How to Build Resilient Teams through Psychological Safety and Mentorship | Connected FM Podcast

What does strong leadership really look like in facility management? In this episode of Connected FM, host Wayne Whitzell welcomes Kathryn Lopez for a candid conversation on leadership, resilience and the human side of facility management. Drawing from decades of experience in global FM leadership, Kathryn shares lessons on staying calm under pressure, creating psychological safety for teams and developing people through mentorship and trust. She explains why great leaders “take the bullets and give the credit,” how mistakes can become growth opportunities and why empathy is essential in today’s workplace. This episode is sponsored by SiteMap®, powered by GPRS. Learn more at sitemap.com/ifma Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 02:17 Global FM Reality Check 03:20 IFMA Roots and Impact 04:30 Staying Calm Under Fire 07:30 Smoke Jumper Problem Solver 10:02 Psychological Safety in Leadership 15:17 Mentorship Mistakes Growth 18:31 Ad Break 18:59 Empathy Versus Dictatorship 20:39 AI That Actually Helps 22:39 Attracting the Next Gen 26:14 Kindness and Empathy 29:06 Closing Thanks and Outro TAKE YOUR FM CAREER TO THE NEXT LEVEL 🔥 ⚡️💻 Facility Management Professional (FMP): https://www.ifma.org/credentials/faci... ⚡️💻 Certified Facility Manager (CFM): https://www.ifma.org/credentials/cert... ⚡️💻 Sustainable Facility Professional (SFP): https://www.ifma.org/credentials/sust... ◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️ ⬇️ More stuff you should check out ⬇️ ** JOIN THE IFMA MEMBERSHIP ** https://www.ifma.org/membership/membe... ** CHECK OUT THE LATEST EVENTS ** https://www.ifma.org/community/events... ** CONNECTEDFM PODCAST ** https://connected-fm.simplecast.com/ ** CONNECTEDFM A BLOG BY IFMA ** https://blog.ifma.org/ ◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️◽️ CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL: Website: https://www.ifma.org Instagram:   / ifma_hq   LinkedIn:   / ifma   Facebook:   / internationalfacilitymanagementassociation   X (formerly Twitter):   / ifma