Episodes

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Linda Rabbitt, the founder and chairman of Rand Construction, who is recognized as Washingtonian of the Year, and is in Washington's Business Hall of Fame. Linda shares her experiences overcoming breakage and setbacks, and how she used adversity as a motivator to achieve success. Highlights: - Why and how Linda Rabbitt started all over again at age 32 - Linda Rabbitt’s career at KPMG and how she rose in the organization - L...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Wendy Ryan. Wendy Ryan is the CEO of Kadabra, an interdisciplinary team of leadership and organizational change experts based in Silicon Valley, California. Wendy Ryan shares leadership lessons from her consulting experience and her book, Learn Lead Lift: How to Think, Act, and Inspire Your Way to Greatness. Some Highlights: - Wendy Ryan shares how we can develop greater self-awareness. - Why leaders need to start with "Who"...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Tony Cancelosi, president and CEO of Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind. Tony Cancelosi shares delightful stories from his life, from when he was a child growing up in an Italian neighborhood to dressing up as Santa Claus annually earlier in his career. He also shares what eventually led him to start doing community service and what keeps him going through hard times like the pandemic. Some highlights: - Tony Cancelosi’s child...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Carson Tate. Carson Tate is the founder and managing partner of Working Simply, Inc., a business consulting firm that partners with organizations, business leaders, and employees to enhance workplace productivity, foster employee engagement, and build personal and professional legacies. Carson Tate shares lessons from her most recent book: Own It. Love It. Make It Work: How to Make Any Job Your Dream Job. Some Highlights: - H...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli shares a key challenge facing leaders: the continuation of uncertainty concerning many aspects of work, including a return to the office. Mahan talks about the need for leaders to continue leading with great empathy with genuine humility on the exact future, yet confidence with the ability to navigate whatever lies ahead. Some highlights: - Mahan Tavakoli explains why there is no going “back to normal” - Empathy and conveying hope as le...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Gia Nardini, an assistant professor in marketing at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business and co-author of the research paper, Together We Rise: How Social Movements Succeed. Gia Nardini talked about the elements that make social movements successful, and the lessons leaders can learn, whether in leading social movements or their teams and organization. Some highlights: - Gia Nardini's take on consumer behavi...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Steve Preston, President, and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. Steve Preston has extensive private sector experience and served as the US Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary and as the US Small Business Administration administrator. Steve Preston shared what influenced him to serve in government and how he led the US Small Business Administration and Department of Housing and Urban development during ...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Jason Richmond. Jason is the president, CEO, and Chief Culture Officer at Ideal Outcomes. Jason Richmond is the author of Culture Spark: 5 Steps to Ignite and Sustain Organizational Growth and his most recent book Culture Ignited: Five Disciplines for Adaptive Leadership. In addition to speaking about the importance of organizational culture, Jason Richmond shared specific actions leaders can take to ignite their team's culture...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Jerry Sachs. Jerry is the former president of Centre Group, the operating entity that included the Washington Bullets, Washington Capitals, and Centre Management. Jerry Sachs shared his leadership journey, including how he ended up working for the Baltimore Orioles, his move down to Atlanta to work for the Braves, and what brought him back to the Greater Washington DC DMV region. Jerry shared how he met his wife Joyce, her love...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Gary Bolles, chair for the Future of Work for Singularity University, co-founder of eParachute.com, and author of The Next Rules of Work. Gary Bolles shares how his father’s career advice book What Color Is Your Parachute impacted his early life and how he has gone through continual reinvention while guiding leaders through ongoing disruption. Gary Bolles also shares insights from his book The Next Rules of Work. Some highligh...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Susan Lacz, principal, and chief executive officer of Ridgewells Catering, shared her leadership journey with Mahan Tavakoli. Susan Lacz spoke about how she has managed the obstacles in her life and has built a successful business that needs to continue changing and adapting through disruption. Susan Lacz also shared why she is so committed to giving back to the community through Ridgwell Catering's support and giving her time and energy to many institut...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Steve Robinson, former executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Chick-fil-A. Steve Robinson shared lessons from his decades-long experience leading marketing at Chick-fil-A, including stories from his book Covert Cows and Chick-fil-A: How Faith, Cows, and Chicken built an Iconic Brand. In addition, Steve Robinson shared what made Chick-fil-A culture and marketing unique and continues to help the brand differentia...