The biggest blocker to remote success isn’t the tool you picked. It’s the clarity you haven’t written down. Jay sits with culture expert Chris Dyer to unpack how a recession forced him to ditch the office, kill the bottlenecks, and build a remote-first system where people make smart decisions without waiting for the boss. The story starts with hard lessons from a coach-style leadership approach and lands on a repeatable playbook any team can use, on-site or distributed.

Chris lays out the mindset shift that changed everything: keep only one control—own the culture—and give away the rest. We dig into practical mechanics that make autonomy real, like cockroach meetings for quick problems, ostrich meetings for learning and re-entry after time off, and monthly company-wide briefings that demystify financials, pipeline, and priorities. He shares why hybrid is hardest, why process beats platform, and how simple rituals—“How are you showing up?” and “How are you leaving?”—create psychological safety that actually protects output.

Expect concrete tips you can test this week: stop answering every question, start asking better ones, let people make safe mistakes, and replace your annual survey with a weekly pulse. You’ll hear how radical transparency aligns effort, reduces microaggressions born from confusion, and sparks the ownership leaders say they want. Whether you’re scaling a startup or retooling an enterprise, this is a field guide for building trust, speed, and profit in a distributed world—without burning people out.

If this conversation gave you a useful idea, follow the show, share it with a leader who needs it, and leave a quick review so more teams can find it.

Meet the Host
Jay Johnson works with people and organizations to empower teams, grow profits, and elevate leadership. He is a Co-Founder of Behavioral Elements®, a two-time TEDx speaker, and a designated Master Trainer by the Association for Talent Development. With a focus on behavioral intelligence, Jay has delivered transformational workshops to accelerate high-performance teams and cultures in more than 30 countries across four continents. For inquiries, contact jay@behavioralelements.com or connect below!

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayjohnsonccg/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jayjohnsonccg/
Speaker Website - https://jayjohnsonspeaks.com

Loud doesn’t equal leader. Greg Weinger joins us to unpack why quiet professionals can become some of the most effective leaders in the room—and how to get there without faking extroversion or burning out. We dig into the real difference between introversion and shyness, the energy mechanics that shape how people think and speak in groups, and the small, repeatable steps that turn hesitation into confident presence.

Greg shares the pivot from “performing extrovert” to authentic leadership, including the meeting moves that keep ideas from getting lost when the conversation sprints ahead. You’ll hear practical ways to influence beyond the moment—smart follow-ups, written clarity, and narrating your thought process so conclusions land with weight. For managers and HR leaders, we outline simple design changes that elevate team decisions: sending agendas early, building quiet think time, using temperature checks instead of hot-seat prompts, and inviting multiple channels of contribution so every brain gets heard.

We also talk about nerves and purpose. If your heart races before a presentation, you’re not broken; your body is priming to perform. Greg reframes anxiety as activation and pairs it with a purpose-first mindset that makes discomfort worth it. Along the way, we explore how culture shapes what gets rewarded, why deep listening is a competitive advantage, and how to champion quiet talent without forcing them into a loud mold. If you’ve ever thought “I’m not a leader because I’m not the loudest,” this conversation gives you tools, language, and proof that your path is not only possible—it’s powerful.

Enjoy the episode, share it with a colleague who needs the nudge, and if it resonated, subscribe and leave a quick review so more quiet leaders can find it.

Meet the Host
Jay Johnson works with people and organizations to empower teams, grow profits, and elevate leadership. He is a Co-Founder of Behavioral Elements®, a two-time TEDx speaker, and a designated Master Trainer by the Association for Talent Development. With a focus on behavioral intelligence, Jay has delivered transformational workshops to accelerate high-performance teams and cultures in more than 30 countries across four continents. For inquiries, contact jay@behavioralelements.com or connect below!

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayjohnsonccg/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jayjohnsonccg/
Speaker Website - https://jayjohnsonspeaks.com

What if the secret to consistent high performance isn’t more grind, but a better story? We sit down with Steven Puri, a former studio executive turned founder, to connect surprising dots between Hollywood and the workplace: how timeless myths power blockbuster hits, why fear and risk shape decisions, and how those same forces show up in teams that confuse busyness with value.

We get personal about failure, shame, and the discipline of reflection. Steven shares what he learned leaving big studios, launching startups, and then stopping—pen and paper in hand—while the wounds were still fresh to ask, What did I learn? The answer, listen, becomes a theme for leaders who want to swap surveillance for stewardship. Instead of paying for time, we make the case for paying for value and building cultures where people can do the kind of work that moves the business forward.

