IT Leaders

Some Things I Have Learned Since DOS ft. Wally Nehls

Ctrl+Alt+Lead: The Power of Communication in IT Leadership ft. Drew McMonigle

IT Team Culture’s a Road Trip—Bumpy, but Worth the Ride ft. Jay Stanley

Jay Stanley uses the metaphor of a road trip to explore IT team culture, emphasizing the importance of flexibility, adventure, and especially the social aspects of building strong, resilient teams. Drawing on personal experiences and team-building exercises, Jay illustrates how deepening personal connections and encouraging growth—both professional and personal—creates a thriving, collaborative environment. He encourages leaders to make relationship-building a constant priority and to lead by ex...

More Than a Job Title: Reclaiming Your Story ft. Dimple Shah

Dimple Shah reflects on how our professional identities often become tied to our titles, especially in times of uncertainty and change within the IT industry. She shares personal lessons about resilience, the importance of not letting titles define us, embracing pivots or career changes, practicing self-care, and finding purpose beyond the workplace. The episode also explores adapting to rapid changes in technology and the value of paying it forward through community support and coaching.

Beyond Leadership: A Paradigm for the 21st Century and Beyond ft. Matthew Chodkowski

The Power Within: Leading Teams with Intrinsic Motivation ft. Nirav Shah

Enabling the Power of Information! ft. Philip Stockwell

What We’ve Got Here Is A Failure To Communicate – Techniques To Land Your Message ft. Bret Wingert

Worst Team-Building Exercise Ever -- What I Learned Stranded on a Mountain ft. Loren Kutsko

TechEQ: Mastering Results, Relationships and Respect in the Digital Age ft. Shannon Wilson

Navigating the Waters ft. Doug McCollough

Transforming IT Leadership: The Power of the 7 Mindsets ft. Maureen Metcalf

In the age of AI, leadership, and followership are undergoing significant transformations. Maureen Metcalf, a highly respected executive advisor and CEO of the Innovative Leadership Institute, emphasizes the importance of evolving leadership practices to meet the demands of this new era. Her work focuses on guiding organizations through structured envisioning, leadership elevation, and organization evolution processes to amplify their impact and build thriving organizations1. Maureen's insights ...

Do You Really Want To Climb The Ladder? ft. Bill Fortwangler

How Do You Lead When You’re Still in the Trenches? ft. Adam Gunnett

AI Atrophy: Leading Through the Diminishing Returns of Over-Reliance ft. Jeff Jarecki

AI is transforming how we work, accelerating productivity and decision-making across every industry—but it's also introducing a subtle, dangerous side effect: the erosion of human problem-solving, critical thinking, and technical intuition. This phenomenon, which I call AI Atrophy , represents the quiet decline of our cognitive and creative abilities as individuals increasingly rely on artificial intelligence to provide solutions, rather than to support their understanding. This talk challenges ...

Finding the Path to Yes ft. Brian Quick

Using Quarterly Deliverables So Technologists Can Have Fun Again ft. John Dunn

Technical Wealth Management: Why leaders should be focused on long term outcomes ft. Kyle Utley

Playing Chess, not Checkers, in IT Leadership ft. Matt Cohee

How Coaching Can Transform Your Leadership Style ft. Chris Harvey

Leadership Lessons Along the Way ft. Joel Daly

How Can I Create Executive Presence? ft. John Vautier

The Art of Leadership ft. Jim Gehring

Change Anything: Lead People Where They Want To Go and Where You Need Them To Be ft. Joe Woodruff

Leading with a Why Not Mindset ft. Ryan Lavarnway

In this compelling episode of the IT Leaders podcast, we explore the powerful intersection of mindset, resilience, and leadership. Join us as we sit down with Ryan Lavarnway, a distinguished figure in professional sports, known for his remarkable journey as a Major League Baseball player, and now a motivational speaker known for his engaging storytelling and impactful insights. Ryan Lavarnway, with an impressive record of hitting 165 home runs in his career despite being released from his dream ...

Building a People Management Curriculum ft. Deanna Durrett

In this insightful episode, Deanna Durrett, CEO and General Counsel at El Toro, brings her legal acumen and leadership experience to a conversation every organization needs to hear—why people management deserves a place in our core training strategies. Drawing from her transformational journey from law to leadership, Deanna recounts her time at Success Academy Charter Schools, where she witnessed firsthand how disciplined people management helped scale a network of high-performing public schools...

Belonging: The Key to Stronger Teams ft. Olivia Fitchett

In this compelling episode, Olivia Fitchett shares a powerful blend of personal storytelling, neuroscience, and actionable leadership strategies to underscore the transformative impact of belonging in the workplace. Olivia opens with a vivid narrative from her time as a White House intern—a near-miss with the Secret Service that became a defining lesson in what it feels like not to belong. That moment becomes the backdrop for a deeper exploration into the emotional and organizational costs of ex...

Finding Focus and Expanding Time to Open Doors ft. Jason Johnson

In this energizing and no-nonsense episode of IT Leaders , Jason Johnson, VP of IT at Sweetwater, dives deep into the heart of effective leadership: time, delegation, and focus. Blending military precision from his Navy days with hard-earned wisdom from over a decade at one of America’s fastest-growing music retailers, Jason shares how intentional planning and letting go of the hero complex can unlock exponential growth—for leaders and their teams. Jason’s message is clear: the same rigor you’d ...

How Do Leaders Build Confidence in their Employees ft Erin Petty

In this insightful episode of IT Leaders , Erin Petty, VP of IT Shared Services at Sweetwater, takes the mic to share a dynamic and heartfelt exploration into what it truly means to build confidence within IT teams. Drawing from her unique transition from sales and human services into tech leadership, Erin unpacks the soft skill that often goes overlooked but can make or break a team’s potential: confidence. Erin walks us through her career journey—spanning roles from business analyst to directo...

Self-Leadership ft. Rachel Pritz

In this episode of the IT Leaders podcast, Rachel Pritz—executive coach, speaker, and founder of Culture Coaching—invites us into a transformative conversation about self-leadership, drawing from six years of coaching high-performing professionals. With candor, insight, and just the right touch of humor, Rachel challenges conventional leadership norms, flipping the lens inward to explore what it truly means to lead oneself first. Rather than echoing the usual conference keynote themes, Rachel pr...