Episode 51: Leadership Under Pressure with Adelaido Godinez
This episode of Quality Time with MoreSteam focuses on leadership in service of others. Adelaido "Ad" Godinez is a retired Army colonel with 31 years of service. He has held senior roles across both the public and private sectors and brings one of the most impressive resumes the show has ever seen. As this episode shows, he’s just as honest as he is accomplished.
How is leadership affected by pressure, values, and daily habits? Ad and Dan talk about what happens when pressure builds and you start losing sight of the good work you are actually doing. Ad explains how he rebuilt his daily routine after leaving the military. His nightly "three things I am grateful for" habit might sound small, but it turned out to be a game changer.
This episode also shows what respect for people looks like in real life. You’ll hear the story behind Ad's surprise visit to MoreSteam HQ. He stopped a workday cold to publicly thank MBOE coach Ken Robinette in front of the whole team. The conversation also covers more traditional lean topics, like kata-style coaching and solving problems people actually care about.
Ad Godinez presenting Ken Robinette with an award at MoreSteam Headquarters.
Ad is generous with his stories and his wisdom. He does not pretend any of it was easy. But it was definitely worth it. This episode will be worth it for you, too.
In this episode, you will hear about:
3:15 - Meeting Ad at MoreSteam HQ
6:01 - Even the very best need coaching
8:37 - Respect for people
9:31 - Ad’s background
12:16 - Advising national leaders during the pandemic
16:32 - Pressure creating self-doubt
18:52 - Going from the military to the corporate world
23:11 - Performance systems and recovery systems
26:58 - Expressing gratitude on a daily basis
31:59 - The MBOE Program at The Ohio State University
33:43 - Learning from those around you
36:56 - Becoming a better teacher, coach, and student
40:20 - Authentic leadership
42:06 - When the situation calls for a different leadership style
45:16 - Building up the people around you
49:35 - Asking Ad to return to the show
51:41 - Ad’s consultancy, SOI Solutions
54:05 - Wrapping up the episode
Additional Resources:
Adelaido "Ad" Godinez on LinkedIn
Quality Time With MoreSteam on Facebook
Quality Time With MoreSteam on Instagram
Quality Time With MoreSteam on LinkedIn
Lean Leadership Habits That Drive Organizational Excellence
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Host • MoreSteam
Dan Swartwout is the host of Quality Time with MoreSteam. A lifelong Central Ohio resident, Dan is a double Buckeye. He earned both a BA and a law degree from The Ohio State University. Before joining MoreSteam, Dan had a long career as a host, comedian, and master of ceremonies. For 17 years, Dan was the studio audience host for the Ohio Lottery game show Cash Explosion. Dan was also the host of CBuzz, which was a collaboration between the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, WWCD 92.9, and the Columbus Dispatch. On CBuzz, Dan interviewed some of the most prominent entrepreneurs in Central Ohio. From 2002-2020, Dan toured the country as a standup comedian. Tracks from his comedy CD have been played over 5,000 times on Sirius/XM satellite radio. Now, Dan brings his experience and enthusiasm to Quality Time with MoreSteam -- it's business and fun, together.
Owner and CEO • SOI Solutions
I serve leaders, teams, and communities by respecting the dignity of their work, confronting the systems that make good work hard, and building the strength required to sustain improvement over time. As a veteran and citizen of the world, I use discipline, empathy, and evidence to turn confusion into clarity, effort into impact, and responsibility into care. My purpose is to make work and life more humane by helping people see clearly, think rigorously, and act with courage.
(Bio and picture from Adelaido's LinkedIn profile.)
