Do Something Different: A Leadership Podcast

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Most professionals think feedback is essential to self improvement. But what if feedback limits your personal growth?

This episode challenges one of the most common practices in professional development and gives you a 3-step framework that will transform how you think about self improvement, leadership development, and building confidence.

If you're a business leader focused on career planning, executive presence, and personal development, this episode will change your approach to professional growth. Whether you're navigating a promotion, stepping into a bigger leadership role, or simply want to stop second-guessing yourself, this framework puts you in control.

Next Up: Season 1 Episode 19: More Strategic Decisions in 3 Steps

Or listen / subscribe on YouTube. 

Rusty Gaillard is an executive coach, helping mid-level corporate leaders create more career success while working less and enjoying it more. That's real freedom.

Get more leadership tips to grow your skillset and mindset at rustygaillard.com, and follow Rusty on LinkedIn. 

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Most leaders think executive presence in high-stakes meetings comes from being well prepared. But they prepare the wrong thing.

In this episode, I share the 3-step formula I use with my coaching clients to help them walk into high-stakes meetings as a contributor, not just a survivor. You'll hear the question that completely changed how one of my clients prepared for a meeting with a demanding SVP — and why the best-prepared person in the room is often the least impressive.

If you've ever over-prepared, second-guessed yourself, or held back your best ideas in front of senior leadership, this one's for you.

What you'll get from this episode:
- Why your current preparation might be working against you
- The one question to ask yourself before every high-stakes meeting
- The post-it note trick that keeps you from reverting to old habits under pressure
- Why bombing a meeting might actually be the best thing for your career

Listen next: How to Speak Like a Leader, Episode 34 from June 23, 2025. Or find it on YouTube.

Rusty Gaillard is an executive coach, helping mid-level corporate leaders create more career success while working less and enjoying it more. That's real freedom.

Get more leadership tips to grow your skillset and mindset at rustygaillard.com, and follow Rusty on LinkedIn. 

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Executive presence isn’t just about communication. It’s also about making good decisions. In this episode, we discuss how to use leadership intuition in decision making when the stakes are high.

Featuring Samyr Qureshi, CEO and co-founder of Knack, this conversation dives into the internal compass behind career growth, how to trust your gut when data falls short, and what it really takes to lead with clarity, confidence, and conviction in today’s fast-moving world.

Key Points:
🔑 Why Jeff Bezos trusts intuition over analysis in his biggest decisions
🔑 How to distinguish between fear and intuition
🔑 What happens when you ignore your gut, and how to recover
🔑 Pushing back on powerful voices with respect and clarity
🔑 Small, calculated risks vs. the all-in leap
🔑 Why storytelling and mindset are central to building trust in yourself
🔑 A simple but powerful lens for prioritizing what matters most in your career

🎯 Whether you're operating in a high-growth startup or navigating the politics of a large corporation, your ability to tap into intuition may be your greatest edge in leadership and personal development.

Follow Samyr on LinkedIn  https://linkedin.com/in/samyrq

Rusty Gaillard is an executive coach, helping mid-level corporate leaders create more career success while working less and enjoying it more. That's real freedom.

Get more leadership tips to grow your skillset and mindset at rustygaillard.com, and follow Rusty on LinkedIn. 

Send us Fan Mail

Most professionals are never taught how to choose a career that leads to lasting professional growth and meaningful personal development. This episode reveals powerful insights from career coaching that will help you rethink everything you’ve been told about success.

Forget the tired advice about following your passion or creating a rigid five-year plan. If you're feeling stuck or unfulfilled, it's not because you're doing it wrong—it's because the rules you're following are outdated.

🔑 In This Episode:

• The toxic myths of modern career advice—and why they persist
• The truth about linear career paths (hint: they don’t exist)
• What to do before you leave a job that isn’t working
• How to experiment and grow inside your current role
• A simple 3-step paradigm to clarify what you really want
• The “Rearview Mirror Test” to make bold decisions with confidence

This isn’t about taking a leap without a plan. It’s about taking smart risks, learning what energizes you, and designing a career you don’t want to escape from.

