Corporate Dumpster Fires: How Hard Conversations Fix Broken Teams
Wed Feb 04 2026
Most corporate dumpster fires do not start as crises.
They start as conversations that never happen.
In this episode, Amanda Dake sits down with leadership communications expert Heather Lisle, the person organizations call when internal issues quietly escalate into full scale problems.
This conversation follows a clear how it started, how it's going arc. Heather shares her early career inside government and corporate leadership, the pivot forced by COVID, and how avoided conversations, indecision, and miscommunication often sit underneath profit loss, employee churn, and leadership breakdowns.
They also talk about the personal side of leadership, making decisions, visibility, criticism, and what changes when you move from employee to owner.
This is a grounded conversation about responsibility, clarity, and what actually fixes broken teams.
Key Moments:
00:00 Dumpster fires and why Heather gets called
00:21 How it started, early career and diffusing conflict
02:21 The pivot, relocation, COVID, and survival mode
05:08 Owning the problem she actually solves
10:32 Making decisions and saying what you want
12:11 Not deciding is still a decision
17:46 The man in the arena and handling criticism
26:27 How it's going now, choosing clients and real change
This conversation is not about leadership theory.
It is about clarity, responsibility, and the cost of avoiding what needs to be said.
If you lead people, manage teams, or feel something drifting inside your organization, this conversation will feel familiar.
Connect with Heather:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heatherlisleco/
Website: https://www.heatherlisle.com/
Book: https://www.heatherlisle.com/book
Connect with Amanda:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-dake/
Website: https://amandadake.com
Book: https://book.amandadake.com
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Most corporate dumpster fires do not start as crises. They start as conversations that never happen. In this episode, Amanda Dake sits down with leadership communications expert Heather Lisle, the person organizations call when internal issues quietly escalate into full scale problems. This conversation follows a clear how it started, how it's going arc. Heather shares her early career inside government and corporate leadership, the pivot forced by COVID, and how avoided conversations, indecision, and miscommunication often sit underneath profit loss, employee churn, and leadership breakdowns. They also talk about the personal side of leadership, making decisions, visibility, criticism, and what changes when you move from employee to owner. This is a grounded conversation about responsibility, clarity, and what actually fixes broken teams. Key Moments: 00:00 Dumpster fires and why Heather gets called 00:21 How it started, early career and diffusing conflict 02:21 The pivot, relocation, COVID, and survival mode 05:08 Owning the problem she actually solves 10:32 Making decisions and saying what you want 12:11 Not deciding is still a decision 17:46 The man in the arena and handling criticism 26:27 How it's going now, choosing clients and real change This conversation is not about leadership theory. It is about clarity, responsibility, and the cost of avoiding what needs to be said. If you lead people, manage teams, or feel something drifting inside your organization, this conversation will feel familiar. Connect with Heather: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heatherlisleco/ Website: https://www.heatherlisle.com/ Book: https://www.heatherlisle.com/book Connect with Amanda: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-dake/ Website: https://amandadake.com Book: https://book.amandadake.com