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Andrew McMasters is an actor, director, and consultant who helps leaders and teams strengthen communication, collaboration, and presence through the power of performance. As the author of Listening Without Agenda, he blends acting techniques with business strategy to create authentic, engaging, and effective leadership.

A  Few Quotes From This Episode

• “Actors learn to use their bodies to communicate. Leaders forget that their body is one of the tools they use.”
• “Make your scene partner look good. That is what creates true collaboration.”
• “In improv, you cannot hold on to your agenda. You have to build something together.”

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Andrew's Website
• Book: Slow Horses

About The International Leadership Association (ILA)

• The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. 

About  Scott J. Allen

• Website
• Weekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for Leaders

My Approach to Hosting

• The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic.

♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!
⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.
➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.
📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.
🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

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Jon Macaskill is a retired Navy SEAL Commander turned speaker, mindfulness teacher, and leadership coach. Over his 24-year military career, he led special operations organizations ranging from 16 men to over 2,500 people. Today, he blends hard-earned military lessons with mindful leadership tools to help individuals and organizations grow through resilience, grit, and compassion. At the heart of it all, he uses his voice, presence, and past (especially the hard parts) to help others unlock their potential.

A  Couple of Quotes From This Episode

• “Being nice feels good in the moment. Being kind is longer lasting.”
• “I would rather not pick a side and join the two sides than pick a side and divide us.”

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Jon's Website
• Book: Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia. 
• Book: Lifespan by David Sinclair

About The International Leadership Association (ILA)

• The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. 

About  Scott J. Allen

• Website
• Weekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for Leaders

My Approach to Hosting

• The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic.

♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!
⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.
➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.
📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.
🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

Send us a text

Sabina Nawaz is the author of YOU’RE THE BOSS: Become the Manager You Want to Be (and Others Need) and an elite executive coach who advises C-level executives and teams at Fortune 500 corporations, government agencies, nonprofits, and academic institutions around the world. Sabina routinely gives speeches each year and teaches faculty at Northeastern and Drexel Universities. During her fourteen-year tenure at Microsoft, she went from managing software development teams to leading the company’s executive development and succession planning efforts for over 11,000 managers and nearly a thousand executives, advising Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer directly. She has written for and been featured in Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, NBC, Nasdaq, and MarketWatch.

A  Few Quotes From This Episode

• “It’s not power that corrupts. It’s pressure.”
• “As our job expands, the added pressure to perform corrupts our actions, and our increased power will blind us to the impact of those actions.”

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Book: You’re the Boss: Become the Manager You Want to Be and Others Need by Sabina Nawaz
• Forbes Article: “Under Pressure: Why Stress, Not Power, Corrupts Leadership Actions” by Sabina Nawaz on Forbes
• Book: Creative Acts for Curious People by Sarah Stein Greenberg

About The International Leadership Association (ILA)

• The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. 

About  Scott J. Allen

• Website
• Weekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for Leaders

My Approach to Hosting

• The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic.

♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!
⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.
➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.
📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.
🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

Send us a text

Sunil Puri is a thought leader with over two decades of experience in leadership development, sustainability, and data analytics. Currently serving as the head of research and engagement at the Stewardship Asia Centre (SAC) in Singapore.

A  Few Quotes From This Episode

• "Most leadership decisions today are not either/or. They are both/and."
• “Doing well by doing good. If it's doing well and doing good, then doing good becomes an afterthought.”

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Book: Grow the Pie by Alex Edmans
• Book: Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda

About The International Leadership Association (ILA)

• The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. 

About  Scott J. Allen

• Website
• Weekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for Leaders
• Blog

My Approach to Hosting

• The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic.

♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!
⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.
➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.
📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.
🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

Send us a text

Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Singapore — the largest and the most active international business association in Singapore and Southeast Asia representing over 650 companies. Hsien is also Adjunct Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, member of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Advisory Board, Vice President of the Precision Public Health Asia Society, board member and fundraising committee chair of TalentTrust, board committee member of SATA CommHealth and advisory committee member at the Singapore University of Social Sciences School of Business.

A  Quote From This Episode

• "The truth is Singapore itself is a very small market…And yet its influence and its ability to do more for the rest of the world is really impressive.”

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Book: Any Dumb-Ass Can Do It: Learning Moments from an Everyday CEO of a Multi-Billion-Dollar Company, Garry Ridge & Martha Finney. 
• Book: Helping People Win at Work: A Business Philosophy Called “Don’t Mark My Paper, Help Me Get an A by Garry Ridge & Ken Blanchard.

About The International Leadership Association (ILA)

• The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. 

About  Scott J. Allen

• Website
• Weekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for Leaders
• Blog

My Approach to Hosting

• The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic.

♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!
⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.
➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.
📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.
🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

Send us a text

Jonathan Reams, PhD, is currently doing action research projects exploring how to scale micro-skill development for habituating core leadership practices. He approaches this work drawing on experiences from holding a position at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) from 2007 until 2024, serving as editor-in-chief of Integral Review from 2005 to 2023, and being chief creative officer at the Center for Transformative Leadership and Adeptify.

A  Few Quotes From This Episode

• "Life will teach you better. The curriculum is all around you.”
• “If your inner weather is turbulent, others can feel it. You can’t hide your state of being.”
• “Leadership starts with regulating your own noise so you can notice the needs of others.”

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Article: Amal and Berndt’s paper on the knowing–doing gap
• Edgar H. Schein: Helping: How to Offer Give and Receive Help
• Dynamic Skill Theory – Kurt Fischer
• Book: BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits
• Book: James Clear’s Atomic Habits
• Book: Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey’s Immunity to Change

About The International Leadership Association (ILA)

• The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. 

