Breakfast Leadership Show Podcast Por Michael D. Levitt arte de portada

Breakfast Leadership Show

Breakfast Leadership Show

De: Michael D. Levitt
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The Breakfast Leadership Show is a top 20 global podcast hosted by Michael D. Levitt.

It features thought-provoking discussions with industry leaders, experts, and influencers, focusing on leadership, burnout prevention, workplace culture, and personal growth. The show provides listeners with actionable insights on improving productivity, fostering resilience, and enhancing well-being in both professional and personal life.

Want to be a guest on the Breakfast Leadership Show?

Visit https://BreakfastLeadership.com/PodcastGuest


The Breakfast Leadership Show may include sponsored guest appearances, which means the guests may have provided financial compensation to participate in the podcast.

Copyright Breakfast Leadership, Inc. All rights reserved. Breakfast Leadership is a registered trademark of Breakfast Leadership, Inc. All Rights Reserved Desarrollo Personal Economía Gestión Gestión y Liderazgo Liderazgo Éxito Personal
Episodios
  • Shawn Minard on Leadership, Employee Engagement, and Building a Winning Workplace Culture

    Shawn Minard on Leadership, Employee Engagement, and Building a Winning Workplace Culture
    Feb 16 2026

    Episode Summary In this episode, I sit down with Shawn Minard, Chief People Officer at Frazier and Deeter, to unpack what real HR leadership looks like in today’s workplace. We dive into everything from learning and development to recruitment, employee experience, and why investing in culture isn’t just a “nice to have” — it’s a strategic advantage.

    Shawn shares how his background in HR and technology shapes his leadership approach, and we tackle the tough question: how do you actually measure the ROI of culture? We also explore hybrid work, employee engagement strategies, mental health trends in the workplace, and what it truly means to lead with trust.

    Shawn opens up about building vulnerability-based trust, hiring for emotional intelligence, and empowering teams through autonomy and accountability.

    If you’re a leader who wants to reduce turnover, strengthen culture, and create a workplace people genuinely want to be part of — this one’s for you.

    Links & Resources

    Motivosity (Employee Engagement Platform) https://www.motivosity.com/

    Shawn's firm: https://www.frazierdeeter.com/

    If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow, rate, and leave a review. Share it with a fellow leader or HR professional who’s passionate about building a thriving workplace culture. Your support helps us keep bringing these conversations to life!
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    32 m
  • Deep Dive: Leadership as Leverage: Designing Systems That Perform, Not Personalities That Impress

    Deep Dive: Leadership as Leverage: Designing Systems That Perform, Not Personalities That Impress
    Feb 13 2026
    Episode Overview This episode reframes common leadership myths. Instead of framing leadership outcomes as products of personality (“confidence” or “presence” in the room), we explore how consistent organizational performance is tied to designed leadership operating systems—not ephemeral personal performance. What separates inconsistent execution from repeatable results isn’t charisma or emotional mastery alone, but clarity of structure, decision rules, and infrastructure that protects quality under pressure. Key Themes & Takeaways 1. The Fallacy of Performance-Centric Leadership Leaders often assume that meetings succeed because of their presence, intensity, or confidence. Real-world inconsistency comes not from personality gaps but from whether clarity and decision frameworks were in place beforehand. When structured systems are missing, leaders compensate with personal energy—but this doesn’t scale as complexity grows. 2. When Linear Growth Models Fail Traditional assumptions about leadership presume: Inputs → Strategy → Execution → Results In simple contexts, this holds. But as organizational complexity increases, effort and talent no longer produce proportional outcomes. The stall isn’t lack of ambition—it’s limits of leadership systems. 3. Leadership as Leverage—Only When Designed Early growth often depends on leaders filling structural gaps with personal skill. Over time, if outcomes hinge on how leaders feel or show up, performance becomes unpredictable. The leverage of leadership becomes reliable only when embedded in repeatable systems. 4. Systems That Protect Decision Quality Consistent performance under pressure comes from infrastructure, including: Clear decision rules Pre-commitments before stress escalates Weekly operating rhythms that reduce ambiguity Filters that stop emotional reactions from driving strategic action This shifts leadership from performance to infrastructure. 5. Calm Outperforms Charisma Charisma may win moments; calm, structured leadership wins quarters and years. Research indicates decision quality deteriorates under cognitive and emotional load when structure is absent. High-performing organizations rely more on clarity, repeatable processes, and defined roles than on heroic leadership behaviors. 6. From Emotional Mastery to Decision Mastery Emotional regulation matters but alone is insufficient for repeatable outcomes. Leaders perform best not by suppressing emotion, but by designing systems so emotion doesn’t hijack execution. Effective systems ensure setbacks trigger review—not panic; uncertainty triggers structure—not avoidance. Practical Implications for Leaders • Prioritize System Design Over Personal Performance Leadership development should emphasize creating frameworks that make alignment, decision-making, and execution consistent—regardless of personality variables. • Build Operating Rhythms That Reduce Ambiguity Create weekly and quarterly rhythms that clarify role expectations, key decisions, and escalation pathways. • Embrace Structural Calm Temper leadership advice that leans heavily on mindset or presence. Invest equally in the infrastructure that keeps decisions stable under pressure. • Shift the Leadership Narrative Encourage teams to see leadership not as a moment-driven performance, but as a designed, repeatable infrastructure that creates leverage at scale. Quote for the Episode “Leadership remains the leverage—but it becomes repeatable only when it is designed, not performed.” Recommended Further Listening & Reading Related Breakfast Leadership Show episodes on organizational systems and decision quality Articles on decision-making under pressure (Harvard Business Review) and organizational health and execution excellence (McKinsey) linked in the original article. Actionable Steps You Can Take This Week Audit one recurring decision process: identify where ambiguity arises. Define or refine the decision rule governing that process. Map the operating rhythm (who, when, how) for that decision cycle. Adjust meetings or check-ins to reduce reliance on individual presence and increase systemic clarity. Source article: https://www.breakfastleadership.com/blog/leadership-is-the-leverage-but-only-if-its-designed-not-performed
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    16 m
  • Ryan Berman on Cracking Negative Self-Talk in Leadership: How Self-Doubt, Fear, and Overthinking Shape Team Culture

