The Next Interview Show

AI is moving fast—but most leaders are still trying to figure out what to do with it. In this conversation, Lena Skliarova Mordvinova breaks down the real tension: how to use AI to accelerate growth without losing trust, clarity, or control inside your organization.

This episode is for leaders navigating uncertainty—those who want to leverage AI for better decision-making, stronger communication, and real team performance without creating confusion or dependency.

Key insights:

• AI is a multiplier—it amplifies both wisdom and mistakes

• Over-optimizing one area of the business can break the entire system

• Trust in AI must be earned through transparency and validation

Q: Can leaders rely on AI for decisions?

A: Only when paired with human judgment and experience.

Q: Why do AI-driven teams struggle with trust?

A: Because leaders fail to explain how decisions are made.

Q: What’s the biggest leadership risk with AI?

A: Losing knowledge transfer and real-world experience.

Timestamps:

02:30 Lena’s journey into AI

12:00 Personalization and the future of business

21:30 AI vs human judgment

34:00 Trust and leadership risk

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Guest: Lena Skliarova Mordvinova

AI Strategist | Co-Founder & CTO | CEO, Perseverance Accelerator

Meet Lena:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hskliarovamordvinova/

CEO: Perseverance

The Next Interview is hosted by Doland White—executive coach, former COO and CEO, and author of Lead With Confidence. Known as “The Empowerment Guy,” Doland has spent over 40 years building and leading organizations, helping leaders eliminate bottlenecks, build trust-driven teams, and create systems that drive real results.

Each episode is built for leaders who are serious about growth. This isn’t about theory or entertainment—it’s about execution. Through real conversations with experienced leaders, founders, and operators, Doland brings forward the insights, strategies, and mindset shifts that help you lead with clarity, move faster, and build empowered teams that perform.

If you’re ready to think differently, act decisively, and lead with confidence—you’re in the right place.

Most leaders are rushing into AI—but few are leading it well. In this episode, Joel Salinas breaks down why AI adoption is failing inside organizations and how leaders can implement it without losing trust, clarity, or performance.

If you’re a Director, VP, or executive trying to figure out how AI fits into your strategy, this conversation gives you a clear path forward. It’s not about tools—it’s about leadership, decision-making, and execution.

Key insights:

• AI should execute ideas—not replace leadership thinking

• Without guardrails, AI creates confusion and inconsistent outcomes

• Most failures come from poor strategy, not poor technology

• Your differentiation comes from your thinking—not AI output

Q: Why do most AI initiatives fail?

A: Leaders skip strategy and treat AI like a shortcut instead of a system.

Q: How should leaders use AI effectively?

A: Start with clear thinking, then use AI to accelerate execution.

Q: What’s the risk of overusing AI?

A: You lose your voice, your edge, and your leadership identity.

Timestamps:

00:00 Joel’s journey

06:00 AI adoption mistakes

14:00 Why AI fails

22:00 Human vs machine thinking

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Guest: Joel Salinas

Strategic AI Leadership Coach

Substack: https://substack.com/@leadershipinchange10

Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leadership-in-change-with-ai-podcast/id1884921599

Website: https://jsalinas.org/

The Next Interview is hosted by Doland White, executive coach, author of Lead With Confidence, and known as The Empowerment Guy. Each episode delivers practical insights, powerful stories, and bold conversations designed to help leaders empower their teams, accelerate growth, and lead with confidence.

Most leaders think they need more tactics. Maeve Ferguson makes the case that what they really need is infrastructure. In this conversation, she breaks down how founders turn expertise into systems that build trust, improve communication, and drive team success.

This episode is for leaders who feel stuck in the middle of everything—decision-making, delivery, messaging, and growth. If you want more autonomy inside your company without losing control, this conversation will sharpen your strategy.

• Build clear KPI visibility before you try to scale.

• Codify your intellectual property so your expertise works without you.

• Use diagnostic tools to qualify leads and reveal real business gaps.

• Let AI support smarter execution, not just more noise.

Q: How do leaders stop being the bottleneck? A: By building systems and structure that remove constant founder dependency.

Q: What is codified IP? A: It is your expertise turned into a clear framework, method, or asset.

Q: Why do diagnostics matter? A: They turn insight into positioning, lead quality, and better decisions.

Timestamps: 00:00 background and infrastructure;

06:30 founder bottlenecks;

15:00 codifying IP;

24:00 diagnostics and data.

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Guest: Maeve Ferguson, business strategist focused on turning IP into diagnostic lead-generation assets. Website: maeveferguson.com | LinkedIn: Maeve Ferguson.

The Next Interview is hosted by Doland White, executive coach, author of Lead With Confidence, and known as The Empowerment Guy. Each episode delivers practical insights, powerful stories, and bold conversations designed to help leaders empower their teams, accelerate growth, and lead with confidence.

