Host: Carrie Tuttle

Guest: Mike Cameron

Most leaders learn to manage tasks long before they learn to manage emotions, and some never really learn. Mike Cameron believes the gap is costing companies more than anyone realizes.

Mike is a three-time TEDx speaker, Canadian author, ultramarathoner, and a leader with more than 30 years of experience, including 16 years as a CEO. After the murder of his girlfriend in 2015, Mike walked away from the company he built to focus on what he now considers the most underestimated threat to organizational performance: the emotional disconnection of men in leadership.

Mike joins Carrie to talk about the difference between emotional intelligence and emotional competence, and why theory means little without practice. They dig into practical experiments any leader can try, like the two-word check-in, the SOAR framework, and asking people whether they want strategy or empathy.

As the founder of Connect'd Men, a community built around emotional connection and men's well-being, Mike has his own experience with burnout and what it really means to move from success to significance.

Whether you lead a team, a family, or just yourself, this conversation offers grounded frameworks, honest stories, and a reminder that connection starts with how you show up for yourself first.

QUOTE-WORTHY MOMENTS

• “If you want to support a dude who’s struggling, set him up to support somebody else.”
• "We’ve got artificial intelligence. We don’t need more intelligence. What we need is more competence."
• "The most powerful gift I can give to any audience is for them to look at me and say, he’s just like me."

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• Emotional intelligence is theory; emotional competence is the practice that changes how leaders actually show up.
• The two-word check-ins give teams a release valve and give leaders a quick read on the room.
• SOAR — slow down, observe, accept, reconnect — is a simple way to ground a meeting before the work begins.
• Asking “do you want strategy or empathy?” stops leaders from fixing what people only want heard.
• Supporting your people rarely means fixing their problems; often it just means holding space.
• Men are not born emotionally disconnected; they are conditioned into it, and reconnection starts with self.
• Toughness worn as a badge is often fear in disguise, not courage.
• Admitting you don’t have all the answers is one of the biggest gifts a leader can give a team.
• AI should serve connection, not replace it, freeing people to spend more time with customers and each other.
• The shift from success to significance starts with asking why the work matters.

LINKS FROM EPISODE

Mike Cameron on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikecameron-ca/

Connect'd Men: https://connectdmen.com

Email Mike: mike@mikecameron.ca

Mike Cameron's website: https://mikecameron.ca/

Mentioned in episode:

Don't Change Much podcast: https://menshealthfoundation.ca/dont-change-much-podcast/Canadian Men's Health Foundation (Mike is co-host) June is Men's Health Month

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Host: Carrie Tuttle

Guest: Courtney Johnston-Naumann

Can you name someone who has mentored 10 or more people? I can.

Courtney Johnston-Naumann is the founder of Weave Strategy and a fractional chief marketing officer (CMO) who has led brand and marketing teams at Edmonton Economic Development, Service Credit Union, and CashCo Financial. She helps organizations move from scattered marketing efforts to focused, purpose-driven growth.

Some leaders treat marketing as an art form. Courtney has spent her career proving it's also math. Courtney explains how she built a bridge between marketing and sales, why she says every strategy starts with intention before it touches a spreadsheet, and what it really takes to lead a team through a founder-to-management transition.

The juiciest part of this episode is when Courtney shares her approach to mentorship, including the concept of a personal mentorship board. She sets the expectation that mentees own the relationship before they start and believes in having a framework.

You’ll walk away with a clearer picture of how to lead people through ambiguity without losing them, and why the words you choose at work matter more than you think.

QUOTE-WORTHY MOMENTS

• “I find mentees who want to work harder than I'm going to work for them.“
• “There’s a lot of math in marketing. When you really look at your pipeline and your growth objectives, you have to reverse engineer it and then connect it with what’s the story we’re trying to tell.”
• “If you’re on my team, I will train you to take my job. Because at some point that’s going to happen and that’s okay.”

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• Marketing is both head and heart.
• Strategy starts with intention, then reverse-engineers tometrics.
• Build a strong sales–marketing partnership to align on shared organizational goals.
• “Words matter” and miscommunication often happens when we assume others share our definitions.
• Create a personal mentorship board: peers, seniors, experts, and people younger than you all have a role.
• How Courtney structures mentorship relationships: ground rules, a starting package, and the expectation that mentees own the pace.
• Trust and know how much “gray” each team member can handle.

LINKS FROM EPISODE

Courtney Johnston-Naumann on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/cjohnstonnaumann/

Brené Brown — brenebrown.com

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Host: Carrie Tuttle

Guest: Rebecca Wood

Most leaders are handed the keys to their first team without a roadmap. Rebecca Wood has been there. She is a leader with over 25 years of experience as a former National Director of Sales and a Director transforming membership models at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. Now, the founder of Romeo Whiskey Consulting, Rebecca has built teams from scratch and coached executives navigating the real loneliness that comes with senior leadership.

She joins Carrie to talk about what it takes to build a dream team. They dig into the key ingredients, like trust, communication, clarity, mindset, and the courage to have hard conversations before things fall apart.

Rebecca shares a practical approach to using communication tools like DISC to help leaders adapt how they deliver messages, and she's candid about the moments her own high-D drive got in the way of the very results she was chasing.

Whether you're stepping into your first people leadership role or a seasoned leader who has lost momentum with your team, this conversation offers real frameworks, honest stories, and a grounded reminder that you don't have to figure it all out alone.

QUOTE-WORTHY MOMENTS

• "It's not about you and succeeding. You now have to get that team to where you need them to be. "
• “I don't need all the credit. I want other people to be able to step up into their own and have the confidence to make the decisions they need to make.”
• "Be vulnerable and get some support, because you don't have to do it alone. And it can be very lonely."

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• Trust is the foundation. Without it, everything stays surface level.
• Knowing your own communication style is the first step to adapting it for the people around you.
• Clarity on goals and alignment on direction are what keep a team rowing the same way.
• A quarterly action plan only works if the team actually refers back to it.
• Hire for mindset and attitude — skills can be taught, but mindset is harder to shift.
• Have the hard conversation early. Letting it build is harder on everyone.
• Momentum comes from investing in people, celebrating milestones, and leading with energy over fear.
• Self-awareness is the prerequisite to leading others — know your own pace before you set it for your team.
• You don't have to figure it out alone. A mentor or coach is one of the most effective tools a new leader has.

LINKS FROM EPISODE

Rebecca Wood on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccawoodyyc

Rebecca Wood's website: https://www.romeowhiskey.ca/

Books mentioned:

Radical Candor — Kim Scott

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team — Patrick Lencioni

Start With Why / other titles — Simon Sinek

Extended DISC — mentioned in episode. See also: Suits & Sneakers Episode with Markku Kauppinen https://open.spotify.com/episode/0ZA79RJWfrTZCtROBE7LHw?si=mwmt_9i2SQicxuoA5Ai_ZA

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