In this candid episode of Leading Below the Surface, I sit down with executive coach and Consciously CEO Kvon Tucker to talk about what it really takes to break away from dominant leadership standards – especially inside big-name companies like Netflix, Amazon, and Google.

Episode Summary

Kvon shares how a suicidal depression in his late 20s became a turning point, why he ultimately walked away from a “dream” tech career, and how he and his family ended up in Costa Rica designing a more human, spiritually aligned life. We unpack the dangerous mix of hypergrowth, fear-based leadership, and ego-driven cultures – and what it looks like to lead consciously instead, in a way that centers love, liberation, and human wellbeing.

This is a below-the-surface conversation about work, worth, ego, redemption, and the kind of leadership our world actually needs right now.

Episode Highlights

In this conversation, we explore:

  • How Kvon’s mental health crisis woke him up to a life and career he didn’t actually choose.
  • His path through Netflix, Amazon, and Google – and what was really happening beneath the “best places to work” branding.
  • The “dark triad” traits that often get rewarded in dominant leadership cultures, and why they’re so harmful.
  • Hypergrowth vs. natural growth: why the pace that works for business often breaks human bodies.
  • What it looks like to leave a prestigious corporate job to become a full-time dad, coach, and founder in Costa Rica.
  • How Kvon now thinks about ego, love, boundaries, and redemption.
  • Three practices he recommends for anyone who wants to lead more consciously: meditation, healing work (like therapy), and coaching.

Key Insights

  • Dominant leadership standards are often built on fear, hypergrowth, and ego – not love, wellness, or liberation.
  • Big-name “dream companies” can simultaneously offer incredible opportunities and deeply misaligned cultures. Both can be true.
  • Hypergrowth works for revenue, but it’s usually unsustainable for human nervous systems and family life.
  • Many leaders are waking up to the fact that the path they’ve been on is no longer serving them – there’s a real shift in collective consciousness happening.
  • Ego isn’t always “bad.” It can be redirected toward growth and impact when we’re aware of it and in relationship with it.
  • Love, for Kvon, looks like asking: “What is the most loving action for my own spiritual growth and for the other person?” Sometimes that means closeness; sometimes it means distance and boundaries.
  • You can’t be serious about liberation if you’re not serious about practices that help you know yourself – like meditation, therapy, and coaching.

ABOUT OUR GUEST – KVON TUCKER

Kvon Tucker is an executive coach and the CEO of Consciously, a coaching and consulting company that helps leaders build more conscious, human-centered organizations. Before founding Consciously, he led manager and leadership development at companies including Netflix, Amazon, and Google. Today, Kvon coaches leaders around the world as they navigate identity shifts, burnout, and the desire to lead in a way that’s more aligned with their values, spiritual growth, and real life. He lives in Costa Rica with his wife and daughter.

Learn more about Kvon:

Links & Resources

Stay in Touch with Change Coaches:

Connect with us:

Email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠

Learn more about Change Coaches⁠

Follow LaTonya on ⁠LinkedIn⁠

Follow Change Coaches on ⁠LinkedIn⁠

For More on the Book Leading Below the Surface

Podcast Summary Transcript:

Note: These are approximate, based on transcript — not pulled directly from the audio)

[00:00] Welcome & why this conversation matters

  • LaTonya introduces the episode, naming dominant leadership standards and why they’re so present in organizations right now.

  • She shares how she met Kvon in a BIPOC coaching space and why his work at Consciously felt different from the start.

[03:30] Kvon’s turning point: suicidal depression and a life he didn’t choose

  • Kvon describes hitting a suicidal depression in his late 20s and realizing he was living a life others had scripted for him.

  • Therapy became a lifeline and opened the question: “Who is Kvon and what life do I want?”

[08:00] Discovering coaching and the path into Big Tech

  • A mentor “prescribed” coaching training after watching him facilitate, and Kvon walked out of his first course knowing this was his life’s work.

  • Sharing his perspectives on LinkedIn led to roles in manager and leadership development at Netflix, Amazon, and Google.

[13:00] Inside the “dream companies” – and the dark triad

  • Kvon talks about arriving at Netflix and quickly realizing “this place is crazy” beneath the glossy brand.

  • He names the dark triad traits (narcissism, psychopathy, and duplicitousness) that often get rewarded and how they show up in corporate politics.

[18:30] Hypergrowth, fear, and the cost to human bodies

  • At Amazon, Kvon saw firsthand how a culture built on speed and hypergrowth can chew people up and burn them out.

  • He contrasts “good for business” metrics with what chronic pressure and speed do to people’s health and relationships.

[24:00] Google, “finding the right kind of crazy,” and what still didn’t fit

  • Google felt “cushier” and more aligned, but under the surface it was still large tech with fear-driven leadership and growth-at-all-costs.

  • Kvon realized the senior leaders’ priorities (profit, survival, reputation) didn’t match his own values of love, wellness, and liberation.

[29:30] Fatherhood, Costa Rica, and redefining success

  • Becoming a father made Kvon confront a promise: he would not be a full-time employee and full-time dad at the same time.

  • He built up his coaching practice, left Google on his daughter’s first birthday, and moved his family to Costa Rica to live more intentionally.

[35:00] The shift in consciousness among leaders

  • Both LaTonya and Kvon are seeing more executives say, “Everything I believed about leadership… I’m not sure anymore.”

  • Leaders are wrestling with gratitude for opportunity and a growing awareness that the culture and pace are misaligned with who they want to be.

[40:00] Ego, echo chambers, and space for redemption

  • They unpack ego: how Kvon now sees it as a part of us that can be directed toward good rather than shamed or suppressed.

  • LaTonya raises questions about cancel culture, redemption, and whether we leave room for people to evolve as their consciousness shifts.

[46:00] Love as a leadership practice

  • For Kvon, love means extending yourself for the spiritual growth of yourself and others.

  • He asks in each hard situation: “What’s the most loving way to show up for me and for them?” Sometimes that looks like presence; sometimes it looks like distance and boundaries.

[51:00] Practical ways to lead more consciously

  • Kvon shares three core practices: meditation, healing work (like psychotherapy), and coaching as the “creation” layer on top.

  • LaTonya adds her own practices (energy work, movement, rest, and nature) and reflects on how they’ve both built lives that actually match their values.

[56:00] Where to find Kvon and closing thoughts

  • Kvon shares where listeners can find him and Consciously.

LaTonya closes by naming this as a collective turning point in how we understand work, growth, and leadership – and invites listeners to reflect on their own next chapter.