Why Great Leaders Get Stuck [And What Actually Frees Them] ft. Gary Montalvo
Release Date: 01/07/2026
How Do You Lead When AI Is Changing Everything? ft. Gila Lee Adato
Uncommon Leadership
In a world where the old playbooks no longer apply — where artificial intelligence is reshaping how we think, work, and lead — what is the real competitive advantage for a tech organization? It’s not more data. It’s not a better tech stack. It’s emotional clarity. Because in a world where no one has the full answers, certainty is an illusion. And the leaders who thrive aren’t the ones with all the answers — they’re the ones who can discern. In this episode of the Uncommon Leadership Podcast, I sit down with Gila Lee Adato — attorney, AI leadership advisor, and...
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Work Doesn’t Need a Different You ft. Jordan Stone
Uncommon Leadership
Early in his career, Jordan Stone sat in a consulting workshop where the idea of a work self and a home self was presented as normal. The premise made sense on paper. But something about it felt off. Why should the experiences, preferences, and perspectives that shape who we are outside of work suddenly become irrelevant once we step into it? As Jordan’s career progressed, he saw firsthand how the parts of people that didn’t neatly fit into job descriptions often produced the most meaningful outcomes. In this episode of the Uncommon Leadership Podcast, Michael...
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Beyond the Title: What Leadership Really Means ft. Mary Kennedy Thompson
Uncommon Leadership
Leadership isn’t defined by title or authority. It’s revealed in presence — how you listen, how you respond, and how your behavior shapes the space around you. In this episode of the Uncommon Leadership Podcast, Michael Hunter sits down with Mary Kennedy Thompson, CEO of BNI, for a thoughtful conversation on what it really means to lead. From an early Marine Corps lesson that reshaped her understanding of service to leading global teams today, Mary reflects on leadership as a lifelong practice grounded in curiosity, authenticity, and care. Together, they explore how...
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Why Great Leaders Are Supporters. Not Saviors! ft. Everett O'Keefe
Uncommon Leadership
The most expensive thing in your business isn't your tech stack. It’s the message you haven’t shared with your team because you’re waiting to speak up. In this episode of the Uncommon Leadership Podcast, I, Michael Hunter from Uncommon Teams, sit down with Everett O’Keefe—international bestselling author and founder of Ignite Press—for a conversation about the intersection of innovation, authority, and the moral duty to speak up. Everett has helped hundreds of experts find their voice, and he’s seen firsthand how the status quo doesn't just stall companies—it drains the life...
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Why every tech problem is actually a people problem... ft. Elisabeth Hendrickson
Uncommon Leadership
What if I told you that all those technical problems keeping you up at night—missed dates, buggy releases, burnout—are actually just symptoms of a team that doesn't feel safe enough to tell the truth. Hi! This is Michael Hunter, and I’ve spent over 35 years debugging code. Today, I help CEOs, founding teams, and heads of people debug themselves and identify those hidden patterns that are stalling growth and success. And I’ve learned that the code is usually the easy part. The hard part is the squishy stuff: the silence in the meeting room, the fear of speaking up,...
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Uncommon Roundtable: How High-Performing Tech Leaders Build Resilience
Uncommon Leadership
Why do we treat joy or happiness as a reward? Something we’re allowed to feel only after the sprint is over, or the code is shipped, or the crisis is averted. When we cut out joy to focus solely on getting it done, we trigger a dangerous biological shift called predatory aggression—a state where our doer brain takes over, shutting down curiosity, connection, and empathy. The very emotions we need to survive the storm and be truly resilient. In this episode of the Uncommon Leadership Roundtable, we explore the true ROI of Joy. Our expert panel brings decades of...
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The High Cost of Fitting In: Reclaiming Your Power as a Neurodivergent Leader ft. Rita Ramakrishnan
Uncommon Leadership
For many tech leaders—especially the neurodivergent—success often feels like a performance. You mirror the behaviors you see, fit ourselves into neurotypical boxes, and pay for it with our mental and physical health. But leadership doesn’t have to be a grind. When you stop fighting your own wiring and start leveraging your Pattern Recognition Engine, you don't just work faster—you work with Cognitive Ease. In this episode of Uncommon Leadership Podcast, Michael Hunter sits down with neurodivergent executive coach and researcher Rita Ramakrishnan to debug the Masking Tax...
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From Debt to Real Wealth: Debugging Your Financial System ft. Julie Murphy
Uncommon Leadership
You cannot separate your numbers from your nervous system. When you operate from a "hijacked" state—driven by financial pasts, debt snowballs, or "rich but empty" milestones—you’re driving on the rough shoulder of the road. You’re wrecking your suspension (your health and relationships) and wondering why the journey feels like a grind. Success without joy is neither an achievement nor joyful. It’s just a "leaky container" waiting to drain your energy. In this episode of the Uncommon Leadership Podcast, I, Michael Hunter, am joined by Julie Murphy, a...
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Moving from Values on the Wall to Authenticity in the Room ft. Henry Suryawirawan
Uncommon Leadership
If you see your team stalling, projects dragging, and an invisible friction you can’t quite name—this podcast is for you. When tech leaders feel a gap between expectations and outcomes, their first natural response is often to withdraw or try to fix the situation with more rules and processes. And without even realizing it, that distance creates a cycle of silence. Your team begins to play it safe, hiding the very "human data" you need to actually move forward. In this episode of the Uncommon Leadership Podcast, I, Michael Hunter, am joined by Henry Suryawirawan—an engineering...
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Why Great Leaders Get Stuck [And What Actually Frees Them] ft. Gary Montalvo
Uncommon Leadership
Tech leaders are struggling because they’re carrying too much— too much pressure to have answers, too much responsibility for outcomes, too little space to be human. And it’s exhausting. In the latest episode of the Uncommon Leadership Podcast, I, Michael Hunter from Uncommon Teams, sit down with leadership and mindset coach Gary Montalvo for a deeply honest conversation about what actually blocks leaders from creating healthy teams, resilient cultures, and sustainable results. From his early days as a 22-year-old art director at Sony Music to building his own...
info_outline- Why most leadership struggles are identity challenges—not skill gaps
- How “being liked” can silently undermine accountability and growth
- The difference between authenticity and emotional oversharing
- Why reframing experience changes how you lead under pressure
- How leaders unintentionally recreate old survival strategies at work
- How small internal shifts compound into cultural transformation
- Founders who feel like the bottleneck in their own business
- Tech leaders navigating growth, complexity, or burnout
- Managers who are tired of “doing everything right” but still feel stuck
- Anyone leading people through change without a clear map