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The Leadership Podcast

The Leadership Podcast

We Study Leaders

Latest Podcast

TLP522: Stop Building a Life That Looks Good but Feels Wrong

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TLP522: Stop Building a Life That Looks Good but Feels Wrong

July 29, 2026 Leave a Comment

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Kim Svoboda is the founder of Aspiration Catalyst and author of BOLD Leadership: The Adventure of Building Excuse-Proof, Goal-Crushing Teams. Kim argues that leadership isn’t about position, power, or title. It’s about creating a vision others believe in while leading in a way that aligns with your values. Too many leaders achieve external success without…

TLP521: Why Traditional Networking Is Broken

July 22, 2026

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Donnie Boivin is the CEO and founder of Success Champion Networking, five-time bestselling author, and founder of the Badass Business Summit. Donnie argues that traditional networking fails anyone selling high-value services. Too many people spend their time collecting business cards from people who will never buy from them instead of building relationships with people who…

TLP520: Empathy Without Lowering the Bar with David Gray

July 15, 2026

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David Gray is the CEO of FedUp Foods, a values-driven beverage company serving major retailers. His purpose-driven leadership has earned national recognition, including being named one of the MO 100 Top Impact CEOs, an annual ranking of purpose-driven business leaders, and receiving the Pros to Know Award. David believes the best leaders never force a…

TLP519: The Leadership Idea We Missed for 250 Years

July 8, 2026

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Patrick Ryan is the author of “The Moral Market: Adam Smith and the Promise of Virtuous Capitalism.” Patrick argues that capitalism was never intended to be separated from morality. Modern business leaders often treat ethics as a compliance issue or a reputational concern. Adam Smith saw it differently. He believed markets only function when they…

TLP518: The Bravery Effect: Jill Schulman on Why Courage Is a Skill, Not a Trait

July 1, 2026

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Jill Schulman is a keynote speaker, Marine Corps veteran, and bestselling author of “The Bravery Effect: A Parable Teaching the Science of Conquering Fear, Achieving More, and Living Life to the Fullest.”. Jill argues that bravery is not a personality trait. It’s a skill. Most people assume brave people are simply wired differently. The research…

TLP517: The Accountability Gap: Why Leaders Misjudge Their Own Impact with Jim Brown

June 24, 2026

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Jim Brown is the author of “The Imperfect CEO: Making the Climb to Organizational Health” and founder of Org Health. For over 30 years he has worked with CEOs, boards, and executive teams to build healthy organizational cultures and lead with clarity, courage, and shared responsibility. Jim argues that leadership accountability is the most underestimated…

TLP516: The Leader as Teacher: Building Leaders, Scaling Companies, and Multiplying Impact with Joth Ricci

June 17, 2026

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Joth Ricci is CEO of LYBL (Live Your Best Life), owner of Winderlea Winery, author of The System, executive chair of Burgerville, and former CEO of Dutch Bros and Stumptown Coffee.  In this conversation, Joth explains why great companies aren’t built by leaders who solve more problems—they’re built by leaders who teach their people how…

TLP515: Why Structured Debate Is a Leadership Superpower

June 10, 2026

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Murshed Chowdhury is the founder of Tech Duels, a communication and training platform redefining how individuals and organizations develop critical thinking and decision-making skills through structured debate. Murshed believes debate is one of the most underused leadership development tools available today. Not because it teaches people how to win arguments, but because it teaches them…

TLP514: What High-Performing Leaders Get Wrong About Stress with Karen Doll

June 3, 2026

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Karen Doll is a licensed psychologist, author of “Building Psychological Fitness: How High Performers Achieve with Ease,” a partner at Psynet Group and chairs the Flourishing at Work initiative under Harvard’s Flourishing Program. Most leaders know how to push through stress. Far fewer know how to recover from it. Karen argues that the difference matters…

