Podcasts about leadership project

The leadership style that got you promoted can quietly become the thing that holds you back. When you move from building great work to leading people, the rules change fast, especially for technical founders and high-performing individual contributors who suddenly wake up running a business instead of writing code.We sit down with Mike Krupit, a serial entrepreneur and executive coach who has lived the journey from software engineer to CTO, COO, and CEO across eight startups. Together, we break down why humans are not deterministic, why “best performer” promotions often fail, and why not everyone should be pushed into people management. We also dig into smarter organizational design: building roles around real strengths and creating dual career ladders so experts can grow without becoming reluctant managers.Then we tackle the pressure cooker topic leaders cannot avoid: AI disruption. Mike shares how to lead through uncertainty when technology moves faster than people can grow, why overcommunication beats silence, and how to run real two-way dialogue that addresses fear without pretending you have perfect answers. We close with a practical lens for situational leadership: knowing when to go into founder mode, when to step back into trust mode, and how to let teams learn through safe mistakes that build ownership.If you're focused on leadership development, change management, founder to CEO growth, or navigating AI at work, you'll leave with clear questions to ask and moves to try this week. Subscribe, share this with a leader who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

What if the real job of a leader isn't to get people to do what you want, but to create the conditions where people can do their best work? I'm reflecting on the biggest leadership lessons from this month's conversations and pulling the common thread that ties them together: stop chasing control and start designing an environment where clarity, trust, and ownership can actually grow.We start with communication and culture, because every culture begins with what people hear, understand, and believe enough to act on. I walk through the head, heart, and hands framework to help you communicate change without triggering confusion or resistance: make the facts clear, make the meaning real, and make the next action obvious. Then I add the piece leaders often skip: communication as dialogue. When you open a loop for response, you don't just “inform” your team, you build alignment and shared ownership.Next, we zoom in on people and performance through strengths, role fit, psychological safety, and neurodiversity at work. Every person has peaks and valleys, and “different” never means “deficient.” I share simple prompts for a low-stakes strengths conversation you can have this week to reduce friction and help someone flourish without lowering the bar.Finally, we look forward to the future of leadership as co-creation. Think conductor, not hero: your job is to create the room, ask better questions, and make space for perspectives you don't own. If you want a practical challenge, pick one condition to improve this week, then turn it into a concrete action. Subscribe, share this with one leader who needs it, and leave a review with the condition you're choosing to improve.Send us Fan MailSupport the show✅ Follow The Leadership Project on your favourite podcast platform and listen to a new episode every week!

In this episode, Dr. Susan Madsen explores findings from the newly released 2025 white paper “Home, Health, Community, & Allyship 2025: Utahns' Awareness, Understanding, and Attitudes.” This conversation focuses on Political and Civic Representation, examining how perceptions and experiences have shifted for Utah women and girls over the past three years. Drawing on data from an 83‑item survey of more than 5,200 Utahns, the discussion highlights the trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping women's engagement in civic life statewide.Dr. Madsen is joined by two Bolder Way Forward advisors—Ann Mackin and Sui Lang Panoke—who offer expert insights into representation, leadership pathways, and the systems that influence women's participation in public decision‑making.GuestsAnn Mackin  Founder & President, Springboard UtahBolder Way Forward Advisor — Political & Civic Representation SpokeAnn leads statewide efforts to train, advocate for, and place talented individuals on community boards, government commissions, nonprofit boards, and corporate boards across Utah.Sui Lang Panoke  Founder & Principal Consultant, Rethink InternationalBolder Way Forward Advisor — Political & Civic Representation SpokeSui Lang is a global leadership strategist who challenges organizations to rethink how they develop leaders, build culture, and expand representation.Download the full 2025 white paper HERE.1Visit the Utah Women & Leadership Project website.Share this episode with colleagues, community partners, or anyone invested in strengthening women's political and civic leadership in Utah.Follow the podcast and leave a review to help others discover the show!Support the show

If your leadership strategy still depends on being the smartest person in the room, AI is about to make that a painful game to play. We sit down with Chris Deaver, culture shaper, leadership coach, former HR leader with experience at Apple, Disney, and Pixar, and co-founder of Brave Core, to talk about what actually scales now: bravery, co-creation, and the skill of leading with questions. We unpack why fear is normal in a fast-changing world and how the “loss equation” fuels resistance to new technology, layoffs, and disruption. Chris shares how great leaders flip that script by focusing on purpose, stacking uniquely human strengths, and treating AI as augmented intelligence that clears the busywork so teams can do deeper creative work. We also get practical on what brave space really means: emotion is contagious, connection creates courage, and shared flow is possible even in everyday meetings when ego gets parked at the door. Along the way, we use memorable metaphors like the Avengers and the orchestra conductor to rethink what leadership looks like when your job is to bring out heroes around you. If you want a clear next step, start here: be the last one to speak, ask one better question, and invite the quietest voice in the room into the conversation. Subscribe, share this with a leader who needs it, and leave a review so more people can learn to lead with curiosity, courage, and care.

What if the person you're frustrated with at work isn't lazy, careless, or “not leadership material,” but simply stuck in an environment that works against how their brain operates? That question sits at the center of my conversation with Wainwright Yu, a senior technology executive and leadership coach who specializes in neurodiversity and cognitive diversity. We get personal quickly, starting with the moment an employee disclosed ADHD during a performance conversation, and the gut-punch of hearing the same possibility raised about his own child soon after.From there, we move into practical, strengths-based leadership. We talk about why the Golden Rule breaks down at work, especially when attention, executive function, and processing styles differ, and how the Platinum Rule helps us lead people as they are. Wainwright shares a powerful example of role fit: a struggling employee becomes highly successful when his work shifts from process compliance to complex problem solving. The lesson is bigger than ADHD at work. Every human is “uneven,” and the best managers learn how to align tasks to strengths, values, and energy rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all standard.We also unpack how to find hidden strengths, how to reframe traits like impulsivity, mind-wandering, and anxiety into courage, creativity, and foresight, and how to build team norms that support differences without turning them into a spotlight or a stigma. You'll leave with concrete ideas for psychological safety, better conversations outside performance reviews, and small adjustments that remove friction while keeping standards high.If this sparks an insight, subscribe, share the episode with one leader who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What's one strengths conversation you'll have this week?

