Executive Commute With Jayson Krause

Level 52 | Jayson Krause
  • 4.8 (22)
  • Management
  • Updated Daily

Executive Commute with Jayson Krause is your one-stop podcast to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to leadership in today's volatile and complex business environment. Each episode delivers expert insights, along with practical advice, on navigating the changes and challenges you face as a leader. Learn about the science of high performance, how to design a culture of innovation, feedback techniques that will have an immediate impact, using gamification for better results—the list goes on and on. Think of this podcast as having an executive coach sharing coaching nudges, actionable insights, and valuable resources with you in a bite-size format.

  1. 6d ago

    #111: The Practice of Curiosity and Why Leaders Default to Certainty

    A 360-degree review told Tyler Chisholm exactly what was wrong with his leadership: he filled every room, jumped to conclusions, and never let his team finish a sentence. His team had stopped contributing. They were just waiting to be told what to do. In this episode of The Executive Commute, Jayson Krause talks with Tyler Chisholm, CEO and author of Curious as Hell, about the moment that feedback forced him to rebuild how he leads. Tyler unpacks the difference between the leader he was in the boardroom and the host he'd become on his own podcast, and how closing that gap turned curiosity from a personality trait into a daily discipline. They get into where curiosity actually helps, where it gets weaponized into control, and what it takes to build a team that feels safe enough to think out loud. They cover: The feedback that forced a leadership reset Curiosity as a practice, not a trait: self, relational, and strategic curiosity How questions get weaponized to control instead of learning Where curiosity fails (and command and control takes over) A simple tool for pausing before you react What actually predicts whether a leader succeeds or fails If your meetings go quiet the moment you start talking, this one's worth the full hour. Follow Jayson Krause: YouTube:     / @jaysonkrauseleadership   LinkedIn:    / jayson-krause   0:00 - Introduction 0:41 - The 360 Review That Changed His Leadership 3:43 - What Changed When "Podcast Tyler" Led Meetings 6:00 - Tracking Fixed vs. Growth Mindset After Every Call 8:41 - From Playful Trait to Deliberate Practice 10:05 - Why Tyler Wrote Curious as Hell 13:21 - Writing in Flow: AI as Collaborator 15:50 - The Self Curiosity the Book Forced to the Surface 17:31 - Defining Curiosity as a Leadership Practice 19:16 - The "No Time to Be Curious" Myth 22:03 - The Latin Root of Curiosity 28:44 - Weaponizing Curiosity 29:39 - Isn't a Leader's Job to Manipulate? 37:18 - Self Curiosity Comes First 39:19 - When Curiosity Isn't the Right Tool 42:17 - The Tactical Sigh 45:08 - Would You Rather: Curious vs. Safe to Be Curious Around 46:34 - Creating the Conditions for Curiosity 49:13 - The Nuclear Button 52:06 - The Cost of Reacting Instead of Leading 53:00 - True or False: Questions and Culture Health 56:02 - The Worst Advice About Curiosity 57:31 - "Tell Me More": Curious vs. Diagnostic Questions 59:38 - How to Know Curiosity Is Missing 1:02:42 - Know When to Call a Coach 1:04:51 - The Invisible Force Behind Leadership Success 1:06:26 - Closing Thoughts

