Did you know bees don't lie? If not, the Tomas sisters are here to educate you through the Wachowski Sisters' masterpiece in cinema: Jupiter Ascending! Featuring Channing Tatum, Sean Bean, and Eddie Redmayne in the peak performance of his career. This beautifully fantastical and indulgent film is like a young adult book brought to life, which may b…

In this episode, the Tomas sisters offer redemption to the 1997 classic Alien Resurrection. Featuring Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, and Brad Dourif, this underrated film met more derision from fans than from the critics and had been declared as "the killer" of the franchise. But Erica and Alien-superfan Sarah are here to set the record straight a…

In this inaugural episode, we discuss what drove us to this mission of redeeming cinema sins, and kick off with the delightful 1995 film Judge Dredd. Filled with incredible set designs and practical effects, criminally underrated acting from Sylvester Stallone, and what makes a good comic book movie. Once we've finished gushing over all the highlig…

Back to Human: It's the title of Dan Schawbel's new book, and the phrase itself implies that we’ve departed from being human toward one another in significant ways. That’s the assumption behind Dan's work. He has devoted his life to studying human interactions and has compiled much of what he’s learned into his new book. He has tremendous insight i…

If you are a leader, the data is in: As you increase self awareness your leadership will improve. Self Awareness is a very simple concept, but quite difficult in practice. That’s because we don’t always see ourselves the same way that we come across to those we interact with. On this episode, my guest Tasha Eurich shares her findings regarding the …

The world of modern work is transforming before our very eyes. Remote working teams, new tools that provide faster communication, and a focus on team culture and environment are melding with traditional beliefs about work to create a complicated and often unhealthy place in which today’s workers must perform. My guest on this episode, Rahaf Harfous…

If you do a quick Google search starting with “My boss is…” you’ll find all kinds of evidence for the existence of incompetent leaders in business, politics, civic groups, and more. Dr. Tomas Charmorro-Premuzic has made it his mission to help organizations bring together tech and science to predict human performance. His latest book, “Why Do So Man…

Thankfully, the days are gone when leaders are prone to ignore the best ways to apply behavioral science in management. That’s because more and more often, the discoveries of science and the practices of leadership and management are converging. The two go hand in glove in the most successful organizations. For that reason, I wanted to invite Carol…

My guest on this episode loves to think of leadership through a long-term lens. He believes that the way a leader approaches today's decisions must be informed by looking toward tomorrow. David Peterson is the Director of Leadership and Coaching at Google where he provides coaching to senior leaders, oversees internal and external coaching programs…

Hal Gregersen has coined the phrase, “catalytic questions” to refer to the type of questions that reframe a situation and make it possible for a person or a team to move forward in new, more effective ways. It’s a concept that is incredibly intriguing and one I wanted to dive into during this conversation with Hal. Hal is the creator of “Leadership…

“Empathy” is something we all want but may not be so good at giving - and sadly, empathy in the workplace is often non-existent as a result. My guest today is Annie McKee, an amazing woman who has studied and written on the subject of empathy extensively. Her new book, “How To Be Happy At Work” is a wonderful contribution to the body of work on the…

For years the idea of maintaining a competitive advantage has dominated the way we do business. The theory is that if we can figure out how to keep our company ahead of the competition and continue to employ the best-practices that got us there, we’ll stay on top. But my guest on this episode, Rita McGrath says that model is no longer viable becaus…

The old-style leadership approach most of us have experienced is not sensitive to caring for the individuals on the team. Chester Elton says those who don’t practice caring leadership are missing the boat in the modern world. In this conversation, you’ll hear my great and entirely practical conversation with Chester as we discuss how leaders can an…

Every leader faces the challenge of putting diverse people into the same room to work on a project together. It can be a very exhilarating and enriching experience or it can be a situation that sucks the life out of everyone. In his new book, “Dream Teams” Shane Snow reveals his discoveries about what makes teams work, what keeps them from becoming…

The phrase “personal disruption” doesn’t sound very pleasant, but Whitney Johnson insists that it’s the only way we grow as individuals. We have to be placed outside the normal context of our existence in order to take on new challenges and grow as a person. She also says that disruption is a great tool to help managers and leaders assess potential…

One of the roles great leaders play is the facilitation of great choices across their organizations. That means it’s not just about the leader themselves being skilled at making choices, but also about their ability to transfer that skill to the members of their team. Roger Martin is a pioneer in the realm of integrative thinking, an approach to pr…

An integrated life sounds like an impossible dream in our fast-paced digital age. But there are outstanding leaders in the field of management and personal development who are helping us navigate the confusing path we face. One of those pioneers and guides is Stewart Friedman. Stew was one of my professors when I attended the Wharton School and he …

Are you familiar with the term “virtual distance?” On this episode of Masters of Leadership I interview special guest Dr. Karen Sovel Lejesky. Together we explore this common challenge of the modern workplace that you’re likely very aware of, but don’t know by that name. With a quarter century of leadership experience at companies such as Chase Man…

The ability to build trust is a vital skill in our day in age. Institutions are viewed with skepticism and mistrust by the majority of people, and that is not only talking about banks and educational establishments. Facebook, Google, and many other large corporations are viewed with the same kind of pessimism. My guest today is Rachel Botsman, an a…

