The Leadership Foundry Podcast

Leaders and their organizations face various challenges as we enter the last few months of 2024. Hiring freezes and year-end goals coupled with an election year have turned the pressure up causing many leaders to enter "stress behaviors". To help us reset and position for a new year, co-hosts Brandon Smith and Randy Hain share their tips for navigating through uncertainty. Listen for insights on s...

We were honored to have Retired Lieutenant General, Ken Keen, as he joined host, Brandon Smith on a recent edition of The Leadership Foundry Podcast. During the conversation, Ken highlights what it means to be a leader in the Armed Forces, the importance of earning your title and the responsibility that accompanies it, which includes developing and leading others. He also highlights the newly laun...

As a leader, we have both the opportunity and the obligation to develop others within our organizations. But as deadlines loom and the days grow shorter, one-on-ones are often moved to the backburner or abandoned altogether, and time for personal reflection along with it. This is a costly mistake as co-hosts, Brandon Smith and Randy Hain, highlight on today's episode as they take a deep dive into...

We're in a season of uncertainty. How do we answer our team's pressing questions when we don't have the answers? Brandon Smith offers four steps for leading through uncertainty on today's podcast. Listen to the end where he shares three things all leaders can do to maintain control of the ship, even when sailing into the unknown.

How can leaders use their time, talent and treasures long after leaving the C-suite? To help us answer this question, Dave Stockert joins Brandon on this week's podcast episode to highlight the transition from CEO to board member along with the markers of a good board member and board chair. 

Anxiety levels are at an all-time high. Stress compounded by hybrid work environments, concerning health reports, and a weary world is something we can all relate to. Brandon sat down to talk with Licensed Counselor, Mazi Robinson, near the end of 2022, but both her insights and words of encouragement on how to flex our resiliency muscles are still very applicable today. She says: "The only thing...

Are you feeling the career itch? Whether you're ready to make a change, up for a new challenge within your current organization or if you're simply curious as to the available options, today's guest is here to help us navigate the four stages of a career transition. Author and certified career coach, Scott Doyne, joins host Brandon Smith to help us answer: "What do you want to try next?" 

The number one way to overcome fear? Do the thing you fear most! Cameron Richardson, Senior Vice President at Genuine Parts Company (NAPA) joined Brandon on Episode 15 of The Leadership Foundry Podcast. The two discussed self-awareness as a key to overcoming new leadership challenges. As a leader, self-awareness is your greatest ally. It helps you understand your strengths, acknowledge your challe...

Class is in session! Today, we're thrilled to have Atlanta Community Food Bank founder, Bill Bolling on the podcast. Bill gives us a master class on leadership beyond that of the nonprofit sector. He explains to achieve our goals, there are parts of the process we must decentralize and that requires trust. In his words, "The way to connect with individuals is to involve them in the work." Listen i...

For the first time in history, six different generations comprise the workforce. Today on the podcast, Randy and Brandon are joined by Dr. Tim Elmore. Tim is an expert in this space and offers practical ways leaders can engage with various generations, welcome their differences and practice reverse mentorship so all parties learn and grow.   

Patience at the right time can get the right result. Not everything should go through the "decision microwave"! Today on The Leadership Foundry Podcast, Brandon Smith and Randy Hain examine what causes our lack of time (which feeds impatience) and how we as leaders can be more mindful to slow down. As Randy states in the opening lines: Your goal as a leader should be to make patience your superpow...

Feelings of anxiety, loneliness and burnout are reaching record-high numbers among leaders and CEOs. According to Businessolver's 2024 State of Workplace Empathy report, 55% of CEOs have experienced a mental health issue. This is up 24 points from previous reports. On today's Leadership Foundry Podcast, Rob Volpe returns to help us take a closer look at these numbers. We discuss the challenges lea...

We all have a desire to find meaningful and purposeful work. Leaders have both the opportunity and obligation to connect with their teams. Senior executives play an important role in how their people feel about their jobs. On today's show, Brandon and Randy discuss how leaders can increase engagement by asking the right questions and fostering psychological safety.   

During one of our first podcasts, Brandon Smith was joined by Papa John's Vice President of Enterprise Strategy and Transformation, Rob Pepper. Rob's conversation points highlight executive presence and influencing change, two topics we've been focused on in recent weeks. Take a listen to this re-release as Rob shares his knowledge on affecting change through influence, when EQ matters more than I...

As a leader, navigating change isn't always easy and for many, it feels like we've been navigating great change for the last several years. So today on The Leadership Foundry Podcast, we're revisiting our conversation with Leslie Nydick, The Conflict Strategist. Leslie shares how to navigate friction and foster discussion when issues arise in the workplace. 

A key trait of those leaders who best represent executive presence is their ability to be inspiring and courageous. As we continue our focus on how we "show up" as leaders, let's look back at our conversation with Tiffany Willis, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations with Starbucks. In this episode, Tiffany spoke with co-host Brandon Smith on resiliency and how to nurture courage within the...

Last week on the podcast, Leadership Foundry co-founder and podcast co-host, Brandon Smith, brought us back to basics, detailing the two key functions of all leaders and executives: drive focus and alignment. As a perfect follow-up, we're revisiting our episode on how to build and maintain executive presence. Fellow co-founder, Randy Hain, joins Brandon for this conversation. Listen in!     

We live in a messy, noisy world where everything is urgent all of the time. Today on the podcast, co-host Brandon Smith takes leaders back to basics as he reminds us of the two key actions all leaders should be doing right now: driving focus and alignment. 

"Is this person a narcissist... how can I tell?" This question has been posed to co-host, Brandon Smith, several times recently in his work with leaders. Today, Brandon breaks down the five signs you're working with a narcissist and shares survival tactics for navigating this type of office relationship. 

As we approach the July 4th holiday, we're honored to welcome back Retired Lieutenant General, Ken Keen, to the podcast. In today's discussion, he and Brandon highlight the newly launched Masters in Business for Veterans program at Emory University. Ken also breaks down the three components to leadership development and examines the difference between character and competence. 

Here at the Leadership Foundry, we're all about giving you tips and tools to help you run effective teams and accomplish goals. Today, we're revisiting our conversation with Holly Bellmund, President of GLC Minerals. Listen in as Holly shares two key ingredients for making a successful leadership transition. 

In this episode, co-host and Leadership Foundry co-founder, Brandon Smith, examines new data on what researchers call "invisible work." But doing things outside our job descriptions are those actions that most often get us noticed and promoted. Listen in as we discuss from both the junior and senior-level viewpoints. 

Accountability plays a big role when it comes to teamwork, ranging from tough conversations to achieving results. So today on the Leadership Foundry Podcast, we're examining the 3 C's of Accountability: Clarity, Communication and Candor.

Your messaging around culture is missing the mark. On today's new release of the Leadership Foundry Podcast, Brandon Smith challenges leaders to refocus on culture (the right way) with his three-year checkup protocol.

As the perfect follow-up to our episode last week on expressing gratitude with guest Chester Elton - we're revisiting our conversation with Andreas Widmer. In this episode, Andreas chats with Brandon and Randy on how doing good, from our employees to our customers, can lead to prosperity – both, monetarily and culturally in the workplace.