The Tyler Dickerhoof Show

Epizode

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  Ep 275 Don't Let Success Become Your Excuse for Complacency w/Marty Hofmann 11.10.2026 37min

  Some of the most complacent leaders are also the hardest working.That sounds backward. But Marty Hofmann learned that drive and complacency can be the same thing. When you're always chasing the next result, you never stop long enough to be present with the people right in front of you.Marty grew up on a farm in Iowa, spent eight years as a youth pastor, and built a $15 million real estate portfolio that started with a single $5,000 duplex. He's the author of Kill Complacency, host of the podcast by the same name, and founder of The Forge, a community that helps people stop drifting and build their lives on purpose.He's also a guy whose wife once told him, "I'm over this." He had been providing for his family without being present with them.In this conversation, Tyler and Marty talk about the hidden cost of being "Rammy," the word Marty's family used for pushing through people to get results. They get into why validation drives so many leaders, what it cost Marty with his older kids, and the simple practice that turned his life around.The answer to complacency isn't working harder. It's being intentional.In this episode:Why drive and complacency are often the same problemWhat it means to be results-oriented instead of people-oriented, and what it costs youThe string illustration: why you can't push people, you have to lead from the frontMarty's 7 F framework: faith, family, fitness, future self, finance, friends and funHow five years of tracked Monday date nights rebuilt his marriageStarting with your future self and working backward to todayWhere his need for validation came from as one of ten kidsThe one thing to do first if you sense you're driftingResources:Marty's book, website and resources: killcomplacency.comKill Complacency on AmazonLead Without Hiding monthly challenge: leadwithouthiding.com
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  Ep 274 Victim, Survivor, or Victor? Leading After A Traumatic Attack w/Erika Rothenberger 04.10.2026 43min

  Warning: This episode includes a detailed account of a violent assault. It also mentions sexual assault, eating disorders, and growing up with alcoholic parents.On the morning of June 16, 2022, Erika Rothenberger pushed back a meeting by 15 minutes. She texted her kids to have a great day. Then she pulled into the parking lot she had used for over 10 years.A man she had never seen before was waiting.What happened next changed everything.Erika is a civil engineer. She has spent more than 20 years in construction, where only about 11% of the workers are women. She had the hard hat, the corner office, the family. She thought she was living a big, bold life. What happened to her that day in June showed her she had been playing it safe. She had also been packing years of pain into a dark "basement" she never meant to open.In this conversation, Erika sits down with show host and longtime friend Tyler Dickerhoof. She tells the story of what happened to her that day and the three and a half years of trials that came after.She also shares the moment in her backyard, hood up and body bruised, when her children's laughter reminded her she had a choice. She could stay a victim. She could survive. Or she could thrive.She chose to thrive. The thing that carried her through was human connection: her husband, her sister, her friends, and people she barely knew who showed up.Erika and Tyler also talk about:What leading in a male-populated industry taught her, and what she learned from a female-populated oneThe drawing exercise that showed her what she had been hidingWhy trauma always finds a way out, and why facing it head-on mattersThe pink rubber band and how discomfort builds resilienceWhy grace sits in the middle of "grit, grace, and glitz," and why it's the part most leaders skipA mentor's question she still asks herself: "Do you want to win the battle and lose the war?"Her BOLD method for turning your hardest story into a light for someone elseEveryone gets a wake-up call. Erika's came in a parking lot. Yours may look different, but the choice is the same: what will you do with it?Mentioned in this episodeAudacious Expansion by Erika RothenbergerGrit, Grace & Glitz podcastAudacious Woman SummitConnect with Erikaerikarothenberger.comConnect with [email protected]
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  Ep 273 “How God Rebuilt Me Through What I Lost" w/Sean Conlon 27.09.2026 47min

