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The Leadership Podcast

The Leadership Podcast

We Study Leaders

TLP511: What 500 Top Leaders Taught Us — And Why It’s Not What You Think

May 13, 2026

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What happens when you spend 10 years interviewing some of the world’s top leaders? After 500 interviews with CEOs, generals, founders, bestselling authors, athletes, and elite performers, Jim Vaselopulos and Jan Rutherford discovered a surprising pattern. The most successful leaders were NOT the most polished, they were the most self-aware, adaptable, and relentlessly committed to…

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: adaptive leadership, business leaders, Business Leadership, CEOs, emotional intelligence, entrepreneurship, Executive Coaching, executive leadership, high performance, Jan Rutherford, Jim Vaselopulos, leadership development, Leadership Lessons, leadership mindset, leadership myths, Leadership Podcast, leadership skills, Leadership Strategies, lessons from leaders, Personal Growth, self awareness, success mindset, Team Leadership, The Leadership Podcast, what makes a great leader

TLP505: Why Leadership Coaching So Often Fails

April 1, 2026

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TLP505: Why Leadership Coaching So Often Fails
Will Linssen is the CEO of Global Coach Group, and the author of “Triple Win Leadership Coaching: The Coach’s Guide to More Impact, More Coaching, and More Clients.”
In this conversation, Will challenges the traditional model of leadership coaching. Too often, coaching focuses on the leader while leaving the team out of the equation—one reason why team satisfaction frequently remains low even when leaders feel they’ve made progress.
Will explains how great coaches assess coachability before the work even begins, why ego is often the biggest barrier to meaningful change, and what leaders in global, multicultural environments consistently misunderstand about communication and feedback.
We also explore the impact of AI on leadership. Will argues that decades of accumulated expertise are losing their advantage. The leaders who will thrive going forward aren’t the ones with all the answers—they’re the ones who know how to ask the right questions.
If you’ve ever wondered why leadership development often fails to stick inside organizations, this conversation offers a candid look at what’s missing—and what needs to change.
Find episode 505 on The Leadership Podcast, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: 360 feedback, AI and leadership, behavioral change, coachability, coaching methodology, coaching roi, coaching success rate, coworker feedback, cross-cultural leadership, Executive Coaching, global leadership, leadership coaching, leadership development, Leadership Podcast, leadership skills, leadership tips, leadership transformation, leading with questions, management coaching, organizational change, Team Leadership, team performance, the coach group, triple win, will linssen

TLP476: Engineering Social Change with Jed Brewer

September 10, 2025

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Jed Brewer is the president and founder of Good Loud Media, a nonprofit organization that uses music and video to drive social impact in underserved communities around the world.   In this episode, Jed describes how Good Loud Media operates by bringing together Grammy-winning musicians, renowned psychologists, and subject matter experts to create targeted media campaigns.  …

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: Community Outreach, Crisis Communication, Cultural Bridge Building, Empathy Building, Engineering, Faith-Based Leadership, International Development, Media Production, Mental Health Advocacy, Music for Change, networking, Nonprofit Leadership, Opioid Crisis, Perspective Taking, Prison Ministry, Public Health, Social Impact, Systemic Change, Team Leadership, Violence Prevention

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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 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
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
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
Every high performer has been told some version of Every high performer has been told some version of the same lie.Push harder. Stay longer. Sleep when you're dead.Until they can't.What actually separates leaders who last is not toughness. It is the ability to recover before the tank hits empty.Full conversation withKaren Doll on The Leadership Podcast. https://bit.ly/TLP-514?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadershippodcast #leadership #resilience #burnout #leadershipdevelopment #mentalhealth #psychologicalfitness #podcast
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
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
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 think they need to be the smartest pe Most leaders think they need to be the smartest person in the room.Patrick Emmons disagrees — founder of Dragon Spears, president of Improving Chicago, 25 years building and selling companies.This episode breaks down why leadership at every level beats leadership at the top, and why authenticity means accepting your own growth, not demanding acceptance as-is.Listen to the full conversation now. https://bit.ly/TLP-524?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleadersWatch it on YouTube - https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-524?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadership #leadershipdevelopment #entrepreneurship #authenticleadership #businessgrowth #executivecoaching #leadershippodcast #teamdevelopment
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
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
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
If you constantly tear down the system you're part If you constantly tear down the system you're part of, don't be surprised when people disconnect from it.That shows up inside teams too.Leaders set the tone. Not just through strategy, but through how they talk about the work, the mission, and the people around them. If everything sounds cynical or negative, that becomes the culture.And culture shapes who stays, who leaves, and how people show up every day.This one is worth the full listen. Go check out the whole episode of Dr. Bill Kline and tell us what hit you the hardest. https://bit.ly/TLP-509?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#leadership #leadershipdevelopment #teamculture #capitalism #businessleadership #tlp509
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
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
Most people think capitalism and ethics are two se Most people think capitalism and ethics are two separate conversations. Dr. Bill Kline says they were never separate to begin with. Pull out the ethics and you don't have a market anymore, you just have chaos with a price tag.This one reframes everything. Go find the full conversation, it's worth your time. https://bit.ly/TLP-YT-509?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#capitalism #businessethics #leadership #freemarkets #leadershippodcast #shorts #tlp509
Chasing success can quietly become the problem, no Chasing success can quietly become the problem, not the solution.Tom Rath argues usefulness matters more than achievement, and the shift changes how you spend every hour of your day.It's a simple reframe with a big payoff: less hamster wheel, more contribution.Listen to Tom Rath's full conversation on the show. https://bit.ly/TLP-523?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=westudyleaders#tomrath #leadershippodcast #purposeoverperformance #leadershipmindset #executivecoaching #findingpurpose #workplaceculture #meaningfulwork
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
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
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
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