Coaching for Leaders

787: Better Leadership Through Humor, with Chris Duffy

786: The Problem with Reorgs and How to Do Better, with Phil Le-Brun

Reorganizations frequently fail because they treat companies as mechanical factories rather than complex, organic systems. Redesigning an org chart often destroys the vital social fabric and horizontal connections where actual work occurs. Instead of top-down, disruptive changes, organizations should adopt an "Octopus"...

785: Make Your Task List Work for You, with Liane Davey

Thoughtload—the invisible tax of cognitive demands, emotional burdens, and energy reserves—often hinders leadership performance more than actual workload. To reclaim focus, replace monolithic to-do lists with three distinct categories: core role outcomes, contributions to others' strategic goals, and necessary administ...

784: How to Protect the Organization You Love, with Eric Ries

Organizational integrity often unravels under "financial gravity," a systemic force that pressures companies to prioritize short-term extraction over long-term value creation. Eric Ries, author of Incorruptible, argues that leaders must move beyond traditional profit metrics toward maximizing human flourishing to prote...

783: How to Take Back Your Evenings, with Guy Winch

Work-life integration requires moving beyond the "autopilot" mode that causes professional stress to bleed into personal time. Rumination—the involuntary, repetitive replaying of work conflicts—functions as unpaid overtime that depletes mental energy and triggers physical stress responses. Breaking this cycle involves ...

782: How to Help a Team Get Unstuck, with Gustavo Razzetti

Teams often stagnate due to "conversational debt," where unaddressed issues accumulate and erode trust, mirroring the mechanics of financial debt. While fear is frequently cited as a barrier to communication, the primary driver of silence is the "pointlessness paradox"—the belief that speaking up will not yield meaning...

781: Bonni and Dave Reflect on Recent Episodes

Leadership effectiveness hinges on deep self-understanding and the ability to navigate feedback constructively. Reflecting on Margaret Andrews’ framework for self-leadership, success is best defined by helping others achieve their goals rather than focusing solely on personal outcomes. While transparency is a hallmark ...

780: Moving From Self-Sabotage to Self-Mastery, with Shirzad Chamine

779: How to Address Bad Behavior, with Nilofer Merchant

778: How to Help People Flourish, with Marcus Buckingham

Sustainable organizational success relies on leaders intentionally designing experiences that foster human flourishing, a state best described as love. Rather than focusing on incremental improvements for average performers, leaders should prioritize "fives"—the peak, meaningful experiences that drive genuine behaviora...

777: How to Help Employees Handle Tough Moments, with Anthony Klotz

This podcast explores the concept of "jolts"—events that prompt individuals to rethink their relationship with work—and how leaders can manage their impact. Organizational psychologist Anthony Klotz, who coined the term "The Great Resignation", explains that jolts, whether big or small, can lead to both positive career...

776: Forge Connections That Help You Thrive, with Neri Karra Sillaman

The podcast explores how to build meaningful and sustainable connections, drawing lessons from immigrant entrepreneurs. Neri Karra Sillaman, author of "Pioneers: Eight Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs," shares insights on forging connections based on identity and authenticity. She highlight...

775: How to Motivate Younger Employees, with David Yeager

Motivating younger employees is explored through the lens of understanding their core needs and challenging conventional management mindsets. Psychologist David Yeager, author of "10 to 25, The Science of Motivating Young People," argues that generational complaints are perennial and often reflect the complainer's pers...

FINAL DAY to apply for the Academy

The Five Things That Get in Leaders’ Ways

Dave outlines five common obstacles that hinder leaders' improvement: not asking for help, assuming knowledge drives behavior, setting the tactical bar too high, feeling worse before feeling better, and not noticing improvement. He illustrates the first point with a story about mishandling an employee situation due to ...

774: What Innovative Leaders Do Different, with Linda Hill

The podcast explores how leaders can foster innovation within their organizations, contrasting traditional leadership approaches with the requirements for creating an innovative environment. Linda Hill, Harvard Business School professor and innovation expert, highlights the shift from leaders providing a vision to crea...

From Command and Control to Serve and Support, with Marisol Bello

773: How to Align Your Motivation, with Nir Eyal

The conversation centers on overcoming limiting beliefs to achieve breakthrough results, highlighting the power of beliefs in shaping motivation and persistence. Nir Eyal, author of "Beyond Belief," argues that beliefs, unlike facts or faith, are tools that can be revised with new evidence to serve one's goals. He intr...

How to Get Better at Listening, with Bill Mayo

This episode explores the importance of active listening in leadership, featuring Bill Mayo, a plant foreman and academy graduate, who shares his journey of improving his listening skills. Mayo highlights that he transitioned from listening only to respond to genuinely understanding others by asking follow-up questions...

772: How to Measure Your Meeting’s Success, with Rebecca Hinds