Intentional Performers

Matthew Dicks, a bestselling author and storyteller, shares the power of storytelling and curiosity. They discuss the importance of fostering curiosity in education and reflect on changes in schools. The speaker explores the perception of danger influenced by media coverage and shares personal experiences. They also emphasize the significance of creating a psychologically safe environment for learning and discuss the competitive mindset's impact on storytelling. The speaker reflects on the power of meaningful stories and highlights the importance of seeking more meaningful narratives in life.

J.P. Nerbun is a bestselling author, leadership coach, and founder of TOC Culture Consulting, a leading global sports consulting and leadership coaching business. His mission is to help leaders and their teams achieve their full potential through 1:1 coaching, consulting, and community. Nerbun has an impressive track record of guiding leaders at esteemed institutions such as Stanford University, Harvard University, the University of Texas, the USGA, PWC, and Chick-fil-A. His work spans across sports, education, healthcare, and business. Nerbun is also the author of two acclaimed books: Calling Up: Discovering Your Journey to Transformational Leadership (2019) and The Culture System: A Proven Process for Creating an Extraordinary Team Culture (2022). In 2023, he launched The Culture System Online Training Platform, which has been praised for being the most comprehensive online coach education available. His podcast, Coaching Culture, is one of the top sports leadership podcasts globally. Nerbun lives in Ireland with his wife and their three children.   J.P. had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “In every step of my training [for running ultra-marathons] I kept failing massively, but I kept learning from those failures” (10:30). “When you’re doing hard things, looking for help [and] asking for help is actually strength, it’s not weakness” (12:05). “Our brain works against us often times as leaders” (17:10). “Sometimes pain, reaching those rock bottoms, becomes the foundation upon which you can build” (25:30). “Those painful moments teach us a lot, but they also make us desperate to try new things, to experiment with new things” (25:40). “You don’t have really strong relationships with people, there’s not high levels of trust, if you don’t actually treat each other well, work hard, hold each other to a high standard” (30:50). “[Good culture is] the connected group that works hard” (31:25). “People want to show up to a place where they feel seen, heard, and loved” (39:15). “[Trauma research shows that potentially] more healing than therapy itself is just being part of a connected group” (47:10). “Can you continue to invest in your people knowing that in the long term, but maybe not the short term, the results are going to have a better chance of being what you want them to be?” (47:30). “Character is really hard to assess, probably even harder to assess than talent” (52:15). “I think the real quality of a coach or leader is their ability to reach the unreachables” (53:45). “Without awareness, we can’t take ownership. We can’t make change” (58:00). “I’m so okay with failure” (1:01:10). “[My ability to let go of fear] came from experiencing it enough and knowing that those were the greatest moments for growth in my life” (1:02:50). “I’m looking for where’s the next way to stretch myself, where’s the next way to enter into some of that discomfort?” (1:09:20).   Additionally, you can connect directly with J.P. via email (jpnerbun@tocculture.com) and on Twitter. You can also purchase J.P.’s most recent book, The Culture System: A Proven Process for Creating an Extraordinary Team Culture, anywhere books are sold, and you can find The Culture System website here. Thank you so much to J.P. for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Nita Farahany is one of those people that I get the pleasure of interviewing that when I read her bio or hear her speak or read her stuff, I’m thinking to myself how the heck am I going to interview this person who is ten times smarter and more accomplished than I am. And that is the truth, I’m not just lowering my intelligence for the sake of this conversation or this introduction; it is how I feel. I get nervous and anxious talking to people like Nita. And so, I’m going to give you Nita’s bio, and then I want you to listen to this conversation. And more than the bio and more than the information and knowledge and wisdom that she shares, what I appreciate about Nita is how down to earth she was. And I’ve seen her in person on stage, I’ve watched TED Talks, I’ve read her book, and I think if you’re sitting back and receiving that content when she’s in performance mode, it is awe inspiring. She’s someone who’s brilliant and shares her brilliance in an efficient, profound way, which I really struggle with. And once again, this conversation is about as authentic, genuine, real, vulnerable, as any that I’ve had. And so, her capacity to share her knowledge and wisdom in a setting where she’s expected to do so, at a level that is just extremely high, as a world-class thinker, is incredible. And then her ability to bring it down to earth and share it with people like myself is really what I’m truly grateful for. So, here’s her bio: she’s a pioneering futurist and authority on laws, ethics, and technology. She’s a distinguished professor of law and philosophy and founding director of Duke University’s Science and Society Initiative. In her book, The Battle for Your Brain, which we discuss quite frequently in this conversation, she champions cognitive liberty, which is really at the core of today’s conversation. And a lot of Nita’s work is around this framework, this ideology, this thought, this concept, of cognitive liberty and how that shakes up and shows itself in a digital era, a digital environment, that we are all living in. Her insights shared from TED stages to global policy forums, guide responsible advancements in science and technology. Her background educationally: she received an AB in Genetics, Cell, and Development Biology from Dartmouth, an ALM in Biology from Harvard, a JD and MA from Duke University, as well as a PhD in Philosophy. You’re going to love this conversation. We go into parenting, we go into philosophy, we go into ethics, we really run a broad range of subjects, and I love people with range, so I know you’re going to love Nina too.   