EP 217: How Leaders Eliminate Backchannel Decisions and Build Real Trust

If you’re leading a $10M–$25M, multi-location, operations-heavy business, you’ve likely seen it: your team aligns in the meeting… then decisions get questioned, reshaped, or quietly undermined afterward.

In this episode, Alex Tremble sits down with Laurie J. Fitzmaurice, Independent Board Member and Consultant, who brings 30+ years of experience building and leading $7.5B+ in energy infrastructure projects across the U.S. and Latin America. She’s led companies, sat on 8 boards, and currently serves on the board of Saavi Energía, the largest private power generator in Mexico.

This conversation gets real about trust breakdowns at the leadership level—and how CEOs unintentionally create them.

You’ll learn:

• Why executive teams say “yes” in the room but disagree in the hallway
• How side conversations and small-group alignment quietly erode trust
• How to force productive disagreement in the room, not after the fact
• Practical ways to build transparency so decisions actually stick
• How to structure communication so your team owns decisions without you re-stepping in

This is for you if:

• You feel like decisions don’t hold once the meeting ends
• Your leadership team is strong—but not fully aligned
• You’re still the one reconciling conflicts and re-making decisions
• There’s more politics or hesitation than you’d like at the top

This episode will help you build the kind of trust that speeds up execution—and gets decisions to stick the first time.

Listen now and share this with another operator who’s tired of carrying every decision.

Take the free Executive Leadership Diagnostic here: www.gpsleadership.org/diagnostic