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Season 10 Episode 23

Guest: Greg Moran, C-level leadership executive & consultant

The business landscape is littered with fallen firms of questionable ethics. Enron is just one example. But the stumbles of today’s organisations – from Boeing to Columbia University – may be rooted in the lack of a clear ethical framework from the top.

That’s the thesis of guest Greg Moran, who lays out the evidence with host Maureen Metcalf in this episode. It’s not mere philosophical debate; as Enron showed, missing a formal ethical code is a very real existential threat.

Here’s what Greg and Maureen cover:

1. The distinction you need to know between morality and ethics;
2. Why it’s concerning that so many college grads haven’t seriously pondered their values as they enter your workforce; and
3. The critical role ethics play in getting your organization through a crisis.

Other episodes you’ll enjoy:

– Leader Character with Dr. Mary Crossan (this is the episode Maureen referenced at the beginning of today’s show)

– Forming Your Firm’s Ethics with Greg Moran

– Transformational Leadership & Ethics with Ron Riggio

Guest: Tammy Alvarez, CEO of Career Winners Circle

Isn’t it time you did a little something for yourself? We usually talk about leadership in terms of how it helps your team or organization. In this episode, guest Tammy Alvarez shines the spotlight on you instead.

Specifically, she talks about taking control of your leadership career path. As leaders, we set the tone for our teams. If you don’t love your job, your team senses it. So Tammy shares her many tips for how to get your career back on the track you want…and start loving Mondays again!

Here’s what Tammy and Maureen cover:

1. How treating your career path like a business helps you see the opportunities that help move your career ahead;
2. Why it’s important to stop thinking you’re paid for what you do – and start being paid for what you know; and
3. Tammy’s personal story of feeling like an outsider as she climbed Wall Street’s executive ranks…then figured out that feeling was actually her strength.

Other episodes you’ll enjoy:

• The Job I Love to Hate: It’s Never Too Late to Upgrade Your Career! with Tammy Alvarez
• The Power of Passion & Perseverance: Four Levels of Grit with Jim Ritchie-Dunham
• The Career Toolkit: Essential Skills for Success No One Taught You with Mark Herschberg

Seaon 10 Episode 21

Guest: Dr. Shaan Patel, CEO of Prep Expert

Here’s an unexpected formula for success. Step 1: Get a lower score than expected on your SAT. Step 2: Parlay your disappointment into a multimillion-dollar company.

That’s how Shaan Patel’s leadership journey began. It included a victory on Shark Tank, mentoring from Mark Cuban, and earning an M.D. It’s not the typical path to industry-leading CEO, but the lessons Shaan learned along the path are important for leaders in any sector. He shares those lessons with us in this episode.

Here’s what Shaan and host Maureen Metcalf cover:

1. Why winning is NOT the name of the game in business (but neither is losing!);
2. How embracing change instead of fighting it puts you far ahead of the competition; and
3. The mindsets Shaan keeps foremost to inform his leadership – and why that leadership is still evolving.

Other episodes you’ll enjoy:

• Women’s Leadership Journeys with Lisa DeFrank Cole & Sheryl J. Tan
• Women on the Rise: A Leadership Journey with Reta Jo Lewis
• The Secret Code to Uncommon Leadership with Ruchira Chaudhary
• Building Trust in Uncertainty: A Personal & Professional Journey with Dr. Mary Jo Burchard

Season 10 Episode 20

Guest: Stephanie Lemek, Founder: The Wounded Workforce

Your staff are probably dealing with trauma: in the U.S. alone, 70% of adults faced at least one traumatic experience. Those experiences manifest in different ways in the workplace, from perfectionism to absenteeism. Our trauma reactions are as unique as our fingerprints.

Being a trauma-informed leader can help your team – and, ultimately, your organization. Guest Stephanie Lemek draws on her deep experience in HR to share how to shape a trauma-informed workplace.

Here’s what Stephanie and host Maureen Metcalf cover:

1. The ways leaders can help team members deal with trauma…
2. …and the ways they shouldn’t – such as playing the role of therapist.
3. The seven principles of trauma-informed workplaces.

Other episodes you’ll enjoy:

• Remote Work & Mental Well-Being with Dr. Gleb Tsipursky
• Informed Leadership: The Power of Trauma with Rachael Kelly
• Nurturing Peace from the Ashes of Violence with Hyppolite Ntigurirwa & Mike Hardy

Season 10 Episode 19

Guest: Mike Morrow-Fox, Organizational Development Consultant

Many leaders plateau: they hit a certain level, then stop growing or maturing as a leader. But even into late adulthood, we remain able to grow and develop. Indeed, some people thirst for that growth!

Mike Morrow-Fox joins host Maureen Metcalf to discuss post-conventional leaders – people who have grown to a point where they can easily see the big picture, the ripple effects of decisions, understand complexity, and more. Best of all, he shares seven tips to use on your own leadership journey.

Here’s what Mike and Maureen cover:

1. The three major markers of a post-conventional thinker;
2. Seven tips for forging ahead with your own growth; and
3. Why you get bored with tasks or jobs that used to excite you.