  Sean Conlon raised capital, scaled hard, and exited big. Then COVID shut down all seven of his wedding venues and left him with nothing left to control. What followed wasn't just a business reset. It was a complete reorientation of why he builds companies differently today.In this conversation, Sean and Tyler get honest about the identity trap hiding inside high performance, and what it looks like to trade an empire mindset for a kingdom one.You'll learn:Why the thing driving your ambition might be an idol you never namedThe difference between happiness and joy in your work — and why most driven people never find the second oneIncubator vs. incinerator: how Sean went from burning through people to multiplying themWhat delegation requires before you can let goHow running a Montana Longhorn ranch became a masterclass in stewardship over controlConnect with Sean on LinkedIn or at SeanConlon.comSomething hit a nerve? Reach out to Tyler, he'd love to go deeper.Join the next Lead Without Hiding challenge: LeadWithoutHiding.com
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  Ep 272 Finding Your Self Worth After the Title, Mission & Money Are Gone w/Dr. Esther Zeledon 20.09.2026 48min

  What happens when everything you've built — your contracts, your identity, your network — disappears in a single week?Dr. Esther Zeledon, founder of Be Act Change and author of Creating Your Limitless Life, knows that answer firsthand.In this conversation, Esther takes us back to the wound that started everything: a 10-year-old girl watching her father lose his PhD funding, her family's world unraveling mid-school year, and the obsession with advocacy that grew from that moment.That obsession eventually carried her into humanitarian aid, where she grew a $700K project into a $100M initiative and invented the $40 billion question along the way.Then January 2026 hit. USAID cuts. Half a million dollars in signed contracts gone in a week. Two months in bed. And then — the pivot that only someone who'd already left once could make.In this episode, Tyler and Esther explore:The $40 billion question: why asking people to dream impossibly big is actually the most practical leadership tool there isWhat it looks like to help hundreds of humanitarian aid workers grieve the loss of their entire professional identity — and step into their power anywayWhy the organizations we serve can quietly convince us we're nothing without them (and Tyler's four monkeys story that perfectly captures why)The difference between saving people and serving themThe universal fear underneath every high achiever: Do I have value? Am I enough?Why the hardest work Esther has ever done isn't coaching others — it's her own boundariesThis is a conversation about what hides beneath titles, credentials, and missions. And what emerges when all of it gets stripped away.Connect with Dr. Esther ZeledonInstagram: @be.act.changeLinkedIn: Esther ZeledonMentioned in this episode:Creating Your Limitless Life by Dr. Esther ZeledonThe $40 Billion Question FrameworkBe Act Change
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  Ep 257 The Things We Hide: The Walls You Built to Survive Are Limiting Your Leadership 09.09.2026 40min

  Most leaders think they're in control of how they lead. They're not.Underneath every decision, reaction, and every room you walk into is something that's running the show. A fear that never got named. A wound that never got faced. A wall that got built so long ago you forgot it was there.In this episode, host Tyler Dickerhoof shares his new book — The Things We Hide — and reads from the opening chapters. Tyler opens with the moment that changed everything, the afternoon his three-year-old brother Joel died on their family farm, and the wall a fourteen-year-old boy built in the hours that followed. A wall that would quietly run his leadership, his relationships, and his life for the next twenty-five years.In this episode you'll learn:✅ The four walls leaders build from fear: Intensity, Insensitivity, Isolation, Inactivity✅ How to identify the core insecurity driving your leadership before it costs you the people around you✅ Why your greatest growth won't come from doing more, only from being more yourself✅ The one exercise that changes things for you: naming what you've never said out loud📖 Get The Things We Hide — available now: thethingswehidebook.com🔔 Subscribe for weekly conversations on leadership, self-awareness, and what it actually takes to lead well.
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  Ep 271 The Value Gap: They're Not Buying What You Think You're Selling w/ John Ravaris 13.09.2026 43min