In this episode, Dr. Susan Madsen explores findings from the newly released 2025 white paper “Home, Health, Community, & Allyship 2025: Utahns' Awareness, Understanding, and Attitudes.” This conversation focuses specifically on Health Across the Lifespan, examining how perceptions, experiences, and challenges have shifted for Utah women and girls over the past three years. Drawing on data from an 83‑item survey of more than 5,200 Utahns, the discussion examines key trends shaping women's health and well‑being statewide.Dr. Madsen is joined by two guests—Amy Anderson and Stephanie Stokes—who offer expert insights into the evolving health needs of Utah women and girls.GuestsAmy Anderson  Community Connector, Utah Women & Leadership ProjectA Bolder Way Forward Advisor — Health Across the Lifespan SpokeAmy brings experience from Advocate Health Systems and the American Hospital Association's Institute for Diversity.Stephanie Stokes  Community Health Manager, Primary Children's HospitalA Bolder Way Forward Advisor — Health Across the Lifespan SpokeDownload the full 2025 white paper HERE.Visit the Utah Women & Leadership Project website.Share this episode with colleagues, community partners, or anyone invested in women's health and well‑being in Utah.Follow the podcast and leave a review to help others discover the show!Support the show

If you have ever walked out of a town hall thinking “we were crystal clear” only to hear your team say “we still don't get it,” you're not dealing with a motivation problem. You're dealing with a communication and trust problem. Mick Spiers sits down with Alejandra Ramirez, internal communication strategist and founder of Ready Cultures, to show why leadership communication shapes organizational culture, and why culture is not a noun you describe but a verb you practice.We dig into what makes internal communication actually work inside modern, multicultural workplaces: listening as a leadership responsibility, closing the feedback loop, and responding to dissent in a way that builds trust even when people disagree with the decision. Alejandra explains how employees become your brand ambassadors, why ignoring feedback makes it fester, and how leaders can create clarity without pretending change is easy. We also talk about the messy middle of change management, where fear of loss, fear of the unknown, and even identity threats show up when new tools, AI, or new systems roll out.You'll get a practical framework you can use immediately: Head, Heart, and Hands. What do people need to know, why should they care, and what do they need to do next? We also unpack the illusion of transparency, the need for repetition across multiple touchpoints, and how manager toolkits, FAQs, and smart check-ins help strategy messages finally land.Subscribe for more conversations on leadership, internal communications, employee engagement, and building high-trust cultures, then share this with one person who needs clearer communication at work and leave a review so more leaders can find the show.

Evidence over the past several decades shows that when women do better, society does better. But are we helping women to be successful... or are we adding more pressure to certain groups of women? This segment, Holly and Greg talk about working moms -- the ones who get up early and take care of the kids, just to go to work and take care of the adult children. Is society actually helping them so they can be most successful? Dr. Susan Madsen, founder and director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project shares her insights.

The hardest leadership problems rarely announce themselves as “leadership problems.” They show up as weight you carry in silence, conversations you keep postponing, success that still feels empty, and a loud inner voice that says you're not ready.I step back and connect the biggest lessons from this month of The Leadership Project into one practical thread: leadership is human before it is tactical. We talk about the pressure that builds quietly over time and how strength is not carrying everything but knowing when to share the load. We dig into the “last 8%” moments where culture is truly made the hard conversations you avoid, the feedback you soften, the expectations you leave unclear and how balancing courage with connection builds trust, psychological safety, and real performance.Then we go deeper: what are you really chasing? If your happiness depends on outcomes you can't control, you'll always feel behind. I share a simple shift from outcomes to meaning, from control to contribution, plus a short daily prompt you can use immediately. We finish with the story you tell yourself: doubt and imposter syndrome may not disappear, but you can reframe them, find evidence, and rewrite the narrative that shapes the leader you become.If this sparks something, pick one action and do it today. Subscribe, share the episode with one person who needs it, and leave a review so more leaders can find this work.Send us Fan MailSupport the show✅ Follow The Leadership Project on your favourite podcast platform and listen to a new episode every week!

In this episode, Dr. Susan Madsen explores two major areas from newly released 2025 white papers titled “Women, Finance, & Education 2025: Utahns' Awareness, Understanding, and Attitudes” and “Home, Health, Community, & Allyship 2025: Utahns' Awareness, Understanding, and Attitudes.” Drawing on findings from an 83‑item survey of more than 5,200 Utahns, this conversation highlights how perceptions, experiences, and challenges have shifted for Utah women and girls over the past three years. Dr. Madsen is joined by two Bolder Way Forward advisors—Melanie Jewkes and Alyssa DeHart—to discuss the challenges, trends, and opportunities shaping the lives of Utah women and girls today.GuestsMelanie JewkesExtension Professor, Utah State UniversityBolder Way Forward Advisor — Finance Spoke  Melanie works to empower women of all ages to achieve financial security and long‑term sustainability. Alyssa DeHartCEO & Founder, Utah Advocacy CoalitionBolder Way Forward Advisor — Home & Family Spoke  Alyssa leads statewide efforts to support healthy families and elevate the voices of people living with disabilities across Utah.Download the full 2025 white papers HERE.Visit the Utah Women & Leadership Project website.Share this episode with colleagues, community partners, or anyone interested in women's well‑being in Utah.Follow the podcast and leave a review to help others discover the show!Support the show

That quiet voice saying “I'm not good enough” shows up for almost every leader, even the ones who look the most confident from the outside. Mick Spiers sits down with world-renowned leadership coach Marc A. Pitman, author of The Surprising Gift of Doubt, to unpack why self-doubt and imposter syndrome are so persistent and how they can actually point you toward growth, alignment, and better leadership decisions.We dig into the stories we tell ourselves and how confirmation bias turns those stories into “proof.” Mark shares practical ways to rescript self-talk with simple language shifts that move you from fixed labels to a growth mindset, plus the pattern-interrupt questions that help you stop reacting on autopilot. We also talk about fear of loss, why it blocks action, and how reframing rejection through a “Go for No” mindset can make hard calls and bold moves feel more doable.From there, Mark maps the Leader's Journey through four quadrants, showing why copying others only works for so long and how authentic leadership emerges when you integrate internal signals like values, emotions, and lived experience with external inputs like books, mentors, and training. We also cover strategic vulnerability, the fear of judgment in social settings, and how to help team members who doubt themselves by giving specific feedback they can actually believe and repeat.

What if the promotion, the praise, and the “big win” you're chasing isn't actually the thing you're looking for? We sit down with Anthony (a professor and leadership researcher focused on relationships, loneliness, and sustainable leadership) to challenge a stubborn assumption in modern work culture: that success and outcomes are the path to happiness.We dig into why leaders get trapped by results, even though results live outside our control. Anthony offers a practical shift: focus on the process you can control, accept the reality you're operating in, and invest in the quality of relationships that make teams thrive. Along the way, we explore his framework that moves from acceptance to forgiveness to gratitude to love, and why resentment can quietly paralyze leaders and poison culture. We also talk about the difference between goals and values, why “respect” is deeper than politeness, and what compassionate, meaningful, sustainable relationships look like in real organizations especially in a hybrid and remote world.You'll hear stories and research that connect personal well-being to leadership effectiveness, including how solitude and presence help us stop living an inherited life of “shoulds” and start building a life of meaning. If you're wrestling with burnout, disengagement, or that nagging feeling that achievement still isn't enough, this conversation will give you language and tools to reset your compass.

