The Kestryl Edge

Daniel Korus
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Management

Most leaders weren't trained to lead. They were promoted because they were good at the technical work, then handed a team and told to figure it out. The Kestryl Edge is a conversation series about what actually builds trust, accountability, and retention on high-performing teams, especially in industries where the stakes are real. Host Dan Korus talks with practitioners, researchers, and operators who've done the work, not theorized about it from a distance. Expect grounded research, real experiences, little corporate jargon, and conversations that respect your time. If you're a leader trying to build a team people actually trust, this is for you. New episodes regularly.

  1. Oct 31

    It’s Full Contact Leadership: Rising From the Ashes w/ Jen Benford | E20

    I met Jen Benford in the comments section of Substack. We've recorded together twice now, and both times it was belly laughs and digging into the hard stuff in work, life, and what it means to grow. We recorded this one dressed as cops. Deputy Dan and Lieutenant Jen. (If you're a first responder, know that I appreciate what you do.) We police our own emotions all the time: what's right, what's proper, what's decent. Take a page out of Jen's book. Show up as you. Reach for your badge not to police the emotions but to investigate, dig a little deeper, and follow the clues. Jen spent 15 years in HR and talent acquisition before betting on herself. Now she runs Benford Talent Alchemy, writes Divergent Talent Alchemist on Substack, and hosts The Rewriters Room. We get into the fawn response (the fourth one after fight, flight, and freeze) and what people pleasing looks like at work: saying yes to everything until "you have nothing left for yourself." Jen reads her list of leadership pet peeves on air: false urgency, "charming in public, but cruel in private," moving the goalposts, hoarding information, praising overwork, and handing someone a project with no direction just to see what happens. Her philosophy is the opposite: "give people the tools and then get out of the way. Hire people smarter than you." Plus why her logo is a phoenix, rising from the ashes, and why careers are ecosystems, not ladders. Shout out to all my fawn responders. Jen's take: "We will police that. 'Cause no more fawning." FIND JEN Substack: @benfordtalentalchemy, Divergent Talent Alchemist (benfordtalentalchemy.substack.com) Website: benfordtalentalchemy.com Community: The Rewriters Room on Skool (skool.com/the-rewriters-room) FIND DAN The Updraft, free weekly leadership essays and interviews: dankorus.com/join Kestryl Edge, leadership and emotional intelligence training for leaders who want to grow: kestryledge.com SOURCES AND FURTHER READING (as shown on screen) BYU vs. New Mexico, Mountain West women's soccer tournament semifinal, November 5, 2009 Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 Shadow work, based on Carl Jung's concept of the shadow Arnsten, A. F. T. (2009). Stress signalling pathways that impair prefrontal cortex structure and function. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(6), 410-422. Walker, P. (2003). Codependency, Trauma and the Fawn Response. Walker, P. (2013). Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving. Robbins, M., with Robbins, S. (2024). The Let Them Theory. The Rewriters Room's Inner Compass calls, led by leadership coach Stefanie Hingley

  2. Oct 26

    Find A Court Jester w/ Sven Brodmerkel | E19

    Sven Brodmerkel got a PhD in political science, fell into a German ad agency by accident, worked his way from account management to copywriting, and has spent almost twenty years teaching advertising in Australia. This was his first podcast ever. We get into why ads get older people wrong, whether you can actually teach (or grade) creativity, what AI means for a school system that AI is built to ace, beginner's mind versus empathy, the one creative habit worth training, how to run a brainstorm that works, and why every leader needs someone who can tell them the truth without getting punished for it. His advice to CEOs: find a court jester.