Nita had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “Everything gets filtered through a lens for me of kids” (8:30). “I have girls, and I [want them to see] it’s okay to have a career and it’s okay to have times that are about developing that career” (10:40). “I say no a lot to external opportunities, especially when my kids are young” (11:20). “For any working parent with children, we feel that struggle all the time of how do you show up for your kids in ways that are meaningful and impactful and how do you have the impact you want to have on the world, which also could change the world you’re creating for them, not just at the micro level but at the macro level as well?” (12:10). “When I say that I arm myself with knowledge, that doesn’t come just from books” (14:05). “A parent who thinks they know everything is quickly schooled by their children that they know nothing at all” (15:25). “The biggest thing I’ve had to grapple with as a parent is being less of a control freak” (16:05). “I hope my kids feel like they have the freedom to figure out who they are and what they’re passionate about and know that no matter what I’m there behind them” (24:05). “Sometimes we become so comfortable in our lesson plans that we forget what we’re trying to teach” (26:15). “Ultimately what we’re trying to teach is people thinking freely so they can navigate the world” (27:05). “Cognitive liberty is the right to self-determination over our brain’s mental experiences” (29:45). “The ability to have an inner monologue, a space of mental reprieve, a place where you can figure out who you are or what you like or don’t like or choose what you share with people or don’t share with people, I think matters so much more to people than they really realize” (35:40). “Your right to cognitive liberty should be what governs your choices, not somebody else making the choices about what your brain and mental experiences will look like and feel like and be shaped by without any input that you might have otherwise” (38:20). “Choosing to erase a memory has consequences, and those consequences include developing the resilience to overcome a breakup and to learn from it, to incorporate and understand and refine what it is that you’re looking for and to learn from your mistakes and to learn from your hurt and to learn that you can survive heartache and that you’re strong enough to get through each of those things” (42:10). “To enable advances in mental health more generally, we need to give people the tools and techniques to be able to see into themselves much better” (49:50). “If we want humans to emerge from the digital age both having any capacity for freedom of thought and also any capacity to flourish, we have to realign technology with human values” (55:55). “What we’re doing all day every day is developing a theory of mind of other people and trying to persuade them” (1:00:40). “Modern technology is being designed to have you check out” (1:01:45). “Every person when you peel back the layers, I think has an interesting set of complexities” (1:08:30). “My legacy I hope for people is to be able to think freely in an era in which if we don’t it could go disastrously badly for us, for our children, for the human species, for the planet” (1:10:00).   Additionally, you can purchase Nita’s book, The Battle for Your Brain, anywhere books are sold. You can also check out Nita’s website and follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn. Lastly, I’d encourage you to watch Nita’s most recent TED Talk. Thank you so much to Nita for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Joe Alberici is currently the Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach at Army – West Point. We could just have a conversation on lacrosse and that would be fascinating and how he leads, but being at Army and experiencing West Point, he’s going to bring a lot of the leadership principles that exist on that campus, and it is a unique special place and he’s going to take us behind the curtain as far as what makes Army – West Point so special. He’s going to talk specifically around captainship and leadership in this conversation. If Joe sounds familiar to you, he gave a speech that went viral recently about this notion of being a tough guy at life and how important it is to be inclusive and rethink about how we often think about toughness. And when I think about our military and I think about cadets that might go through West Point, we certainly think of them as physically tough, but Joe’s going to talk about in this conversation how much he values mental toughness and emotional toughness. I think you’re going to find Joe to be pretty holistically sound. We talk about culture, we talk about leadership, and how proud and how fortunate he feels to have the opportunity to coach at Army. And look, Army Lacrosse has become a contender. They beat the University of Maryland lacrosse team last year in the NCAA tournament; Maryland had won the National Championship the year before. So, he is coaching high level lacrosse players who also have a pride and a determination and a desire to serve our country. So, if I think about the type of people I would want my children to be coached by, I think about Coach Joe and I think about how he leverages his own faith, how he leverages his own philosophy, his upbringing, and his experience to pour into the student athletes that he surrounds himself with. So, this is a masterclass in humility, in confidence, in belief, and in having values and principles and being led by those.   