Unlocked with Skot Waldron

What if some of the pressure you feel to "be productive" has less to do with getting good work done, and more to do with making sure people can see you doing it?

In this episode of Thoughts Unlocked, I read a little bit of Chapter 2 from my new book idea, called Misdiagnosed, and explore where our obsession with visible productivity came from. It starts with a stopwatch, a pile of pig iron, and Frederick Winslow Taylor's attempt to measure human work like a machine.

That made sense when productivity meant moving 47 tons of iron. But what happens when the work is thinking, creating, solving problems, or building strategy? You can't always see those hours.

If you've ever felt guilty for thinking instead of doing, or worried people might assume you're not working because they can't see what you're doing, this one is worth listening to.

Are we rewarding people for the work they're actually good at or for how easy their work is to see?

Chapters: 00:00 – Introduction 03:18 – The Stopwatch That Changed How We Think About Productivity 05:43 – Why Invisible Work Gets Misunderstood 06:38 – When Thinking Doesn't Look Like Work 07:43 – Why So Many People Feel Pressure to Look Busy 10:34 – The Productivity Mentality We Still Carry

Website: skotwaldron.com

In this episode of Unlocked, Skot Waldron talks with Colin Fisher, author of The Collective Edge, about improvisation, leadership, creative work, and why teams often struggle when the work gets messy, invisible, or hard to measure. They unpack the difference between checking in and checking up, why leaders need to make their intentions more explicit, and how even good leaders can start behaving badly inside broken systems.

If you lead people, work on a team, or have ever said, "I was just trying to help," this conversation will give you a smarter way to think about trust, accountability, group dynamics, and the kind of leadership that creates room for people to do their best work.

Chapters: 00:00:00 - Cold Start & Intro 00:04:09 - Meet Colin Fisher 00:05:03 - Life Is Improvised 00:09:12 - Why Help Can Feel Like Control 00:18:28 - Checking In vs Checking Up 00:25:41 - Remote Work and the Trust Gap 00:29:43 - Why Creative Work Looks Messy 00:35:54 - Your Leadership Brand Speaks First 00:43:33 - The Team Size Problem Nobody Names 00:55:20 - The CLEAR Way to Set Expectations

Guest: Colin Fisher Website: colinmfisher.com Book: The Collective Edge LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/colinmfisher Instagram: www.instagram.com/colinmfisher Substack: substack.com/@colinmfisher YouTube: www.youtube.com/@Drcolinmfisher

A deep dive into the misdiagnosis of work behaviors and the value of different thinkers.

During coaching sessions, I've heard a lot of different emotions from clients, particularly frustration and hopelessness. Yet, one phrase I hear too often is, "I wish I could be more like them." This sentiment speaks volumes about how we perceive ourselves in the workplace. Often, those expressing this wish are comparing themselves to colleagues who appear to glide through their tasks with ease.

You are constantly reaching for something you were never designed to be, which means you are always behind on becoming what you already are.

In my upcoming book, I aim to shed light on these distinctions and encourage a culture of understanding and acceptance. While structured thinkers excel in creating order and predictability, adaptive thinkers thrive in chaos and creativity. Both styles have their merits.

Let's work towards creating spaces that honor and harness these differences.

Timestamps: 01:13 – Introduction to the book and its purpose 02:57 – The common phrase 'I wish I could be more like them' 05:59 – The story of Chrissy, the nurse, and her work style 08:27 – The two types of thinkers: structured and adaptive 11:44 – The concept of misdiagnosis and labels in the workplace 13:57 – The story of the director and her team 17:47 – The importance of understanding your default operating system

Website: skotwaldron.com

In this episode of Unlocked, Skot sits down with Dr. Ricardo Valerdi, engineer, sports scientist, University of Arizona professor, and author of *The Five Tool Team*, to unpack the psychology behind decision-making, and why judging a decision by its outcome is one of the most common leadership mistakes.

We get into the tug-of-war between "me" and "we," why the best hitters in baseball fail 70% of the time and still make the Hall of Fame, when your gut should outvote your data, and the Costanza Effect – the surprising case for doing the exact opposite of what feels obvious. Ricardo also shares his watch-checking story, a small moment that reveals how quickly we climb the ladder of inference and land on the wrong conclusion about people.

