Coachful Coaching Leadership Podcast

How do you build a team that runs without you? Jon Rennie spent ten years letting go, then stepped down as CEO. Jon served as a US Navy nuclear submarine officer through seven Cold War deployments, then ran eight manufacturing businesses for three global companies before co-founding AccuGrid Technologies and leading it for a decade. In January he stepped down. The company did not miss a beat. Three years earlier he spent a month in a cabin in Maine, deliberately hard to reach, to find out whether the business actually needed him. It performed better while he was gone. We get into why most leaders never reach that point: the instinct to grab the ball back the second something goes wrong, and the boss who wants to be the genius surrounded by helpers instead of building a team of geniuses. Jon's fix is simple and uncomfortable. Stop being the answer guy, let your team make real mistakes, and ask questions instead of making statements. We also cover the seven years it took him to find his purpose after the Navy. At 25 he was crawling inside a nuclear missile to inspect the warhead. Six months later he was in a cubicle with no computer and no authorization to buy a stapler. Jon Rennie, PhD, is Professor of Business at Thales College and the former CEO of AccuGrid Technologies. He is the author of I Have the Watch, You Have the Watch, and All in the Same Boat, and hosts the Deep Leadership podcast. More at jonsrennie.com I'm David Fung, an executive coach working with technical leaders stepping into executive roles. Coaching for individuals, coaching for teams, and speaking engagements at coachfulcoaching.com

Most AI projects fail in big companies for one reason: nobody tied them to a business result. Anmol Madan on how to fix it. I sat down with Anmol Madan , founder and CEO of RadiantGraph, former Chief Data Scientist at Livongo and Teladoc, and author of The Machines Will See You Now. We cover why startups adopt AI faster than enterprises, how to tie AI to a metric your CFO will sign off on, what to do when you have built the right thing too early, and why AI is raising healthcare costs right now instead of lowering them. Show notes: https://coachfulcoaching.com/coachful-coaching-leadership-podcast/why-ai-projects-fail-big-companies Work with me: https://coachfulcoaching.com

Executives used AI to write their emails for one month. Then they couldn't write one themselves. Steven Kotler, NYT bestselling author of seventeen books and founder of the Flow Research Collective, joins me to explain why the bottleneck of this century isn't technology, it's the human brain. We cover the flow research behind 500% productivity gains and 230% faster learning, the twelve categories of cognition AI quietly erodes, the Universe 25 mouse utopia that collapsed despite total abundance, and the framework at the heart of his new book with Peter Diamandis, We Are as Gods: separating frames, mindset, and bias so you can actually train each one. Steven also shares the Zen practice he starts with, why mindfulness is the mechanism that teaches leaders to spot opportunity, and his blunt answer when I asked who owns the abundance. His closing message for every leader: the soft skills of the last century, creativity, focus, purpose, mindset, are the hard skills of this one. Train them, or the technology erodes them. Full show notes: https://coachfulcoaching.com/coachful-coaching-leadership-podcast/ai-is-quietly-eroding-the-skills-leaders-need-most-with-steven-kotler Work with me at coachfulcoaching.com Steven's book: We are as Gods

I joined Jim Beach on School for Startups Radio, an SBA award winning show airing on 100 AM and FM stations, to talk about what AI is really doing to careers in tech. The line from this conversation that keeps coming back to me: careers don't end anymore, they expire. People aren't choosing when to leave their industry. They're being told. And by then it's too late to do anything about it. Jim and I got into why every company suddenly claims to be an AI company, how to tell the real ones from the LLM wrappers, what's actually driving the layoffs at Microsoft and Meta, and the energy audit I ran with a chief executive who had turned around a struggling nonprofit and couldn't figure out why the job stopped feeling right. The answer was in his calendar. His competence was highest exactly where his energy was lowest. We also talked about how I got my first coaching client. He found me through ChatGPT. I share exactly what I did to make that happen, because if your business can't be found by AI search today, you're on page 10 of Google all over again. I'm David Fung, founder of Coachful Coaching in Toronto. I spent 23 years in tech, including 15 at Salesforce, before becoming an executive coach. I work with founders, CTOs, and senior leaders on staying relevant, leading through change, and communicating with clarity. Find me at coachfulcoaching.com or on LinkedIn .