Your culture isn't what you say in calm moments. It's what your team experiences when tension rises, deadlines slip, and someone has to tell the truth.We sit down with returning guest Bill Benjamin, co-author of The Last 8%, to move from individual stress behaviors to the bigger question leaders wrestle with: what happens to your culture when things get hard? Bill shares a simple, powerful way to diagnose any team culture using two dimensions that decide everything people do under pressure: courage and connection. We unpack what it looks like when courage shows up without care (transactional, results-first, often unsustainable) and when care shows up without courage (the “family” vibe that can quietly breed frustration, slow decisions, and protect underperformance). We also name the fear-based culture many people recognize and the real costs of silence.From there, we focus on the target: high care with high accountability. We talk about why connection comes before courage, how leaders can create psychological safety without lowering standards, and how to handle the last 8% moments that define trust. You'll also get highly practical tools for leadership communication, including a two-step feedback approach that reduces defensiveness, helps you stay specific, and ensures the hard message actually lands. We close on why culture is the operating system for strategy, execution, engagement, and retention.If this helps you see your team more clearly, subscribe, share the episode with one person who needs it, and leave a review with the quadrant you think your culture lives in today.

Leadership has a hidden cost we do not talk about enough: the quiet pressure of being the person everyone leans on while you wonder who you can lean on. Hank Minor joins me for a deeper conversation about the inner world of leadership, the emotional load leaders carry, and the moment the role starts consuming the person. Hank brings a rare mix of experience as a former counseling psychologist, a longtime CEO in a multigenerational manufacturing business, and a leadership mentor who now works with leaders at their threshold.We dig into a problem every manager recognizes: people “download” their stress onto you, and if you do not have the right mindset and tools, you go home carrying a sack full of other people's problems. Hank explains why perspective is the senior principle. He shares a practical mental model he calls bifocal vision: staying grounded at street level while also holding a wider context so you do not get lost in the weeds. We also talk about stress release and recovery, from mindfulness and meditation to hobbies, nature, and relationships, because sustainable leadership requires a way to offload pressure.Then we take on reframing and presence. What if the hard conversation is not just a problem, but a gift and even a form of leadership training? What if giving and receiving are simultaneous, turning “transactional” interactions into relational trust? We explore how presence creates psychological safety, strengthens culture, and unlocks courageous conversations where people finally tell the truth about what is really going on.If you take one thing away, let it be this: culture can start with one person, and that person can be you. 

Have you ever looked at a team that's working hard and still thought, “Why are we not moving?” That gap rarely comes down to talent. I'm reflecting on the biggest leadership lessons I heard across three very different conversations this March and the pattern is blunt: what holds people back is usually interference. Fear. Hesitation. Labels that shrink what someone thinks they're allowed to try. Assumptions nobody has challenged in years.I connect the dots between innovation, cognitive science, and frontline firefighting leadership to show how real progress happens. We talk about why creativity isn't reserved for “the gifted few,” how leaders can remove the friction that suppresses ideas, and why innovation is not mainly a process problem. Yes, simple structure helps, but breakthroughs often start when someone steps off autopilot and asks a better question: Are we even solving the right problem? Who is this really for? What have we normalized without noticing?We also dig into deep listening as a performance advantage and why presence matters more than control. Listening isn't weakness or indecision. It's awareness, trust-building, and the skill that helps you know when to step in and when to step back. I also reframe “fail fast” into something more useful for culture and learning: learn fast, so teams stay focused on discovery instead of ego.If you want stronger leadership, better team culture, and more innovation without piling on more process, hit play. Then subscribe, share this with one leader who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find the show.Send us Fan MailSupport the show✅ Follow The Leadership Project on your favourite podcast platform and listen to a new episode every week!

In this episode, we discuss our recently released snapshot titled “Homelessness Among Utah Women: A 2025 Update.” This snapshot examines national and Utah trends in homelessness over the past several years, including demographic characteristics of Utah women experiencing homelessness, contributing factors, and state spending. It also highlights current efforts and opportunities for Utahns to help decrease homelessness and better meet the needs of individuals experiencing homelessness. We'll unpack all of that and more in today's episode.Dr. Susan Madsen, an Extension Professor of Leadership at Utah State University and the Founding Director of the UWLP and A Bolder Way Forward, is joined by Dr. Robyn Blackburn, Research Fellow with the Utah Women & Leadership Project. Support the show

When leadership gets real, titles stop mattering and habits take over. Fire Captain Mark Andrew joins me to share what he's learned leading in the fire service, where trust, communication, and decision making aren't abstract leadership ideas. They are the difference between a smooth operation and a dangerous one. We dig into why so many people are promoted without real leadership training, then fall back on outdated models they inherited from the leaders before them.Mark walks me through a practical way to learn from “horrible bosses” without carrying bitterness, and how to turn those memories into a clear personal leadership standard. We spend a lot of time on active listening as a critical leadership skill, not just for morale but for better situational awareness and smarter calls under pressure. If you've ever wondered why teams stop speaking up, or why problems “suddenly” blow up after months of warnings, this will hit home.We also unpack the leadership trap of swinging from micromanagement to delegation that turns into abdication, then land on the middle path Mark emphasizes: presence. You'll hear concrete examples of delegating with follow-up, confirming understanding so people don't leave with different interpretations, and building trust through empathy plus accountability. If you lead people in any field and want stronger leadership habits, better team culture, and clearer decision making under stress, you'll take a lot from this conversation.

Most innovation programs don't fail because people lack talent. They fail because people hesitate. That hesitation is subtle: the moment someone decides they're “not creative,” the moment a team rushes to certainty, the moment a leader rewards only the safe answer and accidentally trains everyone to stop trying.I'm joined by Rich Braden and Dr. Tessa Forshaw, co-authors of Innovation-Ish, to break down why everyday creativity gets trapped behind limiting beliefs, social fear, and a handful of stubborn neuromyths. We talk about the “creativity gap” we see in classrooms and boardrooms alike, and we use stories like Apollo 13 to show why analytical work and creative thinking are inseparable in real problem solving.Then we get practical for leaders: how to build psychological safety without lowering standards, how to celebrate learning (even when an experiment fails), and how to start meetings by aligning the mindset you want people to use. We also challenge the way teams use design thinking and templates, treating tools as prompts that spark better questions rather than recipes that shut down human judgment.We close with a timely conversation on AI and innovation. AI can lift the floor, but it doesn't automatically raise the ceiling. The real edge comes from “active metacognition” checking how the work is going while you're doing it, not just reflecting after the fact, so the team stays intentional, curious, and in control.

Want more than buzzwords and brainstorms? Mick Spiers sits down with innovation authority Bruce Vojak to explore how real breakthroughs actually happen. His message is clear: innovation is a human act first. It comes from curious people who challenge assumptions and reframe problems.From the evolution of the carrot peeler to a billion-dollar innovation at Procter & Gamble, this conversation shows how deep user understanding drives real change. Bruce also shares a practical playbook for leaders: create internal alignment, keep processes simple, empower your innovators, and focus on learning fast.We also tackle the harder question of unintended consequences and why leaders must ask: What can we make possible, and what have we just made possible?

