In this live, unedited episode of Brave Business, Dr. Diane Dye welcomes ethics and transformation executive Jacquelyn Pruett, with a surprise appearance from happiness advocate and applied improv specialist Malcolm Grissom, for a conversation about what truly drives sustainable business growth. The episode dismantles the myth that scaling requires simply working harder. Instead, the discussion reveals that growth stalls when leaders cling to outdated roles, avoid productive friction, and stop listening to the people closest to the work. Through candid stories and practical frameworks, leaders are shown how to move from being the doer in their organization to becoming the architect of culture, innovation, and decision velocity. The conversation challenges executives to confront the uncomfortable truth: many organizational problems persist because leaders unknowingly silence the very people they hired to solve them. Listeners walk away with tools to diagnose stalled growth, frameworks to lead better conversations, and practical steps to unlock innovation already inside their organization.
Core Brave Business Themes
1. Friction Is Necessary for Growth
Many leaders seek frictionless environments, believing ease equals success. The episode reframes friction as a signal of growth. Productive friction surfaces differing viewpoints, uncovers hidden problems, and forces innovation.
Avoiding friction creates stagnation. Embracing the right friction creates transformation.
2. Listening Is the Executive Superpower
Research and experience alike show that elite leaders across industries share one trait: they listen exceptionally well.
Leaders often believe their role is to provide answers. Instead, their highest leverage role becomes asking better questions and listening deeply enough to surface better solutions.
Listening costs nothing but changes everything.
3. What Got You Here Will Not Get You There
Many founders and CEOs become trapped in the behaviors that originally built their success:
• Doing everything themselves
• Making all decisions personally
• Staying involved in every detail
As companies grow, these strengths become liabilities. Leaders must evolve from builders to managers to innovators who empower others.
Failure to evolve leads to stalled growth and leadership burnout.
4. Masks Block Leadership Growth
Leaders often enter conversations wearing “masks” that prevent authentic listening and collaboration. Examples include:
• The Hero — “I must fix this.”
• The Perfectionist — “My solution is right.”
• The Protector — “I know what’s best.”
• The Visionary — “Trust my future view.”
• The Lone Wolf — “I’ll handle it myself.”
These masks block dialogue and suppress innovation.
Removing the mask opens space for real conversation and problem-solving.
5. Innovation Requires Adaptability
Using improv as metaphor, the conversation highlights:
If one partner refuses to adapt, the scene dies.
The same happens in organizations. When leaders refuse to shift, innovation stalls, engagement drops, and momentum dies.
Leadership requires adaptability and willingness to evolve in real time.
Practical Framework: The Floor Walk Framework
Leaders are encouraged to actively gather data through conversation rather than relying solely on surveys or dashboards.
Step 1 — Define Desired Outcome
Write down: What outcome do I want to see?
Step 2 — Define Your Position
Write: What is my current position or belief about this issue?
Step 3 — Identify Key Stakeholders
List 3–5 people whose perspectives matter.
Write: I need to understand the position of…
Step 4 — Identify Your Mask
Ask: Which leadership mask am I wearing entering these conversations?
Step 5 — Ask Better Questions
Prepare three questions that do not begin with “Why,” since “why” triggers defensiveness and emotion.
Instead ask:
• What are you seeing?
• What challenges are you facing?
• What would help you succeed?
Step 6 — Listen Without Defending
The goal is discovery, not validation.
Executive Takeaways
• Growth problems are often leadership evolution problems.
• Listening unlocks innovation already inside your company.
• Friction signals opportunity, not failure.
• Leaders must move from doing to architecting.
• Masks prevent honest conversations.
• Innovation dies when leaders refuse to adapt.
Topics Covered
• Why friction is required for growth
• Leadership evolution stages
• The failure of poorly implemented open-door policies
• Organizational silence culture
• Listening as leadership leverage
• Masks and leadership behavior traps
• Applied improv lessons for executives
• Practical conversation frameworks for leaders
Who Should Listen
• Founders scaling past early growth stages
• CEOs feeling decision overload
• Executives managing increasing complexity
• Leaders facing stalled innovation or engagement
Key Question to Reflect On
Where might I be carrying too much alone instead of listening to the people I hired to help?
Guest Bios
Jacquelyn Pruitt
Jacquelyn Pruitt is a strategic executive specializing in ethics, compliance, and enterprise transformation. A former regulator and trusted advisor, she works at the intersection of governance, risk, and organizational change.
Known for translating complex visions into resilient operating systems, Jacquelyn helps organizations align stakeholders and build ethical, scalable business practices in politically and operationally complex environments.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelynsgpruet/
In-Studio Audience Featured Participant - Malcolm Grissom
Malcolm Grissom is a happiness advocate and applied improv practitioner who works with leaders and teams to use laughter, play, and improvisational techniques to improve communication, adaptability, and collaboration.
Through applied improv, Malcolm helps organizations navigate conflict constructively and build environments where creativity and flexibility thrive.
Website: MalcolmGrissom.com
Host Bio
Dr. Diane Dye
Dr. Diane Dye is an experimentation strategist and founder of People Risk Consulting. She works with founders, CEOs, and executives navigating growth, complexity, and organizational change.
With over two decades of experience and advanced academic training in organizational change and leadership, Diane helps leaders make better decisions, reduce executive isolation, and build cultures capable of sustainable innovation.
Through Brave Business and the CEO Innovation Cohort, she creates live environments where leaders stop carrying business challenges alone and start solving them together.
Final Reflection
The episode ultimately reminds leaders: You were never meant to build alone.
Growth is not about working harder. It’s about listening differently, leading differently, and letting others help carry the climb.