Episode 24: We sit down with Marisa Murray, CEO of Leaderley International and discuss the blinds spots that can cause leaders to fall into their own leadership traps. Marisa has more than two decades of success in leadership roles in business and technology. A former Partner with Accenture and Vice President at Bell, Marisa now applies her extensive executive experience to support the leadership development of her clients and their teams through consulting, coaching and speaking services. Marisa is a Credentialed Professional Coach (PCC) and is certified in Marshall Goldsmith's Stakeholder Centered Coaching,  Emotional Intelligence, Conversational Intelligence and WBECS Coach Master's Toolkit.  She holds an MBA from Queen's University and is a Professional Engineer from the University of Waterloo. Check out Marisa's three Amazon bestselling books:  Work Smart , Iterate! and Blind Spots as well as her TEDx Talk:  Success without Stress.  Podcast Hosts: Dr. Kris Potrafka and David Hughen

Episode 23: ‘‘Francis Cholle is the ‘Al Gore of Creativity’, evangelizing an ‘inconvenient truth’ of an altogether different kind – that creativity is actually declining at an alarming rate. The Intuitive Compass is a sure path business leaders can use to guide them toward innovation, disruptive thinking and the creative atmosphere necessary to succeed in today’s disorienting business climate.’‘  – Mike Lundgren, Partner and Director of Innovation Strategy, VML (Young & Rubicam) In Francis' own words... I was born to a family of scientists and raised in Paris, where I received a master’s in science of management at Europe’s leading business school. After two years spent in Frankfurt, Germany in commercial banking, as part of my civil service I was fortunate to start my professional career at the helm of a publishing house. This demanding and thrilling experience took me around the world and through all aspects of producing art books and leading a private company, including becoming one of the main shareholders and millionaire at age 25. Then even more unconventional paths have stretched me and satiated my curiosity for life, the arts and humanities: professional training in theater and opera in New York, professional yoga training in India, and a degree in clinical psychology. All have shaped my personal take on life and provided me with insights into human nature, as well as awakened a concern for the sustainability of the modern world. I couldn’t help but ask myself, “How is it that we were able to get to the moon, and yet are unable to sustain a balanced relationship with nature?” What is the root cause to that split in the human mind? I imagined an answer to this question and a solution to our daunting sustainability challenge. If only we could include instinct (nature in us) in our thought processes and decisions, chances are we would design solutions unavoidably more respectful of nature. To prove that this approach of holistic decision making could help businesses better adapt, innovate, and succeed, I decided to start a consulting practice, The Human Company. We got hired and rehired by some of the most successful global companies because our unique methodology brought them unprecedented success. The time has come for me to help corporations more easily reach their business goals inclusive of all stakeholders, and contribute to systemic change by enriching leadership culture.  Podcast Hosts: Dr. Kris Potrafka and David Hughen

Episode 22: Gregg is the founder and executive director of the Center for Respectful Leadership and a bestselling, award-winning author, speaker, facilitator, and executive coach. He’s on a mission to transform lives and organizations through respect and respectful leadership.  His most recently published book, “Restoring Respect: A ‘how-to’ Guide for Supporting the Repair of Broken Work Relationships.” It truly is a guidebook for leaders to reference, packed with useful approaches to the respect restoration process. Gregg’s a kick and we enjoyed coming to know him in this show! Taught By Sports Legends. The son of world-famous New York Daily News sportswriter Gene Ward, Gregg was introduced at a young age to scores of sports legends from professional football, tennis, and the Olympics. These heroes had a profound impact on Gregg, teaching him the enormous value of determination, hard work, leadership, and respect. Serving the NYPD. Then, in 1986 while working as a professional theater artist in New York, Gregg received an unexpected invitation from the NYPD that literally changed the course of his life. Collaborating with a team of experts, Gregg developed a powerful “experiential learning” program for police officers that utilized Gregg’s performance, improvisational, and facilitation skills. It was considered a huge success by NYPD’s leadership and was featured in major media including The New York Times and CNN. Decades of Experience. Since then Gregg has developed and delivered over 2,500 separate keynote speeches, programs and seminars using his unique techniques; facilitated scores of strategic planning sessions and offsite meetings for global corporations; appeared on network television and radio, written numerous books and articles; and coached hundreds of senior executives and managers throughout North America and Western Europe. Custom-Created Presentations. From a keynote presentation for an audience as large as 3,500 for Kraft Foods to facilitating a strategic offsite meeting for the leadership of The US Navy, SPAWAR…from moderating a C-Suite executive panel discussion for Ericsson Wireless to leading small-group seminars for professional associations…Gregg Ward has experience in virtually every type of platform situation. Gregg will custom-create an interactive, powerful, and unforgettable motivating experience specially tailored for your unique audience.   Podcast Hosts: Dr. Kris Potrafka and David Hughen

