Deep Leadership

Most people think great leaders have always dreamed of being in charge. But what if the opposite is true? In this episode of Deep Leadership, I sit down with Jessie Hathcock, President of The Loading Dock and founder of Scale Simple, to explore how purpose, humility, and service shape exceptional leaders. Jessie shares her remarkable journey from middle school teacher and nonprofit leader to leadi...

Your Body Knows You're Burned Out Before You Do What if the warning signs of burnout show up long before you recognize them? In this episode of Deep Leadership, I sit down with Melissa Gonzalez, author of The Purpose Pivot, to explore why so many high achievers ignore the signals their bodies are sending them until it's too late. After a life-threatening health crisis forced her to stop, Melissa d...

Stop trying to control everything. Most leaders believe their job is to control outcomes, manage every detail, and have all the answers. But what if that mindset is actually making leadership harder? In this episode, Yining Wang joins me to discuss why the best leaders stop trying to control everything and instead focus on developing inner clarity, self-awareness, and purpose. Drawing on his exper...

Why Your Excuses Are Holding You Back What if the biggest thing standing between you and success isn't your circumstances, your competition, or your limitations... but the excuses you've accepted as truth? In this episode of Deep Leadership, I sit down with Patrick Engasser, bestselling author, business coach, motivational speaker, and former top-performing sales leader. Patrick has been blind sin...

What makes people trust a leader? And why do some teams thrive under pressure while others fall apart? In this episode of Deep Leadership, I sit down with trust experts Dr. Michelle Reina and Dr. Dennis Reina, co-founders of Reina Trust Building and authors of The Art of Trust Building, to explore the real impact trust has on leadership, culture, and performance. We dive deep into: Why high-trust...

Most companies think innovation is about technology, strategy, or process. Dr. Bruce Vojak says they’re wrong. In this episode of Deep Leadership, Jon Rennie sits down with innovation expert Dr. Bruce Vojak to explore why innovation succeeds or fails based on the people inside the organization. Drawing from decades of experience at companies like Motorola and from his research on “serial innovator...

Most leadership advice tells you to “just be authentic.” But what happens when the workplace pressures you to become someone else? In this episode of Deep Leadership, I sit down with leadership coach, consultant, and author Dr. Rashida Leverett to explore why authentic leadership is so difficult in today’s workplace. Drawing from over 30 years of experience in the military, government, higher educ...

What happens when AI enters the workplace at full speed? In this episode of Deep Leadership, I sit down with futurist, bestselling author, and workplace expert Jacob Morgan to discuss why the future of work will reward high performers more than ever before. We explore the return of accountability in the workplace, the growing divide between high performers and average contributors, and why AI won’...

The Networking Mistake That Could Cost You Your Career What happens when you lose your job… and realize you have nobody to call? In this episode of Deep Leadership, I sit down with networking expert and author Greg Roche to discuss why so many professionals wait too long to build meaningful relationships and how that mistake can quietly damage careers. Greg shares how losing his HR leadership role...

Why do smart people get things so wrong? In this episode of Deep Leadership, I sit down with Professor Peter Lamont to explore a powerful idea: it’s not what you think that matters most—it’s how you think. We dive into his concept of Radical Thinking—a different approach to critical thinking that challenges you to examine the roots of your beliefs. Peter explains why every one of us is operating f...

Why Self-Awareness Is the Leadership Skill Most Leaders Lack Most leaders don’t fail because they lack skill, experience, or good intentions—they fail because they don’t truly understand themselves. In this episode of Deep Leadership, I sit down with Margaret Andrews, author of Manage Yourself to Lead Others, to unpack why self-awareness is the foundation of effective leadership—and why so many le...

Leadership Decisions You Can’t Afford to Get Wrong In this episode of Deep Leadership, I sit down with Dr. Linda Henman, advisor, author, and expert in high-stakes decision-making, to talk about the leadership decisions you simply can’t afford to get wrong. Most organizations are full of people who know how to execute. They run fast, deliver results, and get promoted. But when the stakes are high,...

Most leaders don’t fail because they don’t care. They fail because no one ever taught them how to lead. In this episode of Deep Leadership, I sit down with Robert Heath Sr., a former Marine Corps officer, attorney, and leadership coach, to unpack one of the biggest traps leaders fall into—the need to be the fixer. If you’re the person everyone relies on to solve problems, this conversation might h...

