Motivated to Lead Podcast - Mark Klingsheim

Hosted by Mark Klingsheim

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Episodes

332

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Aug 2026

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About the show

Motivated to Lead is a podcast designed to help you grow and become a better leader. We interview leaders in business and the non-profit world. Listen each week as we have guests share lessons learned in their career and in life to help you whether you are a new leader or a seasoned leader. Our topics include leadership, career management and how to make great people decisions.

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August 27, 2026Episode 33223 min

Be of Service, Always, In All Ways, Dr. Tom Mahoney

This week we're joined by Dr. Tom Mahoney, an experienced educational leader, executive coach, and speaker with more than three decades of leadership experience. Tom spent 33 years in public education, including 14 as Superintendent of Oregon CUSD 220, where he built a culture of continuous improvement, leadership development, collaboration, and measurable results. Under his leadership, the district earned the state's highest financial rating, and Oregon High School received national recognition from U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, and The Daily Beast. Tom's influence extends far beyond his district. He has served on major state and national leadership initiatives, presented at conferences across the country, and twice earned the IASA Superintendent of Distinction award. After retiring in 2024, he founded TM Coach LLC, where he coaches superintendents and senior leaders as a trusted thought partner who challenges assumptions, sparks insight, and helps leaders turn reflection into meaningful action. A Millikin University graduate and Hall of Fame student athlete, Tom continues to invest deeply in the Millikin community and was selected as the university's 2025 Commencement Speaker. Across every chapter of his career, his philosophy remains simple: be of service—always, in all ways.

August 20, 2026Episode 33122 min

John Hironimus, CEO, Origami Surgical

This week, we revisit our conversation with John Hironimus, CEO of Origami Surgical and a seasoned medical device executive known for bringing breakthrough technologies to market. Over 25 years, John has helped scale innovations that improve care for patients, clinicians, and providers—always with an entrepreneur's instinct and a commitment to building world-class teams. John began his career at United States Surgical Corporation, supporting surgeons as they adopted advanced procedures. He later built the domestic and international commercial engine for Salient Surgical Technologies, driving growth from $40M to more than $350M and ultimately leading to the company's acquisition by Medtronic in 2011. Since then, he has led commercial organizations at Outset Medical and Dilon Technologies, continuing to champion technologies that elevate clinical outcomes. Today, as CEO of Origami Surgical, John is focused on scaling novel surgical solutions and shaping the future of minimally invasive care. He is a graduate of Indiana University, where he earned a degree in Public Financial Management.

August 6, 2026Episode 33028 min

How to Get the Most Out of Coaching, Karen Davis (replay)

This week, we revisit our interview with Karen Davis. Karen is a seasoned executive coach, speaker, and author with over 25 years of leadership experience in the B2B tech sector. She brings nearly two decades of coaching mastery to high-performing executives, entrepreneurs, and fellow coaches. Karen is the co-author of How to Get the Most Out of Coaching: A Client's Guide for Optimizing the Coaching Experience, a go-to resource for making coaching more effective and transformational. Known for her intuitive and heart-centered approach, Karen helps leaders uncover blind spots, reclaim clarity, and make bold, aligned decisions.

July 23, 2026Episode 32933 min

Episode 329: Ego Free Leadership, Shayne Hughes (replay)

This week we revisit our conversation with Shayne Hughes, President of Learning as Leadership and one of the leading voices in building high-trust, high-performance cultures. Shayne has helped organizations like NASA, Shell, Capital One, and Fairchild Semiconductor transform the way their teams communicate, collaborate, and lead. He is the co-author of Ego Free Leadership, written with former Encore Capital CEO Brandon Black, which chronicles the real-world transformation of a public company executive team using LaL's tools. Shayne has taught leadership at UC Berkeley, Michigan's Executive MBA Program, and UVA's Darden School, and his writing appears in Forbes, Diversity Executive, the Huffington Post, and Harvard's Du Bois Review. He has also been profiled in Psychology Today. Fluent in French, Shayne earned his B.A. from UC Berkeley and completed graduate studies in group facilitation at the University of Tours in France.

July 16, 2026Episode 32840 min

Becoming a Better Negotiator, John Lowry (replay)

This week, we revisit our conversation with Dr. John Lowry. John is a recognized authority on negotiation through his experience as a lawyer, management consultant, entrepreneur, negotiation coach, and university administrator. His results-focused, systematic approach to negotiation has been successfully implemented by thousands of professionals across the United States. John teaches negotiation at the top-ranked Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University's Caruso School of Law and lectures in Vanderbilt University's Master's in Management in Health Care program. John serves as president of Thrivence, a new management consulting firm affiliated with Barge Design Solutions. In addition to leading the firm, John counsels clients on leadership, executive team effectiveness, strategy, revenue growth, and conflict management. He also provides negotiation training and coaching for governmental entities, healthcare organizations, and other businesses. John is a popular keynote speaker and leads multiple executive retreats each year including the opening retreat of the Nashville Health Care Council Fellows program. John earned his bachelor's degree in speech communications from Pepperdine University and master's degree in religion from Abilene Christian University. He received his juris doctorate degree from Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law. He has also completed graduate work in dispute resolution at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University's Caruso School of Law and in public policy at California State University, Sacramento. John resides in Nashville, TN, with his wife, Melissa, and their three children.

