In this episode of Bad Boss Confessional, Beth Fahey talks with David Kolbe, CEO of Kolbe Corp and co-developer of the Kolbe A™ Index, about the complicated decisions leaders face when values, performance, and people collide. David shares lessons from running a values-driven company and the leadership mistakes that taught him the most along the way.
The conversation explores what happens when high performers fall out of alignment with company culture, why leadership communication matters just as much as the decisions themselves, and how easily trust can erode when the narrative isn’t clear. David also explains the idea of conative strengths and why understanding how people naturally take action can dramatically improve teamwork and leadership.

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction to Bad Boss Confessional
02:46 Understanding Conative Strengths
07:09 Kolbe Impact on EOS and Personal Life
11:39 Firing a Top Performer: A Confession
18:24 Lessons Learned from Terminations
27:03 Navigating Leadership Challenges & Kolbe Scores
30:51 Understanding and Leveraging Kolbe Scores
38:19 Diversity in Teams
43:23 Kolbe in Personal Relationships
46:56 Kolbe & Gender Differences
49:56 The Genesis of Kolbe Strengths
53:18 Kolbe Tattoo & Final Thoughts

About:
Beth Fahey is a leadership coach, Expert EOS Implementer, and co-creator of the How to Be a Great Boss Workshops. With nearly 40 years of hands-on leadership experience, Beth has worn many hats: from working in film and owning a bakery to leading a national trade association.

Now, as the host of The Bad Boss Confessional, she shares candid stories about the challenges of leadership, mistakes made, lessons learned, and the path to becoming the kind of boss your team actually wants to follow. Through humor, honesty, and heart, Beth is on a mission to help leaders grow, one confession at a time.

Show Links
For more information about Beth Fahey follow the links below.
Website: www.eosworldwide.com/beth-fahey
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BethFaheyEOS
Instagram: www.instagram.com/bethfaheyeos/
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@bethfaheyeos
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bethfahey/
Bad Boss Confessional YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@badbossconfessional
Beth's Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/@bethfaheyeos
Website: https://implementer.eosworldwide.com/robert-hartline/

David Kolbe is transforming how the world understands human performance. He comes from a lineage of psychometric pioneers and is the CEO of Kolbe Corp, the leader in helping people leverage their instinctive strengths to achieve what they care about most. David helped develop the original algorithm for the Kolbe A™ Index — the only proven tool to unlock conative strengths.

Sponsor Links
Thanks to our Sponsors
A big thank you to our amazing sponsors for making this episode possible:

Titus Talent – Helping organizations make the best hiring decisions with performance-based talent strategies.

Strety – Empowering teams through strategic planning and performance management tools built for modern workforces.