  You know your product. You've got clients, revenue, a team. But growth has gotten harder and you're not sure why.Here's what nobody wants to admit: the disconnect between the value you think you deliver and the value your clients actually feel is probably wider than you know. And that gap is costing you deals, loyalty, and the kind of growth you know you're capable of.In this episode, host Tyler Dickerhoof sits down with John Ravaris — founder of UVP Solutions and author of Define Value, Drive Growth — to show you exactly how to close it. John spent 35 years inside family-owned businesses learning that sustainable growth isn't a sales problem or a marketing problem. It's a value problem. And it's fixable.By the end of this conversation, you'll know:Why price objections are almost never really about priceHow to move your clients from seeing you as a vendor to treating you as a partnerWhy your best clients may not be telling you the truth — and how to find out what they actually thinkWhat has to happen inside your organization before growth can happen outside of itHow to stop relying on heroics and build a team that can sell the way you doConnect with John:📘 Define Value, Drive Growth — available on Amazon🌐 uvpsolutions.com📧 [email protected]
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  Ep 270 Authentic Leadership, Fear, and the Neuroscience of Real Influence w/Caroline Webb 06.09.2026 48min

  What if the greatest obstacle to your leadership isn't your experience? What if it's the disconnect between how you think you're showing up as a leader and how your team experiences you?Caroline Webb, economist turned McKinsey partner turned executive coach, and author of the brand-new book Leadership Intelligence joins show host, Tyler Dickerhoof to discuss her time at the Bank of England forecasting national economies. And later spending three decades inside the world's most high-stakes boardrooms studying one question: what is the human brain doing when a leader tries to lead?What emerges from this conversation is something rarely discussed: the most important variable in any organization isn't market conditions, competitive pressure, or strategy. It's the interior life of the person at the top. You, the leader of it all.In this episode:Caroline shares the moment she stopped hiding an 8-month health crisis from her boss and colleaguesWhat that period taught her about the same hiding pattern she sees in leaders every dayWhy being promoted for individual brilliance is often the thing that derails great leadershipAnd the neuroscience of why stress makes leaders either aggressive or invisible — and how both responses shrink the very solution space they need most.You can connect with Caroline at: https://carolinewebb.co/And grab a copy of her book Leadership Intelligence: Science Backed Strategies for Mastering 21 Everyday Management Challenges🔥 Tyler's Lead Without Hiding Challenge: leadwithouthiding.com — offered once a month.
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  Ep 269 The Leadership Exit Nobody Prepares You For w/Matt Friedman 30.08.2026 41min

  There's a version of success nobody warns you about. The one where you've built something meaningful, achieved significance, and then handed it over. Suddenly the thing that defined you for decades is gone, and you're left wondering who you are without it.Matt Friedman built Wing Zone from $500 and a fraternity kitchen into a 140-location franchise across six countries. He spent 27 years pouring himself into that brand. And when he finally sold it, he discovered something uncomfortable: he had no idea what came next, and he'd been hiding that from himself for years.In this conversation, Matt pulls back the curtain on the quiet identity crisis that follows a major exit, the arrogance that crept in during the peak years, and why the things he never examined about himself were exactly the things that held him back as a leader. He also shares what it took to rebuild — not the business, but himself — and why the five years between selling Wing Zone and stepping in as CEO of Epic Wings were the most important of his career.If you're a leader approaching a transition, sitting in one, or quietly dreading the moment your title no longer tells you who you are, this conversation is for you. Matt talks honestly about what to plan for, what most people get wrong about exiting, and why the most important work you'll ever do isn't building the company — it's deciding who you want to be when it's done.Learn more about Matt on LinkedIn Here.Or visit his website and grab a copy of his book The Wing Zone Story athttps://mattfriedman.com/
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  Ep 268 Why Leading Change Feels So Hard (And the Science That Makes It Easier) w/ Jeff Wetherhold 23.08.2026 47min