In Episode 177 of Unpacked with Ron Harvey, host Ron Harvey of Global Core Strategies and Consulting sits down with David Fung — executive coach, founder of Coachful Coaching, and 23-year veteran of the tech industry, including a leadership tenure at Salesforce. Based in Toronto, Canada, David now works with executives and teams navigating major transitions and chaos, helping them find clarity when the stakes are highest.Ron and David dig into the real, often uncomfortable work that separates titled managers from trusted leaders. From the metaphor of playing soccer at the edge of a cliff to the belief systems that quietly steer behavior, this conversation gives leaders practical language and frameworks they can put to work immediately. What you will hear in this episode: * Why learning to lead yourself is the non-negotiable starting point for leading anyone else* * The "soccer at the edge of a cliff" metaphor for creating safety that fuels innovation * How to lead with weakness instead of performing strength, and why it draws people to you * A practical framework for diagnosing where and when trust was broken on a team * Why the "how will we work together" conversation is the one most teams skip * Lessons from Salesforce on running a metrics-driven culture without losing your humanity * How clarity, cadence, and accountability prevent conflict-averse leadership * Why beliefs — not skills — are what most often hold leaders back * The four pillars of sustainable leadership: faith, family, friends, and meaningful work * What the 1937 Harvard Study of Adult Development reveals about community and well-being * A candid story about how David's biggest strength became the behavior burning out his team This is a conversation for current and emerging leaders who want to grow without losing themselves in the process. Chapters 00:00 – Welcome to Unpack Podcast - Ron introduces the show, its focus on leadership, and welcomes guest David Fung. 01:24 – David Fung’s Background - David shares his 23-year tech career, leadership experience, and move into executive coaching. 02:14 – What Leadership Looks Like Across Organizations-Discussion on common leadership themes and the “guardrails at the edge of the cliff” metaphor. 04:12 – Leading Yourself First - David explains self-leadership, self-work, and why leaders should lead with weakness. 07:20 – Trust in Leadership and Society - Ron and David explore who people trust and how trust applies in leadership and life. 11:13 – Rebuilding Trust After It’s Broken - David shares how to identify where trust broke down and how to work backward from there. 14:04 – Managing Expectations Up FrontThe conversation shifts to setting norms, agreements, and communication standards early. 16:44 – Balancing Metrics and Human Connection - David discusses leading in a metrics-driven environment while still seeing people as people. 20:39 – Handling Conflict-Averse Leaders - How coaches help leaders confront conflict and build accountability. 23:14 – Personal Leadership Lessons and Burnout - David shares a real example of how too many ideas created confusion and burnout. 29:11 – The Four Pillars of Self-Care - Faith, family, friends, and meaningful work as anchors for well-being. 32:47 – Final Leadership Advice - David’s closing wisdom on humility, discipline, and self-leadership. 33:22 – How to Find David Fung - David shares his podcast, coaching work, and where to connect with him. 35:07 – Ron’s Closing Remarks - Ron wraps up the episode and encourages listeners to share and stay connected.

Up to 20% of your team is neurodivergent. Most leaders have no idea, and it's costing them their best people. Executive coach Cara Wilson spent years coaching software engineers before realizing why she connected with them so easily. Many of them are neurodivergent. So is she. Cara only discovered she's autistic two years ago, and it reframed her whole career. We get into why analytical minds try to break every framework before trusting it, the single habit that makes teams more inclusive (make the implicit explicit), what to do when an employee asks for a protocol instead of intuition, and the real cost of masking at work. Find Cara at tractionleadershipllc.com. Work with David at coachfulcoaching.com.

Your title gets compliance. It won't get commitment. Executive coach David Fung breaks down how to influence people who don't report to you. (GUEST APPEARANCE on the LEADERSHIP IN QUARTERS podcast with Josh Seldin) David spent 23 years in tech, most recently as a Senior Director at Salesforce, where half his week went to influencing leaders outside his reporting line. Decades of psychology on influence distill down to three pillars: credibility, connection, and relevance. In this episode: Why the stick works temporarily but kills initiative The three pillars of influence and how to build each one How to influence across organizations when there's "nothing in it for them" The exact script for holding a peer accountable when they drop a commitment Why respect costs nothing but assuming the worst costs relationships David is an ICF-certified executive coach, founder of Coachful Coaching, and host of the Coachful Coaching Leadership Podcast. Learn more at coachfulcoaching.com. CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction to Influence Without Authority 1:20 Carrot vs. Stick 5:11 The Three Pillars of Influence 6:49 Building Real Relationships 10:10 The Limits of Authority 14:57 Influencing Across Organizations 19:01 Accountability Without Authority 23:18 Closing Thoughts

