Growth Edge - A Leadership Podcast

Think about the last time you finished an important meeting. Maybe it went well. Maybe someone even stopped you afterward to say so. What did your inner voice do next?

For many high-achieving professionals, that voice skips right past the compliment and goes straight to the one question we wish we had answered differently. We tend to call that discipline. Accountability. A commitment to excellence.

In this solo episode of the Growth Edge Leadership Podcast, I offer a different possibility: the opposite of self-criticism isn't complacency. It's accuracy.

Drawing on research that distinguishes perfectionistic strivings from perfectionistic concerns, I explore why high standards are rarely the problem, and how a harsh inner voice quietly distorts the data. It magnifies mistakes, discounts success, and can keep enormously capable leaders on the sidelines, waiting until they feel fully ready.

Along the way, I reframe self-compassion not as a lower standard, but as a more accurate one, and share four practical ways to change the conversation in your head without lowering the bar.

00:00 Welcome: The Conversation in Your Head

02:22 High Standards Aren't the Problem

04:08 Mistakes: Data or Story?

06:00 Letting Success Count

08:06 When Perfectionism Keeps Us on the Sidelines

10:08 Self-Compassion Isn't Soft

11:49 Four Ways to Change the Conversation

13:45 Keep the Standard, Change the Conversation

“What’s luck on the outside may very well be courage and skill and experience on the inside.”

That is just one of the many memorable lines Dr. Mark Pochapin shares in this episode of the Growth Edge Leadership Podcast. Mark is a physician, professor, senior health system leader at NYU Langone Health, past president of the American College of Gastroenterology, and TEDx speaker. Over the course of his career, he has collected a set of phrases, affectionately known as “Poch-quotes,” that capture a leadership philosophy built on relationships, trust, learning, and generosity.

During their conversation, Laurie invites Dr. Pochapin to unpack those ideas one by one. What emerges is a simple but powerful thread: how we see a situation shapes what becomes possible within it.

He explains why there’s a reverse gear in a car, why there are only two outcomes to any endeavor, and how leaders create their own luck through relationships, preparation, and the courage to act. Together, they explore why the grass is greener where you water it, what separates the people who solve problems from the people who simply point them out, and how an interruption can become one of the best moments of a leader’s day.

Laurie and Mark close with hope. Not as optimism or wishful thinking, but as action. Drawing on his work in medicine and a deeply personal family experience, Mark shares why realistic hope may be one of the most powerful things a leader can offer.

00:00 Welcome: Who Mark Is Beyond the Bio
02:27 There's a Reverse Gear in a Car for a Reason
04:42 Hard Work, Margin, and Self-Compassion
08:11 Lucky Leaders Make Their Own Luck
12:02 Leadership Starts With You
13:27 The Grass Is Greener Where You Water It
15:43 Bring the Problem, Bring a Solution
18:18 Interruptions as Touch Points
22:25 Hope Is Action, Not a Wish
26:32 Rapid Fire and Final Reflections

Mark Pochapin on LinkedIn

How to Face Medical Diagnoses with Hope, TEDxNYU Langone Health

Dr. Mark Pochapin, NYU Langone Health

What happens when the work we are deeply committed to becomes too much of who we are?

In this episode of the Growth Edge Leadership Podcast, Laurie is joined by Dr. Paul Molyneux, a former consultant neurologist and medical director in the UK whose work now explores identity, meaning, purpose, and what helps high-achieving professionals thrive across the many seasons of a career and life.

Paul’s interest in identity began through his study of physician burnout. But what he discovered reaches far beyond medicine: a strong professional identity can be a tremendous source of meaning, purpose, achievement, and fulfillment. The challenge comes when that identity grows so dominant that every other part of who we are begins to fade into the background.

Paul and Laurie explore identity fusion, the point at which a professional role becomes difficult to separate from our sense of self. Drawing on the work of theologian Henri Nouwen, they examine the subtle but powerful distinction between “I am what I do” and a more expansive understanding of identity.

Paul also introduces the identity mixing desk, a framework inspired by a visit to the ABBA Museum in Stockholm. Like the channels on a mixing board, our identities as professionals, partners, parents, friends, creatives, people of faith, and so much more can each be turned up or down through different seasons of life. The goal isn’t equal volume. It is learning to create a mix that reflects who we are as a whole.

