The Leadership Podcast

Howard A. Tullman, CEO of 1871,share his advice and wisdom from his years as an entrepreneur, academic, speaker, columnist, futurist and community leader. The conversation starts with the sudden growth of Chicago's tech sector, supported by 1871, and the objectives of 1871 in preparing entrepreneurs to build a business community and innovate for growth. Howard discusses the business and university...

Dr. Linda Sharkey and Morag Barrett, co-authors of The Future-Proof Workplace, share their views on how the industrial revolution left us with the broken and toxic workplaces we see today. Virtual enterprises and aspirational millennials do not thrive under command-and-control leadership. Linda and Morag talk about how a culture of curiosity, learning, diversity, growth, and purpose can future-pro...

Scott Mann, storyteller, rooftop leader, military expert, and author, shares his experiences and research into the tribal origins of leadership. He tells of desert villages fighting terror, and C-suites dealing with massive trust deficits, with both groups in need of the same tools for success. He reminds us that technology does not change what we need, or how we connect. Scott sees a great deteri...

Dr. Tasha Eurich shares her experiences as an organizational psychologist, researcher, coach, and New York Times bestselling author along with her new book, Insight for improving self-awareness. Tasha explains the dangers inherent in poor self-awareness in leaders, individuals, and teams, and she provides specific solutions for achieving the self-awareness that will improve corporate culture, and...

Sebastian Junger's insights on leadership and teamwork within a community - and civilization at large - are remarkable. His broad range of experiences as a war-correspondent, anthropology student and tree cutter inform perspectives that have made him a New York Times bestselling author, award-winning journalist, and Academy Award nominated documentary filmmaker. Sebastian is known for his insights...

Susan Morrice, a geologist, explorer, chief executive, and global visionary, shares how to tap into energy you didn't know you had, and how that can be a contagion for influence. Susan has always dreamed big, and she has discovered the successful people start with "Know Thyself." Susan discovered oil in Belize despite naysayers, obstacles, and adversity. Her organization is now the largest produce...

Ryan Mundy, eight-year veteran of the National Football League, Super Bowl champion, and angel investor at Techlete Ventures, discusses leadership in football from his father's coaching in Pop Warner, through his high school, college, and NFL achievements. Ryan is grateful for all the people who helped him along the way, but he is most grateful for his father, who taught him to be self-reliant, an...

John Kelley, Chair and CEO of CereScan discusses his early career, and how the Xerox sales and leadership training prepared him for a lifetime of leadership growth and challenges. He discusses turnarounds, startups, ethics, culture, team support, interdependence, and the power of delegation and trust. He also stresses the importance of diversity of expertise, and the work ethic. Finally, he discus...

Jan, Jim, and their guests discuss the importance of trust for teams, how to build it, and what roles vulnerability and shared experiences play in creating trust. Also, is there a disconnect from people being motivated by autonomy as an individual, and the need for selflessness when it comes to what's best for the team? Jim and Jan are joined by Isaiah Burkhart and Clay Othic from past Crucible ex...

Jen Paquette, Executive Director of the Green Beret Foundation, discusses how her husband's injury changed her mission, and how she leveraged her business experience to lead a dynamic non-profit organization. Jen covers the lessons learned running a not-for-profit; the difficulty of fund raising; building her own credibility; and effective board management. Jen also discusses the women of Steel Ma...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Tommy Spaulding - the author of "Heart-Led Leader." The conversation explores themes on being humble, authentic, and honorable vis-a-vis grit, edge, and tenacity. Tommy wrote about Return On Relationship (ROR), and says that with authentic relationships, you get lifelong customers. When you have a genuine interest in others, they will ask you,...

