419: How to cultivate Thought Intelligence at work - with Katherine Fry

Most of us don’t realize how much our thoughts are shaping the way we move through the workday.
How we respond in stressful moments.
How we talk to ourselves after a hard meeting.
How we make decisions.
Set boundaries.
Or spiral when things feel off.

And when work feels heavy, fast, or overwhelming, it’s easy to believe every thought that passes through our mind is true.

But what if it’s not?
What if the way we think can be noticed, shifted, and strengthened with practice?

And what if doing that could change not just how we work, but how we lead?

My special guest today is Katherine Fry, and she’s simplifying how to cultivate Thought Intelligence at work. Here’s how.

My special guest today is Katherine Fry and she’s simplifying how to cultivate Thought Intelligence at work.

We tackle and simplify all aspects of it, including:

What in her own story led her to create Thought Intelligence and why this work became so personal.
What burnout taught her about the power our thoughts have over our health, choices, and experience at work.
What Thought Intelligence means, simplified, and how it connects to emotional intelligence.
How to use her CUP framework — Catch, Upgrade, Practice — when your thoughts start working against you.
And how connection conversations and more empowered thinking can help you set better boundaries at work.

Q: Are you wanting to learn how to cultivate Thought Intelligence at work? If yes, this one is for you.

It’s time to #DoTheThing!

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<What’s catching my eye this week>

Thank you to our sponsors: NTX SHRM Annual Conference

Catch Mary speak at the North Texas SHRM Annual Conference: Agents of Change, happening April 27th and 28th, 2026, at the Embassy Suites Denton Convention Center in North Texas. She is the Day 2 keynote speaker on April 28th, the very same day her new book, Squash the Sunday Scaries, comes out. Come meet her there — she’ll be signing books right after her morning talk. Get your tickets now at www.ntxshrm.org, and we will see you there!

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My challenge for you this week:

How are you going to take what you’ve learned in today’s episode and take action to cultivate Thought Intelligence at work? What’s one thing you’ll do differently? Share it with me, privately or publicly. Snap a photo of you doing the thing, and send me a DM over on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesimplifiers) for added accountability and support!

Links, books and apps mentioned:

Resource: Find Katherine Fry, SHRM-SCP on LinkedIn - click here

Resource: Get 25% off Katherine’s 1:1 coaching program if you mention The Simplifiers Podcast. Click here to schedule your discovery call - Marble Peak Consulting
Book: Whole Brain Living: The Anatomy of Choice and the Four Characters That Drive Our Life - Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D.

Book: The 5 Second Rule - Mel Robbins

Book: The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can't Stop Talking About - Mel Robbins

Podcast: How to build a strong culture as a people manager, featuring Andre Young - The Simplifiers Podcast

Podcast: How to #dothething (guided visualization) - The Simplifiers Podcast

Mary’s New Book is Out NOW on Amazon!

My new book, Squash the Sunday Scaries: A Modern Playbook to Rebuild Trust, Transform Culture, and Reignite Your Workforce, is out now — and you can buy it today on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or your favorite independent bookstore.It’s written for HR leaders, people managers, and anyone ready to make work better in a practical, human way. If you’ve been looking for simple tools to improve employee experience, rebuild trust, and create better results for your people and your business, this book is for you. Learn more, visit: https://squashthesundayscaries.com

About Katherine Fry:

Katherine Fry, SHRM-SCP - She is the CEO and founder of Marble Peak Consulting and the creator of Refresh HR, a first-of-its-kind app for HR professionals and people leaders. She also serves as president of Elevate HR and founder of HR Empower Hour, helping HR leaders reclaim their energy, amplify their influence, and transform culture from the inside out.

Known for her neuroscience-backed approach, Katherine is the creator of the ETHOS Method and the viral workshop Ditch the PIP, which has reached more than 15,000 HR leaders worldwide.

Where Katherine hangs out online:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marblepeakconsulting

Website: https://marblepeakconsulting.com

Katherine’s vote for the perfect guest on The Simplifiers Podcast:

Dr. Amy S. Dufrane, SPHR, CAE - She is CEO of HRCI® — HR Certification Institute and the founder and CEO of HRSI — HR Standards Institute; these two organizations are the world’s premier certifying and learning organizations for the human resources profession. She is responsible for driving and disrupting the conversations on building high-performing, strategic HR teams and organizations. Dr. Dufrane has dedicated her career to innovating human capital strategies for progressive organizations. Under her leadership, HRCI acts as the international secretariat for setting Global HR standards through the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Technical Committee (TC) 260. In her role at HRCI, Dr. Dufrane leads the enterprise as it helps companies, and their employees, navigate the demands of the modern-day workplace through certification, learning and training programs aligned with the highest international standards. Prior to joining HRCI in 2011, Dr. Dufrane spent two decades working as a human resources executive in the public, regulatory, private and education sectors.

She serves on the Wall Street Journal CEO Council, the Board of the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind, the Board of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE) and as a member of the Economic Club and the CEO Roundtable.

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