You’re the Boss, Now What? with Desiree Petrich | Leadership and Team Development for Managers and Team Leaders
A leadership podcast for managers who want stronger teams, less drama, and more trust at work.
If you are a manager of people, this podcast is your playbook for the real challenges of leadership!
Each week, your host Desiree Petrich shares practical tools and frameworks from Working Genius, DISC, and The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team to help you:
- Hold employees accountable without micromanaging
- Handle conflict at work before it turns into drama
- Build trust and respect as a confident, credible leader
- Fix a toxic culture and create a team that takes ownership
- Lead effective team meetings that inspire engagement and action
Whether you’re leading a small team or an entire department, you’ll learn actionable strategies to create better communication, deeper trust, and a workplace people actually enjoy showing up to.
You’ll also get quick takeaways from bestselling leadership books, so you can skip the fluff and apply what works!
You’re the Boss, Now What? is your weekly dose of coaching for managers who want to do more than manage, they want to lead.
Popular Topics Include:
One-on-one meeting frameworks, handling team conflict, addressing passive-aggressive behavior, rebuilding trust after drama, navigating difficult employees, setting expectations without micromanaging, improving accountability conversations, fixing toxic communication patterns, leading effective team meetings, delegation strategies for overwhelmed managers, increasing team buy-in, coaching underperforming employees, giving feedback that lands, managing impostor syndrome at work, and creating a healthier, more human-centered culture.
You’re the Boss, Now What? with Desiree Petrich | Leadership and Team Development for Managers and Team Leaders
How to Keep Communication Human in an AI-Driven Workplace
Communication at work is starting to feel artificial. In this episode, we break down how leaders can use human fluency to build trust, create psychological safety, and communicate with clarity without losing professionalism.
Have you ever left a meeting wondering if anyone actually said what they meant?
If so, you're not alone. Remote work, AI tools, and the pressure to “sound professional” are creating communication that looks polished on the outside but lacks honesty on the inside. And when communication feels more like performance than collaboration, team dynamics break down, trust erodes, and even your best employees start pulling back.
In this episode, I’m joined by Nadine Lavigne to talk about human fluency and why it’s becoming one of the most important skills in modern leadership.
If you want to fix a toxic culture, rebuild trust, communicate with more confidence, and create psychological safety without becoming overly casual or losing authority, this conversation is for you.
Last week, we talked about rebuilding trust when workplace drama takes over a team.
This week, we’re taking the next step and getting to the root of why communication feels strained on so many teams right now.
We unpack what it actually looks like to sound like a human at work again so you can lead more effective meetings, handle conflict with confidence, and build a team that communicates honestly instead of politely.
BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU’LL LEARN:
• Why leaders today need human fluency to build trust, connection, and credibility
• How to stay authentic without losing authority or professionalism
• Simple communication shifts that create psychological safety and reduce conflict
• The role AI can play in improving—not replacing—real human leadership
• Why “polite” teams often struggle more with accountability, follow-through, and conflict
• How human fluency helps you handle difficult employees and fix communication breakdowns
• New manager tips you can use immediately to improve team conversations, clarity, and expectations
Connect with Nadine on LinkedIn
Nadine Lavigne is a partner in the Talent Development space, a leadership coach, speaker, facilitator and founder of BeREAL Partners.With over 20 years in corporate leadership roles at GE, Boeing, and various tech companies like IBM, she now helps individuals and teams lead with more authenticity, trust, and purpose. Nadine is passi
Taking Intentional Action: How to Choose the Life You Lead
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Desiree (00:04.6)
Have you ever left a meeting wondering if anyone actually said what they meant between remote work, AI tools, and the pressure to sound professional, real communication at work has started to feel somewhat artificial and somewhat disingenuine. But that's why today we are talking about human fluency. This is a skill that every leader needs to build trust and connection in a world that feels increasingly disconnected. My guest Nadine and I unpack how to balance authenticity with authority.
create psychological safety without losing professionalism, and even use AI to enhance real human connection instead of replacing it. If your team sounds polite, but doesn't always seem honest, or if communication feels more like performance than collaboration, then this episode will show you how to change that. So welcome back to You're the Boss, Now What? I'm your host, Desiree Petriq, and our goal here is to help you lead yourself and your team with confidence. So lean in and let's get started.