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The Leadership Podcast

The Leadership Podcast

We Study Leaders

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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#leadership #leadershiptraining #leader #westudyleaders

The scariest moment isn't when things are bad. It' The scariest moment isn't when things are bad. It's when everything is fine and you're asking: is this enough? 

Jill Schulman spent 24 years in a good career. Safe. Stable. Unfulfilled. The day she decided bravery meant leaving good for great changed everything. Most people don't fail because they quit. They fail because they stay at comfort. 

Challenge yourself to ask the hard question. Listen here https://bit.ly/TLP-518?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders

#bravery #personalgrowth #courage #careergrowth #leadership #mindset #fulfillment #lifepurpose
Most leaders treat growth like a race. Joth Ricci Most leaders treat growth like a race.
Joth Ricci treats it like a marathon.
When you scale too fast, something breaks. The question isn't IF—it's WHAT.
He managed Dutch Bros from 27 locations to 92 in three years without losing the culture. Here's the principle that made it possible.
See how he scaled: https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-516?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders
#scaling #leadership #organizationalculture #businessgrowth #leadershiplessons #dutchbros #westudyleaders #theleadershippodcast
You've been thinking about bravery all wrong. It's You've been thinking about bravery all wrong. It's not a trait you're born with. It's a skill you build. 

Jill Schulman is a Marine Corps veteran, keynote speaker, and bravery scientist with a master's in positive psychology from UPenn. 

This episode breaks down the myths holding you back, the science of the comfort trap, and the exact three-stage framework to push your team toward extraordinary performance. 

Discover what builds real courage. https://bit.ly/TLP-518?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders
Watch it on YouTube - https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-518?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders

#bravery #leadershipdevelopment #personalgrowth #stoicism #positivepsychology #westudyleaders #theleadershippodcast #fearless #coachinglife #leadershiplessons
Most leaders treat ethics as a cost. Patrick Ryan Most leaders treat ethics as a cost. Patrick Ryan says that's backwards. Morality isn't friction. It's the lubricant that makes markets actually function. Without it, you don't have capitalism. You have extraction. This is what modern business gets fundamentally wrong—and how it shifts everything about how you lead.
Watch the full conversation. https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-519?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders
#capitalism #ethics #leadership #adamsmith #moralcapitalism #businessethics #leadershippodcast #virtuouscapitalism
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
Perfectionism doesn't make leaders bolder. It make Perfectionism doesn't make leaders bolder. It makes them slower.
Kim learned this from a CEO who taught her the 80/20 rule — enough data to decide, then move. The last 20% almost never changes the outcome.
If you're stuck waiting for certainty, this is your permission to go. https://bit.ly/TLP-522?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders
#boldleadership #kimsvoboda #decisionmaking #executivecoaching #leadershipmindset #intentionalleadership #leadershippodcast #decisiveleadership
Needing to be the smartest person in the room is s Needing to be the smartest person in the room is something most leaders would never admit to. But Maria Brinck says it is one of the most common and most limiting habits she sees in leadership today. 

She names it plainly and explains why letting go of it is where real collaboration actually begins. 

If this clip made you pause, Episode 510 of The Leadership Podcast is the full conversation you have been looking for. Head over and give it a listen. https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-510?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders

#Leadership #LeadershipDevelopment #TheLeadershipPodcast #ExecutiveCoaching #Collaboration #Podcast
Most leaders think tension is toxic. Jim Brown say Most leaders think tension is toxic.
Jim Brown says they're wrong.
Tension is normal. Predictable. Necessary.
The problem isn't that your team disagrees. It's that they don't know what you're aiming for.
When people lack clarity around shared goals, disagreements turn into arguments. Someone stomps out. Trust breaks.
But when everyone knows what you're actually trying to build together? That same tension becomes energy. Ideas get challenged. Better decisions emerge.
Productive tension is anchored in clarity, not comfort.
Hear the full conversation on episode 517. https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-517?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders
#productiveconflict #leadershipteams #organizationalhealth #teamdynamics #leadershipdevelopment #conflictresolution #theleadershippodcast #jimbrownorghealth
Most leaders frame failure as the opposite of winn Most leaders frame failure as the opposite of winning. Matt Cavanaugh says that framing is the whole problem.
Win, learn, or die. No other outcomes exist. And that one shift changes how you look at every setback you've been carrying around.

The leader who avoids failure avoids judgment.

