Teams That Swear

Adrian Baillargeon

Teams That Swear is a powerful podcast where leadership expert Adrian Baillargeon unpacks what makes exceptional teams thrive. With two decades of global experience, Adrian blends real-world insights, compelling stories, and a touch of humour to inspire leaders and teams to transform how they work together. Explore lessons in trust, collaboration, and purpose-driven leadership - all designed to help you and your team win the games that matter most.

  1. 3d ago

    John Buchanan on How to Earn Trust When You’re Not the Obvious Leader, Part 1

    What do you do when you step into a leadership role and the room is already full of talent, experience and strong opinions? In this episode of Teams That Swear, Adrian Baillargeon speaks with John Buchanan, one of the most successful coaches in Australian cricket history, about earningtrust when you are not the obvious choice. John coached players including Shane Warne, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Justin Langer. But this conversation is not just about cricket. It is about walking into a high-performance environment, knowing the room does not need more technical expertise, and finding a way to harness what is already there. In Part 1, John shares how he shaped his leadership philosophy, what he learned from self-doubt as a young player, and how he approached leading a team of elite Australian cricketers who were already at the top of their game. You’ll hear: How to earn trust without forcing your authorityWhy new leaders should resist the urge to prove themselves too quicklyWhat John learned from a raw conversation with Justin LangerHow to listen when someone tells you they feel let downWhy leadership is less about having all the answers and more about helping the room use the knowledge it already hasTeams that swear by each other, not about each other, do not rely on titles to create trust. They build it through clarity, listening, challenge and shared direction. To discuss a Team Pulse Check or the AB Team Dynamics Assessment, email Adrian at info@adrianbaillargeon.com. And if this episode gave you language you can use with your team, follow Teams That Swear wherever you get your podcasts.

    John Buchanan on How to Earn Trust When You’re Not the Obvious Leader, Part 1

  2. Jul 9

    How to Turn an Inherited Team into a High-Performing One

    You have inherited a team. On paper, they are capable. The meetings happen. The work gets done. The results may even look fine. And yet, something still feels off. In this episode of Teams That Swear, Adrian Baillargeon shares the story of a senior leader who inherited a technology leadership team that looked solid from the outside, but was not working well enough together. The issue was not capability. It was the unspoken stuff. Each leader believed they were doing the right thing individually, but the team lacked shared purpose, deeper trust, clear behavioural expectations and a way to have the conversations that mattered. They were polite, professional and quietlystuck. Adrian walks through what changed when the team assessed how they did teamwork, rebuilt connection, created shared standards and committed to working differently over time. The result was not just a better leadership team. It changed the experience of the wider department, and of the CEO. In this episode, you’ll hear: Why inherited teams can look fine on paper but still underperform as a group How politeness can hide the conversations a team needs to haveWhy individual capability is not the same as collective performanceWhat it takes to turn separate functional leaders into one leadership teamHow an assessment, like the AB Team Dynamics Assessment, can help reveal what is really going on ***If you have inherited a team and you are sitting with that nagging sense that something could be better, this episode will give you language for what you are noticing and a practical example of what can shift. Teams that swear by each other, not about each other, do not leave team dynamics to chance. They build trust, create clarity and hold each other to the standards that make performance possible. To discuss a Team Pulse Check or the AB Team Dynamics Assessment, email Adrian at info@adrianbaillargeon.com. And if this episode gave you language you can use with your team, follow Teams That Swear wherever you get your podcasts.