  3. Oct 19

    Do What Others Aren't: Career Reinvention with Paul Austin-Menear | E18

    Most career advice assumes a straight line. Paul Austin-Menear has never had one. He started a consulting business at 23, sold it, watched his next startup fail for being years too early, got laid off twice, and landed a decade-long job by mailing 200 letters. Paul Austin-Menear, founder of Six Catalysts, joins Dan Korus on The Kestryl Edge Podcast. After a decade in marketing, commerce and operations at a Toronto consumer tech startup, Paul now helps growing businesses ($5M to $100M) fix operations, marketing, HR and finance before they hit the potholes. He also co-hosts Roast the Post with Jennifer Houle. In this episode: Leaving small-town Ontario for opportunityWhy a history degree's soft skills matter more in the AI eraEngaging fairly with ideas you disagree withCoaching a parliamentary candidate at 23The QR code startup that was too early, and what failure does to a partnershipBuilding trust with business partners: expectations, reciprocity, and not screwing each otherWhy "self-censor and get along" is outdated advice for leading younger teams"Do what others aren't": the 200-letter job searchBurnout, and building a solo practice for small businessesAdvice for first-timers, new managers, and the C-suiteResources mentioned Mikhail Gorbachev, Perestroika: New Thinking for Our Country and the World (1987) Connect with Paul Six Catalysts: 6catalysts.ca The Journey, Paul's Substack: 6catalysts.substack.com Roast the Post: roastthepost.show and roastthepost.substack.com Co-host Jennifer Houle, Uncompliant: uncompliant.substack.com Connect with Dan and Kestryl Edge Join The Updraft and the weekly live leadership Q&A: dankorus.com/p/join Kestryl Edge leadership workshops: www.kestryledge.com/services Book a 20-minute fit call: www.kestryledge.com/contact Fact check Conversations run on memory, so here's a quick Dan-Fact-Check so folks know we value honesty in our media. We totally underestimated our Canadian driving distances. It's more like two-thirds of Canadians live within 100 km of the US border, not 90%. An Ontario three-year BA is a full bachelor's degree. The ease-of-starting-a-business ranking was the World Bank's (Canada 3rd, 2020), not the OECD's. Google Docs and Sheets launched in 2006. The credit crisis broke in August 2007; Lehman failed in September 2008. The ad figures fit cost per click, not CPM. Full sources to all claims are in the episode post on The Updraft. Music: "That Corner In Harlem" and "Orange Cap," licensed through Soundstripe. Code: FGA3KJINKZAAQVEV, E5DX6GR2OLQJXHKU #leadership #careerchange #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness #hiring #management #kestryledge

  4. Oct 12

    Scared People Can't Think: The Neuroscience of Psychological Safety with Patricio Cuesta | E17

    When people are scared, they stop thinking. Their brains shift into survival mode, and the prefrontal cortex you hired them for goes quiet. Patricio Cuesta, founder of Thinkquan2m, joins Dan Korus on The Kestryl Edge Podcast to break down the neuroscience of psychological safety and why fear is the most expensive thing a leader can bring to work. Patricio spent decades as a corporate executive across Latin America and the United States, often as the person sent in to turn things around. Today he coaches executives through a neuroscience lens and teaches post-graduate engineering students at the University of Central Florida. In this episode: "You're paying for their prefrontal cortex, not their body": why fear wastes the talent you pay forFinding out he's neurodivergent at 50, and the engineering mindset that carried himLeading a turnaround in Brazil by visiting every distributor in their own languageFrom windsurf instructor back to engineering schoolSteering a global consumer brand through the pandemicKilling initiatives that don't move the needle to protect your team's focusPsychological safety as an ecosystem for success, and what Google's Project Aristotle foundWriting an instruction manual for your own brainLearning from imperfect leadersAdvice for new hires, mid-career managers, and executivesResources mentioned Google re:Work, Project Aristotle and team effectiveness: https://rework.withgoogle.com/intl/en/guides/understand-team-effectiveness Liz Wiseman, Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter (2010) John C. Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Connect with Patricio Thinkquan2m: https://thinkquan2m.com. Patricio also shares his work on LinkedIn and Substack. Connect with Dan and Kestryl Edge Join The Updraft and the weekly live leadership Q&A: https://dankorus.com/p/join Kestryl Edge leadership workshops: https://www.kestryledge.com/services Book a 20-minute fit call: https://www.kestryledge.com/contact Music: "That Corner In Harlem" and "Orange Cap," licensed through Soundstripe. Code: S0EIFCTI0HGDQRFC, WKHQIH2WECJ0SP9D #leadership #psychologicalsafety #neuroscience #neurodiversity #management #executiveleadership #teamperformance #kestryledge

  5. Oct 5

    Be A Sponge, Communicate Like A MOFO, & Don't Be a Dick (To Yourself) w/ Lindsey Kay | E16

