Learnit

High performers hit a wall not because they lack skills, but because they keep upgrading the apps without changing the operating system.

In this episode of The Learnit Lounge, Mickey Fitch-Collins, PhD, sat down with Luann Horobin, ICF Master Coach with 20 years of experience coaching executives and high performers, to talk about why the most important development work happens on the inside first.

They explore what happens when the strategies that made you successful stop working and how vertical development gives you a completely different way through.

They discussed:

- Why horizontal learning (adding knowledge) often keeps you stuck in the same ex*****on patterns

- How your identity quietly becomes the source of your resistance

- What "silencing the noise" actually looks like in day-to-day leadership

If you've ever felt like you're doing all the right things but still running on a hamster wheel, this one is for you.

Listen now - https://www.learnit.com/podcast-the-learnit-lounge/59-unlocking-the-inner-game-vertical-development-and-mindset-shifts-luann-horobin

Leaders who rely only on words are leaving half their message behind.

In this episode of The Learnit Lounge, Dr. Mickey Fitch-Collins sits down with Todd Cherches, CEO of BigBlueGumball and author of VisuaLeadership, about why the most effective leaders think and communicate in pictures.

They dig into what happens when you have a vision in your head that no one else can see, and how to change that.

They discussed:
- The four categories of visual thinking every leader needs to know
- Why metaphors are more than creative flair (they are a precision communication tool)
- How to use the windshield, rearview mirror, and dashboard to assess where you and your team actually are right now

If you have ever had a great idea that just did not land the way you intended, this conversation will change how you approach every meeting, presentation, and one-on-one going forward.

Listen now - https://learnit.com/podcast-the-learnit-lounge/58-see-what-youre-saying-the-power-of-visual-leadership-todd-cherches

In this episode of The Learnit Lounge, Dr. Mickey Fitch-Collins Fitch-Collins, PhD, sits down with Craig LaFargue, Principal at LaFargue Leadership Solutions and behavioral science expert with over 30 years of coaching executives at Disney, Johnson and Johnson, ExxonMobil, and beyond, to talk about why developing great leaders is so much harder than organizations want to admit.

They explore what happens when leaders go through powerful training and then return to an environment that was never set up to support change, and how to actually make development stick.

They discuss:

- Why mindset, not skill set, is the hardest thing to shift in a leader

- How emotional intelligence breaks down under stress and what to do about it

- Why coaching beats classroom training every single time

If you have ever invested in leadership development and wondered why nothing changed back on the job, this one is going to hit home.

Listen now - https://www.learnit.com/podcast-the-learnit-lounge/57-the-hidden-weight-of-leadership-what-no-one-tells-you-craig-lafargue

A photo from one year ago: our CEO Damon Lembi and Keith Ferrazzi holding each other’s books at Learnit’s 30th anniversary celebration.

This week, Learnit turns 31.

Looking back at this moment, we’re reminded of an idea Keith helped bring to life that night: the best organizations aren’t built around one leader.

They’re built by teams that challenge, support, and elevate one another.

Keith calls it teamship and co-elevation.

For us, those words captured so much of what Learnit has spent the last three decades working to build: a culture where people push each other to grow, support each other through the hard stretches, and help one another become better than they could alone.

That’s why having Keith keynote our anniversary celebration last year meant so much.

As we celebrate 31 years, we’re especially grateful for the team, our families, customers, facilitators, partners, and community members who have helped shape Learnit into what it is today.

Check out Damon’s episode with Keith on The Learn-It-All Podcast below.

As a thank you to this community, comment “BOOK” below and we’ll send you a physical copy of The Learn-It-All Leader and Keith’s Never Lead Alone. Continental U.S. only.

A photo from one year ago: our CEO Damon Lembi and Keith Ferrazzi holding each other’s books at Learnit’s 30th anniversary celebration.
 
This week, Learnit turns 31.
 
Looking back at this moment, we’re reminded of an idea Keith helped bring to life that night: the best organizations aren’t built around one leader.
 
They’re built by teams that challenge, support, and elevate one another.
 
Keith calls it teamship and co-elevation.
 