Joe had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “I’ve got a couple of built-in things to keep me humble” (6:15). “I need to serve [my student athletes]. They deserve the best” (7:25). “I look at [greatness] as something to aspire towards” (9:25). “The way we honor the tradition is by building upon it” (11:30). “We embrace [tradition], but we are always looking for better ways to do it” (12:50). “There’s so many important things you do at the United States Military Academy… but what I’m of firm belief of… is there’s nothing more impactful than their time in our lacrosse family” (18:00). “So much is made of the challenges here at West Point. The untold story is… there’s no place that supports you more than West Point” (20:45). “When they accept you at West Point, they’re not telling you you’re good enough to get in, they’re telling you you’re good enough to graduate” (22:15). “There’s a vulnerability that myself and my staff, we’re the first to model, and it permeates through our organization” (23:30). “We tend to gravitate towards what we love the most; often what we love the most is what we do the best” (30:35). “Our mission is to become a West Point man” (31:10). “One of our pillars is being unrelenting towards excellence [in all that we do]” (31:40). “You get to show up in this locker room with some of the greatest people you’ll ever know” (40:25). “We’re above moral victories in this program. That’s not what we’re showing up to do against anybody” (47:00). “It doesn’t really matter if we’re the better team than them. It only matters that we’re better for those 60 minutes” (47:15). “Any time I have young people to speak to, I deliver the exact same message, and it is about being a tough guy or a tough girl” (54:00). “It’s really important to give 100% 100% of the time” (56:20). “One of the ways you demonstrate toughness is by being inclusive” (58:10). “That decision to [bring others in] will make you better” (59:00). “Don’t wait for the thank you, the appreciation. Just do it because it’s right” (1:03:35). “If the leadership model is to bring everyone in, you’ve got to be humble enough to not have your stamp on it” (1:16:10). “Be the model” (1:17:15). “We want a team full of leaders. But part of being a great leader is you have to be humble” (1:17:55).   Additionally, you can follow Joe on Twitter and you can follow the Army Lacrosse Team on Twitter and Instagram. Thank you so much to Joe for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Tim Chi is the Chief Executive Officer of The Knot Worldwide. After getting married in 2005, Tim set out to make wedding planning less stressful and frustrating. Together with his co-founders Jeff, Lee and Sonny, they threw four desks into his empty living room in Chevy Chase, Maryland and created WeddingWire, which became a leading global vendor marketplace serving the wedding industry, helping millions of engaged couples plan, execute and celebrate the most important day of their lives. WeddingWire grew to 1,000 employees worldwide and owned leading wedding brands in North America, Europe, South America and India. In 2019, Tim became CEO of The Knot Worldwide following the merger of XO Group Inc. (parent company of The Knot) and WeddingWire Inc. Previously, Tim co-founded Blackboard Inc. in 1998. While at Blackboard, Tim pioneered many of Blackboard’s flagship products and strategic initiatives, bringing technology into the classrooms of colleges, universities and school districts across the world. During his tenure, the company raised over $100 million in capital and was taken public on the Nasdaq in 2004. Tim holds a B.S. in operations research and industrial engineering from Cornell University and an M.S. in engineering management from Tufts University. He resides in Maryland with his family and is based out of The Knot Worldwide’s Chevy Chase headquarters.   Tim had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “I actually do try to separate the idea of video game time from screen time” (7:20). “Video gaming time [for my kids] is generally done with me” (7:30). “We’re trying to create an intentional balance around exposing [our kids] to different things” (10:35). “A lot of dedicated athletes do really well in any occupation I think because of that discipline and because of the team winning mentality” (12:10). “I just know I’m not good at a lot of things” (13:25). “In order to really excel, you need to have complementary skillsets at the table” (13:35). “My chance of success is much improved if I’m working with partners” (14:05). “Everything starts with relationships because that’s where trust gets built” (14:35). “I tend not to take up as much headspace thinking about things that I’m not an expert in or I can’t connect with” (21:20). “Disruption is natural” (22:15). “Everybody has really good ideas, the difference is entrepreneurs do something about it; they’re willing to take a risk” (22:25). “I like to think of myself as a realist with slightly rose-colored glasses on everything” (35:20). “Video