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The Leadership Podcast

The Leadership Podcast

We Study Leaders

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…

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: :incremental capacity building, building capacity, business expansion strategy, business operations, Business Strategy, coaching leadership style, company culture during growth, company scaling, Dutch Bros case study, executive leadership, growth management, high-growth companies, how to scale a business, Joth Ricci, leadership development podcast, leadership discipline, leadership frameworks, Leadership Podcast, maintaining culture during growth, managing rapid growth, multiplier leaders, Organizational Development, organizational scaling, people systems at scale, people-first leadership, rapid business growth, scaling startups, scaling without breaking culture, talent development at scale

TLP500: The Leadership Myths We Keep Getting Wrong with Admiral Bill McRaven

February 25, 2026

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Work–life balance sounds responsible. Admiral William (Bill) McRaven thinks it’s misleading at best—and often harmful. In our special 500th episode of The Leadership Podcast, McRaven strips away the language leaders hide behind and replaces it with judgment, clarity, and responsibility.  Instead of chasing balance, he offers a far more useful distinction: knowing which commitments are…

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: Admiral McRaven interview, crystal balls vs rubber balls, Gen Z leadership advice, high performance leadership, integrity and leadership, leadership accountability, leadership character development, leadership decision making, leadership discipline, leadership fundamentals, leadership podcast episode 500, leadership resilience mindset, leadership strategy mindset, leadership wisdom, military leadership lessons, millennial leadership values, modern leadership principles, servant leadership mindset, William McRaven, work life balance myth

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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
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
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
Murshad Chowdhury just exposed what most leaders g Murshad Chowdhury just exposed what most leaders get wrong.They think communication is about being heard.It's actually about hearing.The biggest conflicts in teams? Someone didn't listen to what the other person meant to say.Not what they said. What they meant.That's the gap that costs leaders their credibility.Watch how to master this: https://bit.ly/TLP-515?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#communicationskills #leadershipdevelopment #listeningskills #theleadershippodcast #executiveleadership #teambuidling #leadershiplessons #conflictresolution
A leader's mindset doesn't always stay with the le A leader's mindset doesn't always stay with the leader.David Robson explains how negative expectations can spread through an organization. When leaders signal that they don't have much faith in someone's capability, that person can begin to internalize the message. Anxiety rises. Confidence falls. And the mental space that should be used for creativity and problem-solving gets consumed by doubt.Sometimes leadership isn't about what you say to someone.It's about what your behavior tells them you believe they are capable of.#leadership #leadershipdevelopment #leadershippsychology #teamculture #employeeengagement #selfefficacy #davidrobson #leadershippodcast
Jim Brown spent 30 years with CEOs. Here's what he Jim Brown spent 30 years with CEOs. Here's what he keeps seeing:Leaders got promoted because they were great at doing. Now they're stuck trying to do everything.You can't scale yourself. You scale by equipping others.The shift from doer to leader isn't about working harder. It's about working differently.Listen to Jim Brown on episode 517. https://bit.ly/TLP-517?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadershipmindset #leadershipdevelopment #leadershipaccountability #organizationalhealth #executiveleadership #theleadershippodcast #ceoinsights #westudyleaders
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
Experience is invaluable. Until it convinces you t Experience is invaluable. Until it convinces you that you don't need to question yourself.David Robson calls this the curse of expertise. The more experience we accumulate, the easier it can become to trust our instincts without looking for evidence that might prove us wrong.His advice is simple: listen to your intuition, but interrogate it like any other piece of data.Ask yourself: What would I need to know to disprove what I believe to be true?That question may be one of the most useful habits an experienced leader can develop.#leadership #leadershipdevelopment #decisionmaking #cognitivebias #executiveleadership #selfawareness #davidrobson #leadershippodcast
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
After 9/11. After watching kids in his high school After 9/11. After watching kids in his high school cry not knowing if their parents at the CIA were alive. After his father disappeared into the agency for two weeks.Nick Black went to war. Survived 27 months of combat. Brought his soldiers home.Then lost one to suicide a week after returning.That moment revealed something no battlefield ever did.The most dangerous enemy is not always in front of you.Sometimes it is the silence you let someone disappear into.The full conversation is up now. https://bit.ly/TLP-513?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleadersWatch it on YouTube - https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-513?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadershippodcast #leadership #podcast #militaryleadership #stopsolidersuicide #selfreliantleadership #leadershipdevelopment #mentalhealth #veteranleadership #service
There's a formula to building bravery. Jill Schulm There's a formula to building bravery. Jill Schulman, bravery expert and Marine Corps veteran, breaks down the three-stage framework. Stage one: master your mindset. Shift from fixed to growth. Stage two: take action before you feel ready. Confidence comes after, not before. Stage three: curate your tribe. Surround yourself with people who won't let you quit. The genius part? They reinforce each other. Each stage amplifies the next. Master the three-stage formula. https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-518?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#bravery #leadershipdevelopment #personalgrowth #framework #mindset #courage #leadership #psychology
Most people treat networking like a numbers game. Most people treat networking like a numbers game.Donnie Boivin treats it like a business model.The shift from collecting contacts to building other people's success is what actually opens doors.Hear how he built an entire company around it in this week's episode. https://bit.ly/TLP-521?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#networking #leadership #businessdevelopment #relationshipbuilding #salesmindset #entrepreneurship #leadershippodcast #b2bsales
Here's a framework worth borrowing from David Crai Here's a framework worth borrowing from David Craig, former CEO of Refinitiv.Meeting overload isn't the actual problem. It's a symptom of unclear ownership.When it isn't obvious who owns a decision or a budget, people default to scheduling a meeting to sort it out. David solved this at Refinitiv by documenting exactly who owns what, a reference guide his team nicknamed the Blue Book.He also questioned a habit most companies never examine: why every meeting defaults to 60 minutes. His team ran 25-minute meetings instead, built around what the meeting actually needed.Two practical ideas any leader can apply this week.Full conversation is live now https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-525?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadership #davidcraig #meetingculture #businessefficiency #leadershippodcast #organizationalculture #executiveleadership #productivitytips
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
Most people wait until they feel ready before taki Most people wait until they feel ready before taking action. Jill Schulman's research in positive psychology proves that's backwards. Confidence doesn't come first. Action does. Every time you move forward despite fear, you're building the neural pathways that create real confidence. Move forward before you feel ready.Discover why action comes first. https://bit.ly/TLP-518?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#bravery #leadershipdevelopment #personalgrowth #psychology #fearless #confidence #mindset #actiontaker
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
The way leaders talk about the future matters. Wh The way leaders talk about the future matters.When we repeatedly tell people that the challenges ahead are overwhelming, we shouldn't be surprised when they begin to approach those challenges defensively.Leaders should shape reality. It's the beliefs we create about reality that can influence how people respond to it.What we believe is coming can change what we do when we get there.Hear @shawnachor explain how beliefs shape behavior, expectations, and outcomes on the latest episode of The Leadership Podcast.#Leadership #LeadershipDevelopment #LeadershipMindset #PositivePsychology #ShawnAchor #TheLeadershipPodcast #Mindset #Beliefs #PositiveLeadership #LeadershipPsychology
Capitalism broke when leaders stopped believing it Capitalism broke when leaders stopped believing it requires morality.Patrick Ryan is a chartered director, KYC Net founder, and author of The Moral Market. He spent decades watching executives justify corner-cutting as "following the rules."In this episode, he shares why modern capitalism abandoned Adam Smith's moral foundation. And how the impartial spectator fixes it.Go listen to the full conversation. https://bit.ly/TLP-519?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleadersGo 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
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
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
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