What if the secret to consistent high performance isn’t more grind, but a better story? We sit down with Steven Puri, a former studio executive turned founder, to connect surprising dots between Hollywood and the workplace: how timeless myths power blockbuster hits, why fear and risk shape decisions, and how those same forces show up in teams that confuse busyness with value.

We get personal about failure, shame, and the discipline of reflection. Steven shares what he learned leaving big studios, launching startups, and then stopping—pen and paper in hand—while the wounds were still fresh to ask, What did I learn? The answer, listen, becomes a theme for leaders who want to swap surveillance for stewardship. Instead of paying for time, we make the case for paying for value and building cultures where people can do the kind of work that moves the business forward.

The conversation closes with community and accountability—how sharing one finished thing a day can create momentum that sticks. If you’re a leader trying to reduce burnout, an individual contributor craving focus, or a trainer designing learning that actually lands, this episode offers a clear path: clarify the mission, manage for output, protect deep work, and recover well. If this resonates, subscribe, share with a teammate who needs it, and leave a quick review telling us your favorite focus ritual.

Meet the Host
Jay Johnson works with people and organizations to empower teams, grow profits, and elevate leadership. He is a Co-Founder of Behavioral Elements®, a two-time TEDx speaker, and a designated Master Trainer by the Association for Talent Development. With a focus on behavioral intelligence, Jay has delivered transformational workshops to accelerate high-performance teams and cultures in more than 30 countries across four continents. For inquiries, contact jay@behavioralelements.com or connect below!

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayjohnsonccg/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jayjohnsonccg/
Speaker Website - https://jayjohnsonspeaks.com

Fluency isn’t a streak; it’s a human connection. Jay sits down with Stacy Richter, CEO of Live Lingua, to unpack why real progress happens when we move beyond vocabulary drills and into immersive, person-to-person learning that mirrors how we actually speak, negotiate, and care for others. From a Minnesota medical center reducing interpreter delays to a manufacturing team winning trust across the border, Stacy shows how learning a language shifts teams from transactional messages to transformational relationships.

We get candid about brain science, too. That “rusty” Spanish you think you lost? It’s still there. Neuroplasticity means pathways reactivate under pressure and context, whether you’re navigating signs in Guadalajara or opening a meeting in German to change the tone in the room. Apps and AI are great gateways—low-friction ways to spark curiosity—but they can’t teach timing, tone, or the cultural rituals that make a joke land or a deal feel respectful. Native, trained tutors can, especially when they tailor your learning to your real world: intake questions for nurses, technical terms for engineers, or the phrases you’ll use on the factory floor.

Ready to build skills that travel with you and bring people closer? Listen now, then subscribe, share with a colleague who works across borders, and leave a review with the language you’re tackling next.

Meet the Host
Jay Johnson works with people and organizations to empower teams, grow profits, and elevate leadership. He is a Co-Founder of Behavioral Elements®, a two-time TEDx speaker, and a designated Master Trainer by the Association for Talent Development. With a focus on behavioral intelligence, Jay has delivered transformational workshops to accelerate high-performance teams and cultures in more than 30 countries across four continents. For inquiries, contact jay@behavioralelements.com or connect below!

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayjohnsonccg/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jayjohnsonccg/
Speaker Website - https://jayjohnsonspeaks.com

Perfection looks powerful until it breaks a team. We sat down with Julie Booksh—licensed counselor, marriage and family therapist, and leadership coach—to rethink what real strength looks like inside complex systems. Julie’s journey from HR to therapy to organizational consulting frames a core insight: families and workplaces both protect a “normal temperature,” even when it stalls growth. To change the system, you start with the smallest circle you control—yourself—and expand outward with intention.

We dig into the inner critic that many high achievers mistake for motivation. Julie shows how that voice once served safety but now fuels burnout, anxiety, and comparison. Her definition of self-compassion is disarmingly simple and deeply practical: notice how you are, name it, and treat it with kindness before you try to fix anything. That shift separates guilt from shame. Guilt says you did something harmful; repair it. Shame says you are harmful; hide. Leaders who practice compassion can own mistakes without collapsing into self-contempt, which invites their teams to be honest, creative, and accountable.

If this conversation resonates, share it with a leader who carries too much alone, subscribe for more human-centered performance insights, and leave a review to help others discover the show.

