Haren Bhakta: Business Failure, Leadership Behavior, and Turning Loss Into Long-Term Success

Hanna Bauer: Why Employees Leave and How Leadership Drives Retention

In this episode of Behavioral Profit, Debbie Longo speaks with Hanna Bauer about a leadership lesson that transformed her business. After receiving a resignation letter from a valued employee shortly after her company received industry recognition, Hanna was forced to confront a difficult reality: strong processes and systems alone were not enough to retain talented people. Through self-reflection, employee feedback, and a deeper understanding of human behavior, she discovered that the real issue was not compensation—it was connection, communication, and leadership. Hanna shares how focusing solely on operational excellence caused her to overlook the human side of business and how learning the goals, motivations, and aspirations of her employees changed the culture of her organization. The conversation explores employee retention, leadership accountability, communication, alignment, psychological safety, and why businesses must put people before processes if they want sustainable growth. This episode is for business owners, executives, and leaders who want to build stronger teams, reduce turnover, improve engagement, and create a workplace where people and profits grow together. Contact Information Debbie Longo Email: debbie@lifeinbloomny.net [debbie@lifeinbloomny.net] Website: DebbieLongo.com [http://DebbieLongo.com] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-longo-life-in-bloom-ny/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-longo-life-in-bloom-ny/] Hanna Bauer Website: https://hannadbauer.com [https://hannadbauer.com]

Gavin McMahon: The Cost of Being Right in Leadership and Business

In this episode of Behavioral Profit, Debbie Longo sits down with Gavin McMahon, founder of Fassforward, to discuss a pivotal leadership lesson that changed the trajectory of his career. While leading a major digital transformation initiative, Gavin found himself in conflict with a senior executive over priorities, communication, and organizational change. Although technically correct, he learned a powerful lesson about influence, leadership, trust, and the importance of understanding different perspectives. Together, Debbie and Gavin explore: • Why being right isn't always enough • The role of communication in leadership success • Navigating organizational politics and power dynamics • Trust, credibility, and influence in the workplace • Why people are the foundation of every successful business • How challenging experiences can shape future leadership This conversation offers valuable insights for business owners, executives, managers, and professionals navigating change and leading teams. Guest Information: Gavin McMahon Founder & CEO, Fassforward Consulting Group Website: https://www.fassforward.com/ [https://www.fassforward.com/] Email: gavin@fassforward.com [gavin@fassforward.com] Connect with Debbie Longo: Website: DebbieLongo.com [http://DebbieLongo.com] Podcast: Behavioral Profit Email: debbie@lifeinbloomny.net [debbie@lifeinbloomny.net] Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-longo-life-in-bloom-ny/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-longo-life-in-bloom-ny/]

Navid Nazemian- Leadership Without a Blueprint: How to Build, Scale, and Adapt in Uncertainty

What do you do when there is no roadmap, no proven process, and no clear direction? In this episode of Behavioral Profit, Debbie Longo speaks with Navid Nazemian about his experience moving from Germany to the Middle East to help scale a business from approximately 60 employees to more than 350 employees in just a few years. Faced with conflicting guidance, unfamiliar cultural challenges, and the pressure of rapid growth, Navid shares how he stopped waiting for perfect answers and started creating practical solutions. Together, they discuss leadership under pressure, decision-making in uncertainty, getting out of your comfort zone, building talent pipelines, navigating competing opinions, and why progress often comes from action rather than perfection. This conversation explores the importance of adaptability, accountability, collaboration, and leadership courage when facing complex business challenges. Whether you're a business owner, executive, HR professional, or emerging leader, you'll gain practical insights on how to move forward when the path ahead is unclear. Connect with Debbie Longo Transformational Coach | Speaker | Podcast Host Website: www.DebbieLongo.com [http://www.DebbieLongo.com] Email: debbie@lifeinbloomny.net [debbie@lifeinbloomny.net] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-longo-life-in-bloom-ny/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-longo-life-in-bloom-ny/] Connect with Navid Nazemian Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/navidnazemian/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/navidnazemian/] Website: https://masteringleadership.kit.com/ [https://masteringleadership.kit.com/]

Dr. Irvine Nugent: Difficult Conversations, Leadership Fear, and the Behavioral Patterns That Damage Workplace Culture

