What does it really mean to lead from a place of wholeness and why does trust feel so elusive in today's organizations? In this episode, Adam sits down with Dr. Rob McKenna, author of Whole Leaders, Wild Trust, for a conversation that challenges everything you thought you knew about leadership development.

Dr. McKenna explores why the most effective leaders aren't the ones who have it all figured out, but the ones who are willing to show up fully; with their strengths, their struggles, and their humanity intact.

He unpacks the idea of "wild trust": the kind of deep, unguarded confidence that teams extend to leaders who are genuinely known, not just professionally polished.

Whether you're leading a team of five or an organization of thousands, this episode will leave you rethinking how you show up and what it truly means to be trusted.

Learn more about Dr. McKenna: https://www.wildleaders.org/

Pick up a copy of Dr. McKenna's book: https://a.co/d/046Ru6Kb

Podcast produced by Sound of a Rose

The data is hard to ignore: mid-level leaders are the most stressed and burned out professional demographic — more burned out than individual contributors, more than senior executives. And yet most organizations treat manager development as an afterthought. Meanwhile, the generation coming up behind them is looking at middle management and quietly deciding it's not worth it.

This episode is for the senior leader. The executive. The person who's climbed out of the valley and is now looking down at it.

Adam shares a personal story from May 2009 — a breaking point in the valley, and what the senior leaders around him did and didn't do in response. What that moment revealed wasn't that they didn't care. It's that they'd navigated the valley themselves, but had no idea how to explain what they'd learned. They couldn't transfer what they couldn't articulate.

We walk through three signs your middle managers are struggling — and why what looks like a character problem is almost always a systems problem. Then we make the case for what senior leaders actually owe the people in their valley. Spoiler: it's not a pep talk, a mandate to push through, or a sink-or-swim moment. It's a repeatable framework and a leader willing to hand it down.

If your team's vision lives or dies through your middle managers — and it does — this one is worth your full attention.

Purchase The Fog of Work:

Amazon: https://a.co/d/08JMiDaj

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-fog-of-work-adam-tarnow/1148527628?ean=9781394368136https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-fog-of-work-adam-tarnow/1148527628?ean=9781394368136

Every middle manager knows the feeling: things show up on your annual review that never appeared on your to-do list. You're expected to boil the ocean every day. You're held responsible for outcomes that depend on people, circumstances, and decisions that are never fully yours. It's not a personal failing — it's the defining tension of life in the middle.

In this episode, we share what might be the single most useful idea in The Fog of Work — a simple, three-step framework for finding clarity and action in exactly those moments. We call it the fog-clearing sentence, and it's the punchline the whole book builds toward. Not a pep talk. Not a call to push harder. A repeatable system for extracting what you can do from situations that feel completely out of your control.

If you've ever walked out of a meeting with your boss wondering how you were supposed to deliver something that was never really in your hands — this episode is for you.

Download a free Control Your Controllables Worksheet here: https://adamtarnow.com/fogresources

Purchase a copy of The Fog of Work

• Amazon: https://a.co/d/0e3k3Wag

• Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-fog-of-work-adam-tarnow/1148527628?ean=9781394368136

Middle managers are some of the most important — and most overlooked — leaders in any organization. In this episode, Clay and Adam unpack Adam's new book, The Fog of Work: what it is, why it hits hardest in the middle of an org chart, and how to find your footing when you can barely see what's in front of you.

They talk through the valley that most leaders never see coming, the three ways people respond when the fog rolls in, and the practical tools Adam built to help leaders reclaim clarity and agency — no matter what's happening above or below them.

If you're a leader who's ever felt stuck in the middle and wondered if something was wrong with you, this one's for you. The Fog of Work is available now — grab your copy at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Every leader knows they should celebrate their team more. Almost none of them actually do it. In this episode, Clay Scroggins and Adam dig into why leaders chronically under-celebrate — and why that's costing them more than they realize. They unpack the research on what recognition actually does to a team's motivation, pull a surprising insight from the parable of the prodigal son, and give you four practical ways to build a culture of celebration that doesn't depend on you remembering to do it. If you've ever thought "I need to do a better job honoring my people" and then watched the moment pass, this one's for you.

One thing to do before Monday: Think of someone on your team who did something worth celebrating in the last two weeks. Tell them tonight — specifically, with actual words. Start there.

Most leadership content focuses on skills—strategy, communication, vision, execution. And those things matter. But there's a question that doesn't get asked nearly enough: What kind of person are you while you lead?

In this episode, Clay and Adam explore the idea that great leadership isn't just about mastering the steering wheel—where you're going, how fast you're moving, whether you're hitting goals. It's also about looking in the mirror. Because you can be highly skilled, consistently effective, and still be someone people don't actually want to follow.

They break down what it really means to be a "good person" in leadership—not passive, not conflict-avoidant, but someone with genuine integrity, humility, and self-awareness—and why those qualities are the invisible engine behind trust, influence, and team health.

Plus, three practical "mirrors" every leader should be looking into regularly, and a simple challenge to take into your week.

What's the best career advice you could give a sixteen-year-old? Clay shares three answers that stuck with him after career day at his daughter's school — and they turned out to be more useful than most advice aimed at seasoned professionals.

In this episode, Clay and Adam unpack why the person you work for matters more than the job you do, why the simplest skills are often the rarest and most valuable, and why relational intelligence may be the most underrated career asset of all. Whether you're just starting out or years in, these three ideas are worth revisiting.

Nobody asks for resistance. But in this finale of our series on building unstoppable momentum, Clay and Adam make the case that resistance might be the most powerful growth tool available to a leader — if you're willing to embrace it.

Over the past several weeks, we've walked through the 5 Rs: resources, repetition, rhythms, and relationships. Today we close with the one nobody wants but everyone needs. We talk about what resistance actually is, the three wrong ways leaders typically respond to it, and what it looks like to lean into a hard season instead of running from it.

Growth doesn't happen by accident — and that includes the growth that comes through difficulty. This episode will help you reframe the friction in your life and walk away with a practical next step.