  88% of organizational changes produce no lasting results. Harvard-trained behavioral scientist Jeff Wetherhold says the reason isn't resistance, it's that we've been teaching leaders the wrong skills for decades.In this conversation, Jeff and host, Tyler Dickerhoof, revel why inner work alone doesn't translate into better leadership, why "buy-in" is a trap, and why directive communication is quietly destroying trust inside organizations.Jeff brings more than 20 years of clinical change science into a surprisingly practical conversation about what it takes to lead people through uncertainty, how to listen for motivation and demotivation, why reflecting beats questioning in hard conversations, and how vulnerability stops being a buzzword and becomes a real skill.Connect with Jeff at jeffwetherhold.com.
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  Ep 267 The Growth You're Avoiding Is the Growth Your Business Needs w/Brad Sugars 16.08.2026 48min

  What hides inside you controls you. What you face transforms you.In this episode, host Tyler Dickerhoof sits down with Brad Sugars — founder and CEO of ActionCOACH, the world's number one business coaching franchise with over 1,000 locations across 80 countries. Brad built a global empire, yet for years quietly avoided the spotlight. It took Gary Vaynerchuk telling him to "suck it up" in front of a thousand people to shift that.What followed was a deeper question: what are you hiding, and what is it costing you?Brad and Tyler dig into the real reasons business owners refuse to get out of their own way, the three stages of growth from manager to CEO to chairperson, and why the business is always building you whether you're ready or not. Brad shares his formula for goal-setting and action, why "how" is the enemy of every great goal, and what it took to blow up everything he built and rebuild it for a billion-dollar vision.If you're a business owner stuck in your own business, a leader who finds it lonely at the top, or someone who's been playing small because of a wound you haven't named yet, you'll enjoy this conversation.📲 Find Brad: bradsugars.com | actioncoach.com | Instagram @bradleysugars (DM him the word "playbook" for his success framework)
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  Ep 266 Ask, Don't Tell: What It Takes to Lead People Well with Josh Zolin 09.08.2026 45min

  On this episode, host Tyler Dickerhoof, sits down with Josh Zolin, former Hollywood stuntman turned CEO of Windy City Equipment, an eight-figure HVAC company he inherited from his father and built into an Inc. 5000 business.Josh unpacks the leadership shift that changed everything for him: moving from telling people what to do, to asking questions that help them conclude it themselves. He goes deep on authenticity (and why the word itself can breed inauthenticity), the difference between power and force, what it really means to lead with empathy, and how vulnerability in a boardroom — or a termination meeting — can be your greatest asset.Josh is also the author of Blue Is the New White and host of the podcast Everything They Don't Tell You.Learn more at joshzolin.comConnect with Josh on LinkedIn👉🏻 Save your seat in the next Lead Without Hiding Challenge HERE.
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  Ep 265 Maybe It's Me: The Hidden Cost of High Performance with Erika Alessandrini 02.08.2026 41min

  Host Tyler Dickerhoof sits down with Erika Alessandrini — executive coach, facilitator, and author of Maybe It's Me — for a raw, honest conversation about what it really costs to be a high performer.Erika spent over two decades in corporate leadership before a brutally honest 360 review cracked open something she couldn't ignore: the results were real, but so was the damage.This conversation takes you down the childhood wounds that drive adult overachievement, the difference between controlling and leading, and why the people who need this work most are often the last ones to see it.Key Talking Points:Why high performers stay stuck: the beliefs that fuel chronic overcommitment and under-satisfactionErika's 360 feedback wake-up call, and why she still didn't believe it at firstGrowing up with an alcoholic father and learning that performance = protectionThe difference between control and shared power. Why one destroys relationshipsHow fear disguises itself as responsibility and caringThe "justification + postponement" pattern that keeps high performers stuck for yearsErika's nonprofit work at Aileron and her new program, Becoming a Leader at PeaceConnect with Erika on LinkedInLearn more about Erika: WebsiteGet a copy of Erika's Book: Maybe It's MeSubscribe: The Impact Driven Leader Newsletter
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  Ep 264 Redefining Leadership with Championship Basketball Coach Hunter Price 26.07.2026 47min

