Top Voice Podcast with Michael J. López

Michael J. López
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Each week, I sit down with leading voices in business, leadership, and transformation to unpack the issues that matter most. Together, we explore fresh insights, bold ideas, and real-world stories from the people shaping how we think about change, culture, and what's possible. As a LinkedIn Top Voice myself and an expert in change and transformation, I bring a unique lens to every conversation—connecting each episode to powerful, science-backed strategies that help individuals, teams, and organizations navigate change with confidence. Whether you're leading a company, driving culture shifts, or simply looking to level up in your career or life, these episodes are designed to challenge your thinking and expand your perspective. Subscribe now to join the conversation and never miss an episode.

  1. Sep 14

    The Hidden Cost of Competence: Leadership, Growth, and Getting Out of the Way with Naphtali Bryant

    Michael welcomes Naphtali Bryant, managing principal consultant at RAC Leadership and former US Marine and chief people officer, to discuss the “curse of competence” and how leaders become bottlenecks by continuing to solve, edit, and rescue instead of building team capability. Naphtali explains that promotions often reward past competence, but leadership requires shifting from having answers to developing others, using the question “Whose growth does this moment belong to?” They cover how dependence shrinks ownership and initiative, why “my team needs to step up” can mean the leader must step back, and practical tactics like restraint, better questions, and telling hard truths. They also discuss culture, leadership inflection points, AI’s impact on leadership value, and when staying an individual contributor may be the best path. Timestamps: 00:24 Welcome 01:10 Meet Naphtali Bryant 02:39 Marine Corps to Tech Journey 05:38 Defining the Curse 08:45 Whose Growth Is It 11:05 Ego and Restraint 13:10 Inflection Points Mirror 16:03 How Leaders Get Stuck 19:22 Culture and Echo 23:32 Top Down to AI Shift 25:54 AI Changes Leadership Value 28:15 IC vs Leader Path 31:06 Key Takeaways and Closing Connect with Naphtali: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naphtalibryant/ https://racleadership.com Michael's National Workforce Study on Change Management: https://www.michaeljlopez.coach/research

  2. Sep 8

    From ER to Entrepreneur: How a Physician Is Fixing Healthcare's Tech Problem with Aditi Joshi

    Michael hosts Aditi Joshi, an emergency medicine physician turned digital health leader, to discuss the evolution and adoption challenges of telemedicine and broader healthcare technology. Aditi recounts entering telemedicine in 2013, scaling programs through the pandemic, and now consulting on digital health adoption and scaling. They cover why patients generally like telehealth, why many health tech startups fail due to slow health-system implementation and clinician behavior change, and how required usage plus department-level ownership helped scale telemedicine at Jefferson. They also discuss AI in healthcare, distinguishing administrative “back-end” uses from clinical “front-end” advice, and why confidence, trust, and messaging affect adoption. Aditi shares her book, “Telehealth Success,” and key takeaways on implementation strategy and understanding end users. Timestamps: 00:24  Welcome and Setup 01:24  Aditi's Telehealth Journey 02:46  Telemedicine Then to Now 04:56  What Patients Really Want 07:07  Why Health Tech Fails 10:40  Clinician Adoption Barriers 16:34  Scaling Across Hospitals 21:02  AI Hype vs Reality 27:19  AI Telehealth Agents 29:01  Book and Consulting Work 31:37  Cost Savings and Incentives 34:00  Key Takeaways and Closing Connect with Aditi: https://draditiujoshi.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-aditi-joshi/ Aditis book: https://a.co/d/08473ukY Michael's National Workforce Study on Change Management: https://www.michaeljlopez.coach/research

  3. Sep 1

    What 35 Years at Clorox Taught Me About Transforming Organizations From the Inside with Doug Milliken