The conversation closes with community and accountability—how sharing one finished thing a day can create momentum that sticks. If you’re a leader trying to reduce burnout, an individual contributor craving focus, or a trainer designing learning that actually lands, this episode offers a clear path: clarify the mission, manage for output, protect deep work, and recover well. If this resonates, subscribe, share with a teammate who needs it, and leave a quick review telling us your favorite focus ritual.

Meet the Host
Jay Johnson works with people and organizations to empower teams, grow profits, and elevate leadership. He is a Co-Founder of Behavioral Elements®, a two-time TEDx speaker, and a designated Master Trainer by the Association for Talent Development. With a focus on behavioral intelligence, Jay has delivered transformational workshops to accelerate high-performance teams and cultures in more than 30 countries across four continents. For inquiries, contact jay@behavioralelements.com or connect below!

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayjohnsonccg/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jayjohnsonccg/
Speaker Website - https://jayjohnsonspeaks.com

Fluency isn’t a streak; it’s a human connection. Jay sits down with Stacy Richter, CEO of Live Lingua, to unpack why real progress happens when we move beyond vocabulary drills and into immersive, person-to-person learning that mirrors how we actually speak, negotiate, and care for others. From a Minnesota medical center reducing interpreter delays to a manufacturing team winning trust across the border, Stacy shows how learning a language shifts teams from transactional messages to transformational relationships.

We get candid about brain science, too. That “rusty” Spanish you think you lost? It’s still there. Neuroplasticity means pathways reactivate under pressure and context, whether you’re navigating signs in Guadalajara or opening a meeting in German to change the tone in the room. Apps and AI are great gateways—low-friction ways to spark curiosity—but they can’t teach timing, tone, or the cultural rituals that make a joke land or a deal feel respectful. Native, trained tutors can, especially when they tailor your learning to your real world: intake questions for nurses, technical terms for engineers, or the phrases you’ll use on the factory floor.

Ready to build skills that travel with you and bring people closer? Listen now, then subscribe, share with a colleague who works across borders, and leave a review with the language you’re tackling next.

Meet the Host
Jay Johnson works with people and organizations to empower teams, grow profits, and elevate leadership. He is a Co-Founder of Behavioral Elements®, a two-time TEDx speaker, and a designated Master Trainer by the Association for Talent Development. With a focus on behavioral intelligence, Jay has delivered transformational workshops to accelerate high-performance teams and cultures in more than 30 countries across four continents. For inquiries, contact jay@behavioralelements.com or connect below!

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayjohnsonccg/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jayjohnsonccg/
Speaker Website - https://jayjohnsonspeaks.com

Perfection looks powerful until it breaks a team. We sat down with Julie Booksh—licensed counselor, marriage and family therapist, and leadership coach—to rethink what real strength looks like inside complex systems. Julie’s journey from HR to therapy to organizational consulting frames a core insight: families and workplaces both protect a “normal temperature,” even when it stalls growth. To change the system, you start with the smallest circle you control—yourself—and expand outward with intention.

We dig into the inner critic that many high achievers mistake for motivation. Julie shows how that voice once served safety but now fuels burnout, anxiety, and comparison. Her definition of self-compassion is disarmingly simple and deeply practical: notice how you are, name it, and treat it with kindness before you try to fix anything. That shift separates guilt from shame. Guilt says you did something harmful; repair it. Shame says you are harmful; hide. Leaders who practice compassion can own mistakes without collapsing into self-contempt, which invites their teams to be honest, creative, and accountable.

If this conversation resonates, share it with a leader who carries too much alone, subscribe for more human-centered performance insights, and leave a review to help others discover the show.

Meet the Host
Jay Johnson works with people and organizations to empower teams, grow profits, and elevate leadership. He is a Co-Founder of Behavioral Elements®, a two-time TEDx speaker, and a designated Master Trainer by the Association for Talent Development. With a focus on behavioral intelligence, Jay has delivered transformational workshops to accelerate high-performance teams and cultures in more than 30 countries across four continents. For inquiries, contact jay@behavioralelements.com or connect below!

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayjohnsonccg/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jayjohnsonccg/
Speaker Website - https://jayjohnsonspeaks.com

What if anger, fear, and stress weren’t problems to suppress but power you could steer? We sit down with Dr. Greg Stewart—author, counselor, coach, and former senior pastor—to unpack a practical roadmap for turning raw emotion into leadership leverage. Greg connects four growth levers that drive real performance: IQ for capacity, EQ for adaptability, personality as our default approach, and purpose as the deeper engine that keeps us steady when pressure spikes.

