The Kris Lindahl Show

What are the special traits that effective leaders share—not the leaders of 20 or 30 years ago, but today’s leaders? From leading his own business and talking to other leaders across all kinds of organizations, Kris has noticed that it comes down to 8 vital traits. Find out what they are and why they’re so important in this special One on One “The Kris Lindahl Show” episode. The list may surprise you … 

Are you one of those leaders who constantly thinks, “I could let someone else handle this, but it’ll be easier if I just do it myself”? It’s a common trait among CEOs, especially entrepreneurs who start their businesses from scratch. Recognizing that she was one of those people, Media Bridge founder and CEO Tracy Call did a radical thing: For an entire month, she completely disconnected from her business and traveled with her family. The intent was to empower her team and train her clients not to depend on her. What she didn’t expect was how the experience would dramatically affect her personal life. In this provocative “The Kris Lindahl Show” episode, hear about Tracy’s fascinating business journey and learn about her against-the-grain approaches to hiring, goal-setting, handling client relationships, separating your personal identity from your business identity, being transparent, leading with the heart, and just plain having fun.

What do you struggle with? It’s a hard question to ask, and sometimes it’s an even harder question to answer. In this One on One podcast, Kris shares his own challenges and offers some advice for leaders on slowing down, truly being in the moment, showing empathy and being generous with recognizing others. He also shares a personal anecdote on how his daughter helps him remember to slow down. Bottom line: Sometimes leaders avoid asking people how they’re doing. Sometimes we feel like we’re always chasing. And sometimes we need to do a better job recognizing the growth and success of the people we’re leading.

Has anyone ever asked you what advice you would give to your younger self? This happened to Kris recently when a friend asked him what he saw clearly now that he wishes he had seen earlier in his life. Kris offers six areas of wisdom that he wishes he had been quicker to realize. The point isn’t to beat yourself up that you didn’t know things sooner; it’s to share your insights to help others on their leadership journeys. Too often leaders think they have it all figured out. This One on One episode is a tangible reminder about the importance of always examining, always remaining a student, and always growing. Hey, by listening to this podcast, you’re already on the right track!

What’s the secret to improving someone’s health and fitness? If you listen to Chuck Runyon, it sounds a lot like the secret to good leadership: listening, empathizing, being generous with your attention, and seeing your job as helping people unlock their full potential. As the co-founder of Self Esteem Brands and the CEO of Anytime Fitness, Chuck makes all of this happen every day. It’s impressive that his company has now opened over 4,000 gyms on all seven continents (they just announced a new gym in Antarctica!). What’s even more impressive is the leadership mantra he writes about in his book “Love Work”: the 4Ps of People, Purpose, Profits and Play. In this wide-ranging interview, you’ll learn how Chuck and his business partner have built an award-winning culture that has changed the lives of his members, employees, franchisees and communities throughout the world.

Do you set huge goals for yourself at the beginning of the year, then find yourself getting increasingly depressed about your inability to meet them? Join the club! Traditional goal-setting is not only ineffective; it actually puts yours farther away from achieving what you want. In this special “One on One” episode of The Kris Lindahl Show, Kris shares his own struggles with goal-setting, then reveals his two secrets to building momentum, feeling good about yourself and actually reaching your goals. Bottom line: The path to achieving your life and career ambitions is smaller, simpler and more doable than you think.  

Want proof that phenomenal success starts with finding your true passion? Look no farther than Rachel Mairose. Rachel started a small dog rescue out of her apartment in 2009. Less than a decade later, Secondhand Hounds is the largest animal rescue operation in the Midwest, with over 17,000 animals saved. In this fascinating interview, Rachel talks about why you should “keep going until you find your passion and feel like you don’t think you could live without doing it,” why industry taboos are made to be broken, why storytelling is more important than ever, the importance of constantly communicating your values and expectations, and how you can deal with the trolls and bullies so they don’t derail your mission. Even though Rachel works with animals, she knows that it’s still about people. For every animal her organization has rescued, she has improved—and in some cases saved—countless human lives.

If you’ve ever spent a day at a Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) food-packing center, you know it’s an experience you’ll never forget—remarkably consistent and uplifting for the 1.4 million volunteers across 40 states who participate every year. In this episode, Kris talks to Feed My Starving Children CEO Mark Crea to unearth the secrets on how this once-small organization has grown from 1 site packing 3 million meals for kids in 17 countries annually, to having 8 permanent sites in the Twin Cities, Chicago, Dallas and Phoenix preparing and shipping 365 million meals to kids in 70 countries. No matter what industry you’re in, Mark’s story reveals some incredible insights on leadership, process, culture, partnership, and purpose. If you’re as inspired by this interview as Kris was, we’ve got good news: If you reach out to Kris through thekrislindahlshow.com, he’ll join your group at an FMSC packing session. And for every comment or like that this episode gets, Kris Lindahl Real Estate will donate a dollar to Feed My Starving Children!

How are you feeling about 2019? Better than last year? Worse? About the same? As we enter a new year, it’s time to wipe the slate clean and take a fresh look at where we’re at in our lives and careers. Looking back on 2018, Kris sees both the successes and the challenges in starting and growing a business, and the pitfalls and rewards of trying to do things differently and better. In this one-on-one episode, he shares his four areas of advice for anyone who wants to improve their leadership abilities in the new year. Hint: Even when others try to crush you, you can still crush it!

Are you a successful leader who’s secretly burned out and unhealthy? Is what you’re doing bringing you success but not joy? Are you especially attuned to the leadership challenges that teenagers face today? Then the incredible story of youth worker, speaker, trainer and preacher Cesar Castillejos will definitely resonate with you. Learn about Cesar’s challenges growing up as an of-color kid in a Minnesota suburb, hear the two questions his mentor told him to ask himself, and discover how the answers steered him toward a life of serving vulnerable youth. Cesar’s work with Young Life and the Student Leadership Project is creating the leaders of tomorrow, and we’re pitching in to help. In this podcast, you’ll learn the amazing story of how an experience with one teen inspired Cesar to start a free clothing store for disadvantaged youth. For everyone who listens to this podcast and gives us a like or a comment on The Kris Lindahl Facebook page, we’ll donate to that store!