The Leadership Project Podcast

When tension spikes, leaders don’t rise to the occasion; they fall to their default. Today we dig into those defaults with Bill Benjamin , co-author of The Last 8%, and unpack why smart, well-intentioned people either blow up or go quiet when it matters most—and how to do better without losing your edge. We start by naming the two patterns that quietly define culture under pressure: the messmaker...

A new year doesn’t need a louder pep talk; it needs a clearer compass. We start 2026 by trading resolutions for direction and building a plan around identity, not intensity. Through honest reflection on 2025—what made us proud and what quietly drained us—we sketch a practical framework to design a year you’ll be proud to live, not just survive. We walk through four anchors that hold everything in...

Forget the “new year, new you” slogans. We trade hype for honesty and design a year that actually fits your values and energy. We start by reframing 2025 with a pride audit: the tough moments you handled with more grace, the people you helped, and the places you chose integrity over convenience. That grounding matters because leaders often spot gaps faster than growth, and without pride, we keep c...

Audacity isn’t about being wild; it’s about taking bold risks that are worth it for the season you’re in. We sit down with three‑time Emmy Award‑winning sports broadcaster and author Anne‑Marie Anderson to unpack how leaders can move from second‑guessing to decisive action without ignoring reality. Anne‑Marie shares the simple test she uses to separate worth‑it risks from reckless moves, and why t...

Strategy isn’t supposed to live in a slide deck. It should breathe in daily choices, team rituals, and the way people talk about their work. We sit down with Hans Lagerweij , author of The Why Whisperer, to unpack why 95 percent of employees can’t state their company’s strategy—and what leaders can do to fix it without adding more meetings or more slides. Hans introduces the Six C’s of execution—c...

Leadership lives in the moments people spend with you—every check-in, every decision explained, every hard conversation you choose to have. To celebrate 300 episodes, we pull together the clearest patterns from hundreds of leaders, psychologists, authors, and operators and turn them into practical moves you can use tomorrow. We start with meaning. People don’t just want a job; they want to know wh...

What kind of leader are you becoming: one who earns trust or one who enforces compliance? We take a clear-eyed look at leadership through four lenses—service, courage, resilience, and inclusion—drawing on highlights from Steve Fortunato, Jim Fielding, Kijuan Amey, and Stephanie Chung to turn big ideas into practical actions you can use this week. Steve’s insights on service and storytelling show w...

What if the most powerful thing you did as a leader was to stop talking? Stephanie Chung —trailblazing aviation executive and author of Ally Leadership—joins us to show how silence, better questions, and intentional design turn diversity into decisions people own. We start with the hard truth: diverse teams win, but only when every voice is heard. Stephanie shares how she navigated a male-dominate...

What would you do if you woke up and the world was dark? Kijuan Amey , an Air Force in‑flight refueling specialist with a promising path to the cockpit, opened his eyes after a crash to find he’d lost his sight. The story that follows isn’t about platitudes—it’s about rebuilding a life through faith, gratitude, and the unglamorous work of learning every step again. We dig into the pivotal shift fr...

Feeling the pressure to have all the answers? You’re not alone. Mick Spiers sits down with Jim Fielding —former senior executive at Disney, Fox, and DreamWorks, and author of All Pride No Ego —to explore why modern leadership rewards curiosity over certainty. Together, they unpack how to build teams that think bravely, speak freely, and perform under pressure. Jim takes us inside his pandemic pivo...

What if the fastest way to unlock performance isn’t to lead louder, but to host better? We sit down with best-selling author Steve Fortunato to rethink leadership through the lens of hospitality—not the restaurant kind, the human kind. Steve reveals why so much “look at me” leadership creates a vicious cycle of entitlement, and how the host mindset flips the script to “look at you,” building trust...

What if the hardest leadership skills are the most human ones? We pull together a month of conversations and share a playbook for leading with presence, purpose, and care—so people don’t just survive at work, they come alive. From micro moments that create mattering, to authentic leadership that fits like your own skin, to change communication that removes uncertainty, to feedback that is firm and...

