Best The Utility Player Podcast Podcasts (2025)

1
A Space for Critique: Lead by Amplifying Voices and Giving Credit with Erin O’Quinn (2/3) 38:45

3h ago38:45

38:45

Looking to improve the performance of your team? Improve the way they communicate, and you just might surprise yourself. When we take the time to understand how people like to be communicated with and how they like to communicate with others, it changes everything. In episode 331, Erin O’Quinn is back with us to share what it takes to create a safe…

1
Unlock Your Inner Spy: Dive Into Top Secret's Espionage RPG Adventure! 45:05

1h ago45:05

45:05

Top Secret: New World Order. That’s right, for DM Dave’s Birthday Game (of which we are quickly becoming well-versed), DM Chris ran our gaming group through the update to the TSR classic espionage RPG, Top Secret from TSR, Inc. by Merle Rasmussen. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to review the system, and discuss what they liked and …

1
A Utility Player’s Advantage: The Work of Marketing in Tech with Erin O’Quinn (1/3) 45:06

8h ago45:06

45:06

Being a utility player in the sports world is one thing, but what does a utility player look like in the tech industry? Erin O’Quinn, our guest this week in episode 330, says it takes a willingness to learn, approaching what you learn as something that can help you later, and a willingness to advocate for yourself. Erin is currently a senior manage…

1
Controlled and Proactive: Managing Your Career During Uncertain Times 38:55

7d ago38:55

38:55

How should we be managing our careers during times of uncertainty? News of layoffs and economic uncertainty induces paralyzing fear and anxiety in many of us. What can we really control in the midst of it all, if anything? This week in episode 329, we’ll talk through a 5-pillar framework with actionable steps you can take now to be more proactive i…

1
A Manager’s Preoccupation: 1-1 Meetings and Focused Prioritization with Joseph Griffiths (2/2) 43:18

15d ago43:18

43:18

Your manager has a preoccupation, but do you know what it is? The answer reveals a clue about their focus and the culture this manager will foster. Join us in episode 328 as Joseph Griffiths shares advice for making 1-1s with your manager and skip-level manager more productive, guidance for the aspiring managers listening, and observations from man…

1
Your Virtual DM: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Enjoy Solo TTRPGs 43:21

16d ago43:21

43:21

Artificial Intelligence is a polarizing topic these days. From Skynet-style flights of fancy to the very real implications for content creators, it’s an evolving technology that isn’t going away anytime soon. But free from worrying about profiting off of others’ work, using AI at the game table can help provide you with a set of tools and a pair of…

1
A Passion for Growth: Storytelling and Interpersonal Skills with Joseph Griffiths (1/2) 39:58

21d ago39:58

39:58

How well do your personal and professional life align to your passion areas? For returning guest Joseph Griffiths, seeking mentorship helped uncover his core passions (service, honesty, faith, and growth) and fueled the decision to pursue people management. This week in Episode 327, Joseph details his transition from solutions architect to business…

1
AI Mistakes: Focused Resilience and a Specialization Bet with Daniel Lemire (4/4) 36:38

1M ago36:38

36:38

If you had something to share, what would you say, and how would you say it? Daniel Lemire asked himself the same question in the process of creating AI Mistakes. As it turns out, AI Mistakes isn’t just a platform for learning in public. It’s something Daniel must be doing. Want to know why? After completing the vision board and gaining more perspe…

1
We Built This City: Tools, Tips, and Tricks on Increasing Immersion in Your D&D Game 48:37

1M ago48:37

48:37

Terrain. Maps. Minis. Music. Handouts. TTRPGs aren’t movies and television and we can’t rely on moving pictures to help immerse our players, so what are some ways that you can help the imagination Build This City in your players’ minds? In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to revisit our discussion with The Wizard Washburn from Paper Ter…

1
Overwhelmed by Ambiguity: DevOps, Innovation, and the Search for Clarity with Daniel Lemire (3/4) 45:42

1M ago45:42

45:42

What happens when there is too much change at once after making a job change? Daniel Lemire had learned the principles of DevOps and combined it with his experience as an infrastructure architect to advocate for the adoption of new technologies and processes within a large enterprise. But when Daniel changed roles to focus on innovation and became …

