What if the very thing you’ve been taught to hide…
is actually your greatest strength?

For many men, emotions have been framed as something to control, suppress, or avoid—especially at work. Stay logical. Stay composed. Stay strong.
But underneath that message is something rarely acknowledged:

The pressure to disconnect—from your own experience, and from the people around you.

In this episode of The Leader in You, we open up an honest and necessary conversation about men and emotions in the workplace—not as a problem to fix, but as a pathway to stronger leadership, deeper connection, and real impact.

We explore:

• Why vulnerability has been misunderstood—and how it actually builds trust and respect
• What really happens when emotions are pushed down (and why they don’t stay there)
• The hidden cycle many men experience: holding it in, feeling alone, and then reacting in ways that don’t reflect who they truly are
• Why your nervous system is wired for connection—and why disconnection feels so intense
• How creating even a small moment of emotional safety can change everything in a conversation

You’ll hear real examples of what it looks like when someone moves from “I don’t do emotions” to feeling seen, heard, and understood—and how that shift transforms relationships at work.

This episode is not about becoming someone you’re not.
It’s about giving yourself permission to access something that’s already there.

Because vulnerability isn’t about losing control.
It’s about creating connection.

And in leadership—
connection is what changes everything.

The Leader in You is the go-to podcast for anyone who wants to create a workplace culture where you can thrive.

Envision a future where you are more grounded, confident, and in sync with your team.

CONNECT:
EmC Leaders
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube Channel

RESOURCES:
TESA - TEAM EMOTIONAL SAFETY ASSESSMENT
RESOURCES & DOWNLOADS
EMC MASTER CLASS
CONTACT US

Connect with Dr. Lola Gershfeld:

LinkedIn: Dr. Lola Gershfeld
Instagram: @drlolaemc

Connect with Polina Marian:

LinkedIn: Polina Marian
Instagram: @livewithfivekids

Dr. Lola Gershfeld, a distinguished organizational psychologist, has dedicated her career to delving into the intricate layers of employee engagement, team dynamics, and workplace...

Workplace conflicts happen—but most leaders don’t know how to stop the cycle once it starts.

In this episode of The Leader in You, Polina and Dr. Lola Gershfeld explain how to beat the fight in four steps using the Emotional Connection (EmC) process.

Instead of escalating arguments or avoiding difficult conversations, leaders can guide teams through a structured process that helps people feel safe, understood, and connected—the foundation for real resolution.

In this conversation, you’ll learn how the four moves help leaders:

• Track the interactional pattern during conflict
• Clarify and organize the emotions driving reactions
• Facilitate bonding conversations between team members
• Create a corrective emotional experience that rebuilds trust

When people feel emotionally safe, the brain opens to collaboration, empathy, and problem-solving.

If you want to transform workplace fights into stronger working relationships, this episode will show you how.

The Leader in You is the go-to podcast for anyone who wants to create a workplace culture where you can thrive.

Envision a future where you are more grounded, confident, and in sync with your team.

CONNECT:
EmC Leaders
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube Channel

RESOURCES:
TESA - TEAM EMOTIONAL SAFETY ASSESSMENT
RESOURCES & DOWNLOADS
EMC MASTER CLASS
CONTACT US

Connect with Dr. Lola Gershfeld:

LinkedIn: Dr. Lola Gershfeld
Instagram: @drlolaemc

Connect with Polina Marian:

LinkedIn: Polina Marian
Instagram: @livewithfivekids

Dr. Lola Gershfeld, a distinguished organizational psychologist, has dedicated her career to delving into the intricate layers of employee engagement, team dynamics, and workplace...

In this episode of The Leader in You, Polina and Dr. Lola Gershfeld welcome leadership consultant and author Aoife O’Brien to explore a powerful question facing many leaders today:

Is psychological safety enough — or do teams need something deeper to truly thrive?

Drawing from her book Thriving Talent, Aoife shares her insights from working with organizations struggling with burnout, disengagement, and misaligned workplace cultures. She explains why many leadership initiatives fail to create lasting change and how psychological safety plays a foundational role in building healthier teams.

Together, we explore the difference between psychological safety and emotional safety, how leaders unintentionally erode trust in everyday interactions, and what it takes to create workplaces where people feel safe to speak up, take risks, and bring their full capabilities to their work.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

• Why many workplaces struggle to retain and engage talent
• The hidden signs of low psychological safety in teams
• The leadership blind spots that quietly damage culture
• How leaders can create environments where people feel safe and challenged

If you’re a leader who wants to build stronger relationships, healthier team dynamics, and a workplace where people can truly thrive, this episode will give you powerful insights and practical inspiration.

Connect with Aoife O'Brien on LinkedIn

The Leader in You is the go-to podcast for anyone who wants to create a workplace culture where you can thrive.

Envision a future where you are more grounded, confident, and in sync with your team.

