How Leaders Think with Kenny Lange

Some problems in life keep you up at night, and you can't say why. Federico Malatesta says a quick fix is the wrong tool, and he shares what to do instead. Federico Malatesta is the chief executive officer (CEO) of FM Transformational Coaching. In this conversation, he and Kenny talk about why a technical fix can't solve a problem about life, how Aristotle drew the line between making things and living, and what leadership looks like when you can't be sure: moving forward under uncertainty and assuming responsibility. They also cover why people keep treating you like the old you, why you need someone who can push back, and why he tells people to read good fiction. He closes with a first step you can take in the next 24 hours. Chapters 00:00 Welcome To The Show 01:27 A Client Who Can't Sleep 03:49 Making Things Vs. Living 06:10 Why Life Isn't A Game 09:03 When The Story You Lived By Ends 11:50 Necessary Endings 14:20 A Year Of Recalibration 16:02 When People Still See The Old You 20:02 Read Good Fiction 23:05 We Become Who We Are Through Others 25:13 Owning Your Own Identity 27:31 Moving Forward Under Uncertainty 31:14 Assuming Responsibility 35:28 Why The Chance To Fail Gives Life Meaning 37:16 Finding What You Can Become 39:51 A Baby Step For The Next 24 Hours 41:53 Where To Find Federico What You'll Learn • Why a quick fix is the worst answer to a problem about life. Federico says it is like putting your thumb on a leaking faucet: the pressure builds, and it all bursts out when you let go • Why life is not a project with an end goal. Aristotle split making things (poiesis) from living (praxis). Federico says a routine or a three-step plan applied to life is a category error • Leadership in three parts: moving forward, under uncertainty, assuming responsibility. He says that if someone else pays for your bold decision and you don't, that's not leadership • Why people keep treating you like the old you. Their brains predict, so they reach for the old box. Federico says it's nothing personal, and it takes time to recalibrate • Why you need someone who can push back, and why he says to read good fiction. We only have one perspective, ours, and they widen it • A first step for the next 24 hours: spend no money, say what is troubling you in real language, and tell a real person who can push back, not ChatGPT About Federico Malatesta Federico Malatesta is an author and executive coach. He founded FM Transformational Coaching™ and The Artha Ranch™ in Texas after a career in global energy that included serving as Chief Investment Officer of a major Oil & Gas company overseeing a $40 billion capital portfolio. He writes on leadership, identity, and the second half of life. Federico Malatesta Resources Website: https://federicomalatesta.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/federicomalatesta Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/federicomalatesta_coaching/ Book, They Are Lying to You: The Self-Help Delusion (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/They-Are-Lying-You-Self-Help-ebook/dp/B0HL4X7HD6 Book page: https://federicomalatesta.com/book/they-are-lying-to-you/ Listen on Other Platforms Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts Website: https://howleadersthink.kennylange.com/ Free 5-minute leadership diagnostic: https://kennylange.com/diagnostic Change the way you think, you'll change the way you lead. Hashtags #HowLeadersThink #Leadership #ExecutiveCoaching #LeadershipDevelopment

Most leaders know change is coming faster. Jordana Cole says the real problem is different, and she shares what to do about it. Jordana Cole is the President of Ignited, where she helps people and teams change behaviors in ways that stick. In this conversation, she and Kenny talk about why the problem is the volume of change, not the speed. They cover why leaders keep opening new changes without closing the old ones, why your team hears a decision for the first time while you have lived with it for weeks, and what to say about what is not changing. She closes with two small steps you can take in the next 24 hours, one for frontline leaders and one for senior leaders. Chapters 00:00 Welcome To The Show 01:56 What's On Every Leader's Mind 03:27 It's The Volume Of Change, Not The Speed 07:17 Why Change Piles Up 11:04 When Change Comes From Outside Your Control 14:26 Has Change Ever Been Predictable? 20:12 Aristotle's Golden Mean 24:15 How Change Lands On Leaders 29:10 Your Team Is Hearing It For The First Time 32:37 How The Decision Was Made 36:35 Say What's Not Changing 38:06 Help Write The Plan, Won't Fight The Plan 41:23 Stop Calling It A Change Initiative 43:20 A Baby Step For The Next 24 Hours 46:49 Where To Find Jordana What You'll Learn • Why the problem is the volume of change, not the speed. Jordana says artificial intelligence (AI) is landing on top of layoffs, shifting roles, new tools, and what is going on at home, all at once • Why we are not closing change out. We start a change and don't end it, then add another on top. Jordana says it leaves us with hoarders' houses in our brains • Why your team reacts slowly. You have been weighing the decision for a while, and they are hearing it for the first time. She says to create a pause and talk about the choice at a human level • What to say when you share a hard change: how the decision was made, and what is not changing. Then bring people in where you can, because you design changes with them, not for them • Why to stop calling it a change initiative. Jordana says to tell it as one story, an evolution toward the same mission, not a stack of separate books on a shelf • Two steps for the next 24 hours. Frontline leaders: ask up how the decision was made, and give your team space to say how they feel. Senior leaders: pick one thing from the past six months, close the loop out loud, and connect the dots About Jordana Cole Jordana Cole is an igniter of individual and team potential. As a multi-certified coach, facilitator, and consultant, Jordana has worked with thousands globally through her organization, Ignited, to translate research and real-world strategy into accessible, actionable, energizing packages that anyone can implement. Combining her master’s degree in applied positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, expertise in leadership development, and more than a decade of global enterprise learning and development leadership spanning multiple industries from nonprofits to fortune 50s, Jordana is committed to creating impactful behavioral change that not only sticks, it spreads. Jordana Cole Resources Website: https://ignitedbyjordana.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordana-cole-mapp-pcc-a8445a8/ TEDx talk (more than 350,000 views to date): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsTTpx22imM Listen on Other Platforms Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts Website: https://howleadersthink.kennylange.com/ Free 5-minute leadership diagnostic: https://kennylange.com/diagnostic Change the way you think, you'll change the way you lead. Hashtags #HowLeadersThink #Leadership #ChangeLeadership #ChangeManagement