  Ten seconds left. Down by one. His teammate is one point away from a milestone most players never reach. He has the shot. He doesn't take it. That single decision is the philosophy behind this episode.Record-setting former Wisconsin high school basketball coach and author Hunter Price joins host, Tyler Dickerhoof, to expose the lie almost every team believes: that everyone in the room "cares." They don't. Not really. And until you can tell the difference, you're coaching, managing, or leading blind.Hunter introduces his framework of four team archetypes: the Sloth (selfless but doesn't work hard), the Vortex (works hard but selfish), the Ally, and the Heartbeat — the rare person whose work ethic and selflessness pull the whole team forward.Tyler and Hunter dig into real world leadership examples including:Why comparison was the biggest mindset shift Hunter had to make to grow as a leaderThe generational shift from "what" to "how" to "why," and why today's teams need to trust you before they'll follow youCalling people "up" instead of calling them "out"Why hiring an assistant is really a test of pride and humilityAn unfiltered MJ vs. LeBron debate that turns into a lesson on leadership identityWhether you're coaching a team, running a company, or leading a family, this conversation will change how you think about what it means to care.Connect with Hunter: v3content.org
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  Ep 263 The 6 Saboteurs Killing Your Leadership Impact w/ Laurie Maddalena 19.07.2026 48min

  Ever walked out of a meeting agreeing with everything, then immediately started venting about it in the hallway? That's called back-channeling and it's a silent culture killer.On this episode of the Tyler Dickherhoof show, Tyler sits down with Laurie Maddalena, certified speaking professional and author of The Elevated Leader, to unpack the six leadership saboteurs quietly wrecking teams everywhere.Lack of self-awarenessLack of focusLack of delegationLack of team engagementConflict avoidanceAnd passive leadershipLaurie shares a raw story from her own career — watching a brilliant CEO give his team the silent treatment for three days after a disagreement — and what it taught her about psychological safety, insecurity, and why "toxic boss management" shouldn't be an employee's job.In this episode you'll learn:Why the shift from traditional to facilitative leadership demands a completely different skill setThe parallel between today's AI overload and the email/cell phone disruption of 2006Why delegation is really a driving lesson: bumps, scrapes, and allThe "80% rule" that frees up your time and grows your teamConnect with Laurie: lauriemaddalena.comOn LinkedIn: @lauriemaddalena
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  Ep 262 Generals Don't Dig Foxholes: The Shift That Took One Company from $5M to $18M w/Tom Kubiniec 12.07.2026 49min

  What does a heavy metal guitarist turned military weapons storage CEO know about leadership? A lot more than you'd expect.Tom Kubiniec built Secure It Gun Storage into the global leader in military armory design — supplying the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, and law enforcement agencies worldwide. But for years, he kept hitting the same ceiling: $5 million in sales, three different companies, same problem every time.The culprit? He was managing when he should have been leading.In this episode, Tom shares the mindset shift that took his company from $5M to $18M in four years, and why the hardest part had nothing to do with strategy.You'll hear:Why delegating felt like becoming irrelevant (and why he did it anyway)The "generals don't dig foxholes" principle that changed everythingHow near-bankruptcy forced him into an $800M market he never saw comingWhy telling people what to do — instead of how — unlocks performance you didn't know your team hadThe fail-fast framework he uses to course correct without losing momentumConnect with Tom on LinkedInOr visit his website at: SecureItTacticalYouTube: @SecureItLegacy
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  Ep 261 The Leadership Iceberg — What 90% of Managers Never See w/ Mark Miller, Former Chick-fil-A VP 05.07.2026 44min

  What if everything you've been told about leadership only covers 10% of the picture?Mark Miller, co-author of the international bestseller The Secret, former VP at Chick-fil-A, and co-founder of Lead Every Day, joins show host Tyler Dickerhoof to expose why 82% of managers still can't lead effectively, and why most leadership training is destined to fail before it starts.In this episode, Tyler and Mark dig into:The iceberg model of leadership and why most organizations are only developing the visible tipWhy promoting your best doers into leadership roles is quietly destroying your teamThe difference between delegating and developing, and the fear that keeps leaders stuckThe 5 fundamentals every leader must master (and the one that matters most)Why busyness is the real leadership crisis — and how to escape the quicksand before it buries youConnect with Mark Miller:📱 678-612-8441🌐 leadeveryday.comThe Secret, 4th Edition is available now.
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  Ep 260 A 20-Foot Fall That Revealed 3 Ego Patterns Sabotaging Leaders 28.06.2026 42min