CONNECT:
EmC Leaders
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube Channel

RESOURCES:
TESA - TEAM EMOTIONAL SAFETY ASSESSMENT
RESOURCES & DOWNLOADS
EMC MASTER CLASS
CONTACT US

Connect with Dr. Lola Gershfeld:

LinkedIn: Dr. Lola Gershfeld
Instagram: @drlolaemc

Connect with Polina Marian:

LinkedIn: Polina Marian
Instagram: @livewithfivekids

Dr. Lola Gershfeld, a distinguished organizational psychologist, has dedicated her career to delving into the intricate layers of employee engagement, team ...

What if the real breakthrough in leadership isn’t about strategy — but about learning to pause?

In this episode of The Leader in You, Dr. Lola and Polina welcome entrepreneur and leader Lisa Zimmer for an honest, vulnerable, and deeply practical conversation about emotional growth in leadership.

Lisa shares how learning the principles of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) — the foundation behind the EmC process — transformed not only her personal life after divorce, but also the way she leads her business, handles conflict, and navigates difficult conversations.

She opens up about:

• Moving from anger and reactivity to self-regulation
• Learning to pause instead of proving she’s right
• Letting go of the need to blame
• Holding two truths at the same time
• Repairing relationships — even when letting someone go
• Breaking the “cut and run” pattern in leadership
• Surrounding yourself with people who refill your emotional cup

One of the most powerful moments in the episode is Lisa’s story of terminating a personal assistant — not from anger, but from care. Instead of burning the bridge, she repaired the relationship first. The result? Growth on both sides, and a relationship preserved.

This episode is a masterclass in what emotionally connected leadership actually looks like in real life — messy, human, and deeply courageous.

If you’ve ever felt triggered at work, misunderstood, emotionally exhausted, or tempted to walk away from leadership altogether, this conversation will remind you:

You don’t need to react.
You don’t need to win.
You can pause.
And you can grow.

Because leadership isn’t about control.
It’s about connection.

The Leader in You is the go-to podcast for anyone who wants to create a workplace culture where you can thrive.

Envision a future where you are more grounded, confident, and in sync with your team.

CONNECT:
EmC Leaders
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube Channel

RESOURCES:
TESA - TEAM EMOTIONAL SAFETY ASSESSMENT
RESOURCES & DOWNLOADS
EMC MASTER CLASS
CONTACT US

Connect with Dr. Lola Gershfeld:

LinkedIn: Dr. Lola Gershfeld
Instagram: @drlolaemc

Connect with Polina Marian:

LinkedIn: Polina Marian
Instagram: @livewithfivekids

Dr. Lola Gershfeld, a distinguished organizational psychologist, has dedicated her career to delving into the intricate layers of employee engagement, team ...

What if “just think positive” is actually keeping you stuck?

In this powerful and slightly controversial episode of The Leader in You, we unpack a viral positive-thinking challenge that promises life change in seven days — no complaining, no criticizing, only positivity.

Sounds inspiring… but does it really work?

Drawing on neuroscience, attachment science, and real workplace stories, Dr. Lola and Polina explore why positive thinking alone cannot override emotional triggers, relational disconnection, or negative cycles at work. When the amygdala is activated, and emotional safety is threatened, the prefrontal cortex — the part of the brain responsible for clear, rational thinking — goes offline. And no amount of forced positivity can fix that.

You’ll discover:

• Why suppressing “negative” emotions actually shuts down positive ones too
• How emotional disconnection fuels workplace conflict
• Why avoiding complaints creates deeper relational fractures
• What the Negative Cycle looks like in teams
• A powerful 7-day challenge that replaces toxic positivity with emotional awareness

If you’ve ever tried to “stay positive” while feeling hurt, dismissed, or disconnected — this episode will resonate deeply.

Because real change doesn’t come from thinking differently.
It comes from connecting differently.

Listen in — and learn how to shift from forced positivity to secure, emotionally connected leadership.

The Leader in You is the go-to podcast for anyone who wants to create a workplace culture where you can thrive.

Envision a future where you are more grounded, confident, and in sync with your team.

CONNECT:
EmC Leaders
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube Channel

RESOURCES:
TESA - TEAM EMOTIONAL SAFETY ASSESSMENT
RESOURCES & DOWNLOADS
EMC MASTER CLASS
CONTACT US

Connect with Dr. Lola Gershfeld:

LinkedIn: Dr. Lola Gershfeld
Instagram: @drlolaemc

Connect with Polina Marian:

LinkedIn: Polina Marian
Instagram: @livewithfivekids

Dr. Lola Gershfeld, a distinguished organizational psychologist, has dedicated her career to delving into the intricate layers of employee engagement, team ...

Why is vulnerability so often seen as weakness—especially at work? And what if it’s actually the key to movement, motivation, and lasting success?

In this episode, Dr. Lola and Polina build on their previous conversation about the basics of the EmC process and dive deeper into one of the most misunderstood leadership strengths: vulnerability.

You’ll learn:

• The difference between withdrawers and pursuers—and how their negative cycle fuels disconnection
• Why we are biologically wired for emotional connection
• How society trained us to suppress emotions in the workplace
• What vulnerability actually looks like in a professional setting
• How sharing emotion safely creates empathy, reassurance, and engagement
• Why vulnerability is the doorway to Stage 2 of the EmC process—healing, bonding, and repair

When leaders suppress emotion, teams get stuck. When leaders access and share vulnerability in a regulated, professional way, they create safety—and safety creates movement.

