the Learn-It-All™ podcast
by Damon Lembi
Latest episode
340. Why 80% of Leaders Can’t Name Their Most Valuable Employee
340. Why 80% of Leaders Can’t Name Their Most Valuable Employee
About this podcast
The Learn-It-All™ podcast is built on the conviction that the leaders worth following aren't the ones with all the answers. They're the ones who never stop learning. If you've chosen growth over coasting, and curiosity over the comfort of being the smartest person in the room, you're a learn-it-all. And this podcast is for you.
Host Damon Lembi is a 3x bestselling author, CEO of Learnit, and someone who has spent 30 years watching what separates leaders who keep growing from those who quietly become the ceiling that limits everyone around them.
Each episode features real conversations with top executives, founders, NYT bestselling authors, and world-class athletes — people who've faced adversity, made costly mistakes, and done the hard, unglamorous work of growing. They share what they learned — and unlearned — to lead at the next level.
Great leaders aren't born or made. They're always in the making.
Let's not do that work alone.
Stay curious. Keep learning.
Subscribe to the Learn-It-All Podcast on your favorite platform to never miss an episode.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 341 episodes
- 340. Why 80% of Leaders Can’t Name Their Most Valuable Employee · 50 min · Episode 340Your most valuable employee might be someone you’ve never heard of. Jack McCullough is the founder of the CFO Leadership Council and author of The Rodman Paradox, named after the…
- 339. 5 Beliefs I Had to Unlearn to Be a Better Leader · 13 min · Episode 339Just because a belief helped you become successful doesn't mean it will help you stay successful. After more than 30 years leading Learnit, Damon Lembi has changed his mind about…
- 338. The Leadership Habit That Kills Big Ideas | Dr. Vivienne Ming, Neuroscientist · 1 h 2 min · Episode 338The right answer is free now. The better question is the one worth rewarding. Dr. Vivienne Ming is a theoretical neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and author of Robot-Proof: When…
- 337. The Mistake Leaders Make Before Every Big Deadline | Dr. Haley Perlus, Performance Psychology Expert · 46 min · Episode 337Failure is an option. Accepting that may be the fastest way to perform at your best. Dr. Haley Perlus is a performance psychologist who helps business leaders and elite athletes…
- 336. 3 Reasons Your Team Stops Following You | Matt McClernan, CEO of Augment Code · 33 min · Episode 336The goals you set on Monday can be irrelevant by Friday. Leading through that takes honesty, not certainty. Matt McClernan is the CEO of Augment Code, the leading AI platform for…
- 335. Kenny Aronoff, 300M Records: Why Leaders Who Connect Get the Call · 58 min · Episode 335Being good at what you do gets you the first call. It doesn’t guarantee the next one. Kenny Aronoff has spent over four decades as one of rock's most in-demand drummers…
- 334. What Your Team Needs When You Don't Know What Comes Next | Dave Sanderson · 51 min · Episode 334When things go wrong, nobody cares about your title. They care whether you can make the call. Dave Sanderson was the last passenger off Flight 1549, the Miracle on the Hudson…
- 333. If You Don't Understand These 16 Leadership Skills, You'll Never Win · 25 min · Episode 333What are the biggest pitfalls leaders face, and how can you avoid them? In this solo episode of the Learn-It-All™ podcast, Damon shares 16 common leadership mistakes, from…
- 332. Jon Gordon: Leadership Habits That Build Trust With Teams | 19x Bestselling Author · 41 min · Episode 332Build the culture, and the culture builds everything else. Neglect it, and you’ll never get buy-in. Jon Gordon is the author of 19 bestsellers, including The Energy Bus and his…
- 331. The Amazing Race’s Joanna Lohman: Why Role Players Win Championships · 45 min · Episode 331Only one player scores the goal. But it's the team that wins championships. Joanna Lohman played professional soccer for 16 years, including time on the U.S. Women's National…
- 330. Why Your Decision Making Under Pressure Fails | Michelle "MACE" Curran · 1 h 0 min · Episode 330Most leaders think they're managing stress. A lot of the time they're managing fear. Michelle "MACE" Curran is a combat veteran and former fighter pilot who flew lead solo for…
- 329. Why Your Team Can't Focus | Shawn Vanderhoven, PAUSE Author, Partner at Liz Wiseman's Firm · 51 min · Episode 329In Business, "Got five minutes?" is almost never five minutes. And the impact on your team doesn't end when the task does Shawn Vanderhoven leads the executive development…
- 328: Why Generalists Are Getting Replaced First in the AI Era | Matthew Whyatt · 56 min · Episode 328What if AI is not replacing people because it is smarter, but because too many businesses have become broad, vague, and easy to copy? Matthew Whyatt, founder of Tech Torque and…
- 327. Fortune 500 Executive Coach: Why You're Winning at Work But Losing at Home | James "J.R." Reid · 51 min · Episode 327You may be hitting goal after goal, but where is your ambition actually taking you? For James "J.R." Reid, it took two years to notice his success on paper wasn't translating at…
