Jill’s Reflection
I remember this feeling: that first spark of January energy.
You're jazzed about what's ahead—new programs, refreshed goals, exciting momentum. I felt it one year as we were getting ready to launch a series of new initiatives. The vision was clear, the team was on board, and I was all in.
Then the avalanche hit.
Everything launched at once. My calendar filled up. Team members started feeling stretched. The goals didn’t feel exciting anymore—they felt like weight.
Now I rec...
A reflection from Tia Glave, Catalyst Co-Founder
The food industry is at a crossroads.
With shrinking labor pools, rising costs, and constant pressure to do more with less, 2026 isn’t going to reward survival-mode leadership.
It will demand something better.
Food leaders who create trust on purpose. Who think beyond their own to-do lists. Who build cultures where people and performance grow together.
That kind of leadership doesn’t just happen. It happens through leadership systems that...
If your daily stand-up is just a status update, you’re missing the point.
Because in food leadership, the way you use those 15 minutes reveals everything about how your culture works—or doesn’t.
👀 What You’re Really Communicating
Most leaders don’t realize it, but rhythms shape reality.
When your team shows up every day to “report out,” here’s what they’re learning:
- Speak fast, don’t ask questions
- We’re here to perform, not connect
- Leadership = efficiency, not support
That might not b...
Most leaders are great at pushing through.
It’s how they got to where they are—by holding on.
To responsibility.
To high standards.
To whatever it takes.
But here’s the truth no one tells you:
To grow as a leader, you have to learn how to release.
🔥 You can’t bring in new if you’re clinging to the old
Holding on feels safe. Even productive.
But in reality, the wrong patterns create noise, not clarity.
- Control
- Over-functioning
- Perfection-as-performance
- “Just get it done” leadership
Thes...
Rewriting Your Leadership Story: Why Intentional Leadership Changes Everything
A reflection from Jill Stuber, Catalyst Food Leaders
We all start building our leadership story long before we realize we’re writing one.
We absorb what we see — how our bosses handle pressure, how meetings run, how feedback lands, how people get promoted (or don’t). Somewhere along the way, those experiences start shaping how we lead — often without us even noticing.
For a long time, that’s exactly how I led too....
