LET'S GO WITH JULIO

Julio G. Alvarez
  • 4.8 (30)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Bimonthly

Hi, I’m Julio. After 15 years leading teams at Apple, Google, Tumblr, Airbnb and Lyft — I’m now a coach on a mission to educate, inspire and empower you to unlock your best, most authentic self as a leader. Through conversations, interviews, practical advice, and live coaching, we’ll cover topics like career changes, personal growth, tackling failure, building community, brave leadership, and creating a life you genuinely love. You can expect real talk, laughs, and lots of love as I help you navigate life’s tough questions with a calm head and courageous heart. To learn more or submit a question or topic you’d like to hear covered in the show, visit letsgowithjulio.com/podcast Tune in, buckle up and get ready to bring out your best. Let’s go!

  1. Jun 7

    Communicating with Care When the Stakes Are High | Julio w/ Megan Cruz (NASA)

    Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the pressure to get it right, especially when the stakes are high? You're not alone — it is hard to stay yourself while it's happening — warm, calm, unarmored — when everything in you wants to brace. Our next leader on the show, Megan Cruz, models what’s possible for us. On April 1, 2026, when NASA sent humans around the moon for the first time in more than 50 years, Megan held millions of people on the live broadcast — and made each of them feel like she was sitting right there beside them. I watched her do it from my living room, and that's the moment I knew I had to bring her on — for all of us trying to figure out how to communicate well and stay grounded when it counts. Every story you're trying to tell right now has a purpose. Are you informing? Inspiring? Connecting? The heart of communication is knowing who you're really speaking to — and why it matters to them. Megan has spent her career — from a decade in the hardest reporting trenches to producing NASA's live broadcasts — learning how to communicate with care when everything is on the line. In this episode, we unpack a few themes every leader can use right now: Why preparation — not performance — is what unlocks clarity and calmLeadership as removing barriers and instilling faith in your teamCommunicating with care by leading with empathy and listening This one's special. I'm grateful I got to sit down with Megan and gather as much wisdom as I could about staying steady under pressure. My hope is that you enjoy it, learn something, grow a little — and share it with someone who needs it. Thank you, Megan Cruz, and thank you, NASA, for your time! SOURCES: NASA's Artemis II Crew Launches To The Moon (Official Broadcast): https://www.youtube.com/live/Tf_UjBMIzNoNASA’s Artemis II Crew Comes Home (Official Broadcast): https://www.youtube.com/live/nfhDuOHMp0ASpaceX’s 25th Resupply Services Mission: Broadcast Begins (NASA's Kennedy Space Center): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEMWJM-sySYHomelessness and Addiction in New Mexico (KOAT): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gya3cNtHbMMegan Cruz Anchoring Clips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOHy9DId19wArtemis II Watch Party Held at Adler Planetarium (CBS Chicago): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc_JMclUSm0 LISTEN TO THE LET'S GO WITH JULIO PODCAST Spotify Apple Podcasts YouTube FOLLOW JULIO: 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/letsgowithjulio 📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/letsgowithjulio CONNECT WITH MEGAN: 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-cruz 📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/mdccruz JOIN MY NEWSLETTER: 💌 My regular newsletter — honest reflections on leadership, presence, and staying human under pressure. Join free: https://letsgowithjulio.com ABOUT LET'S GO WITH JULIO: Julio spent 15 years leading teams at Apple, Google, Tumblr, Airbnb, and Lyft — hired and fired along the way. Today he's a leadership coach, speaker, and host who has coached leaders at Anthropic, Adobe, Airbnb, Apple, and many of the world's leading companies, and led programs for thousands of leaders navigating identity, emotion, and transformation. His work helps driven people find steadiness under pressure — the courage to get out of their heads and into their hearts, and to find freedom in their work, relationships, and lives through self-discovery and self-acceptance. LET'S GO WITH JULIO — the podcast, the newsletter, and the coaching — exists to help leaders lead from a steadier, braver, more human place. CREDITS: Theme song: "Human" by Nick Deutsch Produced and edited by Rikki Gunton #Leadership #CommunicationSkills #NASA #ArtemisII #HeartLedLeadership #LetsGoWithJulio

    1h 5m

  2. May 24

    What if the Fastest Path to Change Is Slowing Down? | Light Watkins

    What if you could access the inner resilience required to navigate change in a world that's shifting faster than ever? That’s the focus of today’s episode. I sit down with Light Watkins to help us leaders unpack: Why our good intentions fall apart under pressureThe tortoise approach — why we should prioritize consistency over perfectionThe inner gym — how practices like meditation and gratitude are like strength training for your mindWhat we can learn from leaning into discomfortLight Watkins is a meditation teacher, five-time bestselling author, and TEDx speaker whose talk has reached nearly a million people. He's taught meditation to leaders and celebrities across the globe, and his latest book, The Year You Transform, is a guide to the kind of lasting change that many of us are seeking. My hope is that this episode invites you to rethink what it takes to actually change. It’s full of practical takeaways, mindset shifts, and experiments to get you started, so that this can be the year you transform! Share this with your team or a friend. Subscribe to the show, write us a review, or send us some love in the comments! CONNECT: Follow Julio on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠LinkedIn⁠ Book Julio to speak, coach, or consult at ⁠letsgowithjulio.com CREDITS: Theme song: "Human" by ⁠Nick Deutsch⁠ Produced + edited: ⁠Rikki Gunton⁠

    58 min

  3. Apr 28

    The Voice in Your Head: How Do You Stop Believing It's You?

