Unlocked with Skot Waldron

Hosted by Skot Waldron

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191

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Nov 2026

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About the show

What if there was one place to gain short, powerful insights from leaders and influencers worldwide? Join communication strategist Skot Waldron as he interviews people like John Lee Dumas of Entrepreneurs on Fire, Ann Hiatt, who worked directly with Jeff Bezos, Marissa Mayer, and Eric Schmidt, former CIA agent Marc Polymeropoulos, and Matt Doherty, Michael Jordan's former coach, and mines the gold inside each of their heads. Unlock the potential of you and the people you do life with by listening to every episode!

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60 recent

November 10, 2026Episode 19245 min

Unlocking The Difference Between Success And Meaning With Elizabeth Dixon

Elizabeth Dixon joins Skot Waldron on Unlocked to explore purpose-driven leadership, meaningful work, and the difference between getting your identity from your job and bringing your purpose to it. One makes a missed promotion feel personal. The other gives you something a job title can't take away. Drawing on two decades of leadership experience at Chick-fil-A and her book, *The Advantage of Purpose*, Elizabeth explains how a clear purpose can shape business decisions, strengthen team culture, and help leaders navigate change. Chapters: 00:00 – Cold Start & Intro 06:40 – Is Your Job Borrowing Your Identity? 10:20 – Your Team Needs More Than a Mission 16:40 – Why Purpose Gets Put Off 19:20 – Successful, but Climbing the Wrong Ladder? 21:09 – When Purpose Means Firing a Client 26:00 – Keep the Why. Rethink the How. 33:00 – Can a Paycheck Be Your Purpose? 37:30 – Putting Your Purpose Into Words 42:57 – Don't Wait for a Crisis to Find Your Why Website: www.elizabethdixonspeaks.com Consulting: www.possibilityco.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/elizabethdixonspeaks LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethdixonspeaks Book: amazon.com/author/elizabethdixon

November 3, 2026Episode 19124 min

Thoughts Unlocked - The Hidden Cost of Labeling People

We often think we understand others' behaviors, but what if we're missing the bigger picture? I've been doing a lot of research lately for my upcoming book. I begin exploring the concept of misdiagnosis in the workplace, particularly on procrastination and micromanagement. Emphasizing the need to understand the stories behind behaviors that we often label as negative. We tend to judge and these have some significant implications for how we lead others. This tendency creates a skewed understanding of productivity and behavior, leading to misconceptions about colleagues' motivations and abilities. This reflection invites us to consider the consequences of our judgments and how they shape not just feelings, but also actions. Chapters: 01:12 – Insight into the upcoming book: Misdiagnosed 03:16 – Impact of labeling on behavior and leadership 04:54 – Fundamental attribution error and its effects 05:46 – How much of productivity is visible activity 11:18 – How label influence someone's behavior 13:56 – Work, will, and wait 15:38 – Dangers of misdiagnosing 20:26 – Role of curiosity in understanding others Website: skotwaldron.com

October 27, 2026Episode 19045 min

Unlocking What 40 Years In Silicon Valley Taught Her About Real Success With Kamini Ramani

In this episode of Unlocked, Skot Waldron talks with Kamini Ramani. She spent 40 years in Silicon Valley, advised Steve Jobs, and served as chief marketing officer of Mayfield Fund. She is also the USA Today bestselling author of Lotus Leadership. Kamini interviewed 33 of the most accomplished women leaders in tech to learn what got them to the top and what it cost them. You'll hear why the best leaders care less and less about being likable. You'll also hear why the career ladder is really a rock wall, and what it means to define abundance for yourself. Kamini shares the five traits of her Lotus Leadership framework, and why "no mud, no lotus" shapes the way she thinks about hard seasons. Chapters 00:00:01 – Cold Start & Intro 00:06:19 – The Thing Great Leaders Stopped Caring About 00:09:45 – The Five Traits Behind Lotus Leadership 00:14:26 – Ambition Without the Burnout 00:18:32 – The Hidden Cost of Visible Work 00:21:26 – Mentor, Sponsor, or Champion? 00:28:07 – No Mud, No Lotus 00:30:49 – The Doubt These Leaders Didn't Have 00:35:33 – What Silicon Valley Gets Right (and Wrong) 00:39:47 – What's Your Metric of Abundance? Website: www.lotusleaders.org Book: Lotus Leadership: A Modern Playbook of Ancient Wisdom: www.lotusleaders.org/book LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kaminiramani

