Bad Boss Confessional

Speakeasy Podcast Network
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Bad Boss Confessional is the podcast where entrepreneurs, founders, and leaders fess up to their most cringeworthy management moments—the times they micromanaged, blew up in meetings, or simply got it dead wrong. With names changed (to protect the innocent...and guilty), guests walk us through their “bad boss” moment in all its messy glory. But this isn’t just a cringe-fest—it’s a redemption story.

  1. 42: What Got You Here Won't Get You There

    4D AGO

    42: What Got You Here Won't Get You There

    In this episode of Bad Boss Confessional, Beth Fahey sits down with Ben Stern, EOS implementer and former integrator who helped scale a transmission remanufacturing company from 300 employees and $40 million in revenue to 850 people and $190 million. Ben's confession starts long before that chapter, back on a construction crew where being the hardest worker in the room felt like a leadership strategy. The conversation explores what happens when intensity without emotional intelligence becomes the culture, why the habits that make someone a standout performer can quietly poison a team, and what it actually took to close the gap. Ben reflects on nearly two decades of deliberate work, the people who helped him see what he couldn't see himself, and why learning Spanish to connect with his team is one of the things he's most proud of. His lesson is one every high performer eventually has to face: what got you here won't get you there.     Timestamps 00:00 Ben Stern’s Background 02:13 From Hammer to CEO 06:17 Reflecting on Growth and Wins 10:12 The Hard-Charging Boss 14:59 Journey to Emotional Intelligence 19:17 Work-Life Balance and Gen Z 22:01 Leadership Through Parenthood 26:27 Deprogramming and Human Connection 30:12 Scaling Leadership and GWC 35:15 Continuous Learning and Empathy   Sponsor Links Thanks to our Sponsors A big thank you to our amazing sponsors for making this episode possible: Titus Talent – Helping organizations make the best hiring decisions with performance-based talent strategies. Strety – Empowering teams through strategic planning and performance management tools built for modern workforces.   Subscribe to the Bad Boss Confessional podcast: 🎙️ Podbean: https://www.badbossconfessional.podbean.com ▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@badbossconfessional The Bad Boss Confessional is where leaders come to tell the truth about the moments they rarely talk about out loud. The mistakes, the hard lessons, and what it actually takes to become a great boss. Hosted by Beth Fahey, Expert EOS Implementer, co-author of ROLLOUT, and creator of the Great Boss Workshop. Connect with Beth Fahey: 🌐 https://www.bethfahey.com ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/@BethFahey Want to be a guest on the show? Visit https://www.bethfahey.com/podcast to inquire. Pick up a copy of ROLLOUT: Get Your Entire Team Running on EOS to Achieve Your Vision at https://www.rolloutbook.com/order Download free Rollout resources at https://www.rolloutbook.com Join Beth at the next Great Boss Workshop at https://www.bethfahey.com/events

    41 min
  2. 41: The Feedback Nobody Should Have Given

    MAY 6

    41: The Feedback Nobody Should Have Given

    In this episode of Bad Boss Confessional, Beth Fahey sits down with Jeanet Wade, Expert EOS Implementer, ForbesBooks author of The Human Team, and one of the top 100 innovators and entrepreneurs in her region. Jeanet comes with two confessions, and they both involve the same person. The conversation explores what happens when dysfunction travels downhill, why secondhand feedback is its own kind of leadership failure, and what it looks like to stop the madness in real time and just tell the truth. Her lesson cuts through the noise: when the feedback doesn't feel right, it probably isn't.     Timestamps 00:00 Introduction & Jeanet's Background 03:10 The Allure of Entrepreneurship 07:52 First Bad Boss Confession: Task Management 11:56 Second Bad Boss Confession: Secondhand Feedback 15:41 The Human Team: Bridging Nature to Nurture 22:06 Team Dynamics in Entrepreneurial Settings 27:30 Bossing Bosses & Overcoming Dysfunctional Teams 33:00 Growth Optimization & Vulnerability 39:19 Leadership Evolution & Personal Tattoo   Sponsor Links Thanks to our Sponsors A big thank you to our amazing sponsors for making this episode possible: Titus Talent – Helping organizations make the best hiring decisions with performance-based talent strategies. Strety – Empowering teams through strategic planning and performance management tools built for modern workforces.   Subscribe to the Bad Boss Confessional podcast: 🎙️ Podbean: https://www.badbossconfessional.podbean.com ▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@badbossconfessional The Bad Boss Confessional is where leaders come to tell the truth about the moments they rarely talk about out loud. The mistakes, the hard lessons, and what it actually takes to become a great boss. Hosted by Beth Fahey, Expert EOS Implementer, co-author of ROLLOUT, and creator of the Great Boss Workshop. Connect with Beth Fahey: 🌐 https://www.bethfahey.com ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/@bethfahey Want to be a guest on the show? Visit https://www.bethfahey.com/podcast to inquire. Pick up a copy of ROLLOUT: Get Your Entire Team Running on EOS to Achieve Your Vision at https://www.rolloutbook.com/order Download free Rollout resources at https://www.rolloutbook.com Join Beth at the next Great Boss Workshop at https://www.bethfahey.com/events