    Michael interviews Doug Milliken, former Clorox VP of Marketing and now partner at Kremer & Milliken, a consultancy focused on helping large companies understand and evolve organizational culture to improve performance. Milliken argues culture—defined as behavior and how work gets done—is a primary driver of operating profit and a capability leaders can intentionally manage. He discusses driving change as an “outsider-insider,” a Clorox decision-making initiative where teams discovered faster, Agile-like approaches by gaining agency and clarifying what decision-makers actually needed, and his experience leading Clorox’s digital transformation by building psychological safety, achieving zero attrition, record engagement, and 3x expected financial returns. They also explore rising change fatigue from overlapping transformations (including AI) and efforts to build teams’ capacity to absorb change. Timestamps: 00:24 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:27 Career and Culture Focus 04:11 Outsider Insider Change Agent 07:13 Decision Making Transformation Story 13:29 Culture as Capital Capability 18:10 Winning Over Skeptical Leaders 22:19 Digital Transformation Culture Proof 27:08 Change Fatigue in the AI Era 34:08 Key Takeaways on Culture 36:47 Hardest Career Pivot Lesson 40:31 Where to Find Doug and Closing Connect with Doug: https://creamerandmilliken.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-milliken-3798a01/ Michael's National Workforce Study on Change Management: https://www.michaeljlopez.coach/research

  4. Aug 25

    From Unsure to Unshakeable: Confidence as a Business Performance Strategy with Simone Knego

    Michael interviews keynote speaker and USA Today bestselling author Simone Knego about her new book, Real Confidence, and why confidence is built like a skill rather than something you’re born with. Simone shares her journey as a mom of six, becoming a grandmother, and a pivotal 2015 decision to climb Mount Kilimanjaro that helped her reframe self-doubt and capability. She explains her REAL method—Respect yourself, Embrace your failures, Ask yourself what you want, and Live without limits—plus a practical “control-alt-delete” reset to change unhelpful thoughts and habits. They discuss high achievers’ confidence gaps, dropping “just” from self-talk, psychological safety and connection at work, and how leaders can use AI without losing human culture. Timestamps: 00:24 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:23 Simone Journey and Book 03:29 Kilimanjaro Confidence Shift 06:12 Reframing Self Worth 06:54 The Confidence Gap 08:35 REAL Method Overview 09:17 Respect Yourself First 10:40 Embrace Failure to Grow 13:01 Ask What You Want 17:20 Living Without Limits 18:47 Control Alt Delete Method 20:08 Rewrite Your Inner Story 21:35 Thrive At Work Teams 24:17 Imposter Syndrome Promotions 27:06 Drop The Just Rule 29:38 Three Confidence Takeaways 31:23 AI And Company Culture 33:18 AI Confidence Risks 34:43 Where To Find Simone 35:14 Final Thanks And Wrap Connect with Simone: https://simoneknego.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/simoneknego/

  5. Aug 18

    The Human Success Playbook: The New Operating Model for the Age of AI with Zensai

    Michael hosts a special panel episode of the Top Voice Podcast with Zensai leaders Nina Carøe (Chief Human Success Officer), Robin Daniels (Chief Business Officer, repeat guest), and CEO Rasmus Holst to discuss their book The Human Success Playbook and the future of the human-AI experience at work. They explain why Zensai positions itself around “human success” rather than traditional HR, focusing on building high-performance teams through learning, performance, and engagement, and introducing a Human Success Score to give executives a shared language. The conversation covers constant change since COVID, disengagement trends, treating AI as a tool and potential “team member,” and the need for clarity to avoid chaos. They contrast old hierarchical structures with a value-stream “diamond,” emphasize simple values (“human” and “success”), and share practical leadership advice, ending with where to find the book on Amazon and connect via LinkedIn and zensai.com. Timestamps: 00:24 Welcome and First Panel 01:25 Meet the Guests 03:55 What Zensai Does 05:30 Why Human Success Now 07:06 From HR to Human Success 09:45 Inside the Human Success Playbook 12:11 CEO View No Map for AI 15:40 Chief Human Success Officer 20:33 Culture AI and Clarity 25:36 Hard Choices and Governance 26:17 Hard Cuts vs People 26:58 Why Teams Win 28:43 Rethinking Value Creation 30:15 Map Not GPS Leadership 31:47 From Hierarchy to Diamond 33:48 Values Human and Success 36:58 Why a Leadership Fable 40:38 One Action This Week 42:34 Sensei Future Vision 45:00 Unlearning for AI 47:15 Where to Find the Book 47:50 Closing Thanks and Wrap Connect with Zensai panel: https://zensai.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/rasmusholst/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ninaelisabethcaroe/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/robingdaniels/ Michael's National Workforce Study on Change Management: https://www.michaeljlopez.coach/research