Dr. Susan Madsen, founder and director of the Utah Women and Leadership Project and USU Extension Professor of Leadership, joins to reflect on the significance of International Women’s Day and to highlight the progress made, the persistent barriers women continue to face, and the urgent work still required to create a more equitable world.

Utah is often defined by WalletHub’s “Best & Worst States for Women’s Equality,” a ranking in which the state has placed dead last—50th of 50—for eleven consecutive years.  Dr. Susan Madsen, Founding Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project, joins the show to explain how Utah really stacks up for women.

Feeling busy yet strangely stuck? We pull together a month of conversations to reveal a clearer path: lead with conscious influence, not control. Across three standout themes—self-leadership, emotional fitness, and meeting design—we show how small, intentional choices create outsized cultural ripple effects.We start by reframing where leadership lives: not in titles or dashboards, but in behavior and micro moments. Tracy Clark's lens on self-awareness challenges us to look for where we unintentionally bottleneck our teams by over controlling or rushing to certainty. The move is from hero to catalyst—asking better questions, creating space for others to step up, and letting curiosity replace the need to be right. You'll hear practical reflection prompts and a simple weekly action to step back once and watch ownership grow.Next, we add emotional depth with Melinda McCormack. People do not leave their lives at the door, and disengagement rarely happens overnight. We practice the intentional pause: notice, name, and ask why this emotion, why now, then choose a values-aligned response. Treat emotions as data that point to met or unmet needs—belonging, respect, significance. This is how leaders create psychological safety, regulate under pressure, and earn trust that compounds over time.Finally, Rebecca Hinds equips us to reclaim our calendars. Meetings aren't bad; they're badly designed. We challenge visibility bias, clarify purpose, and treat meetings like a product with users, outcomes, and constraints. You'll learn how to run a calendar reset, redesign who's in the room, set tighter timeboxes, and use small structural tweaks—like 3:05 starts—to protect energy. One better meeting can reset a team's focus and signal what your culture truly values.We close with an integrated challenge: lead one moment with self-awareness, handle one situation with empathy and emotional regulation, and redesign one meeting to be more intentional. Ready to trade busyness for impact? Subscribe, share with a leader who needs this, and leave a review with the one change you'll try this week.Send a textSupport the show✅ Follow The Leadership Project on your favourite podcast platform and listen to a new episode every week!

What if your calendar isn't a badge of honor but a map of wasted potential? We sit down with Rebecca Hinds, PhD and author of Your Best Meeting Ever, to challenge the idea that more meetings mean more value—and to rebuild meeting culture from the ground up. Rebecca unpacks the visibility bias that equates busyness with status, explains why meetings multiply when clarity disappears, and shows leaders how to design time together like a product with purpose, users, and measurable outcomes.We dive into the 4D rule—only meet to decide, debate, discuss, or develop—and how that single filter slashes status updates and nudges real work back to async. You'll learn why eight is a magic ceiling for decision meetings, how to include voices without overinviting through pre-reads and transparent notes, and the art of closing the loop so people feel heard even when their idea isn't acted on yet. Rebecca shares counterintuitive time design: odd-start meetings to beat Parkinson's Law, strategic buffers to prevent “meeting hangovers,” and the cultural signal sent when you end early because the purpose is done. Ready for a reset? This episode explores “meeting doomsday,” a 48-hour calendar cleanse where every meeting must earn its place. The biggest gains come from small redesigns like shorter meetings and fewer attendees. You'll also learn how to use ROTI feedback, clearer agendas, and technology the right way to improve focus and decision-making. If you're tired of back-to-back Zooms and wondering when real work happens, this conversation gives you a practical blueprint. You'll gain clear norms, language to protect your team's time, and leadership moves that turn meetings into a competitive advantage. Subscribe, sSend a textMake your podcast work for your business - Listen to Podcasting AmplifiedPractical strategies to turn your podcast into a business growth engine.Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the show✅ Follow The Leadership Project on your favourite podcast platform and listen to a new episode every week!

The Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) at Utah State University has recently published a research brief, “The Status of Women in Utah Politics: A 2026 Update,” that explores national and state trends in women’s political representation. Susan Madsen, Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project, joins to discuss what results they found from this project and what Utah can do better.

Women hold about a third of public offices in Utah. That's according to new data released by the Women and Leadership Project at Utah State University, which looked at the highest executive positions down to each individual city council seat. In this Deep Dive, guest host Heather Peterson speaks with Dr. Susan Madsen, Director of the Utah Women and Leadership Project, about their report and how she sees the state of women in politics here in Utah. Midday Executive Producer Andy Cupp joins the conversation and shares a recorded interview between himself and Erin Rider, a former candidate for Congress and the Salt Lake County Mayor, who talks about what it's like to run for office as a woman.

Disconnection doesn't usually explode—it leaks in through a thousand tiny moments until voices go quiet and energy fades. We sat down with leadership futurist and change strategist Melinda McCormack to chart a path back: a practical, human way to lead with empathy that drives performance without sacrificing people.Melinda shares her personal journey through loss alongside high-stakes corporate change, revealing how trauma and bias can make even the strongest leaders feel small and unseen. From those lived lessons comes PULSE, a five-step framework that turns empathy into action: clarify Purpose aligned to values, Unlock your emotional code to shift from reaction to response, Learn tools like vulnerability and humility, Shift with daily habits that stick, and Embrace change by balancing the heart that feels with the mind that leads. We dive into why emotional fitness is a trainable skill, how mirror neurons make culture contagious, and what leaders can do to create psychological safety so teams feel seen, heard, and valued.Expect clear, usable tactics you can try today. You'll hear how a single ten-second pause can flip a heated exchange, how to spot slow-burn disengagement before it becomes quiet quitting, and why “listening is the quiet art of influence.” We unpack triggers, cognitive biases, and the subtle ways meetings spiral into aggression and defensiveness—and we show how to bring them back to focus, trust, and useful outcomes. If you've ever wondered how to make empathy a competitive edge, this conversation gives you the map and the mindset to start.

