MTC 028: Jon Bassford | Curiosity As The Key To Growth
Move The Chains Podcast | Unlocking Your Full Potential with Ryan Munsey
Release Date: 12/22/2025
Move The Chains Podcast | Unlocking Your Full Potential with Ryan Munsey
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David Meltzer is the chairman of the Napoleon Hill Institute, co-founder of Sports 1 Marketing, and former CEO of the Lee Steinberg Sports Agency - the real agency behind Jerry Maguire. He's a bestselling author, sought-after speaker, and one of the most recognized voices in high-performance business and mindset. His mission: make a lot of money, help a lot of people, and have a lot of fun doing it. David Meltzer built a $100 million empire, lost it all, and rebuilt from zero. What he learned in the process will completely change the way you think about money, generosity, and asking for...
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In this conversation, Ryan Munsey sits down with Patrick Lencioni—bestselling author of The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team and creator of The 6 Types of Working Genius—to unpack a powerful framework for understanding your gifts, your frustrations, and your best role on any team. Pat explains The 6 Working Geniuses and how every project moves through three phases: Ideation, Activation, and Implementation. You’ll see why certain tasks give you energy while others drain you, why some teams constantly drop the ball, and how misalignment creates burnout, resentment, and quiet quitting even in high...
info_outlineAre you asking the questions that actually move your business forward—or just managing the chaos? In this episode of the Move The Chains podcast , Ryan Munsey sits down with Jon Bassford, JD, MBA, CAE—best-selling author, TEDx speaker, and founder of Lateral Solutions—to unpack how curiosity-driven leadership can transform growth, operations, and culture.
Jon reveals how he’s helped venture-backed startups, nonprofits, and small businesses unlock innovation and scale by building systems that start with better questions, not just better answers. You’ll hear how his background in law, philosophy, and executive roles like VP and COO shaped his belief that curiosity is a leader’s most underused competitive advantage.
You will walk away with practical frameworks for operationalizing curiosity in your own teams—how to diagnose bottlenecks, disarm resistance to change, and create a culture where everyone is empowered to challenge “we’ve always done it this way.” If you’re a founder, executive, or high performer looking to drive innovation, improve decision-making, and build resilient systems, this conversation will change how you think about leadership.
Chapters
- 00:00 The Power of Curiosity in Leadership
- 02:46 Curiosity as a Guiding Principle
- 05:55 Challenging the Status Quo
- 08:48 Creating a Culture of Curiosity
- 11:31 Psychological Safety in Organizations
- 14:47 Embedding Curiosity in Processes
- 17:52 Curiosity in Personal Development
- 20:27 The Methodical Audit Process
- 23:35 Navigating Change and Resistance
- 28:04 The Importance of Leadership Processes
- 29:36 Understanding Value and Cost in Business Decisions
- 32:15 Agile Operations and Continuous Improvement
- 33:12 Curiosity and Self-Reflection in Personal Development
- 33:40 Identifying Blind Spots Through Curiosity
- 37:09 Receiving Feedback and Building Self-Awareness
- 40:07 The Journey to Self-Awareness and Behavioral Change
- 43:59 Forgiveness and Grace in Behavioral Patterns
- 46:17 Common Leadership Mistakes and Powerful Questions
- 49:23 Busting Myths About Control in Leadership
Links:
- Connect with Jon Bassford
- Jon's Lateral Solutions Website
- Jon's book: The Curious Leader
- Jon's Linked In
- Connect with Ryan Munsey
- Website
- Follow Ryan on Instagram
- Subscribe to Ryan's YouTube Channel
- Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn
- Get Your Copy of F*ck Your Feelings
- Save 10% on your first melin hat, the world's best hats: Use the code MoveTheChains10 at melin.com
Curiosity driven leadership; Jon Bassford; Lateral Solutions; leadership development; operational excellence; organizational change; business innovation; continuous improvement; asking better questions; strategic operations; nonprofit leadership; startup growth; executive coaching; curiosity in business; leadership mindset; systems thinking; scale and growth; TEDx speaker; best-selling author; Ryan Munsey; Move The Chains Podcast.