How do you lead when you don't have direct control? Daniel Atlin interviewed 25 university presidents across the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to answer that question. What he found applies to any leader in a complex, multi-stakeholder organization: the ones who thrive don't have better plans. They ask more questions, move slower, and bring people with them. The ones who revert to command-and-control get stuck. In this episode: ​What sense-making means and why it beats strategic planning in uncertain environments ​Inner vs. outer sense-making, and why you can't do one without the other ​The three habits that separated presidents who navigated disruption from those who got stuck ​Why your job is not your identity, and Daniel's own admission about figuring that out too late ​The power of the pause, the balcony view, and two skills leaders risk losing in the age of AI Daniel Atlin is a strategic advisor and executive coach with 30 years in senior roles across Canada's post-secondary, cooperative, and government sectors. He hosts the Messy Podcast and teaches at the University of Guelph. Full show notes and transcript: https://coachfulcoaching.com/coachful-coaching-leadership-podcast/how-to-lead-without-control Work with David: coachfulcoaching.com

What if the authenticity we keep demanding from leaders isn't actually a real, measurable thing? In this episode, I sit down with Maya Rupert , who managed Julián Castro's 2020 presidential campaign, becoming only the third Black woman in U.S. history to run a presidential campaign, and later served as a senior advisor to Elizabeth Warren. Today she's Executive Vice President at Blue State and the author of The Real Ones: How to Disrupt the Hidden Ways Racism Makes Us Less Authentic. Maya challenged something I hear constantly in the corporate world: that we can just "sense" when someone is or isn't authentic. She argues that judgment is mostly vibes, shaped by how many versions of "someone like them" we've seen before. Which means the narrower our reference points, the harder it is for women and people of color to ever be read as authentic, no matter how genuine they are. We get into how she defines real, self-reflective authenticity, what it was like running a campaign with no budget for message testing, why she asks every candidate to define winning beyond winning, and the one lesson from politics and movement work that business still hasn't learned about getting people to truly own their work. If you've ever been told to "just be yourself" and wondered whose self they meant, this one's for you. 🎧 Chapters 00:00 Welcome and Maya's introduction (plus a guest appearance from Crispin the cat) 01:45 Maya's path and why she wrote The Real Ones 04:01 How do you actually define authenticity? 05:54 The vibes-based test we use to judge leaders 09:49 What the 2020 campaign cycle revealed 11:48 Inside a presidential campaign: likability is "squishy" 14:46 The irony of measuring your own authenticity 18:21 When there's only one winner: redefining what winning means 20:25 The values Maya looks for in the leaders she backs 22:39 What business still needs to learn from movement work 26:38 What worries Maya most right now 30:43 The one thing she'd fix overnight 31:56 Bring joy to your hustle 35:17 Where to find Maya and The Real Ones 📕 Maya's book, The Real Ones, is out now wherever you get your books. Find Maya online: @MayaRupert on X, maya.rupert on Instagram and Bluesky

Your brain is wired to protect you from your own breakthroughs. That's why you can't think your way out of the things that matter most. Dr. Marcia Reynolds calls coaches "external thought disruptors." She's one of the most credentialed voices in the field: 5th global president of the ICF, ranked top 5 coach in the world by Global Gurus, ICF Circle of Distinction honoree, and author of the international bestseller Coach the Person Not the Problem. In this conversation, Marcia and I dig into why self-awareness alone isn't enough, what AI genuinely cannot replicate in a coaching session, and how the identity you're quietly holding onto is usually what's keeping you stuck. Find Marcia at covisioning.com Chapters: 0:00 Welcome and introducing Dr. Marcia Reynolds 1:13 Where "coach the person, not the problem" actually came from 3:24 The self-awareness gap: why high performers don't know themselves 7:05 What AI can and cannot do in coaching 9:16 Co-regulation and the energetic connection between coach and client 14:42 How coaches override the protective brain to create real transformation 16:38 When people start questioning purpose: the midlife inflection point 18:38 David's story: leaving 23 years in corporate to build something meaningful 20:49 Why defining yourself by your job title is a trap 23:42 How to coach at the identity level, not just behaviors and goals 27:45 Marcia at 70: skydiving, purpose over profit, and a life well lived 30:53 The honest truth about building a coaching business 33:17 Coaching is just one modality. Purpose is the product. 37:49 Where to find Dr. Marcia Reynolds

