232. Crushing the Soul Crushers with Tim Leake

2025-05-13

“Making progress is soul-crusher free." "We can control how we react to it." "Assume positive intent." Episode summary | In this conversation, Tim Leake, founder of Let's Lightbulb, discusses how to make work enjoyable and productive. He shares insights on creativity, collaboration, and the importance of humor in high-stakes environments. Tim emphasizes the need for leaders to be generous and supportive, creating a culture where everyone can thrive. He also highlights practical strategies for overcoming soul-crushing moments in the wo...

“Making progress is soul-crusher free."

"We can control how we react to it."

"Assume positive intent."

Episode summary |

In this conversation, Tim Leake, founder of Let's Lightbulb, discusses how to make work enjoyable and productive. He shares insights on creativity, collaboration, and the importance of humor in high-stakes environments. Tim emphasizes the need for leaders to be generous and supportive, creating a culture where everyone can thrive. He also highlights practical strategies for overcoming soul-crushing moments in the workplace and the ripple effect of generosity in leadership.

R.O.G. Takeaway Tips |

Creativity and speed are unfair advantages in today's fast-paced world.
Assuming positive intent can transform team dynamics.
Humor and levity can create a psychologically safe environment.
Generosity in leadership fosters deeper connections and opportunities.
Collaboration requires structure to be effective and efficient.
Soul crushers are often invisible but can be addressed through proactive measures.
Listening is a critical skill for effective leadership.
The more value you give away, the more it comes back to you.
Creativity is essential for solving problems in any field.

Chapters |

00:00 Introduction to Tim Leake and Soulcrushers

01:41 The Courage to Create: Tim's TEDx Experience

05:24 The Concept of Soul Crushers and Their Impact

10:25 Empowering Work: Making Work Fun Again

15:58 Practical Strategies to Combat Soul Crushers

19:36 Creativity as a Core Element in Problem Solving

21:30 Leveraging Humor and Levity in Business

24:20 The Multifaceted Benefits of Fun in Work

25:51 The Impact of Fear on Communication

28:30 Creating Psychological Safety in Teams

32:45 The Power of Generosity in Leadership

37:37 Building Relationships Through Generosity

44:18 The Ripple Effect of Generosity

46:43 Sparking Creativity in Teams

48:21 The Importance of Listening in Leadership

Guest Bio |

Tim is a founder, facilitator, and crusher-of-soul-crushers at Let’s Lightbulb — a consultancy that helps leadership teams accomplish twice as much in half the time, through creative and strategic workshop facilitation. He specializes in running High-ROI Off-Sites and Solution Sprints for executive and leadership teams.

Additionally, he’s an Executive Trainer at AJ&Smart, often called the world’s best facilitation training company.

He's been using facilitation, creativity, and innovative thinking to help businesses drive revenue for over 25 years.

Before creating a company of his own, Tim spent nearly a decade as the Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer for RPA, one of the largest independent agencies in the U.S.

Prior to RPA, he was a global innovation and transformation facilitator and speaker with Hyper Island — helping companies (including General Mills, Target, Ikea and many more) thrive in a constantly changing digital world.

He began his career on the creative side of the advertising industry, where he was a Creative Director & Director of Creative Innovation at Saatchi & Saatchi NY, and got his start at TBWA/Chiat/Day, as a copywriter working on world-famous efforts like the Energizer Bunny and Taco Bell Chihuahua campaigns.

He’s a frequent speaker at international events including the Cannes Festival of Creativity (France), Hyper Island (Sweden), CPH Transform (Copenhagen), Dani Komunikacija (Croatia), AToMiC (Canada), Advertising Week (USA), SXSW (the country of Texas), and more.

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