Coaching For Leaders

Neal Schore: The 25th Hour Neal Schore is the founder and CEO of 25th Hour Group, an executive coaching and leadership events firm. Previously, he served as the founder, president, and CEO of Triton Digital, a global technology, data, and services leader in the digital audio and podcast industry. He is the author of The 25th Hour: How to Thrive (And Gain Ridiculous Amounts of Time) By Getting Out of Your Own Way (Amazon, Bookshop)*. No productivity approach can negotiate with physics. How we manage time is really how we manage ourselves. In this conversation, Neal and I explore a key question to help us shift from ordinary to exceptional. Key Points Swirling shows up for all of us when we ruminate on an interaction in a way that’s not helpful. Most people don’t think to ask about others’ intent. The key question to shift our thinking: “What’s the intent?” Ordinary thinking goes with the flow. Exceptional thinking pauses and allows us to consider the intent behind the interaction. To free time each day, pause

Jia Jiang: Easy Discipline Jia Jiang is an award-winning speaker, entrepreneur, and the bestselling author of Rejection Proof. His TED Talk is among the top 1% most viewed of all time, and he has spoken to over 400,000 people worldwide. He is also the creator of Rejection Therapy, a platform designed to help people overcome fear and build resilience, and is the author of Easy Discipline: An Unconventional Way to Achieve Ambitious Things (Amazon, Bookshop)*. No pain, no gain. We’ve all heard that before – and it’s true that one way to achieve is through a lot of pain. Good news: there are other ways, too. In this conversation, Jia and I explore how to harness the ambition you already have through easy discipline. Key Points Pain tolerance is admired and celebrated. When greatness comes through pain, our society cheers it. When greatness comes through loving work, we are suspicious. Hard discipline and easy discipline both produce results, but easy discipline does so with more joy and sustainability. Ambitious

Chris Bailey: Intentional Chris Bailey is an author and lecturer who explores the science behind living a more productive and intentional life. He has written hundreds of articles on the subject and is the bestselling author of The Productivity Project, Hyperfocus, and How to Calm Your Mind. His newest book is Intentional: How to Finish What You Start (Amazon, Bookshop)*. Starting is often a lot easier than finishing. Our mindsets and our tactics can make a big difference in how far we really go. In this conversation, Chris and I discuss the best ways to finish what we begin. Key Points Procrastination is triggered by six characteristics of aversion: boring, unpleasant, frustrating, far off in the future, unstructured, and/or meaningless. The more we activate the logical centers in our brain, the less aversion we run into. Almost everything can be more fun if we put the right structure around it. Gamification, countdown timers, and artificial deadlines can drive our behaviors in substantial ways. Make goals

Ludmila Praslova: The Canary Code Ludmila Praslova is a Professor of Industrial-Organizational Psychology at Vanguard University of Southern California and regularly writes for Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Psychology Today, and Forbes. She’s the recipient of the 2025 Talent Award from Thinker50 and has been named a LinkedIn Top Voice. She is the author of The Canary Code: A Guide to Neurodiversity, Dignity, and Intersectional Belonging at Work (Amazon, Bookshop)*. We’ve all seen career paths that sound like this: analyst 1, analyst 2, senior analyst, lead analyst, manager of analysts, etc. Those paths to leadership work for some people, but they don’t work for others. In this conversation, Ludmila and I explore how to create leadership paths that work for everyone. Key Points Canaries were used in coal mines because they were more sensitive to early indicators of problems – in a way that helped everyone. The same is often true for neurodivergent leaders in organizations. The “ideal leader” is a myt

Joanna Stern: I Am Not a Robot Joanna Stern is an Emmy Award-winning technology journalist who was previously the personal technology columnist at The Wall Street Journal. For many years, she has been one of the most recognizable and entertaining voices in consumer tech, and she just recently launched her own media company and YouTube channel called New Things. Her new book is I Am Not a Robot: My Year Using AI to Do (Almost) Everything (Amazon, Bookshop)*. What if you decided to go to AI first for virtually everything in your life? Joanna Stern decided to do exactly that and captured it all in her recent book. In this episode, we explore how those implications are showing up for a lot of us in the workplace. Key Points Customer service functions are one of many places where organizations are already using AI to supplement or replace work that people used to do. Some aspects of AI work are preferred by both customers and employees. For others, having people in the loop is essential. AI may eliminate some job

