Lead From the Heart

    The core message of Colin M. Fisher’s new book,  The Collective Edge: Unlocking the Secret Power of Groups , is simple but profound: we dramatically overestimate the role of individuals in success and underestimate the extraordinary power of groups. History celebrates “great men” like Edison, Jobs, and Musk, but the truth is that real breakthroughs nearly always come from teams—group...

    Klaus Kleinfeld has lived one of the most extraordinary leadership journeys of our time. He’s the only executive ever to serve as CEO of two Fortune 500 giants on different continents—Siemens in Germany and Alcoa in the U.S.—and he’s advised presidents and global leaders around the world. What struck me most in speaking with Klaus isn’t just the scope of his career—it’s what he belie...

    Laurie Santos is one of the world’s leading voices on the science of happiness and well-being. She’s a psychology professor at Yale University, where her course   Psychology and the Good Life   became the most popular class in Yale’s 300-year history. So many students enrolled that the university had to move it to a concert hall to accommodate the crowds. Building on that success, La...

For the second half of this podcast season, we’ve been focused on employee well-being —why it matters, how to foster it, and what happens when leaders fail to take it seriously. Our new guest, Amy Gilliland , shows what it looks like when a CEO makes well-being a true priority, not a mere slogan. Amy is president of General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) , a $9 billion global technology en...

That’s the groundbreaking case made by Dr. Angela Jackson, Harvard University professor and New York Times bestselling author of The Win-Win Workplace: How Thriving Employees Drive Bottom-Line Success . Angela’s journey is remarkable. After losing her mother at age four, she was raised by grandparents who grew up in the Jim Crow South and never advanced beyond sixth grade. Nonetheless, their resil...

    Nick Foster, former head of design at Google X — the “moonshot factory” — and author of Could, Should, Might, Don’t: How We Think About the Future , joins us to discuss his stunning conclusion that human beings are terrible at predicting the future, calling most forecasts “mostly nonsense.” For leaders, this insight is absolutely essential: we’re constantly asked to make...

    What’s worse than a boss who emails you at midnight, demanding instant replies? How about one who calls you “Mohammed” instead of your real name, Madhumita, or another who expects you to dive back into work just days after your father’s sudden death. Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author, Mita Mallick has faced these and 10 other toxic manager archetypes in her career,...

    In this thought-provoking episode, we sit down with Urs Koenig, author of “ Radical Humility: Be A Badass Leader And A Good Human ,” to explore leadership through a lens of selflessness and authenticity. Drawing from his experience as a peacekeeping mission commander in Kosovo, Urs shares surprising insights on leading in high-stakes environments, revealing how humility shaped his ap...

    Is Bree Groff delusional or naive to believe work should be a source of fun and joy? Having read her bestseller, Today Was Fun: A Book About Work (Seriously)  a nd interviewed her, we’re certain she’s spot-on—and voicing what many of us have long felt: work shouldn’t be a grind that erodes our happiness or well-being. Bree’s expertise stems from a dynamic career in organizational tra...

    As a statistician by trade, Cambridge University Emeritus Professor, Sir David Spiegelhalter might seem to be a huge outlier for our leadership podcast. At the beginning of our conversation he even acknowledges feeling this way. But his new book,  The Art of Uncertainty , was named an Amazon Best Book of 2025, a nd his investigations aimed at reducing uncertainty in life: about what...

    Ever wonder what 75 days a year glued to your phone is costing you?  That staggering figure—based on a 2024 study showing Americans spend an average of 5 hours and 16 minutes daily on their smartphones—reveals how deeply our devices dominate our lives.  Enter Richard Simon and his provocative bestseller, Unplug: How to Break Up with Your Phone and Reclaim Your Life. It’s not just a g...

    We’re thrilled to welcome back Margaret Heffernan to the podcast , a guest whose erudition and insight left us in awe last time! Margaret is one of the most remarkable people we’ve had on the show—an entrepreneur, former CEO, acclaimed author, and thought leader whose uncommon education and thirst for knowledge imbue her work with extraordinary depth. Her TED Talk, “Why it’s ti...