gaming is one of my escapes” (36:05) “Everybody is entitled to make mistakes. It really is what did you learn from it?” (37:30). “We know people are going to move on [from our company] and that life circumstances change. But what would be great is if people that left here said ‘I learned something, I took something away that helped me move to that next thing…’ That to me is success” (42:30). “The how and when you implement it, those tend to have to get pessimized a lot” (47:30). “I’m sort of just generally bullish on the idea that access to information and knowledge is a good thing for the world” (52:30). “Start with a problem statement. What are we trying to solve here?” (56:00). “Culture sits there as a broad-based thing, norms are how it shows up daily” (59:10). “I do try to be very self-reflective about things and just in my own mental model always learning” (1:01:05). “My personal development has really come from other people who I trust who I’ve built relationships with pushing me forward” (1:02:30).   Additionally, you can connect with Tim himself on LinkedIn here, and also follow The Knot Worldwide on LinkedIn here. Thank you so much to Tim for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Dr. Stefanie Johnson is an author, a professor, a keynote speaker, and she studies the intersection of leadership and diversity. And you’re going to hear intersections and polarities in today’s conversation. And I think what is really fascinating about Stef is that, in a world where we talk about things in leadership and things in diversity as soundbites, and we try to put them into labels and think in very black and white ways, Stef in her research and her findings and her theories really does speak in nuance. She focuses on how unconscious bias affects the evaluation of leaders, and also on strategies that leaders can use to mitigate bias. Stef has a great book called Inclusify, which is all about harnessing the power of uniqueness and belonging to build innovative teams. She thinks that inclusify, this idea of inclusion, is really about both uniqueness and belonging; so how do you let people have the autonomy to express themselves, while also understanding that they’re part of something bigger than themselves. She is a well-established researcher and scholar. She works with some of the best companies in the world to help them create more inclusive leaders; we’ll talk about her work with NASA and with the NFL. She also brings up her work in healthcare, she has extensive consulting experience, and she’s created and delivered leadership development trainings with an emphasis on evidence-based practices. She’s a fellow in the Society of Industrial Organizational Psychologists and the American Psychological Society. She’s also passionate about disseminating her work more broadly and has taught two LinkedIn learning courses on how to increase diversity and inclusion in corporations. She’s written for the Harvard Business Review and she’s an in-demand keynote speaker; she’s presented her work at over 170 meetings around the world, including at the White House for a 2016 summit on diversity in corporate America on National Equal Pay Day. She’s been feature in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The Huffington Post, The Washington Post, CNN, ABC, NBC, and more. At her core, I think you’re going to find her to be extremely approachable, extremely curious, and someone who’s not necessarily judgmental, and open to finding ways to collaborate with others to make our world a little bit better.   Stef had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “We use stereotypes as quick methods of making sense of the world” (11:00). “You hear a lot ‘We want someone who’s going to fit our culture.’ I like to take a spin on that and say, ‘Who’s going to add to our culture?” (14:20). “Having people who are all the same means we’re probably missing out on a huge percentage of our customer base because we’re only going to appeal to a certain type of customer” (15:05). “In conversation, when everyone sees things the same way, we make much less innovative, and even accurate, decisions. You’re way better off having people who are really different from each other, even if they know less, than having a really similar group of experts” (15:20). “When you try to make people the same, the reality is people are just hiding their differences” (17:40), “The way that I describe inclusion… is this idea that you can be your unique self and at the same time you can belong” (23:00). “If [your employees are] going in [to work], provide opportunities to really benefit from that” (25:40). “Those little decisions about who’s likely to get what opportunity are likely to be influenced by stereotypes” (32:00). “If you’re only interviewing a small demographic… I can guarantee you you’re never going to have any diversity. It’s not possible. So, I love the idea of diverse slates because that means you might spot someone who could really be a game changer” (40:10). “You need white men to create diversity. You need all people” (42:30). “We need everyone working together, collaborating, to create an inclusive environment where everyone can be successful” (42:55). “If you really want a diverse background, you’ve got to think broadly about what that means” (48:05). “There are way more differences within generations than there are across generations” (49:00). “I seek to understand where people are coming from and how did they get there” (52:45). “Everyone got to where they are based on their life experiences” (53:15). “We can always be learning and growing, and we should always maintain that curiosity. And really, the best leaders are those who maintain humility, at least intellectual humility, to think they still have things to learn from others” (1:00:05). “Before you tell anyone the answer, ask questions” (1:00:35). “We all have headwinds and tailwinds, we all have privilege and things that slowed us down, and recognizing those in yourself, acknowledging them, I think allows you to be more curious about other peoples’ experiences” (1:06:25). “We know curiosity is at its least when we feel attacked or threatened” (1:07:15).   