Podcast by Jeffrey Cohn, Podcast Host
Imperfect Leaders
There is no such thing as a perfect leader. We invite the country's most admired leaders to talk about their imperfections and leadership journey.
Imperfect Leaders
Latest episodes
03 August 2026
Leadership & Legacy for Neurodiverse Families – with Michael Duckworth
This episode of Imperfect Leaders is about leadership and legacy: how parents of autistic and neurodiverse children think about the long arc of their family’s happiness, not just this year or next, but decades into the future, even after the parents are gone.
Jeff’s guest is Mike Duckworth, Managing Director of the Duckworth Hagerty Group at Merrill Lynch. Mike and Jeff share a common passion: helping parents plan for their family’s long-term wellbeing and legacy, and helping them build a community of support around their children that can endure beyond the parents’ lifetime. It’s the same territory Jeff explores with business leaders at the L3 Retreat.
Mike’s work is less about short-term financial planning and more about the long arc of a family’s life—getting clear on what “a good life” means for everyone in the system. Together, they talk about how emotional intelligence, sharp listening skills, clear values, and honest planning can move families from fear to agency as they design support structures, relationships, and opportunities that will still be there for their children when they are no longer around.
What you’ll learn in this episode
- Why thinking of yourself as the “CEO of a care enterprise” can change how you lead your family, regardless of your resources.
- How to define “a good life” and turn it into resilient, long-term plans.
- Why listening and emotional intelligence are core leadership skills in high-stakes family decisions.
- How facing mortality and legacy can move families from fear to intentional action in the “after us” years.
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18 June 2026
Small Dose, Big Impact: The Science of Low-Dose Lithium for Leadership Performance, with Dr. Sudhir Gadh
What if the key to better sleep, faster recovery, and long-term brain health is a trace mineral that was once in your drinking water — and quietly removed? In this episode, I sit down with Sudhir, a board-certified psychiatrist, Navy veteran, and co-founder of Third Element, to explore the surprising science behind lithium microdosing — and why it's nothing like the high-dose psychiatric treatment you may have heard of.
Sudhir breaks down how low-dose lithium works at the cellular level — from calming the GSK3 enzyme and protecting mitochondria, to extending telomere length and reducing chronic inflammation. He shares why everyone from autistic children to elite NBA and NFL athletes are now evaluating the supplement for athlete recovery, what epidemiological data from blue zones and ancient springs reveals about this overlooked mineral, and how his work with homeless patients, veterans, and addiction populations first proved its safety and efficacy.
Whether you're an executive managing stress and sleep, an athlete chasing faster recovery, or simply someone who wants to age better — this conversation will change the way you think about what your brain needs to thrive. Third Element isn't just a supplement; it's the missing piece in a polluted and diluted modern diet.
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28 May 2026
Thinking About Thinking: What a World-Class Neuroscientist Learned When His Own Child Got Sick, with Dr. Bradley Schlaggar, CEO of the Kennedy Krieger Institute
In this episode of Imperfect Leaders, host Jeff Cohn sits down with Dr. Bradley Schlaggar — physician, neuroscientist, and President and CEO of the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, one of the world's premier institutions for children and young adults with disorders of the brain and nervous system.
Brad's path to leadership began with a lifelong obsession with the developing brain, an MD and PhD from Washington University, and nearly two decades on the faculty building a celebrated research career.
But it was a series of deeply personal crucible experiences — the loss of his sister and father to cancer, his own emergency heart surgery, his wife's breast cancer diagnosis, and his son Simeon's four-year battle with leukemia — that forged his most important leadership qualities.
Those experiences gave Brad something no training program could: a profound, bone-deep empathy for the families sitting across from him, and a servant leader's instinct to make space for others rather than occupy it himself.
That empathy and humility are not incidental to how Kennedy Krieger works — they are the foundation of it. Brad has built a culture where world-class specialists in neurology, psychiatry, behavioral health, and education are not just housed under one roof but genuinely work together, centered entirely on the patient and family in front of them.
In this conversation, Brad takes us inside that culture — how it is built, how it is sustained, and why true interdisciplinary care produces outcomes that siloed systems simply cannot.
He also speaks with remarkable candor about what parents of children with autism and developmental differences actually need, what the system consistently gets wrong, and what business leaders with real capital and influence can do right now to move the needle for these families — inside their companies and in their communities.
This episode will resonate deeply with any parent who has ever sat in a waiting room terrified, and with any leader who has learned — the hard way — that the most powerful thing you can do is get out of the way of the people around you.
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23 January 2026
Winning the War for Rainmakers & Law Firm Leaders, with John Cashman, President Major, Lindsey, & Africa
Big law is changing fast, but one thing hasn’t: the firms that win still recruit – and keep – talent better than everyone else. In this episode, John Cashman breaks down how elite law firms actually close top laterals—mindset shifts, process, culture fit, and hands‑on leadership—and why the same principles apply to any organization, in business and in sports, that depends on star performers to drive results.
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01 December 2025
Michael Paul, CEO of MaraBio - Finding 'Ability' in Disability
Some CEOs hide behind the veil of invulnerability.
Michael Paul, Ph.D., does the opposite—he believes that real leadership starts with choosing trust over armor. Michael was deeply influenced by the wisdom of Patrick Lencioni, never choose "invulnerability over trust."
As CEO of MARAbio, he is helping build a company that knows exactly why it exists: to use maternal immune science to help eradicate the most severe forms of autism, giving families earlier answers and more hope.
On this episode of Imperfect Leaders, Michael unpacks how that clear purpose shapes every hard conversation with parents, clinicians, investors, and his own team—and how a leadership style that embraces his heart, mind, and soul (psychological safety), and a culture grounded in honesty makes it possible to tackle obstacles as big as autism itself.
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08 October 2025
Molded from Clay – Chris Johnson Brings Bluebird Kids Health to Families Across America
Professor Clay Christensen was the famous business school professor who wrote the influential book, "The Innovator's Dilemma." Clay had a brilliant mind and was a strategic advisor to CEOs across the country.
Less well know, was Clay's active role as a mentor to young, up-and-coming innovators. One of those beneficiaries was today's guest, Chris Johnson, Founder & CEO of Bluebird Kid's Health.
Bluebird is revolutionizing pediatric care. They are solving the problem of "pediatric care deserts" by building pediatric practices in access-starved neighborhoods, using a modern, tech-enabled approach to care delivery, and implementing a high-performing model built specifically for pediatrics and value-based care (VBC).
Chris is a mission-driven entrepreneur and innovator who was, quite literally, molded by Clay.
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