Shownotes
What happens when the pursuit of success masks deep personal pain? In this episode of the Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Judd Shaw CEO, lawyer, entrepreneur, and speaker. After building one of the largest law firms in New Jersey and achieving the outward markers of success, Judd found himself facing a private crisis that forced him to reevaluate everything he believed.
This episode offers a deeply honest look at how vulnerability, self-awareness, and connection can transform leadership and create organizations where people truly thrive. Whether you're a founder, executive, entrepreneur, or emerging leader, this conversation will challenge how you think about success and inspire you to lead with greater courage and authenticity.
What You Will Learn
How childhood experiences and trauma can shape leadership styles and drive the pursuit of external validation.
What happens when leaders prioritize performance and perfection over authenticity and human connection.
How Judd Shaw’s personal crisis became the catalyst for transforming his leadership philosophy.
What the “brave space” between uncertainty and outcome looks like in leadership and decision-making.
How vulnerability and storytelling can create trust, safety, and stronger team collaboration.
Why leaders who show up authentically create healthier and more productive organizational cultures.
How connection-first leadership reduces turnover, increases engagement, and improves workplace performance.
What simple daily practices can help leaders reconnect with themselves and lead more intentionally.
FAQ:
Why do many successful leaders struggle with authenticity and connection?
Many leaders are trained to prioritize results, performance, and control. Over time, this can lead them to hide vulnerability and suppress emotions to maintain authority. While this approach may create short-term success, it often leads to burnout, disconnection, and unhealthy workplace cultures.
How can leaders create a culture where employees feel safe to speak up?
Leaders create psychological safety by modeling vulnerability, admitting when they do not have all the answers, and encouraging open dialogue. When leaders show that mistakes are opportunities for learning rather than punishment, employees feel more comfortable sharing ideas, asking questions, and contributing to innovation.
What daily habits can help leaders reconnect with themselves and lead more authentically?
Judd Shaw recommends three simple practices: begin the day with a positive affirmation, do one act of self-care as if you were treating yourself like someone you love, and identify three specific things you are grateful for before engaging with work. These habits help leaders ground themselves before responding to the demands of the day.
Connect with Judd Shaw
Book: Sterling the Knight Children's Series
Join the Leading Visionaries Community
Transcripts
LVP 124 Judd 1
===
[:Now here's your host, angel b Hardwell.
Welcome to another episode of the Leading Visionaries Podcast, where we celebrate the ingenious, insightful, innovative, and inspired leading visionaries of our time. And provide our listeners with world class examples of the kind of courage, clarity, and confidence it takes to bring visions into reality.
al guest, Judd Shaw. Judd is [:Own their stories and lead with purpose. In addition to his work as the founder and president of Judd Shaw injury Law, Judd is a sought after keynote speaker on brave Storytelling, connection and leadership. On his podcast Behind the Armor, he facilitates conversations that cut beneath the surface and get to the heart of the human experience.
he Sterling The Night Books, [:I wanna start our conversation. Um, this show is called Leading Visionaries, and obviously you have a lot going on in the leadership department, but I, I'd like to start today talking about vision. And so I am curious, were you the little guy who had big visions when you were a child or was your visionary journey initiated through some kind of divine intervention or life crisis where you suddenly were able to see and.
aised and involved, a lot of [:I needed people to see me as successful. It made me feel heard, it made me feel seen and valued. And so the more billboards I was on the more people recognized me, the more lovable I felt. And so that was a real drive for me. And the problem with that though, is when it's all external and it's not internal, there's a breaking point that happens.
my experience, my background [:Mm. Well, you know, this is so fascinating, Judd, because this is the first time I've had somebody who has spoken to. The seeing into the swamp because many people, you know, when they, when we talk about vision, they're, you know, sometimes it's psychic vision, sometimes it's like imagery. Sometimes it's like big ideas that come in.
amp. So I'd love to have you [:I was armored up and I also had no tolerance for anything but exceptional. And in fact I put on my law firm reception area when you'd walk in thinking that my potential clients would get impressed. Quote from Steve Jobs. That said something to the extent I don't have it up anymore that people are not, many people aren't used to an environment which expects excellence.