    Ryan Berman on Cracking Negative Self-Talk in Leadership: How Self-Doubt, Fear, and Overthinking Shape Team Culture
    Feb 11 2026
    Episode Overview In this episode of the Breakfast Leadership Show, Michael sits down with Ryan to explore one of the most persistent and underestimated leadership challenges: negative self-talk. The conversation centers on Ryan’s newly released book on self-talk and team leadership, a seven-year project co-authored with Rhett Power and Susie Burke. What began as a belief that leaders could “defeat” negative self-talk evolved into a far more practical and honest conclusion: negative self-talk cannot be eliminated, but it can be managed. This realization shaped both the content of the book and its symbolism, including a cover that reflects the fragile, ever-present nature of our internal dialogue. For leaders navigating pressure, responsibility, and visibility, this episode reframes self-doubt not as a personal failure, but as a leadership skill gap that can be addressed with awareness and structure. Cracking Negative Self-Talk in Leadership Michael and Ryan unpack how internal dialogue directly influences leadership behavior and team culture. Leaders often assume they must project certainty at all times, but unresolved self-doubt frequently leaks into decision-making, communication, and trust. Ryan explains that the “monsters” of self-doubt live in every leader’s head. The difference between effective and ineffective leadership is not the absence of these thoughts, but the ability to recognize and manage them before they shape actions and culture. For corporate leaders, founders, and people managers, the book’s insights offer a language for understanding what is happening internally and why it matters externally. The Hidden Cost of Negative Self-Talk The discussion highlights how common negative self-talk truly is. Ryan references research suggesting the average person has roughly 6,200 thoughts per day, with the majority skewing negative. Left unchecked, these thoughts create a constant undercurrent of exhaustion, hesitation, and overthinking. Michael connects this to what he sees in burnout-driven leadership environments, where overthinking becomes normalized and decision fatigue spreads across teams. Leaders who struggle internally often unintentionally create cultures of second-guessing and fear. Recognizing negative self-talk is positioned not as self-indulgence, but as a leadership responsibility. Fear, Cognition, and Leadership Performance Fear emerges as a central theme in the conversation. Michael and Ryan explore how fear directly impairs cognitive performance, narrowing thinking, reducing creativity, and slowing decision-making. Ryan introduces the concept of “Edimentals,” a practical framework for addressing fear and negative self-talk. The process focuses on identifying the issue, understanding the internal “worry war,” and applying a three-step method: Catch the fear as it arises Confront it with clarity and logic Change the narrative before it drives behavior Rather than treating fear as weakness, both emphasize the importance of normalizing it. Leaders who acknowledge fear openly create safer, more resilient teams. Authentic Leadership in Times of Crisis Michael shares a personal story from the early days of the pandemic, when he abandoned a traditional reporting-style team meeting in favor of a human-centered conversation. Instead of metrics and updates, the focus shifted to personal challenges, uncertainty, and shared experience. That spontaneous decision became a turning point in building psychological safety and trust. The lesson was clear: authenticity in leadership is not a soft skill. It is a stabilizing force, especially during uncertainty. Leadership, Courage, and Human Connection The episode closes with a broader reflection on leadership and courage. Drawing from insights from Ryan’s podcast, The Courageous, the conversation reframes courage as honesty rather than bravado. Both agree that sustainable leadership requires balancing strategy with humanity. Taking care of people is not separate from performance; it is the foundation of it. When leaders feel safe to be real, teams perform better, communicate more clearly, and navigate pressure with greater resilience. Listeners are encouraged to explore Ryan’s work and resources for deeper guidance on courage, self-talk, and leadership under pressure. Key Takeaways Negative self-talk cannot be eliminated, but it can be managed Leaders’ internal dialogue directly shapes team culture Fear reduces cognitive performance and spreads quickly through teams Normalizing fear builds trust and psychological safety Authentic leadership strengthens performance, especially in crisis Ryan shared his work through Courageous and inviting listeners to learn more at hedamentals.com and RyanBerman.com.
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    26 m
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