Dear Leaders: Love, Your People

Hosted by Brandi Spurling

Business Management

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Jul 2026

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About the show

Dear Leaders, We're rooting for you! But we also want you to do better. Because when you do better, WE do better. Leading is hard. We get it. Reporting to you is hard, too. And we know that neither of us is automatically taught how to navigate conflict with our people or leaders. That's why we're here: to talk about it. The ways we need you to improve, the questions we have, and everything in between. And by "we" we mean Brandi Spurling: Keynote speaker, culture consultant, and long-time "people". She'll take it from here. We can't wait. Love, Your People

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21 recent

July 8, 2026Episode 2013 min

Undercover Culture at Steak and Shake

Dear Leaders, Whether you realize it or not, someone is going undercover in your culture every single day. They walk in, they interact with your people, and they walk out with a story — a story about who you are as a team and what you stand for. The question is: do you like the story they're going to tell? This episode was born out of an accidental undercover culture experiment at the most unexpected place — Steak 'n Shake. We'll talk about: What "undercover culture" is and why your customers (and colleagues) are doing it to your team every single day The two endings every culture story can have, and how to make sure yours is the right one Why praise is accountability too — and why reinforcing what's working is just as important as correcting what isn't This episode is your reminder: your people are the extension of your culture. What your customers experience in those five minutes with your team IS your culture — whether it matches your mission or not. It's your job to make sure those two things are aligned, and then to keep reinforcing it so it doesn't fade away. You just have to decide if you like the story they're going to tell. Love, Your People Book Brandi to speak! spreecultureco.com/speaking-engagements Download the leader guide for this episode here: https://spreecultureco.com/dear-leader-downloadable-leader-guides/

June 17, 2026Episode 1914 min

Your Culture on Ai: The Buzz Lightyear Tool of the Decade

Dear Leaders, Whether you'd like to believe it or not, AI is already in your culture. Your people are using it — in their personal lives, in their workdays, on your team — and if you haven't defined what that looks like, they're defining it for themselves. All fifteen different versions of it. We'll talk about: The danger of ambiguity: what happens when your team has no standard to measure AI use against The three things you can do right now to create your AI culture instead of chasing it: Say It, Build It, Own It How to model the culture you're asking your team to adopt (and why you can't hold people accountable for something you're not holding yourself to first) This episode is your reminder: AI is an action. And every action your people take — or don't take — shapes the culture your whole team experiences together. It's time to get clear, get loud, and lead it on purpose. Love, Your People Book Brandi to speak! spreecultureco.com/speaking-engagements Download the leader guide for this episode here: https://spreecultureco.com/dear-leader-downloadable-leader-guides/

May 19, 2026Episode 1815 min

The Tale of the Square Mug: Why Your Team's Capacity for Change Matters

Dear Leaders, Whether you’d like to believe it or not, what’s happening in the world right now is impacting how your people show up to work. Expensive groceries, gas shortages, plus everything else your people have going on means they might not be operating on a full tank. They just don’t have the capacity. We’ll talk about: Why all of us have a change threshold (and how to assess your team’s capacity before rolling out changes) The three questions you need to ask before implementing any change How to spot “square mug” changes—changes for change’s sake that don’t actually make anyone’s life better Death by a thousand paper cuts: why your team sees change cumulatively, not in isolation What it means to be a steady presence through change (and why “let me know if you have questions” isn’t enough) This episode is your reminder: your team’s capacity for change is not unlimited. Treat it like the finite resource it is. Love, Your People Book Brandi to speak! spreecultureco.com/speaking-engagements Download the leader guide for this episode here: https://spreecultureco.com/dear-leader-downloadable-leader-guides/

February 18, 2026Episode 1719 min

The 28-Minute Problem: Creating Space for Deep Work as a Leader

Dear Leaders, Here's a statistic that might make you feel seen: the average CEO only gets 28 minutes of uninterrupted work time per day. Twenty-eight minutes. The rest is emails, questions, meetings, and constant interruptions. And if you're like me, you might have accidentally created this problem for yourself. We'll talk about: Why loving your people doesn't mean sacrificing what you need as a leader The adventure value paradox: how giving my team flexibility left me with none The four steps to creating boundaries that protect your capacity (audit, identify systems you need, communicate clearly, own the boundary) This episode is your reminder: you can't pour from an empty cup. When you take care of yourself, you show up better for your team. Love, Your People Book Brandi to speak! spreecultureco.com/speaking-engagements Download the leader guide for this episode here: https://spreecultureco.com/dear-leader-downloadable-leader-guides/ This episode is brought to you by Leader Spree 2026. Join us for a one-day leadership conference in Columbia, Missouri designed to give you way more than 28 minutes to focus on you. Grab your ticket at spreecultureco.com/leader-spree-2026

December 4, 2025Episode 1615 min

The (Re)treat that Keeps on Giving

Dear Leaders, Team retreats aren't just nice to have: they impact trust, bring people closer together, and give you space to solve problems in ways you can't when you're stuck in your normal routine. I'm saying this as someone who facilitates team experiences for a living, and I'll be honest: I was discounting the value of our own team retreat. I was overthinking the time commitment, worrying about whether it was really necessary. But after bringing our fully remote team to Columbia, Missouri for two days, I asked them for their honest reflections. What they shared completely shifted how I think about bringing people together. In this episode, I share their actual feedback I got from my team, and give you your own team retreat agenda you can steal to host your own! We'll talk about: Why team retreats get a bad rap (looking at you, Michael Scott's beach day) The three things retreats give you: connection, shared language and purpose, and space to solve problems How retreats validate your team's importance without requiring direct ROI If you're thinking "I don't have the budget for two days away," here's the truth: the location and duration doesn't matter. What matters is dedicating time to step away from normal work and focus on connection and dreaming together. Love, Your People Book Brandi to speak! spreecultureco.com/speaking-engagements Download the leader guide for this episode here: https://spreecultureco.com/dear-leader-downloadable-leader-guides/ The leader guide includes retreat agendas you can steal: 2-hour, half-day, and full-day options.