Ever feel like your team has more to give—and you can't quite unlock it? We dig into the uncomfortable truth that many leaders become bottlenecks without meaning to, then map a path to becoming a catalyst who unlocks energy, ownership, and momentum. With award-winning leadership and high performance coach Tracy Clark, we examine why strategy and skills (the “trunk”) only go so far, and how deeper work in mindset, self-awareness, and identity (the “roots”) drives real, sustained results.Tracy shows how to close the gap between intention and impact by starting in the mirror. We get tactical about identity—moving from “think differently” to “be differently”—through immersive play, a one-line identity anchor like “I am a determined catalyst,” and a simple pre-meeting reset that shifts your state on demand. We also unpack her three-part definition of play as intense curiosity, radical open-mindedness, and proactive experimentation. Expect practical moves: rule-flipping core assumptions, designing low-risk tests, and letting silence do the work so your team steps up.The conversation goes beyond personal change to collective momentum. We explore how to create a “team of catalysts” with shared behaviors that make independent thinking normal: surfacing tensions early, challenging assumptions weekly, shipping small experiments fast, and measuring learning alongside results. Along the way we connect empathy and deep listening to performance, drawing on ideas popularized by Chris Voss and the enduring truth that people remember how you make them feel.If you're ready to trade control for trust, certainty for curiosity, and busyness for leverage, this one's for you. Listen, choose your one-word identity for the week, and try the catalyst experiment in your next meeting. If it sparks an insight, share the episode with a leader who needs it, subscribe on your favorite podcast app or YouTube, and leave a review to help others find the show.

Jane Hyun is the leading authority for leveraging culture and differences to drive innovation. Often called an "interpreter," she has been a trusted coach for over 20 years to thousands of leaders at Fortune 500 companies including PepsiCo, Clorox, Merck, and USGA, as well as schools and nonprofits, guiding their growth by building their cross-cultural capability. She is the pioneering author of Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: Leadership Toolkit for Asians and the co-author of Flex: The New Playbook for Managing Across Differences. Through her Cultural Fluency in Leadership Project, Jane enjoys helping leaders forge stronger teams by closing the gaps that get in the way of growth and collaboration.She has been featured on CNN, CNBC, and NPR and has written for Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Fast Company, and The Wall Street Journal on the topics of culture, career development, and onboarding. As a sought-after speaker, Jane has keynoted at Microsoft, ESPN, the International Coaches Federation (ICF), and the Conferences for Women. Recently, Jane received the Marshall Goldsmith 50 Leading Global Coaches Award as the #1 Coach for Cultural Fluency and the NAAAP Vision 100 Award.Her life's calling is to help others flourish in their workplaces and in their communities.In today's episode of Smashing the Plateau, you will learn how to build a meaningful, sustainable consulting practice by leveraging cultural fluency and staying true to your values.Jane and I discuss:Jane's career journey from corporate to consulting [03:02]How Jane developed her cultural fluency specialty [05:27]Assessing and improving cultural fluency in leaders [08:32]How Jane's business has evolved over 20 years [12:31]The importance of saying no to the wrong clients [14:45]The role of community and peer support in business growth [17:42]Integrating personal and professional life as an entrepreneur [19:35]The strategic importance of rest and self-care [22:11]Seeing growth as an iterative process [24:00]Learn more about Jane at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-hyun?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app , https://www.instagram.com/janehyun_author/, and Substack ______________________________________________________________About Smashing the PlateauSmashing the Plateau shares stories and strategies from corporate refugees: mid-career professionals who've left corporate life to build something of their own.Each episode features a candid conversation with someone who has walked this path or supports those who do. Guests offer real strategies to help you build a sustainable, fulfilling business on your terms, with...

Imagine a world where we all loved our work. And work loved us back! Okay, that's just not gonna happen, says professional development and executive coach Jenn Urso. … Read More » The post Work is Not Meant to Love You appeared first on Insurance Journal TV.

Imagine a world where we all loved our work. And work loved us back! Okay, that's just not gonna happen, says professional development and executive coach Jenn Urso. … Read More » The post Work is Not Meant to Love You appeared first on Insurance Journal TV.

Think you had a busy month but didn't move the needle? We unpack why progress often feels invisible and how to make it tangible by changing small behaviors that create big ripples. This solo cast stitches together January's standout insights on culture, pressure, change, influence, and feedback—then turns them into simple moves you can apply within 24 hours.We start with a hard truth from Bill Benjamin: your culture is revealed under pressure. When stress spikes, untrained emotional intelligence drops, shortcuts sneak in, and safety evaporates. We walk through practical ways to slow your cadence, protect standards, and keep access to reality. From there, Hugh Thomas reframes change as identity work, not a project plan. People grieve loss—of familiarity, status, and confidence—so leaders must acknowledge loss before asking for alignment. Expect clear prompts you can use to surface the real obstacles and rebuild commitment through honesty rather than false certainty.Next, Salvatore Manzi brings a candid reminder: good intent does not equal good impact. Influence lives in how you're received. We break down presence, pacing, and listening as the levers that lower threat and help your message land. Then we move into the Lead Better series on YouTube, where we de-risk feedback with brain-based insights and practical tools. You'll learn the micro yes to gain permission, the calibrate reality step to align perceptions, the SPI model to deliver clarity without judgment, and the close-the-loop move to lock agreements. Structure beats good intentions when trust is on the line.We close by turning reflection into action: give one real piece of feedback you've been avoiding, run one alignment conversation about “what good looks like,” or remove one piece of interference holding your team back. Leaders who win the year don't do more; they do what matters, more consistently. If these ideas hit home, subscribe, share with a leader who's ready to level up, and leave a quick review telling us which action you'll take today.Send us a textSupport the show✅ Follow The Leadership Project on your favourite podcast platform and listen to a new episode every week!

What we often call “communication problems” are really clarity problems. Leadership communication coach Salvatore Manzi breaks down why smart ideas stall, why meetings favor fast talkers, and how leaders can make messages land, be remembered, and drive action. From start to finish, this episode focuses on practical moves you can try today.We explore hidden biases that shape conversations: delay bias that sidelines reflective thinkers, the spotlight effect that inflates self-judgment, and the curse of knowledge that turns expertise into confusion. Salvatore reframes Q&A as a relationship check, showing how to buy thinking time, reflect questions back, and structure discussions so both quick responders and slower processors contribute.Feeling nervous before speaking is normal. The episode covers reframing fear as excitement, using posture, breath, and focus to project confidence, and leveraging afformations to prime performance. You'll also learn to craft an emotional journey with cadence, pause, and tone, turn complex data into memorable metaphors, give specific feedback, and use context checks to keep your audience engaged.