About  Scott J. Allen

• Website
• Weekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for Leaders
• Blog

My Approach to Hosting

• The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic.

♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!
⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.
➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.
📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.
🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

Send us a text

Jonathan Reams, PhD, is currently doing action research projects exploring how to scale micro-skill development for habituating core leadership practices. He approaches this work drawing on experiences from holding a position at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) from 2007 until 2024, serving as editor-in-chief of Integral Review from 2005 to 2023, and being chief creative officer at the Center for Transformative Leadership and Adeptify.

A  Few Quotes From This Episode

• "Leadership isn’t about position—it’s about behavior in the moment.”
• “We need proprioception of thought—awareness of our thinking as it arises.”
• “The feeling of being time-starved is an interpretation, not a fact.”
• “It’s not about a thousand skills to master; it’s about cultivating processes for clean thinking and wise action.”

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Article: Amal and Berndt’s paper on the knowing–doing gap
• Center for Creative Leadership’s DAC model
• Dynamic Skill Theory – Kurt Fischer
• David Bohm’s work on the proprioception of thought
• David Wagoner’s poem Lost
• Book: BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits
• Book: James Clear’s Atomic Habits
• Book: Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey’s Immunity to Change
• Book: Daniel Coyle’s The Talent Code

About The International Leadership Association (ILA)

• The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Plan for Prague - October 15-18, 2025!

About  Scott J. Allen

• Website
• Weekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for Leaders
• Blog

My Approach to Hosting

• The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic.

♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!
⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.
➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.
📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.
🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

Send us a text

Jonathan Reams, PhD, is currently doing action research projects exploring how to scale micro-skill development for habituating core leadership practices. He approaches this work drawing on experiences from holding a position at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) from 2007 until 2024, serving as editor-in-chief of Integral Review from 2005 to 2023, and being chief creative officer at the Center for Transformative Leadership and Adeptify.

A  Few Quotes From This Episode

• "You may think your inner state is invisible, but you can’t hide it.”
• “The success of the intervention is primarily due to the interior condition of the intervener.”
• “Resilience isn’t about bouncing back to normal—it’s about expanding your capacity.”
• “Leaders create the weather. Your energy is the signal everyone else reads first.”
• “Knowing about something isn’t the same as learning how to do it.”

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Article: Amal and Berndt’s paper on the knowing–doing gap
• Book: An Everyone Culture by Kegan and Lahey
• Book: The Outward Mindset by The Arbinger Institute
• Book: Theory U by Otto Scharmer
• Organization: HeartMath Institute
• Tool: MindLog by Theo Dawson

About The International Leadership Association (ILA)

• The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Plan for Prague - October 15-18, 2025!

About  Scott J. Allen

• Website
• Weekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for Leaders
• Blog

My Approach to Hosting

• The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic.

♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!
⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.
➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.
📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.
🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

Send us a text

John Dailey – A high school diving coach for more than 45 years, John is known for his infectious energy, big-hearted mentorship, and focus on building confidence and resilience in young athletes.

Chris Whritenour – A trailblazing coach and former University of Minnesota diver (and its first female coach). Chris broke barriers as one of the first women to sign a collegiate athletic letter of intent and has spent decades inspiring divers (especially young women) to believe in their own strength.

Dennis Pluth – A passionate former diver and coach for nearly two decades, Dennis blends tough love with deep care, challenging athletes to take ownership of their growth while celebrating the lifelong community the sport creates.

Bret Beecher – A lifelong coach who began at 15 and has led athletes from high school to collegiate levels, Bret treasures the long-term relationships with his divers and the joy of watching them grow into confident, accomplished adults.

Quotes From This Episode

• "Diving is 85% mental, 15% physical—we spend an awful lot of time running around inside these kids’ heads.” — John Dailey
• “You can tell when someone’s genuine, just by showing up every day and making them believe they can.” — Chris Whritenour
• “Diving accepted me for who I am." — Dennis Pluth
• “Whether you finish in last place or first place, the kids will never forget the experience they had from their coaches and teammates.” — Bret Beecher

About The International Leadership Association (ILA)

• The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Plan for Prague - October 15-18, 2025!

About  Scott J. Allen

• Website
• Weekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for Leaders
• Blog

My Approach to Hosting

• The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic.

♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!
⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.
➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.
📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.
🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

Send us a text

Nicole Ferry is a tenure-track assistant professor at Copenhagen Business School. Drawing on her background in cultural studies and critical theory, her research examines the ideological and gendered discourses of leadership and leadership development across diverse contexts. 

She has published in Journal of Business Ethics, Leadership, Management Learning, Gender, Work and Organization, and Academy of Management Learning & Education. Her current work explores the competitive and cultural dynamics of the leadership industries, as well as contemporary approaches to gender-based leadership development.

Quotes From This Episode

• “If men don’t connect personal identity work to gender and power, we won’t achieve equity.”
• “It’s a privilege not to have to think about how your gender shapes your leadership.”

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Article: Men’s Leadership Development: A Framework for Advancing Gender Equity in Leadership Development
• Television: Adolescence
• Television: Men
• Film: Coherence 
• Television: The Bear

About The International Leadership Association (ILA)

• The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Plan for Prague - October 15-18, 2025!

About  Scott J. Allen

• Website
• Weekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for Leaders
• Blog

My Approach to Hosting

• The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic.

♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!
⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.
➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.
📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.
🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.