November 19, 2025

Ep 315: The Messy Middle of Leadership: Love, AI, and Better Teams with Frank Danna, Marketing Director at Softway and Co-Founder of Culture+; Houston, TX, USA

27 minutes

Can love be a business strategy? In this episode, we talk about how leading with love can transform your team and your bottom line.

Frank Danna, a seasoned leader and marketing expert, brings his wisdom on building authentic connections in the workplace. We explore how AI can enhance, rather than replace, human creativity and the importance of creating a culture that values trust, inclusion, and vulnerability. Frank shares his personal journey from a toxic work environment to one where love and empathy drive success, offering actionable advice for leaders looking to transform their organizations.

Here are some highlights:

-The Power of Love in Leadership: Frank explains how love, empathy, and trust are essential to creating a successful and human-centered workplace culture.

-AI and Creativity: Frank discusses how AI can free up time for leaders to be more creative and focus on what truly matters: human connections.

-Building a Culture of Love: Learn the six key behaviors—Inclusion, Empathy, Vulnerability, Trust, Empowerment, and Forgiveness—that make up a culture of love in the workplace.

-The Challenge of Toxicity in Leadership: Frank shares his experience of working through a toxic work culture and how a shift in leadership behavior can turn things around.

-Vulnerability as a Leadership Strength: Frank highlights the importance of vulnerability in leadership and how sharing personal stories can foster real connections with your team.

About the guest:

Frank E. Danna is the Marketing Director at Softway and Co-Founder of Culture+, where he transforms leadership through love, empathy, and behavior-driven change. Co-author of Love as a Business Strategy and Love as a Change Strategy, Frank challenges fear-based leadership practices and champions a human-first approach.

He co-created Culture Rise, a transformative leadership experience that’s impacted over 6,000 leaders worldwide. Frank’s expertise spans storytelling, communication strategy, and creative content, having reached 100 million viral views on Vine and co-founding GhostCodes, acquired by Softway. He’s worked with brands like HBO, Twitter, and Coca-Cola, and is a sought-after speaker on culture, AI, and change.

Connect with Frank:

Website: www.softway.com

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

Connect with Allison:

Feedspot has named Disruptive CEO Nation as one of the Top 25 CEO Podcasts on the web, and it is ranked the number 6 CEO podcast to listen to in 2025! https://podcasts.feedspot.com/ceo_podcasts/

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

Website: https://www.disruptiveceonation.com/

#CEO #leadership #startup #founder #business #businesspodcast

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By Allison Summers

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