Scope creep and remote communication are two of the biggest challenges facing distributed teams, and this episode's guest deals with both daily. Sarah DeSimone made an unusual career jump from biology to book editing to IT support at a 33-office environmental consulting firm, and she's picked up a lot along the way about what makes cross-functional communication actually work.

We talk about the gap between how IT gets looped into projects (usually last) versus how it should work, why writing everything down is the single most effective scope creep prevention tool her team uses, and how tools like Teams and AI-generated meeting transcripts help teams stay aligned across offices spread from New England to New Mexico.

Sarah also shares how her company held onto culture through COVID and the "great resignation," why face time still matters even in a highly virtual company, and her take on the third-place spaces kids and communities have lost, and why that connects to how we build trust and rapport as adults.

Her closing communication advice ties directly back to the core idea of this show: the way you understand a message is not the same as the way the person next to you understands it, and building that awareness into how you communicate changes everything.

Have ideas for a show topic? Drop me a line and make a suggestion. I'd love to explore the topic and whether or not you would like to be the guest to discuss it!

Improv is more than a hobby, it's one of the best leadership training tools out there. In this solo episode, I break down how personality traits, specifically introversion and extroversion, shape both improv performance and business communication.

I recently auditioned for a house improv team (I made it) and a musical improv team (still recovering from the nerves), and it got me thinking about the Myers-Briggs dimensions and how directly they map onto what happens on stage, and in meetings.

Introverts tend to want a complete thought before they speak, both in improv and at work. That's a strength, it means better listening and closer observation. But it can also mean missing the moment to contribute before the conversation moves on. Extroverts think out loud, which helps them stay engaged and responsive, but can mean talking over others or jumping in before a scene, or an idea, has had time to develop.

I share the improv saying "follow your feet," a practical meeting tip that helps introverts and extroverts prepare differently for the same conversation, and why I think everyone in business, yes, even the terrified ones, should try an improv class at least once.

Next week: an interview on leading cross-functional teams. Coming up in future solo episodes: the rest of the Myers-Briggs dimensions and their connection to improv, plus an interview with a neurodivergent improv coach.

Got a personality trait you want me to dig into next? Email me: JDoran@neuroconversantleadership.com

Chapters

00:00Introduction to improv and business connection

02:10Understanding Myers-Briggs introversion and extroversion

03:42How personality traits influence improv performance

05:08Benefits of introversion in improv and business

06:51Challenges faced by extroverts in improv

08:48Practical applications of improv for leadership and meetings

10:56Encouragement to try improv for business growth

12:10Upcoming topics and future episodes

Overcoming imposter syndrome is one of the biggest hidden challenges in leadership. In this episode, executive coach and speaker Mark Pittman joins Jeremy Doran to talk about why almost every leader deals with imposter syndrome, and why that feeling might actually mean you're growing instead of failing.

Mark shares a line that stuck with him: it's only imposters who don't get imposter syndrome. We break down what "fake it till you make it" really means once you strip away the hustle culture baggage, and why Mark reframes it as strategic vulnerability instead.

We also dig into one of the hardest shifts in leadership: moving from being the person who does the work to being the person who builds a team that does the work. Mark tells the story of a former boss who made his team's growth the real product, and never made it about himself.

Other topics we cover: how psychological safety gets built through small, low-stakes mistakes, why the person who asks the questions controls the conversation, and why debriefing after wins matters as much as debriefing after failures.

If you've ever felt like the only one without it figured out, this conversation on leadership, imposter syndrome, and psychological safety is for you.

Connect with Mark Pittman at https://concordleadershipgroup.com/ or https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcapitman/

Got a question about imposter syndrome or leadership coaching you want covered on a future episode? Email ⁠JDoran@neuroconversantleadership.com⁠