- 326. Why High Earners Feel More Stuck Than Ever (The Success Trap) | Alexa DePaolo · 48 min · Episode 326What if earning more money didn’t create freedom, but quietly made you a hostage to the life you built? Real estate expert, Keynote speaker, and business strategist Alexa DePaolo…
- 325. Harvard Business Review Writer: The Goal You Just Set Only Has a 34% Chance of Success | Kyle Austin Young · 54 min · Episode 325Most people think there are two ways to succeed: be talented, or get lucky — but there are two more no one talks about. Kyle Austin Young is a strategy consultant and author of…
- 324. The BIG Leadership Mistake That's Quietly Destroying Your Team | Joe Machicote · 58 min · Episode 324When your company’s values are just words on the wall, trust crumbles—and so does your team. In this revealing episode of The Learn-It-All™ podcast, Joe Machicote, veteran…
- 323. The Hidden Cost of Letting AI Do Your Thinking | Dr. Soren Kaplan · 48 min · Episode 3238 in 10 AI rollouts go the same way: high hopes and minimal results. Dr. Soren Kaplan, organizational psychologist and author of 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, has advised more than…
- 322. By Age 12, 75% of Your Time With Your Kids Is Already Gone | Jeff Wickersham · 52 min · Episode 322By the time your child turns 12, 75% of the time you’ll ever spend with them is already gone. So what are you doing with the time that’s left? High-performing dads can be…
- 321. He Studied 1000s of Teams — You're Losing 29 Hours a Week and Don't Know It | Ron Friedman, Ph.D. · 36 min · Episode 321Only 8% of people are on superteams. The rest lose hours every week sitting in meetings, answering messages, and doing work that gets them nowhere. Ron Friedman, social…
- 320. The Mindset Shift High Achievers Need Before Burnout Forces It | Mairin Moore Cane · 43 min · Episode 320What if the mindset that made you successful is also the mindset quietly pushing you toward burnout? High achievers are rewarded for going, doing, achieving, and hustling, but…
- 319. His Apps Reached 100 Million Users: Here's Why Your Customers Don't Stay | Colin Hodge · 51 min · Episode 319A million users in three months. Then the hardest three months of his life. Colin Hodge, author of Outrageous Startup Growth, walked away from Microsoft and spent the next decade…
- 318. The Fastest Way to Scale AI Across Your Organization · 18 min · Episode 318Companies are spending billions of dollars on AI tools, and most of them still aren't seeing the ROI they expected. In this episode of the Learn-It-All™ podcast, Damon Lembi, CEO…
- 317. Why Great Salespeople Struggle When Promoted Into Leadership | Lynn Hidy · 58 min · Episode 317What if promoting your best salesperson is one of the fastest ways to create a struggling sales manager? Being great at selling and being great at leading require completely…
- 316. You're Probably in the Wrong Career — Here's How to Find Your "Thing" | Tom Rath · 43 min · Episode 316By the time you picked your career, you probably only knew about 5% of the opportunities out there. No wonder so many of us end up in the wrong one. According to bestselling…
- 315. Meet the Teacher Behind 2M+ Students on Udemy | Kyle Pew · 36 min · Episode 315How do you stand out and build a thriving online business when there are already thousands of competitors in your exact niche? When Kyle Pew first searched the Udemy platform to…
- 314. The #1 Reason Your AI Investment Isn't Paying Off | Julie Stone · 44 min · Episode 314If your AI spend outweighs the returns, it's probably not the tool. It's how you're using it. Julie Stone is the Chief Learning Officer at TTEC, where she's led the AI…
- 313: What Elite Sports Teach You That Business School Never Will | Andreea Dragoi · 37 min · Episode 313Are you letting fear of discomfort hold you back from your next massive career breakthrough? In this episode of The Learn-It-All™ Podcast, Damon sits down with D1 swim team…
- 312. $10M Founder: Stop Blaming The Market If Your Business Isn't Growing | Bryan Clayton · 48 min · Episode 312Getting stuck at $2 or $3 million isn't a market problem. It's a blind spot problem. Bryan Clayton, founder of GreenPal, escaped the trap so many founders fall into — becoming…
- 311. How to Lead People Who Know More Than You | Jon Rennie · 48 min · Episode 311What do you do when you are the youngest, least experienced person in the room, but you are still asked to lead? It is a terrifying reality that many young leaders and…
- 310: 6 Questions About AI Every Leader Needs To Debate · 47 min · Episode 310Everyone says they're "adopting AI"—but the bills are landing and no one's sure what tokens, logins, or dashboards actually prove. The harder truth: most "AI failures" are human…
- 309. AI Is Forcing a Leadership Reset. Are You Prepared? | Sue Bethanis · 47 min · Episode 309Are your employees silently resisting your latest technology mandates, or are you accidentally destroying trust by throwing down executive edicts? In this episode of The…