This episode reframes vulnerability not as emotional exposure, but as emotional clarity. Not as weakness, but as relational courage.

Because we are not robots.
We are wired for connection.
And success begins when we stop shutting down—and start showing up.

The Leader in You is the go-to podcast for anyone who wants to create a workplace culture where you can thrive.

Envision a future where you are more grounded, confident, and in sync with your team.

CONNECT:
EmC Leaders
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube Channel

RESOURCES:
TESA - TEAM EMOTIONAL SAFETY ASSESSMENT
RESOURCES & DOWNLOADS
EMC MASTER CLASS
CONTACT US

Connect with Dr. Lola Gershfeld:

LinkedIn: Dr. Lola Gershfeld
Instagram: @drlolaemc

Connect with Polina Marian:

LinkedIn: Polina Marian
Instagram: @livewithfivekids

Dr. Lola Gershfeld, a distinguished organizational psychologist, has dedicated her career to delving into the intricate layers of employee engagement, team ...

What happens when a manager doesn’t respond to an employee’s text?
When a request is ignored?
When “we’re just here to do a job” becomes the culture?

In this powerful conversation, we sit down with employment attorney Hanna Ranaan, who has represented both employees and employers and now serves as in-house counsel for a publicly traded company. She gives us a rare inside look at how small moments of avoidance can spiral into miscommunication, discipline, termination—and costly litigation.

We explore:

• How unresponsiveness creates a domino effect of negative assumptions
• Why managers are legally considered agents of the company
• How misunderstandings escalate into lawsuits costing $40,000–$300,000 in defense fees alone
• The hidden cost of turnover and preventable separations
• Why employees often don’t report concerns—even when companies create formal channels
• The resistance HR professionals have to “bringing emotions into work”
• And why emotional connection isn’t about being “touchy-feely”—it’s about creating secure, responsive relationships that reduce legal exposure

Hanna shares real-world examples of how five seconds of responsiveness can prevent months of frustration—and how respect in the workplace is not just a cultural value, but a safety issue.

This episode bridges two worlds: legal risk management and emotional safety. Because when managers avoid difficult conversations, silence communicates something—and the consequences are rarely small.

If you’re a leader, HR professional, or manager who wants to reduce conflict, prevent escalation, and create a workplace where people feel safe to speak up—this conversation is for you.

The Leader in You is the go-to podcast for anyone who wants to create a workplace culture where you can thrive.

Envision a future where you are more grounded, confident, and in sync with your team.

CONNECT:
EmC Leaders
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube Channel

RESOURCES:
TESA - TEAM EMOTIONAL SAFETY ASSESSMENT
RESOURCES & DOWNLOADS
EMC MASTER CLASS
CONTACT US

Connect with Dr. Lola Gershfeld:

LinkedIn: Dr. Lola Gershfeld
Instagram: @drlolaemc

Connect with Polina Marian:

LinkedIn: Polina Marian
Instagram: @livewithfivekids

Dr. Lola Gershfeld, a distinguished organizational psychologist, has dedicated her career to delving into the intricate layers of employee engagement, team ...

As Valentine’s Day approaches, we’re talking about something we don’t discuss nearly enough—love, emotional connection, and why they matter so deeply in our work and relationships.

In this episode, Dr. Lola Gershfeld and Polina explore the simplicity of the Emotional Connection (EmC) process and why reconnecting emotionally changes everything—from how clearly we think, to how effectively we work, to how supported we feel in our relationships.

When we’re disconnected, even simple tasks feel exhausting. Our minds feel cluttered. Our energy drops. But when emotional connection is restored, clarity returns, motivation rises, and relationships soften. Dr. Lola shares a personal story that illustrates how quickly reconnection can shift our emotional and mental state—and why emotional safety is the foundation for productivity, collaboration, and trust.

You’ll hear:

• Why emotional disconnection is so draining at work
• How emotional connection brings us out of our heads and back into our hearts
• Why the EmC process works because it’s simple, experiential, and human
• How reconnection creates corrective emotional experiences that repair trust
• Why leaders, trainers, and teams need a clear process—not just communication tips

This conversation is a reminder that emotional connection isn’t extra, soft, or optional—it’s essential. And when we learn how to guide ourselves and others through emotional experiences with care, we create more clarity, resilience, and yes—more love—at work and beyond.

The Leader in You is the go-to podcast for anyone who wants to create a workplace culture where you can thrive.

Envision a future where you are more grounded, confident, and in sync with your team.

CONNECT:
EmC Leaders
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube Channel

RESOURCES:
TESA - TEAM EMOTIONAL SAFETY ASSESSMENT
RESOURCES & DOWNLOADS
EMC MASTER CLASS
CONTACT US

Connect with Dr. Lola Gershfeld:

LinkedIn: Dr. Lola Gershfeld
Instagram: @drlolaemc

Connect with Polina Marian:

LinkedIn: Polina Marian
Instagram: @livewithfivekids

Dr. Lola Gershfeld, a distinguished organizational psychologist, has dedicated her career to delving into the intricate layers of employee engagement, team ...