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Activating Greatness: A Leadership Podcast
Welcome to Activating Greatness — the show where we dig into what it really takes to lead with purpose, inspire performance, and create lasting impact. I’m your host, Alec McChesney, and every episode, we sit down with extraordinary leaders, thinkers, and changemakers who are unlocking potential in themselves, their teams, and their organizations. Here, we talk about the real stuff — leadership that drives culture, strategy that creates momentum, and the mindset that turns good intentions into game-changing results. Because greatness isn’t a title — it’s a choice. It’s something you activate every single day. Thank you for listening, for showing up, and for being part of a community of leaders who refuse to settle for “good enough.
Episodes
36 episodes
Engagement Isn’t Broken—Work Is: Patrick Manigault on Building Human-Centered Organizations
In this episode of Activating Greatness, Alec McChesney sits down with executive coach and author Patrick Manigault to challenge how we think about engagement, leadership, and the modern workplace. Patrick explains why engagement isn’t...
It's Not Selling, It's Connecting: Steve Thompson on Leading Billion-Dollar Projects and the Humans Behind Them
In this episode of Activating Greatness, Alec McChesney sits down with Steve Thompson, a senior construction and program leader who has spent decades delivering complex capital projects at Intel and GlobalFoundries. Steve breaks down what actua...
People Deserve Great Leaders: Tom Wilson on Servant Leadership in Life Sciences
In this episode of the Activating Greatness podcast, host Alec McChesney of Velocity Advisory Group sits down with Tom Wilson, Chief Commercial Officer at AmbioPharm, one of the world's leading peptide CDMOs. With 35 years in life sciences — fr...
The Change Agent's Playbook: Melissa Pepper on Transformational Leadership, Stakeholder Buy-In, and Making Change Stick
In this episode of Activating Greatness, Alec McChesney sits down with Melissa Pepper, founder of Lead(h)er and former Chief Strategy Officer at Russell Construction, to explore what it really means to be a transformational change leader. Melis...
The Business Told us To: Krista Robinson on Scaling HR at The Weitz Company
In this episode of Activating Greatness, Alec McChesney sits down with Krista Robinson, VP of HR at The Weitz Company, to explore what it really means to bet on yourself as a leader. Krista shares how she stepped into a stretch HR leadership ro...
Relentless Resilience: The Leadership Mindset That Drives Performance with Maggie Reed
In this episode of Activating Greatness, Alec McChesney sits down with Maggie Reed, Vice President and Business Leader at Gilbane Building Company, to explore what it really means to lead with relentless resilience. Maggie breaks down ...
The Business Case for Culture: Jackie Fisher on Why Growth Starts With Your People
In this episode of Activating Greatness, Alec McChesney sits down with Jackie Fisher, Vice President of People and Culture at Juneau Construction Company, to explore how people strategy directly drives business growth. Jackie shares ho...
We Do Serious Work: Jeanne Hecht on Building Culture Without Losing the Human Element
In this episode of Activating Greatness, Alec McChesney sits down with Jeanne Hecht, CEO and Executive Chairwoman of Lexitas Pharma Services, to explore how culture becomes a true strategic value driver in high-performing organizations...
Reserve the Right to Get Smarter: How to Fix Work and Unlock Performance with Lisa Calicchio
In this episode of Activating Greatness, Alec McChesney sits down with Lisa Calicchio, Chief Human Resources Officer at WCG, to challenge conventional thinking about leadership, performance, and the modern workplace. Lisa shares why “work is br...
Discipline, Consistency and Community: How two best friends have achieved the improbable
In this episode of Activating Greatness, Alec McChesney sits down with Lorri and Laura from the Mile 20 Podcast for an invigorating discussion about discipline, consistency, and community. The Mile 20 Podcast covers the story of how Lorri and L...
Don’t Blame the Fish — Fix the Fishbowl: Michael Dixon on Leadership and Culture
In this episode of Activating Greatness, Alec McChesney sits down with Michael Dixon of UNeMed at the University of Nebraska Medical Center to explore what it takes to lead with intentionality, build culture by design, and create environments w...
