The Leadership Growth Podcast

Some of the greatest lessons we can learn in life come in the middle of the hardest adversity, says today’s guest, Angie Wiley. Angie is coach, keynote speaker, and founder of You Are Strong, an organization dedicated to helping high performers increase performance and maximize life potential. In today’s episode, she joins Daniel and Peter to discuss how leaders can grow through difficult circumst...

Most people–and most businesses–try to avoid uncertainty, says today’s guest, Cary Sparrow. “They want to create predictability and they want to manage risk out.” But in today’s world, uncertainty has become the houseguest that shows no signs of leaving–and that has deep implications for leaders who are trying to manage their careers. In this episode, Cary joins Daniel and Peter to talk about how...

Making decisions is more than just one aspect of leadership. It’s “the unit of analysis for leaders,” says Daniel. Leadership is “based upon how we make decisions, because leadership equates with decision-making rights.” No matter where you are in your leadership journey, making effective decisions can be the thing that separates you from leaders who are growing, developing, and becoming more infl...

Is imposter syndrome misunderstood–and can it actually be helpful to your career? Originally called a “phenomenon,” imposter syndrome is very common. At some point, everyone experiences that sensation of self-doubt–of wondering, “what if someone discovers that I don’t know what I’m doing?” But those sensations of self-doubt aren’t always bad–and in fact, they can be evidence of personal growth! In...

When it comes to leadership assessments, there’s never a “one-size-fits-all” approach, says Peter Stewart. “There are some key questions we need to think about before you begin the assessment process so that you are selecting the right method, you're selecting the right resources or formal assessments or whatever you're doing, to help get the results you want,” he says. In today’s episod...

In an ever-changing marketplace, career currency won’t be job titles or resumes, says Angela Finlay. “It’s the skills we bring to the table that will be the most critical piece” of career development and growth. Angela is a Chief Human Capital Strategist, Fractional and Interim Chief HR Officer with over 25 years leading talent strategy inside Fortune 150 enterprises, global organizations, and gro...

“If you’re just getting lemmings to vote for cliff diving,” says today’s guest, that may not be the best way to lead in the modern AI landscape. Julian Lighton is an executive coach with over 30 years experience advising, hiring, and developing leaders. He is the author of the new book, Navigating Your Next: Discover the Career You Want and the Path to Get There. In today’s episode, Julian joins D...

Lead is a verb, says today’s guest, John Zorbini. John is a successful executive coach, consultant, speaker, facilitator, and adjunct professor and long-time colleague of the Stewart Leadership team. For 30 years, John has held various leadership roles for three of Wisconsin's largest employers, spending 25 of those years in the Chief Human Resources Officer position. In today’s conversation,...

What happens when you stop trusting your gut and let AI do your thinking? Today’s guest says that’s when people start to lose themselves inside AI. “Instead of coming to a problem with your own brief or with your own kind of institutional knowledge, you're letting AI drive your own narrative for you and then just accepting that as fact,” says Elizabeth Rosenberg. Elizabeth is the Founder of b...

Everyone faces adversity. Today’s guest asks, “If something happens that derails your life, what is the initiative that you're willing to take to pave the road to make things possible?” After losing his sight in 2011, André van Hall learned first-hand what it meant to face adversity and reinvent himself. After a career in hospitality, he pivoted to become an author, speaker, and self-styled C...

From food delivery to dating, much of modern life is designed to help us eliminate friction. But today’s guest suggests that we may have eliminated too much friction. Ross Blankenship is an organizational psychologist, executive coach, and author who works with CEOs and senior leadership teams on the human side of leadership. In his forthcoming book, Friction: Uncover the Power of Leading Through...

By the time you read this sentence, the AI landscape has already changed, says Bala Muthiah, Director of Engineering for Lyft. “It’s like A Tale of Two Cities ,” he says, citing the tension between champions and skeptics. “There are dreamers, and we need them. And there is a realism when code goes to production.” In this conversation with Daniel and Peter, Bala shares his insights about how to bal...

Resilience isn't a personality trait, says today's guest, Dr. Marie-Hélène Pelletier. "It is a state” that runs from high to low on a continuum. Dr. Pelletier, also known as MH, is a leadership psychologist, executive coach, and senior leader with over twenty years of experience across the corporate, insurance, and governance sectors. Her award-winning book, The Resilience Plan , wa...