Greg’s “house of the heart” metaphor makes self-mastery simple without being simplistic. When your reaction is bigger than the moment, he shows how to step inside and find the source: a false belief, a hit to identity, or a past experience that’s echoing too loudly. From there, he teaches how to separate the emotional goal you want—respect, clarity, safety—from the behavior you’re using to get it, then choose actions that are rational, healthy, wise, and right. The result is calmer conflict, faster trust, and cleaner decisions.

If you’re ready to swap reactivity for intentional influence—and help your team do the same—this conversation will give you tools you can use in your next one-on-one, standup, or board meeting.

Meet the Host
Jay Johnson works with people and organizations to empower teams, grow profits, and elevate leadership. He is a Co-Founder of Behavioral Elements®, a two-time TEDx speaker, and a designated Master Trainer by the Association for Talent Development. With a focus on behavioral intelligence, Jay has delivered transformational workshops to accelerate high-performance teams and cultures in more than 30 countries across four continents. For inquiries, contact jay@behavioralelements.com or connect below!

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayjohnsonccg/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jayjohnsonccg/
Speaker Website - https://jayjohnsonspeaks.com

Feeling pulled in every direction, yet determined to lead well? We sit down with Dr. Sylvia Rohde-Liebenau—author of "Who’s in Charge?"—to unpack a practical path for impact that doesn’t cost your health or your soul. Drawing on her experience across the European Commission, consulting, and executive coaching, we examine how culture, power, and purpose intersect in real workplaces where speed and pressure never quit.

We start with power. Not the brittle kind that leans on title and control, but smart power: a blend of systems thinking, merging perspectives, authentic grounding, relational fluency, and transformational intent. Energy takes center stage next. We break it into four domains—physical, emotional, mental, spiritual—and show why multitasking is just fast fatigue. Expect tangible resets: slow down to truly slow down, reclaim focus with single-task blocks, and practice “pause and choose” to prevent resentment from draining your tank. Finally, we turn to legacy. A spoken eulogy exercise helps you name what you want to be true about your leadership and life—then work backward to today. Legacy isn’t a plaque on a building; it’s how people remember your presence and the systems you leave stronger.

If this conversation resonates, follow the show, share it with a leader who needs it, and leave a quick review to help others find us. What pillar are you strengthening this week—energy, power, or legacy?

Connect with Dr. Sylvia Rohde-Liebenau: https://www.smartpowermethod.com/

Meet the Host
Jay Johnson works with people and organizations to empower teams, grow profits, and elevate leadership. He is a Co-Founder of Behavioral Elements®, a two-time TEDx speaker, and a designated Master Trainer by the Association for Talent Development. With a focus on behavioral intelligence, Jay has delivered transformational workshops to accelerate high-performance teams and cultures in more than 30 countries across four continents. For inquiries, contact jay@behavioralelements.com or connect below!

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayjohnsonccg/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jayjohnsonccg/
Speaker Website - https://jayjohnsonspeaks.com

What if admitting “I don’t know” is the most powerful leadership move you can make? We sit down with innovation consultant and author Alan Gregerman to unpack the “wisdom of ignorance” and why certainty can quietly sink companies while curiosity keeps them alive. From Kmart and Blockbuster to the next disruptor waiting in a garage, we trace how organizations lose relevance—and how to build the habits that keep you learning faster than the market shifts.

Alan shares practical scripts leaders can use to normalize not knowing, create psychological safety, and invite teams into co-creation. We get specific about middle managers caught between proving competence and sparking change, and we outline a monthly challenge cadence that turns everyone into a problem solver. You’ll hear why 99% of new ideas are borrowed, how to send people outside the building to find them, and what it takes to translate those insights into action customers care about.

If you’re ready to stop being six people’s Google and start inspiring a team of builders, this conversation gives you the language, rituals, and mindset to begin. Subscribe, share with a leader who needs it, and leave a review telling us the first experiment you’ll launch in 30 days.

Meet the Host
Jay Johnson works with people and organizations to empower teams, grow profits, and elevate leadership. He is a Co-Founder of Behavioral Elements®, a two-time TEDx speaker, and a designated Master Trainer by the Association for Talent Development. With a focus on behavioral intelligence, Jay has delivered transformational workshops to accelerate high-performance teams and cultures in more than 30 countries across four continents. For inquiries, contact jay@behavioralelements.com or connect below!

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayjohnsonccg/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jayjohnsonccg/
Speaker Website - https://jayjohnsonspeaks.com