What if burnout isn’t the end of the road, but the beginning of a new one?

In this episode of The Workplace Therapy Podcast by Unity & Company, host Scott Arrieta sits down with Hayley Hatfield—career coach, culture strategist, and founder of HayleyHatfield.com—to explore the messy but transformative moment so many women leaders face: the career crossroads.

Drawing on her own journey through corporate burnout and reinvention, Hayley shares why burnout can actually be a breakthrough moment, and how women can use it to clarify values, reclaim agency, and step into leadership that is both strategic and soulful. Together, Scott and Hayley unpack the cultural and generational shifts shaping today’s workplace, from the growing demand for empathetic leadership to the silent scripts that keep women stuck in roles that no longer serve them.

Whether you’re questioning if you should stay, pivot, or build something entirely new, this conversation is a reminder that leadership doesn’t have to mean self-sacrifice—it can mean alignment, authenticity, and a new way forward.

In this episode of The Workplace Therapy Podcast by Unity & Company, Scott and Monica Arrieta sit down with Nadine Fakhoury, an executive coach and former Vice President at Cisco. Nadine shares her remarkable journey from engineer to executive, where she became the only female VP in her division, leading a global team of 350 people and managing billions in revenue.

Through powerful personal stories — from being mistaken for the admin in leadership meetings, to advocating for herself in salary negotiations, to creating the first-ever offsite for technical women at Cisco — Nadine reflects on what it means to lead authentically in environments where you don’t always feel you belong. She opens up about the responsibility leaders carry to use their authority, voice, and platform to create opportunities and foster belonging for others.

Nadine also discusses the personal cost of misalignment and burnout, the importance of values-driven leadership, and why her coaching practice is dedicated to helping leaders get unstuck and flourish in complex systems. This is a conversation for anyone who believes leadership is about more than personal success — it’s about building space where others can thrive.

What if the secret to advancing your leadership, team cohesion, and organizational culture wasn’t just about charisma or authority—but about influence? In this powerful episode of The Workplace Therapy Podcast, Scott Arrieta sits down with Ellin Sidell, CEO of The Sidell Method and co-author of The Influence Advantage, to break down the three overlooked relationship types every professional needs to thrive: partnership, mentorship, and sponsorship.With decades of experience at companies like Nestlé, Microsoft, and Costco, Ellin brings a science-backed yet deeply human perspective to ethical influence, neuroplasticity, and strengths-based leadership. From building Costco’s groundbreaking mentorship program to unlocking how reciprocity, likability, and visibility create exponential growth—for individuals and organizations alike—this is one conversation you won’t want to miss.

In this episode of The Workplace Therapy Podcast, host Scott Arrieta sits down with John Wichmann, CEO of Gather Sciences and architect of the Balanced Hybrid framework, to unpack what it really takes to make hybrid work work—not just for employees, but for the business.As more companies push for full-time return to office, John makes a compelling case for why an optimized hybrid model might actually be the strategic advantage most leaders are missing. Together, Scott and John explore the four pillars of a balanced hybrid strategy—People, Patterns, Place, and Purpose—and discuss why many hybrid implementations fail due to lack of intentionality, consistency, and accountability.John shares data-backed insights, real-world stories, and strategic takeaways for leaders who want to avoid arbitrary policies and instead build a hybrid culture that boosts productivity, supports onboarding and mentorship, and helps attract top talent in a shifting labor market. Whether you're hybrid, remote, or in-office, this conversation is a must-listen for anyone designing the future of work.

In this powerful episode of The Workplace Therapy Podcast, Scott Arrieta, CEO of Unity & Company is joined by Dr. Ur Barzel — a leading expert in organizational change, high reliability organizations (HROs), and systems thinking.

Together, they explore how organizations in high-risk industries like healthcare, aviation, and the military achieve low error rates not by eliminating human mistakes, but by building environments that promote psychological safety, systemic learning, and continuous improvement.

Through real-world examples — including the case of nurse RaDonda Vaught, tragic system failures in amusement parks, and the evolution of aviation safety protocols — Dr. Barzel illustrates why blame cultures fail and how leaders can cultivate just cultures that truly fix root causes.

Whether you’re leading a hospital, a startup, or a Fortune 500 company, the lessons in this conversation are clear:

• Blame doesn’t fix broken systems.

• Fear kills innovation and transparency.

• Leadership begins with creating environments where people can speak up safely — and learn together.

If you're ready to move beyond surface-level fixes and lead lasting change, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

In this timely and compassionate episode of The Workplace Therapy Podcast, Scott Arrieta and co-host Dr. Sarah Gould sit down with Anna Pinkerton, a world-renowned trauma specialist and founder of Kindness Informed Leadership. With over 30 years of clinical experience, Anna brings deep insight into the psychological toll of chronic stress, burnout, and trauma in leadership—and how kindness isn’t a weakness but a revolutionary act of resilience.

Together, they explore:

• How untreated trauma shows up in leadership

• The signs of chronic stress and early-stage burnout

• Why traditional productivity-driven cultures are breaking people

• The false dichotomy between kindness and accountability

• Practical frameworks for healing and supporting ourselves and our teams

• The power of vulnerability, presence, and emotional regulation in high-stakes environments

Anna’s message is clear: Kindness is not about being nice—it’s about being brave, present, and connected. This episode is a must-listen for anyone in leadership who wants to build a culture that sustains people, not just profits.

In this heartfelt and thought-provoking episode of The Workplace Therapy Podcast, host Scott Arrieta sits down with Marcia Donziger, founder and CEO of Vital Biz Consulting, to explore how workplace culture can be both a healing force and a strategic driver of business results.

Marcia shares her personal journey—from being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in her 20s to founding MyLifeLine, a nonprofit that helped cancer patients stay connected with their support networks. She later transitioned into organizational consulting, driven by her belief that care, connection, and trust are essential for people and companies to thrive.

Together, Scott and Marcia unpack:

• The Culture CARES framework (Commitment, Appreciation, Respect, Engagement, and Safety)

• Why psychological safety and trust are the foundation of high-performing teams

• How to transform culture one business unit at a time, even without executive buy-in

• The emotional and strategic impacts of mass layoffs—and how to navigate them with humanity

• Why employee experience is not a soft skill—but a business driver

• The role of leaders as culture carriers and examples of real-world impact

Listeners will walk away with a renewed sense of what's possible when organizations make care a cornerstone of their leadership strategy.

The most valuable lessons about business and leadership are not learned in the classroom. When it comes to developing the next generation of high-impact leaders, there is simply no substitute for experience and mentorship. On this week's episode of The Workplace Therapy Podcast, our guest Candice Seiger gives us a healthy dose of both.

Candice is a seasoned strategy and operations executive who has worked for major brands like Carnival, Hyatt and AAA. She currently sits on the board for American Public Television and holds an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. In this week's episode, Candice shares the four essential ingredients to her success as a leader and offers advice to deveoping leaders on how to scale their impact by focusing on what matters most - the people.