Podcast Summary: Leadership, Mentorship, and Building Winning Teams

Podcast: Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast
Host: Scott Becker
Guest: Lori Beth Irvin, Founder of LBIngenuity
Date: December 8, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode focuses on leadership, the power of mentorship, and how to build effective teams in a complex, rapidly evolving business landscape. Scott Becker sits down with Lori Beth Irvin, an accomplished marketing consultant and founder of LBIngenuity, to explore her career journey, the lessons she’s learned about leading and mentoring others, and her strategies for cultivating winning teams and organizational culture.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Career Turning Points and Self-Taught Leadership

[02:06–05:44]

• Lori Beth shares two major inflection points:
  • Realizing the absence of mentors early in her career, which forced her to develop independence and a self-taught approach to leadership.
  • Recognizing the dangers of silos within organizations and the importance of interdepartmental collaboration for overall success.
• Quote: "The absence of that kind of [mentor] became its own teacher for me... I show up differently for people because I know what it feels like to look around the room and not see someone, a mentor or a guide who actually sees or understands your full potential." (Lori Beth, 03:34)

2. Mentorship – Shifting Mindsets and Leaving a Professional Legacy

[05:44–08:31]

• Emphasizes that mentorship is now more widely discussed and valued, especially by younger generations.
• Points out a fear among leaders that mentoring others could jeopardize their position—something she believes is misguided.
• Quote: "If I teach you all the trade secrets... then you're going to take my job. And that is just not necessarily true." (Lori Beth, 07:15)
• Discusses the ripple effect of good mentorship on organizational culture and long-term impact.

3. Building Winning Teams: Tenacity Over Skillset

[08:31–11:04]

• For Lori Beth, integrity and consistency are paramount when building teams—skills can always be taught, but tenacity and ownership are innate.
• Quote: "Skills can be taught, but the root core passion and tenacity, you know, that's an instinct that you just have to discern..." (Lori Beth, 10:39)
• She cautions against a culture of giving up easily, emphasizing endurance and teamwork, especially during adversity.

4. Navigating Complexity and the Qualities of Modern Leaders

[11:04–13:44]

• With the explosion of AI and rapid change, Lori Beth identifies steadiness, proactivity, and emotional intelligence as vital leadership traits.
• Effective leaders pause before reacting, focus on long-term over short-term gains, and can read and address group dynamics.
• Quote: "Leaders who have some intuitiveness about them and can not only walk into a room, read the room... without fueling more chaos, I think are more effective in their leadership styles." (Lori Beth, 13:32)

5. Intentionally Creating Culture

[13:44–16:17]

• Culture is created less by grand gestures and more in day-to-day interactions, transparency, and respect.
• Leadership now requires more open communication and inclusivity in decision-making.
• Quote: "People don't necessarily want perfection from leaders. They want consistency, . . . transparency and they want fairness and that's how you gain their respect." (Lori Beth, 14:56)

6. Decision-Making Under Pressure and Overcoming Setbacks

[16:17–18:35]

• Shares her evolution in handling high-pressure decisions: pausing to clarify the ultimate business objective, considering timing and impact before acting.
• Stresses that urgency often amplifies perceived crisis and leads to mistakes: "Good decision making isn't necessarily about speed... even just slowing down the pace of just for a matter of minutes can make the best outcome." (Lori Beth, 18:22)

7. Advice to Emerging Leaders

[18:35–21:17]

• Encourages understanding the broader business beyond one’s immediate role.
• Cautions against burnout; recommends guarding personal bandwidth.
• Urges selectivity in taking on new roles—“Not every opportunity that shows up at your door is the right opportunity for you.”
• Advocates for calculated risk-taking and trusting intuition.
• Quote: "Be confident enough in yourself to say no if... the opportunity is not the right one. And don't be afraid to take risks. I wish I had learned that a little bit earlier on." (Lori Beth, 20:33)

8. On Taking Risks and Founding a Business

[21:17–25:54]

• Discusses the intentionality behind risk-taking and its personal nature.
• Shares her own leap from corporate work into entrepreneurship—spurred by burnout and an intuition that greater fulfillment awaited.
• Recounts her anxiety and health challenges, but notes how “everything fell into place” after she committed to her new path.
• Recommends writing down the worst-case scenario to demystify and manage fear.
• Quote: "As soon as I did have the faith to step over the ledge, then everything met me where I was at... The worst didn’t happen. It's the best that actually happened." (Lori Beth, 24:21)

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On missing mentors:
  "The absence of that kind of [mentor] became its own teacher for me." (03:34)
• On mentorship fears:
  "If I teach you all the trade secrets... then you're going to take my job. And that is just not necessarily true." (07:15)
• On building teams:
  "Skills can be taught, but the root core passion and tenacity, you know, that's an instinct..." (10:39)
• On leadership traits:
  "Leaders who have some intuitiveness about them... respond without fueling more chaos..." (13:32)
• On creating culture:
  "People don't necessarily want perfection from leaders. They want consistency...transparency and they want fairness..." (14:56)
• On risk and entrepreneurship:
  "As soon as I did have the faith to step over the ledge, then everything met me where I was at..." (24:21)

Key Segment Timestamps

• [01:24] — Lori Beth Irvin’s introduction and background
• [02:18] — Turning points in her leadership development
• [05:59] — Experience and philosophy regarding mentorship
• [08:50] — Principles in building effective teams
• [11:26] — Most important leadership qualities in today’s complex world
• [13:56] — How to intentionally create and shape workplace culture
• [16:35] — Approaches to decision-making under stress; advice after setbacks
• [18:46] — Actionable advice for new and emerging leaders
• [21:17] — Thoughts on taking risks and the role of intuition
• [22:52] — Personal story: anxiety and the leap into entrepreneurship

Takeaways for Listeners

• Mentorship and leadership are interconnected—everyone benefits from guidance as well as from providing it.
• Building strong teams centers less on skillsets and more on character, reliability, and tenacity.
• Emotional intelligence and steadiness are essential leadership skills in a fast-changing, complex world.
• Culture is built in everyday moments—consistency and transparent communication matter more than perks.
• Decision-making under pressure requires clarity, intention, and sometimes, the courage to pause.
• For emerging leaders: Know the business deeply, safeguard your energy, trust your instincts, and don’t fear saying “no” or taking risks.

In the words of Lori Beth:
"Having the faith to do it… the worst didn’t happen. It’s the best that actually happened." (24:21)