The Talent Forge: Shaping Workforce Behaviors with Jay Johnson

Jay Johnson
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Welcome to The Talent Forge: Shaping Workforce Behavior with Jay Johnson — the podcast where behavioral science meets the day-to-day challenges of leadership and talent development. Each week, Jay Johnson, behavioral architect, two-time TEDx speaker, and corporate trainer, brings you bold conversations and tactical insights to help organizations develop better managers, improve communication, and shape workplace behavior that drives results. Whether you're an emerging leader, a C-suite executive, an operations manager, or an individual seeking growth, this show delivers behavior-based strategies that stick. Jay and experts in the field come together to share a behind-the-scenes look at the tools that build high-performing teams, reduce burnout, and foster cultures of accountability and trust. From leadership development and management coaching to behavioral intelligence and culture transformation, you'll walk away with actionable tools to improve your people, processes, and performance. This isn’t theory. This is real-world behavior, transformed. Welcome to the Forge.

  1. 1D AGO

    What if Joy is Your Most Undervalued Business Strategy? with Joel Hilchey

    What if the fastest way to better performance is more joy, not more grind? We sit down with engineer-turned-entertainer-turned-executive Joel Hilchey to unpack how purposeful play transforms culture, unlocks honest conversations, and helps teams learn at speed. Joel’s story moves from an ill-fitting corporate stint to leading a thriving facilitation company, and along the way he discovered a simple truth: serious work doesn’t require serious faces. We dig into the difference between empty fun and fulfilling moments that are both fun and meaningful. Joel shows how levity in hard conversations lowers defenses and increases candor, why “mandatory fun” backfires, and how small language shifts—calling something an experiment instead of an icebreaker—can change participation.  You’ll also hear a practical playbook for culture change with three high-leverage areas: onboarding that sets human-first norms, meetings that balance connection with clarity, and recognition that celebrates progress with meaning. We talk culture carriers—the people who flip negativity into momentum—and how protecting them preserves morale and retention. If you’ve been hunting for concrete steps to boost engagement, psychological safety, and team performance without the corporate cringe, this conversation is your blueprint. Enjoy the episode, share it with a leader who needs it, and subscribe for more conversations on culture, behavior change, and building teams people love. If you found value, leave a review and tell us: what small shift will you try at your next meeting? Connect with Joel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelhilchey/ 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

    43 min

  2. JAN 30

    How Naming Your Feelings Can Transform Tough Conversations with Yancy Wright

    Burnout isn’t the villain; it’s the flashing dashboard light you can’t afford to ignore. We sit down with leadership guide Yancy Wright to explore how the body signals trouble long before the mind admits it—and how tuning into those signals can shift your work, your relationships, and your impact. From chronic jaw tension and low enthusiasm to that heavy, pulled-down feeling, we map the early cues of overload and connect them to the real drivers: loss of meaning, resentment, and isolation. Yancy opens the door to somatic coaching—the practice of leading from body intelligence, not just intellect. He breaks down “unarguable truths” you can use when conversations get tense, like naming tightness in your chest or grip in your jaw, and shows why that honesty lowers defenses and restores presence. We share a clear three-step script for difficult talks, plus a quick method to build decision confidence by sensing fast yes/no responses before analysis kicks in. Along the way, we examine how fear often masquerades as anger, why leaders loop attention outward and burn out, and how to re-center so you respond instead of react. If you’ve ever felt the pit in your stomach before a meeting or the clench in your jaw during feedback, this conversation gives you the tools to turn signals into guidance. Learn more: https://www.casaalternavida.com/ Connect with Yancy: https://www.yancywright.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

    49 min

  3. JAN 16

    SERIES: Tech and Tools - How Practicing Real Conversations Unlocks Talent and Culture with Matt Sussman

    Meetings move at the speed of voice, and too many talented people stay quiet when it matters most. This week, we kick off our new Tech and Tools series with FLOW Speak co-founder Matt Sussman. Matt unpacks a simple idea with big impact: targeted, AI-powered speaking practice that helps English as a second language professionals find their voice in real workplace moments. We trace the gap between reading proficiency and live conversation, where humor, interruptions, and subtle tone undo textbook learning. Matt explains how FLOW Speak’s simulated dialogues mirror everyday and high-stakes scenarios—calming an upset customer, asking for a raise, clarifying a project risk—and why this matters for culture, inclusion, and innovation. Instead of piling on grammar drills, the platform delivers reps that feel like texting while capturing speech, converting it to text, and rewarding consistent practice. It’s mobile, low-lift to implement, and designed for the high-beginner to high-intermediate range where many professionals stall. Learn more about FLOW Speak: https://www.flowspeak.io/ Our Tech & Tools series spotlights the technologies redefining talent, leadership, and the future of workplace behavior, with practical insights you can use right away.  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

