Creating Strength in Chaos with Kevin Black
The Remarkable Leadership Podcast
Release Date: 12/24/2025
Leading in the Project Economy with Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez
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What if projects weren’t just part of work but how work gets done in your organization? In this episode, Kevin is joined by Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez to discuss the project economy and why treating projects as "side work" is no longer an option for leaders. Antonio challenges traditional hierarchies and operational mindsets, making the case that today's value creation, innovation, and transformation happen primarily through projects. He also explains why mindset matters more than tools and why project leaders must think like entrepreneurs who own outcomes, fight for value, and bring problems...
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Are You Delegating Work or Developing People? - Thoughts from Kevin
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Most leaders are told, “You need to delegate.” And that’s true — if you delegate correctly. But here’s the real question I want you to consider: Are you delegating work… or developing people? In this episode of Remarkable TV and the Remarkable Leadership Podcast, I challenge the common view of delegation as simply a time-management tactic. Done poorly, delegation is just handing off tasks. Done well, it becomes one of the most powerful tools you have to develop others. In this episode, I’ll walk you through: The critical difference between delegating work and developing people ...
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Better Hybrid Habits (in 20 Minutes or Less)
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How can leaders build better workplace culture by rethinking hybrid work? In this fourth episode of the culture mini-series, Kevin and Jennifer Moss look at how hybrid work habits are quietly shaping workplace culture in ways that undermine both people and performance, often without leaders realizing it. They argue that treating in-office and remote days identically is a missed opportunity and that leaders should design distinct expectations for each work context. They discuss why many employees feel frustrated by return-to-office mandates when the work itself hasn’t changed, and how this...
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Surrender to Lead with Jessica Kriegel
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What if the secret to effective leadership isn't control, but surrender? In this episode, Kevin speaks with Jessica Kriegel, who redefines surrender as a courageous choice: releasing the illusion of control and focusing on what leaders can influence: the experiences they create for their teams. Their conversation explores the delusion of control in hierarchical organizations, the pitfalls of over-management, and why leadership driven by fear and micromanagement is both unsustainable and self-limiting. Jessica also shares her S.H.I.F.T. framework, a practical model for transforming leadership...
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Is Coasting Costing You? - Thoughts from Kevin
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Is coasting costing you? In this episode of Remarkable TV, I want to explore a simple but important question—when does coasting help us, and when does it quietly start holding us back? Coasting can absolutely be useful. It can save energy. It can give us needed rest. But if we aren’t paying attention, coasting can also cause us to lose momentum, give up control, and drift away from intentional leadership. In this episode, I share: When coasting is helpful—and when it isn’t Why coasting often leads to a loss of intentionality How resting too long can stall progress Why progress...
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Close the Generational Gap (in 20 Minutes or Less)
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How can leaders bridge the growing generational divide in today’s workplace? In this third episode of our special five-part series, Changing Your Culture in Twenty Minutes or Less, Kevin and workplace culture expert Jennifer Moss discuss the realities of generational stereotypes. With five generations now working together for the first time in history, misunderstandings and miscommunications are inevitable. Jennifer and Kevin challenge the lazy labels and instead encourage leaders to embrace explicit communication, check their biases, and reimagine onboarding and development with clarity and...
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Love as a Change Strategy with Mohammad Anwar
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What if the most effective strategy for leading change isn’t fear-based urgency, but love? In this episode, Kevin sits down with Mohammad Anwar to explore a rethinking of how leaders can approach change by centering people, building trust, and creating psychological safety. Together, Kevin and Mohammad discuss why traditional change management approaches fail, how fear activates resistance, and why prioritizing emotional intelligence and human connection leads to sustainable transformation. They dive into six behavioral principles that underpin “love as a change strategy,” including...
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Are You Cynical? - Thoughts from Kevin
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When are you cynical? It’s a simple question—but an important one. Because cynicism doesn’t just affect how you see the world. It affects what you learn, what you notice, and how you lead. In this episode of Remarkable TV, I explore what really happens when we become cynical—and why cynicism is less a personality trait and more a mental habit and choice. When we’re cynical, we stop being curious, we stop learning, and our attitude (and the attitudes of those around us) suffers. The good news? Any habit can be changed. I’ll share a simple but powerful replacement strategy that can...
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Making One-on-Ones More Effective
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Are your one-on-one meetings building your culture or just filling your calendar? In this second episode of our special five-part series, Changing Your Culture in Twenty Minutes or Less, Kevin is joined once again by workplace culture expert Jennifer Moss to explore the often-overlooked power of effective one-on-one meetings. Kevin shares a simple three-part framework to make your one-on-ones more engaging and efficient: talk about non-work, their list, and your list. This joint-ownership model transforms these meetings from a task into a tool for connection, clarity, and performance. Jennifer...
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Powerful Influence Through Speaking with Dr. Laura Sicola
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How can leaders ensure their message lands with clarity, confidence, and influence? In this episode, Kevin Eikenberry sits down with Dr. Laura Sicola to discuss how leaders can strengthen their influence by mastering their leadership voice. Laura introduces her “vocal executive presence” framework, built around the three Cs: Command the room, Connect with the audience, and Close the deal. Kevin and Laura break down the three communication channels every leader uses—verbal, vocal, and visual—and why alignment across all three is essential for credibility. They unpack common leadership...
info_outlineIs chaos something to fear or something we can leverage? Kevin sits down with Kevin Black to discuss why chaos isn’t inherently good or bad and how leaders can prepare to succeed in it. Kevin Black explains how natural behaviors, deeply rooted in our personality and life experiences, influence our reactions to chaos and shape team dynamics. He shares his chaos model, which features a taxonomy of control outcomes, from anarchy to deliberate resistance, and how leaders can identify and respond to each stage. They also discuss the four components of constructive chaos and how mishandling these can lead a team into destructive chaos.
Listen For
00:00 Introduction
00:40 Chaos can be used to your advantage
01:16 How to join the podcast live
01:59 Guest introduction: Kevin Black
02:50 Definition of chaos
03:35 Chaos comes from the perception of losing control
04:20 People experience chaos differently based on natural behaviors
05:18 Big idea of the book
07:07 Why Kevin Black wrote the book
07:56 Natural behaviors drive chaos
09:07 How natural behaviors affect reactions to chaos
10:17 Chaos dynamic explained
12:17 Control as the source of chaos
14:32 Control continuum overview
15:04 Anarchy
15:46 Undisciplined initiative
16:35 Disciplined initiative
17:11 Mechanical compliance
17:36 Malicious compliance
18:25 Deliberate resistance
19:57 Constructive vs. destructive chaos
21:01 Unity as the first requirement
22:21 Forward integration
26:00 Mission command
27:47 Trust as the highest level
28:36 Strength in chaos
29:27 Where leaders should start
30:13 Team is the measure of success
31:14 What Kevin Black does for fun
31:32 What he is reading
32:15 Where to connect with Kevin Black
33:24 Closing and Kevin’s “Now what?” challenge
Kevin's Story: Kevin Black is the author of Strength in Chaos: The Ultimate Leadership Blueprint for Mastering the Uncontrollable, the first book to measure chaos at the leader and team level. He is a veteran U.S. Army officer, strategic advisor, author, and founder of Chaos Studies in Leadership, a new domain exploring how leaders, strategies, and behaviors intersect under pressure. Known for his innovative use of computer wargaming and behavioral profiling, he helps organizations craft flexible strategies and build high-performing teams that thrive under pressure. Kevin’s been published in Forbes and USA Today and lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, with his two Australian Cattle Dogs and an American Dingo.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinblack1999
https://www.youtube.com/c/blackmarketleadership
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