The Lift

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Welcome to The Lift, the show about leadership, growth, and getting what we want. On The Lift, we pull up to see the bigger picture from accomplished leaders who know how to get things done in a rapidly changing world. Host Ben Brooks dives deep into a relevant leadership topic each episode and connects the dots to leave you with powerful distinctions that you can use as a leader.

  1. 3H AGO

    From the playroom to the boardroom: What leaders can learn from children's play with tonies’ CXO Ginny McCormick

    No one loves a genuine truth bomb more than kids – unfiltered, no social contract, no concern for how it will land. Ginny McCormick has spent her career figuring out what that kind of radical honesty, and the play that produces it, can teach the rest of us. Turns out the principles that work in the playroom work just as well in the boardroom. We just forgot them somewhere along the way. Topic Highlights: – Why "clarity always wins over complexity" – The "first pancake" ritual: a team practice for normalizing failure that actually works – Why structured gamification at work is inauthentic and what real play actually looks like in an adult environment – What children's unfiltered feedback reveals about the feedback loops most organizations are missing – The one parenting skill that every leader should be stealing right now Guest Bio: Ginny McCormick is the Chief Experience Officer (CXO) at tonies, a screen-free children's audio platform operating in over 100 markets globally. She is a veteran of Disney, Mattel, and Hasbro. Episode Links: tonies Play by Stuart Brown Connect with Us: theliftpod.com Let’s stay in touch Subscribe to The Lift Find Ben online: LinkedIn | Instagram See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    36 min

  2. MAY 19

    Conflict at work: Amy Gallo on how to have the hard conversation you’ve been avoiding

    When was the last time someone on your team told you something you didn't want to hear? If you have to think about it, you have your answer (too long ago). Too many leaders have spent their entire careers avoiding conflict, and now they're running teams where nobody tells them anything useful, nothing real gets decided, and everyone is very, very pleasant about it. According to Amy Gallo, this isn't harmony – it's dysfunction with better manners. Topic Highlights: – Why the cost of staying silent is almost always higher than the cost of speaking up – The "eight-lane highway to harmony" metaphor about conflict avoidance – How AI is quietly making us worse at disagreeing with real humans – The important difference between being liked and being respected – The practice of "conversational receptivity" Guest Bio: Amy Gallo is an expert on workplace conflict and feedback, a contributing editor at Harvard Business Review, and the author of Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People). Episode Links: Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People) Radical Candor The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Full Article Connect with Us: theliftpod.com Let’s stay in touch Subscribe to The Lift Find Ben online: LinkedIn | Instagram See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    39 min

  3. MAY 12

    Your best meeting ever: Why meetings are broken and how to fix them with Dr. Rebecca Hinds

    During World War II, the Office of Strategic Services published a manual teaching ordinary citizens how to sabotage the enemy from within. One of the tactics: hold unproductive meetings.  Nearly a century later, Dr. Rebecca Hinds is dedicating her career to studying why meetings fail – and what it actually costs when they do. Topic Highlights: – The WWII sabotage manual that became standard business practice and makes meeting culture work against you – The 4D CEO test: a two-part filter for deciding whether any given meeting should exist at all – Why AI is making meetings worse, not better, and the one rule that changes that – The "meeting doomsday" intervention: what it is and why it works – The Babble Hypothesis: who's actually perceived as a leader in meetings Guest Bio: Dr. Rebecca Hinds is an organizational psychologist, author of Your Best Meeting Ever, founder of the Work Innovation Lab at Asana, and founder of the Work AI Institute at Glean.  Episode Links: Your Best Meeting Ever The Surprising Science of Meetings The Simple Sabotage Field Manual Asana Anatomy of Work Index Connect with Us: theliftpod.com Let’s stay in touch Subscribe to The Lift Find Ben online: LinkedIn | Instagram See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    39 min

  4. MAY 5

    Religion at Work: Moving from Passive Tolerance to Active Inclusion with Rev. Mark Fowler

    Roughly 75% of the global workforce has a faith identity that shapes how they work, when they need time off, and whether they feel like they can truly show up. Reverend Mark Fowler isn't asking leaders to get a theology degree. He's simply asking them to be a better host. Topic Highlights: – How religion is already happening at work – usually in quiet corners and over lunch – and what leaders are missing by pretending otherwise – The legal reality: religious accommodations aren't special treatment, they're a protected right – The "hospitality framework" for religious inclusion that can be more useful than DEI training – Why "manage your behavior, not other people's beliefs" might be the most useful leadership principle you’ve heard yet Guest Bio: Reverend Mark Fowler is the CEO of the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding, an ordained interfaith minister, and a conflict resolution specialist who has been helping organizations navigate diversity at work for 20 years. Episode Links: Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding How to Be a Perfect Stranger (multi-faith etiquette guide) Connect with Us: theliftpod.com Let’s stay in touch Subscribe to The Lift Find Ben online: LinkedIn | Instagram See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    41 min

  5. APR 28

    The Trust Equation: Accenture's Marco Ziegler on the four variables that turn clients into partners