In this episode, we discuss a recently released white paper titled “Belonging in Utah: Findings from Community Conversations with Women of Color.” The white paper draws from seven focus groups with Women of Color along the Wasatch Front to identify shared and community-specific themes related to their experiences. The findings reveal both interconnected challenges and those unique to specific racial and ethnic communities. The goal of this work is to elevate diverse perspectives and encourage leaders and community members to consider additional insights that foster greater inclusion and belonging throughout the state. Understanding what helps Utah women of color build a sense of belonging shows us not only where the state is progressing, but where meaningful work still needs to be done. In today's episode, we'll break down what belonging looks like, why it matters, and how these insights can guide efforts to make Utah a better place for everyone. Dr. Susan Madsen, an Extension Professor of Leadership at Utah State University and the Founding Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project and A Bolder Way Forward, is joined by two guests. First, Kolene Anderson, former Associate Director at the Utah Women and Leadership Project. Second, Nadia Cates, former Multicultural Outreach Coordinator at the Utah Women and Leadership Project. Support the show

Change rarely fails because people don't care; it fails because we misunderstand what drives behavior. With author and change leadership expert Huw Thomas, we dig into the real forces underneath stalled transformations: loss aversion, identity threats, and the quiet stories we tell ourselves that keep us clinging to the status quo. From childhood curiosity to adult routines, we unpack how our wiring prioritizes safety, why we catastrophize the unlikely, and how a few practical shifts can restore agency and momentum.Huw shares a candid look at navigating personal and professional change—moving countries, facing a health crisis, and reframing setbacks as stepping stones. We explore the messy middle of change and the identity tension it creates, including the classic “expert with the legendary spreadsheet” who resists a new system because it threatens who they are at work. Instead of erasing the old self, we talk about upgrading to version 2.0: preserving dignity, building new capability, and making the future identity feel real through micro-wins, visibility, and support.You'll learn concrete tools: pattern interrupts to test assumptions, emotional labeling to reduce intensity, future-self framing to re-anchor perspective, and success mapping that pairs a vivid destination with the true cost of inaction. We also preview why organizational change is so hard—scale, diversity, influence networks—and why technology and processes don't create value until humans believe they can, want to, and know how to use them. If you're ready to stop focusing on barriers and start steering toward the gaps, this conversation offers a clear, humane roadmap.If this sparked an insight, share it with one person who needs it, hit subscribe on your favorite podcast app or YouTube, and leave a review to help more leaders find the show. What's one small behavior you'll change this week, and what support will make it stick?

81% of Utahns agree that childcare access is a big problem, according to new research from the Utah Women and Leadership Project. Pressure is growing for employers and policymakers to expand the state’s childcare solutions. Susan Madsen, Director of the Utah Women and Leadership Project, joins the show to discuss the issue at hand and how it can be addressed.

When tension spikes, leaders don't rise to the occasion; they fall to their default. Today we dig into those defaults with Bill Benjamin, co-author of The Last 8%, and unpack why smart, well-intentioned people either blow up or go quiet when it matters most—and how to do better without losing your edge.We start by naming the two patterns that quietly define culture under pressure: the messmaker who reacts with heat and the avoider who retreats to keep the peace. Bill explains the brain science behind both, from cortisol searing memories to the fear of social judgment that feels like physical pain. That lens changes everything: people remember you in the hard moments, not the easy ones. So we get practical. Bill shares SOS—Stop, Oxygenate, Seek information—as a simple, reliable way to step out of fight-or-flight, regain working memory, and turn certainty into curiosity. Small moves like a sip of water, open palms, or one deep breath can buy the six seconds you need to choose a better response.We then move into preparation for planned hard conversations. Clarify the exact last 8 percent you must say, set a positive intention that signals safety, and ask open questions so the other person talks first. You'll hear why many people self-diagnose if given space, how to draw out their last 8 percent, and how to model being coachable without giving up standards. We close with tactics to reset a reputation: share your growth edge with genuine vulnerability, invite real-time cues from your team, and follow up to measure progress. The result is a culture where people trade ego for empathy, certainty for curiosity, and silence for shared truth.If this sparked an insight, share it with one person who needs it. Subscribe on YouTube or your favorite podcast app, and leave a quick review to help more leaders find the show. Which are you under pressure—messmaker or avoider—and what last 8 percent will you tackle this week?

In this episode, we discuss a recently released research snapshot titled, “Substance Use Disorders Among Utah Women: A 2025 Update.” This snapshot examines how substance use disorders (SUDs) affect women in Utah and across the United States. Using state and national data, the report explores whether Utah's patterns align with or diverge from national trends. The analysis highlights three key areas: prevalence and demographic differences in substance use among women; the intersection of women's health, pregnancy, and trauma; and current efforts and programs aimed at reducing substance use disorders throughout Utah. What stories do the data tell about women's experiences with substance use in Utah? We'll explore all of that and more in today's episode. Dr. Susan Madsen, an Extension Professor of Leadership at Utah State University and the Founding Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project and A Bolder Way Forward, is joined by two guests. First, Corinne Clarkson, co-author of the report and Research Associate for the Utah Women & Leadership Project. Second, Rachel Denton, co-author of the report and a licensed clinical social worker. Support the show

A new year doesn't need a louder pep talk; it needs a clearer compass. We start 2026 by trading resolutions for direction and building a plan around identity, not intensity. Through honest reflection on 2025—what made us proud and what quietly drained us—we sketch a practical framework to design a year you'll be proud to live, not just survive.We walk through four anchors that hold everything in place: health and energy, leadership and impact, craft and learning, and family and life. For health, we focus on consistency and recovery so progress compounds without burnout. For leadership, we commit to showing up authentically—coaching more than controlling, preparing for meetings with intention, and closing each day with a five-question reflection that checks whether we acted in line with our values. For craft, we go for depth over volume: fewer projects, fully finished, and psychology learning translated into actionable tools. For family, we protect presence with simple rituals and honest capacity, so the people closest to us experience our attention, not our leftovers.Two levers make the whole system work: time and autonomy. Guard them and your habits stick; lose them and everything drifts. We close with a challenge: define your anchors, choose habits that survive low‑motivation days, and decide what you'll say no to so your yes actually counts. Along the way, we preview upcoming conversations on emotional leadership, behavior change, and clear communication, plus a new Lead Better video series turning practical psychology into tools you can use.If this resonated, subscribe, share it with someone who needs a reset, and tell us your 2026 anchors. What will you build by design this year?Send us a textSupport the show✅ Follow The Leadership Project on your favourite podcast platform and listen to a new episode every week!

Forget the “new year, new you” slogans. We trade hype for honesty and design a year that actually fits your values and energy. We start by reframing 2025 with a pride audit: the tough moments you handled with more grace, the people you helped, and the places you chose integrity over convenience. That grounding matters because leaders often spot gaps faster than growth, and without pride, we keep chasing the next milestone without ever arriving.From there, we run a clean truth audit—no shame, just ownership. What did you call important but never scheduled? Which habits drained your best energy? We unpack the long game and why consistency beats intensity. Drawing on Atomic Habits, we shift from outcome obsession to identity and systems: the real flex is the small habit you don't break. We explore the math of compounding and the mindset that keeps you steady when motivation fades.We also bring in a powerful lens on courage from Emmy-winning broadcaster and author Anne-Marie Anderson. Audacity isn't recklessness; it's aligned, season-aware boldness. You'll define one brave Q1 swing, then make it practical with the Three Wins Weekly framework—one win for work, one for health, one for relationships—and protect them with time blocks that match your natural rhythms. Add Michael Bungay Stanier's minimum viable start to break inertia, and layer Brendan Burchard's daily intentionality so you show up how your team needs: curious, inspiring, or decisive. We close with a tight 2026 plan: choose a compass word, pick three outcomes, build weekly systems and accountability, and lock in that audacious move.Ready to stop living by default and start living by design? Subscribe, share this with a colleague who needs a reset, and tell us your 2026 theme and your one bold swing. Let's build a year you're proud to live—one block, one habit, one courageous step at a time.Send us a textSupport the show✅ Follow The Leadership Project on your favourite podcast platform and listen to a new episode every week!

