The Leadership Podcast

Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram are the Co-Founders of GiANT, a leadership development program that helps build leaders into Sherpas. Jeremie and Steve are also the co-authors of the book The 100x Leader, a #1 Best Seller on Amazon. They join the show to talk with Jim and Jan about how leaders can become someone worth following, what leadership programs today get completely wrong, and why intent...

Barry Siff, CEO at USA Team Handball and former President of UA Triathlon, has much to share about leadership from the world of sport, business, and nonprofits. Barry talks about how he became a Senior VP at 25, retired at the age of 42, and received both a BS and Masters without graduating high school. He also discusses what it takes for people to dream big, and how to see challenges as opportuni...

Caroline "Blaze" Jensen dreamt of being a jet fighter at a time when women weren't allowed to fly. Luckily, thanks to mentors and others who paved the way, she was able to live out her dream as an Air Force Thunderbird pilot. "Blaze" talks about her accomplishment of being the first mom to become a Thunderbird pilot, what her experience as a Legislative Aide for the Senate taught her, and what les...

Brigadier General Cindy R. Jebb, 14th Dean of the Academic Board at U.S. Military Academy, West Point, joins the show this week. Cindy is the first woman to hold the prestigious position, and she graduated from the Military Academy in 1982. She has served at the National Security Agency, and has authored and co-authored three books. Cindy provides a masterclass in leadership this week, including w...

When you are working in a highly regulated and restricted environment, it may be more challenging to come up with creative solutions, make decisions and work within a culture that feels flexible. However, this week, Jim and Jan discuss the unique leadership challenges in the public sector, and how to still thrive. Jim and Jan answer a few listener questions and concerns regarding problems that are...

Safi Bahcall is a second-generation physicist and biotech entrepreneur. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard, and has a PhD in physics from Stanford. Safi also co-founded a biotech company developing new drugs for cancer, and served as CEO for 13 years. He joins the show to talk about how leaders can implement the ideas in his book Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure...

Rich Karlgaard is the publisher of Forbes magazine and author of Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement, along with four acclaimed previous books. Rich talks about his own experience as a late bloomer, why our society is so focused on early achievement, and the misconceptions of early success when it comes to neuroscience. He also discusses the harm of agis...

Liz Fosslien is the co-author and illustrator of No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotion at Work. She joins the show to talk about why embracing emotions at work doesn't always mean having emotional conversations. She shares what we are missing to bring a sense of safety and commitment to the workplace. Liz also talks about her work at Humu, an organization that builds behavioral c...

Former NFL player, performer, and author - Bo Eason - discusses the one-man play he wrote and performed, Runt of the Litter; and his new book, There's No Plan B for Your A-Game. Bo started his career as a top pick for the Houston Oilers and continued on with the San Francisco 49ers. He discusses how to stay focused despite obstacles and setbacks, the difference between dreams and fantasies, and wh...

Whether it's a team of 10 or 10,000, office politics matter. Jim and Jan talk about what office politics really is, how it's changed over the years, and how to build a foundation for relationships that work for you, not against you. They also discuss why not all gossip (and humor) is bad, the importance of playing to your strengths, and adhering to ethical judgement. ~~~~~ ~~~~~ The Leadership Pod...

Kim Cameron focuses his research on virtuousness in organizations (aka culture) and the relationship to performance. Kim talks about what exactly virtuous leadership is, the difference between positivity and virtue, the competing values framework, and why recognizing achievement is so important… and elusive. Kim also shares practical ways leaders can begin to implement the process in their own cul...

Ori Brafman, multiple New York Times bestselling author, co-founder of the Fully Charged Institute, Distinguished Teaching Fellow and UC Berkeley and co-founder of Vegan.org, joins the show and talks about his latest book, Radical Inclusion. He examines the latest changes in the landscape of leadership, and explains the plasticity of thinking when it comes to the writing process, and why decentral...

Horst Schulze is Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Capella Hotel Group, and Co-founder & Former COO of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, and author of EXCELLENCE WINS: A No-Nonsense Guide to Becoming the Best in a World of Compromise. From age 14, his visionary and disruptive principles have reshaped the concepts of excellence, service, and competitive advantage, transcending hospitality and acro...

