299. Be the Leader: Lessons in Humanity and Connection with Mick Spiers

What kind of leader are you becoming: one who earns trust or one who enforces compliance? We take a clear-eyed look at leadership through four lenses—service, courage, resilience, and inclusion—drawing on highlights from Steve Fortunato, Jim Fielding, Kijuan Amey, and Stephanie Chung to turn big ideas into practical actions you can use this week.

Steve’s insights on service and storytelling show why facts inform but stories transform, helping teams reconnect to purpose and feel seen. Jim’s journey across Disney and The Gap reveals how authenticity and empathy create safe speed during change, where people move faster because fear drops and clarity rises. Kijuan’s post‑traumatic growth reframes adversity with a powerful line—losing sight without losing vision—reminding us to ask “What now?” and bounce forward with intent. Stephanie’s ally leadership invites us to pay attention to our attention—what we reward and ignore—so we amplify quiet voices, embrace healthy conflict, and unlock the innovation that diverse teams naturally generate.

Across these themes, the message is simple: leadership is human. Presence beats perfection when you show up to serve, listen, and adapt. You’ll leave with four practical moves: share one authentic story that reconnects your team to purpose; lead with empathy by checking how people are doing, not just what they’re doing; after setbacks, identify the next small step within your control; and intentionally invite a voice that hasn’t been heard. We close with reflective prompts to help you align your actions with your values and build a culture where people don’t just follow—you earn their belief.

If this conversation sparked an insight, share it with a colleague, subscribe on YouTube or your favorite podcast app, and leave a quick review so others can find the show. Your support helps more leaders trade ego for empathy and certainty for curiosity.

Chapters

• 0:27 What Kind Of Leader Are You
• 1:41 November Guests And Purpose Of Reflection
• 1:59 Steve Fortunato: Service And Storytelling
• 2:35 Jim Fielding: Purpose Courage Empathy
• 4:13 Kiwi: Resilience And Post‑Traumatic Growth
• 6:03 Stephanie Chung: Ally Leadership And Inclusion
• 7:39 Connecting The Dots: Leadership Is Human
• 8:23 Actionable Takeaways For The Week
• 9:13 Reflection Prompts And Gratitude
• 10:45 Milestone Tease And Closing Values
• 10:55 Subscribe And Stay Connected

