Today's guest is Kurt Landon - founder of Enspira, an HR Consulting and Human Capital firm. This is the first of two episodes. In this episode, we focus on how Kurt became a leader, and how working in HR and human capital at firms like Expedia, Biogen and Pinterest prepared him to become a leader.Kurt's Flourless Chocolate cake recipe: bit.ly/kurtcakeKEY TAKEAWAYS [03:30] – Welcome to the podcast, let’s start, why don’t you give our listeners your background, story, and how you got here. [05:17] – You started your entrepreneur career fairly late in your professional journey. What was the driver to go on your own after so many years?[09:25] – What are the advantages, as an entrepreneur, do you think you got from going this route, which is not as traditional.[11:30] – When did you start being intentional about defining your leadership style? How do you define your leadership style?[13:54] – Kurt talks about a chapter from the book, The Feiner Points of Leadership by Michael Feiner.[17:27] – Is there one of those experiences that you would be willing to share 2 or 3 lessons that you learned from that specific experience?[20:09] – Kurt later learned that a new leader did not like him because of his sexuality.[24:27] – Kurt recaps multiple lessons.[27:23] – You are going into every experience with trust.[30:29] – How do you think of your best self as a leader? What are the qualities that you try and embody?[35:08] – Do you have any interests or hobbies outside of work that are important to you and how have they shaped or influenced your work?[37:04] – Food for your body or food for your thought?[41:57] – Thank you and closing remarks.Contact Dino at: dino@al4ep.comWebsites:enspirahr.comal4ep.comAdditional Guest Links:LinkedIn Enspira: linkedin.com/company/enspiraLinkedIn Kurt:  linkedin.com/in/kurt-landon-he-him-3791015/Authentic Leadership For Everyday People / Dino CattaneoDino on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dinocattaneoPodcast Instagram – @al4edp Podcast Twitter – @al4edp Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/al4edpMusicHonest Mechanik: honestmechanik.bandcamp.comBooksThe Feiner Points of Leadership by Michael FeinerThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy