The Uncommon Minds Experience

Dale Turnbull is the creator of The 7 Positions of Leadership and founder of Lead Adapt Impact. With over 12 years of leadership coaching experience, he has trained and coached more than 800 people, 300 of whom he managed directly . His work bridges the gap between leadership intention and team execution through a simple insight: when leaders understand how people actually process information, they can communicate in ways that land.

His signature framework, The 7 Positions of Leadership, encourages leaders to recognize their natural strengths while developing the flexibility to lead from different positions . Sometimes a team needs a trailblazer out front. Sometimes it needs a guide beside them, a coach behind them, or a values-driven leader pointing toward the right path . Effective leadership is about choosing the position that creates the greatest impact in that moment.

What makes this conversation different:

This isn't another "leadership tips" episode. It's a conversation about why repeating the same instruction rarely solves a communication problem, how leaders can adapt messages for emotional and logical thinkers, and what it actually takes to get people to listen and act.

What we explore in this conversation:

· The 7 Positions of Leadership—and why leadership isn't one-size-fits-all

· The question that changed everything: "What made you choose differently?"

· Why asking "Why didn't you?" immediately creates defensiveness

· How leaders can adapt their communication for different learning styles

· Why motivation is either running toward growth or away from pain

· How personality assessments should inform people—not imprison them

· Why understanding yourself is the first step to aligning others

· The difference between leading from authority and leading from influence

· How AI is quietly killing our communication skills

· Why every interaction is "a drop in the ocean of someone's life"

Connect with Dale:

· Website: leadadaptimpact.com

· LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daleturnbull

· The 7 Positions of Leadership Survey: https://7-positions-of-leadership.base44.app/Book

· Piece by Piece: A Memoir of Survival, Resilience, and the Power of Creativity

Website & Social

· Website: sherylhauk.com

· Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sheryl.hauk

· LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheryl-hauk/

Sheryl Hauk is a retired music educator, survivor advocate, and author of Piece by Piece: A Memoir of Survival, Resilience, and the Power of Creativity . Since the release of her memoir, readers—some in their 60s and 70s—have shared that they spoke the truth of their own abuse for the first time after reading the book . That moment keeps repeating, quietly and powerfully, without fanfare .

She speaks with honesty, warmth, and occasional dark humor about survival, voice, advocacy, and what healing really looks like years later . She doesn't offer easy answers—but she offers real ones.

What makes this conversation different:

This isn't another "trauma survivor" episode. It's a conversation about why people stay silent for decades, what finally makes speaking possible, and how creativity, compassion, and simply being believed can change a life .

What we explore in this conversation:

· Why she carried the story for 40 years before speaking

· What finally made her feel safe enough to tell the truth

· Why so many survivors wait decades before speaking

· The cost of silence—and what it takes to break it

· How music, creativity, and storytelling helped her survive

· What healing actually looks like years later

· What survivors actually need from listeners

· What well-meaning people say that unintentionally causes harm

· How educators and leaders can create safer spaces

· What she would say to someone who has never told their story

Connect with Sheryl:

· Website: sherylhauk.com

· Book: Piece by Piece: A Memoir of Survival, Resilience, and the Power of Creativity

· Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sheryl.hauk

· LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheryl-hauk/

About The Uncommon Minds Experience:

A podcast for people who refuse to accept broken systems. Featuring founders, physicians, engineers, and innovators who sit at the intersection of technology, medicine, and entrepreneurial thinking—unpacking how they identify problems others overlook and build solutions that actually work.

Subscribe for more conversations that challenge how you think about silence, survival, and the courage it takes to speak.

Book

· Piece by Piece: A Memoir of Survival, Resilience, and the Power of Creativity

Website & Social

· Website: sherylhauk.com

· Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sheryl.hauk

· LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheryl-hauk/

Shawngela Pierce is a spiritual healer, podcaster, and author based in Sedona, Arizona. She holds a degree in Biology from Purdue University and began her career as a forensic scientist in Ohio before pursuing a degree in Naturopathic Medicine at the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and Health Sciences . After a personal awakening during her fourth year of medical school, she stepped away from the conventional path to follow her inner guidance .

She is the founder of Seek Within You, where she offers spiritual retreats in Sedona, the Grand Canyon, and Mount Shasta, as well as mentoring and workshops . Her work includes two published books, Healing and the Law of Attraction and Awakening to the Healing Powers Within, and she hosts the podcast Embrace Your Spiritual Power with IAM . She works intimately with her spiritual guides, whom she affectionately calls IAM .

