EPISODE · Jan 5, 2026 · 57 MIN
133: Don’t Be a ‘Know-It-All’ Leader
from Unstuck with Jay Abbasi · host Jay Abbasi
Being great at the job doesn’t mean being ready to lead. Meet Gerard. A top performer turned manager, Gerard knows how to execute but struggles to earn buy-in from his team. Meetings feel heavy. Feedback feels forced. The harder he pushes, the quieter the room gets. He doesn’t want control, he wants trust. In this episode, Jay sits down with Damon Lembi, former Division I athlete, CEO of Learn It, bestselling author, and host of The Learn-It-All Podcast. Damon breaks down why many high performers struggle when they step into leadership and how shifting from a “know-it-all” mindset to a “learn-it-all” approach builds trust, confidence, and real influence. This conversation explores what great leaders do differently when it comes to listening, feedback, ego, communication, and earning trust without control. Notable Quotes “Sometimes you need to go slow to go fast.” — Damon Lembi “Your title doesn’t earn trust. Your behavior does.” — Damon Lembi “The moment a leader becomes the bottleneck, growth stops.” — Damon Lembi About Our Guest Damon Lembi is the CEO of Learn It, a live learning and development company that helps organizations build leadership, communication, and AI readiness skills. A former Division I baseball player, Damon has spent more than 30 years helping leaders move from individual success to team-driven impact. He is the author of The Learn-It-All Leader and host of The Learn-It-All Podcast. Resources & Links Damon Lembi Website – https://www.thelearnitallleader.com/ The Learn-it-All-Leader Book – https://www.thelearnitallleader.com/books LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/damonlembi/ YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@TheLearnItAllPodcast Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Learn.iT.anywhere/ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/damonlembi/ X – https://x.com/learnitanywhere Jay Abbasi Website – https://jayabbasi.me/ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayabbasi/ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jayabbasi_/ YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@jayabbasipodcast Free Live Virtual Workshop: Leading at the Speed of AI Register here (limited to 100 seats): https://jayabbasi.me/workshop Get Featured on “Unstuck” Want to have your story featured on the show? Submit it through the link below and Jay may highlight it in a future episode, offering personalized insights to help you move forward. Submit Your Story Join Us Next Time On Friday, Jay breaks down how to run meetings that actually move work forward. Drawing from a proven formula he uses with leaders and teams, he’ll share a practical blueprint to help you reduce wasted time, increase clarity, and make meetings more effective and engaging. And on Wednesday, January 7th at 12 PM Eastern, Jay is hosting Leading at the Speed of AI, a live, interactive virtual workshop for emerging leaders ready to level up. A must-listen for anyone stepping into bigger responsibility.
What this episode covers
Being great at the job doesn’t mean being ready to lead. Meet Gerard. A top performer turned manager, Gerard knows how to execute but struggles to earn buy-in from his team. Meetings feel heavy. Feedback feels forced. The harder he pushes, the quieter the room gets. He doesn’t want control, he wants trust. In this episode, Jay sits down with Damon Lembi, former Division I athlete, CEO of Learn It, bestselling author, and host of The Learn-It-All Podcast. Damon breaks down why many high performers struggle when they step into leadership and how shifting from a “know-it-all” mindset to a “learn-it-all” approach builds trust, confidence, and real influence. This conversation explores what great leaders do differently when it comes to listening, feedback, ego, communication, and earning trust without control. Notable Quotes “Sometimes you need to go slow to go fast.” — Damon Lembi “Your title doesn’t earn trust. Your behavior does.” — Damon Lembi “The moment a leader becomes the bottleneck, growth stops.” — Damon Lembi About Our Guest Damon Lembi is the CEO of Learn It, a live learning and development company that helps organizations build leadership, communication, and AI readiness skills. A former Division I baseball player, Damon has spent more than 30 years helping leaders move from individual success to team-driven impact. He is the author of The Learn-It-All Leader and host of The Learn-It-All Podcast. Resources & Links Damon Lembi Website – https://www.thelearnitallleader.com/ The Learn-it-All-Leader Book – https://www.thelearnitallleader.com/books LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/damonlembi/ YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@TheLearnItAllPodcast Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Learn.iT.anywhere/ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/damonlembi/ X – https://x.com/learnitanywhere Jay Abbasi Website – https://jayabbasi.me/ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayabbasi/ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jayabbasi_/ YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@jayabbasipodcast Free Live Virtual Workshop: Leading at the Speed of AI Register here (limited to 100 seats): https://jayabbasi.me/workshop Get Featured on “Unstuck” Want to have your story featured on the show? Submit it through the link below and Jay may highlight it in a future episode, offering personalized insights to help you move forward. Submit Your Story Join Us Next Time On Friday, Jay breaks down how to run meetings that actually move work forward. Drawing from a proven formula he uses with leaders and teams, he’ll share a practical blueprint to help you reduce wasted time, increase clarity, and make meetings more effective and engaging. And on Wednesday, January 7th at 12 PM Eastern, Jay is hosting Leading at the Speed of AI, a live, interactive virtual workshop for emerging leaders ready to level up. A must-listen for anyone stepping into bigger responsibility.
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133: Don’t Be a ‘Know-It-All’ Leader
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