The Organizational Health Advantage

In this episode of The Organizational Health Advantage, hosts James Felton, Keith Hadley, and guest host Nate Nielson sit down with Scott Howe, CEO of LiveRamp, for a candid conversation on leadership, team health, and navigating growth in a fast-moving industry. From his early days at Microsoft to leading one of the world’s top data collaboration companies, Scott shares hard-earned insights on building trust, embracing accountability, and fostering simplicity in complex environments. You’ll hear stories about shrinking a leadership team to make decisions faster, the power of repeating a clear strategy until it sticks, and why confronting tough truths unlocks progress. Whether you’re a CEO, team leader, or aspiring changemaker, this episode offers practical wisdom on building stronger, healthier organizations where trust and clarity fuel results.

Being a "smart" team isn't enough. In this episode of The Organizational Health Advantage, Keith Hadley and Gordon Blocker dig into the healthy side of a business. Do leaders truly buy in to the problems associated with politics and confusion? If not, they won’t find the motivation needed to embrace the hard work of organizational health. Keith and Gordon share real-world stories and offer practical insights for unlocking lasting competitive edge.

If you want to bore, confuse or overwhelm someone, just talk about Strategic Planning! In this episode we are joined by fellow PC Joyce Schaefer to attempt to “decomplexify” the notion of Strategic Planning into its most basic parts – what questions we need to answer, how to document it and keep it on the forefront of our minds as leaders so that we put ourselves in the best position to realize our goals!

Matrix organizations promise efficiency and innovation—but often deliver confusion and dysfunction instead. In this episode, Keith Hadley and James Felton are joined by UK-based consultant Sophie Dummer to unpack the paradox of the “messy matrix” and how, when grounded in organizational health, it can amplify agility and effectiveness rather than amplifying chaos. Together, they explore the key reasons organizations adopt a matrix structure, the layers of complexity it introduces, and the common dysfunctions they encounter with clients. Most importantly, they outline five essential practices for making a matrix thrive: cultivating self-awareness, leading with vulnerability and empathy, leaning into hard conversations, influencing without formal authority, and aligning around the greater good.Whether you're leading within a matrix or considering a shift in structure, this episode offers a candid, practical, and hopeful lens for navigating complexity with clarity and purpose.

Today we’re thrilled to welcome Joyce Schaefer to the podcast—someone who has truly lived out the evolving identity of HR professionals and the strategic power they can bring to the table. In this conversation, we dive into how HR leaders can move beyond traditional administrative roles and step confidently into positions of influence and impact. Joyce makes a strong case for seeing HR professionals as business leaders first, HR leaders second, reflecting a broader shift toward deeper integration within the business.Together, we unpack the importance of clarity and communication, what it really means to have a seat at the table, and the often-overlooked role of HR as a coach and leadership developer. Joyce also shares how HR can act as a stabilizing, strategic force in talent management—and how vital that becomes in moments of change or crisis. It’s a candid, insightful, and energizing conversation about what HR leadership looks like at its best—and what it means for the future of work.

Rich Arendel of Visa with guest host Joe Kay: Dubbed, the “Pod-Father” and carrying the title of “Chief Evangelist” when Currency Cloud which was acquired by Visa in 2021. Rich tells his incredible story of carved out a unique role as an internal champion of organisational health. Working with cross functional go to market “pods” to help drive clarity and cohesion and ensure the most strategic decisions were executed well across all levels of the organization. Learn how to unlock capabilities and a line effort through his unique story – and the meaning of “meeting silence or corridor violence”.

In this episode, James and Keith go deep on the Case for Vulnerability. Having seen firsthand the transformative power of vulnerability, they share why teams that can be unguarded with one another consistently outperform those that cannot. Vulnerability accelerates the identification of issues, clears the path to more effective problem-solving, and unlocks access to a wider range of ideas. More than that, it gives people the freedom to be fully human within a team—fostering trust, authenticity, and stronger connections. Join them as they explore how embracing vulnerability isn’t just a soft skill—it’s a strategic advantage.

Keith interviews Jon Brady, President of Midtown Athletic Club. Driven by a commitment to inspire others to transform their lives, Jon has championed the creation of an Athletic Club made true third space—a place where people are seen as human first through authentic interaction. As Jon often says, “Whatever we do, let’s do it on purpose.” In this episode, he shares the pivotal leadership decisions that reshaped Midtown Athletic Clubs into an Org Health powerhouse, as well as recalls some golden stories from his journey with Table Group. We go deep on team size, meeting cadence, company purpose and values and leaning into a clear strategy that truly differentiates Midtown in the eyes of their members.

In this episode, James and Keith dive into Patrick Lencioni’s first book, The Five Temptations of a CEO. Described as “temptations”, these leadership pitfalls are common, easy to succumb to, and often hard to recognize—but not impossible to overcome. Together, we unpack the destructive impact of choosing status over results, popularity over accountability, certainty over clarity, harmony over productive conflict, and invulnerability over trust.

In this episode, Keith and guest host Dan O'Brien sit down with Matt Salamone, CEO of HRD Aerosystems. From packing boxes at 8 years old to being promoted to CEO, Dan has grown up with this company, and discusses with us how he has learned to step into difficult conversations by leading with vulnerability, overcoming silos of work within the company, and how Organizational Health has equipped him too step up to embrace the work of a leader.