Calm and Confident Leader Podcast

You've read the books, done the offsite, and hired the coach. So why do you keep running into the same wall? It's probably not your effort. It's the rules you don't know you're following. In this episode, host Jason Stonehouse sits down with David Heaps, founder of Leadering and author of Inner Architecture. David spent years as a corporate COO before walking away to study with...

Everybody wants deep relationships. Almost nobody knows how to build them. In part two of this conversation, Jason Stonehouse continues the discussion with Jeff Gailey and Phil Smith, authors of The Way Back to One Another , and this time they get specific about what it actually takes. Part one named the problem. This episode gets practical. In this conversation, you'll hear: Why you have to b...

You lead teams. You solve problems. You carry pressure other people never see. And somewhere in all of that, you might have forgotten how to actually connect with anyone. This week on the Calm and Confident Leader podcast, host Jason Stonehouse sits down with Jeff Gailey and Phil Smith, authors of The Way Back to One Another , to talk about something most leaders won't say out loud: they'r...

What if your hardest season isn't a detour, but part of your leadership development? Every leader eventually finds themselves in the wilderness. It's the season where confidence feels shaky, the strategies that used to work stop working, and the questions become bigger than the answers. Most of us assume something has gone wrong. But what if the wilderness isn't a sign of failure? What...

Why do smart, successful leaders keep repeating the same patterns even when they know exactly what to do? What if the problem isn't a lack of discipline, motivation, or another leadership framework? What if the real issue is the story you're telling yourself about who you are? In this episode of The Calm and Confident Leader, Jason Stonehouse sits down with Connie Kwan, a five-time Chief P...

What if all your success still doesn't answer the deepest questions you're carrying? Most high-performing leaders know how to solve problems, hit goals, and keep moving forward. But beneath the surface, many wrestle with questions they rarely say out loud: What if I'm winning at the wrong game? What if success still doesn't satisfy? What happens when I can't control the outcome...

What happens when your skills outgrow your character? In this episode of the Calm and Confident Leader podcast, host Jason Stonehouse sits down with Dr. O. Alan Noble to explore why so many capable leaders eventually collapse under the weight of success, not because they lacked talent, but because their inner foundation was never strengthened to carry it. Together, Jason and Alan unpack the differ...

What if the reason you still feel stuck isn’t your strategy, but the emotional patterns running underneath it? In this episode of The Calm and Confident Leader, host Jason Stonehouse sits down with entrepreneur, physicist, and emotional intelligence expert Randy Lyman for a powerful conversation about the hidden emotional dynamics that shape leadership, decision-making, and fulfillment. After buil...

Why is this person so difficult to work with? You've asked it. Every leader has. And the answer probably isn't what you think. Most of us assume difficult people are just... difficult. Wrong personality. Bad fit. Too much drama. But what if the real problem is that you're trying to fix behavior when the actual issue is motivation? Those are two completely different problems, and they r...

What if the person on your team who frustrates you the most isn’t the problem… but the clue? In this episode of the Calm and Confident Leader Podcast , host Jason Stonehouse sits down with Dr. James Borishade , author of Connecting Across Differences , to unpack why so many leaders struggle with conflict and communication, and what they might be missing. Dr. Borishade brings a fascinating perspect...

Have you ever felt like you’re leading… while quietly wondering if you’re lost? What do you do when you’re not where you used to be, not yet where you thought you’d be, and the map feels a little blurry? In this episode of The Calm and Confident Leader , Jason Stonehouse sits down with writer, educator, and leadership developer Donna Barber, author of Enough for Today: 40 Reflections for Surviving...

Ever walk into a meeting where everyone’s spiraling, and one calm voice changes everything? What if you could be that person? In this episode of The Calm and Confident Leader, host Jason Stonehouse sits down with transformational executive coach and founder of Sawubona Leadership, Susan Inouye, to talk about how presence, authenticity, and emotional clarity can become your biggest leadership advan...

Ever feel like your whole job is just reacting to other people’s bad decisions with a smile? Like you’re less of a leader and more of a glorified problem sponge? In this episode, we’re flipping that script. Host Jason Stonehouse sits down with leadership expert and former British military officer Jimmy Burroughes, who’s led in combat zones and corporate chaos and somehow lived to write a book abou...

