The Leader's Commute Podcast

HOST: Jess Villegas - ACUITY BUsiness Consulting Every system has a moment where something gets exposed, not necessarily a failure, but a signal. When this happens it is likely a tension exist between how things are done, and what happens when someone operates outside of that.In Season 1, I told stories and drew conclusions. In Season 2, I’m slowing that down. These Reflection episodes are about observing the system before interpreting it because what we often call issues with personality or conflict is usually structure and feedback at work.Today’s story—Life, Liberty, and Layups—is about a pickup basketball game.But more specifically, it’s about What happens when two different cultures collide…and one of them doesn’t adapt.Jess Villegas: [email protected]

HOST: Jess Villegas, ACUITY Business ConsultingToday’s guest, Rick Albertini, understands that the things we tend to label as ‘glitches’—the disruptions, the detours, the sudden recalibrations—are often the very moments shaping who we become. Not as failures or malfunctions, but as invitations to pay attention. Rick is the President of Phenix Truck & Van, Southern California’s largest and most complete truck body and van equipment manufacturer and distributor. His work at Phenix has been an exercise in building not just a strong organization, but a compassionate one—where people matter, where culture is intentional, and where long-term thinking replaces short-term reaction. So today’s conversation isn’t just about business, trucks, or operations. It’s about how a life—over years, over decades—reveals who we are, what we value, and how we choose to lead.” Please enjoy and thank you for listening.Rick Albertini: [email protected] Jess Villegas: [email protected]

HOST: Jess Villegas / ACUITY Business ConsultingThis is a Reflection from The Leader’s Commute. From time to time, I share a story that continues to shape how I think — not because the facts have changed, but because my perspective has. These reflections stand on their own, and they often sit behind the conversations you hear elsewhere on this podcast.This REFLECTION is titled What a World, What a World! – It’s a story about being certain, being wrong, and learning that the problem isn’t the world—it’s how we choose to see it. AND, It’s about how, without the discipline to question our assumptions, we risk damaging the very relationships and outcomes we’re trying to protect

HOST: Jess Villegas: ACUITY Business Consulting. This episode of The Leader’s Commute centers around the idea of what happens when people who spent a long-time racing begin to notice the cost of deferred recovery and start asking, sometimes imperfectly, what presence, meaning, and contribution might look like now.Chris is a self-proclaimed communications master. His career spanned more than 35 years in Corporate America. For the majority of that time, he focused on employee communications, providing big picture messages to employee and customer audiences.Although he has a business degree, all he ever wanted to be when he grew up was a creative person and an artist. In fact, it was in elementary school when he first knew he wanted to work in advertising, and he spent his early career in marketing and advertising. He recently retired after nearly 25 years working in Corporate Communications for one of the largest electric utilities in the country.If you would like to reach out to either Chris or Jess, please contact them at the emails below: Chirs Cabrera - [email protected]  Jess Villegas - [email protected]

From time to time, I share a story that continues to shape how I think — not because the facts have changed, but because my perspective has. These reflections stand on their own, and they often sit behind the conversations you hear elsewhere on this podcast.This REFLECTION is titled The Seven Year Glitch – A Caregiving Detour It’s about a long stretch of caregiving that revealed how easily we confuse planning and sacrifice with progress, and how clarity often arrives only after predictability breaks downHost: Jess Villegas: ACUITY Business ConsultingJess Email: [email protected] Jess LinkedIN - LInkedIN

Host: Jess Villegas - ACUITY Business ConsultingIn this episode of The Leader’s Commute Podcast, we explore what it means to navigate systems that are large, impersonal, and often unfair — systems we didn’t design and can’t easily change but still have to live inside.This conversation with Lisa Berry Blackstock, one of the earliest and best-known internationally independent patient advocates thriving in the healthcare advocacy field, is not about outrage or blame. It’s about learning how to stay grounded, attentive, and human while navigating complexity, power imbalance, and uncertainty.Walking Monsters isn’t about villains or bad actors. It’s a way of naming the reality that some systems, such as — healthcare, bureaucracy, institutions — move through our lives with real consequences, regardless of intention.  Soul Sherpa Healthcare Advocacy Services: soulsherpa.net  Soul Sherpa Solutions: soulsherpasolutions.comCONTACT Jess Villegas Jess Email: [email protected] Jess LinkedIN: LinkedIn

