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.