  6. Aug 11

    The Real Reason AI Pilots Stall and Where Leaders Go Wrong with Sania Khana

    Michael talks with labor economist Sania Khan about interim findings from their joint research on AI pilots and why many are stalling. Sania shares her background from the White House, Capitol Hill, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to serving as chief economist at a unicorn AI company, and explains why leaders must consider workforce strategy as AI transforms tasks across industries. They discuss common failures such as whiplash directives, unclear “why,” token-cost surprises, data access and compliance constraints, and a bifurcated tool experience between leaders and employees. They also cover entry-level hiring slowdowns, workforce opt-outs, rising entrepreneurship, and the need to measure outcomes beyond cost savings. Key takeaways include redesigning workflows, choosing better KPIs, and involving workers early to build trust and adoption. Timestamps: 00:24  Welcome and Setup 01:10 Meet Sania Khan 03:12 AI and Jobs Outlook 06:13 Research Collaboration 08:10 Early Pilot Findings 10:21 Data Access Roadblocks 13:08 Entry Level Pipeline 15:57 Hiring Slowdown and Entrepreneurship 18:21 Measuring AI Value 23:31 AI as a Culture Mirror 27:02 Three Takeaways for Leaders 30:42 Closing Connect with Sania: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sania-khan1/ https://www.inflectionpointstrategy.co

  7. Aug 4

    Stop Forcing Generosity: What Nonprofits Get Wrong About the Brain with Cherian Koshy

    Michael talks with Cherian Koshy about his book Neurogiving and how neuroscience and behavioral science explain generosity and decision-making. Koshy, a longtime nonprofit professional, says the goal isn’t to manufacture generosity but to create conditions that make giving easier, emphasizing choice architecture, identity, belonging, emotion, and trust. He explains why metrics and “the business case” often fail, describing decision “gates” such as affective reasoning, identity alignment, and the identifiable individual effect, and argues that logic comes last. They discuss how nonprofits and companies should resequence outreach to prioritize relationship and trust-building, why transactional “pitch-first” approaches backfire, and how AI-driven growth tactics can burn trust and retention. Timestamps: 00:24  Welcome 01:08  Meet Cherian Koshy 01:37  Why Neurogiving Exists 03:11  Early Fundraising Lessons 07:47  Innate Altruism Explained 13:07  Why Metrics Fail 19:33  Resequencing Trust First 25:47  AI and Trust Cliff 29:30  Key Takeaways on Generosity 35:06  Closing Connect with Cherian: https://www.cheriankoshy.com https://www.labnotes.neurogivingbook.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheriankoshy/

  8. Jul 28

    Winning with AI: The 12-Week FrameworkThat Actually Works with Charlene Li

    Michael interviews keynote speaker and seven-time author Charlene Li about her new book and 12-week program focused on leading AI through leadership and strategy rather than technology explanations. Li and co-author Katia Welsh outline a playbook that starts with existing business strategy and builds an AI roadmap to create value over a rolling 18-month horizon, updating quarterly while keeping strategy “in ink” and tactics “in pencil.” They discuss why organizations overthink AI strategy but under-execute, the need to make AI use safe and expected, provide time to practice, and have leaders model usage to reduce stigma. Li describes leaders’ “AI hesitation gap” between FOMO and fear, emphasizes AI fluency through practice, and frames value creation as engagement, productivity, and reinvention supported by governance and coordinated enterprise efforts. Timestamps: 00:24 Welcome 01:30 Book Focus Leading AI 02:48 Why a Strategic Playbook 04:10 No AI Strategy Needed 06:32 Rolling 18 Month Roadmap 09:17 Why Execution Stalls 11:56 Employee Fears and Trust 13:52 Leadership FOMO vs FOGI 16:58 Build AI Fluency Fast 19:13 Tools Access and Practicality 22:17 Training AI With Context 24:08 12 Week Sprint Foundations 27:09 Efficiency to Reinvention 30:22 Three Key Takeaways 32:11 Career Inflection Point Story 33:48 Closing Connect with Charlene: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleneli/ https://charleneli.com

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Each week, I sit down with leading voices in business, leadership, and transformation to unpack the issues that matter most. Together, we explore fresh insights, bold ideas, and real-world stories from the people shaping how we think about change, culture, and what's possible. As a LinkedIn Top Voice myself and an expert in change and transformation, I bring a unique lens to every conversation—connecting each episode to powerful, science-backed strategies that help individuals, teams, and organizations navigate change with confidence. Whether you're leading a company, driving culture shifts, or simply looking to level up in your career or life, these episodes are designed to challenge your thinking and expand your perspective. Subscribe now to join the conversation and never miss an episode.

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