What makes this conversation different:

This isn't another "law of attraction" episode. It's a conversation about what happens when you walk away from everything you've built to follow an inner calling—and how that surrender can unlock a different kind of healing .

What we explore in this conversation:

· From forensic scientist to naturopathic student—the journey

· Why she left medical school in her fourth year

· The two-year meditative sabbatical that changed everything

· How the divine communicates—externally before internally

· The misconception that divine guidance is only for "special" people

· Why nature is one of the most powerful spiritual practices

· The relationship between the law of attraction and healing

· How to tell the difference between intuition and wishful thinking

· The power of a daily spiritual practice for resilience

· What it means to "seek within you"

Connect with Shawngela:

· Website: seekwithinyou.com

· Podcast: Embrace Your Spiritual Power with IAM

· Books: Healing and the Law of Attraction, Awakening to the Healing Powers Within

· Retreats: Sedona, Grand Canyon, and Mount Shasta locations

· Free Consultations: Available via her website

About The Uncommon Minds Experience:

A podcast for people who refuse to accept broken systems. Featuring founders, physicians, engineers, and innovators who sit at the intersection of technology, medicine, and entrepreneurial thinking—unpacking how they identify problems others overlook and build solutions that actually work.

Subscribe for more conversations that challenge how you think about healing, intuition, and the power of listening within.

Books

· Healing and the Law of Attraction

· Awakening to the Healing Powers Within

Website & Social

· Website: seekwithinyou.com

· Podcast: Embrace Your Spiritual Power with IAM

· Retreats: Sedona, Grand Canyon, and Mount Shasta locations

· Free Consultations: Available via her website

Jody Zarn is an author, corporate trainer, and TEDx speaker whose work explores empathy, mental health, and the power of human connection . Her perspective was shaped by an unexpected friendship she formed with a man experiencing homelessness—a relationship that challenged many of her assumptions about trauma, dignity, and what it really means to help someone .

Leroy was not a stereotypical homeless man. Born in Guyana and raised in Barbados, he worked in the hospitality industry, volunteered with the Boys and Girls Club, and was ranked one of the best checkers players in the world—third in Barbados and twelfth in the world . Yet he spent fifteen years on the streets, trusting no one .

Over two years, Jody and Leroy formed a friendship built on trust and mutual respect . They set out on a mission to get Leroy off the streets—while both battled their own demons: Leroy's mental illness and refusal to trust mental health workers, and Jody's trauma from being severely bullied as a child and losing her father to dementia .

What makes this conversation different:

This isn't another "how to help the homeless" episode. It's a conversation about what happens when you stop seeing people as problems to be solved and start seeing them as people to be known .

What we explore in this conversation:

· The cup of coffee that changed everything

· Who Leroy really was—beyond the label of "homeless"

· How a friendship built on trust and mutual respect transformed two lives

· The intersection of homelessness, trauma, and mental illness

· Why people experiencing homelessness often distrust the system

· What it means to truly see someone—not as a project, but as a person

· How empathy and dignity can create real change

· The lessons leaders and workplaces can learn from this story

· Why mental health and trauma are the invisible drivers of so many struggles

Connect with Jody:

· Website: jodyzarn.com

· Book: Higher Power Betty and The Homeless Man Who Changed My Life

· TEDx Talk: [Link]

· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jodyzarn/

· LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodyzarn/

About The Uncommon Minds Experience:

A podcast for people who refuse to accept broken systems. Featuring founders, physicians, engineers, and innovators who sit at the intersection of technology, medicine, and entrepreneurial thinking—unpacking how they identify problems others overlook and build solutions that actually work.

Subscribe for more conversations that challenge how you think about empathy, connection, and what it means to truly see another person.

Book

· Higher Power Betty and The Homeless Man Who Changed My Life

Website & Social

· Website: jodyzarn.com

· TEDx Talk: [Link]

· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jodyzarn/

· LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodyzarn/

Christopher Rivers grew up in a working‑class family that did everything right but still struggled to get ahead . At seventeen, he enlisted in the Army and went on to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan. After his first deployment, he earned his degree from West Point, returned to serve again, and later completed graduate studies at Georgetown .

