The Elemental Educator Podcast

Episode 77: Can Empathy Be the Most Powerful Strategy in a World of High Stress? (With Mimi Nicklin)

Empathy is often mistaken for softness, kindness, or emotional sensitivity. But in this conversation, empathy advocate and author Mimi Nicklin shows us something fundamentally different: empathy is a hard skill rooted in the brain, essential for psychological safety, leadership, collaboration, and even human survival.
We explore why so many leaders struggle to listen, how stress and urgency shut down empathy neurologically, and why patience and consistency are the real engines of cultural change. This episode is a call to rethink how we lead — not with more control, but with deeper understanding.
Connect With MeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/elemental_educatorYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ElementalEducatorTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@elemental.educatorWebsite: https://www.elementaleducator.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-comeau-961a49310/
For Speaking, Consulting, Coaching, Collaborations, or Guest Recommendationstyler@elementaleducator.com
Connect With Mimi NicklinWebsite: https://www.empathyeverywhere.coInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/miminicklinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miminicklin/Book: Empathy at Work (available on Amazon)
#EmpathyInLeadership#HumanCenteredWork#PsychologicalSafety
ABOUT THE ELEMENTAL EDUCATOR
The Elemental Educator is a global platform exploring leadership through four human forces:Earth (Values), Air (Adversity), Water (Change), and Fire (Decision-Making).Here, leaders, educators, and curious thinkers learn how to build organizations and communities where people feel grounded, challenged, supported, and empowered to act. This is leadership for a world in motion.

Episode 76: Can Vulnerability and Strength Coexist? (with Andrew White)

What You’ll Get from This EpisodeIn this deeply human conversation, Leading Our Own Way host Andrew White opens up about authenticity, trauma, and the cost of pretending everything is fine. From enduring workplace bullying to nearly losing his life to stress, Andrew shares how vulnerability became his turning point. Together, we explore what it means to create safety in leadership, how connection transforms culture, and why showing up as your true self is not weakness—it’s the foundation of trust.
This episode challenges every leader, educator, and creator to reconsider how they build connection, give feedback, and define success in environments that often reward performance over people.
Connect With MeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/elemental_educatorYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ElementalEducatorTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@elemental.educatorWebsite: https://www.elementaleducator.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-comeau-961a49310/
For Speaking, Consulting, Coaching, Guest Recommendations, or Other Inquiriestyler@elementaleducator.com
Connect With Our GuestPodcast: Leading Our Own WayInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadingourownway
#AuthenticLeadership #Vulnerability #TraumaInLeadership #HumanConnection
About the Elemental EducatorThe Elemental Educator podcast explores the four elements of lasting leadership—Earth (values), Air (adversity), Water (change), and Fire (bold decisions). Each episode bridges real-world leadership with human stories, helping you lead with purpose, compassion, and clarity in a world that often rewards the opposite.

Episode 75: Can Authenticity Survive in a World Built on Opportunity? (With Martin Malone)

What You’ll Get from This EpisodeIn this episode, The Teacher’s PT Martin Malone shares how one devastating teaching experience led him to rebuild his life, his health, and his purpose. From losing all income during COVID to building an online coaching business that serves thousands of educators, Martin’s story reveals the tension between luck and skill, and the courage it takes to stay authentic when easy money calls. We explore the ethics of saying no, the power of small habits, and why every action you take is a vote for the person you want to become.
Connect With MeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/elemental_educatorYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ElementalEducatorTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@elemental.educatorWebsite: https://www.elementaleducator.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-comeau-961a49310/
For Speaking, Consulting, Coaching, Guest Recommendations, or Other Inquiriestyler@elementaleducator.com
Connect With Our GuestInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/theteacherspt
#AuthenticLeadership #ValuesInAction #TeacherWellbeing
About the Elemental EducatorThe Elemental Educator podcast explores the four elements of lasting leadership—Earth (values), Air (adversity), Water (change), and Fire (bold decisions). Each episode bridges insight and application, helping leaders, educators, and creators align their actions with authenticity, courage, and purpose.

