Leading Today with Dr. Lisa Bagby

When we think about toxic leadership, we often picture someone who yells, intimidates, or openly bullies people. Those leaders certainly exist. But today, I want to challenge you with a different question….

Most managers think they’re leading. They’re not. If your team can’t function without you, you’re probably managing tasks, not leading people. Here’s the difference that changes careers…

Many people are feeling exhausted, disconnected, and uncertain, but why? In this episode of Leading Today , Dr. Lisa Bagby explores the hidden human cost of poor leadership, chronic chaos, and declining trust, and what each of us can do to rebuild connection, hope, and community.

Many leaders believe communication happened simply because they spoke, sent the email, or held the meeting, but leadership communication failure often begins when teams hear the message without truly understanding it, connecting to it, or taking action from it. In this episode of Leading Today, Dr. Lisa Bagby explores why leaders struggle to communicate effectively, how emotional intelligence impa...

In this episode, Dr. Lisa Bagby explores how authenticity and leadership maturity work together to build trust, clarity, and stronger team relationships. You’ll hear practical insight on how leaders can communicate with honesty, emotional awareness, and intention in ways that support both people and performance. If you want a deeper understanding of authentic leadership in workplaces, this convers...

Are you leading effectively or unintentionally creating invisible barriers? This episode is your wake-up call. In this episode, I explore how leadership blind spots, a lack of self-awareness and self-reflection can hinder teams and their performance. Grounded in emotional intelligence and sharing leadership research, tips and practices, this episode challenges leaders to look within, move beyond m...

In this episode of Leading Today, Dr. Lisa Bagby takes listeners inside one of her earliest and most defining leadership experiences — a season shaped by two very different leaders in her first management job at a large retail organization. Together, their contrasting styles became a living masterclass in what leadership that limits and leadership that lifts truly look like. She explores how those...

What is Strategic Space? As a leader do you know how to use this important skill with your team? High-performing leaders often believe constant hustle is the only path to results; but what if the real strategic advantage is the space you protect? In this episode of Leading Today, Dr. Lisa Bagby shares a pivotal lesson from her USC doctoral journey about stepping away from nonstop research and writ...

P & D should not be a record of the year. It should be a reflection of the leadership you practiced and the tool to architect the change for the coming year. #performancedevevelopment #annualperformance #leadership

What happens when self-awareness quietly leaves the room… but confidence stays? In this episode, we explore how good intentions can morph into subtle overreach, how “helping” can become hijacking, and how one person’s blind spot can destabilize an entire team. If emotional intelligence is the foundation of strong leadership, what does it cost when self-reflection disappears? For those interested i...

A powerful insight from my daughter sparked this episode: “Isolation is a bully tactic.” In this conversation, I unpack the subtle but damaging difference between isolation and exclusion—and why both undermine trust, engagement, and performance inside teams. More importantly, I challenge leaders to examine how their everyday behaviors may be shaping a culture of silence rather than belonging. Draw...

Leaders are surrounded by dashboards, metrics, and analytics, yet still face challenges with turnover, morale, and innovation. This conversation unpacks how emotional intelligence strengthens business intelligence by helping leaders ask better questions, interpret data in context, and create environments where people perform at their best.

Conflict is inevitable. Chaos is optional. Emotionally intelligent leaders don’t avoid conflict they manage it responsibly, in a way that builds trust even when outcomes are imperfect.

Bonus episode- Many leaders believe they are empathetic and compassionate. And often, they intend to be, however…

This episode honors Dr Martin Luther King Jr. It is a short lesson about my take on Dr. King’s leadership.

Today’s episode of ‘Leading Today’ is about one of the most underused, high-impact tools in a leader’s toolkit: the words, ‘I was wrong. I’m sorry” The element most leaders miss is an apology directed at their own team; done well, that single move can dramatically increase trust, psychological safety, and engagement on a team. An authentic apology is not a soft skill extra, it is a hard-edge leade...

Today’s episode is my personal story and experience as a young college student observing and experiencing work life early on, and what a good leader is NOT!

Leading Today is about leading with emotional intelligence. This intro provides insight to what you can expect in this podcast about leaders and leadership and those who are just beginning their leadership journey.