I'm Just Getting Started Podcast

In this episode (and the accompanying Substack essay), we explore three phrases that are universally encouraged in our personal relationships — yet oddly discouraged, complicated, or even punished in professional leadership spaces: I was wrong. I’m sorry. I made a mistake. While accountability language is foundational to healthy marriages, friendships, and families, it is often treated as risky or...

In this episode (and accompanying Substack piece), we explore an unlikely leadership teacher: the mongoose . Small. Unassuming. Often underestimated. And yet — remarkably effective when it matters most. Using the mongoose as a metaphor, this reflection looks at leadership that doesn’t rely on size, title, or volume, but on awareness, courage, timing, and precision. The mongoose doesn’t win by bein...

Fear-Induced Decision Paralysis In this episode (and the accompanying Substack essay), we explore how fear quietly reshapes decision-making inside organizations — not through dramatic conflict, but through hesitation, avoidance, and non-decisions. When consequences are unclear, reactions are inconsistent, and power feels opaque, people don’t stop caring — they stop deciding. Over time, fear become...

write show notes and social captions Absolutely—here are clean, ready-to-post show notes plus social captions tailored for I’m Just Getting Started . These match your reflective, encouraging tone and work well across platforms. 🎙️ Podcast Show Notes I’m Just Getting Started Episode Title: Cultivating a Growth Mindset Growth doesn’t happen because things are easy. It happens because we keep going w...

Best Lessons on Leadership, Work, and Supervision In this episode, I step back and reflect on the most consistent lessons that have emerged over the past few months of writing I’m Just Getting Started . These aren’t textbook leadership theories — they’re field notes from real work, real people, and real moments where leadership shows up quietly and imperfectly. This conversation pulls together the...

In this episode (and the accompanying essay), we take an unlikely teacher seriously: DoorDash . What looks like a simple food delivery app turns out to be a surprisingly clear window into how modern work actually functions — expectations, incentives, invisibility, and all. Using DoorDash as a metaphor, this piece explores how work gets fragmented, optimized, gamified, and sometimes dehumanized — a...

In this episode (and accompanying essay), we explore one of the most underrated leadership skills: the ability to say “I don’t know.” In a culture that often equates leadership with certainty, confidence, and having the answers, admitting uncertainty can feel risky — even unprofessional. But in practice, leaders who can say “I don’t know” often build more trust, stronger teams, and better decision...

In this episode (and the accompanying essay), we explore one of the most overlooked leadership tools available — a single, simple word that costs nothing and changes everything: please . Somewhere along the way, professionalism convinced us that politeness was optional, efficiency was king, and authority didn’t need courtesy. But the absence of “please” has consequences — especially in environment...

In this episode (and the full essay), we dive into the complicated dance between trust and loyalty in the workplace — a relationship that has shaped American work culture for decades, and a relationship that has unraveled just as quickly. Leaders often want loyalty before they offer trust. Employees often want trust before they can offer loyalty. And somewhere in the middle, both sides wait for th...

In this episode (and the full essay), we explore Daniel Pink’s “FedEx Day” concept — reimagined as the far more realistic, leader-friendly FedEx Hour . Because most of us can’t disappear for a whole day to chase a creative idea… but almost everyone can give themselves one hour a week. One hour to deliver something new. One hour to create instead of react. One hour where your brain is free from cri...

In this episode (and the full essay), we rethink productivity by shifting the focus from time management to energy management — a distinction that changes everything for supervisors and teams. Time is fixed. Energy is renewable. And a supervisor’s energy sets the temperature of the entire workplace. Drawing on real-world leadership experience (and the hard-won lessons of weeks where the tank hits...

In this episode (and the full essay), we explore the restorative, grounding, energizing impact of doing good — especially when life and work feel heavy. I share why community service isn’t just noble or altruistic; it’s a deeply practical strategy for sustaining ourselves as leaders, employees, and human beings. Drawing from my monthly volunteer trips with students to the local food bank — sorting...

In this episode (and the full essay), we look at a parenting pattern that shows up far more often than people admit — something I’ve witnessed firsthand across 30 years of working with students and families: help addiction . This is the dynamic where a parent’s identity becomes tied to being indispensable. Not just helpful — needed . And over time, it stops being support and starts becoming a kind...

In this episode (and the companion essay), I explore the surprisingly profound leadership lessons hidden inside something as ordinary — and occasionally infuriating — as the daily commute. What starts as a slow crawl through traffic becomes a reminder about emotional pacing, patience, and the difference between reacting and responding. I talk about why patience is theoretically one of my strengths...

In this episode (and the accompanying Substack essay), we explore one of the strangest and most emotionally complicated workplace truths: sometimes the people are amazing… and the place is not. I dig into the tension of working alongside talented, kind, mission-driven colleagues inside systems that are dysfunctional, stagnant, or misaligned with your values. We talk about why it’s so easy to confu...

In this episode (and companion Substack article), we dive into one of the most misunderstood parts of modern leadership: how to give critique in a way that actually builds resilience instead of breaking confidence. I introduce the 12:1 Sugar-to-S**t Ratio — a tongue-in-cheek but research-backed approach to feedback that works especially well with younger employees who are still building their prof...