Before he ever worked with leaders on message and clarity, Dr. J.J. Peterson spent years performing improv comedy — an environment where nothing is scripted, mistakes are guaranteed, and collaboration determines whether a scene survives.

What most people misunderstand about improv is that it isn’t chaos. It has rules. And those same rules quietly shape what effective leadership looks like when certainty is low and pressure is high.

Drawing from his experience on stage and in leadership rooms, Dr. Peterson explores how leaders can create momentum, protect dignity, and keep people engaged — even when things feel messy, unfinished, or uncertain.

• Why strong leadership isn’t about control, but attention and trust
• How “Yes, and” keeps people contributing instead of shutting down
• Why leaders need a clear point of view — not vague optimism
• How to handle mistakes without creating fear or humiliation
• What it means to name reality instead of performing confidence
• Why leadership works best when leaders stop trying to win the room

Most leadership happens without a script. The question isn’t whether things will wobble — it’s how leaders respond when they do.

If this resonates, consider sharing it with another badass softie leader — someone ambitious, thoughtful, and deeply human — who’s navigating leadership without a script and trying to do it with heart.

Most people think a story has to be a seismic, life-altering event to matter. Something dramatic. Something obvious. Something big enough to justify being told.

But leadership is rarely shaped by moments that announce themselves.

In this conversation, Dr. J.J. Peterson talks with storyteller and creativity guide Tricia Rose Burt about why the stories that shape how we lead are often the ones we overlook—and how creativity helps us recognize, shape, and share them.

Together, they explore storytelling not as performance or branding, but as a leadership practice: a way of integrating lived experience, building trust, and making meaning in the work we do.

This is a conversation for leaders who feel disconnected from their creativity, unsure whether their story “counts,” or curious about how story and imagination strengthen—not soften—leadership.

• Why most people underestimate the stories they’re already carrying
• How storytelling reveals why you lead the way you do
• The connection between creativity and effective leadership
• Why showing a story builds credibility faster than telling credentials
• How recognizing your story opens the door to inspiring others

Creativity isn’t a detour from leadership.

Storytelling isn’t a nice-to-have.

They’re how leaders stay human, flexible, and meaningful—especially when the work gets hard.

To learn more about Tricia Rose Burt and her work, visit triciaroseburt.com.

Work is relational—whether we admit it or not. And yet many leaders are taught that professionalism means distance, separation, and emotional restraint.

In this conversation, Dr. J.J. Peterson reflects on what actually happens when trust, friendship, and shared commitment exist inside a working relationship. Joined by longtime collaborator and friend Kristin Spiotto, they explore the tension between closeness and leadership—and why pretending work isn’t personal often creates more harm than clarity.

Together, they challenge the myth that personal connection weakens leadership and instead unpack how safety, honesty, and intentional boundaries can lead to stronger teams, better work, and more resilient relationships.

What This Explores

• Why separating personal and professional is often a false choice
• How trust changes the way feedback, conflict, and decisions land
• The difference between healthy closeness and blurred power dynamics
• What it means to be “for each other” without sacrificing excellence
• How leaders can create safety without making promises they can’t keep

If you’ve ever felt torn between protecting your humanity and doing excellent work, you’re not alone. The goal isn’t perfect boundaries—it’s intentional ones that steady relationships instead of shrinking them.

Cynicism often starts as protection. It forms after systems fail, trust erodes, and disappointment stacks up. For many leaders, it feels reasonable—earned, even. But over time, that armor begins to cost more than it protects.

Dr. J.J. Peterson reflects on how cynicism quietly reshapes leadership: how it changes tone, limits trust, narrows imagination, and distances us from the very people and possibilities that make leadership meaningful. This is a meditation on disciplined hope—not naïve optimism, not denial—but the courageous choice to remain open, curious, and human when closing off would be easier.

What This Explores

• Why cynicism is often a wound response, not a personality trait
• The subtle ways cynicism erodes trust, creativity, and psychological safety
• How “emotional armor” can outlive its usefulness
• Why hope is a leadership discipline, not a temperament
• What it looks like to lead with tenderness without becoming brittle

This reflection may resonate with leaders who are tired, thoughtful, and still deeply committed—even if they feel more guarded than they used to. If this stirred something for you, consider sharing it with someone who’s been carrying more armor than they’d like to admit.

Some of the most meaningful leadership lessons don’t come from business books, keynote stages, or boardrooms.

Sometimes, they come from places you don’t expect.