His career spans military leadership, U.S. diplomacy, corporate strategy, and a run for state office where he knocked on nine thousand doors to hear directly from the people he hoped to serve . His book, You Shouldn’t Have to Kill to Get Ahead, explores how America's obsession with zero-sum success—whether on the battlefield, in the marketplace, or in public life—has left millions behind to benefit a powerful and wealthy few .

What makes this conversation different:

This isn't a partisan political debate. It's a conversation about leadership, belonging, and what it takes to rebuild trust in a country where so many people feel left behind .

What we explore in this conversation:

· Growing up working‑class and the American Dream

· Enlisting at seventeen and serving in Iraq and Afghanistan

· Earning a degree from West Point and learning leadership under pressure

· Working in diplomacy and corporate strategy

· Knocking on nine thousand doors—what Americans are really feeling

· Why the American Dream feels like a rigged game

· Belonging as a leadership issue

· Rebuilding trust in communities and institutions

· What it means to "lead with belonging"

· A hopeful, practical vision for how we move forward

Connect with Christopher:

· Website: chrisrivers.com

· Book: You Shouldn’t Have to Kill to Get Ahead (Legacy Launch Pad Publishing, Mar 2026)

· Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrisriversct

· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisriversct

· LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisriversct

· Threads: https://www.threads.net/@chrisriversct

· YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChristopherRiversCT

About The Uncommon Minds Experience:

A podcast for people who refuse to accept broken systems. Featuring founders, physicians, engineers, and innovators who sit at the intersection of technology, medicine, and entrepreneurial thinking—unpacking how they identify problems others overlook and build solutions that actually work.

Subscribe for more conversations that challenge how you think about leadership, opportunity, and what it means to belong.

Book

· You Shouldn’t Have to Kill to Get Ahead: Reimagining Wealth, Power and Belonging in America (Legacy Launch Pad Publishing, Mar 2026)

Website & Social

· Website: chrisrivers.com

· Free Resources: chrisrivers.com/changemakers

· Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrisriversct

· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisriversct

· LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisriversct

· Threads: https://www.threads.net/@chrisriversct

· YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChristopherRiversCT

Clive Moore is a Canadian entrepreneur, Chief Creative Officer, and the founder of Workilo and GPT Studio, two AI platforms built on a simple but increasingly rare premise: AI should work with humans, not instead of them . After 25 years in agency and brand development—leading design teams for clients like Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment—he shifted his focus to building infrastructure that keeps data sovereign and humans in control .

His parent company, AIAB Software Group / Agency in a Box, builds model-agnostic orchestration so businesses are not locked into a single AI provider . He also runs a concert series called OMG BASSH out of a 900-square-foot community hall in rural Ontario—which has nothing to do with AI and everything to do with what it looks like to build something from nothing in a small market.

What makes this conversation different:

This isn't another "AI hype" episode. It's a conversation about why the model doesn't matter, why infrastructure and guardrails are everything, and what it actually takes to deploy AI safely and effectively .

What we explore in this conversation:

· The ransomware attack that changed everything

· Why the specific AI model matters less than the infrastructure you build around it

· The difference between hallucination and confabulation—and why it matters

· Why autonomous AI is "a horror story waiting to happen"

· Data sovereignty: what it actually means for small businesses

· How specialized agents with approval gates produce better quality output

· The legal risks of using free AI tools (including the ChatGPT court case)

· What 10-15x productivity gains actually look like

· The biggest mistake small businesses make with AI

· What the OMG BASSH concert series taught him about building from nothing

Connect with Clive:

· Parent Company: agencyinabox.ca

· Workilo: workilo.io

· GPT Studio: gptstudio.workilo.io

· Personal Site: clivemoore.me

· LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/clivemoore

· Instagram: @clivemoore1979

About The Uncommon Minds Experience:

A podcast for people who refuse to accept broken systems. Featuring founders, physicians, engineers, and innovators who sit at the intersection of technology, medicine, and entrepreneurial thinking—unpacking how they identify problems others overlook and build solutions that actually work.

Subscribe for more conversations that challenge how you think about AI, leadership, and building systems that actually work.

Websites

· Parent Company: agencyinabox.ca

· Workilo: workilo.io

· GPT Studio: gptstudio.workilo.io

· Personal Site: clivemoore.me

Social

· LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/clivemoore

· Instagram: @clivemoore1979

· Twitter/X: @clivemoore

Kim Peirano is an Organizational Psychologist, consultant, and creator of the Organizational Ecosystem Model™—a proprietary culture assessment framework that helps organizations diagnose the root causes of performance problems, leadership dysfunction, and cultural breakdown .