TLP513: The Leadership Cost of Isolation with Nick Black

May 27, 2026

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Nick Black is the founder and CEO of GoodUnited, a former Army officer, co-founder of Stop Soldier Suicide, a Presidential Leadership Scholar, and a UNC Distinguished Alumnus. Nick focuses on a cost most leaders refuse to calculate: isolation. What happens to your people when no one is checking on them? After deploying 27 months in…

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Your leadership team is waiting for you to solve e Your leadership team is waiting for you to solve everything.Jim Brown watched this pattern destroy ownership.A woman entrepreneur realized her team had stopped thinking. Everyone just looked to her for answers.So she tried something simple. Stop answering questions. Start asking them."What do you think we should do?"That one behavior change made her meetings louder. More ownership. Shared responsibility.If you're carrying the weight of all decisions, your team isn't really yours—they're dependent on you.See the full conversation on episode 517. https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-517?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadershipaccountability #teamownership #leadershipbehavior #organizationalhealth #leadershipdevelopment #theleadershippodcast #jimbrownorghealth #leadershipinsight
One question. Ask it every day. Tom Rath says the One question. Ask it every day.Tom Rath says the best leaders track one thing: what conversation did I start today that helped someone grow?It sounds small but it builds a career of impact.And Tom's reminder hits hard. You don't always get tomorrow.Listen to the full episode with Tom Rath now. https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-523?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#tomrath #leadershippodcast #leadershipmindset #dailyhabits #peopledevelopment #executivecoaching #purposeatwork #leadershipdevelopment
Debate isn't about winning. It's about thinking cl Debate isn't about winning. It's about thinking clearly when it matters.Meet Murshad Chowdhury: founder of Tech Duels, LogiCoach AI, and the Veterans Technology Conference. He's spent years teaching brilliant people how to actually communicate.In this episode, you'll discover:Why structured debate builds communication skills faster than traditional trainingHow competition strengthens your ability to listen (not just talk)Why the future belongs to people who combine tech with human judgmentThe communication gap costing talented professionals their careersNew episode drops now. https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-515?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleadersListen here - https://bit.ly/TLP-515?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadershipdevelopment #communicationskills #debateskills #executivepresence #theleadershippodcast #criticalthinkingg #techleadership #aiandhumanskills
Patrick Ryan names the practice most leaders never Patrick Ryan names the practice most leaders never do. Before you decide. Before you send that email. Before you justify it to yourself. Take a step back. Ask: What would a knowledgeable, impartial observer think of this? That's the impartial spectator. It's not philosophy. It's a daily tool. One question. Applied consistently. It changes everything.Watch the full episode. https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-519?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadership #ethics #decisionmaking #adamsmith #leadershippodcast #corporateethics #executiveleadership #virtuouscapitalism
You're not bad at networking. You just haven't lea You're not bad at networking. You just haven't learned the skill yet.Murshad Chowdhury, founder of Tech Duels, breaks it down simply: most people think you need to be naturally outgoing. You don't.Introverts, extroverts, ambiverts — doesn't matter. This is trainable.The barrier isn't your personality. It's knowing how to do it.Once you learn the framework, everything changes. Opportunities expand. Careers transform.Your biggest career breakthroughs are waiting on the other side of this skill.Full episode: https://bit.ly/TLP-515?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#networkingskills #careerdevelopment #leadershipdevelopment #personalgrowth #theleadershippodcast #careeradvice #professionalnetworking #skillsbuilding
Kevin Rice sold his company for nine figures. The Kevin Rice sold his company for nine figures.The deal closed. The wire hit. And he felt almost nothing.Not because the work was not real. It was. But he had been in robot mode for years. Performing at the highest level while suppressing every emotion just to keep functioning.When the victory arrived, there was nothing left to feel it with.He had been so focused on passion that he lost sight of purpose entirely.The rest of Kevin's story is the part most people never talk about. Go listen. https://bit.ly/TLP-512?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadership #leadershipdevelopment #entrepreneur #purpose #theleadershippodcast #fulfillment #CEOmindset #personalgrowth #worklifebalance #executiveleadership