Daniel Coyle: Flourish Daniel Coyle is the New York Times bestselling author of The Culture Code, which was named Best Business Book of the Year by Bloomberg, BookPal, and Business Insider. He has served as an advisor to many high-performing organizations, including the Navy SEALs, Microsoft, Google, and the Cleveland Guardians. His newest book is Flourish: The Art of Building Meaning, Joy, and Fulfillment (Amazon, Bookshop)*. When teams really thrive, it isn’t about luck or simply optimizing systems. Instead, it’s about intentionally creating spaces for connection, agency, and shared growth. In this conversation, Daniel and I discuss where to begin to help a team flourish. Key Points Life (and leadership) is treasure creation, not a treasure hunt. Flourishing environments encourage experimentation, agency, and even mistakes, allowing ownership and innovation to thrive. If leaders think like designers, using questions and constraints, they will more likely unlock people’s full potential. Simple acts such as

David Epstein: Inside the Box David Epstein is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Range and The Sports Gene, both of which have been translated into more than 30 languages. He was previously the host of Slate‘s popular “How To!” podcast and a science and investigative reporter at ProPublica. His TED talks have been viewed more than 12 million times. His newest book is also a New York Times bestseller: Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better (Amazon, Bookshop)*. It seems like we should be the most focused, creative, and innovative when we are the freest to do whatever we want. Turns out, it’s pretty much the exact opposite. In this conversation, David and I discuss why constraints make all the difference. Key Points Myth: we are most creative and innovative when we are most free. In fact, it’s the opposite. Given complete freedom, we tend to follow the path of least resistance. The Einstellung effect: employing only familiar methods even if better ones are available. General Magic (the most

Leanne ten Brinke: Poisonous People Leanne ten Brinke is an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia, where she directs the Truth and Trust Lab. Her research investigates trust, deception, and dark personality traits across diverse populations—from incarcerated individuals to hedge fund managers and politicians. She reveals how dark personality traits shape our institutions and relationships, while offering practical strategies to recognize and counteract their harmful influence. Her book is titled Poisonous People: How to Resist Them and Improve Your Life (Amazon, Bookshop)*. If you are a leader, you are going to deal with poisonous people. Sometimes they will show up as clients, sometimes your boss, sometimes your peers, and sometimes the people you manage. Regardless of where they show up, this conversation with Leanne will help you handle this tough dynamic. Key Points Dark traits exist on a spectrum. While only 1% of the population rises to a clinical level of psychopathology, 10-20% of

Chris Duffy: Humor Me Chris Duffy is an award-winning podcaster, comedian, and television writer. He hosts the podcast How to Be a Better Human and you can find his comedic TED talk, “How to find laughter anywhere” online. He is the author of Humor Me: How Laughing More Can Make You Present, Creative, Connected, and Happy (Amazon, Bookshop)*. It sometimes seems like someone with a good sense of humor does everything a bit better. Perhaps leadership is no different – but it’s not about landing jokes. In this episode, Chris and I explore why everyday humor is all about paying attention and generosity. Key Points Humor might not make the list of top leadership competencies, but it helps you perform every other competency better. A good sense of humor is inherently generous. Effective humor isn’t landing the perfect joke or being the center of attention. It’s noticing the humor is everyday work and bravely calling attention to it. The first pillar of cultivating humor is simply being present. Start with times yo

Phil Le-Brun: The Octopus Organization Phil Le-Brun is an executive in residence at Amazon Web Services and a former corporate VP and international CIO at the McDonald’s Corporation. He is a sought-after speaker and has been featured in Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, and The Guardian. He is the co-author with Jana Werner of The Octopus Organization: A Guide to Thriving in a World of Continuous Transformation (Amazon, Bookshop)*. Most of us have gone through some version of a reorg. A lot of leaders have also implemented their own reorgs. Sometimes they work. Many times, they don’t. In this conversation, Phil and I discuss what goes wrong with reorgs and how we can do better. Key Points Organizations traditionally looked like the tin man from The Wizard of Oz: perfectly planned, many interchangeable parts, not flexible. An octopus organization adapts, works independently to serve the larger whole, and is innately curious. A reorg that starts with an org chart misses the complex organic conn

