133: Don’t Be a ‘Know-It-All’ Leader

Being a top performer doesn’t mean you’re ready to lead.

Meet Gerard. A successful sales representative turned manager, Gerard knows how to execute, but struggles to earn buy-in from his team. Meetings feel heavy. Feedback feels forced. The harder he pushes, the quieter the room gets. He feels like his team just doesn’t trust him.

In this episode, Jay sits down with Damon Lembi, a former Division I athlete, CEO of Learn It, bestselling author, and host of The Learn-It-All Podcast. Damon breaks down why many high performers struggle when they step into leadership and how shifting from a “know-it-all” mindset to a “learn-it-all” approach builds trust, confidence, and real influence.

This conversation explores what great leaders do differently when it comes to listening, feedback, ego, communication, and earning trust without control.


Notable Quotes
“Sometimes you need to go slow to go fast.” — Damon Lembi
“Your title doesn’t earn trust. Your behavior does.” — Damon Lembi
“The moment a leader becomes the bottleneck, growth stops.” — Damon Lembi


About Our Guest
Damon Lembi is the CEO of Learn It, a live learning and development company that helps organizations build leadership, communication, and AI readiness skills. A former Division I baseball player, Damon has spent more than 30 years helping leaders move from individual success to team-driven impact. He is the author of The Learn-It-All Leader and host of The Learn-It-All Podcast.


Resources & Links

Website: https://jayabbasi.me/podcast
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3NSm...
YouTube: @jayabbasipodcast

Damon Lembi
Website – https://www.thelearnitallleader.com/
The Learn-it-All-Leader Book – https://www.thelearnitallleader.com/b...
LinkedIn –   / damonlembi  
YouTube –    / @thelearnitallpodcast  
Facebook –   / learn.it.anywhere  
Instagram –   / damonlembi  
X – https://x.com/learnitanywhere

Jay Abbasi
Website – https://jayabbasi.me/
LinkedIn –   / jayabbasi  
Instagram –   / jayabbasi_  
YouTube –    / @jayabbasipodcast  


Free Live Virtual Workshop: Leading at the Speed of AI
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Join Us Next Time
On Friday, Jay breaks down how to run meetings that actually move work forward. Drawing from a proven formula he uses with leaders and teams, he’ll share a practical blueprint to help you reduce wasted time, increase clarity, and make meetings more effective and engaging.

And on Wednesday, January 7th at 12 PM Eastern, Jay is hosting Leading at the Speed of AI, a live, interactive virtual workshop for emerging leaders ready to level up.

Reserve your seat here: https://jayabbasi.me/workshop