P³ with Preston Poore

Send us Fan Mail Episode 18 is here! Great leadership isn’t formed in seasons when everything is going well. Sometimes, it’s adversity that reveals what kind of leader you’re becoming. You can build a successful career, reach your goals, and still find yourself wondering if there’s more to leadership than achievement.  Preston and seasoned executive James Ackerman reflect on the adversity that sha...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when you hit every target, earn every promotion and still wonder if you're making a difference?  In this episode, Preston Poore and seasoned executive James Ackerman explore the tension between success and significance, and why strong results don't always tell the full story of effective leadership. They discuss the difference between measuring output and im...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 17 is here.  And this one really got me thinking about the difference between having faith and actually letting your faith shape the way you live and lead.  In this episode, I sit down with Ashley Smalley, founder and CEO of Smalley Consulting, to talk about what it really looks like to bring your faith into the workplace without making it forced, performative, or complica...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when your faith says one thing, but the way you live says something else? In this episode, Preston Poore and Ashley Smalley explore the tension between boldness and wisdom when it comes to living out your faith in the workplace. They unpack what it means to move beyond simply carrying a Christian label and allow faith to shape how you lead, treat people, make decision...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 16 is here!!!! Most leadership advice tells you how to manage the people below you. Nobody prepares you for what happens when the person above you is the one creating the chaos.  This week, Pastor Tom Gray joins me to talk about one of the most uncomfortable tensions every leader faces: how to stay faithful, protect your team, and still use your voice when you're not...

Send us Fan Mail Most leadership advice tells you how to lead down. Nobody prepares you for what happens when the difficult person is your boss.  In this episode, Pastor and ministry leader Tom Gray joins me to tackle one of the most uncomfortable tensions in leadership: how to stay submitted to authority, protect your team, and still use your voice when the person in charge is the source of the d...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 15 is here!!!! The hardest conversation a leader will ever have isn't with the difficult employee or the underperformer. It's with the person they value most, the one they've been coaching around for months because they don't want to risk the relationship.  This week, Amy P. Kelly joins me to talk about what it really takes to be a courageous leader and...

Send us Fan Mail Avoiding a hard conversation feels like kindness. Most of the time it's just comfort disguised as care.  In this episode, Amy P. Kelly joins me to tackle the tension every leader feels but rarely names: the gap between the conversation you know you need to have and the one you keep rescheduling.  We get into fear, false harmony, preparation, and why the most courageous thing...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 14 is here! What do you do when an employee’s performance isn’t where it needs to be, you’ve followed the process, given the feedback, and put an improvement plan in place, but you still have to decide how much grace to extend? This week, Devin Smith joins me to explore the tension between grace and accountability. We talk about performance issues, difficult conversations,...

Send us Fan Mail Every leader wants to do the right thing. We hold people accountable, address performance issues, and make the tough calls. But what happens when accountability starts to overshadow the person standing in front of you?  In this episode, Devin Smith joins me to tackle the tension between grace and accountability, and why great leadership requires more than simply following the proc...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 13 is here!!!! Every leader has told themselves that if they just work hard enough, their team will follow. But here's what nobody tells you, respect isn't given because of a title, it's earned in the moments nobody's watching.  This week, Julie Nee joins me to talk about what it really looks like to walk into a room full of side glances and half answer...

Send us Fan Mail Every leader has preferences. We want the right team, the right culture, and the right circumstances. But what happens when the role finds you instead of the other way around?  In this episode, leadership expert Julie Nee joins me to discuss the tension between calling and preference, and what it takes to fully lead people and circumstances you didn't choose. ⸻ ⏱️ Episode Hig...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 12 is here!!!! Working harder feels like the right answer when things start falling apart. But what if all that effort is aimed at the wrong target? This week, Jerry Caldwell, President of Bristol Motor Speedway, joins me to talk about the tension every leader eventually hits: confusing the symptom for the problem and pouring everything into fixing the wrong thing. If you&...