Meet the Host
Jay Johnson works with people and organizations to empower teams, grow profits, and elevate leadership. He is a Co-Founder of Behavioral Elements®, a two-time TEDx speaker, and a designated Master Trainer by the Association for Talent Development. With a focus on behavioral intelligence, Jay has delivered transformational workshops to accelerate high-performance teams and cultures in more than 30 countries across four continents. For inquiries, contact jay@behavioralelements.com or connect below!

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayjohnsonccg/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jayjohnsonccg/
Speaker Website - https://jayjohnsonspeaks.com

What if anger, fear, and stress weren’t problems to suppress but power you could steer? We sit down with Dr. Greg Stewart—author, counselor, coach, and former senior pastor—to unpack a practical roadmap for turning raw emotion into leadership leverage. Greg connects four growth levers that drive real performance: IQ for capacity, EQ for adaptability, personality as our default approach, and purpose as the deeper engine that keeps us steady when pressure spikes.

Greg’s “house of the heart” metaphor makes self-mastery simple without being simplistic. When your reaction is bigger than the moment, he shows how to step inside and find the source: a false belief, a hit to identity, or a past experience that’s echoing too loudly. From there, he teaches how to separate the emotional goal you want—respect, clarity, safety—from the behavior you’re using to get it, then choose actions that are rational, healthy, wise, and right. The result is calmer conflict, faster trust, and cleaner decisions.

If you’re ready to swap reactivity for intentional influence—and help your team do the same—this conversation will give you tools you can use in your next one-on-one, standup, or board meeting.

Meet the Host
Jay Johnson works with people and organizations to empower teams, grow profits, and elevate leadership. He is a Co-Founder of Behavioral Elements®, a two-time TEDx speaker, and a designated Master Trainer by the Association for Talent Development. With a focus on behavioral intelligence, Jay has delivered transformational workshops to accelerate high-performance teams and cultures in more than 30 countries across four continents. For inquiries, contact jay@behavioralelements.com or connect below!

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayjohnsonccg/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jayjohnsonccg/
Speaker Website - https://jayjohnsonspeaks.com

Feeling pulled in every direction, yet determined to lead well? We sit down with Dr. Sylvia Rohde-Liebenau—author of "Who’s in Charge?"—to unpack a practical path for impact that doesn’t cost your health or your soul. Drawing on her experience across the European Commission, consulting, and executive coaching, we examine how culture, power, and purpose intersect in real workplaces where speed and pressure never quit.

We start with power. Not the brittle kind that leans on title and control, but smart power: a blend of systems thinking, merging perspectives, authentic grounding, relational fluency, and transformational intent. Energy takes center stage next. We break it into four domains—physical, emotional, mental, spiritual—and show why multitasking is just fast fatigue. Expect tangible resets: slow down to truly slow down, reclaim focus with single-task blocks, and practice “pause and choose” to prevent resentment from draining your tank. Finally, we turn to legacy. A spoken eulogy exercise helps you name what you want to be true about your leadership and life—then work backward to today. Legacy isn’t a plaque on a building; it’s how people remember your presence and the systems you leave stronger.

If this conversation resonates, follow the show, share it with a leader who needs it, and leave a quick review to help others find us. What pillar are you strengthening this week—energy, power, or legacy?

Connect with Dr. Sylvia Rohde-Liebenau: https://www.smartpowermethod.com/

Meet the Host
Jay Johnson works with people and organizations to empower teams, grow profits, and elevate leadership. He is a Co-Founder of Behavioral Elements®, a two-time TEDx speaker, and a designated Master Trainer by the Association for Talent Development. With a focus on behavioral intelligence, Jay has delivered transformational workshops to accelerate high-performance teams and cultures in more than 30 countries across four continents. For inquiries, contact jay@behavioralelements.com or connect below!

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayjohnsonccg/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jayjohnsonccg/
Speaker Website - https://jayjohnsonspeaks.com

What if admitting “I don’t know” is the most powerful leadership move you can make? We sit down with innovation consultant and author Alan Gregerman to unpack the “wisdom of ignorance” and why certainty can quietly sink companies while curiosity keeps them alive. From Kmart and Blockbuster to the next disruptor waiting in a garage, we trace how organizations lose relevance—and how to build the habits that keep you learning faster than the market shifts.

