Early in his career, Jordan Stone sat in a consulting workshop where the idea of a work self and a home self was presented as normal. The premise made sense on paper. But something about it felt off. Why should the experiences, preferences, and perspectives that shape who we are outside of work suddenly become irrelevant once we step into it? As Jordan's career progressed, he saw firsthand how the parts of people that didn't neatly fit into job descriptions often produced the most meaningful outcomes. In this episode of the Uncommon Leadership Podcast, Michael Hunter and Jordan Stone explore what happens when leaders move beyond the idea of a work self and instead create environments where people can show up as whole humans — carrying their curiosity, energy, experiences, and aspirations into the work. Bringing your whole self to work is not a personal preference—it is a leadership decision. One that influences how trust forms, how teams collaborate, how cultures evolve, and how organizations create meaningful outcomes for both employees and customers. What begins as a question about identity becomes a deeper exploration of connection, energy, and the shared work of building teams where people can do their best work as themselves. Tune in now to explore how you can create environments where trust, energy, and performance grow together. Inside the Episode: Why the idea of a work self is limiting A powerful reframing of strengths as sources of energy rather than capability How ways-of-working conversations help teams understand and trust each other How onboarding, documentation, and early connections shape culture as teams scale How transparency builds resilience during uncertainty and change Why the future value of engineers lies in collaborative problem solving Was this conversation worth your time? If yes, please give us a thumbs up and subscribe to the Uncommon Leadership Podcast Series. Get notified on YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp9vaDKz5TI7gaWKLc801Dw Prefer audio? Stream here: Apple- https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/uncommon-leadership/id1654637165 Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/show/2BkXGceaZgVWxGQCXcrmgj Presented By: UncommonChange Meet the Speakers Jordon Stone Jordon Stone is Vice President of Engineering at Paytient, a growth-stage startup focused on making healthcare more accessible and affordable. Jordan has a decade worth of experience leading product, platform, security, and infrastructure teams across startups, digital agencies, and large publicly traded organizations. Jordan focuses on scaling platforms, aligning technology with business outcomes, and building engineering organizations where great technology amplifies people and growth. Connect with Jordon Stone: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanmstone/ Website: https://www.paytient.com/ Michael Hunter Michael Hunter is the founder of Uncommon Teams, where he partners with technology leaders and founding teams to build organizations that achieve meaningful results with clarity, confidence, and resilience. With more than three decades in technology and leadership, Michael's work sits at the intersection of human potential, organizational effectiveness, and sustainable performance. Through coaching, facilitation, and advisory work, he helps leaders create uncommon teams — environments where authenticity, trust, and adaptability enable both business success and personal fulfillment. Michael is also the host of the Uncommon Leadership podcast and author of The Resilient Tech Leader, where he explores how leaders can move beyond survival and cultivate cultures that thrive amid constant change. Connect with Michael Hunter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/humbugreality/ Website: https://uncommonteams.com/ Book: https://uncommonteams.com/the-resilient-tech-leader/ [whole self leadership, authentic leadership, workplace culture, psychological safety, employee engagement, team design, engineering leadership, leadership presence, human-centered leadership, resilient teams, uncommon leadership]
