When the culture’s pulse fades, meetings look fine on paper but feel lifeless in the room. In this episode, Dr. Brad Shuck names the quiet signs of a flatlined workplace—polite agreement, safe ideas, and no real spark—and explains why this isn’t a strategy problem, it’s a connection problem. Drawing on leadership research and real-world observation, he explores how curiosity, psychological safety, and human-centered leadership restore energy, and why nostalgia for “the way we worked” won’t bring it back. You’ll learn how to read the room, notice where energy rises and falls, and use one brave question—“How are you, and what do we need to talk about?”—to bring people back into conversation and care.