Liane Davey: Thoughtload For the past 25 years, Liane Davey has researched and advised teams on how to achieve high performance. She is the author of You First and The Good Fight and is a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review. She is the author of the new book Thoughtload: Manage the Madness and Free Your Team to Do Great Work (Amazon, Bookshop)*. We all love to hate our task lists. However, we can do a lot better with just a bit of strategy. In this conversation, Liane and I explore how to make our task list work for us instead of against us. Key Points Often it’s not really the workload that’s crushing – it’s more so the thinking about all the workload. That’s what thoughtload is. The problem with a to-do list is that everything goes on it. Thus, to-do lists are terrible for managing your attention. Instead of one task list, keep a limited amount of tasks on three priority lists. Category 1 list: your most important outputs and outcomes. Category 2 list: what you do to help others achieve their mo

Eric Ries: Incorruptible Eric Ries is the creator of the Lean Startup method, and the author of the New York Times bestseller The Lean Startup, The Leader’s Guide, and The Startup Way. Over the last two decades, his ideas about continuous innovation, long-term thinking, governance, and market reform have reshaped company building and management practices. He is the author of Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad…and How Great Companies Stay Great (Amazon, Bookshop)*. If you build a great organization, the predators will come. With the right principles in place, not only can you protect what you love, but help many people flourish because of it. In this conversation, Eric and I show you exactly where to start. Key Points Most leaders are one acquisition, one IPO, one board meeting away from seeing something they love turn into something they hate. If you build something great, they will come. The “they” are the predators who are willing to kill the golden goose. Financial gravity is the force no one contro

Guy Winch: Mind Over Grind Guy Winch is a psychologist and bestselling author who advocates for integrating the science of emotional health into our daily lives. His TED talks have attracted over 35 million views, and his books have been translated into more than 30 languages. He is co-host of the Ambie-nominated Dear Therapists podcast and the author of the book Mind Over Grind: How to Break Free When Work Hijacks Your Life (Amazon, Bookshop)*. Some of our parents got to work in the morning, put in a full day, and then by dinner time, didn’t think about work or do it until the next morning. That’s not reality for a lot of us today, so in this conversation, Guy and I explore what you can do to take back your evenings. Key Points Most work stress isn’t experienced at work. Healthy thinking is intentional and leads us somewhere useful. Unhealthy thinking (rumination) isn’t intentional and tends to repeat the same script. It feels more like unpaid work. To interrupt rumination outside of work, first label it an

Gustavo Razzetti: Forward Talk Gustavo Razzetti is a culture change instigator, speaker, and CEO of Fearless Culture, a culture design consultancy. He helps leaders build teams that talk about what matters—even when it’s uncomfortable–through his books and tools, including the Culture Design Canvas. He is the author of Forward Talk: The Bold New Method for Getting Teams Unstuck (Amazon, Bookshop)*. The beauty of a team is that we can get so much more done with collaboration. It also means that sometimes we surrender our responsibility to others. In this conversation, Gustavo and I explore what to do when a team gets stuck. Key Points Conversations are the foundation of collaboration. Without them, teams quickly build conversational debt. We don’t stay silent because we’re scared. Rather, we stay quiet because we surrender our responsibility to others. Many of us overestimate our courage. We believe that we’ll say something, but studies show that often we do not. Forward Talk accomplishes two things: (1) addr

Bonni Stachowiak: Teaching in Higher Ed Bonni is the host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, Dean of Teaching and Learning and Professor of Business and Management at Vanguard University, and my life partner. Prior to her academic career, she was a human resources consultant and executive officer for a publicly traded company. Bonni is the author of The Productive Online and Offline Professor: A Practical Guide (Amazon, Bookshop)*. In this reflection episode, Bonni and I look back on recent past episodes and discuss questions, feedback, and insights that have surfaced from recent conversations. Key Points Dave responded to this question from Margaret Andrews: What does success look like for you? “You can have everything in life you want if you’ll just help enough other people get what they want.” -Zig Ziglar “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.” -Earl Nightingale Bonni responded to this question: What feedback have you received over the years about how your actions and behaviors im