Along the way, Laurie and Paul discuss the opportunity cost of achievement, why meaning and identity need to evolve across a career, how stress can quietly crowd out other parts of ourselves, and why we are wise to begin building a fuller life before a transition forces us to.

Connect with Dr. Paul Molyneux

Paul Molyneux on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/drpaulmolyneux/

How to Maintain a Healthy Work Identity as a Doctor, BMJ Careers
https://www.bmj.com/careers/article/how-to-maintain-a-healthy-work-identity-as-a-doctor

In healthcare, we spend years developing technical expertise. But some of the most consequential moments in leadership have very little to do with what we know, and everything to do with how we show up.

In this episode of the Growth Edge Leadership Podcast, Laurie is joined by Dr. Jess Bunin, retired Army Colonel, critical care physician, psychiatrist, executive coach, and author of Self-Awareness and Trust: Leading Healthcare Teams from the Inside Out. Drawing from more than two decades of military service, clinical medicine, medical education, and leadership, Jess explores why leadership failures are so often relational rather than technical, and why self-awareness is foundational to nearly every other leadership competency.

Jess shares candid stories from her own career, including returning to medicine after serious illness, recognizing the effects of fatigue while caring for a critically ill patient, and realizing how her rank and positional authority influenced the way others experienced her. Together, Laurie and Jess discuss the hidden messages healthcare sends about perfectionism, endurance, uncertainty, and asking for help, and the responsibility leaders have to model something different.

They also explore the importance of reflection, feedback partners, values alignment, and what Jess calls the power of the pause: knowing when we need a tactical pause in the moment, a strategic pause before an important decision, or even an existential pause to reconsider whether the path we're on is still healthy and sustainable.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

* Why technical competence alone isn't enough to lead effectively

* How relational missteps can fracture trust, and why they can be harder to repair than technical mistakes

* The shift from adaptive to maladaptive perfectionism in healthcare

* How leaders unintentionally reinforce cultures of overwork and self-sacrifice

* Why saying "I don't know" can increase rather than diminish credibility

* The difference between intention and impact in difficult conversations

* How positional power and privilege affect psychological safety

* Why Jess challenges healthcare's traditional framing of resilience

* The role of self-awareness in becoming the best version of yourself rather than emulating someone else's leadership

* The value of having a trusted feedback partner before and after high-stakes conversations

* How values can serve as an early warning system when we're beginning to drift

* The tactical, strategic, and existential pauses that help leaders respond with greater intention

One reflection question Jess recommends returning to regularly:

Am I living by my values today? How am I? Or how am I not?

And sometimes the earliest sign that something needs attention is remarkably simple. For Jess, it's noticing when she has stopped singing and whistling around the house, a personal signal that prompts her to reflect on what's changed and what she may need.

About Dr. Jess Bunin:

Dr. Jess Bunin is a retired Army Colonel, critical care physician, psychiatrist, and certified executive coach with more than two decades of military service. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and Tulane University School of Medicine, she completed her medical training at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Throughout her career, Jess has directed ICUs, residencies, and fellowships and served as an assistant dean for faculty development and professor of medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. She deployed to Iraq as a psychiatrist and Afghanistan as an intensivist and now brings her experience in psychiatry, critical care, coaching, and leadership development to the work of developing healthcare leaders and improving healthcare systems.

Her first book is Self-Awareness and Trust: Leading Healthcare Teams from the Inside Out.

Connect with Dr. Jess Bunin

Website: www.jessbuninmd.com


Book: Self-Awareness and Trust: Leading Healthcare Teams from the Inside Out https://www.amazon.com/Self-Awareness-Trust-Leading-Healthcare-Inside/dp/1960762699/ref=sr_1_1?crid=V1O05STKA6YN&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.a0Ri_mLG62ZzTtfb3fF9UWkHkQaMjrLf-FVpUdCpC6LGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.aiQ9ZzGUHjN1DKpthV6JtEoEyEWNx_RahXa2AXfSuI8&dib_tag=se&keywords=jess+bunin&qid=1787762525&sprefix=jess+bunin%2Caps%2C199&sr=8-1 

We tend to overestimate the value of intensity and underestimate the power of consistency.

