Coaching for Leaders

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1. 806: How Leaders Escape the Hero Trap, with Bill Flynn

   26 oktober 2026 · 38 min

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   Bill Flynn: The Hero Trap Lees meer

   Bill is CEO of Catalyst Growth Advisors and a member of Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches Agency, a global community of the world’s top executive coaches. His writing appears in Harvard Business Review, Training Magazine, and ATD. He is the author of The Hero Trap: The Leader’s Shift from Doing to Designing (Amazon, Bookshop).

   As their teams get larger and their titles get bigger, a lot of leaders work longer and harder. If you think about that for a moment, that’s obviously not sustainable. In this conversation, Bill and I explore how leaders recognize – and get out of – the hero trap.

   Key Points

   If you keep working harder as your team grows, you may be a victim of the hero trap.

   Leaders fall into the hero trap because they care too much to let things break.

   A key inflection point every leader hits: scale yourself or scale your systems.

   Getting out of the hero trap is about shifting your identity.

   Controllers solve problems. Builders show others how to solve problems. Architects design systems that solve problems.

   Controllers thrive on recognition, urgency, and control. Builders find satisfaction in teaching. Architects find fulfillment in creating systems that outlast them.

   Get out of the hero trap through:

   The 10-minute prevention reflex. For new issues, ask, “What’s your first step?” and explain as you solve. For recurring issues, ask, “What would prevent this from happening again?”

   The Netflix test. Test what happens when you take off an hour, a day, or an entire week. Notice what breaks and address the systems to prevent future problems.

   The thinking partnership. Instead of a command and control mindset, invite others to think through problems with you.

   Resources Mentioned

   The Hero Trap: The Leader’s Shift from Doing to Designing by Bill Flynn (Amazon, Bookshop)*

   Interview Notes

   Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).

   Related Episodes

   How to Ask Better Questions, with David Marquet (epi…

2. 805: How Leaders Can Better Support Women, with Leanne Dzubinski

   19 oktober 2026 · 38 min

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   Leanne Dzubinski: Glass Walls Lees meer

   Leanne Dzubinski is an expert on naming and eliminating gender bias in organizations. She is the Dean of Faculty Development and Global Education at Westmont College and a sought-after speaker, consultant, and expert witness who shares tools and strategies that enable women to thrive and organizations to improve their practices. She is the coauthor, along with Amy Diehl, of Glass Walls: Shattering the Six Gender Bias Barriers Still Holding Women Back at Work (Amazon, Bookshop)*.

   Most leaders recognize that bias exists in the workplace for many underrepresented leadership groups, including women. In this conversation, Leanne and I explore how devaluation shows up and how leaders can do a better job at removing it from their teams and organizations.

   Key Points

   Six bias barriers show up substantially when researching women in the workplace. One of them is devaluation.

   Office housework is a common way that women’s contributions become devalued. Leaders should be conscious of distributing this work to everyone and/or providing a reward structure for doing it.

   Diminishment includes pet names like “girl” and “young lady” that some use to refer to women. This includes removing titles of women in places where they appear for men. Leaders should consider asking how people want to be addressed.

   Benevolent sexism consists of seemingly chivalrous comments and behavior based on stereotypical assumptions about women. Leaders should let women decide what opportunities they participate in and avoid making decisions for them.

   Salary inequality is well documented in research. Salary transparency helps reduce this inequality, and salary reviews also help correct disparities.

   Leaders calling attention to injustice, even through rephrasing inappropriate language, sets the tone for a more supportive workplace.

   Resources Mentioned

   Glass Walls: Shattering the Six Gender Bias Barriers Still Holding Women Back at Work by Leanne Dzubinski and Amy Diehl…

3. 804: How to Repair a Stakeholder Relationship, with Caroline Webb

   12 oktober 2026 · 39 min

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   Caroline Webb: Leadership Intelligence Lees meer

   Caroline Webb is a leadership coach, economist, and author of How to Have a Good Day, which has been published in over sixty countries. She has been named one of the top 50 executive coaches in the world by Thinkers50 and is Senior Advisor on leadership to McKinsey & Company, where she was previously a Partner. She is the author of Leadership Intelligence: Science-Backed Strategies for Mastering 21 Everyday Management Challenges (Amazon, Bookshop)*.

   Leaders are often called on to repair relationships for the benefit of everybody. When that relationship is a key stakeholder, it’s especially important to approach that process intentionally. In this conversation, Caroline and I detail the most important steps to help that repair go better.

   Key Points

   Many of us have power, even if it doesn’t feel like it. People with power find it hard to imagine others seeing things differently.

   Perspective-taking helps us open up the doors of possibility to collaborate better, even when our assumptions are wrong.

   A suspension bridge is a powerful analogy for a stakeholder relationship. Both sides must be strong and connected intentionally for the relationship to work.

   The first tower of the suspension bridge is the other party. What could be going on for them that would make their behavior make sense, without assuming bad intent?