Episode 21: Joseph recently stepped into the Trap for a wide-ranging, free-flowing discussion on the challenges of leading with humility and self-awareness. His breadth of experiences in the military, entrepreneurial tech, politics, and academia combine to shape his views on where leaders fall short and where they have opportunities to grow their leadership practice. Joseph brought lots of positive energy and wisdom to the Trap. His frames of reference inform a broader view of the work of leadership. Tons of guidance and ideas in this session! Joseph Kopser is a lifelong problem solver committed to building the teams needed to take on our toughest challenges. In addition, he is a technology entrepreneur and expert in transportation, smart cities, urban mobility, energy, and national security issues as well as an Army combat veteran. Currently, he serves as an Executive-in-Residence at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas. In addition, he is President of Grayline where he works with people and companies to bring together experts, data, and solutions to help companies and public institutions manage disruptive change. Prior to co-founding Grayline, Joseph co-founded and served as CEO of RideScout, before it was acquired by Mercedes-Benz in 2014. Joseph served in the U.S. Army for 20 years earning the Combat Action Badge, Army Ranger Tab, and Bronze Star. He is a graduate of West Point with a BS in Aerospace Engineering and also received a Masters from the Harvard Kennedy School in 2002. In 2013, he was recognized as a White House Champion of Change for his efforts in Energy and Transportation. He is also an advisor and Chief Growth Officer for The Mentor Method, a company focused on bringing mentor methods to diverse talent at all levels. In 2014, his company, RideScout, won the U.S. Department of Transportation Data Innovation Award. In 2018, Joseph ran for Congress in a race that attracted more voters than any of the 36 districts in Texas. Losing by less than 3 points in a heavily gerrymandered district, Joseph demonstrated that voters want civility and problem solvers in Congress. In his free time, he works closely with The Bunker, an organization dedicated to supporting veteran entrepreneurs. In 2017, he co-authored the book, Catalyst, which serves as the foundation of his public speaking. In 2019, Joseph became the inaugural Chairman of the Board of Advisors for the CleanTX Foundation, an economic development and professional association for cleantech. Joseph and his wife of 25 years, Amy, live in Austin and they are extremely proud of their three adult daughters.  Podcast Hosts: Dr. Kris Potrafka and David Hughen

Episode 20: Ron Carucci stepped into the Trap in support of his recently released book: “To Be Honest: Lead with the Power of Truth, Justice, and Purpose”. He starts with a simple premise – tell the truth by saying the right thing, emphasizing truth for justice, and developing the muscles needed to say and do the right things for the right reasons. Ron Carucci is the best-selling author of 8 books, and a popular contributor at Harvard Business Review and Forbes. Ron’s newest book and passion, “To Be Honest: Lead with the Power of Truth, Justice, and Purpose”, is based on 15 years of research with more than 3200 interviews with leaders around the world. To Be Honest explains how four factors (Clear Identity, Accountability, Governance, and Cross-Functional Relationships) affect honesty, justice, and purpose within a company. When these factors are absent or ineffective, the organizational conditions compel employees to choose dishonesty and self-interest. But when done well, the organization is 16 times more likely to have people tell the truth, behave fairly, and serve a greater good. Ron’s passion shines through as he recounts the stories of the exemplars he studied and interviewed. Ron is co-founder and managing partner at Navalent, working with CEOs and executives pursuing transformational change for their organizations, leaders, and industries. He has a thirty-year track record of helping some of the world’s most influential executives tackle challenges of strategy, organization, and leadership. He’s a former faculty member at Fordham University Graduate School as an associate professor of organizational behavior. And, if that wasn’t enough, he has served as an adjunct at the Center for Creative Leadership. From start-ups to Fortune 10’s, turnarounds to new markets and strategies, overhauling leadership and culture to re-designing for growth, he has worked in more than 25 countries on 4 continents. In addition to being a regular contributor to HBR and Forbes, and has been featured in Fortune, CEO Magazine, BusinessInsider, MSNBC, Inc, Business Week, Smart Business and is a 2-time TEDx speaker. Finally, you can read more of Ron's insights at HBR and Forbes, and at the Navalent blog.  Podcast Hosts: Dr. Kris Potrafka and David Hughen

Episode 19. Ray Arata joined the Trap to discuss his passion to heighten expectations for what we should expect of male leaders in the workplace. He’s a writer, speaker, and business leader – pressing a new message at a time when minds are being opened by social powerhouse moments: ‘me-too’, ‘black lives matter’, ‘a global pandemic’, and more. His message is raising consciousness for fathers, husbands, and gay-straight men who are ready to take on the preferred path of inclusive masculinity in roles of influence. If you’re ready to break out of the boys club of leadership styles, take a listen to Ray’s interview on the Trap. Ray Arata is the author of two books, Wake Up Man Up, Step Up: Transforming Your Wake Up Call to Emotional Health and Happiness, and Showing Up: How Men Can Become Effective Allies in the Workplace. As an expert in leadership, inclusion, allyship, and emotional literacy, professionals connect with Ray because he leads from his heart and practices what he teaches in his own businesses and personal life. He brings an extensive business background and more than 15,000 hours in leading men to develop emotional literacy. Through his keynote presentations, workshops, executive coaching, and management training, he applies the same heart-based principles that have helped him to lead a thriving business and fulfilling personal life. Ray’s personal mission involves going into the corporate world and getting male executives to stand up when it comes to including and advancing women and minorities in the workplace. In writing, Showing Up for men, DEI professionals seeking to engage men, as well as historically marginalized people who seek to support and be supported. Ray provides content that places a fundamental baseline for the emerging male leader. Ray seeks to engage men as allies and advocates for diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice. He is committed to the transformation of the gender perspective from which organizations engage with all stakeholder groups, customers, employees, investors, partners, and the global community. Ray has delivered engaging talks to audiences featuring corporate leadership from organizations such as Oxy Petroleum, Manulife, Kaiser Permanente, Visa, Intel, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, PWC, PG&E, Genentech, and Chevron.  Podcast Hosts: Dr. Kris Potrafka and David Hughen