Chapters: 00:00:01 – Cold Start & Intro 00:03:30 – Why Brilliant People Still Get It Wrong 00:05:01 – The Me vs. We Tug of War 00:06:34 – Good Decision, Bad Outcome 00:10:20 – Why Hall of Famers Fail 70% of the Time 00:12:30 – When Your Gut Should Beat the Data 00:15:29 – The Costanza Effect 00:20:19 – The Most Dangerous Word in a Meeting 00:22:16 – Dissent Is Healthy Until It Isn't 00:29:01 – One-Way Doors vs. Two-Way Doors

Guest: Ricardo Valerdi Website: www.ricardovalerdi.com Book: The Five Tool Team: www.ricardovalerdi.com/book LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/valerdi Instagram: www.instagram.com/fivetoolteam X (Twitter): x.com/sciencebaseball

In this episode of Unlocked, Skot sits down with international speaker and emotional intelligence expert Nikki Langman to unpack what psychological safety really means (and what it doesn't). Nikki shares the remarkable story of a 12-month emotional intelligence program she ran inside a high-risk maritime company, one that cut lost-time injuries by 86% and doubled near-miss reporting, proof that trust and safety directly move the needle on real business outcomes.

From there, the conversation goes deep: why leaders sometimes weaponize resilience, why emotional intelligence without integrity becomes manipulation instead of leadership, and why charisma is too often mistaken for genuine self-awareness. Nikki also breaks down her UNBRICKABLE® workshop method, using literal Lego bricks to help teams talk about grief, conflict, and hard conversations they'd otherwise avoid.

Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Cold Start & Intro 00:05:07 – The Maritime Story That Changed Everything 00:07:56 – Why Near-Miss Reports Doubled 00:13:06 – What Psychological Safety Really Means 00:15:07 – When Leaders Weaponize Resilience 00:20:41 – Can Emotional Intelligence Make a Leader Worse? 00:22:36 – What Pressure Reveals About Your True Self 00:24:57 – Why Charisma Isn't Emotional Intelligence 00:37:45 – The Legos That Unlock Hard Conversations 00:42:11 – The Book & Where to Find Nikki

Guest: Nikki Langman Website: unbrickable.co Website: nikkilangman.beehiiv.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nikkilangman1 Book: How to Be a BADASS: Navigating Your Road to Self-Mastery

Why does leadership feel lonelier for women and what does community actually fix?

In this episode of Unlocked, host Skot Waldron sits down with award-winning entrepreneur and Dear FoundHer... founder Lindsay Pinchuk to unpack why the right community changes everything for women leaders and founders over 40. They dig into the mental load women carry at home while leading at work, why burnout from corporate America is pushing women into entrepreneurship, and the simple but powerful difference between having a network and having real people in your corner.

Lindsay shares her journey from building Bump Club and Beyond (a community-driven brand she sold after scaling to millions), to creating a top 0.5% podcast and mentorship program for women business owners. Plus, she offers a dead-simple strategy for anyone, male or female who feels like they haven't found their people yet.

Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Cold Start & Intro 00:03:45 – How Lindsay Discovered She Needed Community Too 00:09:18 – What You Actually Get From Being in the Right Room 00:15:25 – Is Leadership Loneliness Different for Women? 00:19:08 – The Mental Load Nobody Talks About 00:22:30 – Why Women Over 40 Are Starting Businesses 00:29:28 – The Advice for Anyone Who Feels Stuck 00:32:09 – Bigger Circle or Deeper Circle? 00:39:11 – The Simple Dinner Strategy to Find Your People 00:43:02 – Why Shared Experience Builds Real Community

Guest: Lindsay Pinchuk The Dear FoundHer... Forum networking community: www.dearfoundher.com/dearfoundherforum Substak, The FoundHer Files: foundherfiles.substack.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/dearfoundher

Stress doesn't create cracks in your culture. It reveals them.

When teams are under pressure, trust can quickly turn into blame, assumptions, longer email threads, and people protecting themselves instead of solving problems.

In this episode of Thoughts Unlocked, I break down why stress can break trust and what leaders can do about it.

The answer isn't more communication. It's more curiosity.