   The second tower is you. Label what you’re feeling and get as specific as possible with your emotions.

   Strengthen the connection with cables through appreciation, involvement, and elevation.

   To meet in the middle (the deck), these five steps will help in an interaction:

   Intention: share your goal for the relationship.

   Observation: describe what you factually observed without assumption of judgement.

   Implication: explain why you care and what’s concerning you.

   Invitation: ask their side of the story without making assumptions.

   Collaboration: mutually problem-solve how to improve the situation.

   Resources …

4. 803: How to Engage People at Trade Shows, with Robyn Davis

   5 oktober 2026 · 40 min

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   Robyn Davis: Exhibit Smarter Lees meer

   Robyn Davis has been advising exhibitors across industries and around the world on the strategies that work at trade shows since 2009. As an award-winning speaker, trainer, and consultant, Robyn is known for her fresh perspective and process-driven approach to exhibitor success. She is the author of Exhibit Smarter: A Step-by-Step Guide to Trade Show Success (Amazon, Bookshop)*.

   Almost every professional has been to a trade show. A lot of us have represented our organizations at conferences and shows. And many leaders have trade shows somewhere in their portfolios. In this conversation, Robyn and I explore how to help your team engage the right people at these events to ensure the investment you’ve made is worth it.

   Key Points

   Prioritize strategic value over vanity metrics and activities. Tactics that get people into your booth aren’t necessarily the ones that line up with the needs of your organization.

   The decisions that organizations make about trade show activities are often heavily influenced by what’s been done in the past.

   Use five steps to lead interactions inside your booth:

   Welcome visitors with a targeted question that quickly identifies if a conversation is useful for both parties.

   Create and use a qualification rubric for your team to quickly triage interactions.

   Ensure smooth handoffs to the right party by making a personal introduction and relying on relevant details of whatever conversation has already taken place.

   If the next step is an on-site meeting, make it concise (5-10 minutes) and follow up with a longer interaction later. If demoing a product or service, involve the visitor in the demonstration.

   Close with a thank you, business card, brief review of the notes, next steps, and gracefully saying goodbye.

   Resources Mentioned

   Exhibit Smarter: A Step-by-Step Guide to Trade Show Success by Robyn Davis (Amazon, Bookshop)*

   Interview Notes

   Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required…

5. 802: How Leaders Turn Conflict Into Progress, with Priya Parker

   28 september 2026 · 39 min

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   Priya Parker: The Art of Fighting Lees meer

   Priya Parker is a facilitator, strategic advisor, bestselling author of The Art of Gathering, and executive producer and host of the New York Times podcast, Together Apart. Trained in the field of conflict resolution, she has spent 20 years guiding leaders and groups through complicated conversations about community, identity, and vision at moments of transition. She is the author of the new book, The Art of Fighting: The Transformative Power of Conflict (Amazon, Bookshop)*.

   Often we assume that good leaders and good teams don’t fight. In this conversation, Priya tells us that, “Fighting is not the death of community. It is its lifeblood.” We explore how to turn conflict into progress.

   Key Points

   Even experts who handle group conflict often find it challenging, fearful, and unsettling.

   Becoming a durable, sustainable group does not happen without a fight.

   One of the biggest myths that hold leaders back is that “good” people and “good” groups don’t fight.

   There’s a seniority caveat to conflict. Leaders often confuse what needs to be felt with what needs to be said.

   It’s a lie to believe that “if only” one thing hadn’t happened that conflict would not have occurred. If it wasn’t that, it would have been something else.

   Milestones, transitions, schedule changes, and celebrations are often triggering events for conflict. Instead of thinking, “This is the worst timing,” expect conflict at these times.

   Resources Mentioned

   The Art of Fighting: The Transformative Power of Conflict by Priya Parker (Amazon, Bookshop)*

   Interview Notes

   Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).

   Related Episodes

   How to Create Meaningful Gatherings, with Priya Parker (episode 395)

   The Way Out of Major Conflict, with Amanda Ripley (episode 529)

   How to Help Difficult Conversations Go Better, with Sheila Heen (episode 655)

   Discover More

   Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews si…

6. 801: How to Make Better Decisions With Data, with Sebastian Wernicke

   21 september 2026 · 40 min

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   Sebastian Wernicke: Data Inspired Lees meer

   For over 20 years, Sebastian Wernicke has guided organizations around the world to harness the power of data and AI to achieve breakthrough transformation. His three acclaimed TED Talks have reached over 5 million viewers. He is the author of Data Inspired: Building an Organizational Culture of Inquiry for Lasting Transformation (Amazon, Bookshop)*.

   We all have more access to data than ever. That means we should be making better decisions than we ever have before, yes? If only it were that simple. In this conversation, Sebastian and I explore how you can actually use all that data to make better decisions.

   Key Points

   Data initiatives don’t necessarily fail, but often do something worse: make your organization stay the same.

   Better data does not automatically result in better decisions. An organization also needs the cultural maturity to be swayed by the data.