Mm. So I would say, oh, the [:Where a mistake to where we learn, that's where the growth occurs. Right. And it, and keeps everybody under the radar worried about. Getting shamed or judged if they made a mistake. Mm-hmm. And so my organization was completely successful on the outside. I built one of the largest law firms in New Jersey.
s putting on myself. Mm-hmm. [: nd it got to a point in about:Wow. And I would show up in the morning, I would go back, I would change into my next suit that's, you know, perfectly tailored and hanging in color, coordinated in the closet. And I'd wash my face and I would repeat this. Mm-hmm. And that went on for a good year, year and a half. And the problem was that that that numbing that mm-hmm.
Was the only way [: the outward success, but the [:It was un exposed. It was repressed, depressed, suppressed, to the point where there was so much pain that you ended up in the streets doing crystal meth in the middle of the night. Which is not the, you know, for somebody at that level of success, that's not something that you would normally think about.
But a lot of people who are in highly, highly successful situations are, they have that se kind of quote unquote, secret life. Great. Well, thank you for, for the vulnerability there. So you really do have a swamp to look at. So when you raised your hand and said you needed help, that to me is, is a moment where self-leadership somehow kicked in.
gonna like an I'm gonna die [:I came home one day and I went into my garage and I was alone surrounded by these ideas of success in the way of the Italian leather and the smell of the, you know, brand new car that was next to me. And I lied on my garage floor and I curled up in a fetal position like I was trying to get back into my mother's womb.
this was not that. This was, [:Mm-hmm. And. I think that's where the shaking cry of that came, the real tears that came out of in, you know, my body, not just my eyes. My, my body was crying. Mm-hmm. And I, I, I, I was afraid of that feeling because I knew that it was real. I knew that I had. Thought that this was perhaps the best way.
had contemplated. How I was [:And I remember saying to myself that I, I need to call a friend. Mm-hmm. What I thought about what, as that I can go always book back to this plan that I can do this at any time. Mm-hmm. Let me give one phone call. Mm. Let me call my friend and tell him what's been going on, and if I don't like it, I hang up and I go back to my plan anyway.
for help was that I also had [:I couldn't sit there and, you know, disappear from my law firm for three months. Mm-hmm. And, and it required me to get honest. And when that happened, suddenly the relationship that I had with my management. Who were all yeses because nobody was a, you know, everybody was afraid to say no to me. Right. They, they rallied, they rooted for me.
Mm-hmm. The connection that I had with them, it was like, got you Judd, how can we help you? Mm-hmm. And it was the fact that I realized that when I had shown myself now as human, as a human and came from the heart. My team really cared about me and the company. Yeah. Beautiful. We are gonna take a quick break.
f leading other visionaries? [:The best support is found in collaboration with other leading visionaries, which is why we've created the Creative Age Leader Lab. Discover more about this opportunity@leadingvisionariespodcast.com slash Creative Age Leader Lab, or click the connect with Angel button on the website to apply and qualify for a consultation for more personalized access and support.
ur listeners in Dallas where [:And we'll be right back with Judge Shaw.
The Leading Visionaries Podcast is brought to you by the Creative Age Consulting Group. Are you the one who thinks differently? Who is called to create a significant conscious change in the world? Who is seeing and dreaming of a better way for your industry, your community, human. Creative Age consulting group is hired to guide leading visionaries just like you, who want to break through the static in order to clearly express and confidently enroll support for their vision in a way that makes it inevitable that it will come to pass.
l to its materialization and [:The book is yours by visiting gift dot Leading visionaries podcast.com.