In this episode of Badass Softie, Dr. J.J. Peterson shares unexpected leadership insights inspired by a behind-the-scenes look at Taylor Swift and her record-breaking Eras Tour. What he expected was spectacle. What he didn’t expect was a masterclass in leadership with heart.

This episode explores what it looks like to lead at the highest level without becoming harder, colder, or smaller in the process.

You’ll hear reflections on:

• Emotional discipline and why leaders shouldn’t dump their stress downhill
• Showing up as a guide, not the hero
• How preparation creates freedom and confidence
• Why generosity and shared wins build loyalty
• What true belonging looks like on a team
• The power of owning your work, your voice, and your story

If you’re tired of leadership advice that asks you to sacrifice your humanity for success, this conversation offers a better way.

• Save it for the next time you need a reminder of the kind of leader you want to be.
• Share it with someone who feels tired of leading the “right” way and is ready for a better one.
• Or send it to a leader who needs fresh inspiration from an unexpected place.

Because the world doesn’t need more polished leaders. It needs leaders who are prepared, generous, clear — and deeply human.

That’s what being a Badass Softie looks like.

As a new year begins, many leaders feel an unspoken pressure to measure themselves against impossible standards — more growth, more output, more proof that they’re “enough.”

In this episode of Badass Softie, Dr. JJ Peterson invites listeners to pause and challenge the definition of success they’ve been handed.

Drawing from his own experiences launching businesses, leading teams, publishing a bestselling book, and creating work that mattered long before it was visible, Dr. Peterson makes a compelling case for redefining success as alignment, not achievement.

He introduces the concept of a Year of Enoughness — not as a lowering of ambition, but as a way to protect it. A definition of success that doesn’t demand burnout, self-abandonment, or the loss of creativity and joy.

Listeners will explore:

• Why achievement without alignment can still feel like failure
• How leaders unknowingly hustle for worth instead of living from it
• The difference between performative success and sustainable leadership
• A simple three-question framework to redefine success from the inside out

This episode is for leaders who are deeply driven — and quietly tired of measuring their lives by what looks impressive instead of what feels true.

If this episode resonates, share it with someone you believe is a badass softie — a leader who is ambitious, values-driven, and ready to build success without losing their humanity.

As leaders, we’re often taught that joy should wait its turn.

That celebration is something you earn after the work is done, the chaos settles, and everything feels appropriate.

But what if that belief is quietly burning us out?

In this episode of Badass Softie, Dr. JJ Peterson invites leaders to rethink joy—not as a reward, but as a leadership practice. Through a simple, human story and research-backed insight, he explores why joy isn’t denial, irresponsibility, or distraction… it’s how emotionally intelligent leaders stay resilient, creative, and deeply human.

This conversation is especially for those who feel the tension between ambition and tenderness—who are carrying a lot, leading through uncertainty, and wondering if celebration is allowed when things still feel hard.

Because joy doesn’t erase the heavy parts of life. It carries us through them.

✨ If this episode resonates, share it with someone you believe is a true Badass Softie—someone who leads with heart, carries responsibility with courage, and deserves permission to celebrate a little sooner than they think.

Ever been at a holiday party, networking event, or standing awkwardly near a charcuterie board when someone asks, “So… what do you do?”

And suddenly your brain short-circuits.

You ramble. You minimize. You say something vague like “I help humans” and quietly watch the conversation die.

In this episode, Dr. J.J. Peterson breaks down why leaders dread that question—and how to answer it in a way that actually starts conversations instead of ending them.

Drawing from storytelling frameworks used in Hollywood, J.J. introduces a simple, human one-liner formula designed to help leaders explain what they do with clarity, confidence, and heart.

You’ll learn:

• Why most leaders accidentally confuse or bore people when talking about their work
• The 3-part one-liner formula (problem, solution, success) and why the brain remembers it
• How starting with someone else’s problem builds instant connection
• Why clarity isn’t just good marketing—it’s good leadership
• How a strong one-liner makes it easier for others to remember you and refer you

This episode is for leaders who are unapologetically ambitious—but still deeply human. The ones who want their words to open doors, not shut conversations down.

Because a great one-liner doesn’t pitch. It honors the person you’re talking to. It sparks curiosity. And it gives people a reason to ask the next question.

👉 Download the one-liner worksheet - https://www.drjjpeterson.com/one-liner

If this episode resonated, share it with someone you think is a Badass Softie—a leader who wants to lead with clarity, heart, and confidence.