October 20, 2026Episode 18913 min

Thoughts Unlocked - The Invisible Trophy of Productivity

What if some of the pressure you feel to "be productive" has less to do with getting good work done, and more to do with making sure people can see you doing it? In this episode of Thoughts Unlocked, I read a little bit of Chapter 2 from my new book idea, called Misdiagnosed, and explore where our obsession with visible productivity came from. It starts with a stopwatch, a pile of pig iron, and Frederick Winslow Taylor's attempt to measure human work like a machine. That made sense when productivity meant moving 47 tons of iron. But what happens when the work is thinking, creating, solving problems, or building strategy? You can't always see those hours. If you've ever felt guilty for thinking instead of doing, or worried people might assume you're not working because they can't see what you're doing, this one is worth listening to. Are we rewarding people for the work they're actually good at or for how easy their work is to see? Chapters: 00:00 – Introduction 03:18 – The Stopwatch That Changed How We Think About Productivity 05:43 – Why Invisible Work Gets Misunderstood 06:38 – When Thinking Doesn't Look Like Work 07:43 – Why So Many People Feel Pressure to Look Busy 10:34 – The Productivity Mentality We Still Carry Website: skotwaldron.com

October 13, 2026Episode 18858 min

Unlocking Micromanagement With Colin Fisher

In this episode of Unlocked, Skot Waldron talks with Colin Fisher, author of The Collective Edge, about improvisation, leadership, creative work, and why teams often struggle when the work gets messy, invisible, or hard to measure. They unpack the difference between checking in and checking up, why leaders need to make their intentions more explicit, and how even good leaders can start behaving badly inside broken systems. If you lead people, work on a team, or have ever said, "I was just trying to help," this conversation will give you a smarter way to think about trust, accountability, group dynamics, and the kind of leadership that creates room for people to do their best work. Chapters: 00:00:00 - Cold Start & Intro 00:04:09 - Meet Colin Fisher 00:05:03 - Life Is Improvised 00:09:12 - Why Help Can Feel Like Control 00:18:28 - Checking In vs Checking Up 00:25:41 - Remote Work and the Trust Gap 00:29:43 - Why Creative Work Looks Messy 00:35:54 - Your Leadership Brand Speaks First 00:43:33 - The Team Size Problem Nobody Names 00:55:20 - The CLEAR Way to Set Expectations Guest: Colin Fisher Website: colinmfisher.com Book: The Collective Edge LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/colinmfisher Instagram: www.instagram.com/colinmfisher Substack: substack.com/@colinmfisher YouTube: www.youtube.com/@Drcolinmfisher

October 6, 2026Episode 18720 min

Thoughts Unlocked - I Wish I Could Be More Like Them

A deep dive into the misdiagnosis of work behaviors and the value of different thinkers. During coaching sessions, I've heard a lot of different emotions from clients, particularly frustration and hopelessness. Yet, one phrase I hear too often is, "I wish I could be more like them." This sentiment speaks volumes about how we perceive ourselves in the workplace. Often, those expressing this wish are comparing themselves to colleagues who appear to glide through their tasks with ease. You are constantly reaching for something you were never designed to be, which means you are always behind on becoming what you already are. In my upcoming book, I aim to shed light on these distinctions and encourage a culture of understanding and acceptance. While structured thinkers excel in creating order and predictability, adaptive thinkers thrive in chaos and creativity. Both styles have their merits. Let's work towards creating spaces that honor and harness these differences. Timestamps: 01:13 – Introduction to the book and its purpose 02:57 – The common phrase 'I wish I could be more like them' 05:59 – The story of Chrissy, the nurse, and her work style 08:27 – The two types of thinkers: structured and adaptive 11:44 – The concept of misdiagnosis and labels in the workplace 13:57 – The story of the director and her team 17:47 – The importance of understanding your default operating system Website: skotwaldron.com

September 29, 2026Episode 18637 min

Unlocking Why Smart People Still Make Bad Decisions With Dr. Ricardo Valerdi

In this episode of Unlocked, Skot sits down with Dr. Ricardo Valerdi, engineer, sports scientist, University of Arizona professor, and author of *The Five Tool Team*, to unpack the psychology behind decision-making, and why judging a decision by its outcome is one of the most common leadership mistakes. We get into the tug-of-war between "me" and "we," why the best hitters in baseball fail 70% of the time and still make the Hall of Fame, when your gut should outvote your data, and the Costanza Effect – the surprising case for doing the exact opposite of what feels obvious. Ricardo also shares his watch-checking story, a small moment that reveals how quickly we climb the ladder of inference and land on the wrong conclusion about people. Chapters: 00:00:01 – Cold Start & Intro 00:03:30 – Why Brilliant People Still Get It Wrong 00:05:01 – The Me vs. We Tug of War 00:06:34 – Good Decision, Bad Outcome 00:10:20 – Why Hall of Famers Fail 70% of the Time 00:12:30 – When Your Gut Should Beat the Data 00:15:29 – The Costanza Effect 00:20:19 – The Most Dangerous Word in a Meeting 00:22:16 – Dissent Is Healthy Until It Isn't 00:29:01 – One-Way Doors vs. Two-Way Doors Guest: Ricardo Valerdi Website: www.ricardovalerdi.com Book: The Five Tool Team: www.ricardovalerdi.com/book LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/valerdi Instagram: www.instagram.com/fivetoolteam X (Twitter): x.com/sciencebaseball