“Change fatigue is real,” says today’s guest, Tiffany Harvey. “And everyone really navigates change very differently.” Tiffany is a Gallup-certified CliftonStrengths® coach and client partner to Gallup. She led the CliftonStrengths program at Southwest Airlines for five years and now works as a Human Resources Manager at HOAM Ventures. In this episode, Tiffany talks to Daniel and Peter about what...

Between 45 and 50% of your daily actions are habitual, says today’s guest, Dr. Ron Dufresne. Dr. Dufresne is a Professor of Management and Director of the Leadership, Ethics and Organizational Sustainability Program at St. Joseph’s University. He focuses on leadership and ethics with a particular emphasis on the role of character in leadership. Daniel and Peter welcome Ron to discuss habits and th...

What if the same drive that built your career is quietly eroding your relationships at home? When leaders ignore how their behaviors at work are affecting their most important relationships, it leads to exhaustion and burnout, says Lisa Skeffington. “It’s that constant pushing through the whole time, and it’s depleting your physiology without you even realizing that it happens,” she says. Lisa is...

Whether it’s your first leadership role or one you’ve entered after decades of leading people, one thing is sure: your first 90 days in a new position can make or break your tenure. In today’s conversation, Daniel and Peter look at what leaders should and shouldn’t do during their first 90 days. “It’s not a standard checklist for everybody,” says Peter, “and not everybody’s going to come in and do...

When it comes to AI, just about everyone is experiencing some “fear of missing out” right now, says Melissa Reeve. “It’s not just executives. It’s not just your average individual. It’s even people who are writing the code.” Humans are “not equipped to absorb these changes so quickly,” she says. Melissa is the creator of the Hyperadaptive Model and author of Hyperadaptive: Rewiring the Enterprise...

Do you have 27 years of experience or one year repeated 27 times? Too many people find themselves stuck on repeat in their careers–doing the same thing over and over without new challenges or opportunities. While it’s true that everyone bears some responsibility for personal career development, organizations should be part of that process as well. In part two of their conversation about connecting...

What does it mean to be a “flawless” leader? And is “flawless” leadership even possible? Today’s guest believes it is. Christian “Boo” Boucousis is an author, keynote speaker, and CEO of Afterburner, an organization dedicated to building flawless leaders by applying principles and systems fighter pilots use to perform to their exacting standards. In this conversation with Daniel and Peter, Boo out...

Complicated. Difficult. Overwhelming. These are some of the most common words leaders use when facing talent development and succession planning. What positions are most critical, important, or essential? Who are the best candidates for development? And how can you connect it all to an overall strategy? In today’s episode, Daniel and Peter break it down into a three-step process designed to give o...

Moving into a leadership role involves a lot more than just updating your e-mail signature with your new title. It requires shifting your mindset from the things that made you a successful individual contributor to things that will make you a successful leader. In today’s episode of The Leadership Growth Podcast , Daniel Stewart and Peter Stewart take a deep dive into what makes a successful leade...

“AI might know more than you, but it doesn’t know better than you,” says Dr. Gena Hoxha in today’s episode. Gena is the Chief People Officer and Chief AI Officer at Ignitium, a provider of world-class Account-Based Marketing (ABM) programs for enterprise organizations. She holds a PhD in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University and seeks to help leaders pursue AI integration with foresight, not...

“It’s not about kind of handing away our decision-making rights,” says Dr. Reece Akhtar. “It’s about using AI as a tool–emphasis on a tool–to help us become smarter humans, not the other way around.” Dr. Akhtar is the CEO of Deeper Signals, an end-to-end Soft Skills Intelligence platform designed to help organizations make smarter and fairer talent decisions. He is a contributor to Harvard Busines...

When most people say they want to “be authentic,” what they really mean is they want to be comfortable, says Dr. Laura Sicola. But “comfort zones and authenticity have nothing to do with each other when it comes to real performance,” she says. Laura Sicola is a cognitive linguist, communication expert, speaker, and coach who helps leaders become master influencers. Her TEDx presentation, “Want to...