Send us Fan Mail Every leader wants to take action when something goes wrong. But what if you're fixing the wrong problem?  In this episode, Jerry Caldwell, President of Bristol Motor Speedway, joins me to explore how leaders can identify root causes, avoid surface-level fixes, and ask better questions to solve the problems that actually matter. ⸻ ⏱️ Episode Highlights [02:02] Symptoms vs. Ro...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 11 is here!!!! Every leader has felt the weight of a decision they didn't ask for. But here's what nobody tells you: fear doesn't always look like paralysis. Sometimes it looks like another meeting, another email, or another attempt to follow the proper channels, while the decision keeps getting delayed. This week, Benton and Zach join me to talk about the t...

Send us Fan Mail Every leader hits the moment when the decision can't be delegated, deferred, or decided by committee. It's yours.  In this episode, I revisit the two-year fight to save Coca-Cola's marketing rights deal with the University of Alabama, then bring my son Benton and his friend Zak Kuder into the studio for an honest conversation about what it actually feels like to car...

Send us Fan Mail Every leader wants an option with no downside. That option doesn't exist.  In this episode, author and Purpose Summit founder Davin Salvagno joins me to tackle the tension every leader faces in the decision-making arc: when both paths cost you something and the temptation is to choose neither. ⸻ ⏱️ Episode Highlights [01:57] – Trade-offs vs. Avoidance: Why saying no or not ye...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 10 is here!!!! Every leader has told themselves that passing on a decision was the safe move. But here's what nobody tells you: saying no doesn't get you off the hook. It just means you pay a different price.  This week, Davin Salvagno joins me to talk about the tension between making a tough call and avoiding it altogether, and why the most dangerous place a lea...

Send us Fan Mail Waiting for certainty before making a move isn't caution; it's fear with a professional name.  In this episode, educator and principal Sherri McLeroy joins me to kick off Arc 3 by tackling the tension every leader dreads: making a high-stakes call with incomplete information and no guarantee of the right outcome. ⸻ ⏱️ Episode Highlights [02:05] – Welcome to Arc 3: Why le...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 8 is here!!!! Some leaders walk into a room and immediately make everyone afraid to speak. This week, Chris Darley joins me to talk about what happens when a leader's composure breaks down, and what it costs the people around them.  We get into the difference between leading from fear and leading from the inside out, and why the most toxic leader in the room can becom...

Send us Fan Mail The leaders people trust most aren't the ones who never feel the storm, they're the ones who stay steady inside it.  In this episode, Chick-fil-A owner-operator Chris Darley joins me to close out Arc 2 by tackling the one tension every leader carries alone: the gap between what people see on the outside and what's actually happening on the inside. ⸻ ⏱️Episode Highli...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 7 is here!!!! Every driven leader hits a wall eventually. Not because they stopped caring, but because they never stopped running. This week, Andrew and Sarah Beard join me to talk about burnout, what it actually feels like from the inside, what it costs you when you ignore it, and how to build a pace that doesn't break you before you get to where you're going. I...

Send us Fan Mail The leaders who burn out aren't the ones who care too little; they're the ones who never learn to stop. In this episode, I'm joined by Andrew and Sarah Beard, pastors and ministry leaders with over 20 years of experience, to talk about the tension every driven leader eventually hits. When slowing down feels like falling behind, but keeping up is quietly costing ever...

Send us Fan Mail A packed schedule feels like momentum. It's not. In this episode, Jordan Raynor joins me to tackle the tension that might be the most frustrating in the entire arc, when you work harder than you ever have and can't point to a single thing that actually moved.  We get into why busyness is always easier than real productivity, how to set goals that measure achievement inst...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 6 is here!!!! A full to-do list feels like progress. A packed calendar feels like leadership. But what if all that activity is just keeping you from the things that actually move the needle?  This week, Jordan Raynor joins me to talk about the busyness trap, why the hardest thing for any leader to admit is that they've been running fast in the wrong direction. If you&...