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The Leadership Podcast

The Leadership Podcast

We Study Leaders

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…

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: b corp leadership, Business Ethics, business resilience, crisis leadership, david gray, empathetic accountability, Employee Engagement, fed up foods, functional beverages, hurricane recovery, leadership development, leadership philosophy, Leadership Podcast, managing disruption, mission-driven company, Organizational Culture, remote leadership, scaling startup, team culture, values-driven business

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Most people think burnout comes from working too h Most people think burnout comes from working too hard.Karen Doll says that is the wrong diagnosis.It comes from never learning how to recover.She is a licensed psychologist, author of Building Psychological Fitness, and chairs the Flourishing at Work initiative under Harvard's Flourishing program.In this episode she breaks down why resilience is not about powering through.The two personality patterns that derail even the most talented executives.And the core belief she had to break in herself before she could practice what she preached.The full conversation is up now. https://bit.ly/TLP-514?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleadersWatch it on YouTube https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-514?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadershippodcast #leadership #podcast #psychologicalfitness #burnout #leadershipdevelopment #mentalhealth #selfreliantleadership #executivecoaching #resilience
Chasing the next promotion isn't the same as chasi Chasing the next promotion isn't the same as chasing the next skill.David Craig watched talented people burn years climbing a ladder instead of building capability, and he says it's one of the costliest mistakes in a career.The shift is simple: choose the work that develops you, not just the title that impresses others.Hear David explain the lesson behind it in episode 525. https://bit.ly/TLP-525?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadership #davidcraig #careeradvice #leadershipdevelopment #leadershippodcast #careergrowth #executivecoaching #professionaldevelopment
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
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
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 thisThe 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
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
Picture a sideline full of parents yelling instruc Picture a sideline full of parents yelling instructions nobody can follow.Now picture your last team meeting.Patrick Emmons says it's the same problem.Bosses talk, but only 3% of the room actually understands what was said.He learned to fix it by coaching kids, not running companies.Watch the full episode to hear how Patrick builds a vernacular his team actually understands. https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-524?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadership #teamcommunication #coaching #executivecoaching #leadershipdevelopment #teambuilding #businessleadership #patrickemmons
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
Most networking advice is training you to waste yo Most networking advice is training you to waste your time in the wrong rooms.Donnie Boivin, CEO of Success Champion Networking and creator of the C3 Model, built a 30-chapter, 450-member organization on one reframe: networking means building other people's businesses, not collecting business cards.This episode breaks down his 30/30/30 framework, the Home Depot story that changed everything, and why give-give-get-give beats give-first-to-gain-everything.Listen now, then rethink your next room. https://bit.ly/TLP-521?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleadersWatch it on YouTube -https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-521?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadership #networking #businessdevelopment #salesleadership #b2bsales #leadershippodcast #executivecoaching #relationshipbuilding #salesstrategy #entrepreneurship
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
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
When you are stuck in your head the worst thing yo When you are stuck in your head the worst thing you can do is think harder.Karen Doll calls it a bottom-up strategy. Stop analyzing. Get up. Move.The body is not separate from the mind. And sometimes the fastest way out of a spiral is not another meeting or another framework.It is a walk.Full conversation on The Leadership Podcast. https://bit.ly/TLP-514?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadershippodcast #leadership #mentalhealth #psychologicalfitness #podcast #leadershipdevelopment #mindset #burnout #executivecoaching #selfreliantleadership
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
She was running a $1B P&L. She was also miserable. She was running a $1B P&L. She was also miserable.Kim Svoboda is founder of Aspiration Catalyst, author of Bold Leadership, 20+ years leading sales orgs before walking away from it all.This week: what happens when you finally measure your life against your own values, and it doesn't add up.Listen to the full episode now. https://bit.ly/TLP-522?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleadersWatch it on YouTube - https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-522?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadershippodcast #boldleadership #executiveburnout #leadershipdevelopment #highperformingteams #employeeengagement #intentionalleadership #careertransition
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
Most leaders think the biggest threat to their tea Most leaders think the biggest threat to their team is performance.Missed targets. Wrong hires. Bad culture.Nick Black watched some of America's greatest warriors fall — not to the enemy, but to silence.Not because they were weak.Because no one was checking on them.Isolation is the enemy. And it does not announce itself.Listen to the full conversation. https://bit.ly/TLP-513?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders #leadershippodcast #leadership #mentalhealth #isolation #veteranleadership #leadershipquotes #podcast #selfreliantleadership #militaryleadership #leadershipdevelopment
Most people overcomplicate leadership. Nick Black Most people overcomplicate leadership.Nick Black has six words he still reaches for every time he does not know what to do next."When in doubt, lead the way." That is his whole leadership philosophy.Not a framework. Not a model.Just something that has never steered him wrong — through combat, through loss, through building companies from scratch.When you don't know what to do next, you already know what to do.Hear the full conversation. https://bit.ly/TLP-513?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders #leadershippodcast #leadership #leadershipquotes #militaryleadership #podcast #service #selfreliantleadership #leadershipdevelopment #veteran #rangerschool
Jim Brown watches this play out in every organizat Jim Brown watches this play out in every organization.Leaders who have all the answers don't develop leaders. They develop followers.Your job isn't to be the hero. It's to build heroes.The moment your team stops thinking for themselves, you've become a bottleneck, not a leader.Watch episode 517 for the full story. https://bit.ly/TLP-517?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadershipaccountability #leadershipdevelopment #organizationalhealth #teamleadership #leadershipcoaching #executiveleadership #theleadershippodcast #westudyleaders
Over the last decade on The Leadership Podcast, Ji Over the last decade on The Leadership Podcast, Jim Vaselopulos and Jan Rutherford have spoken with CEOs, military leaders, entrepreneurs, bestselling authors, elite performers, and executives operating at the highest levels of responsibility.Across those conversations, several themes surfaced repeatedly:• Leaders aren't born. Leaders are learners.• Success always involves sacrifice.• Style without substance eventually gets exposed.• Adaptability matters as much as efficiency.• Great leadership begins with genuine interest in other people.One of the most striking observations across 500 plus episodes is that many of the leaders they respected were remarkably humble, reflective, and open about their mistakes. Not perfect, but intentional about growth.In Episode 511 of The Leadership Podcast, Jim and Jan reflect on what 500 conversations taught them about leadership, success, failure, relationships, and human behavior.Link to the full episode - https://bit.ly/TLP-511?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleadersLink to the YouTube episode - https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-511?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#Leadership #ExecutiveLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #LeadershipPodcast #BusinessLeadership #PersonalGrowth
Most leaders think accountability is someone else' Most leaders think accountability is someone else's problem.Jim Brown—author of The Imperfect CEO, founder of Org Health—spent 30 years with CEOs discovering the one behavior that rewires everything. One small question. One major shift.Leadership accountability isn't what you think it is.Listen to episode 517 now. https://bit.ly/TLP-517?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleadersWatch it on YouTube: https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-517?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadershipaccountability #leadershipdevelopment #organizationalhealth #teamculture #leadershipcoaching #executiveleadership #theleadershippodcast #westudyleaders
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