When 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 leadership coach and bestselling author, joins to unpack the hidden (and costly) gap between what leaders say and what they actually do. Joe pulls back the curtain on why culture begins at the top, how one word can transform blame into trust, and why needing to be “right” can destroy more than any honest mistake ever could. Through candid stories, ranging from boardrooms to personal tragedy, Joe offers a masterclass in owning your actions, rebuilding credibility, and creating environments where people want to show up, not check out.
You’ll walk away with tools to close the say/do gap, handle tough feedback, lead teams through conflict, and, most importantly, lead yourself with more humility and intention.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why as much as 50% of turnover stems from leaders whose actions don’t match their words, and how to fix it
- The science behind trust: what happens when there’s a gap between stated values and daily behaviors
- How to hold even CEOs accountable (hint: it takes “straight talk” and real relationships)
- The magic of shifting from “you have a problem” to “we have a problem”
- Why owning your mistakes publicly actually builds more credibility than always being right
- Joe’s most vulnerable story of shifting from “why me?” to “why not me?” and how it made him a better leader and person
In This Episode:
00:00 – The say/do gap: when visions & values don’t match employee experience
01:30 – Why up to 50% of people leave over leadership hypocrisy
02:49 – People “make stuff up” when behavior doesn’t match the wall
03:51 – How trust (or lack thereof) drives disengagement
04:40 – Can a CEO really shape a 150,000-person culture? (yes, here’s how)
06:47 – What happens when a leader “whispers”—the whole organization hears a roar
07:08 – How to deliver feedback up the chain and the power of straight talk
09:33 – “My bad”: Why quickly owning mistakes changes everything
11:38 – Joe’s early-career failure: choosing service over the need to be right
16:02 – The real price leaders pay for always needing to be right
17:59 – How to lead teams through collective mistakes and turn “you problems” into “we problems”
22:30 – Joe’s two life rules learned from his mother (and a dance studio metaphor you’ll remember)
37:14 – Pivotal life moments & leading through personal crisis
48:51 – Moving from “buried” to “planted”—the ultimate leadership mindset
54:20 – The impact you never see: how a single keynote changed a security guard’s life
56:10 – Why Joe’s company logo is a black steel butterfly
About Joe Machicote:
Joe Machicote is the Founder and CEO of Transformational Leadership Solutions Group and the #1 bestselling author of Own Thy Stuff. With more than 35 years of experience, Joe has helped CEOs and executives at organizations as large as 150,000 people build cultures where values aren’t just words, but daily realities. He’s passionate about closing the gap between what leaders say and do, reshaping trust, and leaving both people and organizations better than he found them.
Resources Mentioned:
Let us know your key takeaways from the episode! And remember, great leaders aren't born. They're always in the making.
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