Everyone's learning prompt engineering. Almost nobody's learning the skill that actually matters: judgment.

In this episode, I break down why prompt skills have a short shelf life, why the best prompt won't save you if you don't know what good looks like, and how to develop the thinking that AI can't replace.

I cover:
- Why prompt engineering is a skill with an expiration date
- The difference between asking AI a question and knowing whether to ask at all
- How confident-sounding outputs fool people who haven't trained their judgment
- Why AI doesn't know what matters to your business, your customer, or your team
- How speed without judgment creates faster mistakes at a bigger scale
- What the leaders who win will actually be good at

If you've been focused on getting better at prompts, this might change your priority.

Skip levels aren't about gathering intel. They're about building trust two levels down - and that trust compounds over time.

If your only goal is information extraction, people will figure it out fast. In this episode, I break down how to run skip levels that build relationships instead of eroding them, the questions that actually unlock honesty, and why the trust you build now pays off in moments you can't predict.

I cover:

- Why interrogation-style skip levels backfire
- The real purpose of skip levels (hint: it's not going around your managers)
- Why skip levels that only happen during problems create panic
- How to make people feel safe enough to share the unfiltered version
- The one question that opens doors others keep closed
- What it means to leave someone feeling heard, not used

If your skip levels feel awkward or surface-level, this one will help you reset.

Hard isn't the problem. Avoiding it is. Here's how leaders get this wrong - in both directions.

Somewhere along the way, we started treating discomfort like a warning sign instead of evidence that we're doing something that matters. In this episode, I break down why hard is part of the job, how to calibrate the push for your team, and what to do when someone's struggling not because they're weak - but because they're in the wrong seat.

I cover:
- Why we've been sold a lie about discomfort at work
- The reality that business pressure isn't going away
- How to know when to push and when to let the team breathe
- The difference between stretching someone and breaking them
- Why moving someone out of a role isn't failure - avoiding the conversation is
- How to lead hard conversations without leading with judgment

If you've been wondering whether you're pushing too hard or not hard enough, this one's for you.

Your 1:1s are either keeping people or pushing them out the door. Here's how to make those 30 minutes actually count.

Most managers treat 1:1s like status updates. Meanwhile, their direct reports are deciding whether to stay or start job searching. In this episode, I break down what separates the 1:1 that builds loyalty from the one that drives people away.

I cover:

• Why status updates don't belong in your 1:1
• The 1:1 that made them stay vs. the one that made them leave
• Why cancelling sends a louder message than anything you'd say
• The questions that actually surface what's really going on
• Why the best 1:1s have them talking more than you
• How 26 hours a year becomes your biggest investment or your biggest miss

If you're running 1:1s on autopilot, this one might change how you show up next week.

Transparency can backfire. Here's how to know when honesty helps - and when it makes everything worse.Everyone tells leaders to be transparent. But there's a line between building trust and creating anxiety, and most leaders don't know where it is.In this episode, I break down the transparency trap - why oversharing often serves you more than your team, and how to be honest without dumping chaos on people who can't do anything about it.I cover:- Why transparency isn't telling your team everything you know- The difference between honesty and premature disclosure- How oversharing makes you feel better while making them feel worse- The one question to ask before sharing anything- Why withholding information isn't always lying- What selectively transparent leadership actually looks likeIf you've ever wondered how much to share with your team - this one's for you.

Everyone's chasing AI fluency. The leaders who'll win are the ones doubling down on what AI can't do.AI can generate answers faster than you ever will, but it can't tell you if that answer is right for this moment, this team, this context. The more AI handles routine work, the more your value shifts to judgment, trust, and genuine human connection.In this episode, I break down why the scarcest resource in a world of infinite content isn't another tool or prompt, it's someone who actually cares.We cover:→ Why trust is built in small moments no algorithm can replicate→ The skills most leaders avoid that AI will never do for you→ How AI raises the floor, but human skills raise the ceiling→ What makes people actually want to follow youThe question isn't whether you can use AI. It's whether you can do the things AI makes more valuable by contrast.

Your high performers don't want to be managed. They want autonomy, flexibility, and to be left alone. But you still need to develop them, give feedback, and keep them engaged. Here's the new playbook.In this episode, I break down why high performers resist management, what they actually need from you, and how to keep your best people challenged without driving them away.I cover:- Why "leave me alone" is about their history, not you- The difference between self-sufficient and self-directed- How your job shifts from managing work to managing environment- How to give feedback to people who don't think they need it- Why autonomy without development is neglect dressed up as trust- The real risk with high performers (hint: it's not failure)If you've got someone on your team who's crushing it but pushing back on oversight, this one's for you.

Your team is drowning in Slack messages, all-hands recordings, and update emails. They're more informed than ever and somehow still confused. Here's why more communication is making things worse - and what actually creates clarity.In this episode, I break down why over-communicating backfires, the real test for whether your communication is working, and how to say less while being understood more.I cover:- Why information overload causes your team to tune out- The clarity test every leader should try- What your team actually needs from youIf your team is overwhelmed but still unclear on priorities, this one's for you.