The Leadership Podcast

Greg McKeown, author of the New York Times Bestseller "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less" and founder of McKeown Inc, joins Jim and Jan on a discussion on essentialism, priorities, and the belief that doing less is actually doing more. Greg explains what essentialism is, how we can open up the conversation in our own lives and find out what our priorities should be as a daily disciplin...

Joe Amplo, head coach of Marquette University's Men's Lacrosse, is a leader who believes in embracing vulnerability, inclusiveness and challenges. He shares with Jim and Jan how he made the leap from assistant coach to first head men's lacrosse coach at Marquette, and overcame the fears of not knowing how his own personal leadership would be received. He talks about the importance of culture, empo...

Casey McEuin, President and Executive Director of Project RELO, is dedicated to improve the lives of others with a family first mentality. He talks with Jim and Jan on what makes Project RELO an unorthodox and transformational organization for effecting change in both veterans and corporate executives. He shares how they are helping rewrite the way companies value, hire and place veterans. Key Tak...

William Deresiewicz, award winning essayist, critic, and the writer of Excellent Sheep, joins Jim and Jan and shares his perspective on the need for solitude in the interconnected age, social and emotional learning, and which interpersonal skills are crucial to moving forward in the future. Key Takeaways [4:33] In order to be a real leader, you have to be able to think and create space around the...

Brian Caulfield is one of the most accomplished tech founders and venture capitalists in all of Ireland. A serial entrepreneur turned VC, he is Managing Partner at Draper Esprit, the leading European venture capital firm. Brian gives back to his community by acting as a private investor/advisor to a number of early stage technology companies. He talks with Jim and Jan about the culture of leadersh...

Alicia Gonzalez, Chicago Run Founding Executive Director, understands the importance of working with community and a team to accomplish a vision. Alicia speaks with Jim and Jan about her commitment to providing access to health and fitness for communities of all economic status. She also discusses how she utilizes running as an outlet for trauma, youth leadership development, and team building. Sh...

Craig Ross has a passion for finding new and effective ways a team can work together so everyone is rewarded with accomplishment and a sense of success. As the CEO of Verus Global, he speaks with Jim and Jan about the processes and tools that leaders lack most, and how to establish a shared reality within the culture of an organization. Key Takeaways [4:07] One of the biggest challenges that leade...

Layne Rigney, the President of Osprey, speaks about his focus on alignment and core values within the company and his passion for working with transitioning veterans. As a global company, Layne notes the shift he's seeing in consumer trends and brand loyalty. Listen in to learn from Layne's decisions in the present day, and when he was the President of CamelBak. Key Takeaways [2:23] In his new rol...

Martin O'Neill, is the Senior Executive for Engine Technology at GE Transportation. Martin joins Jim and Jan in a discussion about innovation and leadership, and how they're connected and intertwined. Listen in to learn more about how Martin balances the divergence of structure and organization with experimentation and expansion. Key Takeaways [6:12] When you are working with large scale industria...

Zack Baddorf, award-winning journalist and filmmaker, joins The Leadership Podcast to discuss what he has learned while documenting what it is to be human in more than 30 countries, including Syria, Iraq, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the West Bank, and Kashmir, as well as rebel-held territory in Sri Lanka and Burma. Zack has been published by the New York Times, Washington Post, BBC, Reuters, C...

Chris Warner guided the first reality show on Everest and safely led his team to the summit of K2, the world's most deadly mountain. He's also an author, filmmaker, and Chairman of Earth Treks. In this episode, Chris shares his perspective on psychological safety, and how that support is needed for teams to reach their summits. Key Takeaways [3:12] When leaders meet the six psychological needs of...

Dede Devine, Native American Connections President and CEO, talks with Jim and Jan about her organization's mission as a sustainable resource for recovery, housing, employment, wellness, and traditional healing for the Native American people of Phoenix. Key Takeaways [1:52] Dede outlines the mission of Native American Connections (NAC) as a grass-roots-style nonprofit, serving Native American indi...

Evan Hafer is the CEO and Founder of Black Rifle Coffee Company, with annual growth of over 750%, and a goal to hire 10,000 veterans. Listen to Evan's ideas on setting priorities, solving business problems, and getting to 'mission accomplished,' in this conversation with Jim and Jan. Key Takeaways [3:38] As Evan developed in business, he put together structures that helped him get to 'mission acco...