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Gina Schaefer, the Co-Founder and CEO of A Few Cool Hardware Stores, a chain of ACE hardware stores located in the Greater Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia DMV region. Gina talks about her journey founding the hardware store, her commitment to shopping local, and providing opportunities to many who don't often get the first chance in our communities. Some highlights: -Why Gina Schaefer chose to shift from software to ha...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Park Howell, host of Business of Story Podcast, author of Brand Bewitchery, and co-author of The Narrative Gym for Business. Park Howell teaches one of the most powerful tools in storytelling: the And, But, and Therefore (ABT), going through the science behind it and how you can start crafting great stories and communicate more powerfully through the use of this framework. He also shares examples of ABT in history and pop cultu...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli explains the power of the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, in the world around us. Mahan talks about how we can observe the 80/20 principle in everything we do and use this mental model to focus our attention on the leverage points in systems enabling us to have a more significant impact on our teams, organizations, and the community. Some highlights: -The origins of the Pareto Principle -Understanding the Pareto Principl...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with John Rossman, Author of The Amazon Way book series, and managing partner and business advisor on strategy, leadership, and innovation at Rossman Partners. John talks about many lessons leaders can learn from the rationale behind Amazon's 14 leadership principles. John Rossman also shares his experience and advice on navigating and leading through disruption. Some highlights: -John Rossman on how Amazon integrated its leadersh...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Ed Offterdinger, chairman of AO People Partners, co-founder of Conscious Capitalism D.C., and co-author of the book Conscious, Capable, and Ready to Contribute. Ed Offterdinger shares lessons learned in his leadership journey and the reason behind his focus on coaching leaders, and his commitment to making a difference in the community through Conscious Capitalism. Some highlights: -How Ed Offterdinger's childhood growing up ...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Charlene Li, a Digital Transformation and Disruptive Leadership Expert, Founder of Altimeter, and author of best-selling books, including Open leadership, Groundswell, and her latest book called The Disruption Mindset. Charlene Li discussed how leaders and organizations can embrace and benefit from disruption. Some highlights: - How leaders can stay focused and energized with the pace of disruptions - Why organizations shoul...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Minal Bopaiah. Minal is the founder of Brevity & Wit, a strategy and design firm that helps organizations achieve the change they wish to see in the world through a unique approach that combines human-centered design, behavior change science, and the principles of inclusion diversity, equity, and accessibility. Minal Bopaiah discusses her book Equity: How to Design Organizations Where Everyone Thrives and shares frameworks and ...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Jon Levy, behavioral scientist and author of the book You're Invited: The Art and Science of Cultivating Influence. Jon Levy shares how we can build stronger and more trusting relationships and how leaders can use the science of connection to increase team trust and engagement. Some highlights: -Jon Levy's interest in building community and relationships -Jon Levy talks about culture and psychological safety as essential key...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Barbara Davis Blum, one of the founders of Leadership Greater Washington and president of BDB Investment Partnership, shares stories from her early life and how it shaped her to become the resilient, feminist leader that she came to be. Barbara Davis Blum shared her journey as a pioneering female leader in government, business and the community. Some highlights: -Barbara Davis Blum's early life and her father's community involvement -The impact of Bar...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with John Kotter, professor emeritus at Harvard Business School, co-founder of a management consulting firm Kotter International and a pioneer in organizational change. John Kotter is the author of 22 books on change, including his most recent book, Change: How Organizations Achieve Hard-to-Imagine Results in Uncertain and Volatile times. John Kotter talks about the struggles leaders and teams face when it comes to change and how to...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli celebrates 100 podcast episodes by going back to the core of it all: purpose-driven leadership. Mahan shares why purpose is becoming an overused buzzword, gives examples of organizations not living up to their purpose, and how we can become genuinely purpose-driven leaders. Some highlights: -Mahan celebrates you, the purpose-driven audience of the Partnering Leadership podcast, in helping it become a top global leadership podcast. - 100...

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Ann Hiatt, Leadership Strategist & Consultant and Author of the book Bet on Yourself. Ann Hiatt shared the many lessons she learned while working alongside the world's top tech CEOs—Google's Eric Schmidt, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Yahoo's Marissa Meyer. In addition to the story of her reinvention, Ann Hiatt shared common practices and approaches of these and other top-performing leaders. Some highlights: - Ann Hiatt on how she end...