What happens when your best performer becomes your worst leader? In this episode of Deep Leadership, I sit down with Dr. Peter James, President and CEO of HCG Strategic Partners, to unpack one of the most common (and costly) mistakes organizations make: promoting great individual contributors into leadership roles without preparing them to lead. Peter brings a rare perspective shaped by leadership...

Broken Trust: How Great Leaders Fix It Trust is at some of the lowest levels we’ve ever seen—and leaders are paying the price. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Darryl Stickel to unpack what trust really is, why it’s collapsing in today’s uncertain world, and how great leaders rebuild it inside their teams. We talk about the real definition of trust (it’s not what you think), why confidence wit...

What if you didn’t wait for permission… and just claimed authority? In this episode of the Deep Leadership podcast, I sit down with Tom Kubiniec, President and CEO of Securit Tactical, who built multiple successful companies without a degree, corporate experience, or a traditional playbook. Tom shares how he carved out a leadership position in an industry that had no clear expert—and why sometimes...

Crisis Is Coming. Are You Ready? Every leader will face a crisis. The question is whether you’ll be prepared—or caught off guard. In this episode of Deep Leadership, I sit down with Stephanie Craig, President of Kith, to talk about what most leaders get wrong about crisis management—and how to fix it before it’s too late. Stephanie shares why crisis preparedness is a mindset, not a checklist, and...

Stop Fixing Problems! Most leaders are trained to hunt problems, fix issues, and eliminate failure. But what if that mindset is actually limiting performance? In this episode, Jon sits down with George Pesansky, author of Super Performance, to challenge the way we think about leadership, operations, and improvement. Instead of obsessing over what’s broken, George explains how the best leaders iden...

The Success Trap: Why High Achievers Feel Empty at the Top Success is supposed to make you happy… so why do so many high achievers feel trapped? In this episode of the Deep Leadership podcast, I talk with executive coach and author Keren Eldad about the hidden emotional cost of ambition. We explore why success and happiness often move in opposite directions, how leaders unknowingly build a “gilded...

The Confidence Trap: Why Great Performers Choke Under Pressure Why do talented athletes, leaders, and entrepreneurs sometimes lose confidence in the moments that matter most? In this episode of the Deep Leadership Podcast, I sit down with mindset coach Scott Papek to explore why even high performers struggle with pressure, overthinking, and self-doubt. Scott works with athletes from middle school...

If you’re a leader and you only hear good news, you may have a bigger problem than you think. In this episode of the Deep Leadership podcast, I sit down with Phillip Wilson, CEO of LRI Consulting Services and author of The Leader-Shift Playbook, to talk about one of the most overlooked leadership blind spots: power distance. Why don’t employees speak up? Why do teams hide mistakes? Why does bad ne...

What do you do when the mission fails? In this episode of Deep Leadership, I sit down with aerospace executive Andy Crocker to talk about what happens when a career-defining project collapses. After competing against SpaceX and Blue Origin for NASA’s Human Landing System, Andy and his team lost the contract — not once, but twice. For many leaders, that kind of loss can shake your identity. Instead...

Are you winning at work but quietly struggling at home? In this episode of Deep Leadership, I sit down with Gabriela Embon, author of Becoming a Power Couple, to talk about why high achievers often succeed in their careers but fail to invest in the most important partnership of their lives. We discuss: Why work-life balance is a myth for driven leaders The difference between balance and integratio...

Most leadership training happens in classrooms. Real leadership doesn’t. In this episode, I’m joined by Chris Hossfeld, a 27-year U.S. Army veteran and founder of Barrel Strength Leadership, who develops leaders by taking them to historic battlefields like Gettysburg and Normandy. We explore why pressure, emotion, and shared experience shape leaders far more than PowerPoint slides ever can. Chris...

How Pressure Turns Good Leaders Into Bad Bosses Most leaders don’t fail because they lack skill or good intentions. They fail because pressure changes how they show up. In this episode, executive coach Sabina Nawaz explains why pressure, not power, is the real force that corrupts leadership. Drawing from her work with senior leaders at Microsoft and Fortune 500 companies, Sabina breaks down how we...