July 1, 2025

Episode 144: Conversations Worth Having: How Better Dialogue Builds Regenerative, Productive Teams with Cheri Torres & Jackie Stavros

In this episode of The Future of Teamwork, Dane Groeneveld chats with Tony Martignetti, Chief Illumination Officer at Inspired Purpose Partners, TEDx speaker, and author of Climbing the Right Mountain and Campfire Lessons for Leaders. Tony shares his unconventional journey from biotech finance executive to leadership coach and storyteller, driven by a personal experience with burnout and disconnection. They discuss how storytelling, rituals, and play can unlock deeper connections in teams. If you’re a leader looking for new ways to build real connection and authenticity within your team, this episode will leave you inspired.

Conversations Worth Having: How Better Dialogue Builds Regenerative, Productive Teams with Cheri Torres & Jackie Stavros

Guest Bios

Cheri Torres

As founder and CEO of Collaborative by Design, co-founder and executive officer for CWH Institute Inc, and co-founder of The Sami Project for conscious leadership, Cheri is passionate about supporting growth and meaningful purpose for people and organizations. She sees her role as a catalyst for positive change, encouraging people to recognize their leadership potential as an integral part of natural systems. The practices she shares have enabled thousands of leaders and teams around the world to develop their ability to intentionally fuel high performance, engagement, and a sense of belonging through effective communication, inclusive strategic planning, and culture transformation.

As a perpetual learner, she’s accumulated a PhD in Collaborative Learning/Educational Psychology, an MBA, a Masters in Transpersonal Psychology, Level II certification in the Barrett Values Cultural Assessment tools, and Level II certification in Spiral Dynamics Integral.

One of the ways she clarifies and evolves her thinking is by writing and sharing it with others to gain their feedback. This has resulted in numerous books and articles. She believes the simplest and most valuable of anything I’ve written thus far is the second edition of the Berrett Koehler bestseller, Conversations Worth Having. It is the “simple on the other side of complex” when it comes to communication, and it is a bridge for leaders to move from a transactional, hierarchical worldview to a collaborative paradigm that inspires collective capacity. This work has been featured in leading media sources including Fast Company, Forbes, HR Magazine, SmartBrief, Training Industry, and Training Magazine. Feedback from keynote presentations, regardless of the audience, suggests the two communication practices significantly transform people’s ability to lead, learn, innovate, and collaborate in all areas of their lives.

Cheri loves living in the mountains of Asheville, NC (with her husband, Michael, and dog, Annabel). She thrives on learning and evolving her capacity to contribute to a world that flourishes, and travel, nature, hiking, music, good food, family, and friends continuously renew her spirit.

Jackie Stavros, DM

Her passion is working with others to create purpose and meaningful results for positive change. She is co-founder of CWH Institute, Inc and professor and management consultant in the College of Business and Information Technology at Lawrence Technological University. She inspires her students with lifework not just homework. She has co-authored many articles and books with two recent: Conversations Worth Having: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Fuel Productive and Meaningful Engagement (www.cwh.today) and Learning to SOAR: Creating Strategy that Inspires Innovation and Engagement. She is recognized for her creation of SOAR, a positive approach to strategic thinking, planning, conversations, and leading (www.soar-strategy.com). She has worked across all sectors and in over 25 countries using Appreciative Inquiry (AI) to affect the lives of thousands of people and hundreds of organizations improve capacity to thrive and increase performance.

Her research is grounded in the AI, neuroscience, and positive psychology to help others understand how their conversations influence their wellbeing and ability to succeed. She is on a mission to co-create a global movement of conversations worth having to recognize each other’s humanity and create organizations and communities that work for everyone. Her work has been featured in Forbes, SmartBrief, Detroit’s Live in the D, People & Strategy, and leadership and training blogs and podcasts. She is a keynote speaker on positive approaches to leadership, strategy, management, conversations, and change. She earned a Doctor of Management in Capacity Building Using an Appreciative Approach: A Relational Process of Building Your Organization’s Future at Case Western Reserve University. She holds an MBA in International Marketing from Michigan State University and BA in Marketing from Wayne State University. Jackie lives in Brighton, MI with her husband Paul and her loveable dogs Rex and Bo! She enjoys spending time with her son, Adam and daughter, Ally being outdoors, playing board games, or visiting the local farmers markets.

Contact: jstavros@ltu.edu and jackie@conversationsworthhaving.today

Social Media

Facebook Link

https://www.facebook.com/jacqueline.stavros

Linked In

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackie-stavros-0b45824/

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/jackie_stavros/

Twitter

https://twitter.com/JackieStavros

Forbes Interview:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rodgerdeanduncan/2018/09/28/polarized-consider-conversations-worth-having/#57500e8e7927