Leadership NOW with Dan Pontefract

In episode four of Five Shades of Grey — a five-part limited series within Leadership NOW — Dan Pontefract takes on the fourth shade of his sixth book, "The Future of Work Is Grey." Why ageism is the last socially acceptable bias in the modern workplace. Why seventy-eight percent of American workers between 40 and 65 have personally experienced or witnessed it. Why the EEOC's 2026 docket is full o...

In the final episode of Five Shades of Grey — a five-part limited series within Leadership NOW — Dan Pontefract closes the loop on the argument at the heart of his sixth book, "The Future of Work Is Grey." Why most organizational responses to the demographic shift are searches conducted under the streetlight, not where the keys actually are. Why Age Debt has a mirror image — the Experience Dividen...

In episode three of Five Shades of Grey — a five-part limited series within Leadership NOW — Dan Pontefract walks through the third shade of his sixth book, "The Future of Work Is Grey." Why the modern concept of retirement is barely a hundred years old, and was actuarially broken from day one. Why seven percent of recent American retirees have already come back to work — and forty-one percent of...

The most experienced person in your organization is leaving. Maybe they're retiring. Maybe they're quitting. Maybe they've been quietly pushed toward the door because their salary line looked tempting in a budget meeting. Doesn't matter. They're going. And they didn't write any of it down. How long does your organization take to recover? Six months? A year? Or does it never quite recover, the way...

The bell has rung for the last time. Every system inside your organization — pension plans, hiring funnels, succession charts, talent pipelines — was designed for a workforce shaped like a bell. Wide base of young workers. Solid middle. Smaller top of retirees. That shape is gone. Permanently. What we have now is a bulb: narrow base, swollen top, and a working middle being squeezed from both ends....

If change is constant, why do so many workplaces still treat it like an occasional project—complete with a timeline, a comms plan, and a hope that people “buy in”? Jay Kiew argues that this is exactly why leaders keep running into fatigue, cynicism, and whiplash. In his book "Change Fluency: 9 Principles to Navigate Uncertainty and Drive Innovation," Jay’s thesis is straightforward: change can’t b...

Corporate learning used to measure success by the size of its course catalogue and the number of completions. That world is fading. Employees now have access to commercial-grade learning inside tools like ChatGPT and Gemini, and leaders expect proof that learning actually shifts performance, culture and results. Lori Niles-Hofmann thinks this is the reckoning the profession has needed for years. L...

There is a demographic shift hiding in plain sight. In a few short years, the United States will have more people over 60 than children under 18. For Leanne Clark-Shirley, that statistic is not a curiosity for actuaries. It is “the mega trend of our moment” and a direct test of how leaders think about work, culture and contribution. Leanne is the President and CEO of the American Society on Aging,...

Purpose has become the corporate word of the decade, yet in many organizations it behaves more like a slogan than a strategy. In this Leadership NOW conversation, I sit down with Ron Tite, author of "The Purpose of Purpose," to explore what changes when leaders treat purpose as a true engine of growth rather than a glossy story for the website. We dig into the tension between what organizations cl...

Dr. Megan Gerhardt joins Leadership NOW to unpack Gentelligence, her research-driven approach to leading an intergenerational workforce. We talk about why the narrative around generations has been so negative and how chronocentrism quietly convinces each age group that its way is the only right way to work. Megan explains how Gentelligence reframes age differences as a form of intelligence rather...

Shakeel Bharmal lays out a practical playbook for relevance and performance. Begin with the customer’s customer to escape your own lens and create value that sticks. Coach as your default leadership stance—“Leadership is 80% about being a coach.” Make strategy a conversation that welcomes challenge and builds a stronger team, not just a document—“The real opportunity is digging into the genius in...

James Root of Bain & Company unpacks "The Archetype Effect"—six distinct motivations that show up across roles, industries, and countries—and why a one-path ladder misses most of the value. We explore how to design work around what people actually care about, not what old systems assume. We get practical: keep the ladder for Strivers while building credible paths for Artisans, Explorers, Givers, a...

Victoria Tomlinson, chief executive of Next-Up, FRSA, BBC Expert Woman, bestselling author, TEDx and international speaker, explains how to value and invest in 50+ talent before and after retirement. We explore the Three R’s—recruitment, retention, redundancy by age—succession done properly, tech confidence vs. capability, and intergenerational teams. Victoria’s track record spans EY’s leadership...