Shirzad Chamine: Positive Intelligence Shirzad has been the CEO of the largest coach training organization in the world. He has lectured on Positive Intelligence at Stanford University and has trained faculty at Stanford and Yale business schools. He is the author of The New York Times bestseller Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential and How You Can Achieve Yours (Amazon, Bookshop)*. By overusing our strengths, they can become our weakness. It’s just one of the many ways that leaders self-sabotage. In this conversation, Shirzad and I explore how to shift from self-sabotage to self-mastery. Key Points Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them. -Henry David Thoreau We are all a mixed bag of Darth Vader (saboteur) and Jedi knight (sage). By overusing a strength, you turn it into a weakness. Rather than attempting to eliminate all our saboteurs, it’s more helpful to be intentional about quieting them down. The four

Nilofer Merchart: Our Best Work Nilofer Merchant is ranked among the world’s top management thinkers by Thinkers50 and is the founder of The Intangible Labs, where she defines the leading indicators of modern work. She’s launched more than 100 products totaling $18B in revenue, and her TED Talk, Sitting Is the Smoking of Our Generation, ranks in the top 10% of all TED Talks. She is the author of Our Best Work: Break Free from the 24 Invisible Norms That Limit Us (Amazon, Bookshop)*. When bad behavior happens in an organization, it’s the job of the leader to address it. In this conversation, Nilofer and I explore the strategies and tactics that will help you do this with clarity and effectiveness. Key Points Bad behavior isn’t just “bad apples” – it’s also the organizational norms of “the barrel” that reinforce these behaviors. Most management norms are not persuasive; they are persistent. Begin by getting clarity on what’s acceptable and what’s not. Interrupt behavior without escalation. Consider phrases lik

Marcus Buckingham: Design Love In Marcus Buckingham is the author of two of the best-selling business books of all time and has three of Harvard Business Review’s most circulated, industry-changing cover articles. After spending two decades studying excellence at the Gallup Organization and co-creating the StrengthsFinder tool, he built his own Coaching + Education firm and has been a prominent researcher on strengths, love, and leadership at work. He is the author of Design Love In: How to Unleash the Most Powerful Force in Business (Amazon, Bookshop)*. Most everyone who listens to this podcast wants to go way beyond just hitting numbers and achieving goals. In addition to that, we want so deeply to see the people the work with flourish in their careers. In this conversation, Marcus and I explore the sequence of five feelings that make this work – and why a lot of it comes down to love. Key Points Love dies, not from being killed – but from forgetting and neglect. The difference is massive in what we

Anthony Klotz: Jolted Anthony Klotz is an organizational psychologist and Professor of Management at the UCL School of Management. He is the person who both predicted and coined the term “The Great Resignation,” and his groundbreaking research on quitting, work design, and employee performance has made him a leading voice on the future of work. He is the author of Jolted: Why We Quit, When to Stay, and Why It Matters (Amazon, Bookshop)*. Most of us have attempted to support an employee dealing with a tough career moment. Not all the time, but certainly sometimes, we see those moments coming. When an employee is dealing with a big jolt – or about to – this conversation with Anthony will show you how to help. Key Points Jolts have an outsized influence on people’s overall relationship with their work. Managers play a deciding role in how people respond to jolts and are in the best position to insulate the negative effects and amplify the positive effects. Managers can often anticipate and predict jolts to empl

Neri Karra Sillaman: Pioneers Neri Karra Sillaman is a refugee-turned-entrepreneur, academic, and author whose work focuses on the importance of resilience, purpose, and vision in business and in life. She is the recipient of the Thinkers50 Radar Award, an entrepreneurship expert at the University of Oxford, and the founder of Neri Karra, a global luxury leather goods brand. She is the author of Pioneers: 8 Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs (Amazon, Bookshop)*. We all know that the right connections can help in our careers, but how do we actually get more intentional about forging the connections that will be most meaningful and sustainable? In this conversation, Neri and I explore the key lessons from immigrant entrepreneurs and how their successes can help us all thrive. Key Points Robins and titmice have vastly different outcomes because of their divergent abilities for flocking. Social capital is critical for success. Diversity brings many strengths – and it also introduces ne