Coachful Coaching Leadership Podcast

Your title gets compliance. It won't get commitment. Executive coach David Fung breaks down how to influence people who don't report to you. (GUEST APPEARANCE on the LEADERSHIP IN QUARTERS podcast with Josh Seldin) David spent 23 years in tech, most recently as a Senior Director at Salesforce, where half his week went to influencing leaders outside his reporting line. Decades of psychology...

How do you lead when you don't have direct control? Daniel Atlin interviewed 25 university presidents across the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to answer that question. What he found applies to any leader in a complex, multi-stakeholder organization: the ones who thrive don't have better plans. They ask more questions, move slower, and bring people with them. The ones who revert to command...

What if the authenticity we keep demanding from leaders isn't actually a real, measurable thing? In this episode, I sit down with Maya Rupert , who managed Julián Castro's 2020 presidential campaign, becoming only the third Black woman in U.S. history to run a presidential campaign, and later served as a senior advisor to Elizabeth Warren. Today she's Executive Vice President at Blue S...

Your brain is wired to protect you from your own breakthroughs. That's why you can't think your way out of the things that matter most. Dr. Marcia Reynolds calls coaches "external thought disruptors." She's one of the most credentialed voices in the field: 5th global president of the ICF, ranked top 5 coach in the world by Global Gurus, ICF Circle of Distinction honoree, and...

What if belonging isn't a soft, feel-good idea but the actual infrastructure that decides whether your team performs? In this episode of the Coachful Coaching Leadership Podcast, I chat with Andrea Carter, organizational scientist, founder of Belonging First, and adjunct professor at Adler University. Fresh off presenting at Google HQ in London for the launch of the Global Workplace Happiness...

You Haven't Delegated. You've Just Handed Off the Task. — with Brooke Dukes Most founders think they've delegated. They haven't. They've handed off the task and kept the ownership, and that's why their growth has stalled. Brooke Dukes has built four businesses, consulted Fortune 500s for over two decades, and now runs Success by Design — a leadership operating system for fo...

How do you disagree with someone without the conversation falling apart? Ron Harvey spent 21 years in the U.S. Army and now leads as VP of GCS Consulting. In this episode, he and David Fung unpack what most leaders get wrong about disagreement, respect, and leading people in a world that's changing fast. A few moments that stood out: → Why most disagreements aren't really about the issue→...

Norman Wolfe spent 40+ years inside organizations, including a long stretch at Hewlett-Packard, before noticing something nobody could explain: 70% of companies fail at strategy execution, despite shelves of books telling them how to succeed. His answer? We're stuck in a paradigm trap, treating organizations as machines and people as component parts. In this conversation, Norman shares the fra...

In this episode of the Coachful Coaching Leadership Podcast, I sit down with Will Steel, a high performance and executive coach, author of Free to Lead , and a former RAF fast jet pilot turned commercial pilot turned coach to founders and business leaders. Will shares the moment in officer training when he almost got kicked out for "keeping his head down," and how being told to actually...

Why Great Salespeople Don’t Feel Like Salespeople (With Darren Mitchell) What if the best salespeople… don’t actually feel like they’re selling? In this episode, we sit down with Darren Mitchell, Sales Leadership Coach and founder of Exceptional Sales Leader, to break down the biggest misconceptions about sales and why most people are getting it completely wrong. With 800+ podcast episodes and dec...

Lead the Person, Not the Drivers with Matt Martocci What does real leadership look like when the pressure is high, the market is noisy, and results still matter? Matt Martocci, Chief Commercial Officer at hc1, shares lessons from a career across healthcare, pharma, SaaS, and commercial leadership, including roles at Salesforce, Definitive Healthcare, GHX, Millennium Health, and Novartis. In this c...

In this episode of the Coachful Coaching Leadership Podcast, we sit down with Ian Watts — author, speaker, and go-to expert on workforce transformation. Ian has scaled HR systems, recruited and retained hundreds of team members, and helped transform leaders across 30+ industries, from middle America to the Middle East. As the founder of SB Dream Coach and Employee Success Group, he’s shared stages...

