3 Superpowered Takeaways from Jesse Martin’s Interview:
🟢 Feedback Is a Superpower
Jesse’s Superpower is creating cultures of honest, timely feedback—and then building leadership accountability around it. It fuels trust, performance, and transformation.
🟡 Most Leaders Are Blind to the Truth
Even well-meaning leaders often don’t realize what their team is really experiencing—until someone creates a safe space for voices to rise.
🔵 Fun Is a Leadership Skill
Jesse teaches that excellence and play are not opposites. High standards don’t require high stress—and fun is more productive than pressure.
A Wake-Up Call With Purpose
Jesse Martin gives the gift he was given as a young, driven, results-focused leader: a wake-up call wrapped in truth. In this heartfelt episode of Workplace Delight (a sister newsletter to The Superpower Quest), Jesse shares how his own Kryptonite—unawareness—kept him from leading well, until a coach held up a mirror.
“The word my team used most to describe me was intimidating.”
That feedback cracked something open. It didn’t break him. It named him.
Feedback: The Most Underused Superpower
Jesse now installs what most leaders lack: real-time feedback loops. Not performance reviews. Not outdated 360s.
“Gallup says annual reviews are crap,” Jesse says. “They’re too removed from the moments that matter.”
What matters most is the moment after the moment. That’s when culture is shaped. Feedback gives you the truth—both the hard stuff and the hidden encouragements that leaders desperately need to hear.
From Intensity to Joy
Jesse once believed fun was for slackers. That changed when he saw the fish-throwers at Pike’s Place and learned to experiment with play in times of workplace stress. (Tossing fries at teammates at Chick-fil-A during the rush).
“Work made fun gets done.”
Play became part of his leadership toolkit. Not at the expense of performance—but for performance.
The Real Secret
“I used to admire the polished leader. Now I admire the real one.”
Vulnerability became Jesse’s doorway to deeper connection and greater impact. He stopped performing and started transforming.
There’s a secret inside your team—and without consistent feedback, you may never find it.
Want to go deeper in your Superpower as a leader? This interview with Jesse will show you how. And Jesse might just be the external force you need to install the system your team is waiting for.
👉 Subscribe to the Superpower Quest Newsletter
👉 Buy the Book
👉 Explore speaking and workshops
Share this post