🎧 Listen now and start building the kind of success you’ll be proud of at 90.

📌 Subscribe for weekly episodes on executive presence, career growth, and leadership mindsets.

Rusty Gaillard is an executive coach, helping mid-level corporate leaders create more career success while working less and enjoying it more. That's real freedom.

Get more leadership tips to grow your skillset and mindset at rustygaillard.com, and follow Rusty on LinkedIn. 

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Grit may get you started in your career, but it’s not what gets you promoted. In this conversation on leadership, personal development, and professional development, Guy Yalif—Chief Evangelist at Webflow—challenges the belief that success requires relentless hustle.

Key Takeaways:

• Why our culture rewards hustle, and how that mindset can quietly stall your career growth
• How time tracking elevates focus and effectiveness
• The four things only a CEO can own, and how to stop doing everything else
• Releasing guilt around working less
• Learning to use time for thinking, not just doing
• Discomfort as a gateway to leadership growth

This episode is essential listening for leaders who want to achieve more without doing more.

👉 Listen now and discover how to lead with impact—by doing less, not more.

👉 Follow Guy Yalif on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gyalif/

Rusty Gaillard is an executive coach, helping mid-level corporate leaders create more career success while working less and enjoying it more. That's real freedom.

Get more leadership tips to grow your skillset and mindset at rustygaillard.com, and follow Rusty on LinkedIn. 

Send us Fan Mail

Success in your career doesn't just come from mastering skills—it comes from mastering your mindset. In this powerful conversation with Krishnan Venkata, Chief Client Officer at LatentView Analytics, we uncover two game-changing principles that can rapidly accelerate growth for any professional ready to step outside their comfort zone.

Krishnan shares real-world stories from his journey scaling a 10-person startup into a 2,000-person global enterprise. The insights are bold, practical, and surprisingly human.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• The hidden cost of playing it safe, and how risk-taking can create exponential opportunities
• Why mindset consistently trumps skill set in career success and leadership
• A practical way to reframe fear and anxiety
• The unexpected career advantage of working through crisis situations
• How engaging with people outside your company can unlock clarity, strategy, and innovation
• One overlooked reason leaders stall—and how to break free

If you're hungry for growth, this episode reveals what separates those who rise from those who remain stuck.

Connect with Krishnan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krishnanvenkata/

Rusty Gaillard is an executive coach, helping mid-level corporate leaders create more career success while working less and enjoying it more. That's real freedom.

Get more leadership tips to grow your skillset and mindset at rustygaillard.com, and follow Rusty on LinkedIn. 

Send us Fan Mail

Many high performers unknowingly sabotage their chances at promotion by making a single critical mistake. 

Discover the hidden obstacle that holds back smart, capable leaders—and learn the three essential steps to break through it. With real-life stories and a clear roadmap, this conversation will shift how you think about advancement and help you align your actions with the role you want, not just the one you have.

Key Points Covered:

• The career-limiting trap that blocks promotion opportunity
• Case studies of two professionals who were overlooked for years, and what finally changed
• The backwards approach most people take to promotions—and the mindset shift you need instead
• Three foundational pillars of executive leadership
• Why “acting the part” is more than mindset—it’s about changing how you spend your time
• How to reframe your work and conversations so others see your growth

Listen now to find out what you might be missing—and how one change in focus could unlock your next big opportunity.

Rusty Gaillard is an executive coach, helping mid-level corporate leaders create more career success while working less and enjoying it more. That's real freedom.

Get more leadership tips to grow your skillset and mindset at rustygaillard.com, and follow Rusty on LinkedIn. 

Send us Fan Mail

If you've ever wondered how to speak like a leader at work, this episode delivers the answer—through practical, tactical language shifts that instantly elevate your presence. Whether you're leading a team, presenting to executives, or looking to grow in your role, the way you speak plays a powerful role in how others perceive your leadership.

