Throttle Up Leadership Podcast

Here's the thing about leadership: it's broken. But you already knew that.

The pandemic. Eroding trust in institutions. AI moving faster than most of us can process. Five generations trying to work together. Traditional top-down leadership didn't just crack; it shattered. And what replaced it is a permanent new reality where your organization's success depends entirely on your ability to attract, engage, develop, and retain exceptional talent. That talent isn't showing up for a paycheck and a pat on the head. They want meaningful missions, real collaboration, and trust that flows both ways. Meaning is the new money. Organizations still running the old playbooks aren't just struggling; they're becoming obsolete.

My field research tells the story. Throttle Up From the Field, Volume 1: Canaries in the Coal Mine, The Workforce Crisis Gen Z is Exposing synthesizes Gallup's Global Workplace report, DDI's Global Leadership Forecast, Edelman's Trust Barometer and 18 expert practitioner interviews to map a workforce crisis costing $9.6 trillion in lost productivity globally every year, $1.9 trillion of it in the US alone. The pattern is undeniable: 68% of the global workforce is disengaged, and Gen Z isn't creating the dysfunction, they're exposing what every generation has been tolerating. The evidence points to three structural failures: values misalignment, suppressed personal agency, and invisible growth trajectories.

For over 30 years I've helped organizations develop foresight, cultivate strategic thinkers, and build leadership practices that solve problems before they explode, including 40+ years designing and facilitating leadership simulations. But here's what the research made clear: fixing organizations isn't enough. Individuals need frameworks too, the ability to evaluate whether an organization deserves their talent before they walk in the door. That's why I work both sides: helping organizations build the structural foundations that retain talent, and helping individuals navigate toward organizations that actually function.

Leadership isn't personality or position; it's a process. It's the daily, deliberate work of building trust, inspiring genuine commitment, and creating conditions where people do their best work. This is my guiding philosophy: Leadership is Action.

Which brings me to what makes this show different from the other three you're considering. Most leadership interviews ask you to explain your thinking. I do that as well but I'll also offer you the chance to use it. Partway through our conversation, I can introduce a micro simulation: a short scenario delivered by an avatar with a real problem and real constraints, drawn from territory you know well. For example, a sales manager who has just discovered her strongest performer has been quietly struggling. A plant supervisor, a founder at thirty employees, a nonprofit director. The scenario changes; the demand doesn't. You work it live. No script, no prep, no single right answer. It's the difference between a guest who sounds credible and a guest who is visibly good at what they do, and listeners hear that difference inside of thirty seconds. It's an invitation, never a requirement; guests who'd rather stay in conversation simply say so.

The Throttle Up Leadership Podcast (186 episodes and counting) is ranked #3 on Matchmaker.fm with 34 five-star ratings. My mission? Helping people live more prosperous, productive, and meaningful lives; one leader at a time.