Reframing Leadership: The Story of Dustin Snyder and Way Forward

By: Hilario Caro, Talent Optimization at StaffBuffalo

In this eye-opening episode of the Pain Points Podcast, Lauren Lewis and Maggie Shea sit down with Dustin Snyder, founder of Way Forward Consulting, to discuss how his journey from labor relations to organizational psychology helped him transform the way companies think about leadership, trust, and culture.

From Compliance to Connection
Dustin began his career in labor relations and HR, immersed in the rulebooks and policies that keep organizations compliant. But over time, he realized that the traditional approach—seeing employees as risks to be managed—was deeply flawed. “When people feel like they’re being managed toward an outcome, they can tell,” he said. “The moment I started trusting people instead of controlling them, everything changed.”

That shift led Dustin to build a new kind of consulting practice—one rooted in human behavior, systems thinking, and empathy. With Way Forward, he helps companies uncover their hidden pain points and reconnect leadership intentions with employee experience.

Seeing the Whole System
Dustin’s process begins with curiosity. Using in-depth interviews across all levels of an organization, he gathers qualitative data and transforms it into actionable insights. “It’s hard to read the label from inside the bottle,” he explained. “Leaders often see the financial impact of a problem long after it’s grown, but they can’t see where it started.”

His team’s data modeling—developed with UBS Analytics—turns thousands of employee comments into patterns and visualizations that reveal the organization’s true pulse. “When people read the final report and say, ‘You captured my experience exactly—and I didn’t even talk to you,’ that’s how I know it worked,” he said.

Trust, Transparency, and Transformation
Much of Dustin’s work focuses on rebuilding trust between leadership and employees. He’s learned that confidentiality and authenticity are key. “I don’t call people into conference rooms,” he said. “I meet them where they are—on the floor, in the field, wherever they work. That’s where honest conversations happen.”

And those conversations often uncover universal truths. Across industries—from manufacturing and healthcare to software and higher education—the same issues appear: lack of communication, poor accountability systems, and leaders mistaking symptoms for root causes. “Turnover has almost nothing to do with pay,” Dustin said. “It’s about whether people feel valued and understood.”

Human Systems, Designed Intentionally
Dustin believes that businesses should design their “people systems” with the same precision as their operational ones. Using principles from organizational and behavioral psychology, he helps leaders re-engineer structures, processes, and cultures to drive sustainable success. “Every outcome makes sense once you understand the inputs,” he said. “You can’t change results until you change the system.”

The Future of Work Is Human
As workplaces evolve, Dustin sees a growing need for intentional leadership—leaders who listen, adapt, and lead with empathy. “Human psychology doesn’t stop at 9 a.m.,” he reminded listeners. “We don’t leave our humanity at the door when we walk into work.”

At StaffBuffalo, we share that belief. Just as Way Forward helps organizations align their people and purpose, we help companies and professionals connect through trust, authenticity, and growth.

To learn more about Dustin’s approach and the work of Way Forward Consulting, visit wayforward.consulting