  2. 6d ago

    #110: Your Empathy Might Be Making You a Worse Leader

    Empathy gets treated like a personality trait: you either have it or you don't. Roxana Radulescu, Level 52 coach and facilitator, argues that's wrong. It's a muscle, and most leaders are either overusing it, avoiding it, or using it to avoid the hard conversation instead of having it. In this episode of The Executive Commute, Jayson Krause talks with Roxana about what empathy actually is (her definition: care plus trust), what it isn't (sympathy, agreement, an excuse to skip feedback), and where it goes wrong at the top of organizations. They dig into a Yale psychologist's argument that empathy fuels bias and tribalism, why holding more power tends to erode it, and whether "care first" leadership is a real strategy or just a nicer way to describe layoffs. They cover: - Empathy defined: care plus trust, not sympathy - The line between empathy and judgment - The case against empathy: bias, favoritism, and in-group tribalism - Why power erodes empathy (and what that means for executives) - Empathy's role in high-stakes, high-performance teams - A simple starting point for building the empathy muscle If you've ever held back a hard conversation because you "didn't want to make it worse," or wondered whether empathy and high standards can coexist, this conversation will change how you think about both. Follow Jayson Krause YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Voc2qOmcqGKfqy6CDiZOw LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayson-krause/ 0:00 - Introduction 0:34 - How Roxana Became a Coach 1:28 - Coaching a Room Full of Experts 2:39 - What Qualifies Someone to Talk About Empathy 4:55 - Defining Empathy: Care Plus Trust 7:39 - Empathy Mapping and the Right Use of Empathy 10:07 - The Opposite of Empathy: Arrogance and Judgment 11:06 - Judgment vs. Appraisal 12:25 - The Case Against Empathy (Paul Bloom) 13:56 - When a Leader Has Too Much Empathy 16:09 - Balancing Empathy With Getting Things Done 21:08 - Naming the Emotion in the Room 23:52 - What Matters More Than Empathy: Feedback 27:14 - What Is Self-Empathy? 28:06 - True or False: Does Promoting Empathetic Leaders Spread Empathy? 29:00 - Power and the Erosion of Empathy 31:08 - "Care First" Leadership vs. Corporate Doublespeak 32:16 - Empathy in the Face of Layoffs 35:02 - The Real Roots of the Word Empathy 36:09 - True or False: Are Women Wired to Be More Empathetic? 38:10 - True or False: Does Empathy Lead to Fairer Decisions? 41:20 - Empathy in High-Performance Environments 42:53 - Can You Have Connection Without Empathy? 45:02 - Would You Rather: Deep Empathy for Your Circle vs. Moderate Empathy for All 49:09 - The Cost of Carrying Empathy 50:40 - A Real Example: Giving Feedback With Empathy 52:16 - Empathy as a Muscle: Where to Start 54:24 - The Worst Advice About Bringing Empathy to Leadership 56:26 - Closing Thought

  3. Jul 2

    #108: Why Burnout Isn't a Workload Problem

    Most leaders think burnout comes from too much work. So they respond with wellness programs, lighter workloads, and lunch hour yoga. Then nothing changes. In this episode of The Executive Commute, Jayson Krause sits down with Dr. Tianne Foster, physician, burnout researcher, and author of Reality Check, to unpack what actually drives burnout and why most organizations are solving the wrong problem. Trained across Canada, the US, and the UK, Dr. Foster became obsessed with burnout after a senior physician told her entire class to get out of medicine while they still could. Her conclusion: burnout isn't an individual weakness. It's a mismatch between people and the environment they work in, and it starts with leadership. In this episode: The six workplace factors that drive burnout (workload is only one of them) Why nurses turn down pay raises in toxic workplaces, and what that means for retention How to tell the difference between burnout, depression, and a hard season Why treating burnout as an individual problem lets organizations off the hook The Yale finding that high engagement scores can be an early warning, not a win The petri dish question every leader should ask about their culture If your best people are running on fumes and your wellness budget isn't moving the needle, this conversation explains what's actually happening and where to intervene. Follow Jayson Krause YouTube:     / @jaysonkrauseleadership   LinkedIn:    / jayson-krause   0:00 - "Get Out While You Still Can": The Story That Started It All 3:15 - Why Trust Dr. Foster on Burnout 7:38 - The Six Workplace Factors That Drive Burnout 10:16 - Compensation, Fairness, and Why Raises Don't Fix Toxic Workplaces 13:38 - Defining Burnout (and How It Differs From Depression) 15:25 - Stress vs. Burnout: What People Get Wrong 17:28 - The Noonday Demon: Burnout as a Collapse of Meaning 19:51 - The Petri Dish: How Burnout Spreads Through Organizations 22:15 - Growth Requires Stress: The Weight Room Analogy 25:32 - Should Burnout Be a Medical Diagnosis? 28:31 - Jayson's Own Brush With Burnout 31:53 - The Superhero Persona (and Its Kryptonite) 34:53 - Why Wellness Programs Fail 37:40 - Would You Rather: $1M Wellness Budget or Fire One Leader? 39:27 - True or False: Burnout Myths (and a Yale Surprise) 44:48 - High Achievement Without Sacrifice: Know Your Values 48:13 - First Signs of Burnout and the Simplest Way Back

    #108: Why Burnout Isn't a Workload Problem

  4. Jul 2

    #109 MML What does high performance actually look like?

