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The C-Suite Mentor - Business Growth for Small Business Leaders with Theresa CantleyAuthor: Theresa Cantley
Theresa Cantley, a business and brand strategist reveals her strategies to help you "break out of of the traditional mold" of small business by learning new ways to build profitability into your business and freedom into your life. Create a brand and market your business while also learning how to assemble a high performing team. Discover how to create a marketing strategy that builds your visibility offline and online, how to infuse your brand into every part of your business creating a unique experience for your customers, how to create offers and products your customers will love and how to hire and create a high performing, highly motivated team. Theresa will share with you her experience over the past 20 years to show you creative ways to gain the clarity you need on the vision you have for your business and creative ways to get there while always staying one step ahead of your competition. Leadership development, systems and processes, organizational leadership, branding, marketing strategy, digital marketing, business planning, team building, building your authority, search engine optimization, goal setting, project management and learning how to make your vision a reality by becoming a visionary leader in your industry. Language: en Genres: Business, Management Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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The Leadership Skill No One Trains You For: Building Trust
Episode 310
Monday, 19 January, 2026
Trust is no longer built after the first meeting — it's built before you ever walk into the room. In this episode of The C-Suite Mentor Podcast, Theresa Cantley sits down with leadership advisor and storyteller Matt Stone to explore how human connection, intentional communication, and storytelling shape trust in today's business landscape. From navigating conflict and toxic leadership to understanding how personal history influences workplace behavior, Matt shares powerful insights drawn from his background in law, leadership consulting, and organizational psychology. Together, Theresa and Matt unpack why relationships either grow or decay, how small avoided conversations create massive breakdowns, and why leaders must reconnect to their own internal alignment before they can truly lead others. The conversation also dives into Matt's latest venture, Amped, where he helps founders and CEOs tell their stories on camera to build trust with stakeholders before the first conversation ever happens. Things to Listen For: • How Matt's childhood and constant relocation shaped his ability to build trust quickly with others [7:45] • Why trust is built through relationships — not roles, authority, or titles [8:10] • Why leaders struggle to see greatness in others if they can't see it in themselves [14:10] • The parallels between family conflict and organizational breakdowns [22:45] • Why relationships are always either moving closer or drifting apart — never staying the same [26:20] • The hidden cost of avoiding "small" conversations in leadership and business [26:45] • A leadership mindset shift that can transform culture and performance [29:00] • How storytelling builds trust before stakeholders ever meet you [38:15] • Why authenticity on camera is harder — and more important — than people realize [43:40] • How unresolved personal experiences silently impact workplace communication [50:25] BOOK A C-SUITE SNAPSHOT: If you're ready to uncover where your business is breaking down and create a clear plan for the next 60–90 days, book a C-Suite Snapshot. Together we'll identify what's not working, what needs to change, and where the biggest opportunities for momentum exist. https://theresacantley.com/business-audit BOOK A COFFEE CHAT: Want to talk through where you're stuck or what's shifting inside your business? Book a free virtual coffee chat and let's explore what support you need to lead with more confidence, clarity, and alignment. https://meetwiththeresa.as.me/virtualcoffee Shownotes: In this episode, Theresa Cantley welcomes leadership advisor and storyteller Matt Stone for a wide-ranging, deeply human conversation about leadership, trust, and connection. Building Trust Through Human Connection Matt shares how growing up in a military family — moving frequently and constantly being "the new kid" — taught him the power of building trust quickly through relationships. These early experiences shaped his belief that connection, not credentials, creates opportunity. Leadership Is About Relationships, Not Just Results Theresa and Matt explore how leaders often focus on outcomes while neglecting relationships — and how this imbalance erodes trust, engagement, and performance over time. Why Small Conversations Matter One of the most powerful insights from this episode is Matt's explanation that relationships are never static — they're either moving closer together or further apart. Avoiding small, uncomfortable conversations creates distance that eventually leads to major breakdowns. Lessons from Law and Organizational Conflict Drawing from his background in family law, Matt explains how breakdowns in trust mirror what happens in businesses — and why unresolved tension almost always results in lose-lose outcomes. Rebuilding Trust Inside Organizations Matt outlines how rebuilding trust starts by putting the "issue" aside and addressing the human relationship first. Once people feel heard, seen, and respected, collaboration becomes possible again. The Inside-Out Approach to Leadership Theresa shares her leadership framework focused on internal alignment — helping leaders reconnect with who they are and who they want to be — before expecting alignment from others. Storytelling as a Trust Accelerator Matt introduces Amped, his new venture designed to help founders and CEOs tell their stories on camera. He explains why video is one of the most powerful tools for building trust before a meeting, pitch, or partnership ever begins. Authenticity, Video, and Being Seen The conversation explores why being "authentic" on camera is difficult, why over-polishing kills trust, and how storytelling helps the right people connect — while naturally repelling the wrong ones. The Conversations We Avoid at Work Matt highlights one of the most overlooked leadership challenges: how personal experiences, past trauma, and unprocessed emotions silently interfere with communication and decision-making inside organizations. Final Leadership Reflection This episode closes with a powerful reminder: leadership is not about perfection — it's about presence, curiosity, and the willingness to have honest conversations that strengthen trust over time.