You'll want to hear him say this in his own words. https://bit.ly/tlpyt508?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders

#leadership #failure #growthmindset #militaryleadership #leadershipdevelopment #mattcavanaugh #bestscarwins #theleadershippodcast #mindset #resilience
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
You have more technically qualified people enterin You have more technically qualified people entering the workforce than ever.
You also have fewer people who know how to have a real conversation.
This gap is costing you. It's costing every organization. It's being missed in every leadership development program.
The most expensive credential in 2026 is something no degree can teach: the ability to actually connect with another human.
Find what's missing: https://bit.ly/TLP-516?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders
#leadership #leadershipdevelopment #talentdevelopment #workforcedevelopment #peopleskills #teambuilding #westudyleaders #theleadershippodcast
Most leaders can scale. Almost none can scale with Most leaders can scale. Almost none can scale without breaking what they built.
Joth Ricci—CEO of LYBL, founder of Rafti Advisors, former CEO of Dutch Brothers—scaled Dutch Bros from 27 to 92 locations in three years without losing culture. 
In this episode, Joth talks about what actually breaks first when you grow fast, how to keep people's systems moving with your growth, and why discipline matters more than ambition.
Watch now: https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-516?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders
Listen now! https://bit.ly/TLP-516?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders
#leadership #leadershipdevelopment #scaling #businessgrowth #dutchbros #organizationalculture #executiveleadership #westudyleaders
Your instinct will be to take the ball. Resist it. Your instinct will be to take the ball.
Resist it.
When your team is struggling, when the pressure's on, your job isn't to score. Your job is to prepare them to score.
Joth Ricci  understood this
The moment you solve it for them is the moment they stop growing.
Learn the principle https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-516?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders
#leadership #coachingleadership #managementtips #leadershiplessons #teamdevelopment #executiveleadership #westudyleaders #theleadershippodcast
You think you're either brave or you're not. Jill You think you're either brave or you're not. Jill Schulman, Marine Corps veteran and bravery expert, begs to differ. Here's what most people get wrong: bravery isn't a trait you inherit. It's a skill you train. That changes everything. 

If bravery is learnable, that means you have more control over your future than you think. Uncover the two myths. https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-518?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders

#bravery #leadershipdevelopment #personalgrowth #stoicism #positivepsychology #fearless #leadershiplessons #psychology
One of the biggest misconceptions about leadership One of the biggest misconceptions about leadership is that the people at the top somehow found a shortcut.

After 500 conversations with CEOs, military leaders, entrepreneurs, and high performers, the opposite appears to be true.

The leaders who create lasting impact usually make difficult tradeoffs that most people never see. They often trade off their:
Time
Comfort
Certainty
Convenience
Ego

Not because they are obsessed with work, but because meaningful growth almost always demands sustained commitment. And most conversations around leadership often skip over the cost.

But mastery and long-term excellence rarely happen accidentally and without sacrifice.

What do you think most people underestimate when pursuing meaningful success? https://bit.ly/TLP-511?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders

#leadershippodcast #leadership #selfreliantleadership #noshortcuts #executivecoaching #leadershipdevelopment #podcast
TLP512: Winning at Work, Losing at Home Our lates TLP512: Winning at Work, Losing at Home 
Our latest episode with Kevin Rice  https://bit.ly/TLP-512?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders&utm_content=TLP512%3A%20Winning%20at%20Work%2C%20Losing%20at%20Home 
#leadership #successvsfulfillment #worklifebalance #leadership #leadershipmindset #highperformancelife #burnoutrecovery #personalgrowth #emotionalintelligence #familyfirst #successmindset #ceolife #leadershipdevelopment
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
It's easy to chase the next title. Harder to ask w It's easy to chase the next title. Harder to ask what you're actually building once you get there.
Kim's closing message reframes leadership away from status — and toward legacy and impact.
Dive into the full conversation now. https://bit.ly/TLP-522?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders
#boldleadership #kimsvoboda #leadershiplegacy #intentionalleadership #executivecoaching #leadershipmindset #leadershippodcast #whatmatters
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
Kevin Rice was leading a growing company, adding o Kevin Rice was leading a growing company, adding over 100 people, navigating an acquisition, raising two boys alone, all during a pandemic.

His coping mechanism was to shut everything off. No emotions. No processing. Just output.

From the outside it looked like peak performance.

His team and his kids were getting a version of him that was present in body but absent everywhere that mattered.

That is the version of leadership nobody talks about enough.

Episode 512 of The Leadership Podcast is a good place to start that conversation. Go find it. https://bit.ly/TLP-512?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders

#leadership #leadershipdevelopment #emotionalintelligence #theleadershippodcast #executiveleadership #CEOmindset #personalgrowth #parenting #entrepreneur #selfawareness
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  • TLP519: The Leadership Idea We Missed for 250 Years
  • TLP518: The Bravery Effect: Jill Schulman on Why Courage Is a Skill, Not a Trait

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