    Welcome to The Meaningful Leader — July Edition. This month, we're looking at the invisible forces that shape how leaders and teams actually perform: the standards we fail to define, the belonging we misunderstand, the thinking environments we create, and the warning lights we ignore. Three of this month's sections were sparked by great conversations I had on The Executive Commute with Level 52 coach and facilitator - Jessica Heafey, Flow state advisor - Dr. Murray Heber, and author of Reality Check - Dr. Tianne Foster. Links to each full discussion are below. https://www.level52.ca/podcast-linktree  But the thread running through all of them is simple: meaningful leadership is not built by using better words. It's built by confronting what those words actually require. High performance. Belonging. Flow. Burnout. We throw these terms around like their meanings are obvious. They're not. And when leaders don't define them clearly, teams are left guessing, pretending, protecting, or quietly drifting. Let's get into it.

  5. Jun 24

    #107 Why Belonging Is Not About Being Nice

    Belonging gets mistaken for everyone getting along. But what if a team with no conflict is the clearest sign that belonging is missing? In this episode of The Executive Commute, Jayson Krause sits down with Level 52 coach and facilitator Jessica Heafey to explore belonging, what it is, what it isn't, and the mistakes leaders make trying to create it. Drawing on a career that began in professional theatre, Jessica explains why being hired is not the same as belonging, why the difference between kind and nice matters more than most leaders realize, and why real belonging asks for discomfort rather than comfort. She and Jayson dig into the business case behind loneliness and disengagement, whether belonging has to be earned every day, what cults get structurally right and dangerously wrong, and the smallest first move any leader can make to turn things around.

    #107 Why Belonging Is Not About Being Nice

  6. Jun 10

    #106: The Science of Flow State and Peak Performance

    Most leaders think better performance comes from working harder. Dr. Murray Heber argues that mindset may be a much bigger factor than effort. In this episode of The Executive Commute, Jayson Krause and Dr. Murray Heber explore the science of flow state, why high performers burn out, and how leaders can create the conditions for peak performance without relying on constant pressure. They discuss the difference between playing to win and playing not to lose, why curiosity is one of the most powerful tools available to leaders, and how confusion can sometimes be the pattern interrupt needed to break cycles of stress, anxiety, and overthinking. This conversation explores: what flow state actually is why grinding eventually stops working how leaders unintentionally block performance the relationship between curiosity and creativity why urgency can undermine innovation how to create the conditions for team flow Follow Jayson Krause YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JaysonKrauseLeadership File lives here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1v0QiTchc7WibsnSKcihDx2cEDBhhku5_/view?usp=drive_link

    #106: The Science of Flow State and Peak Performance

  7. Jun 3

    #105: Most Leaders Don't Have a Motivation Problem

    Most leaders are waiting to feel ready before they act. That mindset may be the thing keeping them stuck. In this episode of The Executive Commute, Jayson Krause unpacks four leadership ideas from this month's Meaningful Leader newsletter and explores the deeper patterns underneath them. He breaks down why high-performing leaders struggle to stop carrying other people's work, why motivation follows action, how leaders mislabel emotions under pressure, and why "just be yourself" is often terrible leadership advice. This episode is about leadership under pressure, internal discipline, and the hidden patterns that quietly shape how leaders operate every day. Follow Jayson Krause YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JaysonKrauseLeadership

    #105: Most Leaders Don't Have a Motivation Problem

  8. May 26

    #104: Motivation Is Not Something You Wait For

    Most people think motivation is something you either have or you don't. Alec Harrison argues the opposite. In this episode of The Executive Commute, Jayson Krause sits down with Emmy-nominated composer Alec Harrison to unpack what motivation really is, why waiting for it is dangerous, and how action itself creates momentum. Drawing on his experience composing music for Monday Night Football, the FIFA World Cup, film, and television, Alec shares how his relationship with motivation evolved from chasing external validation to reconnecting with the love of the craft itself. They explore why many people quit too early, the danger of tying motivation to outcomes, and why meaningful progress often comes from simply "winning the day." Follow Jayson Krause YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JaysonKrauseLeadership LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayson-krause/

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Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
22 Ratings

About

Executive Commute with Jayson Krause is your one-stop podcast to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to leadership in today's volatile and complex business environment. Each episode delivers expert insights, along with practical advice, on navigating the changes and challenges you face as a leader. Learn about the science of high performance, how to design a culture of innovation, feedback techniques that will have an immediate impact, using gamification for better results—the list goes on and on. Think of this podcast as having an executive coach sharing coaching nudges, actionable insights, and valuable resources with you in a bite-size format.

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