In this week’s episode, I am joined by Adam McGraw! Adam spent over a decade at American Express, where he led high-performing teams in sales and commercial strategy, earning recognition as a top 2% leader across the company.

 But it was his personal experience navigating stress, burnout, and the limitations of traditional leadership models that sparked a deeper shift. That shift ultimately led to the creation of CREW.

Today, Adam is a transformational leadership speaker, executive coach, and the co-founder and CEO of CREW, a private leadership community for senior executives committed to purpose, connection, and fulfillment.

Through CREW, he helps senior leaders build authentic, emotionally intelligent peer networks that prioritize connection, resilience, and meaning, alongside high performance.

He’s a certified coach, an experienced facilitator, and someone deeply passionate about helping leaders thrive not just in business, but in life.

Along the way, Adam partnered closely with Stanford lecturer and New York Times bestselling author Shirzad Chamine, creator of the Positive Intelligence® framework.

Profoundly influenced by the model’s integration of neuroscience and mindset mastery, Adam dedicated himself to sharing this work with leaders across the country.

Driven by a personal philosophy of alignment over achievement, Adam is passionate about helping leaders reconnect with their inner drive, navigate life transitions, and define success on their own terms. His journey is grounded in what he calls a “go for it” mindset, leaving behind the stability of a corporate career to pursue the mission-driven life he once didn’t have the courage to follow.

Through CREW, he now helps other leaders do the same, providing a curated, members-only space where senior executives can find the safe, growth-focused community they often lack inside their organizations.

Key Points

• Success isn’t just about promotions

• Parenting insights that steer careers

• Books can pivot your life direction

• Relationships: The X factor of growth

• Finding joy in life's little moments

Best Quotes

01:48 - 01:52

• "I ended up in this corporate path really never wanting to do it."

02:41 - 02:49

• "I went in that lane. There were goals and external validation metrics to chase and competitive. And I went for it, and I got sucked into it."

06:27 - 06:33

• "And then I would immediately dissent back down to baseline levels of happiness, fulfillment, significance, and self-worth."

11:34 - 11:40

• "That's not how the brain works. That's not where vision and creativity and innovation live."

49:33 - 49:40

• "And we spend a good chunk of our lives trying to get back to that innocence, that curiosity and that value that childhood presented."