In this episode, we discuss a recently released research brief titled “What Utah College Students Think about Teaching as a Career: An Analysis by Gender.” Using data collected by Envision Utah, a nonprofit organization that engages Utahns in collaborative, bottom-up decision-making, this brief explores the perceptions of Utah college students as they consider and prepare for their careers. The findings offer important insights about the pipeline of teachers and provide recommendations for attracting and retaining the best educators for Utah's classrooms. What do these findings reveal about the past, present, and future of teachers and education in Utah? We'll explore all of that and more in today's episode. Dr. Susan Madsen, a Professor of Organizational Leadership in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University and the Founding Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project and A Bolder Way Forward, is joined by Eric Dahlin, co-author of the report and Associate Professor of Sociology at Brigham Young University.Support the show

Audacity isn't about being wild; it's about taking bold risks that are worth it for the season you're in. We sit down with three‑time Emmy Award‑winning sports broadcaster and author Anne‑Marie Anderson to unpack how leaders can move from second‑guessing to decisive action without ignoring reality. Anne‑Marie shares the simple test she uses to separate worth‑it risks from reckless moves, and why the outcomes you fear are almost never at the extremes your brain imagines.We get practical about failure, too. Anne‑Marie reframes rejection as data and shows how celebrating “misses” publicly builds trust and performance on teams. You'll learn how to name and disarm your inner critic, why small experiments beat grand plans, and how to choose challenges that stretch rather than shatter confidence. For anyone wrestling with imposter syndrome or highlight‑reel comparison, this is a grounded path back to action.Then we tackle the quiet twins that stall growth: time and money. Anne‑Marie breaks down the urgency fallacy and gives a repeatable approach to reclaiming your day with four focused 15‑minute blocks. We cover honest audits of calendars and bank balances, plus a re‑evaluation loop across career, health, and relationships so your progress matches what you actually value. The conversation closes with a powerful tool—the “front row.” Learn how to curate people who know your goals, push with care, and hold you to your commitments, and how a single clear ask can unlock surprising opportunities.If this resonated, tap follow, share this with a leader who needs a nudge, and leave a quick review to help more people find the show. Your next audacious move starts now—what's the one small swing you'll take in the next 24 hours?

In this episode, we discuss a recently released research snapshot titled “Utah Gender Pay Gap: A 2025 Update.” The snapshot provides an update to the 2017 and 2021 reports, offering an overview of the gender pay gap. It defines what the gender pay gap is, its components, and why it matters. It also examines the unique economic, cultural, and structural factors that contribute to Utah's especially wide gap. Understanding these patterns helps us see not only where we are, but also how far we've come and what work still lies ahead. We'll unpack all of that and more in today's episode.Dr. Susan Madsen, a Professor of Organizational Leadership in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University and the Founding Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project and A Bolder Way Forward, is joined by two guests. First, Brittany Davies, Head of People and Culture at Fullcast, and a spoke leader for A Bolder Way Forward's Gender Pay Gap spoke. Second, Brie Sparks, Statewide Impact Manager at the Utah Women & Leadership Project. Support the show

Strategy isn't supposed to live in a slide deck. It should breathe in daily choices, team rituals, and the way people talk about their work. We sit down with Hans Lagerweij, author of The Why Whisperer, to unpack why 95 percent of employees can't state their company's strategy—and what leaders can do to fix it without adding more meetings or more slides.Hans introduces the Six C's of execution—clear communication, consistent reinforcement, cultural alignment, continuous improvement, collaborative engagement, and celebrating success—and shows how they turn plans into momentum. We dig into the reverse elevator pitch, a simple test that forces clarity: if you can't explain your strategy in 30 seconds, you aren't ready to roll it out. From there, we explore how to link the macro why (direction and purpose) to the micro why (the meaning behind each task and decision) so everyone can see their part in the bigger picture.We also tackle silos and misaligned incentives, revealing why functions often work at cross purposes and how shared objectives and cross-functional teams restore speed and trust. Hans shares practical ways to invite frontline ideas—idea boxes, listening forums, lightweight feedback loops—and how small, timely celebrations create pride and keep energy high. Instead of chasing buy-in, we make the case for shared ownership, where people help shape the how and feel responsible for results.If you're ready to turn strategy from an annual event into a daily habit, this conversation will give you the tools and language to start today. Subscribe, share this with a colleague who needs it, and leave a review to tell us which “C” you'll implement first.

Leadership lives in the moments people spend with you—every check-in, every decision explained, every hard conversation you choose to have. To celebrate 300 episodes, we pull together the clearest patterns from hundreds of leaders, psychologists, authors, and operators and turn them into practical moves you can use tomorrow.We start with meaning. People don't just want a job; they want to know why their work matters and who benefits. You'll hear how to connect the macro why of your team's purpose with the micro why behind tasks and decisions, so your people shift from compliance to care. From there, we go deep on emotional intelligence as modern table stakes: noticing and naming emotions, creating space to respond rather than react, and using empathy to choose actions that steady a room and strengthen trust.Culture comes into focus through our relationship with failure and feedback. High-performing teams don't dodge mistakes—they learn from them. We share a five-question daily reflection and the SBIA feedback framework to move from blame to systems and from avoidance to growth. We then explore diversity of thought and psychological safety as real performance levers: who gets heard, who gets interrupted, and how to reward healthy debate so inclusion becomes muscle, not motto. Finally, we highlight listening as a leadership superpower—reflecting back meaning, asking better questions, and helping people walk away clearer than they arrived.You'll also hear gratitude for the listeners, guests, and the team who make this community possible, plus a look at what's next: deeper psychology in leadership, real-world Q&A, and more ways to connect. If this conversation sparks something, share it with a leader ready to grow, hit subscribe, and leave a quick review to help others find us. What small action will you take this week to make someone feel seen, heard, and valued?Send us a textSupport the show✅ Follow The Leadership Project on your favourite podcast platform and listen to a new episode every week!

