Send us a text Crisis leadership is about recognizing reality faster than everyone else. And telling the truth when it’s hardest. We sit down with Samantha Montano—associate professor of emergency management and author of Disasterology—to unpack what actually works when the stakes are life and death. From Katrina’s painful lessons to the East Palestine train derailment and the long haul of COVID, she traces a thread through delayed recognition, top-down blind spots, and the corrosive im...

Send us a text Fear rewires leadership in the moments that matter most. We sit down with Melissa Agnes, keynote speaker, author of Crisis Ready, and a shaper of ISO 22361, to explore how leaders can move from survival mode to creation mode when the stakes are high. Melissa shares why so many teams cling to the concept of getting back to normal after disruption, and how that reflex can stall recovery when normal created the problem. Her antidote: embodied leadership, daily regulation, an...

Send us a text News travels faster than your approval chain—so who speaks for you when it matters most? We sit down with crisis management consultant Suzanne Bernier to unpack what effective leadership looks like under pressure. The conversation quickly turns practical: why a team-led model outperforms lone-wolf leadership, how to select a spokesperson who naturally projects trust, and when to move the CEO out of the spotlight and into a strategic command seat. We discuss the move from...

Send us a text Anxiety doesn’t mean you’re broken; it means you care. When stakes rise, that surge of energy can sharpen focus, rally teams, and improve decisions—if you know how to work with it. We sit down with Harvard Medical School psychologist David Rosmarin to unpack a practical, research-grounded approach any leader can use to turn anxious moments into traction. David explains what anxiety really is—both the body’s activation and the mind’s appraisal of threat—and why chasing ze...

Send us a text A cargo plane cockpit isn’t the first place most people look for lessons on software leadership—until you hear what happens when a co-pilot stays silent. A single dismissive moment can shut down a voice and invite disaster In this episode, I talk with Nate Amidon, founder and CEO of Form 100 Consulting Today, about how trust, humility, and psychological safety turn complex, invisible work into predictable results, and why compassionate leadership is a performance advantage. We...

Send us a text Resilience isn’t about being unbreakable. We sit down with Dr. Jordan Smoller—psychiatrist, epidemiologist, and geneticist at Harvard and Mass General—to discuss resilience as adaptation and explore why naming harm matters, how acknowledgment from leaders reduces isolation, and the real-world steps that transform empathy into trust. Jordan brings a blend of clinical experience and research leadership to questions many of us have: When does a normal response to trauma bec...

Send us a text Work should feel human, not like a daily battle with noise, sameness, and stress. We sit down with Travis Hollman, CEO of Hollman Inc. and founder of MeSpace, to unpack how neuroinclusive design, compassionate leadership, and AI can transform focus, creativity, and retention. Travis shares his personal journey with dyslexia and ADHD, then connects it to a bold but practical vision: give people control over their environment, measure real cognitive gains, and build a...

Send us a text What if leadership is a practice you start the moment a gap appears? That’s the lens Sebastián Torres-Calderon brings to our conversation. He was an intern who helped stabilize a hospitality company during COVID and later became its leader Sebastian traces his first leadership roles back to the soccer field, where playing midfield taught him to connect people, read the whole game, and lead by example. Those instincts carried into a crisis: answer questions nobody el...

Send us a text A steady voice can feel like a life raft when the world flips. We sat down with emergency management expert and ICISF faculty member Dr. Mary Schoenfeldt to unpack how leaders actually help in the acute moments and the aftermath—what to say, what not to fake, and how to hand off the mic. Mary breaks down the brain science behind crisis: survival chemicals narrow our vision, mute our hearing, and shift us from executive function into fight, flight, or freeze. That’s ...

Send us a text Resilience isn’t a solo grind or a wellness checklist—it’s a system that lives in people, teams, and the way an organization actually works under pressure. We sit down with strategic advisor and executive team coach Natasha Kehimkar to reframe resilience as connection. When pressure spikes, leaders often go inward—exactly when community and connection matter most. Natasha explains why belonging is a performance driver, how isolation quietly erodes collaboration and ...

