{"podcast":{"title":"Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts)","slug":"lead-the-team-top-2-of-podcasts-1064768","podcast_index_feed_id":1064768,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/leadtheteam/","website_url":"HTTPS://benfanning.com/blog","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/10af0b95-04e6-42cc-b03d-73690ea3bb8a/QKJ4Hxs4kaKpd554m1ArvK6B.jpg","author":"Ben Fanning","episode_count":465,"summary":"Real CEOs. Real Stories. Hosted by Ben Fanning—2025 Gold Stevie Award winner for Best Business Podcast and ranked in the Top 2% globally—Lead the Team draws on over 600 CEO interviews to take you inside the minds of leaders from brands like Honeywell, HP, IBM, Dunkin’, and L’Oréal. In each episode, you’ll hear raw, unfiltered stories of leading through rapid growth, high-stakes decisions, and make-or-break moments—plus the CEO-tested tools and strategies they use to build high-performing teams. From turning around billion-dollar brands to sparking innovation at scale, these leaders share lessons you can put into action right now to lead your own team better. Subscribe now. ------------- https://www.benfanning.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/benfanning/","last_synced_at":"2026-07-23T04:21:29.253817+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/lead-the-team-top-2-of-podcasts-1064768"},"episode":{"title":"The Question That Reset Avaya (CEO Patrick Dennis)","slug":"the-question-that-reset-avaya-ceo-patrick-dennis","published_at":"2026-02-22T16:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/lead-the-team-top-2-of-podcasts-1064768/the-question-that-reset-avaya-ceo-patrick-dennis","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/lead-the-team-top-2-of-podcasts-1064768","url":"http://www.benfanning.com/theceosessions/patrick","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/21de5e03-167d-4a52-92f3-5dc86d93742b.mp3","summary":"That first all-hands. Patrick Dennis , CEO of Avaya , walked in expecting nerves and optimism. Instead, one question he was asked changed the room. It wasn’t dramatic or confrontational. But it was revealing. It showed to him that the organization wasn’t aligned on reality. And misalignment at that level doesn’t stay neutral. It compounds. I’ve seen this pattern more times than I can count. Leaders hear a question and assume pushback. But sometimes the question asked IS THE DATA. Sometimes the raised hand is the WARNING LIGHT. What inspired me most in our conversation was how Patrick responded. No corporate speak or protecting people from the numbers. You'll hear in our conversation how he chose to communicate with clarity, knowing it would cost comfort. That decision shifted everything and ultimately made HUGE results possible. It shifted the organization's trajectory. So, when your team asks the uncomfortable question, how often do you treat it as resistance or as information? ----- Connect with the Host, #1 bestselling author Ben Fanning Speaking and Training inquires Subscribe to my Youtube channel LinkedIn Instagram Twitter","meta_description":"That first all-hands. Patrick Dennis , CEO of Avaya , walked in expecting nerves and optimism. Instead, one question he was asked changed the room. It was…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2830,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/lead-the-team-top-2-of-podcasts-1064768/episodes/the-question-that-reset-avaya-ceo-patrick-dennis/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/lead-the-team-top-2-of-podcasts-1064768/the-question-that-reset-avaya-ceo-patrick-dennis.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}