Unlocked with Skot Waldron

Elizabeth Dixon joins Skot Waldron on Unlocked to explore purpose-driven leadership, meaningful work, and the difference between getting your identity from your job and bringing your purpose to it. One makes a missed promotion feel personal. The other gives you something a job title can't take away. Drawing on two decades of leadership experience at Chick-fil-A and her book, *The Advantage of Purp...

We often think we understand others' behaviors, but what if we're missing the bigger picture? I've been doing a lot of research lately for my upcoming book. I begin exploring the concept of misdiagnosis in the workplace, particularly on procrastination and micromanagement. Emphasizing the need to understand the stories behind behaviors that we often label as negative. We tend to judge and these ha...

In this episode of Unlocked, Skot Waldron talks with Kamini Ramani. She spent 40 years in Silicon Valley, advised Steve Jobs, and served as chief marketing officer of Mayfield Fund. She is also the USA Today bestselling author of Lotus Leadership. Kamini interviewed 33 of the most accomplished women leaders in tech to learn what got them to the top and what it cost them. You'll hear why the best l...

What if some of the pressure you feel to "be productive" has less to do with getting good work done, and more to do with making sure people can see you doing it? In this episode of Thoughts Unlocked, I read a little bit of Chapter 2 from my new book idea, called Misdiagnosed, and explore where our obsession with visible productivity came from. It starts with a stopwatch, a pile of pig iron, and Fr...

In this episode of Unlocked, Skot Waldron talks with Colin Fisher, author of The Collective Edge, about improvisation, leadership, creative work, and why teams often struggle when the work gets messy, invisible, or hard to measure. They unpack the difference between checking in and checking up, why leaders need to make their intentions more explicit, and how even good leaders can start behaving ba...

A deep dive into the misdiagnosis of work behaviors and the value of different thinkers. During coaching sessions, I've heard a lot of different emotions from clients, particularly frustration and hopelessness. Yet, one phrase I hear too often is, "I wish I could be more like them." This sentiment speaks volumes about how we perceive ourselves in the workplace. Often, those expressing this wish ar...

In this episode of Unlocked, Skot sits down with Dr. Ricardo Valerdi, engineer, sports scientist, University of Arizona professor, and author of *The Five Tool Team*, to unpack the psychology behind decision-making, and why judging a decision by its outcome is one of the most common leadership mistakes. We get into the tug-of-war between "me" and "we," why the best hitters in baseball fail 70% of...

In this episode of Unlocked, Skot sits down with international speaker and emotional intelligence expert Nikki Langman to unpack what psychological safety really means (and what it doesn't). Nikki shares the remarkable story of a 12-month emotional intelligence program she ran inside a high-risk maritime company, one that cut lost-time injuries by 86% and doubled near-miss reporting, proof that tr...

Why does leadership feel lonelier for women and what does community actually fix? In this episode of Unlocked, host Skot Waldron sits down with award-winning entrepreneur and Dear FoundHer... founder Lindsay Pinchuk to unpack why the right community changes everything for women leaders and founders over 40. They dig into the mental load women carry at home while leading at work, why burnout from c...

Stress doesn't create cracks in your culture. It reveals them. When teams are under pressure, trust can quickly turn into blame, assumptions, longer email threads, and people protecting themselves instead of solving problems. In this episode of Thoughts Unlocked, I break down why stress can break trust and what leaders can do about it. The answer isn't more communication. It's more curiosity. Inst...

Most people think the Apple Store succeeded because of great design. Ron Johnson says that's only half the story. The real secret was something much more personal. In this episode, Ron Johnson, the man who built the Apple Store alongside Steve Jobs and later became CEO of JCPenney, breaks down the invisible forces that shape how leaders make decisions. He introduces a concept called personal geogr...

"I don't have time." We say it all the time. But what if time isn't actually the problem? In this episode of Thoughts Unlocked, I'm challenging the idea that we don't have enough time. The real issue is often ownership. When your calendar belongs to everyone else, your priorities get pushed aside. Strategy, thinking, relationships, rest, and the things that matter most become whatever time is left...