September 22, 2026Episode 18547 min

Unlocking Why Smart Leaders Weaponize Resilience With Nikki Langman

In this episode of Unlocked, Skot sits down with international speaker and emotional intelligence expert Nikki Langman to unpack what psychological safety really means (and what it doesn't). Nikki shares the remarkable story of a 12-month emotional intelligence program she ran inside a high-risk maritime company, one that cut lost-time injuries by 86% and doubled near-miss reporting, proof that trust and safety directly move the needle on real business outcomes. From there, the conversation goes deep: why leaders sometimes weaponize resilience, why emotional intelligence without integrity becomes manipulation instead of leadership, and why charisma is too often mistaken for genuine self-awareness. Nikki also breaks down her UNBRICKABLE® workshop method, using literal Lego bricks to help teams talk about grief, conflict, and hard conversations they'd otherwise avoid. Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Cold Start & Intro 00:05:07 – The Maritime Story That Changed Everything 00:07:56 – Why Near-Miss Reports Doubled 00:13:06 – What Psychological Safety Really Means 00:15:07 – When Leaders Weaponize Resilience 00:20:41 – Can Emotional Intelligence Make a Leader Worse? 00:22:36 – What Pressure Reveals About Your True Self 00:24:57 – Why Charisma Isn't Emotional Intelligence 00:37:45 – The Legos That Unlock Hard Conversations 00:42:11 – The Book & Where to Find Nikki Guest: Nikki Langman Website: unbrickable.co Website: nikkilangman.beehiiv.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nikkilangman1 Book: How to Be a BADASS: Navigating Your Road to Self-Mastery

September 15, 2026Episode 18445 min

Unlocking Why Leadership Is Lonelier For Women With Lindsay Pinchuk

Why does leadership feel lonelier for women and what does community actually fix? In this episode of Unlocked, host Skot Waldron sits down with award-winning entrepreneur and Dear FoundHer... founder Lindsay Pinchuk to unpack why the right community changes everything for women leaders and founders over 40. They dig into the mental load women carry at home while leading at work, why burnout from corporate America is pushing women into entrepreneurship, and the simple but powerful difference between having a network and having real people in your corner. Lindsay shares her journey from building Bump Club and Beyond (a community-driven brand she sold after scaling to millions), to creating a top 0.5% podcast and mentorship program for women business owners. Plus, she offers a dead-simple strategy for anyone, male or female who feels like they haven't found their people yet. Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Cold Start & Intro 00:03:45 – How Lindsay Discovered She Needed Community Too 00:09:18 – What You Actually Get From Being in the Right Room 00:15:25 – Is Leadership Loneliness Different for Women? 00:19:08 – The Mental Load Nobody Talks About 00:22:30 – Why Women Over 40 Are Starting Businesses 00:29:28 – The Advice for Anyone Who Feels Stuck 00:32:09 – Bigger Circle or Deeper Circle? 00:39:11 – The Simple Dinner Strategy to Find Your People 00:43:02 – Why Shared Experience Builds Real Community Guest: Lindsay Pinchuk The Dear FoundHer... Forum networking community: www.dearfoundher.com/dearfoundherforum Substak, The FoundHer Files: foundherfiles.substack.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/dearfoundher

September 8, 2026Episode 18315 min

Thoughts Unlocked - How Stress Breaks Trust

Stress doesn't create cracks in your culture. It reveals them. When teams are under pressure, trust can quickly turn into blame, assumptions, longer email threads, and people protecting themselves instead of solving problems. In this episode of Thoughts Unlocked, I break down why stress can break trust and what leaders can do about it. The answer isn't more communication. It's more curiosity. Instead of jumping to conclusions, ask better questions. Instead of assuming incompetence, assume confusion. And instead of asking, "Who's responsible?" ask, "What made this problem possible?" Because trust grows when people feel safe asking better questions. Timestamps: 00:01:16 – When stress starts replacing trust 00:03:55 – The role of trust in team dynamics 00:07:39 – The benefit of questions over assumptions 00:10:59 – How to foster curiosity and safety in teams 00:12:48 – Cultivating trust through curiosity Website: skotwaldron.com