We do it with our money. Our health. Our learning and personal growth. And we absolutely do it in leadership.

We're drawn to the big move: the dramatic intervention, the 30-day challenge, the new certification, the annual retreat, the complete reset. Intensity feels like progress.

But most of the things that matter most aren't built through intensity.

They're built through small actions, repeated over time.

In this solo episode, Laurie explores why consistency compounds, and why perfectionism and all-or-nothing thinking so often get in the way. Drawing from lessons learned through marathon training, long-term investing, habit formation research, and the science of deliberate practice, she considers what happens when we stop waiting for optimal conditions and start engaging, learning, reflecting, and trying again.

Because consistency doesn't mean consistently excellent.

Consistency means returning.

And whether we're building our health, our leadership capability, our relationships, or our organizations, practice precedes mastery.

In this episode:

* Why intensity gets our attention while consistency changes our lives

* What marathon training teaches us about good days, bad days, and continuing to show up

* Why long-term investing offers a powerful analogy for growth and development

* How all-or-nothing thinking can sabotage consistency

* The relationship between perfectionism and procrastination

* Why leaders often overvalue credentials and undervalue practice

* How organizations can move beyond one-time retreats and workshops to make development part of their weekly rhythm

* Why becoming isn't something that happens after the practice, becoming is the result of the practice

The challenge:

Consider an area of your life where you want a different result.

Instead of asking, "What do I need to do more intensely?"

Ask: "What could I do more consistently?" Not perfectly. Consistently.

What's the action small enough that you could repeat it even on an ordinary Tuesday?

Maybe especially on an ordinary Tuesday.

Remember:

Intensity can create a moment.

Consistency creates momentum.

Consistency builds trust.


Consistency builds capability.


Consistency builds culture.


Consistency compounds.

And over enough ordinary days, consistency doesn't just change what you accomplish. It changes who you become.

Research & Resources:

Fidelity Investments — The Cost of Missing the Market's Best Days


Fidelity's analysis illustrates the potential cost of trying to time the market. A hypothetical $10,000 investment in the S&P 500 held from 1988 through 2025 would have grown to $616,013; missing only the five best market days would have reduced that value to $380,479—a 38% reduction in gains. https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/investing-ideas/six-tips

Phillippa Lally et al. — "How Are Habits Formed: Modelling Habit Formation in the Real World"


European Journal of Social Psychology (2010). Lally and colleagues studied habit formation over 12 weeks and found that repeating a behavior in a consistent context increased automaticity over time. Importantly, missing a single opportunity to perform the behavior did not materially affect the habit-formation process. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.674 K.

Anders Ericsson — "Deliberate Practice and Acquisition of Expert Performance: A General Overview"


Academic Emergency Medicine (2008). Ericsson's work challenges the idea that expertise is simply the product of accumulated experience and explores the role of deliberate, repeated practice in developing expert performance. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1553-2712.2008.00227.x 

What can improv teach us about leadership, communication, empathy, and courage?

In this episode of the Growth Edge Leadership Podcast, Laurie is joined by Dr. Michael Smith, an academic hospitalist, medical educator, and founder of Healthcare Improv. What began as an unexpected gift of improv classes became an entirely new dimension of Mike’s work and a powerful way to practice the human skills that matter most in medicine and leadership.

Mike shares why improv is far more than comedy. At its core, it provides a low-stakes environment to deliberately practice listening, empathy, adaptability, vulnerability, and connection, skills that become especially important when the stakes are high.

Laurie and Mike explore the improv principle of “Yes, And,” why connection doesn’t require agreement, and how learning to “bring a brick, not a cathedral” changes the way we collaborate with patients, colleagues, and teams. They also discuss why practicing these skills can cause others to see us as leaders even when we don’t hold formal authority, and how great leadership ultimately helps create more leaders.

The conversation also explores Mike’s unexpected journey into improv, the courage required to step into discomfort, and an important leadership challenge: doing what the situation demands, not simply what we’re already good at.

Key Takeaways

* Improv is less about being funny and more about practicing listening, empathy, adaptability, and connection.