Additionally, you can learn more about Stef on her website, learn more about Inclusify on the Inclusify website, and also learn more about the Center for Leadership at Colorado Boulder here. Lastly, you can connect with Stef on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Thank you so much to Stef for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Trevor Ragan is the founder of The Learner Lab - an educational website designed to unpack and share the science of learning and development. He spends his time with thought leaders and researchers from the worlds of psychology and developmental science, consumes their research, connects the dots, and shares it with anyone that will listen. He's worked with professional, college, and Olympic sports teams, Fortune 50 companies, prisons, and in hundreds of schools across the country. These workshops are designed to help people understand and apply important principles of development, in order to become better, more resilient learners.   Trevor had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “Learning is underrated” (6:20). “Learning is a skill. You can’t argue with that. It is something that you can get better at” (6:30). “If I’m good at learning, that’s going to benefit me in any scenario” (6:50). “You don’t have to love a loss. You don’t have to love getting rejected. You don’t have to love getting cut. But we can appreciate that within those setbacks, there are opportunities” (18:10). “I look at learning as a treasure hunt. If I get to learn a new a topic, I get really excited” (22:35). “We live in the best time ever for learning right now” (23:15). “Curiosity is super underrated” (26:10). “Listening is a skill. Can you get better at listening? Yes” (31:15). “The machinery in our brains that controls learning is plastic. Every time we choose to be intentional about a new skill and practice it, try to build it, yes we’re going to get better at that skill, but we’re also becoming a better learner in the process” (32:55). “At its core, growth mindset is the belief that I can change and grow and get better at stuff… That idea should be taught to anybody anywhere” (36:25). “The mindset of the leader is more important than we realized” (38:00). “A growth mindset is a belief in our capacity to change, it has nothing to do with how we feel” (39:05). “We can all change. We can all get better at stuff. That’s the magic of being human. That’s the magic of our brain” (43:10). “There are differences on the surface we see between people. We think it’s generational, but more times than not it’s something else” (49:40). “I’m going to [create content in the way] I would like to consume it, and I’m going to talk about the topics that are interesting to me. And if I do it in a way that I would like it and I would be interested, I think that’s good enough” (58:50). “Play with the right scoreboard. What’s the game you’re trying to win here?” (1:04:15) “Make stuff that you think is cool” (1:04:25). “[I’m most curious about] storytelling [right now]” (1:08:30). “[Cold calling] is going to work more times than you think” (1:14:45). “You’re never going to completely turn [fear] off” (1:17:15). “When you care about something that involves uncertainty, you’re probably going to feel something” (1:18:10). “People can perform well and not feel great. You can perform well and feel nervous. You can feel well and perform crappy” (1:19:00).   Additionally, you can follow Trevor on Twitter and Instagram, and you can also find the website for The Learner Lab here. Thank you so much to Trevor for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

David Linn is the co-founder of Cycle for Survival, the movement to beat rare cancers. Cycle for Survival has raised more than $340 million to support pioneering research and lifesaving clinical trials at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), bringing new and better treatment options to people around the world. In addition to David’s active involvement with Cycle for Survival, he is an EVP and Board Member at Oak Point Partners. Prior to starting Oak Point in 2004, David worked at both McKinsey & Company and CenterPost Communications. During his years at McKinsey, David had a unique arrangement whereby he took a 5-month leave of absence every year to play soccer professionally with the Chicago Stingers Professional Soccer Club. David holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He has a BA, with highest distinction, from Northwestern University. At Northwestern, David was elected Team Captain of the varsity soccer team, and he received the Director's Award for Best Academic Performance by a Northwestern Student-Athlete.   