    There's a voice in your head that is constantly riding you, yes or no? It reminds you all the time: You're not enough. You're not far enough along. You should be working harder. This is the #1 thing I see slowing leaders down — and the thing I still struggle with too. So I made this episode for me just as much as I made it for you. Something I could come back to every time I need to ground myself and get steady around this voice. Something I could hand to a client and say, here, listen to this. It might help. Here's what we're answering: Where does this voice come from? Why do you still listen to it? And how do you shift your relationship with it without trying to silence it (because you're already trying that and how's that working out)? I'll walk you through the practices that changed things for me — the 30-minute noticing exercise, the "ouch" practice, and how to find the love buried underneath the criticism. These are real, practical tools that can be practiced over and over, like building a muscle. And they work. Come back to this episode each time you need to remember: You are not the voice. You are the one who notices. You are the observer! Let's go there, baby. Let’s talk about THAT 🙏🏽 Share this with your team or a friend. Subscribe to the show, write us a review, or send us some love in the comments! CONNECT: Follow Julio on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠LinkedIn⁠ Book Julio to speak, coach, or consult at ⁠letsgowithjulio.com CREDITS: Theme song: "You Are The One" by ⁠Nick Deutsch⁠ Produced + edited: ⁠Rikki Gunton⁠

    29 min

  4. Apr 14

    How Do You Earn Trust at the Highest Level? | Sean Berry

    How do you earn a CEO's trust — and what do you see when you finally get in the room? That’s what we’re exploring today on the show with my former Lyft colleague Sean Berry. Sean spent many years as an executive assistant to C-suite leaders, including the CEO of Lyft. That means he’s spent years behind the scenes — managing calendars, sitting in high-stakes meetings, reading the room so the room could keep moving. He saw leadership up close, under pressure. He knows what’s up, and he’s got a lot of wisdom to share with us about: Maintaining calm and building trustWhat executives are actually like behind closed doorsThe importance of triage and decoding urgencyPreparing for high-stakes meetingsThe delicate balance between growing in your career and keeping your ego in checkWhat Sean is learning now that the adrenaline has slowed downNo matter where you sit on the org chart, you’ll leave with practical takeaways about how to show up effectively when it matters most. Share this with your team or a friend. Subscribe to the show, write us a review, or send us some love in the comments! Find Sean at https://www.linkedin.com/in/swberry/ CONNECT: Follow Julio on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠LinkedIn⁠ Book Julio to speak, coach, or consult at ⁠letsgowithjulio.com CREDITS: Theme song: "You Are The One" by ⁠Nick Deutsch⁠ Produced + edited: ⁠Rikki Gunton⁠

    56 min

  5. Mar 31

    What Does It Take to Actually Know Yourself? | Chazzie Grosshandler

    What if trans identity can actually teach all of us what we really need right now: radical self-knowledge? In this episode, I sit down with Chazzie Grosshandler, 19-year-old college sophomore, co-founder of The GenderCool Project, public speaker, and lifelong advocate. She came out to her family as transgender at nine years old, and was featured on the Today Show at eleven. I first learned about GenderCool at an Out & Equal Summit, and what they shared gave me a deep respect and better understanding of the trans community, especially the courage of trans youth. We talk about: What it felt like to come out to her family and then again on national televisionWhy being trans is the least interesting thing about herThe pattern of people who start out open-hearted and then harden into outrageGenderCool, its origins, and why representation at the highest levels mattersFaith, intersectionality, and how stepping into yourself brings you closer to something biggerChazzie’s advice for transgender youth and their parentsChazzie’s story is an invitation to embrace who we truly are and see ourselves as more than our labels. Find Chazzie and GenderCool: https://gendercool.org/ https://www.instagram.com/chazziegendercool/ https://www.instagram.com/gendercool/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/chazziegrosshandler/ CONNECT: Follow Julio on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠LinkedIn⁠ Book Julio to speak, coach, or consult at ⁠letsgowithjulio.com CREDITS: Theme song: "You Are The One" by ⁠Nick Deutsch⁠ Produced + edited: ⁠Rikki Gunton⁠

    56 min

  6. Mar 16

    Braving Big Tech: One Year Later (Q&A)

    One year ago, I published Braving Big Tech — a five-part audio docu-series about getting hired and fired by Apple, Google, Tumblr, and Airbnb. It took 14 months, nearly 100 pages of writing, and 15 interviews with the people who were there — including managers that hired me, and one who fired me.  Today, on the one-year anniversary, I’m answering the most common questions people ask me, like: Did you deserve to get fired?What did numbing actually look like? What hasn’t healed yet?What do you say to someone whose job is killing them slowly?This episode is honest, real and intended to help you get clear on how you’re braving big tech right now. Because let’s be real: we’re all trying to figure out how to navigate these times with a calm head and courageous heart. Listen and learn more about Braving Big Tech: https://bravingbigtech.com/ Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify  Listen on YouTube CONNECT: Follow Julio on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠LinkedIn⁠ Book Julio to speak, coach, or consult at ⁠letsgowithjulio.com CREDITS: Theme song: "You Are The One" by ⁠Nick Deutsch⁠ Produced + edited: ⁠Rikki Gunton⁠