1
Find the Missing Context: Perspectives and Observations from Enterprise Experience with Daniel Lemire (2/4) 56:03

2M ago56:03

56:03

When you’re missing a specific experience in your career, how do you get it? Daniel Lemire was missing experience in a large enterprise to pair with the things he learned from pursuing a graduate degree. Join us this week in episode 324 to hear the story of what happened when Daniel got that experience that provided the missing context to apply wha…

1
Cobblers, Glassblowers, and Weavers Unite! Utilizing Forgotten Proficiencies in Your D&D Games 47:07

1M ago47:07

47:07

Cobbler’s tools. Weaver’s tools. Glassblowing. There are a host of proficiencies that are part of building a character in D&D that seem strange at first for someone who is going out on adventures. For a lot of players, it just becomes something that you picked during character creation. We’ve come to call these the “orphan” proficiencies. In this e…

1
Build a Career MVP: The Importance of Feedback and Iteration with Daniel Lemire (1/4) 46:42

2M ago46:42

46:42

If your career was a product, what would the current release notes say? Just as product managers launch a minimum viable product (MVP) and enhance it based on customer feedback, Daniel Lemire unknowingly began building his career this way starting in high school. This week in episode 323 you’ll hear about Daniel’s early aspirations to be a pilot in…

1
Ally and Warrior: The Loneliness of Women in Tech with Kellyn Gorman (3/3) 41:14

2M ago41:14

41:14

Why do you think women leave careers in technology? Sometimes they are bullied, but sometimes it’s the loneliness. This week in episode 322, Kellyn Gorman shares the story of what moved her to start Women in Tech programs in the technical community, the lessons she learned from the Microsoft community, and what it was like returning to the Oracle c…

1
Too Much Time On My Hands – Our 8 Best Hacks For Busy D&D Players 47:10

2M ago47:10

47:10

Multiple times a week. Once a week. Every other week. Once a month. Once every several months. We’ve referenced how frequency of play can really alter how you run the game, how the story flows, etc. But, our longtime listener, Dr. DM, has brought up how real life has really gotten in the way of scheduling their usually weekly games and how it has a…

1
Document Your Mistakes: Manager Interviews and Community Presence with Kellyn Gorman (2/3) 31:53

2M ago31:53

31:53

How do we determine if a manager is the right fit based on our personality, values, and the way our brain works? Kellyn Gorman diligently investigates a potential manager before taking a job. As someone with autism and ADHD, having a supportive boss is critical to her success. This week in episode 321 we’ll explore how Kellyn got into both the Orac…

1
Becoming DBA Kevlar: Roadblocks, Perfectionism, and Technical Orienteering with Kellyn Gorman (1/3) 46:40

2M ago46:40

46:40

What if your strategy at work was to take on the problems no one else will? For Kellyn Gorman, this is a strategy that suits the way she works and learns best. Kellyn is a multi-platform database professional with 25 years of experience in our industry, and she’s also known as DBAKevlar. This week in episode 320 you’ll hear what it was like to grow…

1
Halls of Valhalla - 3WDs Player Review of Our D&D Viking Epic, Journey to Ragnarok 1:00:59

2M ago1:00:59

1:00:59

It’s apropos that our first-ever players review of a campaign was for DM Tony’s Storm King’s Thunder campaign, as our newest iteration has us returning to the frozen world of the original giants in Mana Project Studios Journey to Ragnarok! We bring on return guests Scott (the Terrain Wrangler), Bonnie (the Chaos Engine) and our newest player to joi…

1
Upward Focus: Manage, Coach, and Create Value in the Space that Fits You with Richard Russell (2/2)

3M ago

—

If you think the job of a manager is to serve their team, think again. This week in episode 319 Richard Russell returns to make the distinction between how to manage well and the specific job of a people manager. As part of our discussion, Richard shares his transition into people management and how he later determined it wasn’t the right fit, his …

1
Consult and Build Trust: Influence the Business and the People with Richard Russell (1/2) 48:21

3M ago48:21

48:21

Have you ever felt a work task was boring or a waste of time? It might be because you didn’t understand why you were asked to do it in the first place. Richard Russell, our guest this week in episode 318, struggled with this in his early role as a programmer. All he wanted was to understand more about the business problem his work was intended to s…

