Episode 45: “Storytelling, Connection, and Flourishing Leadership” with Capella Fahoome

What if one of the most powerful leadership tools available to us isn’t a strategy, a metric, or a management framework — but the stories we tell ourselves and others?

In this energizing and deeply human episode of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast, Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar sit down with Capella Fahoome — culture engineer, award-winning film producer, executive coach, educator, and PhD student in Positive Organizational Psychology — for a rich conversation about storytelling, connection, leadership, and flourishing.

Capella brings a rare and compelling perspective to leadership development. With roots in Detroit, decades of experience in film production, and graduate training in both Applied Positive Psychology and Organizational Dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania, she helps leaders build cultures where people feel seen, safe, and switched on.

Together, Scott, Jason, and Capella explore what it means to be a flourishing leader, why everyone is a leader, how our inner narratives shape our emotions and choices, and why storytelling may be one of the highest-leverage tools for creating trust, mattering, psychological safety, and organizational alignment.

You’ll also hear Capella’s remarkable personal story — from activist parents in Detroit, to an unlikely start in film production, to being rejected from Penn before ultimately returning to earn not one but two graduate degrees. Throughout the conversation, she shows how setbacks, relationships, and narrative reframing can become pathways to growth and flourishing.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why Capella believes everyone is a leader
• What a flourishing leader does to help others thrive
• How storytelling shapes mindset, emotion, and behavior
• Why connection is always the goal
• The origin of Capella’s powerful line: “If relationships aren’t the answer, you’re asking the wrong questions.”
• How storytelling can transform workplace culture
• The role of narrative in conflict, belonging, and psychological safety
• Why rejection can become redirection
• How leaders can use authentic story to align people around purpose and well-being

Capella Fahoome is a culture engineer, award-winning film producer, ICF credentialed coach, and educator who helps leaders author narratives that promotes belonging. She combines the science of positive psychology with the craft of storytelling to help leaders build trust, connection, smoother collaboration, braver conversations, and healthier cultures. Capella’s new book, The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling, drops in Sept 2026 everywhere you get books. Check out her Working Title Workshop that takes place throughout the year and a special session for the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) taking place on April 28, 2026. Check out Capella's When is Now Podcast!

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Hosted by Dr. Scott Parsons, this podcast explores how character, virtue, wisdom, and purpose can shape a more flourishing life and leadership journey.

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