The PL3 Community

"Is ambition always about climbing the ladder or can it be about mastering where you are?

In our most recent episode of the Podcast, Cynthia Kiriazis and Drea Martin unpack the often misunderstood trait of hunger / drive - the internal ambition to achieve, improve, and push beyond expectations with relentless energy and proactive ownership.

The hosts explore:
• Hunger/drive as a constant push for progress and self-fueled motivation
• Why a 50th percentile score means “average,” not failing — and why that’s often enough
• Vertical drive (pursuing advancement) vs. horizontal drive (mastering your current role)
• How personal purpose shapes the way hunger/drive shows up in leaders
• Why leaders should ask about their team’s passions to better understand motivation
• Why drive should be evaluated against role needs, not arbitrary standards

Listen to the full episode - https://leadershiptraitsdecoded.buzzsprout.com/2244598/episodes/17631961-purpose-drives-performance-decoding-the-misunderstood-trait-of-hunger-drive

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/3JCjRFADnKsKsIT0otB8K3

Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/purpose-drives-performance-decoding-the-misunderstood/id1707063745?i=1000721106260

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Purpose Drives Performance - Decoding the Misunderstood Trait of Hunger & Drive Podcast Episode · Leadership Traits Decoded · 07/16/2025 · 13m

Rollover equity and earn-outs are often positioned as win-win - but are they? It's usually where deals go wrong - not after close, but during negotiation.

Our PL3 roundtable on Wed 08.20 1:30P CST is for company founders or anyone structuring a deal where a founder stays involved post-transaction.

We’ll walk through the patterns that lead to breakdown - and how to avoid them early.

Topics include:
*Why vague performance targets derail relationships
*How to align earn-out metrics with internal KPIs
*Founder psychology - what shifts when control changes hands
*What to build into the deal before close to protect both sides.

Join us to learn how to structure smarter terms - ones that protect trust, performance, and alignment from day one.

Register for the upcoming 08.20 session -

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: PL3 Virtual Roundtable: Second Bite or Bitter Pill? Navigating the Human Risk in Rollover Equity & Earn-Outs. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Earn-outs and rollover equity are often pitched as win-win tools - bridging valuation gaps, preserving upside, and aligning incentives between buyers and founders. But behind the spreadsheets lies a deeper risk: The breakdown of trust, leadership, and momentum - before the ink is even dry. When a fo...

Is psychological safety just a buzzword or a business imperative?

In her latest book review, Cynthia Kyriazis delves into Amy Edmondson's "The Fearless Organization"- a timely and practical read on how psychological safety fosters team effectiveness, informed decision-making, and enhanced performance.

From avoidable failure to leadership inaction, Edmondson outlines what happens when employees don’t feel safe to speak up and how leaders can create the conditions for a fearless, high-performing workplace.

Key takeaways:
*What psychological safety is - and what it’s not
*Why silence is more dangerous than disagreement
*How leaders can turn feedback into forward momentum

If you’re serious about culture, trust, and ex*****on - this one is worth your shelf space or grab it at your local library.

Read the review: https://www.plllab.com/post/the-fearless-organization-book-review

The Fearless Organization - Book Review In The Fearless Organization, Amy Edmondson makes a compelling case for why psychological safety isn’t just a cultural ideal - it’s a core performance strategy. This review explores how trust, open communication, and leadership accountability shape engagement, learning, and long-term success.

Most deals don’t fall apart because of the numbers. They fall apart because of the people.

Leadership misalignment. Cultural friction. Succession missteps. These are the hidden risks that quietly derail value before and after close - and they’ve been notoriously difficult to measure - but that is changing!

We published a virtual roundtable preview, "Exit Readiness Starts with Leadership Readiness," which offers a preview of the upcoming July 31 Virtual Roundtable.

The roundtable will explore how predictive analytics, leadership theory, and real-time performance diagnostics are providing investors and advisors with a clearer lens into people risk, even before diligence begins. https://www.plllab.com/post/pl3-virtual-roundtable-exit-readiness-starts-with-leadership-readiness

If you advise leaders, manage transitions, support exits or drive value creation - this session is for you.

Register here to attend live or receive the replay - https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/3617484533161/WN_tXp77fiMS0qb25j-Q13bqg

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: PL3 Virtual Roundtable: Exit Readiness Starts with Leadership Readiness. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. In today’s market, financials alone don’t tell the full story - and by the time you uncover leadership or culture issues in diligence, it’s too late. This roundtable brings together experts in private company transactions, leadership science, performance analytics, and M&A advisory to expose t...