    41 min
  3. 40: What Gets Lost When You Move Too Fast

    APR 29

    40: What Gets Lost When You Move Too Fast

    In this episode of Bad Boss Confessional, Beth Fahey sits down with Larry Garcia, co-founder and president of Strety, a software platform built for EOS-run businesses. Larry shares what happened when he stepped into a VP of Sales role against his better instincts and decided his first move would be cutting what looked like an inefficient meeting. He walked into a struggling company, saw an hour of rah-rah he thought nobody needed, and deleted it. What he didn't see was how much that hour was holding the team together. The conversation digs into what happens when a new leader moves before they've earned the right to change things, why culture is the first casualty of efficiency thinking, and how fast trust can disappear with a single calendar invite. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction to Larry Garcia 02:22 Larry’s Career Journey 05:22 The Big Confession 11:40 Impact of New Leadership on Culture 16:30 BreakGage to Strety Transition 20:01 Family Legacy and American Dream 24:51 Culture and Software Development 29:52 The Soul of Software   About:  Beth Fahey is a leadership coach, Expert EOS Implementer, and co-creator of the How to Be a Great Boss Workshops. With nearly 40 years of hands-on leadership experience, Beth has worn many hats: from working in film and owning a bakery to leading a national trade association.   Now, as the host of The Bad Boss Confessional, she shares candid stories about the challenges of leadership, mistakes made, lessons learned, and the path to becoming the kind of boss your team actually wants to follow. Through humor, honesty, and heart, Beth is on a mission to help leaders grow, one confession at a time.   Show Links For more information about Beth Fahey follow the links below. Website: www.eosworldwide.com/beth-fahey  Facebook: www.facebook.com/BethFaheyEOS Instagram: www.instagram.com/bethfaheyeos/ TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@bethfaheyeos LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bethfahey/ Bad Boss Confessional YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@badbossconfessional  Beth's Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/@bethfaheyeos  Website: https://implementer.eosworldwide.com/robert-hartline/ Larry is former CRO of BrightGauge and Current Strety Cofounder and President. He's based out of Arlington, Virginia and when he's not helping build the EOS software people love, he's a coffee farmer in Mountains of Colombia.  Sponsor Links Thanks to our Sponsors A big thank you to our amazing sponsors for making this episode possible: Titus Talent – Helping organizations make the best hiring decisions with performance-based talent strategies. Strety – Empowering teams through strategic planning and performance management tools built for modern workforces.

