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Is Alcohol Limiting Your Ability to Hit Your Career Goals? | Brittany Young

Alcohol-centered work culture is hurting team trust and performance. Executive sobriety coach Brittany Young shares how leaders can model healthier norms, support sober-curious employees, and improve team dynamics without the bar tab.

Show Notes
 Last week we talked about accountability and why trust is the single most important step in holding your team to clear standards. This week we’re digging into a hidden culture issue that quietly erodes trust and creates exclusion: alcohol as the default for connection.

If your team bonds over happy hours, client dinners, and conference cocktails, you may be unintentionally excluding sober or sober-curious employees, or normalizing coping habits that undermine clarity, decision making, and team dynamics. That can show up as sloppy commitments, fuzzy boundaries, and conflict avoidance.

In this episode, executive sobriety coach Brittany Young explains how leaders can set a new standard without judgment. You’ll learn practical ways to normalize non-alcohol options, create inclusive networking, and model self-management that makes you a better manager. These strategies help you rebuild trust, hold employees accountable without micromanaging, and fix toxic culture patterns that keep performance stuck.

Key Takeaways
 • Why “drinks to decompress” hurts decision quality, team trust, and psychological safety
 • Inclusive alternatives leaders can use to replace alcohol-centered bonding at work events
 • How modeling sober-curious habits improves energy, presence, and accountability across your team

You can find Brittany on LinkedIn

 Check out the book Brittany Recommends

A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson 

Thank you for joining me on another episode of Lead Wi

This podcast for managers is here to help you:

• Grow your leadership development
 • Navigate team management with confidence
 • Learn how to handle conflict at work
 • Apply real, practical leadership tips

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