David Liddle argues that legacy grievance and disciplinary procedures corrode trust, suppress performance, and institutionalize fear. In this conversation, the TCM Group and People and Culture Association founder outlines a practical reset: retire retributive processes in favour of an integrated resolution framework, build genuinely predictive People and Culture capability, and own the AI agenda w...

What does it take to go from “nice-to-have” to non-negotiable? In this episode of Leadership NOW, Dan Pontefract sits down with Christa Haberstock—founder of See Agency and Bookable Speakers, and author of Become a Bookable Speaker. Together, they unpack what it means to lead with an “obvious advantage”—the kind of value that gets you rebooked, respected, and remembered. From her early days sellin...

Maria Franzoni has booked Neil Armstrong and Liza Minnelli—and mentored hundreds of speakers in between. In this episode of Leadership NOW with Dan Pontefract, she explains what separates the truly bookable speaker from the rest, and how those same principles apply to leadership, business, and long-term impact. We explore how speaker bureaus are evolving in an AI-enabled world, what event organize...

What do ultra-marathons, workplace distractions, and failed goals have in common? Mandy Gill. In this candid episode of Leadership NOW with Dan Pontefract, Mandy shares her journey—from overcoming anorexia to guiding leaders through resilience and workplace wellness. Her book "Reset with Resilience" is a blueprint for bouncing forward through setbacks. We explore her signature “catch it, check it,...

When companies go through a merger or acquisition, most leaders obsess over financials and spreadsheets. But according to Jennifer Fondrevay—founder of Day1 Ready and author of Now What?—the real failure happens when leadership ignores people. In this episode of Leadership NOW, we explore what really drives post-acquisition chaos, the arrogance of deal-making, and why culture buddies and pre-morte...

Maureen Wiley Clough, seasoned technology leader and host of the podcast It Gets Late Early, joins Dan Pontefract on Leadership NOW to discuss the overlooked yet costly issue of ageism in today’s workplaces. Clough highlights why age diversity isn’t simply an ethical responsibility but a strategic advantage. She dismantles harmful myths about older employees’ technological capability, cost, and ad...

Gary Officer, President and CEO of CWI Labs, joins Dan Pontefract on Leadership NOW to discuss why organizations repeatedly overlook older workers—and why it's strategically and socially damaging. Officer explains how ageism impacts organizational productivity, innovation, and culture. He debunks common myths around older employees' technological skills, health care costs, and salary expectations,...

In this insightful episode of Leadership NOW, Dan sits down with entrepreneur and acclaimed author Faisal Hoque to discuss the transformative power—and hidden perils—of artificial intelligence. Drawing from his latest book, "TRANSCEND: Unlocking Humanity in the Age of AI," Faisal explores why the greatest leadership challenge today is balancing AI’s vast potential with human judgment, ethics, and...

Rose Fass, founder of Fass Forward Consulting Group and former CTO at Xerox, joins Dan Pontefract on Leadership NOW to discuss why organizations repeatedly overlook the crucial layer of middle management. Rose reveals the critical role of the "messy middle" in translating strategy into execution and why senior leaders must meaningfully engage rather than ignore these vital managers. She explains h...

Rigid leadership is failing us—especially now. On this episode of Leadership NOW, Dan Pontefract speaks with bestselling author and leadership expert Kevin Eikenberry about his latest book, "Flexible Leadership: Navigate Uncertainty and Lead with Confidence." Eikenberry argues persuasively that leaders trapped in habitual thinking or overly reliant on personality labels miss opportunities to adapt...

In this episode of Leadership NOW, we delve into the critical issue of knowledge loss within organizations. When seasoned employees retire or depart, they often take invaluable tacit knowledge with them—expertise that isn't documented in manuals or training materials.​ Join us as we explore the insights of Dr. Richard Clark, Professor Emeritus at the University of Southern California, who has dedi...

Learning and Development (L&D) teams are at a crossroads. Too many still operate as order takers, delivering training on request without questioning whether it’s the right solution. Dr. Keith Keating, Chief Learning and Development Officer at BDO Canada and author of "The Trusted Learning Advisor," believes this outdated mindset limits impact and credibility. In this episode of Leadership NOW with...