Lindsey Lerner is one of those people who makes you feel like the conversation you're having is the most important one you've had all week. She's an artist, documentarian, TED speaker, and creator of Field Notes from the Work (and the Wild), a project documenting the unseen rituals, invisible processes, and quiet realities that fuel creativity, community, and change. She's spent nearly two decades building startups, managing national music tours, shaping cultural policy, and leading creative strategy, always focused on the people and the persistence that makes things possible. Lindsey and I met in the early days of the pandemic, talked for hours about everything and nothing, and became fast friends and collaborators. Tune in to hear us talk about: What it means to have a squiggly, nonlinear career (and why Lindsey thinks now is actually the best time to be a multi-hyphenate generalist)How Lindsey went from art school dropout to anthropology student to music industry advocate to travel tech founder to field documentarian, and what connects all of itWhat she's documenting, why it matters, and the five patterns that have shown up across every single story she's collectedPattern 1: The work that people get paid for is rarely the real workPattern 2: Every story contains a permission moment — a day when someone stopped waiting to be chosen and started anywayPattern 3: The invisible process — the doubt, the preparation, the years of trying differently — is where the real work happensPattern 4: Fear appears right before meaningful work begins. It's not a warning. It's a signal.Pattern 5: Meaningful work is always relational. You cannot do the real thing alone.The questions leaders should be asking in interviews to get at the invisible — including "What do people often miss about what you do?" and "How do you know you're making progress when no one can see it?"What Lindsey realized when she was hitting all the business markers of success and still feeling miserable, and what that taught her about the difference between what you do and who you are Find Lindsay: SubstackLinkedIn: Lindsey LernerTEDxPrinceton: Why Doesn't Success Feel Like Enough? Looking for support on your career journey, looking for support in answering your biggest questions, or noticing patterns you want to disrupt in your work or leadership? Check out our upcoming public events and on-demand coaching services! ChatGMB: Wisdom & Insights for Modern Leaders is produced for leaders, managers, and changemakers seeking insight, tools, perspective, and real talk on topics such as human-centered leadership, team culture, conflict transformation, burnout prevention, and more. There is no fancy editing or over-polished scripting. Tune in to hear me in all my imperfection, talking for as long as it feels "right" on the topics that light me up or set me on fire. If you like what you hear and want more wisdom and insights for your journey, sign up for our weekly-ish newsletter!! Have a question you'd like us to answer in a future episode? Submit questions (anonymous welcome) HERE. ChatGMB is a production of Reloveution, a consulting and professional development services provider that leverages the magic of humanity to strengthen teams, deepen leadership impact, and catalyze professional well-being. From facilitating team retreats to leading leadership development programs to robust advisory services, we help you build the emotional and cultural conditions for human thriving AND exemplary business outcomes. Learn more at www.truereloveution.com You might also be interested in our focused conflict transformation practice RepairWorks. When tension rises, communication breaks down, or trust is broken, RepairWorks provides mediation, facilitated dialogue, advisory services, and training to help individuals, workplaces, teams, and established communities move through and transform conflict with clarity, accountability, and humanity. Learn more at www.conflictrepairworks.com About the Show GMB stands for “the Great Marissa Badgley” — a nickname my husband lovingly uses to remind me that I am great, good, competent, courageous, and enough. The name is also a playful nod to ChatGPT, which so many of us rely on for answers (maybe more than we should). Think of this as the human alternative: honest real talk, wisdom sharing, and actionable strategies on the specific leadership and culture topics that surface again and again in my consulting, coaching, and facilitation work.