What if the toughest conversation on your calendar is the very thing that unlocks respect, growth, and retention? We sit down with leadership expert and best-selling author Jeff Hancher to demystify feedback and turn a dreaded chore into a repeatable system for building high-trust, high-performance teams. Jeff shares a clear framework for setting expectations and choosing the right feedback style...

Change hits like a wave, and most teams feel it first as fear. We sat down with M&A veteran John Martinka to unpack how to turn that fear into focus when ownership or leadership shifts. Our conversation gets practical fast: reframing uncertainty, rewarding continuity, and communicating with a steady cadence even when legal guardrails limit what you can say. We walk through the three‑legged sto...

What if leadership isn’t about pushing harder on performance, but about showing up with presence that energizes people and elevates outcomes? We sit down with Dr. Matt Poepsel —psychologist, Boston College professor, host of Lead the People, and author of Expand the Circle—to rewire how we think about leading in a world of AI disruption, remote ambiguity, and rising burnout. Matt shares how he mov...

What if the key to motivation and well-being isn’t finding your purpose, but first believing you’re worthy of having one? Zach Mercurio returns to The Leadership Project with a powerful insight: “It is almost impossible for anything to matter to someone who doesn’t first believe that they matter.” He explains why many self-help books and engagement programs fall short — because they overlook the h...

What if your culture is decided not by a manifesto, but by the conversation your frontline supervisor has at 9:12 a.m.? This solo deep dive distills September’s standout lessons into a practical playbook you can use today—clear prompts, coaching moves, and values-in-action routines that turn intent into impact. We unpack five anchors. First, trust offered early and often is an accelerator: set a c...

Have you ever noticed your team hesitating before sharing bad news? That pause often reveals the power distance leaders unintentionally create. In this conversation with Phillip B. Wilson , author of The Approachability Playbook and The Leadershift Playbook, we explore how unapproachable leadership sabotages effectiveness and silences truth. Phil explains how our brains default to the “villain ass...

In this episode of The Leadership Project, host Mick welcomes Tamara Jackson, founder of Beacon Ship and the Beacon Show. They delve into how belief, resilience, and gratitude translate into everyday leadership, creating meaningful impact, and the integration of faith into the workplace.  Tamara shares her journey from a successful corporate career to entrepreneurship, inspired by a personal trage...

What does it mean to truly thrive as a leader? Rand Selig , veteran investment banker and founder of Selig Capital Group, shares how he left Wall Street to design a firm—and a life—built on intention. By limiting his clients to five at a time, he created space to be present with family, serve his community, and still build an award-winning company. Rand highlights the difference between management...

What if the most powerful leadership skill isn’t about what you say, but how deeply you listen? Julian Treasure , five-time TED speaker and author of Sound Affects, returns to The Leadership Project with a bold warning: the world’s listening is fading, and the consequences are enormous. Miscommunication costs organizations trillions, yet only 8% of employees believe their leaders are good listener...

Think about the best leader you’ve ever had – someone who trusted you, empowered your growth, and celebrated your successes. Now contrast that with the worst leader – the micromanager who left lasting scars. This gap defines William Davis ’ leadership philosophy, shaped by nearly four decades in corporate America. He reminds us that “leadership is deceptively simple, but simple doesn’t mean easy.”...

What if the mark of extraordinary leadership isn't found in having all the answers, but in asking the right questions? This eye-opening episode distills powerful insights from recent conversations with leadership experts Gary Cohen, Scott Burgmeyer, and Joe Davis —revealing a leadership framework built on curiosity, development, and generosity. Gary Cohen 's journey from founding a compa...

Leadership transformed through the power of giving – this is the core of our conversation with Joe Davis , former head of North America for Boston Consulting Group and author of The Generous Leader. With 37 years of leadership experience, Davis challenges the old command-and-control model and shows how generosity unlocks greater outcomes. As he puts it, "Leadership isn't about yourself,...

What if leadership isn’t just about driving results today, but building tomorrow’s leaders? Scott Burgmeye r, co-founder of the BecomeMore Group, introduces a simple equation: Performance = Potential – Interference. Instead of adding more strategies or tools, great leaders create breakthroughs by removing barriers — policies, processes, or even self-doubt — unlocking exponential growth. He emphasi...