  3. Jun 24

    How to Make Invisible Work Visible | Lessons from Team Canada’s Vanessa Lee

    What can leaders learn from working 25 straight days at the Olympic Games? In this episode of Teams That Swear, Adrian Baillargeon sits down with Vanessa Lee, Director of Communications and Media Relations for the Canadian Olympic Committee. Vanessa shares what she learned supporting Team Canada at one of the world's biggest sporting events, why every role matters, and how leaders can make invisible work feel seen. They also explore the personal side of leadership and career transition. After spending more than 20 years as a journalist, Vanessa lost the job she had dreamed about since she was twelve years old. She opens up about rebuilding her identity, navigating uncertainty, and how that experience ultimately led her to Team Canada. In this conversation, you'll hear: Why there are no small roles on a high-performing teamHow leaders can make invisible work visibleThe importance of relationships in hybrid and distributed teamsWhat a simple mental health check-in can communicate to your people How Vanessa rebuilt after losing what she thought was her dream job Why communication, context and clarity matter more than most leaders realise The leadership lessons hidden inside one of the biggest sporting events on the planetWhether you lead a senior executive team, a sporting organisation, or a team spread across multiple locations, Vanessa's insights offer a practical reminder that people perform best when they feel seen, valued and connected. Want to understand how your team is really working? The AB Team Dynamics Assessment measures the two things that matter most in team performance: Relationships and Clarity. It helps leaders identify strengths, blind spots and opportunities across areas such as trust, feedback, conflict, communication, priorities, role clarity and alignment. Learn more here: AB Team Dynamics Assessment

    How to Make Invisible Work Visible | Lessons from Team Canada’s Vanessa Lee

  4. Jun 3

    One Mid-Year Conversation Every Team Should Have

    Before July, most teams review performance, budgets and strategy. But very few review how they are actually working together. Before July, your team will probably review its performance, financials, strategy and priorities. But there is one conversation most teams never schedule. The honest conversation about how the team is actually working together. In this practical episode of Teams That Swear, Adrian Baillargeon shares four questions every leadership team should ask mid-year to surface what is working, where energy is leaking and what needs to be said before the next quarter begins. Because rarely do teams fail because of strategy alone. More often, they get stuck because of unclear expectations, weak alignment, avoided conversations or relationship tension that nobody has properly named. This episode is designed for senior leaders who want a simple, useful way to reset their team before small frustrations become bigger performance issues. You’ll hear: Why mid-year is the perfect time to review team dynamics, not just business resultsThe four questions Adrian uses to help teams have more honest conversationsHow to make the conversation safe enough for people to be genuinely useful, not diplomatically carefulWhy the leader’s response to the first hard thing said can shape the whole roomHow a Team Pulse Check can help your team have the conversation properlyIf you want a team that swears by each other, not about each other, this is one of the conversations worth putting in the calendar.To discuss a Team Pulse Check or the AB Team Dynamics Assessment, email Adrian at info@adrianbaillargeon.com. And if this episode gave you language you can use with your team, follow Teams That Swear wherever you get your podcasts. It helps more leaders build teams that swear by each other, not about each other.

  5. Jun 3

    The $240K Cost of Assuming Your Team Is Fine

    Silence is not alignment. This episode puts a commercial cost on assuming your leadership team is fine without properly checking. The team that worries Adrian most is not the one that is struggling. It is the one that assumes it is fine. In this episode of Teams That Swear, Adrian Baillargeon challenges one of the most expensive assumptions senior leaders make: that because nobody is complaining, everything must be working. The real issue is that people often manage up. They protect relationships. They decide what feels safe to raise and what is easier to leave alone. So the leader, even a good one, can end up making decisions based on a polished version of what is really happening. Adrian also unpacks a common leadership team pattern: leaders say their team is fine, but the business is struggling with silos, slow collaboration or inconsistent execution. His challenge is simple: if the leadership team is genuinely aligned, why is the rest of the business not reflecting that? In this episode, you’ll hear: Why silence is not the same as alignmentHow silos below the leadership team often reflect silos within itThe hidden cost of poor decision-making processesWhy team data can create safer, clearer and more useful conversationsHow to find out where the strengths and pressure points really sit inside your teamIf your leadership team is making decisions slowly, revisiting the same issues or struggling to collaborate across functions, this episode will give you language for what might really be going on. To discuss a Team Pulse Check or the AB Team Dynamics Assessment, email Adrian at info@adrianbaillargeon.com. And if this episode gave you language you can use with your team, follow Teams That Swear wherever you get your podcasts. It helps more leaders build teams that swear by each other, not about each other.

