What happens when we deliberately put ourselves in places where our assumptions no longer work?

In this episode of Becoming Unshakable, I'm joined by Wesley Warshawer to talk about curiosity, discomfort, listening, and what we can learn when we step outside the bubbles that shape how we see the world.

Wesley spent years traveling across the United States and internationally while continuing his work remotely. He wasn't trying to prove a political or social point. He wanted to test his assumptions by talking to people whose backgrounds, communities, and experiences differed greatly from his own. What he discovered was often humbling.

We talk about moments in South Korea and Togo when perfectly normal questions or behaviors took on a very different meaning in another culture. Those experiences reminded us that ignorance is not the same as malice, and that our assumptions are often far more visible once we leave the environments that created them.

Our conversation also turns to polarization and the way binary questions can exaggerate perceived differences between people. Wesley explains why broader, more open questions often reveal far more common ground than we might expect.

For me, this conversation is also about listening. How deeply are we willing to listen to someone whose lived experience differs from our own? And how willing are we to surround ourselves with people who challenge our thinking rather than constantly reinforce it?

Growth can be uncomfortable. Sometimes we have to risk getting something wrong, looking foolish, or discovering that an assumption we have carried for years is not true.

So where might you need to burst your own bubble to grow?

What does it really take for a CEO to build an organization that can keep moving when the pressure never stops?

In this episode of Becoming Unshakable, I'm joined by Joel Trammell to talk about the unique responsibility CEOs carry in shaping an organization's culture, direction, and steadiness.
Joel has spent decades building companies, leading as a CEO, and training executive teams. He explains why the CEO role differs fundamentally from every other C-suite position and why success depends on balancing the competing needs of shareholders, customers, and employees rather than focusing too heavily on any one group.

We also discuss why mission, vision, and values are more than words on a wall. Joel explains why CEOs need to act as both the "mayor and sheriff" of the organization, setting expectations while ensuring those expectations are lived out consistently.

Our conversation moves into the pressures leaders face right now, including the pace of AI adoption, growing uncertainty, and the challenge of communicating change without creating unnecessary confusion or fear.

Joel shares why high-performing teams require deliberate investment. Trust does not appear simply because talented people are put in the same room. Leaders must create the time and space for people to build relationships, recover, and learn to work together under pressure.

Most of all, we talk about adaptability. Change isn't going away, so the goal isn't to eliminate it. The goal is to create an organization where people know how to respond when it arrives.
How are you preparing your organization to adapt before the next disruption hits?

What helps us stay grounded when life or work suddenly feels uncertain?

In this episode of Becoming Unshakable, I'm joined by Dr. Josh Hartzell for a conversation about self-leadership, resilience, support, and the people we need around us when the ground starts to move.

Josh brings a perspective shaped by more than two decades in military medicine, medical education, leadership, and patient care. One lesson from medicine has stayed with him throughout his career: before responding to an emergency, take your own pulse. For leaders, that can mean resisting the urge to react immediately and creating enough space to understand what is happening before deciding what comes next.

We talk about leading through the early days of COVID, finding opportunity inside difficult circumstances, and focusing attention on what remains within our control when larger systems feel impossible to influence.

Our conversation also turns to the everyday foundations of self-leadership, including sleep, exercise, recovery, and creating cultures where people have permission to take care of themselves rather than simply hearing leaders say that wellbeing matters.

Josh shares what coaching has taught him about giving less advice and asking better questions. Sometimes helping another person does not mean giving them our answer. It means helping them find the answer that is right for them.

Most importantly, we talk about the people in our corner. Life was never meant to be a solo sport, and becoming unshakable does not mean doing everything by yourself.

So when the next storm arrives, who will be standing in your corner?