multiple levels of a system—from individuals and teams to projects, organizations, and the broader ecosystem.

Because successful collaboration doesn't begin when people enter a meeting.

It begins long before that.

It begins with readiness.

Learn more about Collaborative Coaching at https://collaborativecoachinggroup.ca/

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Introducing Collaborative Coaching: Building Capacity Through Collaboration

Episode 20

Monday, June 22, 2026 • Duration 33:11

What if the biggest challenges facing your organization aren't individual problems, but systemic ones?

In this episode of Space to Lead, David LeBlanc is joined by leadership consultant, executive coach, and Collaborative Coaching Group co-founder Suzanne Fox for a conversation about the growing complexity facing leaders and organizations today.

Together, they explore why so many organizations struggle despite having talented people, strong intentions, and dedicated teams. From competing priorities and organizational silos to avoidance, people-pleasing, and unresolved tensions, David and Suzanne discuss the hidden dynamics that often get in the way of collaboration and performance.

The conversation also introduces Collaborative Coaching - an approach that builds on the foundations of coaching, team coaching, facilitation, and systems thinking to help leaders, teams, and stakeholders work together more effectively. Sometimes described as "team coaching on steroids," Collaborative Coaching moves beyond the boundaries of a single team and focuses on the broader system in which people operate.

Throughout the episode, David and Suzanne share insights from their own partnership, discuss the value of co-coaching, and explore how organizations can build greater awareness, alignment, and capacity for collaboration.

In this episode:

Why leaders are becoming experts at functioning while depleted
The impact of complexity, ambiguity, and constant change
How avoidance and people-pleasing create organizational friction
Why traditional approaches can miss important system dynamics
The difference between team coaching and collaborative coaching
The power of co-coaching and real-time observation
Building the capacity for productive disagreement and healthy tension
Helping teams move from transactional work to meaningful collaboration

Stay Connected

This episode marks the beginning of a new series exploring the principles and practices of Collaborative Coaching. In upcoming episodes, David and Suzanne will dive deeper into topics such as systems thinking, psychological safety, productive conflict, stakeholder alignment, collaborative readiness, leadership dynamics, and creating healthier organizational cultures.

Accountability and Heart: The People Behind People Strategy

Episode 19

Tuesday, March 24, 2026 • Duration 42:32

In this episode of Space to Lead, David is joined by members of the HR leadership team at the City of Maple Ridge for a conversation about the evolving role of HR in organizations today. Together, they explore what it means to move beyond a reactive service model and become a true strategic partner that helps shape culture, strengthen trust, support people, and guide change across the organization.

This conversation explores the importance of strategy within HR, the value of a team culture built on authenticity and support, and the need to balance compassion with accountability. From employee experience and feedback to systems, learning, and leadership, this episode offers a thoughtful look at what strong HR leadership can make possible.

Tune in and subscribe to Space to Lead so you do not miss an episode.

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Stepping Into Your Power: A Conversation on Confidence, Transition, and Leadership

Episode 18

Friday, December 12, 2025 • Duration 33:02

SHOW NOTES — Space to Lead

Stepping Into Your Power: A Conversation on Confidence, Transition, and Leadership

with Sarah Zaharia

What happens when you finally see yourself the way others have seen you all along?
In this powerful episode, Sarah joins David to explore the internal shifts, bold risks, and subtle mindset changes that helped her step into a larger, more confident version of herself—and reshape her career in the process.

Sarah opens up about leaving the public sector after nearly two decades, navigating the complexity of a major career transition, leading in a high-pressure environment, and maintaining relationships with intention and grace.

This conversation is an invitation: to challenge the beliefs that hold you back, to rethink what confidence actually looks like, and to step more fully into the leader you’re becoming.

🌟 In This Episode, We Explore:

✨ The moment Sarah realized she was underestimating herself

and how a simple reframing helped her step into a senior leadership mindset.

✨ Why language shapes leadership

—from apologetic qualifiers to declarative confidence.

✨ The hidden emotional work of transitions

and how to move from one chapter to the next with intention and integrity.

✨ How women can stop self-limiting and support each other more powerfully

including the importance of bold conversations and strong female community.

✨ Why “work-life balance” is a myth

and how to rethink balance across months (or even years).

“I didn’t realize I was already further ahead than I thought. I just needed someone to hold up the mirror.”“How you leave a role says more about you than how you enter one.”“You can’t pour from an empty cup—and you can’t lead from one either.”“Women supporting women is one of the most powerful forces in leadership.”“Work-life balance doesn’t always show up daily. Sometimes it shows up over a year.”