The people who end up in leadership roles are not The people who end up in leadership roles are not chosen randomly. There is a pattern and it has been running for a very long time. Maria Brinck traces it back to something much older than most people expect and she lays it out in a way that is hard to dismiss. It is not just a conversation about diversity. It is a conversation about why organizations keep getting the same results no matter how much they say they want something different. Episode 510 of The Leadership Podcast is out now and it is the kind of conversation that changes how you see things. Head over and give it a listen. https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-510?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#Leadership #UnconsciousBias #TheLeadershipPodcast #LeadershipDevelopment #OrganizationalCulture #Podcast
Karen Doll has assessed hundreds of executives. An Karen Doll has assessed hundreds of executives. And the same two patterns keep ending careers early.Not lack of skill. Not lack of drive.Defensiveness. And a victim mindset.The first one she will not even give feedback on directly. Because the moment you tell someone they are defensive they prove your point.These are not just hiring red flags. They show up in how people lead every single day.Full episode with Karen is up now. https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-514?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadershippodcast #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #executivecoaching #accountability #podcast #mentalhealth #psychologicalfitness
Most leaders say they prioritize people. David Gra Most leaders say they prioritize people. David Gray actually does it—and it's made all the difference.David Gray, CEO of Fed Up Foods, has doubled his team, scaled to become the largest functional beverage supplier to major retailers, and navigated Hurricane Helene without compromising his mission.In this episode, he shares the four-point crisis playbook he used when infrastructure failed, why connection must come before accountability, and what he learned about empathetic leadership.Listen now. https://bit.ly/TLP-520?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleadersWatch it here https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-520?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadershipdevelopment #crisisleadership #valuesdriven #empathyatwork #culturebuilding #westudyleaders #theleadershippodcast #missiondriven #davidgray #fedupfoods
Dr. Bill Kline raises a simple but uncomfortable q Dr. Bill Kline raises a simple but uncomfortable question.Do we actually understand capitalism… or just think we do?Everyone has a take on capitalism. Hardly anyone has actually studied it. Dr. Bill made this point quietly and it hits harder than any political argument I've heard lately. 200 years old and we're still pretending we've figured it out.If this made you stop and think, the full episode will do even more. Go give it a listen. https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-509?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#capitalism #criticalthinking #businessethics #economics #leadership #shorts #tlp509
After hundreds of conversations with some of the m After hundreds of conversations with some of the most decorated leaders in the world, Jim and Jan finally turned the question on themselves. What is leadership actually? And what they landed on will probably sit with you longer than any definition you have read in a book. It is not a destination. It is not a title.It is a state you manage every single day and the moment you think you have it figured out, something shifts and you are back at it. The full conversation is up now. https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-511?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadershippodcast #leadership #podcast #whatisleadership #selfreliantleadership #executivecoaching #leadershipdevelopment
Many people still treat leadership like a personal Many people still treat leadership like a personality trait. Like it's something you either naturally have or you don't.But one pattern continued to emerge across 500 leadership conversations. The strongest leaders remained students.They kept reading, adapting, questioning themselves, learning from mistakes, and evolving with changing environments.What stood out most was not perfection. It was intellectual humility.The willingness to rethink assumptions, listen carefully, and continue growing long after success arrived.What do you think is the hardest part of staying teachable once someone becomes successful? https://bit.ly/TLP-511?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadershippodcast #leadersarelearners #leadership #podcast #executivecoaching #selfreliantleadership #leadershipmyths
They have interviewed four-star generals, Fortune They have interviewed four-star generals, Fortune 500 CEOs, and Olympic athletes. And after all of it, Jan keeps coming back to the same thing. The leaders who left the biggest mark on him were not the ones with the most impressive titles or the most polished answers. They were the ones who walked in curious about Jim and Jan. The ones who asked questions instead of just answering them. Be interested. Care about people. Be nice. It really is that simple and that rare. Clear 40 minutes and give this one your full attention. https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-511?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadershippodcast #leadership #podcast #selfreliantleadership #leadershipdevelopment #executivecoaching #leadyourself