    Imagine you’re a leader who’s achieved great success, yet something suddenly feels off: roadblocks appear, your team seems less responsive and productive—and you’re not progressing as hoped. What’s holding you back? Martin Dubin, a clinical psychologist and author of, Blindspotting: How To See What’s Holding You Back As A Leader (being released next week) says career and leadership s...

    We’re thrilled to welcome Shigehiro Oishi, renowned psychologist and University of Chicago professor, whose groundbreaking research on well-being has reshaped how we understand a fulfilling life. As the author of Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life , Oishi introduces a transformative framework that adds “psychological...

    For over 40 years, Gary Shapiro has been CEO of the Consumer Technology Association – the organization which runs CES, the world’s largest and most influential technology trade show held every year in Las Vegas. CES long ago became the global stage where innovations like the iPhone, self-driving cars, and AI breakthroughs have been introduced to the world for the first time. In his s...

    Wes Adams, co-author of Meaningful Work: How to Ignite Passion and Performance in Every Employee , joins the podcast and shares profound insights from his extensive, multi-year research, on an essential yet often ignored leadership prerogative: ensuring employees feel they’re connected to a shared purpose, empowered to make a difference – and pushed to grow. As a positive psychology...

    What makes a leader truly successful? To find out, we sat down with Claudius Hildebrand, author of the bestselling The Life Cycle of a CEO: The Myths and Truths of How Leaders Succeed . His core insight? Leadership isn’t a trophy you win or a title you hold—it’s a dynamic, ever-evolving journey that demands growth, grit, and constant reinvention. Whether you’re a team lead, a mid-lev...

  Melody Wilding, Professor of Human Behavior at Hunter College in New York City, and renowned for her expertise in workplace dynamics, has just published, “Managing Up: How To Get What You Need From The People In Charge.” It’s received outstanding reviews, is already a bestseller – and has become an indispensable guide for building effective relationships with bosses and even pee...

    Version 1.0.0 Renowned social psychologist and Columbia Business School professor Adam Galinsky, has dedicated his academic career to understanding the intricacies of leadership and human behavior. His latest book,  “Inspire: The Universal Path for Leading Yourself and Others,”  offers a compelling exploration of what it takes to be an inspiring leader. Adam is clear that...

    Ever wondered what truly drives peak performance at work? As research is now proving, the surprising secret lies in employee well-being. In this captivating episode, we’re joined by Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, professor of Economics and Behavioral Science at Oxford’s Saïd Business School, the Director of the Wellbeing Research Centre & an editor of the World Happiness Report. His...

    For our inaugural episode of our new season, we are thrilled to feature two truly extraordinary guests. It also marks a milestone for us as it’s the very first time we’ve recorded an episode where both the host and guests were together in the same room — in this case, at a recording studio at Chevron’s Northern California offices. In this special episode, you’...

    We’re thrilled to have Ethan Kross accept our invitation to join us for a second time, & to discuss his highly anticipated new book, Shift: Managing Your Emotions-So They Don’t Manage You . (Publishes February 2025). If you’re a regular listener to our show, you’ll recall Ethan’s previous appearance when we discussed his bestselling book,  Chatter: The Voice in Our He...

  The Financial Times  just named Columbia University professor Michael Morriss’ new book, Tribal: How The Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together , one of the “Best Business Books of the Year” (2024). When we hear the word “tribalism,” it often carries a negative connotation. It gets blamed for everything from political polarization to workplace discrim...

      We live in a world where early achievements are celebrated, but what if some of your greatest successes were to come later in life? On this truly provocative episode, we sit down with the brilliant Henry Oliver, author of “Second Act: What Late Bloomers Can Tell You About Reinventing Your Life.” Our conversation is packed with uncommon insights that will challenge...

    Mitch Warner is the Managing Partner of the Arbinger Institute, an organization renowned for its groundbreaking work in leadership & organizational transformation. The Arbinger Institute has just released the fourth edition of its classic book,   “ Leadership and Self-Deception: The Secret to Transforming Relationships and Unleashing Results.” First published in 2000, “Leadership...