Instead of jumping to conclusions, ask better questions. Instead of assuming incompetence, assume confusion. And instead of asking, "Who's responsible?" ask, "What made this problem possible?" Because trust grows when people feel safe asking better questions.

Timestamps: 00:01:16 – When stress starts replacing trust 00:03:55 – The role of trust in team dynamics 00:07:39 – The benefit of questions over assumptions 00:10:59 – How to foster curiosity and safety in teams 00:12:48 – Cultivating trust through curiosity

Website: skotwaldron.com

Most people think the Apple Store succeeded because of great design. Ron Johnson says that's only half the story. The real secret was something much more personal. In this episode, Ron Johnson, the man who built the Apple Store alongside Steve Jobs and later became CEO of JCPenney, breaks down the invisible forces that shape how leaders make decisions. He introduces a concept called personal geography, the idea that every choice we make as a leader is filtered through our own lived experience, whether we realize it or not. Ron traces how his mother's simple belief that everyone deserves a place to belong quietly became the emotional blueprint behind the Genius Bar, the open floor plan, and the entire Apple retail experience.

Ron also opens up about what he calls his biggest professional failure, transforming JCPenney, and why a genuinely good vision still collapsed. The conversation digs into why fast change without buy-in creates fear instead of momentum, why uncertainty registers in our brains as danger, and why the most successful leaders resist the urge to rush. This episode will change how you think about retail, leadership, and the quiet personal history that drives every decision you make.

Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Cold Start & Intro 00:02:24 – Meet the Man Behind the Apple Store 00:08:11 – The Secret Behind Apple's Mobile Checkout 00:09:32 – Why Everyone Called the Apple Store a Terrible Idea 00:19:07 – The Psychology of Standing in Line 00:21:57 – What Is Personal Geography 00:26:07 – The Childhood Memory That Built the Apple Store 00:33:35 – Why JCPenney Became His Biggest Failure 00:41:15 – The Real Lesson Behind Leading Change 00:52:44 – Why Personal Geography Shapes Every Leader

Guest: Ron Johnson Websites: https://ronjohnsonshopsdifferent.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shopdifferent Book: Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius

"I don't have time."

We say it all the time. But what if time isn't actually the problem?

In this episode of Thoughts Unlocked, I'm challenging the idea that we don't have enough time. The real issue is often ownership.

When your calendar belongs to everyone else, your priorities get pushed aside. Strategy, thinking, relationships, rest, and the things that matter most become whatever time is left over.

You don't need to find more time. You need to claim it.

I'll share a simple challenge: find one hour on your calendar, block it, protect it, and make it yours. Because if you don't choose how to spend your time, someone else will.

Timestamps: 00:01:54 – Time isn't the problem, control is 00:03:59 – How access creates overwhelm 00:06:51 – The impact of open calendars on reactionary culture 00:11:42 – The power of strategic and intentional calendar management 00:15:35 – You don't find time, you claim it 00:17:10 – Eliminate unnecessary meetings

Website: skotwaldron.com

Building a business, coaching practice, or consulting career can feel like a constant tug-of-war between ambition and balance. You want to grow, serve clients, make the thing work and also not become the person everyone quietly avoids at dinner.

In this episode of Unlocked, Skot Waldron talks with John Azar about why "work-life balance" might not be the real goal, what healthy seasons of imbalance can look like, and how to pursue big goals without accidentally turning your life into a motivational poster with Wi-Fi.

They also dig into fear, failure, and the difference between real danger and the stories we tell ourselves when things get uncomfortable. If you're a coach, consultant, founder, creator, or service-based business owner trying to grow without losing yourself in the process, this conversation gives you practical ways to think about focus, communication, risk, and resilience.

Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Cold Start & Intro 00:03:47 – Meet John Azar 00:04:23 – Comfort vs. Failure 00:05:48 – The Work-Life Balance Myth 00:10:03 – Strategic Seasons of Imbalance 00:17:41 – How to Not Get Stuck in Hustle 00:22:44 – The Fear Conversation 00:25:46 – Why Failure Fuels Fear 00:31:47 – Moving Past Fear 00:41:17 – Skot's Big Takeaway

Guest: Jalal John Azar Websites: https://johnazar.com, https://www.peak15cap.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jalalazar Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jjazar