  6. Jun 3

    How to Know Your Team, Not Just Your People

    Your people might be performing. But is your team actually working well together? This episode helps leaders spot the quiet gaps that individual performance can hide.Most leaders have a view of how their team is working. But is it the same view the team has? In this episode of Teams That Swear, Adrian Baillargeon unpacks one of the most common risks inside leadership teams: when everything looks fine on the surface, but underneath, clarity, alignment and trust are quietly slipping. The meetings are happening. The reports are getting done. People are hitting their numbers. Nobody is complaining. But decisions keep getting revisited. People are working hard, but not always in the same direction. Some conversations happen after the meeting instead of in the meeting. And the leader is left sensing something is off, without having a clear way to name it. Adrian explores the difference between knowing your people and knowing your team, and why senior leaders often make decisions based on an incomplete picture. You’ll hear: Why individual performance can mask team dysfunctionHow small team dynamics issues become expensive over timeWhy a leadership team needs a regular tune-up, not just a review when something breaksHow the AB Team Dynamics Assessment and Team Pulse Check help leaders understand what is really happening inside their teamIf you want a team that swears by each other, not about each other, this is the kind of conversation worth having before the cracks become costly. To discuss a Team Pulse Check or the AB Team Dynamics Assessment, email Adrian at info@adrianbaillargeon.com. And if this episode gave you language you can use with your team, follow Teams That Swear wherever you get your podcasts. It helps more leaders build teams that swear by each other, not about each other.

  7. May 27

    How to Build Cohesion Before You Blame Performance

    What team analytics expert Ben Darwin teaches leaders about talent, growth and shared understanding. A Formula One engineer was poisoned by the wrong coffee machine, and the wrong tyres started going on the car. That story came from my latest conversation with Ben Darwin, team analytics expert and co-founder of Gain Line Analytics. It sounds ridiculous at first, but Ben’s point was sharp. Small gaps in shared understanding can create consequences much larger than leaders realise. In this episode, we unpack: Why performance problems are often team dynamic problems in disguiseWhy new talent needs context before judgementWhy growth is the enemy of understandingWhy cohesion is not chemistryHow leaders can build more deliberate shared understanding inside their teamsIf your team has grown, restructured, added new leaders or become harder to align than it should be, this conversation will give you a different way to look at what is really going on.

    How to Build Cohesion Before You Blame Performance

  8. May 13

    How to Find the Team Gaps Personality Profiles Can Miss

    Personality profiles can help you understand your people and the differencesin strengths, weaknesses, initial reactions, and natural tendencies. But theydo not always show you the gaps in how your team actually works together. In this episode of the Teams That Swear™ podcast, Adrian Baillargeon explores the difference between individual insight and team-level insight, and why teams need more than personal profiling to understand what is really happening in the room. He unpacks the gaps teams often avoid raising in meetings: feedback that does not land, decisions that are not fully committed to, tensions people can feel but do not name, and patterns that remain hidden until someone creates a safer way to surface them. If you lead a team and want a clearer picture of what is really going on, the , the AB Team Dynamics Assessment is designed to give you that starting point. It helps surface the patterns your team may sense, but struggle to talk about clearly. To learn more about the assessment or book an initial conversation click here

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About

Teams That Swear is a powerful podcast where leadership expert Adrian Baillargeon unpacks what makes exceptional teams thrive. With two decades of global experience, Adrian blends real-world insights, compelling stories, and a touch of humour to inspire leaders and teams to transform how they work together. Explore lessons in trust, collaboration, and purpose-driven leadership - all designed to help you and your team win the games that matter most.

Information

  • Creator
    Adrian Baillargeon
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    36
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Adrian Baillargeon
  • Show Website
    Teams That Swear