For us, those words captured so much of what Learnit has spent the last three decades working to build: a culture where people push each other to grow, support each other through the hard stretches, and help one another become better than they could alone.
 
That’s why having Keith keynote our anniversary celebration last year meant so much.
 
As we celebrate 31 years, we’re especially grateful for the team, our families, customers, facilitators, partners, and community members who have helped shape Learnit into what it is today.
 
Check out Damon’s episode with Keith on The Learn-It-All Podcast - LINK IN BIO!
 
As a thank you to this community, comment “BOOK” below and we’ll send you a physical copy of The Learn-It-All Leader and Keith’s Never Lead Alone. Continental U.S. only.

High performers are often the most misaligned people in the room.

In this episode of The Learnit Lounge, Mickey Fitch-Collins,PhD sit down with Casey Hasten, CPC, ELI-MP, executive recruiter, and certified professional coach, about what it actually means to be aligned in your career and why the people who look the most successful on paper are often the most stuck on the inside.

They explore what happens when achievement starts masking misalignment and how to find your way back to work that actually fits who you are.

They discuss:

- The four-part framework Casey uses to define true career alignment (it goes way beyond liking your job)
- Why journaling and tracing back to your childhood passions is the first homework she gives every coaching client
- How to tell the difference between a perceived risk and a real one when you're thinking about making a career pivot

If you have ever been promoted, praised, and still felt like something was off, this one is for you.

Listen now - https://www.learnit.com/podcast-the-learnit-lounge/56-stop-falling-into-your-career-and-start-designing-it-casey-hasten

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Slack pings.
Inbox alerts.
Back-to-back meetings.
Fifty tabs open.

You end the day exhausted and still wonder:

Did I actually move anything forward?

In this solo episode of The LearnIt Lounge, Mickey Fitch-Collins, PhD, unpacks something many high performers struggle with but rarely say out loud.

Overwhelm often shows up when everything feels urgent, and nothing feels clear.

So we talk about what actually helps:
• How to distinguish urgent work from meaningful work
• Why your calendar may be working against you
• The leadership skill of saying “no” professionally
• A simple prioritization ritual that changed how I work

The leaders who create the most impact are rarely the busiest people in the room.

They are the clearest about what matters.

If your calendar feels full but your strategic work keeps slipping, this episode is for you.

Listen to the latest episode of The LearnIt Lounge - https://www.learnit.com/podcast-the-learnit-lounge/55-busy-isnt-productive-the-clarity-shift-that-transforms-leadership-dr-mickey-fitch-collins

Power reveals character.

What does yours say about your values?

This week on The Learnit Lounge, Dr. Mickey Fitch-Collins is joined by Meredith Bell, who has spent her career helping organizations turn stated values into lived behavior and co-founded Grow Strong Leaders. They talk about something most leadership conversations skip entirely: what character actually is, how to develop it, and what happens when leaders gain power without it.

They get into:

🔹 Why humility is one of the most underrated and overlooked leadership strengths

🔹 How to use a simple one-question feedback approach to accelerate your own growth

🔹 What really happens inside organizations when values are lived versus just stated

This episode is for founders and senior leaders who want to be honest with themselves about whether they are the kind of leader they say they are.

🎧 Listen here:https://lnkd.in/gNtr2axh

Leaders who most need leadership development are the ones least likely to show up for it.

Waylen Leopoldino, MHRM, PHR said it better than most would dare to.

Waylen joined Dr. Mickey Fitch-Collins on with 17 years of HR leadership experience and a front-row seat to how workplace culture actually gets built or quietly falls apart.

They tackled one of the most important questions in people leadership right now: whose job is it to make work meaningful?

They get into:
🔹 Why meaning is a shared responsibility between employer and employee
🔹 What rituals and habits actually build trust and team cohesion over time
🔹 The job vs. career mindset and how leaders can shift it for their teams

If you're a founder or executive wondering why engagement scores keep slipping despite your best efforts, you need to hear this conversation.

🎧 Listen here: https://www.learnit.com/podcast-the-learnit-lounge/53-the-meaning-crisis-why-your-best-people-are-quietly-checking-out-waylen-leopoldino