Laura Love, is the Founder and Chief Cultural Officer of GroundFloor Media, Inc., which has been recognized four times by OUTSIDE magazine as one of the top five Best Places to Work in America (including twice at No. 1). Laura joins Jim and Jan in a discussion about building a startup around a vision of shared values and culture, and shares leadership basics learned over the years that have given...

Chris Laping, Author, Co-Founder and CEO at People Before Things, LLC, joins Jan and Jim in a discussion about change — why it seems so straightforward but fails so often. The key to change is a culture of empowerment and respect. Chris shares the genesis of the philosophy of People Before Things and how it grew from his leadership roles in IT. His curiosity led him to explore the conditions that...

Sandee Kastrul, President and Cofounder of i.c.stars, had an epiphany while meeting with a former student. It wasn't enough to just teach knowledge, she found it's vital to build avenues of opportunity. She co-founded i.c.stars to develop business, service, and civic leaders in the inner city to transform a community. Sandee explains that change only comes when hope and ambition are present, so sh...

Louis Efron is the author of Purpose Meets Execution: How Winning Organizations Accelerate Engagement and Drive Profits, and How to Find a Job, Career and Life You Love, and also a contributing writer for Forbes and Huffington Post. The discussion starts with Louis's journey through theater, the corporate world, and how he came to see big disconnects between personal purpose and corporate purpose....

Daniel H. Pink, the #1 bestselling author of Drive and To Sell Is Human, unlocks the scientific secrets to good timing to help you flourish at work, at school, and at home. Everyone knows that timing is everything. But we don't know much about timing itself. Our lives as leaders are a never-ending stream of "when" decisions: when to start a business, when to hire people, when to deal with sunk cos...

Dr. Jacquelyn Paykel, Director of Whole Health System at the Veterans' Hospital and Clinics in Tampa, Florida, and Director of the THRIVE Program, reveals her grit in bringing ancient philosophies of care to meet the whole needs of veteran patients. Key Takeaways [5:11] Dr. Jacquelyn Paykel made herself over with introspection and self-compassion with four prongs: understanding herself and having...

Dr. Sudip Bose, one of the world's leading physicians, and an entrepreneur, philanthropist, Bronze Star recipient and CNN Hero, shares what he learned in the emergency room and on the battlefield on how to inspire others to find their grit and lead. Key Takeaways [9:47] In the military, Sudip learned to rise to challenges. Work out, strengthen your mind, and keep your principles. You are responsib...

Brent Sopel, 2010 Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago Blackhawks, reveals how loyalty, and showing vulnerability inspired his teammates to better their game. He says that's what needed for team versus individual success. Key Takeaways [8:37] Brent was on a hockey team at age five. He learned team loyalty then. You win as a team, or you don't win. Every time he put the jersey on he was going to g...

Matthew "Griff" Griffin, CEO of Combat Flip Flops, shares his vision to use business... to end war. They make cool stuff in dangerous places. Griff believes lives are rarely lost to error, but opportunities are often lost. He says leaders need to refine their skills to keep their 'voluntary' team showing up; and performing... every day. Key Takeaways [3:28] Griff lives by a quote from his Pararesc...

Robert Glazer, founder and Managing Director of Acceleration Partners, and is focused on personal motivation, and coaching people to go well beyond what they have done before. Key Takeaways [5:52] Employees come into a company, they leave, and they advocate for the company. Citing Lee Caraher's The Boomerang Principle, Bob notes that his companies maintain partnerships with alumni. [13:16] There m...

Mike Pierce, better known as Antarctic Mike, connects the drivers and principles of Antarctic expedition history stories to the real world of finding, engaging and keeping great people in today's business world. Mike reveals what drives him to take on ridiculously difficult goals. His advice: Don't make assumptions about what others will find challenging. Understand what their prize is. Everyone,...

Scott Wintrip, author of High Velocity Hiring, discusses a range of hiring and cultural issues around creating a high performance team. He explains that instead of hiring when an opening occurs, leaders should know their ideal candidate profile, and interview ideal candidates continually. This builds relationships and keeps high potentials in a hiring inventory pipeline, and ready for a position w...