Leadership often focuses on strategy, execution, and performance. But what if the real breakthrough starts with the leader themselves?

In this episode of The Next Interview, Doland White sits down with Curtis McCullom, human potential coach and founder of Bespoke Human Potential Coaching. Curtis shares how his L.G.E.T. Mindset — Learn, Grow, Expand, Transform — helps leaders address the internal barriers that limit trust, communication, and team performance.

This conversation is especially relevant for executives who feel pressure to appear strong while quietly carrying the weight of leadership. Curtis explains why pretending everything is fine can slow growth—and why authentic self-leadership builds stronger organizations.

Key insights leaders will take away:

• Why leadership transformation starts with fixing internal belief systems

• How subconscious habits drive 95% of leadership behavior

• The power of asking one more question to deepen trust and communication

Leadership FAQ

Q: Why do leaders struggle with vulnerability?

A: Many leaders fear appearing weak, but authenticity actually strengthens trust.

Q: What is the L.G.E.T. mindset?

A: A framework that helps leaders learn, grow, expand awareness, and transform their leadership.

Time Stamps

00:00 Introduction

11:30 Leadership authenticity

26:10 The L.G.E.T. mindset

40:00 Building trust through communication

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Guest

Curtis McCullom

Founder – Bespoke Human Potential Coaching; https://www.bespokehumanpotentialcoaching.com/

Podcast: The L.G.E.T. Mindset

Host

The Next Interview is hosted by Doland White, executive coach, author of Lead With Confidence, and known as The Empowerment Guy.

Reed Nyffeler, Founder & CEO of Signal, joins me for a bold conversation about what leadership really looks like when you’re scaling trust across 650+ franchise locations. At the heart of this episode is one tension every executive faces: how do you empower people without losing control?

This episode is for Directors, VPs, and CEOs who want stronger execution without micromanagement. If you’re building teams, expanding strategy, or navigating growth, this conversation will sharpen your leadership lens.

You’ll hear:

• Why authenticity builds trust faster than authority

• How consistency becomes a leader’s competitive advantage

• The boundary model for expanding autonomy without chaos

• Why perspective—not skill—is often the real barrier to growth

Q: How do leaders scale trust across large organizations?

A: Through authenticity and disciplined consistency.

Q: When should autonomy expand?

A: When performance proves readiness within existing boundaries.

Q: What breaks trust fastest?

A: Inconsistency between what you say and what you do.

Key Moments:

03:15 Entrepreneurial beginnings

22:10 Leading franchise owners vs employees

40:25 Authenticity and trust

46:10 Expanding autonomy

Download this week’s leadership asset: THE EMPOWERMENT BLUEPRINT

https://dolandwhite.com/#ebt

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Guest: Reed Nyffeler

Founder & CEO, Signal

Website: https://www.teamsignal.com

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

The Next Interview is hosted by Doland White, executive coach, author of Lead With Confidence, and known as The Empowerment Guy. Each episode delivers practical insights, powerful stories, and bold conversations designed to help leaders empower their teams, accelerate growth, and lead with confidence.

David Howe brings a rare combination of leadership experience to this conversation—thirty years in the U.S. Army, including Special Forces, and three decades in senior roles within Fortune 100 organizations. But the real focus of this episode isn’t resume—it’s infrastructure. Specifically, why life planning is the missing foundation in executive leadership.

If you’re leading at the Director, VP, or C-suite level, this conversation challenges you to examine whether your professional strategy is anchored to personal clarity—or simply reacting to momentum. David shares how disciplined planning, vision alignment, and purpose-driven leadership strengthen trust, autonomy, and long-term team success.

Key Insights & Strategies:

• Strategic leaders plan their lives with the same rigor as their businesses.

• Personal clarity reduces reactive leadership.

• Alignment between life goals and corporate goals increases engagement and performance.

Mini Q&A

Why do leaders burn out despite success?

Because achievement without alignment eventually erodes purpose.

How can executives create long-term clarity?

Through structured life planning tied to vision and values.

What drives sustainable leadership performance?

Discipline, vision, and accountability anchored in purpose.

Timestamps

00:00 Military discipline

15:10 Life planning foundation

23:30 Corporate integration

41:20 Planning principle

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This Week’s Sponsor

Design the Life of Your Dreams and Your Teams

https://courses.kenrusk.com/offers/o2s4kYm8?coupon_code=TNI

Guest Contact

David Howe

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.kenrusk.com/

Phone: 847-323-4199

Foundation: https://www.veteransuccess.org/

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Customer experience isn’t a department—it’s a leadership system. In this episode, Doland White sits down with Wes Dudley, Senior Vice President of Customer Experience at Broad River Retail, to unpack how trust, transparency, and accountability drive real performance. If you lead teams in high-pressure environments, this conversation will challenge how you think about culture and execution.