    24 min

  4. JAN 9

    Practical Leadership For First-Time Managers with Dalmo Cirne

    Promotions are exciting until the work changes under your feet. We sat down with leadership expert Dalmo Cirne to unpack why great individual contributors can stumble as new managers—and how to replace uncertainty with clarity, systems, and steady wins. Dalmo makes a bold claim that resonates: leaders don’t suddenly become incompetent, they arrive unprepared. From there, we dig into how to prepare on purpose. We break down the four streams of leadership—manage self, downstream, upstream, and sidestream—and show why most headaches come from over-focusing on the team and ignoring the other three. Dalmo explains how strong explanations beat raw facts for real decision-making, helping you avoid snap judgments about people and communicate trade-offs with sponsors. You’ll hear pragmatic ways to document processes before you teach them, so training matches the learner’s level and reduces friction during execution. If this conversation helps you think differently about leadership, share it with a manager who just got promoted, subscribe for more practical playbooks, and leave a quick review telling us which stream you’ll improve first. 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

    35 min

  5. 12/19/2025

    Remote Culture, Real Results with Chris Dyer

    The biggest blocker to remote success isn’t the tool you picked. It’s the clarity you haven’t written down. Jay sits with culture expert Chris Dyer to unpack how a recession forced him to ditch the office, kill the bottlenecks, and build a remote-first system where people make smart decisions without waiting for the boss. The story starts with hard lessons from a coach-style leadership approach and lands on a repeatable playbook any team can use, on-site or distributed. Chris lays out the mindset shift that changed everything: keep only one control—own the culture—and give away the rest. We dig into practical mechanics that make autonomy real, like cockroach meetings for quick problems, ostrich meetings for learning and re-entry after time off, and monthly company-wide briefings that demystify financials, pipeline, and priorities. He shares why hybrid is hardest, why process beats platform, and how simple rituals—“How are you showing up?” and “How are you leaving?”—create psychological safety that actually protects output. Expect concrete tips you can test this week: stop answering every question, start asking better ones, let people make safe mistakes, and replace your annual survey with a weekly pulse. You’ll hear how radical transparency aligns effort, reduces microaggressions born from confusion, and sparks the ownership leaders say they want. Whether you’re scaling a startup or retooling an enterprise, this is a field guide for building trust, speed, and profit in a distributed world—without burning people out. If this conversation gave you a useful idea, follow the show, share it with a leader who needs it, and leave a quick review so more teams can find 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

    49 min

  6. 12/12/2025

    Rethinking Power: Where Quiet Voices Change Teams with Greg Weinger

    Loud doesn’t equal leader. Greg Weinger joins us to unpack why quiet professionals can become some of the most effective leaders in the room—and how to get there without faking extroversion or burning out. We dig into the real difference between introversion and shyness, the energy mechanics that shape how people think and speak in groups, and the small, repeatable steps that turn hesitation into confident presence. Greg shares the pivot from “performing extrovert” to authentic leadership, including the meeting moves that keep ideas from getting lost when the conversation sprints ahead. You’ll hear practical ways to influence beyond the moment—smart follow-ups, written clarity, and narrating your thought process so conclusions land with weight. For managers and HR leaders, we outline simple design changes that elevate team decisions: sending agendas early, building quiet think time, using temperature checks instead of hot-seat prompts, and inviting multiple channels of contribution so every brain gets heard. We also talk about nerves and purpose. If your heart races before a presentation, you’re not broken; your body is priming to perform. Greg reframes anxiety as activation and pairs it with a purpose-first mindset that makes discomfort worth it. Along the way, we explore how culture shapes what gets rewarded, why deep listening is a competitive advantage, and how to champion quiet talent without forcing them into a loud mold. If you’ve ever thought “I’m not a leader because I’m not the loudest,” this conversation gives you tools, language, and proof that your path is not only possible—it’s powerful. Enjoy the episode, share it with a colleague who needs the nudge, and if it resonated, subscribe and leave a quick review so more quiet leaders can find 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

    40 min

  7. 12/05/2025

    From Hollywood Lessons to High-Performance Habits with Steven Puri

    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

    1h 15m

  8. 11/28/2025

    Speak To Be Understood: The Human ROI Of Language with Stacy Richter

    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

    48 min
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5
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About

Welcome to The Talent Forge: Shaping Workforce Behavior with Jay Johnson — the podcast where behavioral science meets the day-to-day challenges of leadership and talent development. Each week, Jay Johnson, behavioral architect, two-time TEDx speaker, and corporate trainer, brings you bold conversations and tactical insights to help organizations develop better managers, improve communication, and shape workplace behavior that drives results. Whether you're an emerging leader, a C-suite executive, an operations manager, or an individual seeking growth, this show delivers behavior-based strategies that stick. Jay and experts in the field come together to share a behind-the-scenes look at the tools that build high-performing teams, reduce burnout, and foster cultures of accountability and trust. From leadership development and management coaching to behavioral intelligence and culture transformation, you'll walk away with actionable tools to improve your people, processes, and performance. This isn’t theory. This is real-world behavior, transformed. Welcome to the Forge.

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