Transcript

Mick Spiers: 0:01

Have you ever stopped to think about what kind Hey everyone, and welcome back to The Leadership Project. I'm your host, Mick Spiers, and today is going to be a solo cast of leader you're becoming? Are you the kind of leader who where I reflect on each of our guests in November and what they taught us connecting the dots and converting it into some reflective moments for you and some actual insights for all of us. So let's get straight into it. Steve Fortunato spoke to us about leadership through service and storytelling. Steve reminded us that leadership starts with service. It's not about getting people to do more. It's about helping people become more. He challenged us to move from how can I get results, to how can I help my team succeed? Because when my team succeeds, we all succeed. And he reminded us that connection isn't built through numbers, metrics or KPIs. It's built through stories, because facts informed, but stories transform. Stories move people. inspires trust or demands compliance, and do people follow When you share a story about a struggle, a learning or a vulnerability, you're not just teaching, you're inviting others to see themselves in you. So this week, ask yourself this what story could I share that reminds my team why our work matters, because every great leader is also a great storyteller, whether you realize it or not. Our next guest was Jim Fielding, who spoke to us about leading with purpose, courage and empathy. Jim fielding's episode was a masterclass in leading through change and in staying true to your values when everything else around you shifts. Having led iconic brands like Disney and the gap, Jim has lived through disruption, reinvention and high stakes transformation, but his message was beautifully simple purpose you because they have to or because they want to? In today's and people always come before profit. Jim spoke about authenticity as being his super power, how the courage to lead as his true self became the source of his strength. He reminded us that empathy isn't weakness, it's what allows us to navigate uncertainty with our people, not around them. His personal story of coming out as a gay executive in corporate America was raw, vulnerable and deeply inspiring. It showed us that real Courage isn't the absence of fear, it's acting in alignment with your values despite fear. So let me ask you this, are you leading from alignment or from expectation? When's the last time you showed your team that it's okay not to have all the answers, and how are you showing up with authenticity and empathy? Leadership built on authenticity episode, I'm going to be reflecting on the powerful and empathy outlasts any business trend, because people will always remember how you made them feel. Our next guest was Kijuan Amey, or better known as Kiwi, and he spoke to us about resilience, purpose and post traumatic growth. Kiwi story stopped me in my tracks after losing his sight in a motorcycle action, he didn't just rebuild his life. He redefined it. His quote blew me away. I may have lost my sight, but I did not lose my vision. That sentence alone could be the title of an entire leadership philosophy. Kiwi taught us that resilience isn't about bouncing back. It's about bouncing forward. It's choosing to turn pain into purpose. It's the moment from our guests throughout November, Steve courage to stop asking why me, and start asking what now? And one of the true, compelling learnings here is that trauma doesn't discriminate. It can happen to anyone, and people aren't doing things to you. It's just happening around you, and it's how you respond that makes all the difference. Kiwi also reminded us that forgiveness of others, of circumstances, even of ourselves, is what sets us free to grow as Lee. It is we all face adversity, projects fail, people leave, plans fall apart. But resilience isn't about never failing. It's about what we become because we fell. So I want to leave you with Kiwi's reflection, the story you tell yourself about your Fortunato, Jim fielding, Kijuan Amey and Stephanie Chung each struggle determines who you become because of it. So ask yourself, what story are you telling about yourself today? And finally, we had Stephanie Chung talking to us about ally leadership and leading across difference. Stephanie's message couldn't be more relevant for the world we live in today. She reminded us that leadership is no longer about leading people who are like us. It's about learning how to lead people who aren't like us. Six generations in the workplace, multiple cultures, multiple genders, neuro diversities and perspectives. That's not a challenge. It's our greatest opportunity. Stephanie introduced us to a simple but powerful idea, pay attention to your attention, what you notice, what you reward, what you ignore. As a leader, tells your brought a unique perspective on what it means to lead with team exactly what you value. She challenged us to stop striving for harmony through sameness and instead embrace healthy conflict and diversity of thought. Draw out those ideas, give people the platform to speak up despite any fear that they might have, because diverse teams don't just perform better, they think better, innovate faster and create more inclusive environments where people feel valued and when people feel valued, they add value. As Stephanie said, Allied leadership starts by intentionally creating space for every voice, especially the quiet ones. So this week, look around your next meeting and ask whose voice isn't being heard, and how can I invite it in? So let's connect heart, authenticity and courage, and today, I want to connect the the dots of what all four of these amazing leaders taught us. It's the heart of leadership. From Steve Fortunato, we learned that leadership is service, from Jim fielding that leadership is courage, from Kiwi that leadership is resilience, and from Stephanie that leadership is inclusion. But if there's one thread that runs through them all, it's this, leadership is human. It's not about being perfect. It's about being present. When you show up to serve, to listen, to adapt and to grow. People don't just follow you. They believe in you. So here's your actionable takeaways for this week. Number one, share a story. Tell one, authentic story that connects your team back to the purpose of why your team exists. Number two, lead with empathy. Check in with your people, not just about results, but about how they're doing. Number three, build dots between their wisdom and help you to reflect on how their resilience. When something goes wrong, pause and ask, what now? What can I do? Don't focus on what you can't do. Focus on what you can do with what you have from where you are. And number four, practice allied leadership in your next meeting, intentionally amplify a voice that hasn't been heard in a while. As you finish this episode, take a moment to journal or think about these questions. What story am I telling myself about my own leadership right now? When did I last lead with empathy and vulnerability? Who around me needs to be seen, heard and supported more and what can I do differently this week to lead with more humanity as we wrap up this reflection, I want to say thank you to every listener, every guest and every leader who's been part of the journey stories can shape your own leadership journey. so far, because next week, we celebrate something truly special, Episode 300 of the leadership project. We've come so far together, and we're just getting started. So until then, be the leader who listens, who learns and who leads with heart. You've been listening to the leadership project. If today sparked an insight, don't keep it to yourself. Share it with one other person who would benefit from listening to the show. A huge thank you to Gerald Calibo for his tireless work editing every episode, and to my amazing wife, Sei, who does all the heavy lifting in the background to make this show pop. Possible. None of this happens without them around here. We believe leadership is a practice, not a position, that people should feel seen, heard, valued and that they matter, that the best leaders trade ego for empathy, certainty for curiosity and control for trust. If that resonates with you, please subscribe on YouTube and on your favorite podcast app, and if you want more, follow me on LinkedIn and explore our archives for conversations that move you from knowing to doing until next time, lead with curiosity, courage and care.