Disrupt Yourself Podcast with Whitney Johnson

Amy Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, where she studies the dynamics of organizations and how to create a psychologically safe work environment. Over the past 20 years, Amy has shown through her research that teams who are comfortable asking questions and admitting failures work more harmoniously together. “Questions are really powerful in creating safety because they indicate to someone that you actually want to hear their voice…whether you're the boss or a team member or anything, every single one of us can practice the opportunity to say things like, what can I do to help? What are you up against? What are your concerns? You know, I, I'm, I'm all ears. I want to hear from you. Is the, is the implicit message with those lovely little questions.” In her latest book, The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation and Growth, Amy has created a handy blueprint for organizations who desire to foster creativity and “redefine leadership.” Join us as we discuss why good teams make more mistakes, the psychology of the S learning curve, and the time Amy’s boss wrote a thirteen-page treatise on how Amy was actually right all along. Links and show notes at https://whitneyjohnson.com/amy-edmondson

We’ve had two married couples on the podcast so far, and today I’m excited to introduce a third - Martin and Kym Frey.  On April 17, 2016, Martin Frey became the first person in the world to climb the Seven Summits – the highest peaks on each continent – and sail the Seven Seas. While Kym may not have climbed to the top of each mountain with him, she was nonetheless integral to Martin’s accomplishment. As he put it, she served as a “great source of strength and confidence,” becoming his biggest cheerleader and never letting him give up on his goals. From tiny islands in the South Pacific to the peak of Mt. Everest, the Frey’s have learned that stepping out of their comfort zone and accepting new challenges brings joy to their life in ways they never would have anticipated. Full Show Notes & Links - https://whitneyjohnson.com/martin-kym-frey

My guest today is Priya Parker, the founder of Thrive Labs and a strategic advisor who helps leaders and teams create transformative gatherings. She is the author of The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters, and was featured on the TED2019 stage in April. In a world full of meetings, how many of them are transformative? It’s an impressive word for something so common, but for Priya, every gathering has the potential to be meaningful and memorable. Join us as we discuss the role of a host, the true moment a gathering begins (hint: it’s not when you think!), and the important power of endings. Full Show Notes: https://whitneyjohnson.com/priya-parker

My guest today is Marcus Buckingham, Best-selling author and the Head of ADP Research, People + Performance. Marcus spent almost twenty years at Gallup, and recently released Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World, which he co-wrote with Ashley Goodall of Cisco. His vast experience, applicable knowledge, and grounded wisdom make him a wonderful guest for this podcast. Join us as we discuss the lies that we’ve been told about leadership, the myth of “high potential” and “low potential” people, and how performance reviews should be changed to make them effective (which they usually aren’t). Show Notes: https://whitneyjohnson.com/marcus-buckingham

I love Brené Brown’s story. A “late bloomer,” Brené graduated from her undergrad when she was 29 years old, then proceeded straight into her master’s and Ph.D. programs. She experienced first-hand the impact of amazing professors and knew what she wanted her life’s work to be—changing the lives of students while getting to talk about what she was passionate about. And Brené is passionate about vulnerability. She shared her passion in a TedxHouston talk, “The Power of Vulnerability,” and to her great surprise it went viral. To date, it has been viewed over 35 million times online and is one of the top 5 TED talks of all time. Join us as we discuss what brings Brené joy; who inspired her to pay attention to vulnerability; and how the stories we tell ourselves can make or break us. Links and complete show notes available at https://whitneyjohnson.com/brene-brown

My guest on the podcast today is Safi Bahcall - physicist, biotech CEO, entrepreneur, tennis aficionado, and author of the outstanding book, Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas that Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries. Complete shownotes: https://whitneyjohnson.com/safi-bahcall

When Tamika Catchings was a freshman at the University of Tennessee, her coach, Pat Summit, told her that someday her story would “impact thousands, maybe millions of people.” It was a crazy idea. Diagnosed with hearing loss at the age of 3, Tamika was self-conscious about speaking in front of anyone, let alone large groups, and the idea that she would willingly speak in front of an audience was mind-boggling. “And, now you fast forward, that was 1997. Now I’m a public speaker. That’s what I do, I go around, I speak, I tell, I share my story and share…about leadership and all the different things that I’ve learned throughout the course of my life.” Join us to hear how Tamika achieved her goal, and not only became a star player but a valued “role player” as well. We’ll also discuss how her hearing loss improved her performance on the court, how she’s creating her legacy, and what goal is posted on her mirror today. Links and Show Notes: https://whitneyjohnson.com/tamika-catchings

My guest today is Jason Jedlinski, a digital product executive, innovator and brand builder currently serving as the Senior Vice President of Product for Gannett Media. Jason’s career in media spans most of his life, taking root in the second grade when he began producing a monthly family newspaper. It was one of many entrepreneurial avenues Jason pursued as a child, ranging from collecting toll fees outside his father’s office to tutoring computer skills on an Apple II. A discovery-driven thinker, as an adult Jason has repeatedly reinvented his role within an organization and is clearly not afraid to leap to new opportunities.  But don’t just take my word for it: join us as we discuss Jason’s humble entrepreneurial beginnings in his family’s basement, how he took on market risk and created his own job opportunities, and the time he went all the way to the C-Suite on the 24th floor to tell the powers-that-be there was a more efficient way to complete the project he’d been assigned (something he still can’t believe he did!) Links and complete show notes - https://whitneyjohnson.com/jason-jedlinski

My guest on the podcast today is Ty Shay, the Global Chief Marketing Officer of Norton/LifeLock. Well regarded for his expertise, marketing is not the career path Ty originally set out on. After working tirelessly to get a job as an investment banker at Dean Witter Morgan Stanley, Ty quickly realized that it wasn’t a career he was interested in pursuing. Join us as we discuss Ty’s journey from banking to marketing, the risks of being “invaluable” to a company, and how Ty knows when it’s time to move on. Complete Show Notes & Links - https://whitneyjohnson.com/ty-shay

My guest on the podcast today is Maren Kate Donovan, the founder and former CEO of Zirtual, a company that went from rapid growth and success to shutting down seemingly overnight. The measure of their success ended up being their downfall: rapid growth, combined with the reality of unit economics, created a firestorm where it became painfully obvious that continued operations would lead to an inability to pay employees for completed work.  Maren made the difficult decision to simply stop and pay everyone while they still could—a decision she still believes was the right call for the circumstances. Maren got back on her feet and is now finding her way to success through the founding of AVRA Talent. Her team partners with companies to help them fill critical roles in their staff, what they refer to as “on-demand talent acquisition,” And Maren knows that she never could have moved in this direction without her “$5 Million Dollar MBA” earned at Zirtual.    Join us as we discuss Maren’s early desire to “Escape the 9 to 5,” her crash course in Silicon Valley and the Founders Institute, and how she turned failure into perspective and, ultimately, success.  Complete show notes and links from this episode at https://whitneyjohnson.com/maren-kate-donovan