Episode Details

In this episode of Mind Over Masculinity, Pragya sits down with Andre Thornton, former Engineering Director at Lockheed Martin and now CEO of Whitman Consulting and author of Disrupted. Together they unpack what really happens in your brain and nervous system when life pulls the rug from under you. Job loss. Reorgs. Burnout. Grief. Identity collapse.

Andre explains why disruption is not just noise in your life. It is the engine behind every major upgrade you have ever made in your career, relationships and inner world. He breaks down how fear shuts off your logical thinking, why high achieving men tie their worth to titles, and how to detach your identity from your role without detaching from responsibility.

If you are a leader, founder or everyday man who feels like the ground never stops shaking, this conversation gives you a practical framework to stabilize yourself, rest for real, and move faster in chaos without burning out or numbing out.

About the Guest  :

Andre W. Thornton is the Founder and CEO of Whitman Consulting, a leadership development firm that helps executives and organizations navigate disruption with clarity and courage. A former Engineering Director at Lockheed Martin, he led multi billion dollar programs before a corporate reorg erased his role and kicked off his own disruption story. That loss, combined with a life changing trip to rural Africa, led him to build a science backed framework now used by Fortune 100 leaders, fast growing founders and teams worldwide.

Andre is a mechanical engineer by training and a people engineer by calling. His upcoming book, Disrupted, codifies his stabilizers and accelerators for thriving when everything feels on fire.

Key Takeaways  :

• Disruption is not the enemy of progress. It is often the entry ticket to your next level. When your brain treats change as a threat, your fear response shuts down your prefrontal cortex and slows everything you want to build.

• The first move is not to grind harder. It is to rest for real. Rest means nervous system repair through nature, safe people, breath and spiritual grounding. Time off without regulation is not rest. It is just absence of work.

• Identity detachment is not abandoning masculinity. It is separating who you are from the title on your email signature. Your core values, strengths and beliefs come with you even when a company, role or contract disappears.

• Healthy disruption serves a mission. Unhealthy disruption feeds ego and constant stimulation. Before you pivot again, ask if you have delivered tangible results and true mastery in your current lane or if you are just chasing novelty.

• Andre’s RRR method Recognize, Reset, Reframe gives men a path through heavy seasons. You are allowed to feel the hit, slow down, grieve, then shift perspective when you are ready. Some years the win is surviving the earthquake, not dancing through it.

• Redefining masculinity means making space for grief, honesty and “I am not ok yet” alongside responsibility and drive. Men who admit struggle and seek support are not weak. They are building capacity for better leadership at home and at work.

How Listeners Can Connect with Andre Thornton  :

You can connect with Andre and explore his work here

• Website and leadership development h