Episodes

095: Toxic Leadership – Toxicity in leadership is contagious. In this episode, Sean Lemson, author of One Drop of Poison: How One Bad Leader Can Slowly Kill Your Company, points out that it doesn’t matter that most toxic behavior is not intentional; it’s impact drives up turnover while pulling down engagement, performance, and morale. Sean and host Brian Gorman explore different forms of toxic leadership as well as ways in which it can be turned around. Sean also offers an alternative approach t...

In this episode of Qonversations, host Brian Gorman talks with Betsy Salkind and Amy Warshawsky from BNA Mentor Coaching about the dynamic world of “leadership improv.” Improv, rooted in spontaneity and skillful listening, involves principles like saying "yes and," techniques such as “skillful interrupting,” and embracing mistakes. They emphasized the importance of frameworks and feedback in developing leadership skills, urging leaders to embrace agility and create environments conducive to grow...

Hearing and listening are not the same, yet all too often, we act as if they are. Listening is a skill that can be, and deserves to be, intentionally developed. In this episode, Quantuvos coach, speaker, and workshop facilitator Bradley James Davies and host Brian Gorman discuss Bradley’s approach to “next level listening.” Bradley shares important “does and don’ts” of listening that his research and experience have uncovered.

One place that too many organizations continue to fall short is in their response to those who are differently abled. In this episode, accessibility expert Max Ivey (“the blind blogger”) joins host Brian Gorman to explore the ongoing challenges that those labeled “disabled” face and the costs that they, our organizations, and society pay. They also discuss ways in which providing accessibility can have a significant return on investment.

Author JD Dillon (The Modern Learning Ecosystem) and host Brian Gorman explore ways in which the shifting workforce requires changes in how learning is approached in the workplace. While the role of the Learning and Development (Training and Development) function isn’t diminished, how their services are delivered requires significant recalibration. Likewise, leaders at every level hold a significantly more important role in the development of those who report to them.

It turns out that well being in the workplace is not about gym memberships and yoga breaks. It is about the organizational culture and the relationships that leaders have with those they are leading. In this episode, Scott Taylor, Professor of Organizational Behavior at Babson College, joins host Brian Gorman to shed light on the role leaders play in ensuring well being in the workplace and the impact that it has on performance. Along the way, they share insights on ways leaders can strengthen t...

Discovery is a process, not an event. In her book "The Untapped Power of Discovery: How to Create Change that Inspires a Better Future," Karen Golden-Biddle shares her research on the discovery process as well as case studies on how to successfully make it an integral part of the change process. Karen and host Brian Gorman explore the discovery process at the heart of Karen's work in this thought-provoking episode.

40% of Gen Z leave their jobs within 2 years, whether or not they have another job offer. As a leader, you can significantly beat these odds with your Gen Z employees. In this episode, Future of Work Expert Luke Goetting joins host Brian Gorman to share significant insights on Gen Z in the workplace, the unique value they bring, and what leaders can do to ensure that they remain engaged and productive.

One in five people in North America is living with a mental health issue. These are family members, friends, co-workers, team members, leaders. Mental health is a significant challenge in the workplace. And yet it is a challenge that too often goes unaddressed. In this episode, Christine Burych, founder of StarlingBrook, joins host Brian Gorman to discuss the challenges of mental health in work, the risks of failing to address those challenges, and ways in which to do so.

Born to a drug-addicted teenage mother, Victoria Pelletier's life could have turned out very differently. In this conversation with host Brian Gorman, she shares stories of the adversities she has faced and the choices she has made. As she learned early in life, sometimes our choices serve as well and sometimes they don't. But there is always choice and opportunity to change the path we are on.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition? In this episode, Barry LaBov, Founder and CEO of LaBov and author of "The Power of Differentiation" joins host Brian Gorman to explore why differentiation is important, who it is important to, how to discover (not create) your differentiation, and how to leverage it. Whether you are a CEO, a team leader, or anything in between, there are important lessons, and a few surprises, in this episode.

Whether you call them mind traps, gremlins, saboteurs, or imposter syndrome, we all experience this. And we all can move beyond it. In this episode, Quantuvos coach Paula Halewski joins host Brian Gorman to explore the origins of mind traps, their impact on us and those in our lives, and how to move from the reactive path they put us on to a more intentional, responsive path, changing our mindset and living more fully into our purpose.

"Is your external environment moving faster than your internal environment?" With this question, Rich Alderton of High Performance Change makes the case for moving beyond change management and agility to create a culture of adaptability. Rich, the author of "Mastering Adaptability," joins host Brian Gorman to examine the importance of adaptability in today's disrupted world, what is required to be adaptable, how adaptability can be developed, and its impact on the bottom line.

When you are an immigrant and your parents are factory workers, your journey to a professional career is not assured. In this episode, Juan Taveres joins host Brian Gorman to tell the story of his journey from the Dominican community in Washington Heights (New York City) to Syracuse University, the hospitality and non-profit industries, and now to entrepreneurship. Along the way, Juan shares how each of us can support others who are on this journey. At Quantuvos, we believe that there is extraor...

If it's important for those you work with to do good thinking, bringing coaching skills into your conversations is key. In this episode, Claire Pedrick, Master Certified Coach, Founder of 3D Coaching, and author of "Simplifying Coaching" joins host Brian Gorman to explore the role that coaching skills can play in leadership, how and why to have coaching conversations, the importance of asking powerful questions, and how to coach up to build a coaching culture.

On this episode, guests Fred Mandell and Harvey Seifter, Founders of Creating Futures That Work, bring to life the relationship between art, science, and leadership. While leadership literature often cites research, it rarely links leadership to art. Yet, in their work, Harvey and Fred connect the three. Great artists are scientists as well; great leaders are both scientists and artists. Each of us is creative. Creating a culture that unleashes the creativity of others will contribute to persona...

Burnout. Multi-tasking. Ongoing, long-term stress. Running on autopilot. More and more, these are norms that leaders and their teams experience. In this episode, neurosurgeon Gary Simonds joins host Brian Gorman to discuss the neuroscience behind these leadership challenges, their impacts on our brains, and what we can do to address them.

We are not just products of nature and nurture. We all have the capability of redesigning ourselves not to be someone else, but to become more fully ourselves. In this episode, Shana Francesca joins host Brian Gorman to share her journey from growing up in a cult to becoming an interior designer to becoming a speaker, consultant, workshop facilitator, and "scholar of intentional & ethical leadership & living." The lessons that Shana shares are ones that we all can benefit from both professionall...

In his book "The 9th Stratum: Your Guide to High Performance," author Aaron Salko provides insights that everyone from the frontline to the C-suite can benefit from. During this episode, Aaron and host Brian Gorman examine the importance of being personal growth driven, disciplined in self-evaluation, altruism motivated, and goal driven in achieving high performance. The skills behind these traits, along with the psychological and physiological factors that make them so important, are also addre...

"To be effective, leaders need to draw on the C's: competencies, commitment, and character." Bill Furlong, co-author of "The Character Compass: Transforming Leadership for the 21st Century," joins host Brian Gorman to discuss what is meant by "character," what makes character so important in today's organizations, and the elements that comprise it. Character is about personal presence, how you show up. With intention and practice, it can be developed.

How do you avoid plateauing out as a leader? Aaron Trahan, Founder of Mindset Performance coaching, spent more than a decade researching that question. In this episode of Qonversations, Aaron and host Brian Gorman discuss the three "outs" Aaron has identified and how any leader can apply each of these in raising their performance: out-prepare, out-work, and out-learn. As Aaron explains, these are not leaders who are on the job 24/7. It is the mindset they bring, and how they live into their role...

Relationships at work advocate Russel Lolacher joins host Brian Gorman to explore leadership through the lens of relationships. Successfully moving from industrial age leadership to the digital/post-Covid environment requires leaders who understand, leadership is about people.

In today's environment, DEI has once again become a topic of focus for business. Some organizations are cutting back or totally eliminating their DEI programs as others re-commit to building an environment in which every employee feels that they belong and that they have a voice. In this episode, Steve Yacovelli, author of "Pride Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King Or Queen of Their Jungle," joins host Brian Gorman to explore the shifting landscape of DEI as well as the b...

Challenge is a constant in our lives. Resilience is the force that moves us through it. In this episode, Linda Hoopes, author of "Prosilience: Building Your Resilience for a Turbulent World," CEO of Resilience Alliance, and Quantuvos Advisor, joins host Brian Gorman for a practical discussion of resilience. Among the topics explored are the impact that resilience has in all areas of our lives; the energies that fuel resilience; and the ways that leaders can leverage - or disempower - the resilie...