    35 min
  4. 39: You Can't Want It More Than They Do

    APR 22

    39: You Can't Want It More Than They Do

    In this episode of Bad Boss Confessional, Beth Fahey sits down with Mary Reilly-Magee, an entrepreneur, Expert EOS Implementer, and author who built a three-location swim school before exiting in 2018. Mary came prepared with a confession she has carried for years, and it starts with a sign on her wall: never try to teach a pig to sing. She walks through what it really means to believe in someone more than they believe in themselves, the bookkeeper she held onto long after the writing was on the wall, and the two clients she eventually had to walk away from. The conversation gets honest about why avoiding a hard conversation always makes things worse, and what it actually looks like to lead with clarity instead of hope. Her lesson is one every leader eventually learns the hard way: you cannot want it more than they do. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction & Sponsor Shoutouts 02:11 Meet Mary Reilly-Magee 05:14 The Pig-Singing Dilemma 08:42 Visionary’s Dilemma & People Development 12:14 The Importance of GWC 16:47 Addressing People Issues & Self-Forgiveness 21:02 Not Your Business: The Implementer’s Perspective 23:17 The Cost of Avoiding Difficult Conversations 27:37 The Impact of Courageous Leadership 30:03 Parenting & Personal Tattoos 35:28 Conclusion & Book Promotion About:  Beth Fahey is a leadership coach, Expert EOS Implementer, and co-creator of the How to Be a Great Boss Workshops. With nearly 40 years of hands-on leadership experience, Beth has worn many hats: from working in film and owning a bakery to leading a national trade association.   Now, as the host of The Bad Boss Confessional, she shares candid stories about the challenges of leadership, mistakes made, lessons learned, and the path to becoming the kind of boss your team actually wants to follow. Through humor, honesty, and heart, Beth is on a mission to help leaders grow, one confession at a time.   Show Links For more information about Beth Fahey follow the links below. Website: www.eosworldwide.com/beth-fahey  Facebook: www.facebook.com/BethFaheyEOS Instagram: www.instagram.com/bethfaheyeos/ TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@bethfaheyeos LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bethfahey/ Bad Boss Confessional YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@badbossconfessional  Beth's Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/@bethfaheyeos  Website: https://implementer.eosworldwide.com/robert-hartline/ Mary Reilly-Magee is an entrepreneur, leadership coach, Expert EOS Implementer, and Outgrow Revenue Growth Advisor who helps individuals and growth-oriented companies turn their visions into reality. She built a thriving three-location swim school business that employed 100 people before successfully exiting in 2018. Drawing on her experience as a teacher, coach, and facilitator, Mary now guides leaders through transformational growth - both personally and professionally.  Sponsor Links Thanks to our Sponsors A big thank you to our amazing sponsors for making this episode possible: Titus Talent – Helping organizations make the best hiring decisions with performance-based talent strategies. Strety – Empowering teams through strategic planning and performance management tools built for modern workforces.

    37 min
  5. 38: Every Coach Has to Learn to Lead

    APR 15

    38: Every Coach Has to Learn to Lead

    In this episode of Bad Boss Confessional, Beth Fahey sits down with Josh Hauser, certified EOS implementer, entrepreneur, and father of eight. Josh shares what happened when a rate crisis hit his growing insurance practice and exposed a gap he hadn't seen coming: he knew how to teach and coach, but he had never learned how to lead and manage. The conversation explores what it looks like when a leader's default mode stops serving the people around them, why victim thinking spreads fast inside an organization, and what it actually takes to close the gap between knowing something and living it. His lesson is one that cuts across business and life: the easy path creates complexity. The hard work is what makes things simple. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction to Josh Hauser 02:15 Josh’s Background & Entrepreneurial Leap 06:40 The ‘Reach Teach Eliminate’ Confession 11:33 Recognizing and Overcoming the Problem 16:24 Positive Intelligence and Taming Ego 21:51 Practicing Leadership Beyond Business 29:04 From Running From to Running To 32:06 Purpose-Driven Work and EOS 36:57 Tattoo and Final Thoughts   About:  Beth Fahey is a leadership coach, Expert EOS Implementer, and co-creator of the How to Be a Great Boss Workshops. With nearly 40 years of hands-on leadership experience, Beth has worn many hats: from working in film and owning a bakery to leading a national trade association.   Now, as the host of The Bad Boss Confessional, she shares candid stories about the challenges of leadership, mistakes made, lessons learned, and the path to becoming the kind of boss your team actually wants to follow. Through humor, honesty, and heart, Beth is on a mission to help leaders grow, one confession at a time.   Show Links For more information about Beth Fahey follow the links below. Website: www.eosworldwide.com/beth-fahey  Facebook: www.facebook.com/BethFaheyEOS Instagram: www.instagram.com/bethfaheyeos/ TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@bethfaheyeos LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bethfahey/ Bad Boss Confessional YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@badbossconfessional  Beth's Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/@bethfaheyeos  Website: https://implementer.eosworldwide.com/robert-hartline/ 3 time entrepreneur, father of 8, Josh wakes up everyday with a purpose to Reach one person/team, Teach one person/team, and help them Eliminate an obstacle or excuse that is keeping them from the joy, success, and humor life can bring. Sponsor Links Thanks to our Sponsors A big thank you to our amazing sponsors for making this episode possible: Titus Talent – Helping organizations make the best hiring decisions with performance-based talent strategies. Strety – Empowering teams through strategic planning and performance management tools built for modern workforces.

