Leading Without the BS

Podcast

Ep. 17: Mediocre Sucks: Chris Lock on Ownership, CrossFit, and Leading Without the BS

Cathy Maday, Founder of Wingspan Performance, talks with Chris Lock, Siemens Smart Infrastructure leader. Chris shares raw lessons on entrepreneurial grit, risk-taking, and people-first leadership inside a global titan. From breaking sweat in early jobs to building high-performance teams with Wingspan Performance, discover how to lead with ownership, handle consequences, and create meaningful impact. This episode is for leaders seeking unfiltered performance strategies, industrial mindset shifts, and real-world business growth.

Podcast

Ep. 16: Why Leaders Fail at Accountability (And How to Fix It)

Mike Johnson sits down with Wingspan Performance Advisor Bruce Stankavage to unpack one of the most misunderstood leadership skills: exercising accountability. Drawing from 26+ years as an entrepreneur, Bruce shares how avoiding accountability and unclear expectations quietly limit team performance - and what changed when he shifted his mindset.

Podcast

Ep. 15: How “Fuzzy Language” Is Killing Your Team’s Performance

Mike Johnson talks with Danny Curlin, Plant Manager at Koppers Performance Chemicals, about how he overcame fuzzy language like “I’ll try,” “I think,” and “I need” that was quietly sabotaging his leadership and team performance. In this raw conversation on Leading Without the BS, Danny shares his journey from fast-tracked supervisor to plant manager, the costly impact of vague communication in manufacturing, and the practical shifts he made through Wingspan Performance personalized coaching.

Podcast

Ep. 14: Unspoken Expectations: The Real Cost in Safety & Leadership

Mike Johnson talks with Dianne Grote Adams, President & Owner of CFX Inc. and a health and safety expert with over 40 years of experience. They reveal how unspoken or unclear expectations lead to serious safety risks, wasted time and money, team misalignment, and frustration. Discover why leaders struggle to communicate behavioral and technical expectations clearly, the hidden costs of poor performance, and practical ways to fix it through direct conversations, better feedback, and aligned communication styles.

Podcast

Ep. 13: Most Leadership Training is Bullsh*t. What Now?

Most leadership training sounds good in theory and fails in practice. In this episode, Wingspan Performance® Advisors Heather Hopkins and Mike Johnson break down why traditional leadership development doesn’t stick | and what actually changes behavior when leaders are under real pressure.