What if belonging isn't a soft, feel-good idea but the actual infrastructure that decides whether your team performs? In this episode of the Coachful Coaching Leadership Podcast, I chat with Andrea Carter, organizational scientist, founder of Belonging First, and adjunct professor at Adler University. Fresh off presenting at Google HQ in London for the launch of the Global Workplace Happiness Report, Andrea breaks down what her research across 150,000 employees reveals about why people stay, perform, and actually feel happy at work. A few things we get into: - The finding that people are least happy at work when they're with their boss, and what that says about how we train managers - Why organizations keep investing the most in what matters the least - The five measurable indicators of belonging: comfort, connection, contribution, psychological safety, and well-being - The difference between engagement (who's busy) and contribution (who's creating real impact) - Why employees experience work as a relationship while organizations treat it as a transaction Andrea also shares a free diagnostic, the Belonging Breakdown, so you can see where belonging is breaking down on your own team. Learn more about Andrea's work: https://belongingfirst.com Connect with Andrea on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreadcarter/If you enjoyed this episode, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who leads a team. Chapters: 00:00 Welcome and introductions 01:30 Andrea's detour to Google HQ in London 03:31 Happy workers perform measurably better 04:33 Why people are least happy with their boss 06:38 Why companies invest the most in what matters least 07:54 Belonging as performance science: the five indicators 10:00 Engagement vs contribution 12:00 Why psychological safety is only one fifth of belonging 14:00 The problem with most resilience training 15:49 What good infrastructure looks like 19:00 When AI does more harm than good in HR 23:24 Fitting in vs belonging: the 50-50 equation 26:45 What do we actually do about it 29:14 The Belonging Breakdown diagnostic 30:20 What drives Andrea's passion for this work 33:14 Bringing joy to your work today

You Haven't Delegated. You've Just Handed Off the Task. — with Brooke Dukes Most founders think they've delegated. They haven't. They've handed off the task and kept the ownership, and that's why their growth has stalled. Brooke Dukes has built four businesses, consulted Fortune 500s for over two decades, and now runs Success by Design — a leadership operating system for founders who've become the bottleneck in their own company. She's also the author of Burn On Not Out and host of the podcast by the same name. In this conversation, Brooke and I get into why "my bandwidth is my company's ceiling" is the most uncomfortable sentence a founder can say out loud, the five-day exercise she gives every client to prove the bottleneck isn't their people, and the moment at 33 — on a corporate jet, in preterm labour, walking away from a six-figure bonus — that ended her Fortune 100 career. If you've ever told yourself "if I don't do it, it won't get done," this one's for you. Chapters 00:00 Intro01:29 Four businesses in, here's what Brooke learned04:34 Why growing companies actually stall06:36 Early warning signs you've become the bottleneck08:06 The five-day exercise that reveals where the real problem is11:45 The pushback every founder gives (and why it doesn't hold up)14:47 What being the bottleneck actually costs you19:40 Burn on, not out: the corporate jet moment that changed everything23:16 Leaving a Fortune 500 on your own terms27:06 Why you can't have a Plan B as a founder31:01 The 90-second rule for handling doubt34:52 Brooke's advice for bringing more joy into your day Connect with Brooke Dukes Podcast: Burn On, Not OutBook: Burn On Not Out Company: BMD / Success by Design