* Communication is a skill, and like any skill, it improves through deliberate practice, not simply through acquiring more knowledge.

* “Bring a brick, not a cathedral” is an invitation to contribute your perspective without needing to control the entire solution.

* “Yes, And” doesn’t require agreement. It means acknowledging the reality or perspective in front of you and finding a productive way to build from it.

* Strong communication skills can cause others to see and trust you as a leader, even when you don’t hold a formal leadership title.

* Leadership is a team sport. The goal isn’t simply to contribute your own best ideas, but to create conditions that allow others to contribute theirs.

* Courage and vulnerability can be practiced in low-stakes environments so those skills are available when the stakes are high.

* Growth requires becoming willing to do what the situation demands, not simply what you’re already good at.

* Great leaders don’t just become better leaders themselves. They help create more leaders.

Connect with Dr. Michael Smith

Healthcare Improv


Healthcare Improv

Dr. Michael Smith on LinkedIn


Connect with Mike on LinkedIn

Research & Resources Mentioned

Dr. Helen Riess | Empathy and Relational Skills in Healthcare


Dr. Helen Riess’s research has demonstrated that empathy and relational skills can be taught and strengthened through deliberate training. In a randomized controlled trial of 99 residents and fellows, physicians who received a neuroscience-informed empathy curriculum showed greater improvement in patient-rated empathy than controls.

Explore Dr. Riess’s work at Empathetics

Dr. Belinda Fu & Katie Watson | Medical Improv


Watson K, Fu B. Medical Improv: A Novel Approach to Teaching Communication and Professionalism Skills. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2016;165(8):591–592. doi:10.7326/M15-2239.

View the article on PubMed

Medical school teaches us how to diagnose disease. It rarely teaches us how to lead people.

In this episode, Laurie sits down with dermatologist, clinical researcher, and LEADderm founder Dr. Jennifer Soung for a conversation about the leadership lessons that transform great clinicians into exceptional leaders.

Jennifer shares the pivotal experiences that revealed a gap in her own training, the inspiration behind creating LEADderm, and why she believes leadership is less about titles and authority than it is about curiosity, humility, and human connection.

Together, Laurie and Jennifer explore why so many physicians are searching for deeper purpose, how intentional community can combat the isolation of modern medicine, and why the future of healthcare depends not only on advancing technology, but on strengthening the uniquely human skills that AI can never replace.

Whether you're an emerging leader or a seasoned executive, this conversation offers practical insights and an encouraging reminder that leadership isn't about having all the answers. It's about continually becoming.

In this episode, you'll learn:

* Why clinical expertise alone isn't enough for today's physicians.

* The leadership gap that inspired the creation of LEADderm.

* How intentional community creates deeper learning than traditional conferences.

* The human skills that have the greatest influence on a physician's career.

* Why humility, curiosity, and vulnerability build trust rather than diminish credibility.

* How defining your values provides "strong ground" during uncertainty.

* Why leadership is ultimately about helping others thrive.

Connect with Dr. Jennifer Soung

Learn more about LEADderm and this year's conference:
https://www.leadderm.org   

Learn more about Dr. Jennifer Soung:
http://www.jennifersoungmd.com   

Connect with Laurie Baedke

Website: https://www.lauriebaedke.com

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

If you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a colleague who believes leadership is a skill worth developing.

Success has a way of making the journey invisible.

We see the accomplished physician leader, the respected CEO, the department chair, the entrepreneur, or the keynote speaker. We see confidence. We see success. What we rarely see are the manuscript rejections, the failed interviews, the difficult conversations, the moments of self-doubt, and the countless revisions that shaped them along the way.

In this solo episode, Laurie explores why authentic leadership isn't about appearing flawless, it's about knowing when to thoughtfully pull back the curtain. Drawing from executive coaching conversations with healthcare leaders, leadership research, and practical experience, Laurie discusses how appropriately sharing our own learning process can build trust, normalize growth, and give others permission to keep becoming.