Anytime we begin to talk about a personal network, there are people in the conversation who break out in a cold sweat. That's because they have been given advice about networking and tried to apply it and the results were less than stellar. In fact, many of us have very sour taste in our mouths because of the miserable networking advice we've tried…

Digital communication skills are something every leader in this day and age need to not only learn but master. The digital nature of the way we communicate has brought a number of challenges with it that we need to understand and address effectively. Dr. Naomi Baron was invited to be my guest on this episode simply because her expertise in the real…

We are all familiar with the concept of networking but Scott Gerber says that Super Connectors are people who apply the intention of networking in a way that goes beyond business and personal profit. Whether or not you are a Super Connector has nothing to do with being extroverted or introverted and it has nothing to do with whether you are skilled…

Modern communication is a far cry from what we experienced even 10 years ago. As my guest, Dr. Deborah Tannen has noted, we’ve gone from a default state of consciousness that was one of solitude, to a default state of consciousness that is one of always-on engagement. Dr. Tannen is doing important work, of which every leader should take note. As co…

Claudia Chan is one of those rare individuals who makes a social impact and everything she does. She is a sterling example of a woman who is taking her life seriously both on a personal level and in the broader ways she is leaving a mark on the world. Claudia is a recognized expert on leadership and a social entrepreneur who is dedicated to empower…

Every person pursuing a career has run into a work environment that was less than ideal, you might even say they were toxic. Ana Dutra Has put together her observations about toxic workplaces in her new book, Lessons in LeadershiT - no, that’s not a typo. the lessons she has learned and her incredible ability to communicate them provide tremendous …

The Power of Multiplication is something most leaders are not even aware of, but my guest on this episode - Liz Wiseman - has literally written the book on the subject. Her work introduces the concept of multipliers VS diminishers, particularly as they relate to leadership roles in organizations. Her belief is that the leaders who learn how to maxi…

Everyone who is in a management or leadership position within a company is interested in maximizing their leadership growth. Michael Bungay Stanier says that one of the fastest and most effective ways to do that is by becoming more coachlike. It's his belief that if leaders can learn to deal with their team members and subordinates from the perspec…

Drama at work is one of the most deflating and demoralizing things most of us deal with in our careers. Hurtful words and implications combined with outright misunderstandings are enough to scar anyone if we let them. My guest on this episode, Cy Wakeman is an expert at destroying drama in the workplace and she has learned to do so by teaching lead…

Emotional courage is one of the key strengths that effective leaders must have. That is from Peter Bregman, my guest on this episode of Masters of Leadership. Peter is one of those people you meet in life who blows you away with both his competence and his depth of insight. He is eager to learn and eager to pass on what he learns, and in this episo…

We have moved into an age when both the speed at which things progress and the technologies which are available to us have made it possible that effective collaborations, even outside of company teams, are not only possible but preferable. On this episode of the podcast, I've invited Lisa Shalett to talk with me about what it takes to create effect…

Looking back over your life, how many things would you say happened due to perfect timing? It's a very interesting question and one that Dan Pink has concluded is not so much a matter of random things coming together, but is actually something we can have a great deal of influence over. I'm so thankful I had the opportunity to talk with Dan about h…

It may not sound intuitive to say that one of the most collaborative organizations in existence is the military, but it’s true. In spite of the top-down authority structures and chains of command, collaborative efforts are how the military gets things done. Major General Tammy Smith is my guest on this episode and her unique perspective through the…

My guest on this episode is a true master of collaboration and a dynamic woman I’m honored to have as my guest on the podcast. Pam Slim is an award-winning author, speaker, and business consultant and she’s been actively working as an entrepreneur for twenty years. She’s helped hundreds of people start and grow successful businesses over the years,…

My guest today is Laura Liswood - she serves as Secretary General of the Council of Women World Leaders, and I’m so honored to have such an accomplished and amazing woman leader on the show. Through the course of her career, Laura has also served as the former Managing Director and Senior Advisor of Goldman Sachs and was named Managing Director for…

Collaboration is one of those amazing things that provides an outcome that is greater than the sum of its parts, but it doesn’t come naturally for most people. And it’s hard to develop collaboration skills that truly bring results without the help of someone who’s been down that road. My guest today is one of those helpful people - Dorie Clark is a…

Innovation is not simply making tweaks to an existing thing, it’s changing the fundamental structure of that thing to provide greater value to the end user. That’s how my guest, Saul Kaplan thinks of innovation, and one of the main ways he encourages corporations to harness the power of innovation is through collaboration. In this conversation, Sau…

In this first season of the podcast, I want to highlight what can happen in a team or business partnership when successful collaboration is the norm. There’s nobody I’d rather learn from when it comes to effective collaboration than Aria Finger. Aria is CEO of both DoSomething.org and The TMI Agency. With over a decade of experience motivating youn…

One of the more powerful ways to unleash effectiveness and find greater fulfillment in life and work is to learn how to simplify the complexity that the modern age seems to force into our lives. My guest on this episode of Masters of Leadership is Lisa Bodell, CEO of futurethink, a company that enables organizations to embrace change to become worl…

We all want to do big things with our lives, but we don’t always know how to go about it. My name is Erica Dhawan, CEO of Cotential – a company that has helped enterprises improve the connectedness of their employees, teams, customers and clients. I’ve spent years researching what makes high power leaders successful and in this podcast, Masters of …