What if the biggest barrier to innovation in your organization isn't a lack of ideas but a lack of trust? Most leaders say they want change. They want innovation, creativity, teams that take initiative. But when someone actually steps up to try something new, the response is usually some version of "Wait, did you get approval for that?" We've created systems that demand permissio...

What if the polished version of you is actually keeping you from real influence? In this powerful episode, host Jason Stonehouse sits down with Amos Balongo, global leadership coach and communication expert who's trained everyone from senior military commanders to Fortune 500 executives. Amos challenges one of the biggest lies in leadership culture: that you need to fake confidence until you m...

What if everything you believed about your potential was based on someone else's opinion of you? In this powerful episode, host Jason Stonehouse sits down with Hanna Bauer, executive leadership coach and author, to unpack why so many talented leaders feel stuck living lives that don't actually fit them. Hanna reveals a truth that hits hard: most of us are operating from beliefs about ourse...

Resisting the Drift You can be crushing it at work while quietly falling apart inside. It rarely happens all at once. It happens slowly. Subtly. A few late nights. A few missed moments at home. A quiet slide into becoming someone you never meant to be. Host Jason Stonehouse talks with Peter Greer , president of Hope International and author of How Leaders Lose Their Way , about the early warning s...

What if your team isn’t stuck because they’re resistant to change, but because they literally can’t imagine what’s next? In this episode of The Calm and Confident Leader , host Jason Stonehouse sits down with Dr. Rebecca Sutherns , CEO of Sage Solutions, strategist, and author of Elastic: Stretch Without Snapping or Snapping Back . Together, they unpack what Dr. Sutherns calls a failure of imagina...

Most leaders think their job is having all the answers. But what if the real power lies in asking the right questions? In this episode, host Jason Stonehouse sits down with JR Briggs, founder of Kairos Partnerships and author of The Art of Asking Better Questions , to explore why the best leaders might not be the ones with all the solutions. JR has spent over a decade coaching everyone from busine...

What if being "too compassionate" is actually the most profitable thing you could do as a leader? Most entrepreneurs think compassion makes you weak. That caring too much about your team means lower standards, missed goals, and a business that runs you instead of the other way around. But what if that's completely backwards? In this episode, host Jason Stonehouse sits down with Cal Riley, combat v...

What if the most productive thing you could do today is slow down? Most leaders are running on empty, convinced that busier equals better. But what if that equation is completely backwards? What if your anxiety isn't the fuel driving your success...it's actually burning you out? In this episode, Jason Stonehouse sits down with Alan Fadling, founder of Unhurried Living and author of An Unhu...

Ever set a goal that had everyone fired up for three days, then by week two the energy vanished and you're awkwardly reminding people about it in meetings? Turns out the very systems designed to motivate high performers are actually killing momentum and creating what Radhika calls "performance theater." What if everything we've been taught about goal-setting is backwards? In this...

Ever wonder why your best employee just handed in their two weeks notice without warning, while that person who drives everyone crazy is still hanging around? Join host Jason Stonehouse and management expert Nick Agnoli as they tackle the real-world challenge every leader faces: keeping your top 10% performing at their peak while dealing with that 80% who do just enough to get by. This isn't y...

Stop Leading Alone: Why Shared Leadership Changes Everything What if the problem isn’t your calendar but your operating system? In this episode of The Calm and Confident Leader Podcast , host Jason Stonehouse sits down with Dr. Eun Strawser to unpack why leadership is not meant to be a solo act and how shifting from control to collaboration can transform the way we lead. We explore: Why shared lea...

Ever feel like you're managing spreadsheets instead of people? In this episode of The Calm and Confident Leader , host Jason Stonehouse sits down with Chris Hallberg , ranked #9 on Inc. Magazine’s Top 50 Leadership & Management Experts (just ahead of Simon Sinek) and a coach who’s helped over 100 teams win “Best Places to Work” honors. Chris brings the heat with battle-tested wisdom, zero...