If your leadership strategy still depends on being the smartest person in the room, AI is about to make that a painful game to play. We sit down with Chris Deaver, culture shaper, leadership coach, former HR leader with experience at Apple, Disney, and Pixar, and co-founder of Brave Core, to talk about what actually scales now: bravery, co-creation, and the skill of leading with questions.

We unpack why fear is normal in a fast-changing world and how the “loss equation” fuels resistance to new technology, layoffs, and disruption. Chris shares how great leaders flip that script by focusing on purpose, stacking uniquely human strengths, and treating AI as augmented intelligence that clears the busywork so teams can do deeper creative work. We also get practical on what brave space really means: emotion is contagious, connection creates courage, and shared flow is possible even in everyday meetings when ego gets parked at the door.

Along the way, we use memorable metaphors like the Avengers and the orchestra conductor to rethink what leadership looks like when your job is to bring out heroes around you. If you want a clear next step, start here: be the last one to speak, ask one better question, and invite the quietest voice in the room into the conversation. Subscribe, share this with a leader who needs it, and leave a review so more people can learn to lead with curiosity, courage, and care.

🌐 Connect with Chris:
• Website: https://bravecore.co
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-deaver/

📚 You can purchase Chris' book on Amazon:
• Brave Together: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1265386676/

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✅ Follow The Leadership Project on your favourite podcast platform and listen to a new episode every week!

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What if the person you’re frustrated with at work isn’t lazy, careless, or “not leadership material,” but simply stuck in an environment that works against how their brain operates? That question sits at the center of my conversation with Wainwright Yu, a senior technology executive and leadership coach who specializes in neurodiversity and cognitive diversity. We get personal quickly, starting with the moment an employee disclosed ADHD during a performance conversation, and the gut-punch of hearing the same possibility raised about his own child soon after.

From there, we move into practical, strengths-based leadership. We talk about why the Golden Rule breaks down at work, especially when attention, executive function, and processing styles differ, and how the Platinum Rule helps us lead people as they are. Wainwright shares a powerful example of role fit: a struggling employee becomes highly successful when his work shifts from process compliance to complex problem solving. The lesson is bigger than ADHD at work. Every human is “uneven,” and the best managers learn how to align tasks to strengths, values, and energy rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all standard.

We also unpack how to find hidden strengths, how to reframe traits like impulsivity, mind-wandering, and anxiety into courage, creativity, and foresight, and how to build team norms that support differences without turning them into a spotlight or a stigma. You’ll leave with concrete ideas for psychological safety, better conversations outside performance reviews, and small adjustments that remove friction while keeping standards high.

If this sparks an insight, subscribe, share the episode with one leader who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What’s one strengths conversation you’ll have this week?

🌐 Connect with Wainwright:
• Website: https://www.wainwrightyu.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wainwrightyu/

📚 You can purchase Wainwright's book on Amazon:
• Leading with Compassion: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DWMQTJS4/

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

✅ Follow The Leadership Project on your favourite podcast platform and listen to a new episode every week!

📝 Don’t forget to share your thoughts on the episode in the comments below.

🔔 Join us in our mission at The Leadership Project and learn more about our organisation here: https://linktr.ee/mickspiers

📕 You can purchase a copy of the Mick Spiers bestselling book "You're a Leader, Now What?" as an eBook or paperback at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZBKK8XV

If you would like a signed copy, please reach out to sei@mickspiers.com and we can arrange it for you too.

If you're thinking about starting a podcast or upgrading your hosting, Buzzsprout is a great option! This link will give both of us a $20 credit when you upgrade:

👉 https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1701891

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If you have ever walked out of a town hall thinking “we were crystal clear” only to hear your team say “we still don’t get it,” you’re not dealing with a motivation problem. You’re dealing with a communication and trust problem. Mick Spiers sits down with Alejandra Ramirez, internal communication strategist and founder of Ready Cultures, to show why leadership communication shapes organizational culture, and why culture is not a noun you describe but a verb you practice.

We dig into what makes internal communication actually work inside modern, multicultural workplaces: listening as a leadership responsibility, closing the feedback loop, and responding to dissent in a way that builds trust even when people disagree with the decision. Alejandra explains how employees become your brand ambassadors, why ignoring feedback makes it fester, and how leaders can create clarity without pretending change is easy. We also talk about the messy middle of change management, where fear of loss, fear of the unknown, and even identity threats show up when new tools, AI, or new systems roll out.

You’ll get a practical framework you can use immediately: Head, Heart, and Hands. What do people need to know, why should they care, and what do they need to do next? We also unpack the illusion of transparency, the need for repetition across multiple touchpoints, and how manager toolkits, FAQs, and smart check-ins help strategy messages finally land.

Subscribe for more conversations on leadership, internal communications, employee engagement, and building high-trust cultures, then share this with one person who needs clearer communication at work and leave a review so more leaders can find the show.

🌐 Connect with Alejanda:
• Website: https://www.readycultures.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/malejandraramirez/

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

✅ Follow The Leadership Project on your favourite podcast platform and listen to a new episode every week!

📝 Don’t forget to share your thoughts on the episode in the comments below.

🔔 Join us in our mission at The Leadership Project and learn more about our organisation here: https://linktr.ee/mickspiers

📕 You can purchase a copy of the Mick Spiers bestselling book "You're a Leader, Now What?" as an eBook or paperback at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZBKK8XV

If you would like a signed copy, please reach out to sei@mickspiers.com and we can arrange it for you too.

If you're thinking about starting a podcast or upgrading your hosting, Buzzsprout is a great option! This link will give both of us a $20 credit when you upgrade:

👉 https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1701891

Create forms easily with Jotform! Sign up with my link: https://www.jotform.com/?referral=AkWimLxOBz

Get extra Dropbox space—sign up with my link: Dropbox Referral Link

Wise Referral link: https://wise.com/invite/dic/michaels11434

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