In this episode of Becoming Unshakable, I'm joined by my longtime friend Leo Tokar, President of Lockton's Colorado market, for a conversation about leadership, resilience, perspective, and what it takes to keep moving when things don't go according to plan.

Leo talks openly about the importance of having people around us who can challenge our thinking, give honest feedback, and help us regain perspective when pressure clouds our judgment.

We also talk about the difference between being right and being effective. As leaders grow, technical expertise can only take them so far. Effectiveness often depends on how well we listen, how we respond to people, how we build trust, and whether we can adjust our approach to the situation in front of us.

Leo shares why growth often comes from discomfort. He has deliberately placed himself in roles and situations where he didn't have all the answers because those experiences forced him to learn, adapt, and grow.

But we also talk about the other side of that equation. Leaders cannot live permanently in a state of strain. Recovery matters. Reflection matters. Creating space to think, pause, and reset matters if we want to lead well over the long term.

This conversation reminds us that becoming unshakable doesn't mean never feeling pressure. It means learning how to steady yourself, draw on the people around you, and keep moving forward without losing sight of who you want to be as a leader.

What helps you stay grounded when the pressure starts to rise?

What happens when we deliberately put ourselves in places where our assumptions no longer work?

In this episode of Becoming Unshakable, I'm joined by Wesley Warshawer to talk about curiosity, discomfort, listening, and what we can learn when we step outside the bubbles that shape how we see the world.

Wesley spent years traveling across the United States and internationally while continuing his work remotely. He wasn't trying to prove a political or social point. He wanted to test his assumptions by talking to people whose backgrounds, communities, and experiences differed greatly from his own. What he discovered was often humbling.

We talk about moments in South Korea and Togo when perfectly normal questions or behaviors took on a very different meaning in another culture. Those experiences reminded us that ignorance is not the same as malice, and that our assumptions are often far more visible once we leave the environments that created them.

Our conversation also turns to polarization and the way binary questions can exaggerate perceived differences between people. Wesley explains why broader, more open questions often reveal far more common ground than we might expect.

For me, this conversation is also about listening. How deeply are we willing to listen to someone whose lived experience differs from our own? And how willing are we to surround ourselves with people who challenge our thinking rather than constantly reinforce it?

Growth can be uncomfortable. Sometimes we have to risk getting something wrong, looking foolish, or discovering that an assumption we have carried for years is not true.

So where might you need to burst your own bubble to grow?

What does it really take for a CEO to build an organization that can keep moving when the pressure never stops?

In this episode of Becoming Unshakable, I'm joined by Joel Trammell to talk about the unique responsibility CEOs carry in shaping an organization's culture, direction, and steadiness.
Joel has spent decades building companies, leading as a CEO, and training executive teams. He explains why the CEO role differs fundamentally from every other C-suite position and why success depends on balancing the competing needs of shareholders, customers, and employees rather than focusing too heavily on any one group.

We also discuss why mission, vision, and values are more than words on a wall. Joel explains why CEOs need to act as both the "mayor and sheriff" of the organization, setting expectations while ensuring those expectations are lived out consistently.

Our conversation moves into the pressures leaders face right now, including the pace of AI adoption, growing uncertainty, and the challenge of communicating change without creating unnecessary confusion or fear.

Joel shares why high-performing teams require deliberate investment. Trust does not appear simply because talented people are put in the same room. Leaders must create the time and space for people to build relationships, recover, and learn to work together under pressure.

Most of all, we talk about adaptability. Change isn't going away, so the goal isn't to eliminate it. The goal is to create an organization where people know how to respond when it arrives.
How are you preparing your organization to adapt before the next disruption hits?