Episodes

Unlocking Potential and Inspiring Greatness: According to Ben Grimes, Founder of BKG Leadership Coaching, leaders take care of their people, help them see their potential, and guide their growth. Ben and host Brian Gorman draw from their early military careers to discuss the impact a leader can have on the future of even the youngest of people they are leading and those whose lives those young people touch. Serving clients with grace and integrity is another important aspect of leadership explor...

This timely conversation begins with a focus on stress at work, the causes of that stress, and what serves to release it. Carole Stizza, Founder, Owner, and Executive Coach for Relevant Insight, joins host Brian Gorman to explore ways that we can support others in strengthening the control that they have over their success in the workplace. Along the way, they discuss a framework for defining the path to success as well as some of the myths about what success requires of leaders.

Since Covid, leaders have wrestled with how to sustain, build, and/or redefine a culture that is now either hybrid or fully virtual. Ron Ross, owner of Avant HR Solutions, joins host Brian Gorman to discuss this challenge. Intention, robust connection, listening, effective communication, and coaching are all important elements of leading in virtual cultures. During the conversation, Ron and Brian make the point that leaders need to begin by connecting with, listening to, and grounding themselves...

Trauma is a real part of the human experience. Whether it happened in our youth or as an adult, in our personal life or our professional life, doesn’t really matter. Whether large or small, we carry our trauma inside us; its impact can be triggered at any time and by anyone. Founder and CEO for the Institute of Trauma and Psychological Safety Dr. Lee Cordell joins host Brian Gorman to reflect on the role of trauma inside of our organizations and how we as leaders can manage the environment as we...

Kevin Herring, Founder and President of Ascent Management Consulting, joins host Brian Gorman to discuss how to tap into the inherent desire people have to do a good job, generate a great result, and find meaning and purpose at work. While extrinsic motivation varies by individual and generation, intrinsic motivation remains constant. Kevin introduces “the five C’s” that he and his team have discovered: context, connection, control, commitment (vs. compliance), communication, and competence.

This episode is an invitation for self-reflection. Quantuvos coach Emily Pasnak-Lapchick joins host Brian Gorman, asking listeners to consider the narratives that guide their lives. We all have narratives about career, education, relationship, family, and even where we live. Whether they are narratives of your own choosing or not, they may well be the right ones to live into. Or they may not be. If they are not, it is possible to “shake them off,” and to replace them with those that serve you. A...

“Imagine a world where Artificial Intelligence harmonizes human interaction in workplaces, where technology doesn’t estrange but connects us more profoundly.” This is the future of work as envisioned by Manuj Aggarwal, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of TetraNoodle Technologies, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity consulting firm. In this episode, Manuj joins host Brian Gorman to explore the present and future of AI. Along the way, they touch on everything from its impact on o...

This is a challenging episode, and an episode focused on challenge. Tony Copeland-Parker’s partner of 23 years, Cat (Catherine), was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s and he needed open-heart valve replacement surgery; they were both in their fifties. Anthony’s decision was to look at his life differently. He left his position as a pilot and manager for UPS and Cat retired. They sold their home and began running marathons and half-marathons around the globe. Reflecting on Tony’s message off...

Most would agree that leadership integrity is important to defining an organization’s culture and its future. In this episode, Quantuvos Advisor Donny Askin (Principal: TechTurn Consulting, Inc.; Partner/EVP: Newmine, LLC) joins host Brian Gorman to explore what integrity means and how to test your own integrity. Donny and Brian also discuss the cultural attributes that support integrity across your organization as well as the importance of knowing yourself, and of letting that self be known by ...

Very few organizations would disagree with the statement that people are their most important asset. As evidenced by the Great Resignation/Great Reshuffle, all too often, the people in those organizations don’t feel that is how leaders see them. In this episode, Lori Duguay, CEO of People Powered Solutions joins host Brian Gorman to discuss what needs to happen in order to ensure that “people are our most important asset” is at the heart of your organization’s culture. Among the key lessons shar...

The past of work, whatever that was, is behind us. The present, with its disrupted work systems and work environments, is here. The future is ahead. For decades, Judi Neal, PhD (Yale, Organizational Behavior) has been a student of how to bridge past, present, and future. In this conversation, Judi and host Brian Gorman discuss “edgewalkers,” those people who are not content with the status quo and are aware of what is emerging. For organizations that want to move into the future in an intentiona...

Integral Master Coach Max Klau joins host Brian Gorman to explore the relationship between change in the outer world and the change in the inner world. The focus of the conversation is not on leadership behaviors, but on the being of leadership. As Max says, “At the deepest level, our way of being calls forth the dynamic around us.” The inner journey of leadership is deeply personal. It requires courage and integrity. It is a never-ending journey that changes not only how you show up but also th...