She holds a Master of Science in Organizational Psychology from the University of Hartford, where her research focused on destructive leadership—specifically, the organizational conditions that allow coercive and harmful leaders to thrive . She is a recognized expert in how coercive control dynamics manifest in workplace and organizational settings .

Her work is deeply personal. She survived eight years inside a coercive control environment that used hypnosis, love bombing, and secrecy to maintain control . That experience gave her a front-row seat to how manipulation, control, and charismatic authority operate—and shaped her mission to help organizations recognize and dismantle the systems that allow destructive leadership to flourish .

What makes this conversation different:

This isn't another "leadership tips" episode. It's a conversation about why organizations create conditions for toxic leadership, how coercive control shows up in workplaces, and what it actually takes to build cultures that protect people .

What we explore in this conversation:

· Surviving a coercive control environment and what it taught her about power

· Why destructive leadership is a systems problem, not a personality problem

· The Organizational Ecosystem Model™—and why traditional surveys miss the real issues

· How coercive control dynamics show up in workplace leadership

· Why the accommodations that benefit neurodivergent employees benefit everyone

· The difference between ADA compliance and genuine inclusion

· What founders get wrong about culture—and what it's costing them

· How to audit your organization before the bill comes due

· Why better workplaces produce better business outcomes—and why we still default to fear

Connect with Kim:

· Website: integritycatalyst.com

· Substack: kimpeirano.substack.com

· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/integritycatalyst/

· LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimpeirano/

· TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@integritycatalyst

About The Uncommon Minds Experience:

A podcast for people who refuse to accept broken systems. Featuring founders, physicians, engineers, and innovators who sit at the intersection of technology, medicine, and entrepreneurial thinking—unpacking how they identify problems others overlook and build solutions that actually work.

Subscribe for more conversations that challenge how you think about leadership, culture, and the systems we've accepted as normal.

Website & Social

· Website: integritycatalyst.com

· Substack: kimpeirano.substack.com

· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/integritycatalyst/

· LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimpeirano/

· TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@integritycatalyst

Jody Layne has been an entrepreneur most of her adult life . She built a digital marketing agency called Barnett & Murphy that grew to over $3 million in revenue in the early 2000s . She also launched a software-as-a-service company that didn't work—and learned that failure teaches you a lot, but only if you're willing to be vulnerable and learn from your mistakes .

Her passion for wellness became deeply personal when she lost her mom at 67 and watched her husband struggle with health issues that traditional medicine couldn't solve . Discovering hormone therapy completely changed his health and quality of life . That experience opened her eyes to a bigger mission: helping wellness providers who are incredible at treating patients but struggle on the business side .

What makes this conversation different:

This isn't another "marketing tips" episode. It's a conversation about why great medicine isn't enough, why wellness clinics stay stuck, and what it actually takes to build a business that can scale without burning out the founder .

What we explore in this conversation:

· Building a $3M agency—and the startup that failed

· Why talented healthcare providers struggle on the business side

· The POWER Framework: Positioning, Operations, Workforce, Experience, Revenue

· The difference between leading a job and leading a business

· Why your team is the number one product your company has

· The mistakes wellness clinics make when they try to grow

· How to know when your systems aren't supporting your growth

· Why great medicine alone doesn't create a great business

· Practical steps for overwhelmed clinic owners

· The shift from "sick care" to "wellness care"

Connect with Jody:

· Website: acceleratedmedicalpractices.com

· Podcast: Beyond Hormones, The Business of Wellness

· Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acceleratedmedicalpractices/

· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jodylayneamp/

· YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jodylayne

· LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodylayne/

About The Uncommon Minds Experience:

A podcast for people who refuse to accept broken systems. Featuring founders, physicians, engineers, and innovators who sit at the intersection of technology, medicine, and entrepreneurial thinking—unpacking how they identify problems others overlook and build solutions that actually work.

Subscribe for more conversations that challenge how you think about business, leadership, and building systems that carry your impact.

Website & Social

· Website: acceleratedmedicalpractices.com

· Podcast: Beyond Hormones, The Business of Wellness

· Free Strategy Call: https://acceleratedmedicalpractices.com/strategy

· Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acceleratedmedicalpractices/

· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jodylayneamp/

· YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jodylayne

· LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodylayne/

Pamela Cass is a performance coach, speaker, co-host of the Reignite Resilience podcast, and co-author of The Quiet Gift: A Journey of Self-Worth and Resilience . She's a cancer survivor, a dyslexia advocate, and someone who spent years feeling invisible—until she learned to stop hiding .

