In this episode of The Sean Trace Show, I sit down with physician, speaker, coach, and consultant Dr. Kim Nichols to unpack why the most powerful leadership skill is way less flashy than people think, it is the ability to watch, listen, and actually notice what is in front of you.

We talk about mentorship, why so many high potential people never realize what they are good at until someone names it, and how a single sentence from the right person can change a whole career trajectory. Dr. Kim breaks down the leader as coach mindset, how great leaders ask better questions instead of being overly prescriptive, when top down direction is needed, and when it kills creativity and ownership. We get into psychological safety at work, how to create a culture where people can speak up, bring ideas, call out mistakes early, and still feel respected, and what to say when a conversation goes sideways but you still want to protect the relationship.

Along the way I share stories about parenting, team building, communication burnout, and a moment where my daughter realized she could lead without being “the leader,” and it all ties back to one idea, the best teams win when every person is allowed to contribute their strength at the right moment.

In this episode of The Sean Trace Show, I sit down with Dr. Kevin Ahmaad Jenkins, a University of Pennsylvania lecturer and the founder of Concord Healthcare Solutions, to talk about equity, empathy, and what it actually looks like to show up when it counts.

We get real about bias, not as a buzzword, but as something you can notice, challenge, and use to become a better human and a better leader. Kevin shares stories from the rooms where tough conversations happen: hospitals, Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies, and community leadership. He breaks down the difference between cognitive empathy, emotional empathy, and compassionate empathy (the kind that ends with action). I also share personal moments from life in Vietnam, fatherhood, anxiety, and the daily discipline of making the bed and walking into the fire instead of running from it.

If you care about leadership, DEI, mental resilience, fatherhood, and how to build a world that is safer and more human, this conversation will challenge you in the best way and push you toward the simplest takeaway: don't just say "aw," do something.

In this episode of The Sean Trace Show, I sit down with Dr. Alison Kole, a triple board certified sleep medicine specialist and the host of Sleep Is My Waking Passion, to unpack what actually happens in your brain while you sleep and why sleep is one of the biggest levers for health, performance, and emotional stability.

We talk about the glymphatic system and how sleep helps your brain clear out “junk,” why deep sleep and REM sleep matter for memory consolidation, learning, and emotional processing, and how sleep deprivation can wreck decision making by taking your prefrontal cortex offline and putting your amygdala in charge. I share my own experiences with late night schedules, stress, anxiety spikes, and the way smartphones can quietly sabotage sleep quality, plus why a single massage reminded me what real restorative sleep feels like. Dr. Kole explains how circadian rhythm and schedule consistency impact energy even when you think you’re getting enough hours, how sleep problems can affect metabolism, hunger hormones, insulin resistance, weight gain, and long term risks like heart disease, and why shift work and circadian misalignment can change who you are as a person.

We close with simple, real advice for better sleep tonight, including the mindset shift that helps most, stop obsessing over sleep, build a wind down routine, and protect your decompression time so you can show up as a better partner, parent, leader, and human.