July 9, 2026Episode 32718 min

Episode 327: Karyn Gordon, Three Chairs: How Leaders Drive Communication, Performance & Engagement (replay)

This week, we revisit our conversation with Dr. Karyn Gordon (Leadership & Relationship Expert), author of The Three Chairs: How Great Leaders Drive Communication, Performance & Engagement. Karyn is the CEO and co-founder of DK Leadership, a global leadership coaching company whose purpose is developing great leaders at work and home. She has spoken to more than 500,000 people across 17 countries—including Fortune 500 companies, family businesses, entrepreneurs, professional associations, and others. She is also a media personality & consultant (Good Morning America, Forbes, The New York Times) - and the TV resident Leadership & Relationship Expert for Canada's #1 Talk-Show – Cityline). In 2021, she was nominated for the 29th annual RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Award. Karyn has a Doctorate in Marriage & Family and certifications in Leadership and Emotional Intelligence, Dr. Karyn was invited to collaborate with professors from The Wharton School to develop an EQ training curriculum specifically for family businesses. John Prato, The Consul General of Canada in New York, hosted a reception honoring her work with New York families and organizations. Over the years, she has served as the media spokesperson for Loblaws, Maple Leaf Foods, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, eHarmony and UNICEF.

July 2, 2026Episode 32624 min

Episode 326: Paul Batz, CEO, Good Leadership (replay)

This week, we revisit our conversation with Paul Batz, CEO and Founder of Good Leadership Enterprises. Paul has helped usher in a new era of executive team coaching, reshaping how leaders think about alignment, commitment, and accountability — all rooted in his core belief that goodness pays. He launched Good Leadership to help CEOs, business owners, and community leaders thrive by weaving goodness into their work and achieving more together than they ever could alone. The movement accelerated with the Good Leadership Breakfast Series, now the Midwest's hottest leadership development event, drawing more than 30,000 guests since 2010. In 2017, Paul expanded the platform with Good Leadership Press, producing books and tools that inspire positive leadership. Paul blends the Seven Fs with his wife and business partner Melinda and their three adult children, all of whom touch the business. He's a passionate golfer, an Elton John–inspired piano player, a committed philanthropist, and a dinner party host extraordinaire at their home in Bloomington, MN.

June 18, 2026Episode 32528 min

Episode 325: Gary Swart (replay)

This week, we revisit our conversation with Gary Swart. Gary is a General Partner with Polaris Partners, and until April 2014, he was the CEO of oDesk (now Upwork, NASDAQ: UPWK). Gary is a thought leader in entrepreneurship, on how best to hire and manage teams, and the future of work, including online work. He is passionate about helping small businesses thrive, fueled by his extensive experience working with startups and small businesses and mentoring entrepreneurs and business school students. Gary has spoken at the Inc. Leadership Conference, The Economist's Ideas Economy panel, South by Southwest, TechCrunch 50, TiECon, GigaOM's Net: Work Conference, and at Harvard Business School, which teaches a case study on oDesk. His commentary has appeared in a variety of publications, including Forbes, TechCrunch, The Washington Post, and The Next Web. He has also appeared on TV and radio shows, including the BBC, National Public Radio, CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and Startups Uncensored. Previously, Gary led SMB Sales for the Americas at IBM's Rational Software Product Group, and also served as VP of Worldwide Sales and Operations at Intellibank. Gary holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Maryland.

June 12, 2026Episode 32420 min

Episode 324: Joel Trammell, The CEO Tightrope (replay)

In this episode, we revisit our interview with Joel Trammell, who is a successful CEO and entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience. Joel's leadership as a founder and CEO resulted in successful nine-figure acquisitions by two Fortune 500 companies. In addition to The American CEO blog, he writes regular columns for Inc.com. He published a book – The CEO Tightrope – that describes a systematic approach to the critical chief executive role. In addition, he runs a CEO seminar in Austin every year.

June 1, 2026Episode 32335 min

Episode 323: Jane Dutton, Small Actions, Big Impact (replay)

In this episode, we revisit our interview with Professor Jane Dutton is a world expert in the field of Positive Organizational Scholarship. She shares ideas on how small actions can create a big impact and help your team flourish. Dr. Dutton co-founded the Center for Positive Organizations at the Ross School of Business in 2002. She is the only Distinguished University Professor on the faculty at Ross, which is the highest award given to a faculty member at the University of Michigan. Jane's research and teaching sit at the intersection of strategy, management, and psychology. In particular, she examines how high-quality connections and identity processes increase employees' and organizations' capabilities. She has published 13 books; two focused directly on managers, including her most recent book with Gretchen Spreitzer, How to Be a Positive Leader: Small Actions, Big Impact. She serves on the Board of Directors for Kelly Services. She has also worked with over 160 for-profit and not-for-profit organizations as a faculty coach with teams of MBA students doing consulting on strategy, marketing, and leadership projects.