The Organizational Health Advantage

Hosted by James Felton and Keith Hadley

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Episodes

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About the show

James Felton & Keith Hadley created this podcast to create a space for executives, consultants and coaches to share their wisdom, stories, and advice, focused on organizational health and best practices for leaders. They are both Executive Consultants at The Table Group, committed to helping create successful companies, with cohesive teams, and engaged employees. Listen to the podcast on every platform @ The Organizational Health Advantage or watch on YouTube @OrgHealthAdvantagePodcast

Listen to episodes

60 recent

27 min

S7E2: Leadership Development as a Competitive Advantage

The ability to consistently develop great leaders can become one of the most powerful competitive advantages an organization has. In this episode, Keith and James explore why leadership development shouldn’t exist separately from organizational health, but should instead reinforce the clarity, culture, and behaviors an organization has already established. They discuss how the four disciplines can become a practical framework for developing leaders at every level—from building cohesive teams and translating organizational clarity to setting expectations, giving feedback, running better meetings, and having difficult conversations. Rather than adding another program to leaders’ plates, they explain how development can happen through the work leaders are already doing, including one-on-ones, performance conversations, hiring, coaching, and cascading communication. Whether you’re building a leadership development program from scratch or already have a robust L&D function, the goal is the same: develop leaders in a way that strengthens your culture, scales organizational health, and equips your people to develop the leaders beneath them.

41 min

S7E1: The Imperfect Board Member with author, Jim Brown

In this episode, we're joined again by former Principal Consultant and bestselling author Jim Brown to discuss the soon to be released 20th Anniversary Edition of The Imperfect Board Member. We explore the unique and distinctive roles of board members and executives; the kind of dynamics that define healthy boards and some common pitfalls and problems that can lead to dysfunction and struggle. This episode is for CEOs, Executives, and Board Members alike who all share a common mandate to do what leads to company success. See S6E11 for our first episode with Jim Brown, on his new book The Imperfect CEO.

45 min

S6E13: The Leadership Behind Lasting Change with President of DeLaval Fernando Cuccioli

Organizational transformation rarely succeeds through speed alone. It requires leaders patient enough to create the conditions for people to move forward together. In this episode, Fernando Cuccioli, President of DeLaval Americas, joins Keith Hadley and James Felton to reflect on his six-year commitment to organizational health and the leadership philosophy that shaped it. From building an executive team around the principles of humble, hungry, smart to using William Bridges' Transition Model to guide a major organizational restructure, Fernando shares how patience, transparency, and trust enabled his team to navigate significant change without sacrificing cohesion. He also reflects on the personal leadership shifts that made that transformation possible—from embracing feedback as a gift to learning the power of delegation, vulnerability, and going last. Along the way, Fernando explains how restructuring became an opportunity to better understand his people's ambitions, cultivate a shared leadership language, and build an organization capable of sustaining change long after the reorganization was complete.

8 min

S6E12: 1 Minute Manager

Clear expectations and consistent feedback are foundational to healthy leadership—but they're also some of the most overlooked management practices. In this "Simple Ideas, Big Impact" episode, Keith and James revisit the timeless lessons of Ken Blanchard's The One Minute Manager , exploring why leaders often assume expectations are understood without ever communicating them. They discuss the power of setting clear expectations, affirming success, coaching with clarity, and why even CEOs can miss the mark when it comes to feedback. If you want to build stronger teams and eliminate unnecessary frustration, this simple leadership habit can make all the difference.

46 min

S6E11: The Imperfect CEO with Jim Brown & Rick Packer

In this episode, James is joined by longtime Table Group Principal Consultant Rick Packer and former Principal Consultant and bestselling author Jim Brown to discuss Jim’s new book, The Imperfect CEO. Together, they explore why great CEOs don’t need to have all the answers, but they do need the humility to go first, admit limitations, build trust, and create the conditions for true collaboration. The conversation centers on Jim’s four peaks of organizational health: collaborative culture, leadership accountability, strategic momentum, and talent magnetism—and how each one depends on a leader’s willingness to embrace imperfection, model vulnerability, and guard the health of the organization.

38 min

S6E10: Victim or Agent

In this episode, Keith and James explore one of the most important mindset shifts leaders can make: to see yourself as a victim of circumstances or as an agent of change. The conversation centers on three simple but powerful questions: What is our current reality? What needs to change? And what is my responsibility in making that happen?

21 min

S6E9: The Working Genius of the CEO

What does “Working Genius” look like at the leadership level? In this episode, Keith and James explore which types of work leaders must personally own—and which they can delegate. They make the case that leaders don’t need to excel at all six Working Genius areas, but they must take responsibility for three critical roles: creating space for wonder, driving discernment to clear decisions, and ensuring teams stay focused through galvanizing. Along the way, they unpack common leadership pitfalls—like skipping strategic thinking, overvaluing personal ideas, or failing to maintain momentum after decisions are made—and offer practical ways to lead more intentionally based on your strengths. A sharp, thought-provoking conversation for leaders looking to better understand their role in driving clarity, focus, and execution.

50 min

S6E8: From Acquisition to Alignment with George Abatjoglou of EMSMC and Liz Hughes

Rapid growth and acquisitions don’t strengthen organizations on their own—alignment does. In this episode, George Abatjoglou of EMSMC shares how the company transformed from a collection of regional EMS service providers into a unified national organization, and how organizational health became the foundation for navigating change, building trust, and creating lasting alignment across teams. From defining a purpose employees could genuinely connect to—“helping first responders answer the call”—to integrating teams across multiple acquisitions and countries, this conversation explores what it really takes to scale culture intentionally. George also dives into the practical side of embedding organizational health into daily operations through leadership cascades, recognition systems, storytelling, and values-driven communication that moved beyond posters and mission statements. A must-listen for leaders managing growth, acquisitions, remote teams, or culture transformation while trying to keep people connected to meaningful work.

17 min

S6E7: Go first Go Last

How do great leaders prepare for and run effective offsites? In this episode, Keith and James break down the principle of “Go first, Go last,” showing how leaders can set the tone with vulnerability and clarity, create space for real discussion, and step in at the end to drive decisions. They share practical techniques for signaling decision confidence, encouraging honest dialogue, avoiding influencing the room too early, and balancing the dual role of participant and facilitator. While centered on offsite preparation, these insights apply to any team setting—helping leaders build alignment, foster better conversations, and drive more decisive outcomes.

48 min

S6E6: Building a High-Performance Leadership Team with CEO of FHI Ryan Wall & guest host David Hoyt

In this episode of the Org Health Advantage podcast, Keith and James sit down with Ryan Wall, CEO of FHI, to explore his leadership journey in a multi-generational, family-owned business and the role organizational health has played in its evolution. He shares how FHI grew from a labor provider into a broader supply chain solutions company, navigating rapid growth and shifts in its business model while staying grounded in its foundation of "Hard Work Done Right". Ryan outlines the team norms that reshaped how the leadership team operates, including “Team One” and “Giddy Up,” and explains the company’s strategic anchor of “Lead from the Heart,” which guides decisions through service, care, and measurable impact. The conversation also highlights the influence of his father, the company’s founder—a visionary, high-intensity leader—and how Ryan has developed his own leadership style by bringing greater clarity, structure, and intentional vulnerability. Along the way, he addresses key leadership challenges while offering practical insights on building aligned teams through clear norms, structured meetings, disciplined decision-making, and well-defined purpose, values, and strategy.