She climbed the corporate ladder, achieved an executive title, and built a life that looked successful on paper . But inside, she was running on empty . Burnout crept in quietly, and then a cancer diagnosis forced her to pause . In the stillness, she realized she had been living by someone else's definition of success . So she walked away from the executive world and started over .

Today, she helps leaders, entrepreneurs, and professionals rediscover purpose and performance through self-awareness and authenticity . Her message is simple: you can't rise until you stop hiding .

What makes this conversation different:

This isn't just a "resilience story." It's a conversation about what happens when you've built a life that looks successful but feels empty, how invisibility shapes identity, and what it actually takes to reclaim your voice .

What we explore in this conversation:

· Growing up with dyslexia and feeling invisible

· Building a successful career while hiding who you really are

· The quiet burnout that crept in over time

· A cancer diagnosis that changed everything

· Walking away from an executive role to start over

· Writing The Quiet Gift and the healing power of storytelling

· The difference between bouncing back and rising differently

· Why burnout isn't failure—it's feedback

· How to stop chasing perfection and start honoring your truth

· Practical tools for reclaiming self-worth and confidence

Connect with Pamela:

· Website: pamelacass.com

· Podcast: Reignite Resilience

· Book: The Quiet Gift: A Journey of Self-Worth and Resilience (Amazon)

· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pam.cass70/

· LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelacass-realtor/

About The Uncommon Minds Experience:

A podcast for people who refuse to accept broken systems. Featuring founders, physicians, engineers, and innovators who sit at the intersection of technology, medicine, and entrepreneurial thinking—unpacking how they identify problems others overlook and build solutions that actually work.

Subscribe for more conversations that challenge how you think about success, resilience, and what it means to live authentically.

Book

· The Quiet Gift: A Journey of Self-Worth and Resilience (Available on Amazon)

· Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FSN1R8KR

Website & Social

· Website: pamelacass.com

· Podcast: Reignite Resilience

· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pam.cass70/

· LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelacass-realtor/

· Facebook: [Link]

Melanie Smithson is a Licensed Somatic Psychotherapist, Board-Certified Dance Movement Therapist, Certified Hypnotherapist, and author of Shake Yourself Free: 81 Somatic Practices to Let Go of Limitation and the award-winning Stress Free in 30 Seconds . She holds an MA from Naropa University and has been sharing the wisdom of the body and the power of movement with therapy clients and group participants for thirty years .

Her work centers on a powerful truth: the body holds what the mind tries to manage . And when we don't fully release what we've experienced, it doesn't disappear—it stays with us, showing up as tension, reactivity, and emotional patterns we don't always understand .

What makes this conversation different:

This isn't another "think positive" episode. It's a conversation about why awareness isn't always enough, how the body holds our unprocessed experiences, and what it actually looks like to let go—not through analysis, but through movement, breath, and sensation .

What we explore in this conversation:

· Why understanding your story doesn't always lead to change

· How unprocessed grief and life transitions live in the body

· What somatic work actually is—and how it differs from traditional talk therapy

· Why so many of us struggle to let go (even when we want to)

· Simple, accessible ways to begin reconnecting with the body

· What it feels like when real release starts to happen

· How play and movement can transform our relationship with ourselves

· The "hoarder of upset" phenomenon—and how to stop carrying what isn't yours

· Why healing is not always found through analysis—sometimes it's found through movement

Connect with Melanie:

· Website: smithsonclinic.com

· Book: Shake Yourself Free: 81 Somatic Practices to Let Go of Limitation (Komodia Press, Jan 2026)

· Book: Stress Free in 30 Seconds (Komodia Press, 2014)

About The Uncommon Minds Experience:

A podcast for people who refuse to accept broken systems. Featuring founders, physicians, engineers, and innovators who sit at the intersection of technology, medicine, and entrepreneurial thinking—unpacking how they identify problems others overlook and build solutions that actually work.

Subscribe for more conversations that challenge how you think about healing, the body, and what it means to truly let go.

Books

· Shake Yourself Free: 81 Somatic Practices to Let Go of Limitation (Komodia Press, Jan 2026)

· Stress Free in 30 Seconds (Komodia Press, 2014)

Website

· Website: smithsonclinic.com