Alan shares practical scripts leaders can use to normalize not knowing, create psychological safety, and invite teams into co-creation. We get specific about middle managers caught between proving competence and sparking change, and we outline a monthly challenge cadence that turns everyone into a problem solver. You’ll hear why 99% of new ideas are borrowed, how to send people outside the building to find them, and what it takes to translate those insights into action customers care about.

If you’re ready to stop being six people’s Google and start inspiring a team of builders, this conversation gives you the language, rituals, and mindset to begin. Subscribe, share with a leader who needs it, and leave a review telling us the first experiment you’ll launch in 30 days.

Meet the Host
Jay Johnson works with people and organizations to empower teams, grow profits, and elevate leadership. He is a Co-Founder of Behavioral Elements®, a two-time TEDx speaker, and a designated Master Trainer by the Association for Talent Development. With a focus on behavioral intelligence, Jay has delivered transformational workshops to accelerate high-performance teams and cultures in more than 30 countries across four continents. For inquiries, contact jay@behavioralelements.com or connect below!

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayjohnsonccg/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jayjohnsonccg/
Speaker Website - https://jayjohnsonspeaks.com

Strategy dies in the “telephone game.” We sat down with leadership expert Kim Crowder to unpack how to turn top‑down plans into daily behaviors people can actually do, coach, and scale. The core idea is deceptively simple: bring voices in early, tie the why to real work, and build trust before you need it.

Kim walks us through a client story where leaders invited team input at the start, mapped the change across people, process, and communications, and defined what success looks like in the day-to-day. That clarity allowed internal leaders—not outside consultants—to teach the approach to 100+ peers and sustain the gains for three years with a 150% ROI. We dig into the 90‑day reality check that aligns the C‑suite, surfaces unspoken assumptions, and gathers frontline data so feedback fuels business outcomes instead of blame.

If you’re tired of rollouts that stall, this conversation offers a practical blueprint to make strategy teachable, measurable, and owned by leaders closest to the work. Listen, share it with your team, and tell us: what behavior will you change first? And if this helped, follow the show, leave a quick review, and pass it to a leader who needs it.

Meet the Host
Jay Johnson works with people and organizations to empower teams, grow profits, and elevate leadership. He is a Co-Founder of Behavioral Elements®, a two-time TEDx speaker, and a designated Master Trainer by the Association for Talent Development. With a focus on behavioral intelligence, Jay has delivered transformational workshops to accelerate high-performance teams and cultures in more than 30 countries across four continents. For inquiries, contact jay@behavioralelements.com or connect below!

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayjohnsonccg/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jayjohnsonccg/
Speaker Website - https://jayjohnsonspeaks.com

A single question from a colleague—“Can you look at this?”—set off a chain of events that reshaped our host Jay Johnson's career.

In this episode, he walks through the moment misaligned expectations between faculty and international students became visible, how listening and clear onboarding turned conflict into engagement, and why that experience pushed him toward a practical approach to behavior change that goes beyond feel-good ideas.

Jay shares the personal detours that mattered: early math anxiety, a third-grade comment that stuck, and the realization that his brain processes emotion and decisions a bit differently. Debate and theater gave Jay a stage, but research gave him a mission: help people explain what they see, predict what will likely happen, influence with integrity, and manage themselves under pressure.

This story isn’t about perfection or hacks; it’s about building culture through patterns you can actually change. When teams learn to see repeatable loops—meetings that kill debate, feedback that arrives only in a crisis, calendars that glorify burnout—they earn the power to intervene early and ethically. Knowledge becomes action when we pair it with timing, structure, and accountability. If you’re curious about turning awareness into habits that stick, or you want a roadmap you can use tomorrow, you’ll find it here—straight talk, field-tested tools, and a clear path to more trust, better performance, and calmer conflict.

Enjoyed this solo mission? Follow the show, share it with someone who needs a reset, and leave a review.

Meet the Host
Jay Johnson works with people and organizations to empower teams, grow profits, and elevate leadership. He is a Co-Founder of Behavioral Elements®, a two-time TEDx speaker, and a designated Master Trainer by the Association for Talent Development. With a focus on behavioral intelligence, Jay has delivered transformational workshops to accelerate high-performance teams and cultures in more than 30 countries across four continents. For inquiries, contact jay@behavioralelements.com or connect below!

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayjohnsonccg/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jayjohnsonccg/
Speaker Website - https://jayjohnsonspeaks.com