Teams That Swear is a powerful podcast where leadership expert Adrian Baillargeon unpacks what makes exceptional teams thrive. With two decades of global experience, Adrian blends real-world insights, compelling stories, and a touch of humour to inspire leaders and teams to transform how they work together. Explore lessons in trust, collaboration, and purpose-driven leadership - all designed to help you and your team win the games that matter most.
If too many decisions end up coming back to you, the problem may not be your team.
It may be how you lead them.
Senior leaders often become the person everyone turns to because they are experienced, capable and quick to solve problems. But over time, that helpfulness can create dependency, slow decision-making and leave you carrying far more than you should.
In this episode, Adrian explores how good leaders can accidentally become the bottleneck in their own team, why capable people start waiting for permission, and what leaders can do differently to build more ownership and better judgement around them.
You’ll learn how to catch yourself before stepping in, ask questions that build thinking rather than dependency, and let your leaders own decisions without lowering standards.
Teams that swear by each other, not about each other, do not rely on one leader to carry every difficult decision. They build the trust, clarity and judgement for people to step up and own what sits with them.
To discuss a Team Pulse Check or the AB Team Dynamics Assessment, email Adrian at info@adrianbaillargeon.com (mailto:info@adrianbaillargeon.com).
16 Sept 2026
How to Stop Outsourcing Accountability
Kelsey Griffin has a view on accountability, captaincy and team building that most leaders will not see coming. You will hear it within the first two minutes.
After seventeen seasons as a professional basketball player, multiple WNBL championships, gold medals, an Australian Opals career, and being drafted third overall in the WNBA draft, Kelsey has seen what leadership really asks of people when the pressure is on.
In Part 2, we talk about the phrase many leaders use: “I want the team to hold each other accountable.”
Kelsey’s response is direct. If the leader still controls the opportunities, rewards and consequences, then accountability cannot simply be handed to the team.
We also get into what captaincy actually costs, how Kelsey thinks about winning after a career full of results, and why success means more than what shows up on the scoreboard.
Kelsey also shares what happened on a flight to Perth with a young teammate she could not quite reach, and what leaders can learn from the moments when their usual approach stops working.
If you lead strong personalities, have inherited a team, or have someone you cannot quite get through to, this episode will give you a sharper way to think about accountability, leadership and what your team really needs from you.
16 Sept 2026
How to Know If Your Team Is Actually Strong
Kelsey Griffin has been on championship teams and teams that had the talent but still fell short. She knows the difference, and you will hear it in the first few minutes.
After seventeen seasons as a professional basketball player, multiple WNBL championships, gold medals, an Australian Opals career, and being drafted third overall in the WNBA draft, Kelsey has seen what changes when a team gets it right.
In Part 1, we talk about how leaders can tell whether their team is actually strong, or just looks strong on paper.
Kelsey shares what the best teams do early, how leaders can build belonging before the pressure arrives, and why defensiveness can be a useful signal about what is happening beneath the surface.
She also shares the story of an airport pickup at Bendigo Spirit that changed how she walked into a new team, and what it taught her about belonging long before the big moments arrive.
If you are stepping into a team, leading an experienced group, or wondering whether your team is really as strong as it looks, this episode will give you a sharper way to read what is going on.
And right near the end, Kelsey goes on record about something she has never said publicly before: she is more open to coaching than she has ever been.
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