- 308. The Neuroscience of High Performance: 3 Steps for Clarity & Confidence | Angus Nelson · 1 h 7 min · Episode 308Are you working incredibly hard but still feel like something is missing? In an era of AI integration, market volatility, and relentless global economic issues, it’s easy to…
- 307. The Hidden Cost of Being Great at Your Job | Billy Keels · 1 h 8 min · Episode 307Are you getting on planes you don't actually need to be on? It is easy to confuse your corporate role with your personal identity, especially when you are a high performer…
- 306. He Studied Baseball For 30 Years. Here's What It Taught Him About Leadership. | Ken Davidoff · 48 min · Episode 306Are you ready to transform your failures into your greatest competitive advantage? In the high-stakes world of Major League Baseball, even the best players fail seven out of ten…
- 305. "I Didn't Think I Was a Leader" — Then He Captained the All Blacks 52 Times | Kieran Read · 53 min · Episode 305What if the secret to elite leadership isn't a natural-born talent, but a learned skill forged through vulnerability and connection? Many emerging leaders struggle with imposter…
- 304. Why Your Skills Aren't Enough to Get What You Want | Quinn Harwood · 1 h 4 min · Episode 304Are you settling for stagnant performance because you're wrestling with a deep-seated lack of confidence or the "imposter syndrome" mask? In this episode of The Learn-It-All™…
- 303. The #1 Reason Companies Fail (& How To Fix It) | Jamie Shaver · 54 min · Episode 303Are you launching great ideas only to watch them fall apart at the finish line? Many organizations struggle with execution because they start with a creative idea rather than a…
- 302. The Dream Manager: The Question Most Leaders Never Ask | Kate Volman · 60 min · Episode 302What happens to a person, and to a company, when people stop believing their dreams can actually come true? In this episode of The Learn-It-All™ Podcast, Damon sits down with…
- 301. High Performance Expert: Don't Let Fear Motivate You, Do This Instead | Josh Perry · 56 min · Episode 301What if the thing driving your success is also the thing quietly keeping you stuck? In this episode of The Learn-It-All™ Podcast, Damon sits down with former professional BMX…
- 300. The Winning Mindset of a 2x National Championship Baseball Coach | Andy Lopez · 1 h 23 min · Episode 300What does it actually take to build a championship culture when nobody believes you belong in the room? For the 300th episode of The Learn-It-All™ Podcast, Damon sits down with a…
- 299. How to Find the Next Big Opportunity Before Everyone Else Does | Garrett Larsson · 48 min · Episode 299What if the biggest startup opportunities aren’t in the hottest markets, but in the “old, clunky” industries everyone else ignores? In this episode of The Learn-It-All™ Podcast…
- 298. Former Tesla Executive: Why Speed Is the Only Business Strategy That Actually Works | Jay Abbasi · 57 min · Episode 298Most leaders are moving too slowly for the world they’re trying to win in. In this episode of the Learn-It-All™ podcast, Damon sits down with Keynote speaker and former Tesla…
- 297. Most Companies Are Using AI Wrong And It's Costing Them | Christa Hill · 1 h 5 min · Episode 297What if your AI strategy is making your team faster, but not actually smarter? In this episode of The Learn-It-All™ Podcast, Damon sits down with Christa Hill, Co-Founder of…
- 296. The Real Workforce Crisis Isn’t AI — It’s Human Disconnection | Colleen Stanley · 45 min · Episode 296What happens when people stop feeling seen at work, right as AI makes it easier than ever to avoid real human connection? In this episode of The Learn-It-All™ Podcast, Damon sits…
- 295. If AI Has All The Answers, What Do You Compete On? | Andrea Iorio · 1 h 8 min · Episode 295AI is not just changing the future of work. It is exposing which parts of your job were never the real work to begin with. In this episode of The Learn-It-All™ Podcast, Damon…
- 294. NBA's Top Psychologist Reveals How to Thrive Under Pressure | Wayne Chappelle · 47 min · Episode 294What if your team isn’t underperforming because of talent, strategy, or effort, but because they’re mentally falling apart under pressure? In this episode of The Learn-It-All™…
- 293. The Leadership Skill Nobody Teaches (But Every Top Performer Has) | Damon Lembi · 18 min · Episode 293FREE Download The Learn-It-All Leader book Every top performer has one leadership skill that rarely shows up in job descriptions, training programs, or performance reviews…
- 292. The Ancient Leadership Principle That The Top 1% Leaders Know | DJ Vanas · 1 h 2 min · Episode 292What if the strongest leaders aren’t the ones who fight alone, but the ones who know how to serve, protect, and build a tribe around them? In this episode of The Learn-It-All™…
- 291. The One Rule That Separates Great Leaders From Average Managers | Tyler Dickerhoof · 1 h 6 min · Episode 291What if the leadership trait you’re most proud of is the exact thing quietly breaking trust with your team? In this episode of the Learn-It-All™ podcast, Damon Lembi sits down…
