Magic in the Room #132: Intentional Leaders: Brian Gooden on Pursuing his Purpose to Win and Help Win
December 12, 2022
On this episode of Magic in the Room, Chris reconnects with Brian Gooden. Brian was on one of Chris’ favorite episodes, Win and Help Win in Tribal Enterprise with Brian Gooden, and we wanted to get an update. In the first episode with Brian, he introduced his desire to “win and help win.” In other words, Brian is committed to having a mindset of abundance. Brian has realized that to win and help win, he has to get out of his normal comforts and take risks to advance the cause of helping others win.
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Find Brian Gooden on LinkedIn
Find Brian’s Etsy shop Sovernly at www.etsy.com/shop/Sovernly
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In this episode of "Magic in the Room," Luke, Hannah, and Chris unpack the difference between being busy and being truly impactful, exploring why organizations often get stuck in high-activity, low-impact cycles. They identify five common contributors: compliance-heavy environments, resistance to change, disconnected decision-makers, fear-driven “CYA” cultures, and firefighting systems that reward heroics over long-term strategy. From there, they highlight what creates real impact: clarity of purpose, agency, curiosity, intentionality, and the discipline to question assumptions and align action with a meaningful “why.” The conversation encourages leaders to build awareness of their strengths, design systems that support healthy impact, maintain congruence between their public and private influence, and cultivate the kind of presence that can genuinely move a room.

In this episode of "Magic in the Room," Chris interviews board members from the National Native American Human Resources Association (NNAHRA) discussing the power of purpose-driven leadership within tribal organizations. Recorded at the NNAHRA annual conference, they explore themes like courage, vulnerability, accountability, community service, and fostering environments where all employees feel valued and able to contribute. They share how NNAHRA builds a supportive professional network for tribal HR leaders, encourages alignment between individual roles and tribal purpose, and creates space for courageous conversations across governance and enterprise structures. They also discuss future initiatives, including new certifications and the 2026 conference at the Hilton Village in Hawaii. The overarching message: lead with purpose, support one another, and build cultures rooted in respect, courage, and shared responsibility.