David had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “One of the most special things in life is being part of a team” (7:35). “When are [those] fears holding me back? How can I put them aside?” (12:00). “Fearless for her wasn’t the absence of fear, it was recognizing we all have these fears, but don’t let them hold us back” (15:10). “[Adversity] makes us stronger” (16:50). “Whatever life throws at me, I can handle” (17:20). “We all have adversity… but we have a choice in how we react to those challenges” (17:30). “We make our own luck” (21:10). “Leadership is about helping any type of group achieve their maximum potential” (24:35). “Positive energy can be contagious” (25:20). “I’ll never expect from any teammate or colleague more than I’m willing to put in” (29:30). “Everybody grieves differently” (31:45). “We felt like we had to start [Cycle for Survival] because there was such a clear need” (46:15). “Spend your time on stuff that you want to do” (49:40). “One of the most special things in life is creating something from nothing” (54:05). “Get involved in something that’s bigger than yourself” (1:01:30). “There’s so much joy that you get from actually helping other people” (1:01:35).   Additionally, you can find more info about Cycle for Survival on their website. You can also follow Cycle for Survival on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Additionally, you can personally follow David himself on Instagram and LinkedIn. Thank you so much to David for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Susan Chapman-Hughes has quite an impressive resume. Currently, she consults with several Fortune 1000 C-Suite leaders as they embark upon transformation and try to change their organization. She’s the co-host of “Navigating the Work Compass” every Wednesday at Noon EST on LinkedIn Live, and is the author of the upcoming book Why Should I Follow You, which is a primer on connected leadership. And today’s conversation really dives into what Susan thinks are best practices when it comes to leadership, specifically around empathetic leadership and the power that comes with empathy. She’s an Independent Director of the JM Smucker Company, where she serves on the Compensation Committee. She’s also an Independent Director of Toast and chair of the Compensation Committee over there. Previously, she served as an Independent Director at Potbelly Corporation, where she led both the Compensation and Audit Committees. She most recently was the Executive VP and GM of Global Digital Capabilities, Transformation, and Operations in the Global Commercial Services Division at American Express, where she led the digital transformation of customer experience and drove the use of big data, predictive analytics, and machine learning to power business strategy.   Susan had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “Writing a book is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life” (5:55). “The power of growing great leaders was really the key to success for me in business” (6:45). “I always had to lean on the talents skills of the people around me” (7:05). “Being an empathetic leader gave me this leg up” (7:15). “Everybody’s role is important, and I think sometimes we forget that” (9:05). “The bigger your organizations get, the more you realize the key to leadership is really around how you connect with people, how can you galvanize them around the strategy and the ideas that you want to work towards, how can you empower them to go and execute, can you have shared goals and shared interests, and can you create a situation where conflict can be resolved constructively for the good of the organization? And that all starts with trust” (9:15). “Well-meaning doesn’t always translate into empathetic” (10:00). “The pandemic showed us the difference between leaders who connect with their folks and leaders who don’t” (10:55). “[Going towards hard things] is a part of who I am” (12:35). “Being a black CEO of a company was not a thing when I was young” (13:40). “[I do hard things] because I have a passion for learning” (15:00). “When you push yourself out of your comfort zone and you try to work on things that you’re not good at, in situations where the stakes are really low, it actually creates a tremendous opportunity for growth in a way that’s not hurtful to you” (17:45). “What can I give to be impactful with the things I’ve been gifted with?” (20:45). “I have to role model what integration looks like for [my daughter] so that as she gets older and wants to pursue her passions and her dreams, she feels like her choices don’t have to be binary” (30:20). “My role as a parent is not to inform or impose my will on [my daughter], it is actually to help figure out what it is she wants and help her to guide that in a way that will impact the world” (31:40). “Motherhood is the hardest job I’ve ever had, and it changes every day” (34:20). “Being a parent forces you to have to be flexible” (36:25). “The tenets of leadership aren’t hard, but the commitment to doing it takes effort and engagement” (42:30). “Come as coachable” (46:50). “I’d much rather have someone who’s pretty good who’s willing to learn and grow, who’s open and coachable, who’s always going to be thinking about the team, than somebody who’s just brilliant and can’t get along with anybody” (47:15). “The leaders who I respect the most are the ones who saw me, who understood who I was, what I was trying to accomplish, were not intimidated by that, could appreciate who I was as a person, and really worked hard to help me” (48:00). “The reason why I’m self-aware is because I seek [feedback], I’m always looking for [it]” (48:50). “The more you can prepare an organization to be a change absorber and to integrate, the more likely you’re going to be to have people who connect and want to be there” (51:45). “Staying humble but being decisive is very important [as a CEO]” (52:30). “You can be [compassionate to people] and yet not know what they actually need” (1:00:50).   Additionally, you can find Susan’s website here and follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn as well. Thank you so much to Susan for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.

