UH-OH Conversations with Cohesive Leaders

What happens when success comes faster than wisdom?

In this episode of UH-OH Conversations with Cohesive Leaders, Donzel Leggett shares a powerful early-career UH-OH that many emerging leaders will recognize and few will admit. Thrust into management before he even wanted the role, Donzel felt the pressure to prove himself, deliver results, and not let anyone down.

He did exactly that. And it nearly wrecked his health, his energy, an...

Regina Huber has lived in six countries, speaks multiple languages, knows dances from across Africa, and built businesses on two continents. But her biggest UH-OH didn’t happen on the dance floor. It happened in Brazil when a trusted business partner drained a joint account to buy himself a shiny new car, derailing their entire venture and leaving Regina with a $100,000 loss, an angry neighborhood, and a long road back to confidenc...

In this episode of UH-OH Conversations with Cohesive Leaders, Ben-Jamin Toy chats with the endlessly energetic Dr. Danny Brassell, a man who’s lived enough careers to fill a mini-series and enough UH-OH moments to keep it interesting.

Danny opens up about the weekend he and his wife bought ten investment properties across the country, from Phoenix, to Salt Lake City, Mississippi, Indianapolis, and Florida. The deal looked golden… ri...

In this episode of Uh-Oh Conversations with Cohesive Leaders, Dr. Troy and Ben-Jamin welcome the dynamic and deeply authentic Kenya Dunn. Known for her power, influence, and transparency, Kenya brings the kind of honesty leaders rarely show publicly.

From plant lessons to business lessons, Kenya draws unexpected connections between growth, care, and the moments where everything nearly falls apart. You’ll hear the candid UH-OH that s...

In this episode of UH-OH Conversations with Cohesive Leaders, hosts Dr. Troy and Ben-Jamin Toy welcome Rosie Zilinskas. Rosie is a Certified High Performance Coach, keynote speaker, and founder of No Woman Left Behind. Rosie shares her powerful journey from surviving a difficult divorce to thriving as a corporate executive and coach dedicated to empowering women in the workplace.

Listeners will hear Rosie’s candid UH-OH moment: the ...

In this episode of UH-OH Conversations with Cohesive Leaders, Dr. Troy and Ben-Jamin Toy chat with Jeff Price, CEO of Communications Advisory Service. Jeff opens up about the costly UH-OH that hit his company for $47,000 and the even bigger impact it had on his confidence, delegation habits, and leadership mindset.

From learning to ask the obvious questions to understanding how integrity sometimes comes with a price tag, Jeff walks ...

Even the best leaders have their UH-OH moments. For Danielle Shroyer, a seasoned HR leader turned coach, her big one came down to something deceptively simple: unclear expectations.

In this episode, Dr. Troy and Ben-Jamin Toy chat with Danielle to unpack how a performance improvement plan turned into a lesson in communication, comprehension, and compassion. They talk accountability, silent toxicity, and why Brené Brown's “clear...

In this episode of UH-OH Conversations with Cohesive Leaders, Dr. Troy Hall and Ben-Jamin Toy chat with John Knowlton, a seasoned entrepreneur and C12 Coach, who shares the moment he realized that setting big goals without changing behavior is a recipe for frustration.

John opens up about the year his wealth management firm set a $1 billion target... then stalled out. Through a candid discussion about time studies, misplaced priorit...

What happens when everything you’ve built—your reputation, your funding, your credibility—is rooted in the wrong story?

Dr. Deborah Heiser, founder of The Mentor Project and author of The Mentorship Edge, joins Dr. Troy Hall and Ben-Jamin Toy to share the UH-OH moment that completely changed her career.

As a young researcher in the field of aging, Deborah realized she was studying only one side of the coin—frailty, decline, and disea...

When leadership meets culture clash, lessons get learned the hard way.