Send us a text What if the key to becoming a better leader isn't about mastering others, but mastering yourself? When executive coach Massimo Backus joins me on this episode, he shares a revolutionary idea that's changing how we think about leadership: self-compassion as a leadership superpower. Most of us have been conditioned to believe that being hard on ourselves drives success. We push, criticize, and demand perfection, convinced that self-compassion would somehow make us weak or ...

Send us a text What if the performance metrics we've relied on for decades are actually undermining our success? Radhika Dutt, entrepreneur, product leader, and author of Radical Product Thinking, challenges conventional leadership wisdom by revealing why traditional goals often backfire and introduces a compassionate approach to leadership through puzzle-setting and puzzle-solving frameworks. This eye-opening conversation explores how our current performance measurement systems origina...

Send us a text Discover why emotional intelligence might be the missing puzzle piece in your leadership strategy. Nada Nasserdeen, founder and CEO of Rise Up For You, unpacks the critical balance between compassion and maintaining high standards in today's workplace. She reveals the startling truth that 80% of business success depends not on technical prowess but on emotional intelligence, despite the fact that most companies continue investing primarily in technical training. She chal...

Send us a text What if everything you thought you knew about leadership was based on an illusion? Hussein Hallak takes us on a remarkable journey from his childhood in Syria—where entrepreneur wasn't even a word in Arabic—to becoming a successful company founder who learned the hard way that command-and-control leadership doesn't work. Hussein admits he was once horrible to work with, until he discovered that true leadership means raising others up rather than asserting dominance. His ...

Send us a text How do you build an organization that grows without losing its soul? Kenny Lange believes the answer lies in compassionate leadership—but not in the way most people think. Kenny challenges the false dichotomy between organizational success and staying true to principles and argues that accountability represents one of the highest forms of compassion. In fact, organizational policies can often hinder authentic connection--they reflect what we do, not who we are. We also discuss...

Send us a text What's the true value of kindness in business? According to Tara May, CEO of Aspiritech, compassion is a powerful driver of innovation, revenue, and profit. Our conversation explores the ROI of kindness, a concept that challenges traditional views by connecting human-centered leadership directly to business outcomes. Tara shares compelling insights from her experience leading a tech company where over 90% of employees are autistic adults, revealing how embracing neurodiv...

Send us a text When crisis hits, what separates exceptional leaders from the rest? Dr. Heidi Steinecker draws from her remarkable career as Deputy Director of the California Department of Public Health and US Citizen Diplomat to reveal the unexpected qualities that define crisis leadership. "What will do the least amount of harm?" This guiding question frames her approach to crisis management: She acknowledges that perfect solutions rarely exist, but strategic thinking can minimi...

Send us a text No one will listen to you and really embrace you unless they know that you're there with the right intentions. Ali Uren, founder of Kiikstart, challenges conventional thinking about what truly drives workplace success. The episode introduces Ali's powerful concept of the kindness bank--a framework where leaders make daily deposits through acts of generosity, attentiveness, and support. These deposits create a reserve from which leaders can draw when difficult conversations ari...

Send us a text When a disability care organization struggled with high turnover and poor morale, today's guest, Karen Ansen, suggested flipping its organizational chart to put frontline caregivers at the top. The organization transformed its culture and operations by asking employees directly what they needed. Karen is an employment lawyer and leadership coach who brings humanity to high-conflict employment situations. As an attorney who deals with terminations and workplace disputes, ...

Send us a text Leaders tend to bifurcate, going to one extreme or the other. Some become hyper-competent but emotionally disconnected. Others display overwhelming empathy without direction. Crisis response expert Jeff Gorter reveals that effective leadership during traumatic events requires a delicate balance of compassion and competence. Drawing from his experience responding to organizational crises at R3 Continuum, Jeff explains why some leaders falter while others shine during critical mo...