    42 min

  7. Mar 3

    On Self-Love, Grief, and Living Whole with Nick Deutsch

    What does it look like to lead a life that's fully integrated — not split between who you are and what you do? In this episode, I sit down with Nick Deutsch — elementary school teacher, musician, and the artist behind You Are The One, this season’s theme song. Only 1 in 10 elementary school teachers in America are male, and Nick is one of them. He is one of our undervalued leaders raising the next generation. In this conversation, he offers wisdom from the classroom, the music room, and from a life genuinely examined. We talk about: What kids are honest about that adults have learned to hideWhy music reaches places words and logic can'tCarl Jung, the unconscious, and why self-awareness changes everythingThe "disease to please" — and how niceness can become a cageLosing his mother at 26, and what grief taught him about lifeWhat it means to love yourself — not as a cliché, but as a real, daily practiceIf you've ever "smiled on the outside while something inside was being torn apart" — this episode is for you. MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE: ⁠Nick’s Music⁠ Of Boys and Men by Richard Reeves The Loving Parent Guidebook Listen to Braving Big Tech CONNECT: Follow Julio on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠LinkedIn⁠ Book Julio to speak, coach, or consult at ⁠letsgowithjulio.com CREDITS: Theme song: "You Are The One" by ⁠Nick Deutsch⁠ Produced + edited: ⁠Rikki Gunton⁠

    1h 10m

  8. Feb 17

    Engaging Our Hearts with Qiana Sanders

    I’m curious: where in your life are you leading from your head… but not your heart? Today we’re joined by Qiana Sanders — a data science leader, classically trained violinist, and proud Black trans woman from Detroit — for a conversation that’s equal parts practical and deeply human. Qiana says “success is on the other side of service,” and she lives it. We talk about servant leadership as something you do (not something you claim), why “being a leader is a verb,” and the KPI that might matter more than any dashboard: Key Performance Heart Indicators. You’ll hear us unpack: how to “engage the heart” on real teams (especially under pressure)how to read what people are not saying — not just what they are sayingthe lost art of one-on-oneswhy so many of us walk around with a “representative” instead of our real selvesand what it takes to stop shrinking, stop judging, and start living out loudThe invitation for you with this episode: Wake up and like yourself. Love yourself, actually. Then, lead from there. Thank you all for being here on this journey — let me know what this conversation brings up for you! CONNECT: Follow Julio on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠LinkedIn⁠ Book Julio to speak, coach, or consult at ⁠letsgowithjulio.com CREDITS: Theme song: "You Are The One" by ⁠Nick Deutsch⁠ Produced + edited: ⁠Rikki Gunton⁠ 0:00 Intro: Leading With Integrity, Grace, and Heart 3:34 What is Servant Leadership? 5:11 The Key Performance Heart Indicator 5:30 Knowing Who You Are & Living Out Loud 12:00 Being Naturally of Service 13:33 Everyone’s a Leader in Their Own Way 13:59 Unlocking the Potential of Others 15:19 Humility & Vulnerability Are Inherent in Servant Leadership 16:29 A Leader’s Job is to Engage the Heart 20:43 Having an Orchestral Mindset - What Are You Not Saying 22:18 You’ve Got to Be Excited About You 25:42 Calling People In 27:23 More on the Orchestral Mindset 30:36 Newton’s Third Law 31:10 Building Trust 32:00 Giving & Receiving Real Feedback3 7:00 The Agency to Go Higher 38:57 How to Improve Your One on Ones 44:50 Staying Grounded Through Opposition 48:44 Creating Joy For Yourself & Others 50:22 A Message For Those Transitioning 53:05 Challenging the Idea of Needing to Be Fixed 56:06 Judgment as a Mirror 01:04:24 Showing Up With Grace 01:06:42 Heart Work as an Act of Courage

    1h 12m
See All (46)

Trailer

4.8
out of 5
30 Ratings

About

Hi, I’m Julio. After 15 years leading teams at Apple, Google, Tumblr, Airbnb and Lyft — I’m now a coach on a mission to educate, inspire and empower you to unlock your best, most authentic self as a leader. Through conversations, interviews, practical advice, and live coaching, we’ll cover topics like career changes, personal growth, tackling failure, building community, brave leadership, and creating a life you genuinely love. You can expect real talk, laughs, and lots of love as I help you navigate life’s tough questions with a calm head and courageous heart. To learn more or submit a question or topic you’d like to hear covered in the show, visit letsgowithjulio.com/podcast Tune in, buckle up and get ready to bring out your best. Let’s go!

Information

  • Creator
    Julio G. Alvarez
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    46
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Julio G. Alvarez
  • Show Website
    LET'S GO WITH JULIO