Building a business, coaching practice, or consulting career can feel like a constant tug-of-war between ambition and balance. You want to grow, serve clients, make the thing work and also not become the person everyone quietly avoids at dinner. In this episode of Unlocked, Skot Waldron talks with John Azar about why "work-life balance" might not be the real goal, what healthy seasons of imbalance...

Mark Miller spent almost 45 years at Chick-fil-A, rising to VP of High Performance Leadership, and along the way he accidentally co-wrote a book with Ken Blanchard that's now in 34 languages. He's back on Unlocked to talk about the newly re-released edition of THE SECRET: What Great Leaders Know and Do, a third of it rewritten, with a research-backed free assessment and facilitator's guide added....

Why do smart, capable people resist change even when it is good for them? In this episode of Unlocked, Dr. Rosie Ward, CEO of Salveo Partners and bestselling author of Future-Proofing Leadership and Rehumanizing the Workplace, explains what is really happening in our brains when change and uncertainty show up. Rosie reveals the seven "faulty programs" quietly running our inner operating systems: t...

Most leaders think results are the whole job. Keith Wyche spent 30 years learning why that belief quietly destroys teams, trust, and sometimes your own family. In this episode of Unlocked, Keith, a former Walmart, IBM, and Pitney Bowes executive and author of the new book Uncommon Leadership, gets refreshingly honest about his early years as a "bull in the china shop" leader. The guy who locked th...

Uncertainty grows when attention leaves the present and lives entirely in the future. Whether in business or in life, uncertainty is something we all face. The problem is, when we obsess over what might happen, we end up spending our energy on things we can't control. In this episode of Thoughts Unlocked, I share to you how great leaders navigate uncertain times without pretending they have all th...

Most leaders think they need another skill, another framework, or maybe one more leadership book stacked on the nightstand for "future growth." Ryan Watts thinks the real issue is often deeper than that. In this episode of Unlocked, Skot Waldron talks with Ryan Watts about the internal negotiations leaders carry around every day. The replayed conversations. The overthought emails. The quiet questi...

In today's fast-paced work environments, we often find ourselves frustrated by the differing work styles and paces of our colleagues. Have you ever left a meeting feeling energized and ready to act, only to notice a teammate who seems to be lost in thought? Or perhaps you're the one who needs time to process information, while others rush ahead with action plans. Productivity shaming manifests in...

Procrastination is often labeled as a personal flaw, but what if it's not that simple? It's essential to ask deeper questions. Why is this person not moving forward? What are the barriers they face? If you've ever felt stuck or unmotivated, you're not alone. We'll dissect the concepts of work, will, and weight – the three critical aspects that can influence your productivity and decision-making. I...

Effective communication is often touted as a cornerstone of successful teams, yet many struggle with it. Why is that? In this episode of Thoughts Unlocked, I'll explore the true nature of communication in teams, emphasizing intentionality over mere talking. The 'communication codes' framework – clarify, critique, collaborate, care, and celebrate. You'll not only enhance clarity but also foster a c...

In this episode of Unlocked, Skot sits down with Mike Soltys ESPN's official historian and a 45-year veteran of the company and Garrett Sutton, attorney, bestselling author, and executive producer of the new documentary Sports Heaven: The Birth of ESPN. Together, they pull back the curtain on Bill Rasmussen, the 43-year-old who got fired from a hockey team and decided to build a 24-hour sports net...

Most leaders walk into uncertainty with a 15-point plan, but Karina Mangu-Ward argues that the plan is almost always going out the window and the leaders who admit that openly are often the ones people trust most. In this episode, Skot sits down with Karina, partner at August and author of Teams That Meet the Moment , to unpack the assumptions that keep teams stuck. They explore why humans are neu...

Most leaders think the problem is accountability. Chris Hallberg says the real problem is trust, and accountability is simply what starts to fall apart when trust is missing. In this episode, Chris, a military veteran, entrepreneur, and EOS implementer recognized by  Inc. Magazine as a top 10 global leadership expert, explains why smart teams with big goals still struggle to execute. The issue oft...

Why saying NO is essential for success. In a world where being available at all times is often seen as a badge of honor, many leaders struggle with the word "no." Let's explore the importance of setting boundaries as a leader and how saying no can actually improve your effectiveness and the culture of your organization. We'll dive into how to communicate these boundaries without feeling guilty and...