And we are back with Judge Shaw. I would like to invite you to go visit him@juddshaw.com and we'll have that for you. In the show notes, you can find out more about his story, about his companies, and about how he might be able to support you with his coaching, writing, or speaking. That's Judd shaw.com.
to the break, we got to the, [:Not only did you change your leadership within your own organizations, but you've now decided to bring that change out in other ways. Like speaking here on, on this podcast, having your own podcast, like what inspired you to, to bring it to the world, let's put it that way. Great question. Uh, the change in my own organization.
hem previously. And now the, [:Changes how he or she shows up, changes the organization. And so what happened was through the power of brave storytelling, by tapping in and being able to say, this is what was happening to me and this is why it was happening. My, my team actually felt more heard. They raised their hand with ideas. They came and said, I don't know if that's a great thing.
y organization, my law firm, [:Let's call that a. And uncertainty is, I don't know, the unknown. And B, is the outcome, the result. And most people wanna jump from A to B immediately. That's because in between A and B is the messy middle. It's the uncomfortable, it's the unknown, it's the it's and, and we bail from that so early. And what happens when we don't know something or something's uncertain.
ers are trained to be result [:And, and outcome based. Mm-hmm. It's, we wanna get to be as fast as we can, but what I had learned is the more you can tolerate staying in what I call brave space, which is between A and B mm-hmm. The more self-awareness you develop, and then as you develop more self-awareness. You on the other side of that come out with decisions and outcomes that are more aligned with your core values or the company's core values they are in, they are filled with integrity.
They are, they, they achieve connection. It. What happened was it started encouraging this in my organization to, to knowledge when we're in the brave space, a conversation with an employee's review. A, a team member who may have fallen short on goals or KPIs or targets taking on a new client and we're just not sure how to go about it.
First, for [:So now when we're entering another tough conversation, nobody's running from it. We're facing, we're facing it bravely. Yeah. Beautiful. And with my formula, I decided how can I take this to other organizations and other individuals and carry the message beyond the four corners of my company? And that led to speaking and, and things of that nature.
I'm hearing here is in this [:Experiences that life is bringing to, to you as the leader and to the organization. So you're literally creating a, a, an environment for on, on the spot learning to be happening. That's not just skill-based learning, but it's actually relational. And cultural within the organization. Learning. Yeah.
because what's happening is [:To allow myself to process that mm-hmm. Allows myself to come through on the other side more emotionally intelligent. Well, and and not only that, you, you're moving from reactivity to responsibility. Responsibility, like the ability to respond with a sense of. Agency for yourself and your organization as well as with respect for, for the person on the other side.
ich, you know, unfortunately [: the brave space, is the most [:I wrote a book called How to Live Authentically This Rising Cure to Loneliness and Disconnection. And in it I talk about the connection cure, which is a framework. It is really at the heart of everything I'm doing because I believe that when first we show up authentically, which means we are not oversharing, but we're aligned and acting with those values in mind.
ardly to others, because the [:We were never intended to do it alone and you don't have to. Mm-hmm. Beautiful. In the last minute, I would love to have you just give our listeners one act that they can engage in to connect with themselves first. Great. I would encourage them to do three things in one week. The first is give themself a positive affirmation.
hat you would do if you were [:Very specifically, I do this each day. I find three grateful things for the day that I am in today. Mm-hmm. I'm grateful I'm about to have this podcast. I can't wait to go on. I'm grateful and start the day that way. Then get on the computer and the phone. Beautiful. I love it. So good. One of the things I like to say is, gratitude is the currency of the universe.
idea of like presencing what [:And we are done for today. So listeners, we do love feedback. Please let us know what you thought of today's show by joining our community, sharing your takeaways, asking questions, or submitting guest suggestions. You can weave your visionary thread into our fabric by opting in on our website@leadingvisionariespodcast.com or by interacting with us on social.
e to create conscious change.[:Thanks for tuning in, downloading and listening. Be sure to rate and review leading visionaries on Apple Podcasts and share with other people you know who can benefit from today's episode. Leading Visionaries is the premier podcast series for informing, activating, and inspiring the leading visionaries who are called to create conscious change and know that now is the best time to welcome wealth and cultivate a web of collaborative support to bring their vision to life.
We invite your feedback and guest suggestions and invite you to subscribe to our mailing list to be notified of new episodes at Leading Visionaries Podcast.