We can’t predict the future. Things happen. For Elizabeth (Ellie) Gould, those things included a home invasion by a psychopath threatening her life as well as the lives of her two- and four-year-old children that left her seriously injured, followed shortly after by a cancer diagnosis. In this science-based conversation, Ellie and host Brian Gorman challenge the focus on positive thinking and goals; Ellie doesn’t believe in either. Rather, she advocates for a focus on aims. The roles that emotio...

What do college football, law enforcement, dance, software development, business school, Shakespearean theatre, healthcare, marketing, and high school have in common? In Boise, Idaho, members of each of these professions came together, learning the value of being “wise beyond your field.” Nancy Napier, Professor of Strategy at Boise State University and a self-described academic entrepreneur, joins host Brian Gorman to discuss how and why she brought this diverse group of professionals together ...

Our ability to think, problem solve, create, explore, converse, and more is much greater when we are coming from a place of calmness. Mediator and negotiator Hesha Abrams joins host Brian Gorman for this lively exploration of finding and holding the calm, even in challenging situations. Hesha describes ways in which holding the calm allows you to intentionally resolve conflict and defuse tension. Her analogies and stories will remain with you long after the episode ends.

Creativity is not just for artists. It comes in all flavors. Rich Kirkpatrick, author of Mindblown: Unlock Your Creative Genius by Bridging Science and Magic, joins host Brian Gorman to discuss the integration of leadership and creativity. Creative thought requires both divergent and convergent thinking, as well as lateral thinking, to generate ideas, sort them, and find the integration points that allow us and our organizations to thrive.

In this episode, Co-Founder and Chief Coaching Officer Margaret Brake and host Brian Gorman discuss Quantuvos’ approach to group coaching along with the benefits it delivers to both the participants and their organizations. Group coaching brings together individuals who share a common thread, whether it’s related to their roles (e.g., first time managers) or areas of leadership development important to the organization (e.g., becoming more skilled at tough conversations). Colleagues supporting o...

In 2008, Smart Destinations employed about 40 employees in HQ and satellite offices when the market crashed. Investors instructed leadership to close physical locations and send everyone home. As the recension ended, Smart Destinations was doing twice as much work with half the people at a significantly lower cost. Today, Smart Destinations co-founder Cecelia Dahl applies the lessons in virtual leadership that she learned during that time to run her businesses from a sailboat three months a year...

Guest Sean Tyler Foley (child and adult actor, photogrammetrist, and serial entrepreneur) and host Brian Gorman (social activist, Air Force drill sergeant, fund raiser, management consultant, coach, and more) explore the importance of finding the common threads in our careers. Even if you have been in a single profession, industry, or with one employer for all your career, knowing what makes one role a grind and another feed your passion is invaluable. Whether considering a new position, a new c...

As is quoted in the intro to Qonversations, “everything happens through conversations.” Conversations build relationships, and relationships build networks. For extroverts, those conversations (whether at a networking event or elsewhere) come easily; for introverts, not so much. In this episode, Jeff Ton joins host Brian Gorman to explore how to build your professional network both within your organization and outside of it. As Jeff says, “whether in a transition or not, networks pay dividends.”

According to Ed Krow (Ed Krow, LLC), we have moved from the Information Age to the Experience Age. In this episode, Ed and host Brian Gorman address how to lead in the Experience Age, from recruiting and hiring (including hiring for the alignment of passion as well as hiring for skills), to becoming the workplace that no one wants to leave, to how to exit those who are ready to move on.

Sun salutations. A landslide blocking a national highway. A shattered femur 14,000 feet above sea level. In this episode, Host Brian Gorman revisits these events and many others with Yogi Aaron, his longtime yoga instructor. In doing so, Aaron and Brian draw out leadership lessons that go far beyond the yoga studio and are applicable at all levels of both formal and informal leadership.

All too often, we try to problem-solve by focusing on one side of the equation. Perhaps the challenge is being too directive, so we try to solve for “how can I be less directive.” The foundation of working with polarities is a recognition that there is a positive side to what is being identified as the problem; for example, being “directive” helps to ensure that the task is completed as needed. It is also acknowledging that there is an alternative pole that has its positive; for example, the oth...

Although she began her career as an engineer, Edwina (Ed) Pike, creator of Irrational Change, sees beyond organizational structures, systems, and processes. Inspired by Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely, Ed shifted her career and is now an internationally recognized thought leader in the field of change management. In this episode, she and host Brian Gorman explore the concept of irrational change in organizations, bringing non-traditional lenses in...