How do you disagree with someone without the conversation falling apart? Ron Harvey spent 21 years in the U.S. Army and now leads as VP of GCS Consulting. In this episode, he and David Fung unpack what most leaders get wrong about disagreement, respect, and leading people in a world that's changing fast. A few moments that stood out: → Why most disagreements aren't really about the issue→ The difference between appreciating people and tolerating them→ How to spot toxic positivity on a team→ Why your worldview needs an annual upgrade, like your iPhone→ Why coaching isn't about making your team better, it's about making you better Chapters 00:00 Intro: Meet Ron Harvey 01:11 21 years in the U.S. Army 02:00 "People always matter" — where it comes from 04:57 How to disagree without losing respect 07:57 What respect actually looks like as a behavior 12:57 Why "just make a difference" is Ron's north star 15:12 How to measure the intangible 18:04 Why coaching is about making YOU better, not your team 20:11 The most common leadership mistake Ron still sees 21:04 The vulnerability exercise Ron runs with executive teams 23:41 Toxic positivity vs. toxic negativity 26:39 Finding the sweet spot between the two extremes 28:23 Why your worldview needs an annual upgrade (the iPhone test) 32:14 What to carry from the past, and what to leave behind 35:55 Stop driving through life looking in the rearview mirror 37:19 Ron's advice for finding more joy 39:26 Where to find Ron

Norman Wolfe spent 40+ years inside organizations, including a long stretch at Hewlett-Packard, before noticing something nobody could explain: 70% of companies fail at strategy execution, despite shelves of books telling them how to succeed. His answer? We're stuck in a paradigm trap, treating organizations as machines and people as component parts. In this conversation, Norman shares the framework behind his book The Living Organization, the three forces that actually create results (doing, relationships, and context), and the story of how he once crushed a goal at HP that he completely forgot about and never tracked. We also get into why mental models quietly run our lives, how improvisation is a more useful operating system than control, and why the leaders who push hardest often achieve the least. A conversation for anyone who's tired of grinding and wondering if there's a better way to lead. Find Norman at quantumleaders.com. Chapters 00:00 Why organizations aren't machines 03:00 The 70% strategy execution problem 06:30 What 40 years of leadership taught Norman about ease 09:00 The three forces: doing, relationships, and context 13:00 The HP goal he hit without trying 17:00 Why who you're being is what you attract 20:00 The non-time based reality of results 24:00 Leading through uncertainty in 2026 26:00 What improvisation teaches us about control 33:00 Mental models and why they break 36:30 Norman's one piece of advice for living your best life Full show notes: coachfulcoaching.com/coachful-coaching-leadership-podcast/living-organization

In this episode of the Coachful Coaching Leadership Podcast, I sit down with Will Steel, a high performance and executive coach, author of Free to Lead , and a former RAF fast jet pilot turned commercial pilot turned coach to founders and business leaders. Will shares the moment in officer training when he almost got kicked out for "keeping his head down," and how being told to actually be himself led to him graduating 18 weeks later with the leadership trophy. From there we get into the real stuff: the limiting beliefs that quietly run people's lives, why business owners hit a ceiling around the $1M mark, and how one of his clients went from working 60 to 70 hours a week down to 12, while growing the business from barely keeping the lights on to $7M. We also talk about: The "I'm not enough" story almost every leader is secretly carrying Why you can't logic someone into giving up control (and what actually works) How a scientist doubled his income and cut his hours in half after one single insight The simple practice Will uses to stay grounded and grateful If you're a founder, business owner, or leader who feels like the lid on your growth is you, this one is worth your time. Find Will at willsteel.com and grab his book Free to Lead at willsteel.com/freetolead.php Listen to the Coachful Coaching Leadership Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

Why Great Salespeople Don’t Feel Like Salespeople (With Darren Mitchell) What if the best salespeople… don’t actually feel like they’re selling? In this episode, we sit down with Darren Mitchell, Sales Leadership Coach and founder of Exceptional Sales Leader, to break down the biggest misconceptions about sales and why most people are getting it completely wrong. With 800+ podcast episodes and decades of experience, Darren shares why sales isn’t about pushing products… it’s about service, curiosity, and guiding people to better decisions. If you’ve ever felt uncomfortable “selling” or struggled with how to build trust with clients, this conversation will challenge how you think about sales—and leadership. In this episode, we cover: 00:00 – Introduction to Darren Mitchell 02:10 – Why sales has such a bad reputation 05:30 – The biggest misconception about sales 09:15 – Why “selling the pen” is outdated 12:00 – Car dealerships, Tesla, and the shift to buyer-driven sales 17:45 – Why most sales training fails 21:00 – Talking yourself out of a sale (and how to avoid it) 25:30 – What top 1% salespeople actually do differently 29:30 – Bringing more joy into a high-pressure sales role 34:00 – Where to find Darren Connect with Darren Mitchell: 🌐 Website: https://exceptionalsalesleader.com/ 🎙 Podcast: https://exceptionalsalesleader.com/podcast 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darren-j-mitchell/ Coachful Coaching Leadership Podcast: 🌐 Website: https://coachfulcoaching.com/ 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@coachfulcoaching 🎧 Spotify: https://spotify.link/NTBgVJIL3yb 🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/41Cz5gI About Coachful Coaching: Coachful Coaching helps leaders build high-performing, human-centered teams through practical coaching, communication, and leadership frameworks. If you’re a technical leader looking to grow your influence and impact, you’re in the right place. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to like, subscribe, and share it with someone who still thinks sales is about “convincing people.”