In this episode of UH-OH Conversations with Cohesive Leaders, host Ben-Jamin Toy chats with Kevin Wayne Johnson, founder of The Johnson Leadership Group, to unpack a defining leadership UH-OH.

From his 34-year federal career to leading through union politics and organizational culture, Kevin shares what happens when you step into leadership without understanding t...

What happens when a leadership coach loses everything in one phone call?
Dr. Andy Neillie joins hosts Dr. Troy Hall and Ben-Jamin Toy for a candid, faith-filled conversation about what he learned when the 2008 crash forced him out of consulting and into an unexpected new career—running swim schools.

Andy’s UH-OH moment was humbling. From keynote stages to cleaning up beer bottles by the pool, he learned what servant le...

What happens when you spend nearly three decades ignoring the pull of entrepreneurship? In this episode of UH-OH Conversations with Cohesive Leaders, Dr. Troy Hall and Ben-Jamin Toy chat with Yusef Marshall, a leader, coach, musician, author, and man of deep faith, who opens up about his biggest UH-OH — resisting the call to build something of his own.

Yusef reveals how chasing stability cost him relationships, health, and...

In this episode of UH-OH Conversations with Cohesive Leaders, Ben-Jamin Toy chats with Jake Isaacs, a serial integrator, fixer, and behind-the-scenes operator who has made a career out of turning chaos into order.

Jake shares his unlikely start working for the Chicago Bears as a teenager, his journey through hospitality, tech, and nonprofit leadership, and why he proudly embraces the role of “number two” in business. But the heart o...

In this episode of UH-OH Conversations with Cohesive Leaders, Michelle Merritt, Chief Strategy Officer at D&S Executive Career Management, shares her UH-OH moment from early in her career. After accepting a role with an automatic “yes” and no negotiation, she later realized the long-term cost of leaving money on the table. Over time, that $10,000 gap added up to $1.4 million in lost earnings.

Michelle discusses the lessons she l...

In this episode of UH-OH Conversations with Cohesive Leaders, hosts Dr. Troy Hall and Ben-Jamin Toy chat with Mathias Lemos Castillo, founder of MLC Consulting.

Mathias shares his most recent UH-OH moment: leading a presentation for board members when his laptop suddenly shut down mid-session. With only seconds to react, he pivoted to a backup computer, reconnected, and carried on, proving that leadership often comes down to staying...

In this episode of UH-OH Conversations with Cohesive Leaders, hosts Dr. Troy Hall and Ben-Jamin Toy chat with Will Crosswell, Chief Retail Officer at Ardent Credit Union. Will shares a pivotal career misstep when he walked into a credit union presentation underprepared and overconfident. Instead of gaining buy-in, he faced a hard reality check that became a turning point in his leadership journey.

Through this candid conversation, W...

What happens when your first big leadership role turns into a reality check? In this episode of UH-OH Conversations with Cohesive Leaders, hosts Dr. Troy Hall and Ben-Jamin Toy chat with Nick Wodogaza, a seasoned credit union executive and leadership advisor, to uncover the costly lesson he learned when he went from peer to manager overnight.

Nick shares the UH-OH moment that reshaped his leadership philosophy, why feedback and self...

What happens when a leader realizes their team fears them? For bestselling author and speaker Kyle McDowell, that was the big UH-OH moment. In this episode of UH-OH Conversations with Cohesive Leaders, Kyle shares how self-reflection and vulnerability transformed his leadership—from ego-driven “me” to purpose-driven “we.”

Expect raw honesty, lessons on accountability, and a fresh perspective on why transparency alone isn’t...

In this episode of UH-OH Conversations with Cohesive Leaders, Ben-Jamin Toy and Dr. Troy Hall sit down with marketing strategist and journalist Ellie White-Stevens to talk about the costly mistakes new business owners make and how to avoid them.

Ellie shares her own “Double UH-OH” moments, from overlooking the value of a good bookkeeper and business attorney to discovering unexpected expenses that could have been prevented...