    Many business relationships can’t seem to get out of transactional mode. That’s why Marco Ziegler flew almost 100,00 miles in one year – not to close deals, but to show up for his clients. There's a difference, and that’s the whole point. Marco has a formula for this philosophy. And it’ll make you reconsider how you think about client relationships.  Topic Highlights: – The Trust Equation: four variables that determine whether clients see you as a vendor or a partner   – The specific moment Marco stopped confusing vulnerability with weakness  – What nearly 100,000 miles of travel taught him about meeting people on their terms, not yours  – The mid-pitch moment that revealed a major blind spot about self-orientation  – How running the Office of the CEO reset everything he thought he knew about credibility Guest Bio Marco Ziegler is a global client leader at Accenture and former head of the Office of the CEO for Julie Sweet, one of the most powerful executives in global business. Episode Links Accenture The Trust Equation framework Athens Classic Marathon Connect with Us theliftpod.com Let’s stay in touch Subscribe to The Lift Find Ben online: LinkedIn | Instagram See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    34 min

  6. APR 21

    Neurodiversity at work: Understood.org's Nathan Friedman on what leaders get wrong about 70 million employees

    One in five Americans has a learning or thinking difference, and 53% of Gen Z identifies as neurodivergent. That means neurodivergent employees are already on your team, whether you know it or not. Nathan Friedman isn't here to make this a DEI checkbox issue. He's here to make it a business case. Topic Highlights: – Why the best neuroinclusive management practices are just...good general management practices  – The "design for the margins" principle and the value of closed captions and pre-read agendas – What companies get wrong about job postings, interview questions, and the "great handshake" test  – Why 50+% of neurodivergent employees choose not to disclose, and what that means for your systems – The business case for neurodivergent talent and data on top-line growth, turnover, and productivity  Guest Bio Nathan Friedman is the Co-President and CMO of Understood.org, a nonprofit serving 70 million Americans with learning and thinking differences, and the host of the Minds at Work podcast. Episode Links Understood.org Minds at Work podcast Kay Sargent’s Designing Neuroinclusive Spaces guide The 4A's Foundation Full Article Connect with Us theliftpod.com Let’s stay in touch Subscribe to The Lift Find Ben online: LinkedIn | Instagram See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    33 min

  7. APR 14

    Civil disobedience as a leadership strategy: Housing Works' Charles King on using every tool at your disposal to influence change

    Charles King has been arrested more than 300 hundred times. Not because he's reckless – quite the opposite, in fact: because he's strategic. As the CEO of Housing Works, he's spent 35 years cycling between courtrooms, legislative offices, protest frontlines, and memorial services, doing whatever it takes to pull whichever lever of power any given moment demands. His thesis: it's all advocacy. It's just “in front of different judges.” Topic Highlights: – Why civil disobedience is a calculated leadership tool, and how to know when to use it  – The "different judges" framework: how to map your forms of influence to the situation – What the Housing First model actually does for drug users – How Housing Works landed the first cannabis store license in New York  – Why Charles, now 70, still lives in one of Housing Works’ residential facilities Guest Bio Charles King is a lawyer, an ordained minister, an activist, the co-founder and CEO of Housing Works, the nation's largest community-based HIV/AIDS and homeless services organization. Episode Links Housing Works ACT UP Oral History Project Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson Full Article Connect with Us theliftpod.com Let’s stay in touch Subscribe to The Lift Find Ben online: LinkedIn | Instagram See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    43 min

  8. APR 7

    Clarity over cool: Éva Goicochea on building maude and a category-defining brand

    Most brands don’t fail because they’re ugly. They fail because they’re unclear about the most fundamental question: what is our purpose? Éva Goicochea has built a category-defining company, maude, in one of the most taboo industries in business: sexual wellness. She did that by stripping the “brand” down to one thing: clarity.  Simply put, if you can’t say what you are in one sentence, you don’t have a brand. You have noise. Topic Highlights – Why aiming for “cool” is a trap, and what offers the real competitive edge in branding instead – The difference between a brand, a product, and a commodity – What maude did right to make sexual wellness feel…ordinary – The right (and wrong) way to partner with a celebrity – Why saying “no” might be your most valuable growth lever Guest Bio Éva Goicochea is the founder and CEO of Maude, the modern intimacy brand that brought sexual wellness into mainstream retail, including Sephora. Episode Links maude Our Bodies, Ourselves Forever and Everlane, Amen  A Century of Flight (Delta documentary) Full Article Connect with Us theliftpod.com Let’s stay in touch Subscribe to The Lift Find Ben online: LinkedIn | Instagram See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    37 min
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5
out of 5
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About

Welcome to The Lift, the show about leadership, growth, and getting what we want. On The Lift, we pull up to see the bigger picture from accomplished leaders who know how to get things done in a rapidly changing world. Host Ben Brooks dives deep into a relevant leadership topic each episode and connects the dots to leave you with powerful distinctions that you can use as a leader.

Information

  • Creator
    Editaudio
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    19
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Edit Audio Inc.
  • Show Website
    The Lift

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