In this episode of Behavioral Profit, Debbie Longo speaks with Dr. Irvine Nugent about leadership behavior, workplace communication, conflict avoidance, emotional intelligence, and how avoiding difficult conversations can quietly damage business culture and employee performance. Dr. Nugent shares a defining moment from his time serving as CEO of a nonprofit organization when a top employee unexpectedly resigned and explained that he was tired of working in an environment where difficult conversations were constantly avoided. That moment forced Irvine to confront an uncomfortable reality about his own leadership style and recognize how his behavior was negatively impacting the organization. Throughout the conversation, Irvine explains how his childhood growing up during the conflict in Northern Ireland shaped his fear of confrontation and created a deep internal belief that difficult conversations were dangerous. As a result, he developed a pattern of trying to maintain peace, avoid tension, and “paper over” workplace problems instead of addressing them directly. Debbie and Irvine discuss how many business leaders unintentionally avoid difficult conversations because they fear conflict, rejection, emotional reactions, or damaging workplace relationships. However, avoiding those conversations often creates greater dysfunction inside businesses over time, including unresolved tension, poor communication, employee frustration, and declining performance. Irvine explains how he slowly began changing his behavior through self-reflection, curiosity, emotional awareness, and learning how to approach conversations in a calmer and less threatening way. Instead of entering conversations defensively, he began asking open-ended questions and focusing on understanding employees rather than controlling outcomes. The conversation also explores emotional intelligence, leadership accountability, stress, sleep deprivation, workplace positivity, employee sensitivity, communication skills, and how leaders strongly influence company culture through their daily behavior and interactions. Debbie emphasizes that the way leaders communicate with employees directly impacts morale, trust, performance, and long-term business success. This episode explores leadership behavior, emotional intelligence, workplace communication, conflict resolution, company culture, accountability, employee engagement, organizational behavior, difficult conversations, and the connection between internal behavior and business performance. It reinforces the idea that businesses improve when leaders learn how to approach uncomfortable conversations with honesty, calmness, and emotional awareness. Contact Debbie Longo, Executive Behavioral Coach: Website: https://www.debbielongo.com/ [https://www.debbielongo.com/] Email: debbie@lifeinbloomny.net [debbie@lifeinbloomny.net] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-longo-life-in-bloom-ny/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-longo-life-in-bloom-ny/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debbie.longo.2025 [https://www.facebook.com/debbie.longo.2025] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debbie.life.in.bloom.ny/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/debbie.life.in.bloom.ny/?hl=en] Contact Dr. Irvine Nugent, PCC, CSP Co-Founder - Conflict EQ Email: irvine@conflicteq.com [irvine@conflicteq.com] Website: conflicteq.com [http://conflicteq.com]

Nicky Billou: Business Partnerships, Conflict Resolution, and Turning a Business Divorce Into Long-Term Growth

In this episode of Behavioral Profit, Debbie Longo speaks with Nicky Billou about entrepreneurship, leadership behavior, emotional control, business partnerships, and how navigating a difficult business separation ultimately strengthened both his company and his long-term success. Nicky shares how his family escaped Iran after the Islamic Revolution and immigrated to Canada in search of freedom and opportunity. That experience shaped his belief that entrepreneurs and business owners create freedom, growth, and independence for others through business leadership and innovation. He later co-founded eCircle Academy, a company focused on helping entrepreneurs, coaches, and consultants grow their businesses. While the company initially experienced success, tension eventually developed between Nicky and his business partner due to unequal workloads, communication issues, and growing resentment inside the partnership. Throughout the conversation, Nicky openly discusses the emotional pressure that came with the conflict and how close he came to reacting emotionally during negotiations. Instead of acting impulsively, he relied on guidance from his business coach, his girlfriend, and a professional mediator to help him remain calm and focused while navigating the separation. Nicky explains how the partnership eventually dissolved through negotiation and mediation rather than emotional confrontation. Although neither side left fully satisfied financially, the agreement allowed both parties to move forward while preserving the company and protecting clients. Over time, Nicky rebuilt and expanded the business into a stronger company with healthier leadership dynamics, better communication, and far less negativity. He emphasizes that one of the biggest lessons he learned was the importance of emotional control, seeking professional guidance during high-pressure situations, and never trying to navigate major business problems alone. Debbie and Nicky also discuss intuition, trust, leadership, accountability, emotional intelligence, negotiation, and how unresolved resentment often damages businesses more than external problems. The conversation reinforces that business success depends heavily on how leaders manage relationships, emotions, and pressure during difficult situations. This episode explores leadership behavior, entrepreneurship, emotional intelligence, negotiation, resilience, workplace dynamics, conflict resolution, accountability, communication, and the connection between emotional control and long-term business success. Contact Debbie Longo, Executive Behavioral Coach: Website: https://www.debbielongo.com/ [https://www.debbielongo.com/] Email: debbie@lifeinbloomny.net [debbie@lifeinbloomny.net] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-longo-life-in-bloom-ny/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-longo-life-in-bloom-ny/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debbie.longo.2025 [https://www.facebook.com/debbie.longo.2025] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debbie.life.in.bloom.ny/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/debbie.life.in.bloom.ny/?hl=en] Contact Nicky Billou: Website: Www.eCircleAcademy.com [http://Www.eCircleAcademy.com] Email: nicky@ecircle.ca [nicky@ecircle.ca]