Les Snead is the General Manager of the Los Angeles Rams, a position he’s held for 11 years. He was hired in 2012, and we’re actually going to talk about how to create sustainability and longevity in that position and handling the ups and downs and the stresses that come from losing, and also the accolades and the adulation that come from winning and the rollercoaster that is sports. In his role as General Manager, he partners with Head Coach Sean McVay to direct all personnel decisions for the football team. He hired Sean McVay when he was a 30-year-old, and we’re going to talk about that decision and what went into hiring a Head Coach at such a young age. Snead coordinates all aspects of the club’s football operations with Coach McVay and joins forces with COO, Executive Vice President of Football Operations Kevin Demoff, and Vice President, Football and Business Administration Tony Pastoors to direct the team’s business ventures. Les is going to talk about in this conversation how he works with Kevin to also impact and to have communication lines open with ownership. We talk a lot about in this conversation the power of alignment and how important it is for Les to work hand in hand with his Head Coach and also the ownership group. His tenure has been marked by strategic, aggressive moves that have created a strong core nucleus of talent and depth throughout the roster. We use those words like talent, strategy, and aggression throughout the conversation today, and we talk about when to be aggressive and when not to and how strategy impacts decision making. We also talk about the importance of creating a team and not just assembling talent. If you follow the NFL, you know that the LA Rams have had a lot of success lately; Under Les’s leadership, they went to the Super Bowl in 2019 and they won the Super Bowl in 2022. It’s interesting to talk to Les about those experiences and the duality that comes with finishing second, which he’ll call almost like winning a Silver Medal, compared to what it’s like to win a Gold Medal and win a Super Bowl. This conversation is deep; you’re going to love the nuance in which Les speaks with. He loves to read, he loves to learn, he’s a super curious guy. During our entire conversation he was taking notes, and I could see him taking things from our conversation that he was going to bring back with him. We didn’t talk about it, but he also likes to journal, and he loves to read; those are big parts of who he is and what his identity is and how he leads an organization that’s had some success lately for sure, but that he’s trying to build into a contender year after year.   Les had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “It’s probably the hardest thing in sports; there’s always going to be change, and when do you maybe move on from a veteran player who provides a lot of those leadership type skills, a lot of the wisdom that age actually provides?” (11:45). “Every year the team is going to change. The art form is trying to figure out what pieces of the puzzle do you keep, what pieces do you let go?” (12:45). “The General Manager and the Head Coach have to be aligned. It doesn’t necessarily mean we have to agree on every decision, agree on every philosophy, every paradigm, but the important thing is for us to be aligned on who we hire, who we bring in, the systems that are in place to allow the people that we do bring in to work together and do their part to make the Rams better” (17:00). “If it comes down to one thing [to get done during the day], it would be working on that relationship with [Head Coach] Sean [McVay]” (17:45). “In sports, especially football, it’s such a sophisticated collaboration of a lot of human talent, from players to coaches to staff” (27:10). “If you can not worry about the offseason headlines, and just focus on whatever you do in the offseason… there’s a good probability that what you did in the offseason is going to lead to some semblance of progress during the season” (30:00). “Our self-esteems are probably unhealthily associated with the Rams record. That’s our scarlet letter: our record” (42:10). “The teammate who supports, pats on the back, you’d rather have that than the other” (47:35). “Usually when you have alignment and continuity, even though there’s going to be ebbs and flows in the cycle of life of a sports ecosystem… usually they’re going to be a very competitive team” (50:35). “Let’s keep the main thing the main thing” (54:20). “We’re blessed, we’re fortunate, or we’ve earned, whatever you want to call it, this variable of continuity” (1:00:05). “Could we be intentional about using continuity as an edge, but also being very aware that there is stress and drudgery involved” (1:01:35). “To prevent burnout, you can’t be result oriented” (1:02:55). “I often tell our younger leaders the best thing you can do is onboard people that can execute really well-too-do engineered systems that you’re no longer needed” (1:08:10). “What is your not to do list?” (1:08:50). “[When you win a Super Bowl], you’re more happy for other people than yourself” (1:14:55). “I was fathered by football” (1:20:25).   Thank you so much to Les for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.