Hard Decisions Define Leaders: Joe Crandall on Accountability, Standards, and Doing What Others Won’t
In this episode of Activating Greatness, Alec McChesney sits down with Joe Crandall, CEO of Red Leviathan and Executive Chairman of Greencastle Associates Consulting, to explore what it really takes to build high-performing organizations rooted...
Calm the Chaos: Laura London on Leadership, Focus, and Sustained High Performance
In this episode of Activating Greatness, Alec McChesney sits down with Laura London, Founder of Calocedrus and former McKinsey leader, to explore the critical shift from high achievement to sustained high performance. Laura breaks down why so m...
Why Great Teams Don’t Happen by Accident: Toni Burkard on Leadership and Trust
In this episode of Activating Greatness, Alec McChesney sits down with Toni Burkard, Business Enablement Lead at Pfizer CentreOne, to explore what it truly takes to build high-performing teams through trust, mentorship, and intentional leadersh...
From Access to Impact: Carolina Alarco on Leadership, Representation, and Building Culture in Biotech
In this episode of Activating Greatness, Alec McChesney sits down with Carolina Alarco, Co-Founder of Latinos in Bio, to explore how leadership development, representation, and intentional investment in people are shaping the future of the biot...
Why Trust and Culture Drive Results in Construction Leadership with Jesse Hernandez
In this episode of Activating Greatness, Alec McChesney sits down with Jesse Hernandez, construction leader and founder of Depth Builder, to explore what it really takes to build culture, earn trust, and drive performance in today’s workforce. ...
The Judgment Gap: Matt Taylor on AI, Leadership, and the Future of HR
In this episode of the Activating Greatness Podcast, host Alec McChesney sits down with Matt Taylor Head of HR at Endpoint Clinical, to explore one of the most important leadership questions of the AI era: how technology impacts people decision...
HR That Moves the Business: Terri Fleener, CDR on Leadership, Culture, and Workforce Stability
In this episode of the Activating Greatness Podcast, host Alec McChesney sits down with Terri Fleener, a senior human resources leader known for helping organizations connect people strategy to real business results. The conversation explores h...
Say It So It Sticks: Jeremy Maskel, APR on Leadership Communication That Drives Execution
In this episode of the Activating Greatness Podcast, host Alec McChesney sits down with Jeremy Maskel, APR Chief Communications Officer for Omaha Public Schools, to explore how communication shapes leadership, accountability, and execution. Jer...
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From the NFL to the Art World: Kellen Mond on Authentic Leadership and Real Connection
In this episode of the Activating Greatness Podcast, host Alec McChesney sits down with former NFL quarterback Kellen Mond to explore how authenticity shapes leadership, relationships, and long-term success. Drawing from his experiences in coll...
Tradition Meets Transformation: Jason Nickles on Leadership and Change Management
In this episode of Activating Greatness: A Leadership Podcast, host Alec McChesney sits down with Jason Nickles of Modern Woodmen of America to explore what it takes to lead meaningful change inside a legacy organization. Jason shares how leade...
Curiosity Wins: Michelle Dauphinais on Asking Better Questions and Making Better Decisions
In this episode of Activating Greatness, host Alec McChesney sits down with Michelle Dauphinais, Vice President and Head of Distribution at John Hancock, to explore how curiosity and a deep understanding of human behavior shape effective leader...
Appropriately Annoyed: Jon Stenberg on Leadership, Accountability, and Better Decisions
In this episode of the Activating Greatness Podcast, host Alec McChesney sits down with Jon Stenberg, CEO and President of Citizens Inc., to explore what modern leadership really requires in complex organizations. Jon shares his philosophy of k...
Consistency at Scale: José Suquet on Culture, Capital Strength, and Leading for the Long Run
In this episode of Activating Greatness, Alec McChesney sits down with José Suquet, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Pan-American Life Insurance Group, to explore what it takes to lead across 22 countries while staying anchored in one clear set...
Indispensable: How Addison Watson Builds Relationships AI Can’t Replace
In this episode of Activating Greatness, Addison Watson, Chief Partnership Officer & General Counsel at ClickFunnels, shares why relationships are the ultimate competitive advantage in an AI-driven world. With over $1 billion in transaction...
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