Episode 18. Laura Kilcrease joined the Trap having made her mark in shifting Austin from an economy with a history of oil dependency to high-tech prosperity – ultimately putting it on the map as one of the top cities for  entrepreneurs to live and work in the U.S. With that legacy solidified, she move up north…way north…to Alberta, Canada. She’s currently running Alberta Innovates, launching, among other programs, Inventures, the flagship gathering of innovators, investors, industry leaders and global researchers, which PwC estimated catalyzed some $200M in potential deal flow in 2019. And, it’s poised to repeat that success in 2022 when Inventures launches sessions this summer. Laura has a keen eye for culture along with a leadership team’s impact on driving healthy cultures to positive outcomes. Join us for a very enlightening chat with Laura. Laura Kilcrease is the Chief Executive Officer for Alberta Innovates, including its subsidiaries InnoTech Alberta and C-FER Technologies. She brings a track record and laser-focus to innovation ecosystem performance and design. Since her appointment in 2017, she has steered Alberta Innovates restructuring, spearheaded assessment of programs with an eye to the future, and launched Inventures, the flagship gathering of innovators, investors, industry leaders, and global researchers, which PwC estimated catalyzed some $200M in potential deal flow in 2019. Born in London, England, and recruited from Austin, Texas, Laura served as a member of the Alberta Research and Innovation Advisory Committee for seven years prior to joining Alberta Innovates. She is widely recognized as a key figure in changing Austin’s economy from oil dependency to high-tech prosperity to become the #1 city for entrepreneurs to live and work in the U.S.. She has more than 25 years of experience in commercializing technology, including: founding the venture capital fund Triton Ventures, LP; founding the Austin Technology Incubator, among the earliest in the United States; co-founding the Austin Technology Council, a premier economic networking organization; and launching the Capital Network, one of the largest angel investor networks in the U.S. with over $150M in completed transactions. A dedicated community builder, Laura served on various for-profit and non-profit boards, including the Women’s Leadership Advisory Board of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, the Beyster Institute, World Congress for Information Technology 2006, the IC² Institute at The University of Texas, and is currently on the board of the University Federal Credit Union, one of the top 100 credit unions in the U.S. She has been often recognized for outstanding achievements, including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Austin Business Journal’s Profiles in Power Award, and the University of Texas McCombs School of Business Trailblazer Award.  Podcast Hosts: Dr. Kris Potrafka and David Hughen

Episode 17. Gordon Daugherty joined the Trap with deep expertise in guiding early-stage entrepreneurs and their companies through the challenges of building companies of worth. As co-founder and chairman of Austin’s Capital Factory, Gordon is well-known in the business community for his sage wisdom, level-headed and positive approach to mentoring leaders through the numerous challenges they face on the company building journey. This episode is essential listening for new CEOs and leaders at all levels. Some of the themes are universal to the challenges of discerning feedback coming from all sorts of directions and making the critical decisions to move the interests of the enterprise forward. Gordon is calm, cool, collected, and really on his game! In fact, be sure to listen to how he “yells” at his mentees by saying, in his calm manner – “honestly, this is when I’m yelling at you…though it may not sound like it, I’m really yelling.” Gordon wields influence with great respect for people’s dignity. Gordon Daugherty is a best-selling author, seasoned business executive, entrepreneur, startup advisor and investor. A proud native Texan, Gordon grew up in a small town and graduated from Baylor University with a computer science degree. He spent the first ten years of his career in brand-name companies such as IBM and Compaq and then progressively gravitated towards early-stage and high-growth companies. Gordon spent eight years in the videoconferencing industry, including four years as president of an Israeli-based company that grew from $5 million to $36 million in a short few years and went public on the Euronext Stock Market. Gordon oversaw most company functions while serving in executive capacities, but his primary focus was on strategy, marketing, sales, business development, and M&A. He was a senior executive for Austin-based NetQoS, which grew rapidly to more than $55 million in revenue before being acquired by CA Technologies for $200 million, and he was a founding advisor for digital advertising pioneer MediaMind, which reached $65 million in revenue and a NASDAQ IPO in 2010. Gordon has vast experience with early-stage fundraising from both sides of the table. As a venture fund manager and angel investor, he has made more than 200 investments. He has also helped raise more than $80 million in growth and venture capital as a company executive, fund manager, board director, and active advisor. Fundraising is the focus of the first book he authored, titled “Startup Success: Funding the Early Stages of Your Venture”. Through his content creation practice, Shockwave Innovations, and as co-founder and president of Austin’s Capital Factory, Gordon now spends 100 percent of his time educating, advising, and investing in tech startups. He serves on the board of directors for several Austin-based technology companies and is a managing director at SoftMatch, a corporate innovation advisory firm. Over the years, Gordon has given personal advice to several hundred entrepreneurs, and more than 1,000 startup founders have completed his Founders Academy boot camp. He has published more than 150 startup advice articles and is the producer of a video library with 50 streaming titles of educational content for startup founders.  Podcast Hosts: Dr. Kris Potrafka and David Hughen

