Tricia Brouk is an incredible director, TEDx Executive Producer, actress, choreographer, and more. She’s worked with names like Richard Gere, James Gandolfini, Kate Winslet, Susan Sarandon, John Torturo, Eddie Izzard, Christopher Walken, Steve Buscemi, and Bobby Canavale. Wow! As host of the Big Talk podcast, she posted our conversation, “Put Yourself in the Background.” From the liner notes: Put Yourself in the Background – Joshua Spodek Summary What is the[…] Keep reading →

Sasha Laghonh invited me back to her wonderful Moving Mountains podcast, which just posted. I shared a few upcoming projects I haven’t shared yet. Curious to try open-mic stand-up? She asked me about my recently performing open-mic on a New York comedy stage (which I recommend). We also talked about the origins of my Leadership and the Environment podcast and the sports and acting stories that helped start me on[…] Keep reading →

People seem unable to understand groups they disagree with these days. If you disagree with someone enough to argue with them, you probably want to influence them to stop acting in ways you disagree with—that is, you want to lead them. To lead someone you don’t have authority over, you have to understand them and, ideally, make them feel understood. If you behave and communicate in ways that people feel[…] Keep reading →

Dan Kuschell and I met last year and became friends over our similar passions for leadership—servant leadership in particular. Read his bio and watch his videos below to see his story. Scheduling appearing on his podcast took forever, but it finally happened. Today I bring you our conversation on his show, Growth to Freedom. Knowing someone so long makes the conversation more friendly, open, and vulnerable. We approached common issues[…] Keep reading →

Today I’m going to ask some more personal questions. If you aren’t interested in examining your values and your behavior, this might not be the right episode for you. I’m not going to have you answer to other people but I’m going to ask some questions that I think will make some people feel uncomfortable but that’s in the short term. In the long term, I think this will get[…] Keep reading →

“It was inevitable. The scent of bitter almonds always reminded Dr. Juvenal Urbino of the fate of unrequited love.” Have you paid attention to the opening lines of Love in the Time of Cholera, the novel by Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez? I hadn’t for decades and missed richness, complexity, and depth, paralleling a richness, complexity, and depth I missed in nature, my relationships with others, and my relationship with[…] Keep reading →

I’ve wanted to meet top influencer Leonard Kim for years, having seen his online presence everywhere. I appeared on his Voice of America show today, speaking on leading people without relying on authority. He led the interview to get to the heart of my practice. I enjoyed the conversation and got to share what counts. Listen to the conversation. Listen to the conversation.

I’ve been exercising more than usual for the past few months, amid travel. You might say I haven’t given my body time to recover, and I probably haven’t, but I find it glorious. This episode explains why. It’s about Fitness Travel Lego Eating Burpees Sidchas Discipline Diligence Resilience Lugubriousness Struggle Glory and so on.

A Lesson in Authentic Leadership With Super Bowl Champion Bryan Braman Think NFL players only care about the game? This Philadelphia Eagle showed the leadership skills that make champions, on the field and in life. When a friend offered to connect me to Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagle Bryan Braman, my first thought–as a native Philadelphian raised on cheese steaks and soft pretzels–was of course I want to talk to a guy who[…] Keep reading →