Have you ever had a team member go quiet, get short, or seem suddenly distant — and had no idea what to do with that? Most of us have been taught that emotions belong outside the workplace. But the truth is, our nervous systems, our emotional needs, and our capacity to feel safe all come to work with us, whether we invite them in or not.

In this conversation, I'm joined by Laziena Hodge, a certified coach and creator of the Repair Language framework. Together we explore what repair language really is and why building a shared emotional vocabulary in your team might be one of the most practical and productive habits you can adopt. This isn't about therapy at work. It's about giving people a way to name what they need so that when things get hard, the team doesn't fracture — it reconnects.

Laziena walks us through her six repair languages: soothing, accountable, affirming, empathic, spacious, and presence — and how understanding your own repair style (and your team's) reduces miscommunication, protects your energy, and creates the kind of psychological safety that allows people to actually do their best work. We also explore how leaders often don't realise how their own activation affects the team, and why naming what you need is a leadership skill, not a weakness.

If you've been navigating team dynamics that feel sticky, or you're a founder managing people while juggling your own full life, this episode offers a fresh and deeply human framework for how to stay in work life integration without abandoning the people around you — or yourself.

🔗 Connect with Laziena and take her free Repair Language Quiz at https://laziena.com/quizzes & download the free team resource here.

Ready to Take Action?

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Thanks for listening!

What's really stealing your CEO time? Every entrepreneur has a dominant productivity pattern — a way of working that feels normal, even productive. But when you're the CEO, that pattern has a cost.

It shows up as full days with no real progress. As never having time to sell, to build, to think. As always being busy but never feeling ahead.

You might recognise yourself in one of four patterns: The Overloaded Operator, The Momentum Chaser, The Preparation Loop, or The Capable Bottleneck.

Find out which one is your dominant pattern 👉 Take my quiz: https://annerajoo.com/quiz

Or book a complimentary productivity assessment with me and start reshaping your approach to productivity and success.

Don’t forget to connect with me on Instagram @_annerajoo_ and share your key takeaways from this episode! Your insights mean a lot to me!