Lead the Person, Not the Drivers with Matt Martocci What does real leadership look like when the pressure is high, the market is noisy, and results still matter? Matt Martocci, Chief Commercial Officer at hc1, shares lessons from a career across healthcare, pharma, SaaS, and commercial leadership, including roles at Salesforce, Definitive Healthcare, GHX, Millennium Health, and Novartis. In this conversation, he breaks down why great leaders focus on people before metrics, why motivation is often misunderstood, and how presence, feedback, and recognition shape high-performing teams. The episode also explores the future of healthcare technology, the growing role of diagnostic data, and how better leadership decisions can lead to better business and patient outcomes. Matt shares practical insights on standing out with customers, keeping teams engaged during tough stretches, celebrating wins, and leading in a way people actually remember. Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:29 What Matt does at hc1 03:47 Why the hospital lab matters more than people think 05:19 How hc1 uses data to identify anemia risk before surgery 06:19 Prevention, healthcare, and the role of diagnostic tools 08:22 Why Matt joined a smaller, entrepreneurial company 09:17 From pharma rep to people-first leader 12:06 Why leadership is often more about motivation than coaching 13:38 How to keep teams motivated when results are not going your way 15:16 How to stand out with customers in a world full of meetings 16:24 Why it is okay to ask customers for feedback 17:01 Practical ways to get real-time feedback in the room 18:53 “Never miss an opportunity to tell somebody they did a good job” 20:51 Why great leaders start debriefs with the positive 23:28 Where face-to-face business still matters in an AI world 26:48 Why attention spans are changing how we communicate 27:38 The importance of celebrating wins 28:42 Matt’s mantra: be present 29:37 “Lead the person, not the drivers” 30:48 Where to find Matt Connect with Matt Martocci LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattmartocci Coachful Coaching Website: https://coachfulcoaching.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@coachfulcoaching Spotify: https://spotify.link/NTBgVJIL3yb Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/41Cz5gI For more conversations on leadership, growth, and bringing more joy to your hustle, subscribe on YouTube and follow on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

In this episode of the Coachful Coaching Leadership Podcast, we sit down with Ian Watts — author, speaker, and go-to expert on workforce transformation. Ian has scaled HR systems, recruited and retained hundreds of team members, and helped transform leaders across 30+ industries, from middle America to the Middle East. As the founder of SB Dream Coach and Employee Success Group, he’s shared stages with speakers like ET, the Hip Hop Preacher, and has been featured on Fox News (Detroit) and PBS (Detroit). After two decades as a servant-leader, Ian’s mission is simple: **build businesses that bless the world.** In this conversation, we get practical about: - Why “money doesn’t hug you back” (and what actually drives loyalty) - The ACTS Method: Aspirations, Calling, Transformation, Support - How to lead when deadlines are brutal without losing your culture - Why small acts of appreciation create outsized loyalty over time - How to create more joy through focus, gratitude, and daily “priming” Find Ian: Website: employeesuccesscompany.com CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro: Ian Watts + the “money doesn’t hug you back” idea 00:43 “Build businesses that bless the world” 00:56 Detroit, poverty, and the money chase 03:48 When chasing money feels empty 05:43 Sales pressure, performance culture, and the BMW chase 07:40 Why Ian started Employee Success Group 10:04 The ACTS Method (Aspirations + Calling) 12:10 Transformation + Support (showing people they matter) 13:47 The IKEA story: why small gestures stick for decades 15:54 Short-term targets vs culture (leading under pressure) 17:02 “Little hinges swing big doors” (small appreciation, big impact) 20:10 Ian’s “big door” right now (perspective, meaning, emotion) 23:24 Who shaped Ian: Uncle Kelvin + Pastor Christopher Brooks 26:11 Finding purpose: faith + the SHAPE framework 28:31 “Life is a team sport” (you need others to see yourself clearly) 32:36 More joy: focus, gratitude, enjoying the journey 35:26 Priming + the RAS (your brain finds what you focus on) 37:34 Where to find Ian + closing

