From the Bench to the Boardroom – Building Culture That Wins with Chris Teahan

Leadership Levers

What does it take to build a winning culture - on the court and in the office?

Highlights Covered

• Why process and mindset matter more than results
• How a “Pyramid of Success” model shaped team performance at KU
• The hidden cost of one bad actor on a high-performing team
• Leadership takeaway - be a star in your role, even if it’s behind the scenes
• Mindset principle: Live life in the hills and valleys, not at the peaks or the bottom

Summary

This episode explores the parallels between elite athletics and business—showing how mindset, culture, and role clarity can determine the difference between mediocrity and momentum.

Will Gladhart is joined by Chris Teahan, financial advisor at Merrill Wealth Management and former University of Kansas basketball player and NCAA national champion.

Drawing from his time competing at the highest level of college athletics, Chris shares how the lessons of team culture, role clarity, and mindset resilience have shaped his approach to business and leadership.

At Kansas, Chris and his teammates were taught to focus less on results and more on the “bottom half” of their Pyramid of Success - thinking right, acting right, and speaking right. That internal process, he explains, is where culture lives.

Chris illustrates how one toxic influence can derail even the best team, using a memorable “ice cream analogy” shared by Coach Bill Self - one bad ingredient spoils the whole. The solution? Clear expectations, shared values, and alignment around a common goal.

Today, in a demanding role where he regularly approaches high-net-worth individuals decades his senior, Chris reflects on the mindset that keeps him grounded - living in the hills and valleys instead of the highs or lows.

For leaders and teammates alike, he emphasizes the power of owning your role, leading with intention, and staying even-keeled through both rejection and success.

Connect with Chris on LinkedIn

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Chapters

1. Welcome and Guest Introduction (00:00:00)

2. Chris's Basketball Background and Experience (00:01:55)

3. The Pyramid of Success Framework (00:04:45)

4. The Ice Cream Analogy (00:07:21)

5. Being a Star in Your Role (00:09:26)

6. Living in the Hills and Valleys (00:11:29)