1
Conquer the Viking Saga! 3 Wise DMs Campaign Review and Wrap-up of Journey to Ragnarok 53:51

3M ago53:51

53:51

After a little over 2 years and 20+ sessions, we have finally concluded our adventure through the Norse Kingdoms in Midgard and the remaining 8 worlds of Yggdrasill, the World Tree, where the Auspicious Signs were successful in stopping Ragnarok: the Twilight of the Gods. Journey to Ragnarok was in the campaign queue for quite a while (with DM Thor…

1
Own Your Job Search: Be the Captain, Find a Harbor Pilot 39:18

3M ago39:18

39:18

Cruise ship captains rely on the expertise of a local harbor pilot to safely dock the ship at a port. What if we as the captains of our careers sought the expertise of a harbor pilot to help us navigate a potential employer and their processes? Not sure how to find one? This week in episode 317 we explore this analogy of the captain, the harbor pil…

1
Do the Prep Work: Keep Your Eyes Open when Career DR Planning with David Klee (2/2) 55:37

3M ago55:37

55:37

How prepared are you for a career emergency like losing a job? Disaster recovery plans for your career, just like troubleshooting, start with good documentation of technical and business accomplishments. David Klee returns in episode 316 to share the prep work required for building and testing a disaster recovery plan for our careers. You’ll learn …

1
Master the Art of Non-Combat D&D Encounters with 16 Essential Tips! 47:35

3M ago47:35

47:35

D&D does combat well. It can slow down time and can be more or less crunchy than you like, but it definitely creates aa play area that a new DM can handle during a session. Unfortunately, while the books talk about the other two pillars of roleplay, there isn’t a lot for the new DM to latch onto to understand the best way to run a seamless session.…

1
A Love for Troubleshooting: Skill Development through Documentation with David Klee (1/2) 48:03

4M ago48:03

48:03

Can writing documentation beef up your troubleshooting skills? This week in episode 315 David Klee returns to explore the connection between effective troubleshooting and documentation. We’ll discuss appropriate levels of detail for documentation and explore it as a skill building exercise. Listen closely to hear why good documentation can make all…

1
Make Goals Inevitable with ADHD: Stressors and Entrepreneurship with Skye Waterson (2/2) 41:51

4M ago41:51

41:51

Does the ADHD brain experience stress differently in situations like being laid off, for example? According to Skye Waterson, ADHD coach and our guest in episode 314, stress actually has the potential to hit you harder after a crisis. In this discussion, Skye shares practical tips for setting achievable goals as a job seeker or an entrepreneur and …

1
I Don't Know: 9 Tips to Master D&D Settings That You're New to Running 49:46

4M ago49:46

49:46

“What elements would this game need to include to feel complete for a fan of the setting and the story?” That was the question from Forever DM Larry about running a Dragonlance campaign for players that had read the books… which he hasn’t. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave reveal the best tips they have for running a setting that you’re unfami…

1
Dial in Your Dopamine: Motivation, Focus, and the ADHD Brain at Work with Skye Waterson (1/2) 43:10

4M ago43:10

43:10

Are push notifications directing your day? While useful in some ways, push notifications can also become a huge distraction, especially for the ADHD brain. This week in episode 313 we’re joined by Skye Waterson, a former academic turned business owner and ADHD coach, to discuss practical strategies for staying focused in your work. Since dopamine l…

1
A Bridge to Community: CNCF Ambassador and Technical Translator with Julia Furst Morgado (2/2) 38:17

4M ago38:17

38:17

How should we use our influence as technologists? For Julia Furst Morgado, it’s not about increasing followers on social media or hitting some kind of metric. It’s a focus on educating and helping others…being a bridge into a technical community for someone else. This week in episode 312 you’ll hear more about Julia’s role as a global technologist …

1
The Uniqueness of Tech: 100Devs, Coffee Chats, and the Hallway Track with Julia Furst Morgado (1/2) 43:25

5M ago43:25

43:25

What would you do with a free pass to a tech conference? Julia Furst Morgado had to decide whether to attend KubeCon without ever having been to a tech conference. After deciding to attend, she came back from the conference with a new perspective and a job offer. While this looks easy on the surface, there’s much more to the story. In episode 311 w…

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