This episode is for Directors, VPs, SVPs, and CEOs who want stronger team success without micromanagement. Wes shares how identity, communication, and disciplined strategy elevate customer outcomes and internal engagement at the same time.

• Build trust through consistent listening forums and direct leadership access

• Use team identity (CX All-Stars) to create ownership and autonomy

• Pair accountability with coaching to grow next-level leaders

• Keep AI human-centered to enhance—not replace—customer connection

Q: How do you build trust in large CX teams?

A: Create structured access points where employees feel heard and supported.

Q: How do leaders prevent burnout in customer-facing roles?

A: Balance standards with coaching and development.

Q: What makes customer experience strategic?

A: It reflects leadership clarity and cultural discipline.

Timestamps:

03:00 Journey & Retail Leadership Roots

09:00 Trust Through Roundtables

17:00 CX All-Stars Culture Model

24:00 AI, Accountability & Human-Centered Leadership

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Guest: Wes Dudley, SVP Customer Experience, Broad River Retail

The Next Interview is hosted by Doland White, executive coach, author of Lead With Confidence, and known as The Empowerment Guy. Each episode delivers practical insights, powerful stories, and bold conversations designed to help leaders empower their teams, accelerate growth, and lead with confidence.

How do leaders build trust under pressure? Jenn Greenhut shares leadership lessons on trust, accountability, and self-leadership when it matters most.

Jenn Greenhut joins The Next Interview for a powerful conversation on leadership, trust, and accountability forged under extreme pressure. A stage IV cancer survivor, author, and founder of Love, Zero Negative, Jenn shares how life’s hardest moments reveal the kind of leader you truly are — at work, at home, and within yourself.

This episode is for leaders navigating uncertainty, burnout, or transition who want to lead with clarity instead of control. Jenn and host Doland White explore how trust deepens when fear is present, why accountability doesn’t require blame, and how self-leadership becomes the foundation for team success.

Key insights include:

• How trust is built through behavior, not reassurance

• Why accountability starts with ownership, not perfection

• The cost of self-protection versus connection in leadership

• Turning adversity into alignment, purpose, and momentum

Mini Q&A

• How do leaders stay connected under pressure? By choosing presence over protection.

• What creates trust when outcomes are uncertain? Transparency, consistency, and compassion.

Timestamps

• Cancer, mindset, and trust under pressure

• Self-leadership and accountability lessons

• Building Love, Zero Negative and purpose-driven work

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Guest: Jenn Greenhut – Founder, Love Zero Negative

Website: https://lovezeronegative.com

Host:

The Next Interview is hosted by Doland White, executive coach, author of Lead With Confidence, and known as The Empowerment Guy.

Download the EMPOWERMENT BLUEPRINT here: https://dolandwhite.com/#ebt

Claudio Reilsono, longtime Carnegie Mellon baseball coach and leadership author, joins The Next Interview to unpack a truth most leaders learn the hard way: talent doesn’t build winning teams—trust does. This conversation explores what happens when leaders prioritize the right people over resumes, and why culture always beats credentials.

This episode is for Directors, VPs, and executives navigating stalled execution, misalignment, or underperformance despite strong talent. Claudio shares real stories from elite sports and leadership environments that reveal how trust, communication, and accountability shape results.

Key Insights & Strategies

• Why the “right people” outperform high performers who resist coaching

• How leaders build trust by owning mistakes instead of hiding them

• When accountability strengthens teams—and when it fractures them

• How vulnerability accelerates execution instead of weakening authority

Mini Q&A

• How do leaders build trust fast? By being consistent, honest, and accountable first.

• What kills team performance most often? Tolerating misalignment too long.

Timestamps

00:02 Journey to leadership

09:40 Right people vs. talent

22:15 Accountability moments

38:50 Leading from the heart

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Guest: Claudio Reilsono

Website: https://www.claudioreilsono.com/

The Next Interview is hosted by Doland White, executive coach, author of Lead With Confidence, and known as The Empowerment Guy…

This isn’t a show about titles, hype, or surface-level success.

It’s a conversation for leaders who know there’s another level—of clarity, confidence, and impact—and are ready to step into it.

Each episode, I sit down with executives, founders, and thinkers who’ve been in the seat. People who’ve made hard decisions, built trust when it mattered most, and learned what actually moves teams forward. No fluff. No theory for theory’s sake. Just real stories, hard-earned lessons, and practical insights you can use immediately.

We’ll talk about trust, ownership, communication, growth, accountability—and the inner work required to lead well when the pressure is real. Whether you’re a Director, VP, or CEO, this show is designed to help you lead with confidence and build empowered teams that perform without burning out.

If you’re here to grow, to think differently, and to lead better—

you’re in the right place.

Let’s get into it.