Radio Free Leader

Mike is the Founder and Managing Director of thoughtLEADERS, LLC – a professional training firm focused on leadership development.

He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1993 where he was an honor graduate and a Distinguished Cadet. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as an officer in the United States Army. He spent five years as an Armor officer in a variety of roles including Platoon Leader, Executive Officer, Personnel Officer and ROTC Instructor at Duke University.

After leaving the Army, he joined McKinsey and Company as a management consultant before starting THOUGHleaders. His new book One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership is designed to help leaders define who they are and what their personal leadership philosophy is.

Teresa Amabile is the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration and a Director of Research at Harvard Business School. Originally educated as a chemist, Teresa received her doctorate in psychology from Stanford University. She studies how everyday life inside organizations can influence people and their performance. Teresa’s research encompasses creativity, productivity, innovation, and inner work life – the confluence of emotions, perceptions, and motivation that people experience as they react to events at work.

In this interview, we discuss her latest research project, chronicled in her new book The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work. The book, based on research into nearly 12,000 daily diary entries from over 200 professionals inside organizations, illuminates how everyday events at work can impact employee engagement and creative productivity

Pam Fox Rollin is an executive coach and the head of IdeaShape, a coaching and consulting firm for senior executives. Pam is an experienced consultant who has worked with leading organizations such as Verizon, eBay and Charles Schwab. Pam is the author of 42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role. In this interview, we discuss what “rules” leaders need to know as the take on a senior leadership position.

Jesse Lyn Stoner has worked closely with leaders for over twenty-five years, helping them create collaborative, engaged organizations that make a powerful and positive impact on the world. A business consultant, former executive, and bestselling author, Jesse has worked in a wide range of industries including Fortune 500s, small startups, government agencies, and nonprofits. In this interview, we discuss her book Full Steam Ahead (co-authored with Ken Blanchard).

Dr. Mitchell Kusy, an international consultant, has worked internally in several organizations including American Express Financial Advisors as head of leadership development. He is a full professor in the Ph.D. Program in Leadership & Change at Antioch University. He is the co-author of The Little Book of Leadership Development. In this podcast, we discuss the simple ways everyday managers can develop the leaders on their teams.

Tim Harford is a senior columnist for the Financial Times. His column, “The Undercover Economist,” reveals the economic ideas behind everyday experiences. He is also the author of Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure. In this interview, we discuss how leader’s can build organizations ready to learn from their (and others’) failures.

Todd Dewett, Ph.D., is a tenured Professor of Management in the Raj Soin College of Business at Wright State University. He is also a noted speaker and consultant on leadership and management. In this interview, we talk to Todd about the various projects he has underway, including his new book The Little Black Book of Leadership.

Guy Kawasaki is the former Chief Evangelist of Apple and current head of Alltop. He is the author of the new book Enchantment and, in this interview, talks about what it takes for leaders to enchant their followers…and for followers to be enchanting back.

Guy Harris describes himself as a Recovering Engineer. He has served as an officer aboard a US Navy Submarine, and he has held leadership positions in both major multi-national and small businesses. Guy is the author, with Kevin Eikenberry, or From Bud to Boss, a new book that focused on equipping newly promoted leaders.

Siddhartha Herdegen is the Assistant Chair of Leadership, Ethics and Law at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. In this podcast, we discuss the methods and challenges of developing leadership among the midshipmen of the Naval Academy.