    42 min
  6. 37: When Growth Gets Ahead of Connection

    APR 8

    37: When Growth Gets Ahead of Connection

    In this episode of Bad Boss Confessional, Beth sits down with Jule Salem, founder and managing director of Salem Solutions and host of the podcast Dialing In. Jule shares what happened during a season of overlapping transitions: a new leader joining the team, an office move, a family health challenge, and a business acquisition all arriving at once. On paper, it was shaping up to be the best year Salem Solutions had ever seen. But underneath the numbers, something was slipping. The conversation explores what disconnection actually looks like, why leaders who care deeply about people can still lose the thread, and why it's important to remember that a company's culture does not stay connected on its own; someone has to keep tending to it. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction to Bad Boss Confessional 03:06 Jule Salem’s Business 07:09 The Bad Boss Confession: Disconnection 14:14 Fostering Connection at Scale 21:18 Navigating Boundaries: Peer to Manager 28:54 The Importance of Sustaining Connection   About:  Beth Fahey is a leadership coach, Expert EOS Implementer, and co-creator of the How to Be a Great Boss Workshops. With nearly 40 years of hands-on leadership experience, Beth has worn many hats: from working in film and owning a bakery to leading a national trade association.   Now, as the host of The Bad Boss Confessional, she shares candid stories about the challenges of leadership, mistakes made, lessons learned, and the path to becoming the kind of boss your team actually wants to follow. Through humor, honesty, and heart, Beth is on a mission to help leaders grow, one confession at a time.   Show Links For more information about Beth Fahey follow the links below. Website: www.eosworldwide.com/beth-fahey  Facebook: www.facebook.com/BethFaheyEOS Instagram: www.instagram.com/bethfaheyeos/ TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@bethfaheyeos LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bethfahey/ Bad Boss Confessional YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@badbossconfessional  Beth's Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/@bethfaheyeos  Website: https://implementer.eosworldwide.com/robert-hartline/ Jule Salem is the Founder and Managing Director of Salem Solutions, a business specializing in building high-performing, connection-driven contact center teams for government and commercial clients. She is also the host of Dialing In, where she helps leaders turn human connection into a measurable performance strategy. Sponsor Links Thanks to our Sponsors A big thank you to our amazing sponsors for making this episode possible: Titus Talent – Helping organizations make the best hiring decisions with performance-based talent strategies. Strety – Empowering teams through strategic planning and performance management tools built for modern workforces.

    36 min
  7. 36: The Culture You Create When You're Not Looking

    APR 1

    36: The Culture You Create When You're Not Looking

    In this episode of Bad Boss Confessional, Beth Fahey sits down with Rocco Cozza, a business attorney, TEDx speaker, and founder of Cozza Law Group, a multi-seven-figure firm he built from the ground up in Pittsburgh. Rocco shares what happened when rapid growth pulled his focus inward and someone close to him began quietly reshaping the culture he had worked hard to build. The conversation explores what it costs a leader to keep their head down, why intuition matters even when the numbers look great, and how a single honest conversation from a trusted team member can crack everything open. Rocco reflects on the moment he looked up and barely recognized what his firm had become, and what it took to earn back not just trust, but confidence in his own judgment. His lesson is one every growing leader needs to hear: execution without presence is not leadership. The culture does not take care of itself. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction to Rocco Cozza 02:26 The Sabotage and Culture Crisis 06:16 Confronting the Problem 08:37 Ignoring Intuition and Blind Spots 11:48 Learning and Decision-Making 15:19 The Four Frames of Growth 17:10 The Power of Kindness TED Talk 21:07 Kindness as a Brand and Vulnerability 24:07 Relationship-Based Business and Adversarial Industries 27:42 Lessons Learned and Amor Fati   About:  Beth Fahey is a leadership coach, Expert EOS Implementer, and co-creator of the How to Be a Great Boss Workshops. With nearly 40 years of hands-on leadership experience, Beth has worn many hats: from working in film and owning a bakery to leading a national trade association.   Now, as the host of The Bad Boss Confessional, she shares candid stories about the challenges of leadership, mistakes made, lessons learned, and the path to becoming the kind of boss your team actually wants to follow. Through humor, honesty, and heart, Beth is on a mission to help leaders grow, one confession at a time.   Show Links For more information about Beth Fahey follow the links below. Website: www.eosworldwide.com/beth-fahey  Facebook: www.facebook.com/BethFaheyEOS Instagram: www.instagram.com/bethfaheyeos/ TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@bethfaheyeos LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bethfahey/ Bad Boss Confessional YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@badbossconfessional  Beth's Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/@bethfaheyeos  Website: https://implementer.eosworldwide.com/robert-hartline/ Rocco Cozza is a business leader, advisor and community advocate committed to helping people and organizations grow with clarity, discipline and purpose. With years of experience building and leading businesses, he brings a practical, no-nonsense approach to leadership, problem-solving and execution. Rocco is deeply invested in his community and focused on creating lasting impact through service, accountability and principled leadership, both in business and public life. Sponsor Links Thanks to our Sponsors A big thank you to our amazing sponsors for making this episode possible: Titus Talent – Helping organizations make the best hiring decisions with performance-based talent strategies. Strety – Empowering teams through strategic planning and performance management tools built for modern workforces.