Most leaders say they put the customer first. Darin Bellisario says that is harder than it sounds, and he shares what it takes. Darin Bellisario is the CEO of Good Owners, a pet parent education organization. In this conversation, he and Kenny start with why artificial intelligence (AI) is bringing customer-centric design back to the front. Then they talk about why it is so hard to do well, why data is not the same as knowing your customer, and Darin's rule of thumb: trust their feelings, not their solutions. They also cover the nonlinear learning journey, where customers will spend their effort, and a first step any leader can take. Chapters 00:00 Welcome to the Show 01:41 Customer-Centric Design In The Age Of AI 03:39 Why Customer-Centricity Is So Hard 09:15 Why Say Pet Parent 14:50 Data Is An Abstraction Of Reality 22:15 Customer-Centricity Is Not Data 24:25 Trust Their Feelings, Not Their Solutions 33:58 The Nonlinear Learning Journey And AI 39:21 Where Customers Will Spend Their Effort 43:39 A First Step Any Leader Can Take What You'll Learn • Why customer-centric design is hard to do. Darin says everyone wants to say they put the customer first, but it takes real commitment. His team ran hundreds of interviews with dog parents and spent years talking with rescues, breeders, trainers, and daycares • Why Good Owners says pet parent. The word came from how dog parents see themselves, and Darin says you know the work is real when designers, copywriters, engineers, and marketers choose those words on their own • Why data is an abstraction of reality, and two questions to ask when you look at survey numbers: what are you not measuring, and what are you not asking? • Why customer-centricity is not data. It is a relationship with the customer. Darin's rule of thumb is to trust their feelings and forget the solutions they suggest, because customers are not thinking about what is possible • How the nonlinear learning journey works. Every dog parent starts in a different place, so the Guide to Dogs lets you go to any chapter and dogGPT tailors the answer. Darin also says to remove the friction that frustrates customers and let them spend their effort where they want to • A first step any leader can take: ask how your team can spend time with customers, and how you make room for it. Darin says you can start overnight, and to just go have conversations instead of trying to measure everything About Darin Bellisario Darin Bellisario is the CEO of Good Owners, a pet parent education organization working to help the millions of new and lost dog parents struggling to get the information and knowledge they need to be successful in their lives with their companions. A former management consultant and MIT Ph.D., Darin has led his team of engineers and dog professionals to create both the Good Owners Guide to Dogs - now the largest, most extensive resource for dog parents ever created - and dogGPT - the first Pet AI platform able to give parents reliable, comprehensive guidance. Darin Bellisario Resources Website: https://www.goodowners.guide/?utm_medium=podcast Guide to Dogs: https://www.goodowners.guide/?utm_medium=podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darinbellisario/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodowners_rcoc/ Listen on Other Platforms Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts Website: https://howleadersthink.kennylange.com/ Free 5-minute leadership diagnostic: https://kennylange.com/diagnostic Change the way you think, you'll change the way you lead. Hashtags #HowLeadersThink #Leadership #CustomerCentricity #ProductDesign