The Grief in the Room - Why leaders must learn to do endings well

Episode 17

Saturday, November 1, 2025 • Duration 29:56

In this deeply reflective episode, David and Suzanne explore a topic rarely named in organizational life — grief at work. They discuss how leaders and teams experience grief during professional transitions such as restructures, layoffs, leadership changes, or the end of major projects. Suzanne invites leaders to see beyond the familiar language of stress and burnout, recognizing that unacknowledged loss often lies beneath.

The conversation bridges psychology, leadership, and systems thinking, linking grief to models like Kübler-Ross’s Stages of Grief, William Bridges’ Transition Model, and Sam Kaner’s Groan Zone. Together, they highlight that creating space for endings — to name, honor, and process what has been lost — allows new beginnings to emerge with clarity and trust.

💡 Key Concepts & Models Referenced

Kübler-Ross’s Stages of Grief: Understanding emotional responses to loss — denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
Anticipatory Grief: The anxiety and emotional weight of knowing change or loss is coming before it happens.
William Bridges’ Transition Model: Moving through endings, the neutral zone (or “messy middle”), and new beginnings.
Kaner’s Groan Zone: The discomfort and confusion that accompany true transformation and collective sense-making.
Space to Lead Model: The importance of slowing down, reflecting, and making intentional space for what’s true before moving forward.

🧭 Key Takeaways

Grief is not just personal — it’s professional, collective, and systemic.
Leaders must name and honor endings to build trust and make room for renewal.
Anticipatory grief is common in organizations facing change and can heighten anxiety if unacknowledged.
Doing endings well prevents unresolved emotional residue from surfacing later in team dynamics and culture.
“Name it to tame it” — identifying loss gives people language and permission to process emotions.

“Grief is part of leadership. Every time you move to a new role and leave a team behind, that’s grief.” – Suzanne Fox“Before you begin something new, you have to end what used to be.” – Suzanne Fox“Creating space to honor what’s been lost is essential for renewal.” – David LeBlanc

The Power of Words: Pausing Before we Judge

Episode 16

Sunday, October 12, 2025 • Duration 08:08

🪞 Episode Summary

What happens in that moment after someone says something that hits you wrong?
Before the judgment, before the reaction—there’s a pause. And in that pause lies the possibility for understanding.

In this episode of Space to Lead, David LeBlanc explores the power of language, how certain words—like “sissy”—carry history and emotion, and how our reactions often reveal as much about us as they do about the word itself.

This is a conversation about words as both weapons and bridges, about sensitivity and awareness, and about the practice of pausing before we decide what’s right, wrong, or off-limits.

In This Episode

The story behind why a single word in a previous episode stayed with David
How language carries history, identity, and emotion
The psychology of reaction—what’s happening in your body when a word triggers you
How to pause and reflect before judgment
Why curiosity, not censorship, builds understanding
What leaders, coaches, and teams can learn about communication through awareness of language

Key Takeaways

Words are never neutral—they live in relationship and context.
Our reactions are often shaped by memory, identity, and experience.
The pause between stimulus and response is where reflection and growth happen.
True inclusion isn’t just about policing language—it’s about staying open to dialogue and difference.
When we replace judgment with curiosity, we open the door to empathy.

Reflective Prompts for Listeners

What words have power for you?
When you react strongly to something someone says, what might that be telling you about your story?
How can you create more space to pause, reflect, and respond rather than react?

“Maybe the answer isn't in making a list of forbidden words - maybe it's in practicing curiosity.”

Clear and Compelling Communication - with Salvatore Manzi

Episode 15

Tuesday, September 9, 2025 • Duration 22:19

Clear and compelling communication isn’t just about what we say — it’s about how we show up. In this episode of Space to Lead, I sit down with communication coach Salvatore Manzi, author of the upcoming book Clear and Compelling: Communication Strategies for Big Thinkers and Bold Ideas.

We explore Salvatore’s three pillars of communication — content, delivery, and presence — and why great leadership communication often begins with stillness and the power of pause. From practical tips like “move 5% slower than the room” to principles such as “You, then Me,” Salvatore shares strategies that help leaders turn complex ideas into messages that connect and inspire.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

Why stillness and pausing build confidence and presence.
The difference between a download and a dialogue.
How “You, then Me” can transform conversations and relationships.
Simple ways to start small and practice one shift at a time.

Whether you’re leading a team, presenting big ideas, or simply striving to communicate with more clarity and impact, this episode offers tools and inspiration you can apply right away. Learn more about Salvatore and his work at www.salvatoremanzi.com and be sure to order his new book - Clear and Compelling: Communication Strategies for Big Thinkers and Bold Ideas.

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