Episode 16. Heather McKissick joined the Trap for a focus on the work of organizations for social good and how leaders can be agents for the ‘good’. Her thoughtful views on how organizations (non-profits, for-profits, government entities, and more) make a difference in their communities make for rich listening. Among her passions, reflected in this episode, is the commitment Credit Unions make to underserved populations – listen to her thoughtful response to the “Moral Dilemma” question. Deeply involved in community affairs in the Central Texas area, Heather McKissick serves as Executive Vice President of Community Impact, Marketing and Communication for University Federal Credit Union (UFCU), which itself is one of the most committed community organizations in Austin and Central Texas. When Heather joined UFCU in 2013 as Vice President of Human Resources and Organizational Development, she was already an experienced advocate and community leader after serving for seven years as a volunteer and then five years as Chief Executive Officer of Leadership Austin. For decades, Leadership Austin has trained thousands of local residents in community issues and leadership through its programs, and Heather came to know just about everyone who went through the development programs during her years of service. Part of Heather’s current role at UFCU is to lead the organization’s community engagement within Central Texas and the Coastal Region. An honored community leader herself, Heather is well-qualified to head these efforts for UFCU. She is a member of the board of the American Heart and Stroke Association of Central Texas; the Young Women’s Alliance community advisory board (and their 2013 “Inspiring Leader of the Year”); and chair of the advisory council for the Austin Young Chamber of Commerce. She served as chair of the Heart Association’s 2017 “Go Red for Women” campaign; as honorary co-chair with Austin Mayor Steve Adler of the 2016 “Austin Under 40” awards; was the inaugural “Austin Under 40 Mentor of the Year” honoree; a “Women of Distinction” honoree in 2014 by the Girl Scouts of Central Texas, and a recipient of a 2010 “Profiles in Power” award. She is also a proud Credit Union Development Educator.  Podcast Hosts: Dr. Kris Potrafka and David Hughen

Episode 15. Kay Mellish joined the Trap recently for a well-timed reflection on how other cultures view their relationship to work. Kay’s expertise in Danish social and business cultures is smartly reflected in this episode. As the pandemic has led many people to reflect on what the notion of work truly means in their lives, Kay offers a glimpse into the Danes’ take on the very American question to a new acquaintance, “So…what do you do?”. And, listeners will especially want to hear about Dane employees’ take on business leadership, the choice to work for a company, and more. Kay Xander Mellish is a keynote speaker on Scandinavian culture based in Copenhagen, Denmark. She is the author of five books on Denmark, including "How to Live in Denmark" (2014 and 2017) "How to Work in Denmark" (2018), "Working with Americans: Tips for Danes" (2019), and "Working with Danes: Tips for Americans" (2020). Kay grew up in Wisconsin and graduated magna cum laude from New York University, where she studied journalism and art history. In addition to her non-fiction work, which has appeared in publications including the Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, Sports Illustrated, Mother Jones, and the Danish tabloid BT, Kay spent many years writing fiction. Unable to find a publisher, she began flyposting (a guerilla marketing tactic—look it up!) the first page of her short stories on lampposts and construction sidings in New York City, with a voicemail number to call if readers wanted to hear the rest of the story. After a law-and-order mayor cracked down on flyposters, Kay took to the internet, creating in 1995 one of the first fiction sites on the web. Kay moved to Denmark in 2000, and now runs the KXMGroup, a Copenhagen-based consultancy that helps Danish companies communicate in English. She is the voice behind the "How to Live in Denmark" podcast and a frequent public speaker at intercultural events in Copenhagen.  Podcast Hosts: Dr. Kris Potrafka and David Hughen