Leaders often see where the company is going. Their people often can't see it yet. Natasha Skolny helps close that gap. Natasha Skolny is a leadership coach, speaker, and founder of The Leadership Cabin. In this conversation, she and Kenny talk about why a clear vision still doesn't land with a team, why she says everyone is a leader, and how your values give you a personal North Star. They also talk about the sneaky beliefs that run in the background, and why a team of highly independent leaders can clash with the people who want to collaborate. Chapters 00:00 Welcome to the Show 01:08 The Story Behind The Leadership Cabin 02:10 Leaders Who Can See The Vision But Can't Connect The Dots 07:58 Everyone Is A Leader: Responsibility Flows Both Ways 11:31 Finding Your Personal North Star Through Your Values 17:17 A Walk, A War Zone In Your Head, And The Pressure To Perform 23:13 Where Sneaky Beliefs Come From 33:38 When Independent Leaders Create A Culture Clash 46:30 The Baby Step: A 24-Hour Exercise To Find Your Vision What You'll Learn • Why a leader can share the vision and still not be understood. In her talks with senior leaders, Natasha hears that some people are afraid to decide on their own, and some don't see how the work connects to what they care about • Why she says everyone is a leader, and why helping people connect to the vision is a partnership that goes both ways • How to find your personal North Star through your values, and why to check those values again each time your life shifts • The questions Natasha asks when an old pattern shows up: Where did I learn this? Why do I believe it? Is it true? • A first step for the next 24 hours: ask yourself why your vision matters beyond money, then map what you want your business to look like in 10 years, 5 years, and 1 year About Natasha Skolny Natasha Skolny is a leadership coach, speaker, and founder of The Leadership Cabin. She partners with leaders and teams who want to elevate their impact by creating clarity around their shared North Star, strengthening connection, and empowering each person to bring their unique strengths and zone of genius to the work. With over 20 years in leadership development, Natasha helps leaders navigate transition and create teams where people thrive and results follow. Natasha Skolny Resources Website: https://www.theleadershipcabin.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theleadershipcabin/ Listen on Other Platforms Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts Website: https://howleadersthink.kennylange.com/ Free 5-minute leadership diagnostic: https://kennylange.com/diagnostic Change the way you think, you'll change the way you lead. Hashtags #HowLeadersThink #Leadership #TeamCulture #CoreValues

Making money and building wealth are not the same skill. Catrina Craft works with founders on the gap between them. Catrina M Craft, CPA is the founder of Craft Money Map, where she helps seven-figure-plus professional service firm founders build proactive, year-round tax and wealth strategy instead of once-a-year filing. She spent more than 20 years specializing in advanced tax strategy after asking a top strategist, early in her career, to teach her everything they knew. Kenny and Catrina talk about the difference between chasing revenue and building wealth, why she thinks of herself — and the founders she works with — as performers who need real off-seasons, and the unspoken thoughts about money that most founders never say out loud, even to the people closest to them. Chapters 00:00 Meet Catrina Craft 01:33 The CEO reset 03:28 Leading like a performer 05:54 Why past success isn't enough 10:11 What founders don't say out loud 15:32 Business is a sport 20:53 Build seasons of rest into your business 29:10 Money vs. wealth 34:07 One step in the next 24 hours 35:52 Where to find Catrina What You'll Learn • Why revenue and wealth are two different goals, and how to start treating yourself as the "CEO of your wealth journey" instead of just the CEO of your business • How Catrina reframes herself — and the founders she works with — as performers, and what that actually changes about how she plans her week • Why leaders need real off-seasons, and how Catrina's own coach takes a 40-day sabbatical every year while her team runs the business • The unspoken thoughts founders carry about money that they rarely say out loud, even to a spouse or a coach — and why naming them matters • A free, low-cost first step toward thinking like a high performer: find a mentor to study, even one you never get to meet About Catrina Craft, CPA Catrina M. Craft once walked up to one of the top tax strategists after a conference and said, “I want to learn everything you know” — then spent the next 20+ years doing exactly that, building the financial infrastructure the wealthiest 1% actually use. Her superpower is spotting the strategies most CPAs and business owners miss entirely: proactive, year-round planning instead of once-a-year filing. Today she's the founder of the Craft Money Map®, where she helps seven-figure-plus professional service firm founders use those same strategies to grow their wealth. Catrina Craft Resources Website: https://www.catrinamcraft.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catrinamcraft/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catrinamcraft/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catrinamcraft1 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@catrinamcraft7801 Listen on Other Platforms Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts Website: https://howleadersthink.kennylange.com/ Free 5-minute leadership diagnostic: https://kennylange.com/diagnostic Change the way you think, you'll change the way you lead. Hashtags #HowLeadersThink #Leadership #WealthStrategy #TaxStrategy