   Nobody makes decisions that look like the logical decision-making processes we see in books. In addition, the emotions we put into decisions are actually critically helpful.

   During uncertainty, more data tends to make us more uncertain. Once we’ve decided something, we tend to discount contrary data.

   Decisions are rarely made entirely by one person and heavily influenced by the team or organization’s culture.

   Leaders can help integrate helpful data by saying things like, “I’m looking for data to tell me where I am wrong.”

   Bringing in structure such as written notes or memos before or at the start of meetings can help data be considered before we discount it.

   Resources Mentioned

   Data Inspired: Building an Organizational Culture of Inquiry for Lasting Transformation (Amazon, Bookshop)*

   Interview Notes

   Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).

   Related Episodes

   How to Involve Stakeholders in Decisions, with Eric Pliner (episode 586)

   How to Change People’s Minds, with Michael McQueen (episode 676) – contradictory data not swaying people
   …

7. 800: Make Your Message Clear, with Stephanie Evergreen

   14 september 2026 · 34 min

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   Stephanie Evergreen: Build a Data Culture Lees meer

   Stephanie Evergreen is a data visualization and design expert. She has trained future data nerds worldwide through keynotes and workshops, for Fortune 500 clients like MasterCard and Facebook and mission-aligned clients like the United Nations, the Boys and Girls Club, AARP, and The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. She has three books and a popular blog on data visualization.

   Data: we’ve all got tons of access to it these days. But perhaps almost too much – how do we actually make sense of it and then communicate clearly with it? In this conversation, Stephanie and I explore how a leader can best use data to make their message land.

   Key Points

   Many of us are overwhelmed by access to data, but lots of leaders find that much of the data isn’t actionable for increasing performance.

   Because dashboards attempt to answer many questions, they often result in doing a poor job of highlighting a key message or insight.

   Instead of showing every data point you’ve ever collected, use smart formatting to highlight the single thing your team needs to know.

   Decide in advance what the key message of a slide, chart, or presentation should be. Then, design for that clear message.

   Answer the burning question that your audience is likely asking.

   Leaders set the tone for transparency with data that isn’t good news. Encourage and reward hearing the honest story to establish a culture where truth is shared and addressed.

   Resources Mentioned

   Build a Data Culture by Stephanie Evergreen

   Why Data-Packed Meetings Miss the Mark (And What to Do About It) by Stephanie Evergreen

   Related Episodes

   Performance Measurement That Gets Results, with Stacey Barr (episode 419)

   The Way to Influence Executives, with Nancy Duarte (episode 450)

   How to Respond When You Don’t Have Resources, with Laura West (episode 699)

   Discover More

   Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic…

8. FINAL Day to Apply for the Academy

   11 september 2026 · 1 min

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   Today is the FINAL day to apply for the Coaching for Leaders Academy. Lees meer

   Are you at an inflection point? Apply to the Academy by the of the day today, Friday, September 11th.

9. Four Words That Set Successful Leaders Apart

   7 september 2026 · 18 min

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   Dave shares four words that detail what’s different about leaders who consistently get better – and even THRIVE – and those who don’t. Lees meer

   Are you at an inflection point? Apply to the Coaching for Leaders Academy by Friday, September 11th.

10. 799: How Leaders Stay Grounded, with Aiko Bethea

    7 september 2026 · 38 min

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    Aiko Bethea: Anchored, Aligned, Accountable Lees meer

    Aiko Bethea is the Founder and CEO of RARE Coaching & Consulting, a leadership development firm that partners with Fortune 100 companies, nonprofits, and global organizations to build accountable, values-driven cultures. She is listed as #3 on the list of Top Executive Coaches of 2026 by the Industry Leader and has spent over a decade coaching C-suite leaders across industries, and served previously as deputy director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She is the author of Anchored, Aligned, Accountable: A Framework for Transcending BS and Transforming Our Lives and Work (Amazon, Bookshop)*.

    I have seen so many activities over the years to help leaders clarify their values. I have built some of them myself. And most of them, including the ones I’ve built, miss a big question: what do those values actually mean? In this conversation, Aiko and I explore that question in detail to help us all do a better job of staying grounded.

    Key Points

    In an era of information everywhere, it’s more challenging than ever to engage our inner awareness.

    An anchor keeps a ship in place during the storm. Our values do the same for us as leaders.

    Values aren’t just decorative. Simply naming a value doesn’t tell us much about what it means.

    Explore the behaviors that come out of labels we use for values. Those behaviors help us better align with others – and ourselves.

    A value label may mean one thing to one person and something entirely different to someone else. Curiosity will help you uncover what really matters to people.

    Beware naming values that are simply aspirational. Instead, zero in on what is actually true for you.

    Resources Mentioned

    Anchored, Aligned, Accountable: A Framework for Transcending BS and Transforming Our Lives and Work by Aiko Bethea (Amazon, Bookshop)*.

    Interview Notes

    Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).

    Related Episodes

    Leadership in the Midst of Chaos, with Jim Ma…

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