SightShift with Chris McAlister

We Ate Our Own Product Live | Lunch with Chris

We've been calling out dumb theater in everyone else's company for three weeks. This week, Chris turned the camera on himself. Chris read his own IFQ™ results live on the air — no prep, no filter. The same insecurity patterns we've been diagnosing in Company Theater? He was going to find out if they show up in his own leadership. 🔑 See what's driving your leadership decisions under pressure. Take the IFQ™ (4 questions): 👉 https://www.taketheifq.com?utm_source...

Lunch with Chris: Is Your Leadership Training Just Dumb Theater?

What if the meetings, trainings, and retreats at your company are just... performative theater? In this episode, Chris breaks down three moments from Amazon Prime's Company Theater (Season 2) that expose the real patterns destroying your team culture — proving, hiding, and leading for validation instead of impact.

Your Team's Complaints Are Data. Here's How to Read Them.

Your team is telling you what they need. You're solving the wrong problem.
In this episode of the Make Culture Your Edge series, Chris McAlister and Mark Stanifer dig into the third pillar of the culture model: Right Connection. Most leaders either rush past what their people are actually feeling — or they stay in the moment so long nothing moves forward. Both are failure modes.

Lunch with Chris: Why Smart Leaders Keep Investing in Dumb Theater

Why do smart leaders keep investing in retreats, team-building, and leadership development that doesn't actually change anything? In the very first Lunch with Chris, I tell the story of walking into a conference room 24 years ago and watching a leader create one of the most awkward moments I've ever experienced. Then I break down why it happens and what separates real leadership from performative theater.

Your Team Doesn't Need a Slogan. They Need This.

Your team doesn't need another slogan. They need a leader who knows how to communicate vision that actually lands. In this episode, Chris and Mark break down the first pillar of the Impact Culture Model — right communication — using one of the most iconic scenes in storytelling: the Council of Elrond.

The Anatomy of a Breakthrough (What Sports Movies Get Right About Leadership)

In this episode of the SightShift Podcast, Chris and Brett unpack the anatomy of a breakthrough, using iconic sports films like Rocky IV, Miracle, Remember the Titans, and more to explain how real transformation actually happens inside teams.

The Silent Killer of Strong Cultures

Chris and Mark unpack one of the most dangerous—and overlooked—forces in leadership and culture: drift. The slow, quiet erosion that happens when leaders stop paying attention to what really shapes behavior, trust, and alignment.
Drift doesn’t announce itself. It accumulates.
Learn more about drift: www.sightshift.com/post/signs-of-drift

This Is What Breaks Teams | Make Culture Your Edge

Conflict isn’t the enemy of culture. Unaddressed conflict is.
In this episode of the SightShift Podcast, Chris and Mark go deeper into one of the most misunderstood tension points in leadership: conflict. Building on ideas from Make Culture Your Edge, they unpack why conflict is not something to eliminate, but something to learn how to hold well.
This conversation explores:
- The difference between healthy conflict and unhealthy conflict - How proving and hiding show up in arguments, meetings, and silence - Why dismissing feelings quietly breaks trust over time - How leaders unintentionally create damaged relationships by giving people what they want instead of what they need - Why hidden agendas emerge when leaders are either overpowering or unclear