The Emotional Side of Executive Decision Making (Ep 29)
High-stakes decisions can feel surprisingly isolating, especially when the consequences affect a company, a career, or hundreds of other people. How can leaders think clearly when pressure, confidence, and uncertainty collide?
In this episode, Danton Troyer and Kyle Luetters talk with Mike Warner, former general counsel at ALX Oncology, about decision-making under pressure. Together, they examine how trust and self-confidence can reduce executive isolation, why complex problems rarely benefit from rushed answers, and what the AOL-Time Warner merger shows about unchecked confidence.
The conversation also explores the value of listening to dissenting voices, remaining calm when circumstances escalate, and developing the perseverance needed for long-term decisions.
Mike discusses:
- How trust in yourself and your organization can reduce the isolation that comes with high-stakes leadership decisions
- Why rushing toward a quick answer can leave leaders exposed to risks and consequences they haven’t considered
- How excessive self-confidence can prevent executives from giving enough weight to criticism and outside perspectives
- Why calmness helps leaders assess difficult business situations without allowing a panic response to drive the decision
- How experience, listening, and perseverance can support clearer thinking when the stakes and pressure continue to rise
- And more!
Connect With Danton Troyer:
- Moneta Group
- LinkedIn: Danton Troyer
- dtroyer@monetagroup.com
- (314) 735-9087
Connect With Kyle Luetters:
- Moneta Group
- LinkedIn: Kyle Luetters
- kluetters@monetagroup.com
- (314) 536-8297
Connect With Mike Warner:
About Our Guest:
Mike Warner is a retired corporate attorney and former general counsel whose career spans science, law, and executive leadership. He began as a chemist with Monsanto before attending St. Louis University School of Law in the evening and moving into patent law with Pfizer. He later served as general counsel for ALX Oncology, a biotechnology company in California.
Since retiring, Mike has focused on writing, contributing to The French Quarter Journal and publishing a biography, “Charles Whitfield Richards, the Artist and His Circle,” through the University of Louisiana Press. His varied background gives him a thoughtful perspective on leadership, decision-making, organizational trust, and the pressures executives face when making high-stakes choices.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