    31 min
  8. 35: When Your Team Tells You The Truth

    MAR 25

    35: When Your Team Tells You The Truth

    In this episode of Bad Boss Confessional, Beth Fahey sits down with Shea Peffly, a former CEO and integrator who now guides other leaders through EOS as a certified implementer. Shea shares the moment a Vistage exercise forced her to sit in silence while her own team told her the direct truth: that her constant questions and close involvement weren't landing as support; they were landing as distrust. The conversation explores what happens when a leader's intentions and their impact are completely out of sync, why asking how someone needs your help matters just as much as offering it, and how the gap between knowing good leadership practices and actually living them can quietly widen over time. Shea reflects on what it took to move from command-and-control instincts to a style of leadership built on genuine curiosity and relationship. Her lesson is both humbling and hopeful: the feedback that hurts the most is often the feedback that changes everything.   Timestamps 00:00 Unfiltered Feedback and Podcast Intro 04:03 Shea’s Background and Business 07:39 The Vistage Feedback Experience 14:03 Processing and Acting on Feedback 22:54 Redefining Leadership and Impact 28:30 Leading with Love and Final Thoughts   About:  Beth Fahey is a leadership coach, Expert EOS Implementer, and co-creator of the How to Be a Great Boss Workshops. With nearly 40 years of hands-on leadership experience, Beth has worn many hats: from working in film and owning a bakery to leading a national trade association.   Now, as the host of The Bad Boss Confessional, she shares candid stories about the challenges of leadership, mistakes made, lessons learned, and the path to becoming the kind of boss your team actually wants to follow. Through humor, honesty, and heart, Beth is on a mission to help leaders grow, one confession at a time.   Show Links For more information about Beth Fahey follow the links below. Website: www.eosworldwide.com/beth-fahey  Facebook: www.facebook.com/BethFaheyEOS Instagram: www.instagram.com/bethfaheyeos/ TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@bethfaheyeos LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bethfahey/ Bad Boss Confessional YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@badbossconfessional  Beth's Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/@bethfaheyeos  Website: https://implementer.eosworldwide.com/robert-hartline/ Shea Peffly is a certified EOS implementer with over 25 years of executive leadership experience. As a former CEO and integrator, she built and scaled a veterans services organization from five employees to over a hundred, helping veterans secure the benefits they earned. She is a Small Business Monthly Top Business Advisor, Wonder Woman Award recipient, Kolbe Certified Consultant, and certified Outgrow Advisor. Today she helps leaders create meaningful impact by leading with clarity, building strong cultures, and living their best version of life and leadership. Sponsor Links Thanks to our Sponsors A big thank you to our amazing sponsors for making this episode possible: Titus Talent – Helping organizations make the best hiring decisions with performance-based talent strategies. Strety – Empowering teams through strategic planning and performance management tools built for modern workforces.

    31 min
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About

Bad Boss Confessional is the podcast where entrepreneurs, founders, and leaders fess up to their most cringeworthy management moments—the times they micromanaged, blew up in meetings, or simply got it dead wrong. With names changed (to protect the innocent...and guilty), guests walk us through their “bad boss” moment in all its messy glory. But this isn’t just a cringe-fest—it’s a redemption story.

Information

  • Creator
    Speakeasy Podcast Network
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    42
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Speakeasy Podcast Network
  • Show Website
    Bad Boss Confessional

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