Summary & Ideas for Action Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Liz Ryan - the CEO and founder of Human Workplace. According to Liz, the mistrust of employees is baked into organizations. Liz says, "It's toxic, it's sick, and it's bad for profitability, for shareholders, for employee health, and the planet." Liz advocates that leaders need to "be human," and to make every workplac...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Chris Paton (2 weeks before he had a brain tumor removed - see notes below which are published with Chris's permission). Chris is the founder and Managing Director of Quirk Solutions, a company that specializes in delivering Business Wargaming to many organizations. Chris was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Marines and an advisor to the Cabin...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Becki Saltzman. Becki is a curiosity expert and an applied-curiosity trainer and consultant. In this interview, Jim, Jan and Becki discuss the nature of curiosity training vis-a-vis your curiosity muscle. Becki points out that asking additional questions is better than getting quick answers to obvious questions. Leaders can encourage innovation...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Steffan Tubbs. Steffan is best known in Colorado as the co-host of Colorado's Morning News on KOA NewsRadio in Denver. Overall, Steffan has more than 26 years of news experience and is a four-time winner of the Edward R. Murrow award for national reporting. In this interview, Jim, Jan and Steffan discuss whether some people are born to be leade...

Heroic Aspirations & Team Commitment – A Profound Disconnect? Summary & Ideas for Action On this Mastermind episode, co-hosts Jim Vaselopulos and Jan Rutherford discuss the inside scoop on The Leadership Podcast. Jim and Jan cover the questions that have been asked when they've shown the Patagonia Crucible documentary in four cities so far. They segue into themes The Leadership Podcast guests have...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Greg Adams and Blake Miles. Greg was a Special Forces officer, and is now the Co-founder and CEO of Stabilitas, a real-time threat intelligence and communication platform for security professionals working at global organizations. Blake was a Special Forces soldier, and currently is working as the Director of Support for Stabilitas. Greg and hi...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Lana Holmes. Lana served as a proof-of-concept CEO for 6 companies, and an investor/advisor to over 30 technical startups in the San Francisco Bay Area. As the founder of four companies, she has deep expertise in the complete entrepreneurial journey. Sensing the marketplace needed more than business expertise, Lana invested in her personal prac...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Josh Spodek, an Adjunct Professor at NYU, leadership coach, workshop leader for Columbia Business School, columnist for Inc., founder of Spodek Academy, and author of Leadership Step by Step (launching February 2017). Josh talks about how academic teachings failed to prepare him for entrepreneurship, and how learning a theory is insufficient wi...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Mary Kelly, CEO at Productive Leaders. They speak with Mary about the challenges of leadership in industry, and what happens when a leader tries too hard to be liked. They also discuss how employees perceive leaders differently than leaders perceive themselves. They discuss accountability, fairness, consistency, and mentoring. They end with a d...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview John Brumer, Jason Ginos, and Micah Niebauer, founders of Southern Pines Brewing. The three entrepreneurs first met while serving in the 3rd Special Forces Group. John enlisted right into the Special Forces qualification course. Jason went to Millikin University, and was a psychological operations specialist before heading into the 3rd Group. M...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Justin Gold, the Founder of Justin's Natural Foods Company, which produces organic and natural nut butters and peanut butter cups. From their humble beginnings at local farmers' markets to launching a national brand, Justin's is now one of the country's fastest growing natural foods companies. Justin's has received numerous local and national a...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Jim Palmer, a marketing and business-building expert, and in-demand coach. The author of five books, Jim is best known internationally as The Newsletter Guru, and creator of No Hassle Newsletters, the ultimate done-for-you newsletter marketing program used by hundreds of clients in nine countries. Jan and Jim talk with Jim Palmer about how he b...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview John Coyle, Founder and CEO of The Art of Really Living. John is one of the world's leading experts in innovation and design thinking. John is an SVP and Professor of Innovation, and a thought leader in the field of horology — the study of how we as humans process time. His mission is to innovate the human experience, and he has been applying "...

Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Jim Thompson, Founder and CEO of the Positive Coaching Alliance. Jim is focused on how to get the best from people, especially young athletes, through the teachable moments. Jim started PCA, a national nonprofit organization, in 1998 to transform the culture of youth sports into a Development Zone™ with the goal to develop Better Athletes, Bett...