055: letting go without leaving | rick wellock amy wellock-staggs
In this episode, Deb Knupp welcomes back Rick and Amy Wellock-Staggs of The Wellock Group for a second, more personal conversation.
"Remember who you are and who you belong to. You will always know how to be and what to do."
While their first appearance focused on leadership development and human flourishing, this episode turns inward, to the story of a father and daughter building a business together, and what it takes to navigate succession with intention, honesty, and love.
Rick, now in his 79th year, and Amy, his daughter and business partner, walk through the texture of their working relationship: how Amy found her way into the work after years of searching for her place in creative and relational fields, how Rick invited her in without ever making it feel like a formal handoff, and how they continue to work through friction toward a healthier way of relating. What emerges is a conversation less about strategy and more about presence, the idea that succession is not a single leap into the future, but something that happens in the small, repeated choices made right now.
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Key Highlights
Why Rick and Amy describe their work together not as a hierarchy but a reciprocal relationship, and what it means to work through friction together to build trust
The story of young Amy organizing her room through the eyes of her eight dolls, and why Rick says that is exactly the same gift she brings to client work today
Amy's path from theater and arts management into executive coaching, and the realization that what she had always loved was relationship, connection, and cohesion, not the creative medium itself
Why letting go does not mean leaving, and how succession can be reframed as staying present and creating space, rather than stepping out
The four buckets Amy and Rick use to keep their relationship healthy: parent and child, partner and co-owner, grandparent dynamic, and thought partners
Why grief is sometimes part of letting go, and why that grief does not have to be the place you stay
Rick's closing counsel for parents bringing the next generation into a business: know your lane, stay in your lane, and pay attention to the integrity of the means, not just the mission
About Our Guests
Rick and Amy Wellock are the father-daughter team behind The Wellock Group, a firm focused on leadership transformation, executive coaching, and helping individuals and organizations find their fullest expression in work, relationships, and self. Rick brings decades of experience as an elder, thinking partner, and diagnostic advisor to executive teams, while Amy works closely with individual leaders and their teams on culture, connection, and growth. Together they describe their approach as relationship-first: rigorous, not soft, and rooted in the belief that one person gets things done, but several people build something that lasts.
Connect with Amy Wellock and Rick Wellock:
Visit The Wellock Group’s Website
Connect with Amy Wellock-Staggs on LinkedIn
Connect with Rick Wellock on LinkedIn
About the HX Collective
The HX Collective explores the human experience through three lenses: work, relationships, and self, through raw, authentic conversations rooted in human-centered design. Each episode offers gripping stories, thought-provoking discussion, and concrete tools that help you rethink your relationship with distress and strengthen your whole human experience.