AI is moving so fast that a “right answer” from two days ago can already feel outdated. In this episode, I’m joined by Kyra Meyer-Johanson (Senior Product Marketing Manager at ServiceNow, focused on Platform + AI). We talk about what that pace of change is doing to people, why the fear is real, and how leaders can create an environment where teams stay grounded and move forward anyway. We also get...

We sit down with Dwayne Smith, host of the What Changed? podcast, for a real conversation about the question most of us avoid when we feel stuck:“What am I protecting by staying the same?” Dwayne unpacks why willpower-based change so often fails, and why the real work is an identity shift—from “I’m trying to stop…” to “I’m the kind of person who doesn’t…” He also shares a key leadership turning po...

Most networking starts with the wrong question: “What do you do?” In this conversation, executive coach and classically trained singer Jessica Wan breaks down why that question shuts people down, especially during layoffs, transitions, and identity shifts, and what to ask instead if you want a real connection. We also talk about rebuilding community outside of work, why “together” is her word for...

What if joy isn’t a big life overhaul… but a small daily practice? In this episode, David Fung sits down with Grace Brelje, Director of ESBP Development & Enablement at Salesforce, and former leader of Salesforce’s Global Leadership Coaching & Mentoring Center of Excellence for a real conversation about bringing joy back when life is full and work is demanding. Grace breaks down why joy is often f...

THIS IS FROM MY GUEST APPEARANCE ON "WHAT CHANGED?" PODCAST with Dwayne Smith. There’s a moment many people don’t talk about. Life looks fine on the surface. You’re capable, thoughtful, even successful. But internally, something feels off. Not broken. Not in crisis. Just unsettled in a way that’s hard to explain. In this episode, I sit down with David Fung - CEO & Executive Coach, to...

In this clip from the Coachful Coaching Leadership Podcast, host David Fung sits down with Lisa Even, keynote speaker and leadership coach, to explore the role of joy in leadership and everyday life. Lisa shares her “crappy to happy” strategy, a practical way to turn mundane tasks into moments of purpose, energy, and growth. She also talks about how leaders can balance a busy, high-pressure life w...

Can a pair of sneakers teach you more about leadership than another “how to network” post? In this episode of the Coachful Coaching Leadership Podcast, I’m joined by Mark Grimwood, Senior Vice President at Salesforce, where he leads global Sales and Distribution Recruiting and Talent Attraction. Mark is well known for #sneakerwars, but this conversation is not really about shoes. It’s about authen...

In this episode of the Coachful Coaching Leadership Podcast, host David Fung sits down with Lisa Even (ee-ven), keynote speaker, bestselling author, and leadership coach, to unpack what it really means to make joy a priority as a leader. Lisa shares her path from healthcare operations and team leadership into coaching, and why joy is not fluff. It is a leadership lever. You will learn her practica...

In this clip, David Fung and Markus van Alphen discuss the effectiveness of feedback techniques in leadership. They critique the traditional "sandwich" method of feedback and explore the benefits of a more direct approach, known as "feedforward." Markus emphasizes the importance of context and understanding in delivering feedback, while David shares personal experiences that hi...

In this episode of the Coachful Coaching Leadership Podcast, David Fung interviews Markus van Alphen, a leadership psychologist and author, about the role of empathy in leadership. They discuss the importance of observational listening, the impact of fear-based management, and how creating psychological safety can enhance team performance. Markus shares insights on how mid-size organizations can l...

In this clip, David Fung and leadership psychologist Markus van Alphen delve into the complexities of KPI management and its impact on workplace culture. They explore whether KPIs serve as a reward or punishment, and discuss the psychological effects of fear-based management. Discover how different approaches to KPIs can lead to diverse outcomes, from fostering a blame culture to driving genuine p...

David Fung explores the space between fear and action. Drawing from his experiences in the tech industry and insights, David reveals how the challenge mindset can transform stress into energy. Learn practical strategies to navigate uncertainty, harness the power of stillness, and turn fear into a catalyst for growth and clarity.

In this episode of the Coachful Coaching Leadership Podcast, host David Fung welcomes Dr. Matthew Norton , a leading expert in human behavior and cognitive science. Dr. Norton shares his transformative journey from personal tragedy to becoming a pioneer in strengths-based assessments and leadership coaching. Discover how his experiences have shaped his mission to help others find their purpose and...