Dr. Ryan Gottfredson is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of three books, including his newest, Becoming Better: The Groundbreaking Science of Personal Transformation. He's a professor of leadership at California State University Fullerton, a global authority on vertical development, and a consultant who has partnered with organizations like CVS Health, the Federal Reserve Bank, and Kaiser Permanente to help leaders make genuinely transformational — not just incremental — change.

Ryan's research has been cited nearly 5,000 times since 2020, and his TEDx Talk on fixing leadership development is a must-watch for any leader who's ready to go beyond the surface.
But what makes Ryan's work truly stand out is his own story. He's been fired, wrestled with shame, done years of therapy, and come out the other side with a roadmap he wishes he'd had decades earlier. He brings that same honesty and depth to everything he teaches — and it shows.

You can find his free assessments, all three of his books, and his weekly newsletter at ryangottfredson.com. Start with the Personal Mindset Assessment — it's a genuinely eye-opening place to begin.

You're working hard. You're skilled. You're committed. So why do the same frustrations keep showing up — in your team, in your organization, and if you're honest, in yourself?

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Ryan Gottfredson — Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author, professor of leadership at Cal State Fullerton, and global authority on vertical development — to explore the question that changes everything: it's not what leaders need to do, it's who leaders need to be.

What we cover:

• The difference between your Doing Side (talent, knowledge, skills) and your Being Side (mindsets, emotional regulation, internal operating system) — and why most leaders only develop one of them
• The three vertical development levels — Mind 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 — and why 64% of adults never move beyond the first
• What Fifth Gear leadership looks like (urgency, control, high RPMs) and why pushing harder only leads to more burnout
• How shifting into Sixth Gear allows you to move faster with less strain — and what it actually takes to get there
• Three levels of Being Side development work: surface, deeper, and deepest — and practical starting points for each
• Why our fears and unconscious programming, not our lack of skill, are what's really holding us back 

 Resources Mentioned:

• Ryan Gottfredson's website & free assessments (Personal Mindset Assessment + Vertical Development Assessment)
• Becoming Better: The Groundbreaking Science of Personal Transformation by Dr. Ryan Gottfredson
• The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
• The Five Minute Journal by Intelligent Change
• You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero
• Hit Refresh by Satya Nadella

Visit ClaireLaughlin.com and connect with me @Claire Laughlin Consulting on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Thanks for listening!

New episodes are released weekly—share with others who might benefit!