    How do you go from starting a nonprofit with no house, no office, and a meeting at Applebee's to leading an organization that has backed New Mexico small businesses for nearly four decades? Lindsey Kay, CEO of WESST, joins Dan Korus on The Kestryl Edge Podcast to talk nonprofit leadership, small business support, and what it really takes to lead with your team instead of in front of it. Lindsey spent 14 years building Paws and Stripes, a program pairing rescue dogs with veterans living with PTSD and brain injuries, before stepping in to lead WESST, a women's business center and community lender serving small businesses across New Mexico. She brings a social worker's lens to business advising, ethics, and leadership. In this episode: How a rescue dog named Sarge sparked a 14-year service dog program for veteransWhy you should always ask the question: QPR and suicide preventionVeterans are people first: there's always an "and"Building a nonprofit is building a business, and why your mistakes pave the waySmall business advice: start focused, test your idea, then stay agileEthics in business advising and why good advisors work with clients, not for themWhy women's business centers and small business support matter to New Mexico's economyPsychological safety: a team where you can't tell who the CEO isAdvice for your first day at work, for middle managers, and for senior leadersIf you or someone you know is struggling In the US, call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: https://988lifeline.org Veterans Crisis Line (dial 988, then press 1): https://www.veteranscrisisline.net The Trevor Project for LGBTQ+ young people: https://www.thetrevorproject.org Resources mentioned QPR Institute (Question, Persuade, Refer suicide prevention training): https://qprinstitute.com Assistance Dogs International, find an accredited member: https://assistancedogsinternational.org/main/looking-for-an-assistance-dog/ Paws and Stripes (service dogs for veterans in New Mexico): https://www.pawsandstripes.org SBA Women's Business Centers: https://www.sba.gov/local-assistance/resource-partners/womens-business-centers Connect with Lindsey and WESST WESST: https://www.wesst.org Connect with Dan and Kestryl Edge Join The Updraft and the weekly live leadership Q&A: https://dankorus.com/p/join Kestryl Edge leadership workshops: https://www.kestryledge.com/services Book a 20-minute fit call: https://www.kestryledge.com/contact #leadership #smallbusiness #nonprofitleadership #newmexico #womeninbusiness #veterans #suicideprevention #psychologicalsafety #kestrylsessions

  6. Sep 28

    Leadership In College Admissions w/ Brent Bode: The Cost-Benefit From Behind The Decision Desk | E15

    Brent Bode has spent thirteen years in college admissions, now Senior Assistant Director at Western Washington University, and yes, he used to be my boss. We get into what actually happens on the other side of an application (a majority of four-year colleges admit most of who applies, despite what admissions-panic content tells you), where AI essay detectors get it wrong, and the winding path from a marine biology major to running a piece of a university admissions office. Find Brent: LinkedIn | WWU admissions page More conversations like this: dankorus.com/p/join Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: F84LGMWLWZ1ME70K, QAZLCXG5OSKURPEX

  7. Sep 21

    The Canary in the Coal Mine: Dr. Michael Leiter on the Real Cause of Burnout | E14

    Burnout is a relationship breaking down between a person and their job. Michael Leiter, Professor Emeritus at Acadia University and co-author (with Christina Maslach) of The Burnout Challenge, joins Dan to unpack the three-part definition researchers actually use to diagnose burnout, why the World Health Organization stops short of calling it a disease, and what separates burnout from simple disengagement. Michael shares the story of cold-calling Maslach in the 1980s after reading her first burnout paper, why surveying your team and doing nothing with the results makes things worse, and the "canary in the coal mine" framework he uses with executives. Along the way: gurneys parked in hospital hallways, the hidden "favor economy" holding broken processes together, and concrete advice for anyone from a first-day hire to a sitting CEO. Links: Michael's website: mpleiter.wordpress.comMichael on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/leiterThe Burnout Challenge: Managing People's Relationships with Their Jobs (Maslach & Leiter, Harvard University Press, 2022): https://mitpressbookstore.mit.edu/book/9780674251014 Music: Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: L2V44WNB52QO3LME, ZW1OIBCWL5A3GK9D

  8. Sep 14

    The Negative Space Is The Work w/ Kathi Dalguntas | E13

    Kathi Dalguntas spent a year as a fractional chief of staff, got offered too little for work nobody could measure, and quit in a way that was not at all planned. Now she runs Not Rising, a decentralized journalism magazine built to avoid the single biggest trap in media: capture. We go deep on the negative space of leadership, the work that keeps an organization alive without ever showing up as a line item. She explains why companies become living systems, not org charts, and why the C-suite's biggest job is getting over itself. Along the way: the principal who warned her parents journalism was dangerous, her Walter Mitty moment, the case for role modeling your own mistakes, and exactly where to find a Garrett. You can find Kathi on Substack as Chief Absurdist Officer, and the magazine at Not Rising. Music licensed through Soundstripe. License code: 2VMU9UUTJZQYMPII and XDUDLKBQBNSXYIMR.

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Most leaders weren't trained to lead. They were promoted because they were good at the technical work, then handed a team and told to figure it out. The Kestryl Edge is a conversation series about what actually builds trust, accountability, and retention on high-performing teams, especially in industries where the stakes are real. Host Dan Korus talks with practitioners, researchers, and operators who've done the work, not theorized about it from a distance. Expect grounded research, real experiences, little corporate jargon, and conversations that respect your time. If you're a leader trying to build a team people actually trust, this is for you. New episodes regularly.

Information

  • Creator
    Daniel Korus
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    20
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Daniel Korus
  • Show Website
    The Kestryl Edge