  She had the apartment, the travel, the income, the friends — everything that should've meant she'd "made it." Then she fell 20 feet and everything stopped.Christie Garcia is a leadership coach, Forbes Coaches Council contributor, founder of the Mindful Choice Leadership Academy, and author of Your Ego Is Showing.In this episode, she and host Tyler Dickerhoof, unpack the three ego types — the Complier, the Protector, and the Controller — and why every single one of them is just insecurity wearing a costume.They get into why "self-awareness" isn't the same as ownership, why high achievers are often the most insecure people in the room, and why your ego thrives in the climb but sabotages you the moment you become a leader, a parent, or a partner.Christie also shares the framework she now uses to help executives — and her own kids — recognize when their ego is driving instead of them.If you've ever wondered why success didn't fix the thing you thought it would, this conversation will hit close to home.Connect with Christie at: mindfulchoiceacademy.comOn LinkedIn: @ChristieGarciaIf this episode brought value into your life, a rating and review helps more people find conversations like this one. Thank you!
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  Ep 259 The Life Everyone Envies vs. The Life You Actually Want w/Christina Lecuyer 21.06.2026 42min

  What if the life that looks perfect from the outside is the one making you miserable on the inside? Christina Lecuyer spent over a decade playing golf with CEOs and executives — and discovered that the people who'd "made it" were often the least happy people she knew.Now a consultant and host of Decide, It's Your Turn, Christina works with wildly successful people who have the house, the money, the title... and still feel empty.In this episode, host Tyler Dickerhoof and Christina dig into why people are so afraid of gratitude, why the "secret" to success is really just doing small, boring things over and over again, and why indecision is itself a decision (one that quietly costs you the most).Christina also opens up about turning down a $2 million contract because she was crystal clear on what actually mattered to her and why most people never get that clear.If you've ever wondered why having everything doesn't feel like enough, this conversation is for you.Connect with Christina LecuyerInstagram @BeChristinaLinkedIn Christina LecuyerWebsite : ChristinaLecuyer.com
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  Ep 258 Am I Enough? Self-Sabotage, Affairs & Blowing Up Your Life w/Jeremy Foster 14.06.2026 45min

  What do you do when you can't bring yourself to confess, so you pray that God will expose you instead?Jeremy Foster built a church from zero to 14,000 people across five campuses in five years. By every external measure, he was winning. Then came an affair, a year of lying about it, and a prayer he'd never said out loud before: if I can't confess this, expose it.God did.In this conversation, Jeremy and show host Tyler Dickerhoof get into the limiting belief underneath the hiding ("I'm not good enough"), the phone call from John Maxwell that changed everything, and why pride often sounds like "I've got it, don't worry about me."They talk about what it actually costs to let someone help you when you can't help yourself and why success without significance is just an empty win.If you're carrying something, hiding something, or pretending you're fine when you're not, this one's for you.You can connect with Jeremy Foster on:Instagram & Facebook @JeremyFosterLinkedIn @CoachJeremyFosterAnd please don't forget to rate and review the show, it helps more people find conversations like this one.
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  EP211 - From Triathlete to Filmmaker: Leslie Paterson's Inspiring Journey 23.07.2025 49min

  Join us as we dive into the incredible journey of Leslie Paterson, a world champion triathlete turned Oscar-nominated filmmaker. Discover how her passion for storytelling and resilience has shaped her career, and learn about the powerful stories she brings to life through her films. Don't miss this inspiring conversation filled with insights on overcoming obstacles and finding purpose. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices