ChoinqueCast

In this episode, host Jim Emerick sits down with Melissa Moore , Director of Training and Development at Central Florida Health Care, Inc. She shares her unique journey from psychology and education to health care leadership. She discusses the importance of emotional intelligence, leadership development, and how she’s shaping the future of health care with her team. Join us as we explore how leade...

In this episode of ChoinqueCast, host Jim Emerick sits down with Jim Harter , Chief Scientist of Workplace Management and Wellbeing at Gallup , to discuss the evolving landscape of workplace engagement, leadership, and well-being. With over 40 years of research experience, Jim Harter shares insights from Gallup’s groundbreaking work on engagement, performance, and the impact of AI on organizations...

In this episode of ChoinqueCast, host Jim Emerick sits down with Amy Coppola to explore her journey from corporate leadership to building her own company, Alfa Zula Professionals Inc. The conversation focuses on leadership growth, navigating large-scale government projects, and the realities of starting a small business in the defense and federal space. Amy shares how her mindset shifted from task...

In this episode of The ChoinqueCast, host Jim Emerick sits down with Jessica Gronert , Senior Business Development Manager at Leidos , about her unique career journey across the Air Force, intelligence, education, and business development. The conversation focuses on her leadership role as President of Women in Defence Greater Tampa Bay and how the organization supports professional growth, commun...

In this episode of ChoinqueCast, host Jim Emerick sits down with Jed Dairy , the Director of Open Autonomy at Wenco International Mining Systems . With a background in both the construction and mining industries, Jed shares his journey from project management to leading innovative autonomous systems in mining. They discuss the transformative role of autonomy in mining, the importance of an abundan...

Disclaimer: All statements of fact, opinion, or analysis expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official positions or views of the US Government. Nothing in the contents should be construed as asserting or implying US Government authentication of information or endorsement of the author’s views. In this relaunch of the ChoinqueCast, host Jim Emerick sits down with Juliane Gallina...

In this episode of ChoinqueCast , host Jim Emerick sits down with Christopher Mattila , Director of Construction Project Management at American Transmission Company (ATC) , to discuss what it takes to deliver large-scale transmission and infrastructure projects in today’s high-demand environment. With 17 years at Minnesota Power , where he built and led a Project Management Office, Chris shares ho...

In this episode of ChoinqueCast, host Jim Emerick sits down with JL Bielon , Chief Executive Officer at Champions for Children , to explore her journey through the nonprofit sector and her transition into her first CEO role. JL shares how a career rooted in philanthropy, from a historic theatre to an ocular research centre, a zoo, and now a child abuse prevention nonprofit, prepared her for execut...

In this episode of ChoinqueCast, host Jim Emerick sits down with Kevin Kerrigan , the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Fulton County Government . Kevin shares his journey from research to public service and leadership in local government. With a background in technology and environmental data research, Kevin has led IT teams through transformative changes and significant challenges, including a...

It has been a privilege getting to know a Christian-based organization following an open-enrollment Leadership Excellence Course this summer at the USAF Academy. We may ask ourselves, what does a Christian-based organization have to do with leadership? Good question. Let’s consider the scope of our follow on engagement, an Energize2Lead Workshop. Energy has a great deal to do with leadership. How...

One of the attendees at our most recent Academy Leadership Excellence Courses hosted at the USAF Academy shared a realization both on the first day to our group of eleven, and afterward during our one-on-one follow-on executive coaching sessions. Here’s what happened. Much of the first day of a Leadership Excellence Course is focused on learning about ourselves, in particular, what energizes us so...

In Episode 25, we meet a next-generation business leader, who focuses as much on people as results, Brandon Lark . Starting out “in the field” as a Superintendent and Project Manager, Brandon was appointed President of Great Southwestern Construction in May of 2014. While a Vice President, Brandon launched a broad-based leadership development initiative, which has included working with Academy Lea...

At a recent Leadership Excellence Course hosted at the United States Air Force Academy, one of the attendees both had and shared a significant realization and growth experience. With Roger’s permission, it’s worth sharing with you: Team, I was going to share the following with you tomorrow at our all hands.  Unfortunately, that schedule did not hold up.  Given that all of us have so many...

After binge-watching the powerful HBO miniseries Chernobyl: https://www.hbo.com/chernobyl my thoughts turned to our country and the ongoing issue with Boeing’s 737 MAX. What’s common to both events? A single word: Transparency. Or, the lack of it. The first episode of Chernobyl highlights — at the individual and at the organizational level — consequences of not sharing information, or the truth, e...

At an in-house Leadership Excellence Course last week multiple attendees realized, that from their position in the corporate hierarchy, the mission of the company was not as clear as it should be. This affects the teams they are responsible for, and may be addressed in multiple ways, which were discussed in several of our nine leadership workshops. Here are three examples. First, the corporate mis...

In Episode 24, we meet a most interesting couple, Andrea Kramer and Alton Harris . Andie is a partner in the international law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP, which was just listed as one of the “10 Best BigLaw Firms for Female Attorneys.” Despite her successful and demanding legal career, Andie has helped thousands of women navigate both the obvious and subtle gender biases they encounter...

Our Academy Leadership group, a terrific team of former military officers who are also senior civilian executives, often share our stories. With his permission, I would like to read to you an email from Kevin Derbin , 1979 Naval Academy Graduate. It’s a powerful coaching story from Kevin and his wife Pam. Their words. Their story: I wanted to share a very personal story about the power of our...

In Episode 23, we meet Dan Pontefract , Dan is the founder and CEO of The Pontefract Group, a firm that improves the state of leadership and organizational culture. Dan has presented at four different TED events and also writes for Forbes, Harvard Business Review and The Huffington Post. Dan is an adjunct professor at the University of Victoria, Gustavson School of Business and has garnered more t...

My friend and colleague Susan Packard recently sent me a copy of her new book Fully Human . My hope is that it reaches a larger audience than her first work New Rules of the Game, which was written primarily, although not exclusively for women. Her book is subtitled, 3 Steps to Grow Your Emotional Fitness in Work, Leadership, and Life . This reminded me of a sentence in my Personal Leadership Phil...

In Episode 22, we visit Cornell University , and Professor Barry Strauss ’ history and classics course “War and Peace in Greece and Rome.” Professor Strauss led a conversation between the two of us about Leonidas and Leadership, engaging the students as well. You can hear Barry & I pretty well, but it might be a bit of a challenge hearing the students. Enjoy the discussion and let us know what...

How many of you request feedback in order to learn and improve, or benefit from a 360 evaluation? This past week, at Cornell University , we went back a bit further and explored Leonidas I , the legendary warrior-king of the Greek city-state of Sparta. Most of us know of Leonidas I by way of Steven Pressfield ’s wonderful book Gates of Fire . Or, we may have seen the movie 300 . Both showcase the...

In Episode 21, we meet Lisette Sutherland , who describes herself as a remote-working German-born American living in the Netherlands who is today jazzed by the fact that it is possible to work from anywhere. Not just possible, but completely, productively workable — if you do it right. Lisette is a public speaker, workshop leader, and the director of Collaboration Superpowers , a company that help...

The past couple weeks have included multiple Academy Leadership Energize2Lead, or E2L, Workshops. Intentionally, this workshop is offered first during multi-day Leadership Development Programs so that attendees can understand themselves and others at a much deeper level. One of the attendees on day one of an Advanced Leadership Course declared to the participant group “I was not a fan of the E2L P...

In Episode 20, we meet Kristen Lowers and learn how the development of a Personal Leadership Philosophy has shaped her leadership journey, both at work, and in life. Kristen first attended an Academy Leadership Excellence Course in December 2013 and an Advanced Leadership Course in September 2014. She has sponsored numerous in-house leadership events for her teams and is certified to facilitate Ac...

An interesting series of leadership discussions started this month with a dynamic and intellectually curious colleague in Australia. Turns out we connected in May 2017 when I was speaking down under about Strategies for the Agile Leader , basing my talk on General Stanley McChrystal ’s book Team of Teams . My colleague has a new role now, Director of Enterprise Agility at a well known global firm...