What if the leadership style you were taught is the very thing destroying your team?

In this episode, Dr. Fred Johnson, founder of InitiativeOne and one of the NFL's most trusted behind-the-scenes culture architects, shares a career built not on credentials but on authenticity. He has transformed locker rooms for six NFL teams including the Seahawks and Packers, coached a world-renowned cancer researcher back from the brink, and helped over 800 organizations find the best version of themselves.

But the most powerful thing Dr. Fred has ever done is admit he was a recovering addict. And the man who taught him that vulnerability is a superpower, not a weakness, was John Maxwell, 45 years ago.

[00:04:00] What He Does and Who He Serves

• Founder of InitiativeOne, a global leadership company in Green Bay, Wisconsin

• Works across 29 professional fields in seven countries

• Helps leaders transform to the best version of themselves

[00:05:30] How the NFL Relationships Started

• John Schneider credits Fred with saving his career when he wanted to leave the profession

• Fred coached him back from deep discouragement without charging a dollar

• When Schneider became GM of the Seahawks, he asked Fred to build the culture there too

• Every NFL team Fred has worked with came through that one relationship

[00:08:00] What Inspires Him

• Loves helping people find hope, clear direction, and purpose

• Believes you are only as strong as the quality of people around you

• Every large multi-year engagement in 27 years came from an unsolicited referral

[00:13:30] The Mentor Who Started It All: Dr. Rosetta Riley

• Was a pastor in his early 30s when Dr. Rosetta Riley joined his congregation

• She was the leading female influencer in manufacturing worldwide

• She saw something in him he couldn't see in himself and mentored him for four and a half years

• His first clients were McDonnell Douglas, Boeing, McDonald's, and Chase Manhattan Bank

[00:17:30] Client Impact: The Cancer Researcher Who Almost Took Everything Down

• Was called in to coach a world-renowned pancreatic cancer researcher whose ego was destroying the organization

• The researcher had already fired seven coaches; Fred told him he would never be number eight

• Six months from shutting down, the organization turned around completely

• Today that institute leads on at least a dozen major cancer therapies

[00:26:00] The First Relationship That Changed Everything: John Maxwell

• Maxwell is widely regarded as the most influential voice in leadership today

• Taught Fred that leadership has nothing to do with authority and everything to do with people

• Taught him you cannot coach people hard if you do not love them hard first

• Introduced Fred to authentic, vulnerable leadership 45 years before it became a buzzword

[00:29:00] The Leader with a Limp

• In his early 30s Fred was a recovering addict living a double life while teaching leadership

• When it came out, Maxwell told him: from now on you are a leader with a limp

• Fred resisted at first; today he says the limp is the best part of him

• People do not want perfect leaders; they want authentic ones

[00:31:30] Being-Based vs Performance-Based Leadership

• The average American leader has a self-belief level of 2.7 out of 10

• Performance-based leaders push people to perform so they can feel good about themselves

• Being-based leaders attract talent, build momentum, and stop starting over every three years

• Fred turned over his entire staff every three years until being-based leadership broke that cycle

[00:36:30] The Second Relationship: Mr. Gault

• Mr. Gault was Fred's ninth grade Sunday school teacher

• Fred was 5'1", 98 pounds, covered in acne, and thought nothing of himself

• Every week Mr. Gault told him: Freddy, I believe in you and great things are in store

• Fifty-five years later those words still play in his mind on the hardest days

KEY QUOTES

"You can't coach people hard if you don't love them hard first." - Dr. Fred Johnson, quoting John Maxwell

"The best part of me is the limp. From that, wisdom and growth accelerated and came out." - Dr. Fred Johnson

"No one succeeds by themselves. You are only as strong as the quality of the relationships you build and the people you surround yourself with." - Dr. Fred Johnson

CONNECT WITH DR. FRED JOHNSON

Website: https://www.initiative-one.com

Personal: https://www.drfredjohnson.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drfredjohnson

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fred.johnson.77736310

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