Other episodes you’ll enjoy:

• Do No Harm: Ethics for Leaders with Terri O’Fallon
• Bringing Clarity to Confusion with Terri O’Fallon & Kim Barta
• You’re an Executive, But Are You a Leader? with Sonya Shelton

Season 10 Episode 18

Guest: Paul F. Austin, CEO of Third Wave

Why are C-suites adopting psychedelics? Some leaders say it gives them a competitive edge in innovation and thinking; others use psychedelics for stress relief and general mental health.

Paul F. Austin reviews the science and the trends behind this movement. He joins host Maureen Metcalf to discuss both how and why senior executives are moving these substances from taboo to corporate practice…and he provides important guidelines and limits on their use.

Here’s what Paul and Maureen cover:

1. How the link between leadership and psychedelics formed;
2. The five key elements to look for in a responsible facilitator; and
3. Though rare, the need to be aware of potential dangers.

Other episodes you’ll enjoy:

– Fringe or Mainstream? Leaders Explore Psychedelics with Paul Austin

– Changing Leadership Mindsets: Psychedelics with Ehren Cruz

– The Anxious Achiever with Morra Aarons-Mele

Season 10 Episode 17

Guest: Amiel Handelsman, Elite Executive Coach

We all know communication is key for leadership. But HOW we communicate is tougher. And one simple misunderstanding can make the difference between success and disaster.

Guest Amiel Handelsman has observed and codified eleven concepts that will move your communications from good to great. He shares them with host Maureen Metcalf in this episode.

Here’s what Amiel and Maureen cover:

1. The ways changing your conversation style can change people’s minds (including your own!);
2. The importance of “The Pause,” and how that moment of silence can save your message; and
3. Why you should assume the person you’re talking to knows more than you do.

Other episodes you’ll enjoy:

• Reimagining American Identity with Amiel Handelsman and Jewel Kinch-Thomas
• Using Storytelling to Elevate Leadership with Chris Nolan
• Communication Skills Every Leader Needs with Jonathan Reitz

Season 10 Episode 16

Guest: Steve Armato, VP of Middle Mile & Tech at Amazon

Whether leaders accept or ignore new tech makes the difference between it disrupting their organizations – and transforming them.

Amazon’s use of new technology is a clear and major component of its success. It’s a big part of what puts packages on your porch. And, as Steve Armato reveals, Amazon wants to share that tech with others. Steve is their VP of Middle Mile and Tech. In this episode, he talks about the ways Amazon shares AI and other technologies – and how they develop that new technology in the first place.

Here’s what Steve and Maureen cover:

1. The techniques Steve uses with his team to foster new innovations from the bottom up;
2. How the resulting innovations help people beyond his team, from employees system-wide to customers; and
3. Steve’s own remarkable journey at Amazon, taking him from intern to Vice President.

Dive deeper into Amazon’s leadership lessons with these episodes:

• To Err Is to Innovate with Beryl Tomay
• Delivering the Future: Amazon’s Innovation Culture with David Carbon, John Love, Dr. Vin Gupta, & Tye Brady
• Leadership Is Relationships with Kvon Tucker

Season 10 Episode 15

Guest: Nate Rempe, CEO of Omaha Steaks

It’s an iconic success story with a menu of leadership lessons: Born from a family escaping oppression in 1917, Omaha Steaks transformed from a small butcher shop into a global brand synonymous with the finest steaks. They’ve stayed at the top because of their long history of leaders driven to innovate.

CEO Nate Rempe joins host Maureen Metcalf to unpack the leadership methods that foster such long-lasting success – methods you can adopt, too.

Here’s what Nate and Maureen cover:

1. How vertical integration and horizontal leadership combine to make an organization both strong and resilient, even in a crisis;
2. Why storytelling is the secret sauce in truly great leadership; and
3. The role playing guitar in a rock band has in maintaining leadership perspective!

Other episodes you’ll enjoy:

• Love at First Slice: Pizza & Passionate Leadership with Tom Krouse
• Noodling Solutions for Food Insecurity with Dr. Reza Soltanzadeh
• Achieving Employee-Centric Leadership: A Leader’s Food for Thought with Heather Krentler

Season 10 Episode 14

Guest: Greg Moran, Executive-in-Residence, Former Sr. Executive at Ford, Chase, Nationwide, and more

Should you, or shouldn’t you?

All ethics boil down to this simple question, but getting to the answer can be enormously difficult, especially when deciding for your business. But guest Greg Moran—a long-time C-suite resident—says you can ease those ethical questions by establishing basic principles for your firm…even before you create your pitch deck for potential investors!

Greg shares more tips and real-world examples, from Enron to Boeing, in this episode.

Here’s what Greg and Maureen cover:

1. How a lack of common ethics across a divided society makes forging business ethics difficult;
2. Why establishing principles is Job 1 when founding any organization; and
3. The ways ethics get slippery in large corporations when principles are forgotten.

Other episodes you’ll enjoy:

• Transformational Leadership & Ethics with Ron Riggio
• Ethics & Problem-Solving with Joanne Ciulla & Keith Grint
• Do No Harm: Ethics for Leaders with Terri O’Fallon