In this episode, discover how confident leaders use intentional language to project authority, clarity, and calm—even under pressure. These are communication skills you can put to work immediately to sound like a leader and develop the executive presence that drives real impact.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why confidence is often confused with competence—and how to use that to your advantage
• The communication habits that quietly undermine your leadership skills
• Why hedging language like “I think” and “I’m trying” weakens your message
• 10 powerful shifts to speak like a leader and sound more assertive, clear, and credible
• How your language influences both your personal development and how others view your leadership
• A client story that shows how small changes in communication can lead to stronger executive presence
• The connection between confident action and belief—and how to stop reinforcing self-doubt

Listen if you want to:

• Build the communication skills that help you sound like a leader
• Strengthen your leadership skills through everyday language choices
• Develop your executive presence without changing who you are
• Use personal development tools to show up with more clarity and confidence

Ready to speak like a confident leader? 

Resourcers

Download the free worksheet with all 10 language upgrades—perfect for professionals working on their executive presence and leadership growth.

More Strategic Decisions in 3 Steps - includes the 7 factors that make you stupid at work

Increasing Your Executive Present in Meetings - addresses the fear of speaking up 

Rusty Gaillard is an executive coach, helping mid-level corporate leaders create more career success while working less and enjoying it more. That's real freedom.

Get more leadership tips to grow your skillset and mindset at rustygaillard.com, and follow Rusty on LinkedIn. 

Send us Fan Mail

What if the fastest way to advance your career isn’t about working harder, but thinking differently? In this episode, discover the mindset shift that elevates your leadership skills, strengthens your executive presence, and accelerates your income and impact. Learn how embracing mistakes and leaning into discomfort creates the foundation for self improvement and sustained personal development.

This mindset unlocks the Success Trifecta: more success at work, more control of your time, and more fun doing it. It all starts with a powerful blend of positive thinking and a commitment to growth.

Key Takeaways:

• Why career advancement starts by doing less, not more—and how one leader reclaimed five hours a week and grew his impact.
• How mindset shapes your executive presence under pressure.
• A leadership lesson from Jeff Bezos on turning blame into breakthrough.
• Why embracing mistakes is the most overlooked path to self improvement and lasting confidence.
• How to shift out of survival mode and into positive thinking
• The fastest way to grow your income in a corporate career
• Three common leadership pitfalls to avoid:
• Two bold strategies to lead at the next level before your title changes.

Listen now to upgrade your mindset, strengthen your leadership skills, and activate the Success Trifecta that leads to unstoppable career growth.

Rusty Gaillard is an executive coach, helping mid-level corporate leaders create more career success while working less and enjoying it more. That's real freedom.

Get more leadership tips to grow your skillset and mindset at rustygaillard.com, and follow Rusty on LinkedIn. 

Send us Fan Mail

There’s one deceptively simple question that most people never stop to ask, but it holds the key to clarity, confidence, and success. Whether you're facing a career crossroads, navigating workplace conflict, or stepping into a new opportunity, this question can shift your entire approach.

This episode breaks down how three professionals—each facing wildly different challenges—found their way forward by starting with this one question. You’ll hear how leaders get trapped by external pressures, and how to strip them away to find the clarity that fuels powerful action.

Key takeaways:

• Why clarity and confidence are the building blocks of personal power
• How external noise—like social pressure, past experiences, or fear of judgment—distorts decision-making
• The question that every leader should ask themselves in moments of uncertainty
• Why too much information can paralyze decision-making
• Real examples from leaders navigating career decisions, conflict, and strategic opportunities
• Why personal power isn’t about control—it’s about alignment and conviction
• The mindset shift that leads to authentic leadership and long-term growth

This episode is a practical, inspiring guide to reclaiming your power, redefining your path, and making decisions that align with who you truly are.

Episodes referenced

The Hidden Career Killer for High Performers (Episode 29)

More Strategic Decisions in 3 Steps (Episode 19)

Rusty Gaillard is an executive coach, helping mid-level corporate leaders create more career success while working less and enjoying it more. That's real freedom.

Get more leadership tips to grow your skillset and mindset at rustygaillard.com, and follow Rusty on LinkedIn.