Host: Jess Villegas, ACUITY Business ConsultingIn this episode we address an often-overlooked idea: how we think is deeply influenced by the environments we move through, the people we interact with, and the stories we tell ourselves afterward.My guest today is Eric Pratum. Eric is the host of the Unfolding Thought podcast, where he explores how individuals and groups think, how meaning forms over time, and how our interpretations — not just our experiences — shape the actions we take in the world.A unifying thread throughout our conversation is that meaning is not fixed at the moment something happens. It unfolds, and it changes as we revisit experiences, connect them to new information, and begin to see patterns that weren’t visible before.My hope is that as you listen, you’ll find yourself having at least one of those moments where you think, “I hadn’t considered it that way before.”Not because you need to agree with everything you hear — but because noticing new angles is often the first step toward navigating work, relationships, and leadership with greater clarity.A Note on the Podcast: Season 1 of The Leader’s Commute Podcast® was produced in partnership with Business RadioX and explored the early foundations of these ideas. Season 2 stands on its own. However, if you are interested in those episodes, you can access those here: The Leader’s Commute Podcast Archives - Business RadioX ®ERIC PRATUM LINKS:Inbound & Agile: https://inboundandagile.com/Unfolding Thought Podcast: https://unfoldingthought.com/Pratum LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericpratum/

Host: Jess Villegas, ACUITY Business ConsultingIn this episode we will explore how people actually grow into their work. Not through ambition alone or credentials, but through a sustained relationship with curiosity.My guest today, Jeffrey Smith, is an Editorial Illustrator, who has spent more than four decades revealing what most of us overlook — the quiet structures beneath our emotions, the balance between discipline and wonder, and the small human gestures that make a scene come alive. His work has graced the covers of Time, Newsweek, The Atlantic, and New York Magazine, and his portraits and narrative-illustrations have illuminated subjects as varied as presidential politics, the 9/11 heroes, and the hidden corners of everyday life. Our discussion will include: The essence of emergence as something larger, wiser, and more coherent coming to life through small, imperfect steps. Most of us want coherence first. But more often, coherence is something we receive only after we’ve already begun. The power of leverage, where small shifts can produce outsized effects. One of the least discussed forms of leverage is where we place our attention over time. Attention shapes what we notice. What we notice shapes how we interpret. Interpretation shapes decisions. Decisions, repeated, become outcomes. That chain is always running, whether we acknowledge it or not.A Note on the Podcast: Season 1 of The Leader’s Commute Podcast® was produced in partnership with Business RadioX and explored the early foundations of these ideas. If you're new here, you don't need to catch up on anything to begin. This season stands on its own. However, if you are interested in those episodes, you can access those here: The Leader’s Commute Podcast Archives - Business RadioX ®If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, consider sharing it with someone whose commute might benefit from a different way of seeing.Jeffrey Smith Links:   Jeffrey Smith, Illustrator  Jeffrey Smith - Instagram  Jeffrey Smith - Gallery

Season Two / Episode 00: Season Two TrailerHost: Jess Villegas, ACUITY Business ConsultingWhen I began this journey, I was trying to make sense of leadership as I’d lived it—not as a title or a role, but as something experienced.Season 1 of this podcast was an exploration of that idea through personal stories, systems thinking, business experiences, and conversations with people who were willing to think out loud. Those episodes were recorded and distributed in partnership with Business RadioX, and they continue to live on that platform.Season 2 is different. Not because the core questions have changed, but because I have. There’s been a gap since the last episode, and in that space, something became clearer to me: the leadership I’m most interested in isn’t the kind that comes from being “in charge.” It’s the kind that shows up when you aren’t. When you don’t have positional authority. When you don’t control the system. When you’re navigating constraints rather than designing them.You’ll hear conversations and reflections that build on what came before—but with a sharper focus. We’ll still talk about systems, context, decision-making, and meaning. But we’ll do so through the lens of everyday leadership: the kind that happens in families, teams, communities, and inner lives. Thank you for listening.PODCAST NOTE: Season 1 of The Leader’s Commute Podcast® was produced in partnership with Business RadioX and explored the early foundations of these ideas. If you're new here, you don't need to catch up on anything to begin. This season stands on its own. However, if you are interested in those episodes, you can access those here: The Leader’s Commute Podcast Archives - Business RadioX ®