You'll learn:

* Why so many accomplished leaders quietly struggle with imposter syndrome

* The difference between authentic vulnerability and oversharing

* How trust, not perfection, is the foundation of leadership influence

* Why people don't need perfect leaders, they need believable ones

* How sharing parts of your own journey can create hope for those following behind you

* A simple question every leader should ask before sharing a personal story

If success hides the process, authentic leaders occasionally reveal it, not to draw attention to themselves, but to remind others that becoming is often messy, and that excellence is built, not inherited.

Key Takeaway:

The greatest gift authentic leaders give isn't the illusion that they've arrived, it's the confidence for someone else to keep becoming.

Memorable Quotes from this Episode

* "Success hides the process. Authentic leaders occasionally reveal it."

* "Trust is the goal. Vulnerability is simply one way we get there."

* "Leadership isn't about arriving. It's about continually becoming."

* "People aren't asking whether you're perfect. They're asking whether you're real."

* "Most people only see the front of the tapestry. Authentic leaders occasionally show them the underside."

* "The question isn't, 'How do people see you?' The better question is, 'How do people see themselves after spending time with you?'"

* "Hope sounds like this: If they became, maybe I can too."

Suggested resources or cited research:

Gallup - How to Engage Frontline Managers - https://www.gallup.com/workplace/395210/engage-frontline-managers.aspx

Harvard Business Review - Building Everyday Bravery - https://hbr.org/2025/07/building-everyday-bravery 

Eight years ago, I pressed record on the very first episode of the Growth Edge Leadership Podcast. I never imagined it would grow into a community of more than 100,000 downloads, conversations with remarkable leaders, and a platform that has challenged me to think more deeply about leadership with every episode.

To mark this milestone, I'm sharing a solo coaching conversation on one of the most consequential leadership topics I encounter in my work with executives, physician leaders, and high-performing professionals: blind spots.

Leadership rarely plateaus because of a lack of intelligence or technical expertise. More often, growth stalls because leaders cannot see the behaviors, assumptions, or habits that are shaping their impact on others.

In this episode, I explore:

The most effective leaders don't assume they have all the answers. They remain curious, coachable, and committed to seeing themselves more clearly. They intentionally create environments where honest feedback is welcomed because they understand that growth requires truth.

Whether you're leading a team, a department, or an entire organization, this episode will challenge you to examine one simple but powerful question:

Who has permission to tell you something you don't want to hear? 

Thank you for being part of this community over the past eight years. I'm grateful for your trust, your curiosity, and the opportunity to continue learning alongside you. As always, I'm rooting for you.

High achievers are remarkably capable. They're disciplined, resilient, and willing to shoulder more than most.

But those same qualities can quietly become liabilities when perfectionism, people-pleasing, or relentless self-sufficiency begin driving our decisions.

In this episode, Laurie welcomes back physician leader, executive coach, and host of the Humans Leading podcast, Dr. Jillian Bybee, for a thoughtful conversation about coaching, burnout, well-being, and the questions that create lasting change.

Together, they explore why growth isn't always about finding the right answers, it's about asking better questions.

One question, in particular, might be the most powerful.

What is it costing you?

Whether you're navigating leadership, medicine, or simply the demands of a full life, this conversation offers practical wisdom for recognizing unhelpful patterns, reclaiming your agency, and leading yourself with greater intention.

In this episode, you'll learn:

* Why changing your circumstances alone rarely leads to lasting change.

* The coaching question that helps uncover the hidden cost of our habits and assumptions.

* The difference between reflection and rumination, and why it matters.

* How perfectionism, people-pleasing, and self-sufficiency quietly keep high achievers stuck.

* Why coaching isn't about giving advice, but helping people discover the answers they already possess.

* How leaders can model well-being in ways that genuinely influence culture.

* Why extending yourself the same grace you offer others may be one of the most important leadership practices of all.

If you've ever felt like you're working harder but not moving forward, this conversation will challenge you to pause, reflect, and ask a better question.

JOIN MY FALL 2026 NEW LEADER LAUNCH COHORT

Learn more and register here https://www.lauriebaedke.com/new-leader-launch

Connect with Dr. Jillian Bybee

Substack: https://humansleading.substack.com  


Website: https://jillianbybeemd.com 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeandpicu/ 

Humans Leading Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/humans-leading/id1724173473 

If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a colleague or friend. Your support helps us bring meaningful leadership conversations to more people.