S4, Ep. 4 | Leading Through All The Difference

Difference is everywhere in today’s workplace – competing priorities, different interpretations of data, generational expectations, risk tolerance, speed versus caution. The real leadership challenge isn’t understanding differences. It’s leading through it.

In this episode of The Better Understanding Podcast, Susan MacKenty Brady sits down with her All the Difference co-authors, Stuart Kliman and Lieutenant General (Ret.) Leslie C. Smith, to explore why leaders struggle to turn difference into value – and what happens when they don’t.

Drawing on decades of experience across business, negotiation, government, and the military, Stu, Les, and Susan unpack how leadership landmines show up in everyday moments and why silence, false alignment, and missed perspectives quietly drain performance.

Together, they explore:

• Why modern leadership is defined by competing perspectives, not just competing priorities
• What the “landmines of managing difference” look like in real leadership moments
• Why silence in meetings is often the most expensive signal leaders ignore
• How strong leaders unintentionally shut down the perspectives they need most
• The six Target Actions that help leaders convert difference into trust, alignment, and performance

Because difference doesn’t create value on its own.

Leadership does.

Susan MacKenty Brady, Stuart Kliman, and Lieutenant General (Ret.) Leslie C. Smith will be speaking at the 2026 Simmons Leadership Conference (#SLC47) in an action learning session: All the Difference: Turning Difference into Trust, Performance. Virtual passes are still available.

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