What kind of leader are you becoming: one who earns trust or one who enforces compliance? We take a clear-eyed look at leadership through four lenses—service, courage, resilience, and inclusion—drawing on highlights from Steve Fortunato, Jim Fielding, Kijuan Amey, and Stephanie Chung to turn big ideas into practical actions you can use this week.Steve's insights on service and storytelling show why facts inform but stories transform, helping teams reconnect to purpose and feel seen. Jim's journey across Disney and The Gap reveals how authenticity and empathy create safe speed during change, where people move faster because fear drops and clarity rises. Kijuan's post‑traumatic growth reframes adversity with a powerful line—losing sight without losing vision—reminding us to ask “What now?” and bounce forward with intent. Stephanie's ally leadership invites us to pay attention to our attention—what we reward and ignore—so we amplify quiet voices, embrace healthy conflict, and unlock the innovation that diverse teams naturally generate.Across these themes, the message is simple: leadership is human. Presence beats perfection when you show up to serve, listen, and adapt. You'll leave with four practical moves: share one authentic story that reconnects your team to purpose; lead with empathy by checking how people are doing, not just what they're doing; after setbacks, identify the next small step within your control; and intentionally invite a voice that hasn't been heard. We close with reflective prompts to help you align your actions with your values and build a culture where people don't just follow—you earn their belief.If this conversation sparked an insight, share it with a colleague, subscribe on YouTube or your favorite podcast app, and leave a quick review so others can find the show. Your support helps more leaders trade ego for empathy and certainty for curiosity.Send us a textSupport the show✅ Follow The Leadership Project on your favourite podcast platform and listen to a new episode every week!

What if the most powerful thing you did as a leader was to stop talking? Stephanie Chung—trailblazing aviation executive and author of Ally Leadership—joins us to show how silence, better questions, and intentional design turn diversity into decisions people own.We start with the hard truth: diverse teams win, but only when every voice is heard. Stephanie shares how she navigated a male-dominated industry and distilled what works into the EARN system: establish psychological safety, assure alignment, rally the troops with a compelling vision, and navigate the narrows when turbulence hits. We get specific about meeting design—who speaks, who gets cut off, and what to do in the micro-moments when someone says, “I see it differently.” You'll learn how to prep quiet voices before they walk into the room, use silence as a thinking tool, and move from leader-led solutions to team-generated plans that build real ownership.We also tackle the generational shift reshaping work. Younger teammates aren't anti-work; they're anti-waste. Stephanie challenges us to prioritize outcomes over optics, encourage healthy debate, and treat “Why do we do it this way?” as a design question, not a threat. The conversation stretches into sales leadership and customer value: teach your team how the business makes money, understand your customer's economics, and stop discounting—start unlocking value. Along the way, practical tactics like cross-department “walk a mile,” Amazon-style six-page memos, and three alignment questions make inclusion tangible and repeatable.

In this episode we discuss a recently released research snapshot titled “Cosmetic Surgery and Body Image Among Utah Women: A 2025 Update.” This snapshot examines how cultural, social, religious, and personal factors influence body image, perceptions of cosmetic surgery and beauty standards in Utah. Using state and national data, the report explores whether Utah's reputation for high rates of elective cosmetic procedures reflects reality or perception. The analysis highlights four areas: beauty standards, cosmetic surgery trends, cultural influences, and efforts to promote positive body image. What do these findings reveal about how these areas influence body image among Utah women, and the efforts underway to promote greater confidence and self-acceptance? We'll explore all of that and more in today's episode. Dr. Susan Madsen, a Professor of Organizational Leadership in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University and the Founding Director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project and A Bolder Way Forward, is joined by Corinne Clarkson, co-author of the report and a research associate at the Utah Women & Leadership Project. Support the show

What would you do if you woke up and the world was dark? Kijuan Amey, an Air Force in‑flight refueling specialist with a promising path to the cockpit, opened his eyes after a crash to find he'd lost his sight. The story that follows isn't about platitudes—it's about rebuilding a life through faith, gratitude, and the unglamorous work of learning every step again.We dig into the pivotal shift from “why me” to “why not me,” and how that mindset turned blame into agency. Kijuan walks us through the hard basics—orientation with a white cane, mastering daily tasks, and honoring the process without skipping steps. Along the way, he shares how reflection at the gym, adaptive sports, and expert coaching revived confidence and expanded what seemed possible. The refrain “give it time” becomes a practical strategy: patience paired with action compounds into progress.Leaders will recognize themselves in the aviation checklist analogy: miss one step and outcomes can be catastrophic. We explore the power of reframing “have to” as “get to,” the role of community in sustaining momentum, and why vision is mental even when sight is gone. Expect insights on resilience, habits, mindset, and purpose that apply whether you're navigating trauma, leading a team, or training for your next milestone.If the idea of starting small and staying consistent resonates, this conversation will meet you where you are and challenge you to take the next step. Subscribe, share this episode with someone who needs a push, and leave a review with the one step you'll take this week. Your vision gets clearer with practice.

Feeling the pressure to have all the answers? You're not alone. Mick Spiers sits down with Jim Fielding—former senior executive at Disney, Fox, and DreamWorks, and author of All Pride No Ego—to explore why modern leadership rewards curiosity over certainty. Together, they unpack how to build teams that think bravely, speak freely, and perform under pressure.Jim takes us inside his pandemic pivot from corporate operator to coach and storyteller, revealing the ten leadership lessons he wishes he knew at 25. The conversation dives into the politicization of DEI and the real challenge leaders face today: teams are already diverse in background and thought. The true edge lies in creating workplaces where people feel safe, respected, and heard. Jim shares how leaders can adapt their language—focusing on community, collaboration, and belonging—while still holding managers accountable for the behaviors that drive inclusion.The episode also tackles the chill around free speech, the mechanics of psychological safety, and how leaders can navigate political diversity at work. Jim outlines a calmer, more thoughtful approach: slow down for facts, invite dissent on purpose, and turn meetings into engines of learning. From supporting employees through sudden policy shifts to encouraging civic participation without partisanship, this episode offers practical tools and a steady compass for leading with empathy, courage, and curiosity.

What if the fastest way to unlock performance isn't to lead louder, but to host better? We sit down with best-selling author Steve Fortunato to rethink leadership through the lens of hospitality—not the restaurant kind, the human kind. Steve reveals why so much “look at me” leadership creates a vicious cycle of entitlement, and how the host mindset flips the script to “look at you,” building trust, engagement, and shared ownership.We dig into three practical principles you can apply today. First, speak the good: start by changing the inner voice you lead from, then actively name strengths in colleagues, clients, and your company to counter negativity bias and build momentum. Second, honor the other: elevate dignity with real curiosity, mine for the gold, and apply what you learn through personalized recognition, better questions, and tailored support. Third, earn respect, don't expect it: stand in their shoes to understand pressures and constraints, and pursue reconciliation when things go wrong so relationships are restored, not just transactions.Throughout the conversation, Steve connects leadership and hospitality with vivid stories: power dynamics that make customers feel “lucky to be here,” the ecosystem of value that requires giving before getting, and how small hosting rituals—clear openings, inviting voices, pronouncing names right, closing loops—quietly transform culture. We close with a simple loop to keep you improving: celebrate what worked, then pick one thing to refine next time. If you're ready to trade performative heroics for meaningful hosting, this one will change how you run meetings, lead projects, and serve customers.