AI is moving so fast that a “right answer” from two days ago can already feel outdated.In this episode, I’m joined by Kyra Meyer-Johanson (Senior Product Marketing Manager at ServiceNow, focused on Platform + AI). We talk about what that pace of change is doing to people, why the fear is real, and how leaders can create an environment where teams stay grounded and move forward anyway.We also get practical about a simple practice Kyra uses called “glimmers”: small moments of good that train your brain to notice hope, not just risk.In this conversation, you’ll learn:* Why AI uncertainty is hitting people so hard right now* A simple way to lead when your team is anxious or resistant* How to create “space” for people without lowering standards* How to use glimmers to bring more joy into your day (even when life is busy)Connect with Kyra* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyrameyerjohanson/Follow Coachful Coaching* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@coachfulcoaching* Spotify: https://spotify.link/NTBgVJIL3yb* Apple: https://apple.co/41Cz5gI#Leadership #AI #Coaching #Change #JoyInTheHustle----------------------------------------CHAPTERS0:00 Intro0:01 Welcome + Kyra’s background0:57 Creating space for people to flourish2:28 Why AI change feels so intense right now4:27 Humans hate change, and the pace is accelerating7:35 “Born in uncertainty”: Kyra’s immigrant story10:54 A principal’s leadership lesson: space over conformity12:08 Building an environment where people thrive (even with AI fear)16:08 Who influenced Kyra’s leadership mindset20:42 Instant gratification culture and why we misread “progress”22:06 What to say to people resisting AI and feeling threatened23:35 Slow down: notice fear, then choose your response24:21 Validating emotions without getting stuck in them26:14 What Kyra wants to give back: ripple of positivity28:31 Negativity bias and training the “glimmers” muscle30:14 Joy advice: laugh more and notice the glimmers34:05 Where to find Kyra (LinkedIn + email)34:39 Closing + subscribe

We sit down with Dwayne Smith, host of the What Changed? podcast, for a real conversation about the question most of us avoid when we feel stuck:“What am I protecting by staying the same?” Dwayne unpacks why willpower-based change so often fails, and why the real work is an identity shift—from “I’m trying to stop…” to “I’m the kind of person who doesn’t…” He also shares a key leadership turning point: realizing you can’t motivate people, you can only create an environment that is motivating. If you’re in a season where your life looks fine on paper but something feels off, this one will land. In this episode, you’ll learn: * The difference between forcing behavior change vs shifting identity * The question that reveals what “stuck” is really doing for you * Why your internal environment (your story) matters as much as your external environment (your structure) * The moment Dwayne moved from “manager” to “leader” What Changed? https://linktr.ee/whatchangedpod Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/what-changed-with-dwayne-smith/id1511627465 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5UW6hWeJ3vzEOAQLFBoGrG YouTube (What Changed?): https://www.youtube.com/@whatchangedpod Dwayne Smith on LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/dwayne-smith-6a33751b6 Chapters 00:00 Intro + who Dwayne is 00:46 Quick catch-up: you were just on his show 01:33 “I wasn’t a leader, I was a manager” (his origin story) 03:32 The associate who broke down his “management wall” 04:22 The moment that shifted him toward real leadership 05:47 Identity wrapped in title — and why that’s dangerous 08:07 Upbringing, rigidity, and the “never good enough” loop 09:55 You can’t motivate people — you can only build the environment 11:45 Inside-out environment: the story in your head + the structure around you 13:09 Behavior vs identity (the “I stopped” vs “I don’t” example) 15:16 The interplay: who you are vs what you do 16:18 The question that cuts through it all: “What am I protecting?” 19:18 How hosting What Changed? has changed Dwayne 21:48 Parenting + self-leadership: homework, dopamine vs cortisol 24:41 The “make it fun” shift and the surprising result 26:19 Where he’s trying to make life more fun right now: reading 31:02 Susan Cain’s Quiet and embracing introversion 35:10 Two practical steps to start change today