November 19, 2025Episode 1516 min

The Full Grinch Moment: What Your Team Actually Needs During the Holidays

Dear Leaders, Culture can't be dependent on resources. The parties, the gifts, the decorations—those aren't your culture. Those are events. They're nice, they matter, but they're not culture. Culture is how your people feel. Your team needs both celebration AND support during the holidays. Most leaders focus so much on the celebration part—the parties, the decorations, the spectacle—that they forget about the support part entirely. We'll talk about: Why celebration without support isn't enough What support actually looks like during the holidays (flexibility, guilt-free time off, modeling rest) How to make it safe for your team to actually disconnect Why not everyone celebrates the same way (and how to acknowledge that) The message you send when you work through the holidays yourself This episode is your reminder: if you're a leader thinking "I don't have the budget for a big party," that's okay. You don't need it. The culture you create during the holidays isn't about what you spend—it's about how your people feel. Am I giving a full Cindy Lou Who moment? Yes, I am, and I'm so into it. Love, Your People Book Brandi to speak! spreecultureco.com/speaking-engagements Download the leader guide for this episode here: https://spreecultureco.com/dear-leader-downloadable-leader-guides/ This episode is sponsored by Spree Culture Co. Visit spreecultureco.com to learn more about bringing our team to yours in 2026.

October 30, 2025Episode 1416 min

You can't change a tire without touching it: Understand the culture, then influence it

Dear Leaders, You can't change a tire without touching it. You have to get down on eye level with it, understand how it's connected, where the lug nuts are, what's actually broken. The same is true for culture—you can't influence what you don't understand. Whether you're a new leader stepping into a role or a seasoned leader trying to make changes, there's a three-step process you can't skip when it comes to creating culture change: Understand, Acclimate, Influence. We'll talk about: Why jumping straight to "fixing things" costs you credibility How to truly understand a culture (not just observe it from the outside) Why acclimating to existing systems earns you the right to influence them What Southwest Airlines can teach us about culture being more than values on a wall This episode is your reminder that real influence doesn't happen by walking into a culture and immediately telling everyone what's wrong with it. It happens when you earn the right to suggest changes by first honoring what already exists. Love, Your People Book Brandi to speak! spreecultureco.com/speaking-engagements Download the leader guide for this episode here: https://spreecultureco.com/dear-leader-downloadable-leader-guides/ Get the Leading Through Culture Bundle at peopleleaderlearning.com

September 30, 2025Episode 1313 min

Show up or Shut up: Walk the Walk AND Talk the Talk

Dear Leaders, Your calendar is your love language. Where you spend your time tells your people what you actually value, not what you say you value. And if there's a gap between those two things, we notice. Oh boy, do we notice. In this episode, I share the story of a leader who showed up to all three of my presentations during the same week they were hosting board members from across the region and the reminder it creates for all leaders. We'll talk about: Why your presence during the "boring" parts gives you context for celebrating wins How to audit your calendar to see where you're missing in action The simple truth that when you show up to training, you're saying learning matters Why modeling behavior is more powerful than mandating it Consider this your reminder that your presence matters just as much, if not more, than your words. Wield the tool wisely. Love, Your People Download the leader guide for this episode here: ⁠https://spreecultureco.com/dear-leader-downloadable-leader-guides/ Book Brandi to speak! spreecultureco.com/speaking-engagements

July 14, 2025Episode 1220 min

Leading Through Change: What Twilight Didn't Teach Us

Dear Leaders, Let’s talk about something we all deal with but don’t always lead through intentionally: change. In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on a big change we just rolled out at my own company—our new name, Spree Culture Co.—and what I didn’t get right in the process. As someone who’s studied change management, teaches leadership, and literally trains others on this stuff… it’s humbling to realize how easy it is to miss the mark when you're in the thick of it. Because the truth is, we don’t just need a well-crafted announcement or a meeting on the calendar from our leaders. We need you to, communicate what the change means for us, invite us into the process (not just inform us), and make space for resistance without making it wrong. If you’re navigating a change (big or small) this one’s for you. And if you’re not in the middle of one now, you will be soon. So, might as well start prepping today. Grab the downloadable leader guide that includes the tips and tools to implement today’s topic into your team, tomorrow! We can’t wait for you to do it. Love, Your people Book Brandi to speak! Spreecultureco.com/speaking-engagements Download the leader guide for this episode here: https://spreecultureco.com/dear-leader-downloadable-leader-guides/ Get the Leading Through Culture Bundle at peopleleaderlearning.com

April 28, 2025Episode 1115 min

You Know What Happens When You Assume? Leading the Way We Need!

Dear Leaders, Sometimes, the most supportive thing you can do as a leader isn’t cheering the loudest or offering help before it's asked—it’s simply asking what we actually need. In today’s episode, we talk about how easy it is to miss the mark with the best intentions. Whether it’s over-supporting, under-supporting, or just showing up in a way that doesn’t land, the truth is: positive intentions don’t guarantee positive impact. And the only way to really know what your team needs is to stop assuming—and start asking. This episode is a call to all leaders: you don’t have to get it perfect, but you do have to be willing to learn. Love, Your People Book Brandi to speak! sagecultureco.com/speaking-engagements Download the leader guide for this episode here: https://sagecultureco.com/dear-leader-downloadable-leader-guides/ Get the Leading Through Culture Bundle at peopleleaderlearning.com