Applied Leadership 9: The Truth About Power at Microsoft, Spotify, and Apple

Power isn’t about titles... it’s about influence, intention, and integrity. Microsoft leads with empathy. Spotify leads with freedom. Apple leads with perfection. Each has redefined what power feels like inside an organization — and what it costs. In this video, we’ll break down how these three leadership philosophies are reshaping business, culture, and human connection. 💭 Question for you: If you could choose one kind of power — Empathy, Freedom, or Control — which would you lead with? Drop your answer in the comments before you see mine. Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 0:20 - What Satya Nadella and Microsoft Taught us About Leadership 1:45 - What Spotify Taught us About Leadership 3:25 - What Tim Cook and Apple Taught us About Leadership

Episode 74: How To Beat Imposter Syndrome (With Michael Saad)

What You’ll Get from This Episode In this conversation, creator, strategist, and educator Mike Saad breaks down what it really takes to build a brand that lasts. From content that converts to the discipline behind creativity, we explore why most creators get stuck in volume over value—and how to shift toward clarity, consistency, and community. Mike and Tyler unpack the difference between chasing views and leading with purpose, revealing why trust and transparency remain the most sustainable growth strategies in the creator economy. Connect With Me Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elemental_educator YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ElementalEducator TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@elemental.educator Website: https://www.elementaleducator.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-comeau-961a49310/ For Speaking, Consulting, Coaching, Guest Recommendations, or Other Inquiries tyler@elementaleducator.com Connect With Our Guest Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsmikesaad/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@itsmikesaad Skool: https://skool.com/the-content-classroom-3968 #AuthenticLeadership #ContentStrategy #CreatorMindset About the Elemental Educator The Elemental Educator podcast bridges leadership and creativity, offering actionable insights rooted in values, resilience, adaptability, and bold decision-making. Each episode is designed to challenge your thinking, sharpen your purpose, and equip you to lead with clarity in a noisy digital world.

Applied Leadership 8: How AI Will Impact Jobs: Walmart’s Leadership Warning

In this episode of Applied Leadership, we analyze two leadership moves making headlines this week. Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon delivered an unflinching warning about AI’s disruption of jobs, while JLL created a brand-new CEO role to elevate property management to the executive level. Together, they illustrate the dual role of leadership: naming disruption honestly, and structuring opportunity deliberately.
We explore what these moves reveal about credibility, clarity, and the power of leaders to narrate reality before it fully arrives.
Connect With MeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/elemental_educatorYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ElementalEducatorTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@elemental.educatorWebsite: https://www.elementaleducator.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-comeau-961a49310/
For Speaking, Consulting, Coaching, Guest Recommendations, or Other Inquiriestyler@elementaleducator.com
#LeadershipInAction #FacingTheFuture #AppliedLeadership
About the Elemental EducatorThe Elemental Educator podcast and platform equip leaders with strategies rooted in values, resilience, adaptability, and bold decision-making. Each episode translates current events and real-world examples into insights leaders can apply immediately.

Episode 73: Is Mindset the Missing Skill Behind “Luck” and Performance? (With Michelle Sigmann)

What you’ll get from this episode Principal-certified wellness coach and former Canadian National Barefoot Water Ski team member Michelle Sigmann breaks down how high performance translates to schools: unlearning to truly listen, building connection through communication, and replacing willpower myths with daily, sustainable habits. We examine the balance of luck and skill, the leadership cost of poor listening, and practical routines leaders can implement tomorrow to strengthen mental health, model calm under pressure, and drive lasting change. Connect With Me Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elemental_educator YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ElementalEducator TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@elemental.educator Website: https://www.elementaleducator.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-comeau-961a49310/ For speaking, consulting, coaching, guest recommendations, or other inquiries tyler@elementaleducator.com Connect With Our Guest Website: https://www.wellnessmichelle.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellefitnessmomma #ValuesBasedLeadership #WellnessForLeaders #MindsetInPractice About the Elemental Educator Elemental Educator equips leaders with actionable strategies anchored in values (Earth), adversity navigation (Air), change implementation (Water), and bold decision-making (Fire). Each conversation translates lived experience into practical moves that unlock potential in schools and organizations.

Episode 72: What If Greatness Matters More Than Perfection? (with Chris DT Gordon)

What You’ll Get from This Episode In this episode, Chris DT Gordon shares his extraordinary journey from battling a flesh-eating bacteria to running marathons and inspiring others through what he calls the “attitude of gratitude.” We explore how resilience is built in moments of crisis, why perfection is the wrong pursuit, and how gratitude can reshape both personal and professional life. This conversation challenges you to rethink adversity, find purpose in change, and commit to greatness over perfection. Connect With Me Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elemental_educator YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ElementalEducator TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@elemental.educator Website: https://www.elementaleducator.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-comeau-961a49310/ For Speaking, Consulting, Coaching, Guest Recommendations, or Other Inquiries tyler@elementaleducator.com Connect With Our Guest Chris DT Gordon: https://dot.cards/chrisdtgordon #ResilienceInAction #GratitudeMindset #LeadershipGrowth About the Elemental Educator The Elemental Educator podcast and platform equip leaders with actionable strategies rooted in values, resilience, adaptability, and bold decision-making. Through the metaphors of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire, we create conversations that spark transformation and unlock potential for leaders at every