Culture isn't something you mandate from the C-sui Culture isn't something you mandate from the C-suite. It's built by the people doing the work.David built Fed Up Foods on this principle, and it's why his team stayed committed through disruption, crisis, and rapid growth.When you invite people to shape how you work together, they own it. When you tell them how to work, they comply.The difference is everything.Listen to David's full framework for culture-building that lasts. https://bit.ly/TLP-520?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#culturebuilding #leadership #teamculture #leadershipdevelopment #westudyleaders #peopleirst #theleadershippodcast #valuesdriven
Purpose is one of the most talked about topics in Purpose is one of the most talked about topics in leadership right now and also one of the most misunderstood. Maria Brinck makes a distinction that reframes the whole conversation. She is not talking about finding purpose. She is talking about building it. And the difference between those two things changes everything about how you lead and how you live. Episode 510 of The Leadership Podcast is out now. This is one worth clearing your schedule for. https://bit.ly/TLP-510?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#Purpose #Leadership #TheLeadershipPodcast #LeadershipDevelopment #Podcast
Most people assume selling a company for nine figu Most people assume selling a company for nine figures would feel incredible.Kevin Rice was not most people.After years of leading through a pandemic as a single father, growing his team by over 100 people, and closing the biggest deal of his career, the victory arrived completely flat.He called it robot mode. Hear the full story on episode 512 of The Leadership Podcast. https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-512?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadership #entrepreneur #robotmode #fulfillment #theleadershippodcast #CEOmindset #personalgrowth #executiveleadership #leadershipdevelopment #successmindset
You think debate teaches people to fight harder. You think debate teaches people to fight harder.Murshad Chowdhury says it actually teaches them to listen better.In competition format, you learn how to refute without destroying.You learn to ask questions instead of defending positions.And here's what changes everything: the goal isn't winning. The goal is understanding.That's the skill that transforms workplaces.Watch the full episode: https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-515?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#debateskills #leadershiplesons #communicationskills #listeningskills #teamleadership #conflictresolution #theleadershippodcast #workplaceculture
Karen Doll helps executives rebuild their psycholo Karen Doll helps executives rebuild their psychological fitness for a living. And for years she was quietly running herself into the ground.The belief buried so deep she did not know it was there.Self care is selfish.What finally broke it was not a book or a breakthrough. It was looking at her daughters and deciding she did not want to pass that on.Familiarity is one of the hardest things to walk away from.Full conversation with Karen on The Leadership Podcast. https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-514?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadershippodcast #leadership #burnout #selfcare #leadershipdevelopment #mentalhealth #psychologicalfitness #podcast #womenleaders
Not every day is going to feel meaningful. Difficu Not every day is going to feel meaningful. Difficult bosses, missed numbers, teams that won't move. But the leaders who come out the other side with something real are the ones who stayed in the fight long enough to earn the scar.Find the mission. Do it for someone else. Don't quit before the sentence ends.Drop everything for 45 minutes and listen to this one with Matt Cavanaugh. https://bit.ly/TLP-508?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadership #leadershiplessons #growthmindset #militaryleadership #resilience #bestscarwins #mattcavanaugh #theleadershippodcast #failure #purpose
When Hurricane Helene destroyed David Gray's facil When Hurricane Helene destroyed David Gray's facilities, he didn't panic.He built a playbook.Step one: Know if your people are safe and what they need. Step two: Assess your operations for damage or compromise. Step three: Communicate with customers about impact and timeline. Step four: Keep everyone informed of progress, even if you don't have all the answers yet.David learned that people don't need you to be perfect. They need you to be clear and consistent.Listen to the full episode for his complete crisis leadership framework. https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-520?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#crisisleadership #leadership #leadershiplessons #teamculture #management #podcast #davidgray #theleadershippodcast
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  • TLP518: The Bravery Effect: Jill Schulman on Why Courage Is a Skill, Not a Trait

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