Lynda Jackson is a world renowned speaking coach, and has had a hand in transforming the speaking ability of Prime Ministers, Actors and Executives. Lynda says leaders need to communicate more effectively, and shares examples of clients overcoming their fear of public speaking, and the importance of connecting with the audience. She also discusses how her clients get over anxiety, what makes a tal...

This week, Jim and Jan talk about new ideas, perspectives, and thoughts as we all strive to live a life of meaning. To that end, The Leadership Podcast is proud to announce a new initiative with thoughtLEADERS to provide very short podcasts called "chalk talks." They're a "bitesize" hacks on a common (but challenging) leadership issues. You can only access the Chalk Talks by subscribing to our mai...

Dr. Robert Cialdini, author of the New York Times Bestseller, Influence and Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade, talks the science of influence. Dr. Cialdini, or the "Godfather of Influence, has earned an international reputation as an expert in the field of persuasion, compliance, and negotiation. He discusses how small changes can yield big results. Key Takeaways [3:10] Dr...

Adm. Michael Rogers, Retired Four Star Admiral and Former Director of the National Security Agency and Commander of the U.S. Cyber Command discusses risk and reward, and the difference in both. THe Admiral also discusses accountability, the things that concern him regarding ethics in the new world of AI, and one of the best lessons he ever learned. Key Takeaways [1:20] Mike Rogers retired from the...

Abigail Manning is an awareness creator on authentic health. She shares her personal story of freeing herself from abuse, and how we may recognize someone that may be suffering from abuse. She also discusses the important distinction between reacting and responding, why it's crucial to have boundaries, and the components of trust that help people thrive. Key Takeaways [4:05] Abigail broke free fro...

Jacob Morgan, Futurist and Best-Selling Author joins The Leadership Podcast to discuss the future of work in the context of leadership and the employee experience. Jacob talks about interviewing 120 CEO's and 11,000 employees about the future of leadership and what will be required of the leader in 2023. He also shares how he sees the role of AI and technology impacting what is right around the co...

Jim and Jan tackle a topic that comes up quite a bit in leadership - ego. They discuss their definition of ego, and how it affects perception and ability to be a leader. Also discussed is the balance of confidence and humility, and how developing a feedback loop keeps our ego in check. Key Takeaways [4:01] The most authentic leaders seem to have a very accurate understanding of who they are and ho...

Michèle Flournoy is the former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, the seventh-ranking official in the U.S. Department of Defense, and in that role served as a principal advisor to U.S. Secretaries of Defense Robert Gates and Leon Panetta from February 2009 to February 2012. Shew is currently the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of WestExec Advisors. On the show, Michèle discusses speaking truth...

Tanya Staples is the VP of Product for Learning Content at Linkedin Learning, and shares what the workforce of the future may look like, the importance of creating a common knowledge base, and best practices for developing a culture of collaborative learning. Key Takeaways [5:01] Tanya witnessed one of her mentors saying the term "ship it" as a way to empower people and motivate them to make their...

Greg Smith is a Public Speaking Coach, Business Collaboration Catalyst, and Chairman of the Board at Compco Industries. He talks with Jim and Jan today about how being the mentee of John Maxwell and Tony Robbins changed his life. He also shares what he learned while writing Speak Like a Pro Without Looking Like a Jack@$$, and what he's learned from being the current license holder for TEDx Youngst...

Alden Mills, author of Unstoppable Teams and Be Unstoppable, a three time Navy SEAL platoon commander,, and a INC. 500 entrepreneur, shares why starting a company may be even harder than SEAL training, why corporate cultures are often flawed, and how the best leaders may fail more times than they succeed. Key Takeaways [3:12] Alden is the inventor of Perfect Pushup. While some may think that was h...

Kymberlee Weil, Strategic Samurai, and Mark Sylvester join the show to discuss the world of High-Stakes, Short-Form talks. They discuss what really makes an idea worth spreading, the power of a story, and what they have learned running High-Stakes, Short-Form speaking events in Santa Barbara. They give advice to people who may want to give a High-Stakes, Short-Form talk, share the qualities of the...