The Leadership Growth Podcast

AI is “not special,” says Dr. Allen Badeau. “It’s just a bigger part of your technology strategy.”

In today’s episode, Daniel, Peter, and Dr. Badeau discuss the latest developments in the artificial intelligence (AI) landscape and how leaders can best leverage this rapidly evolving technology for productivity and development.

Dr. Badeau is an AI evangelist with over 20 years experience building AI systems. He is the Co-Founder of Harmonic AI and the host of NowMedia’s weekly broadcast “AI Today.” Dr. Badeau was also instrumental in developing Stewart Leadership’s newest offering, Stewy, an on-demand AI coach trained on over 40 years of Stewart Leadership insights, models, and expertise.

Tune in to learn:

• Why AI is like a “highly intelligent adolescent”
• How finding the right AI is like shoe shopping
• How leaders can balance the risks and advantages of current AI models

Join us for a realistic–and reassuring–look at the current AI landscape.

Questions, comments, or topic ideas? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected].

In this episode:

1:53 – Introduction: Dr. Allen Badeau

2:45 – Topic: How Leaders Leverage AI for Productivity and Development

8:20 – How Business Leaders Should Approach AI

20:08 – Stewy: Your Customizable, On-Demand AI Leadership Coach

36:38 – Lightning Round

Resources:

Dr. Allen Badeau’s Website

Harmonic AI

“AI Today,” NowMedia

Moore’s Law

Stewart Leadership Insights and Resources:

Stewy: Your AI Leadership Coach

10 Ways to Grow Your Career with Stewy, Your New AI Coach

10 Cool Things Leaders Can Do With an AI Coach

The AI Integration Roadmap

4 Ways to Develop a Strategy of Adaptation

7 Ways to Prepare Leaders for Disruption

Planning for Disruption: Five Ways to Future-Proof Your Organization

5 Advantages of Becoming a Digitally Literate Change Leader

5 Misconceptions About Digital Transformation–and Why They Matter

If you liked this episode, please share it with a friend or colleague, or, better yet, leave a review to help other listeners find our show, and remember to subscribe so you never miss an episode. 

For more great content or to learn about how Stewart Leadership can help you grow your ability to lead effectively, please visit stewartleadership.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. 

“You don’t know you need it till you need it,” says today’s guest, Chris Hare.

Chris is the host of The Storied Future Podcast and founder of The Storied Future, where he helps midmarket and enterprise CEOs create narratives that unlock a future where they can be celebrated.

In this deeply personal conversation with Daniel and Peter, Chris unpacks the process he uses to guide leaders through unearthing their own stories and crafting narratives that help them “make a dent in the universe.” Often, Chris says, leaders arrive at a moment that changes everything–one that requires a new personal narrative.

Chris shares wisdom and insight gleaned from both business and personal experiences and offers guidance for leaders who need to rewrite their narratives.

Tune in to learn:

• The relationship between leadership and storytelling
• Three steps to uncovering your stories
• The difference between story and narrative

Questions, comments, or topic ideas? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected].

In this episode:

1:20 – Introduction: Chris Hare

2:22 – Topic: Midlife Leaders Rewriting Their Own Story

8:01 – Digging Deep: Identifying Stories You Haven’t Shared

12:30 – Becoming a Better Personal Storyteller

20:19 – Confronting Obstacles to Transformation Through Story

25:45 – Translating Storytelling Into Goals

30:15 – Internal vs. External Stories

35:12 – Lightning Round

Resources:

The Storied Future Website

The Storied Future Podcast

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

What Color is Your Parachute?, by Richard N. Bolles

Stewart Leadership Insights and Resources:

Storytelling: The One Powerful Leadership Tool You Probably Aren’t Using Enough

The Power of Metaphor in Leadership

We Are What We Think: 4 Steps to Change Our Personal Stories

5 Stories that Motivate Change

Six Factors for Great In-the-Moment Coaching

6 Tips to Help Build Support for Your Next Change Effort

How to Overcome the 6 Most Common Obstacles to Change

If you liked this episode, please share it with a friend or colleague, or, better yet, leave a review to help other listeners find our show, and remember to subscribe so you never miss an episode. 

For more great content or to learn about how Stewart Leadership can help you grow your ability to lead effectively, please visit stewartleadership.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. 

“The cool thing about leadership is that your customers are right there,” says today’s guest, Phil Wilson.

Phil is the CEO of LRI Consulting Services, Inc., and founder of Approachable Leadership. He’s the author of seven books, including the forthcoming The Leader-Shift Playbook: 4 Simple Changes to Score Big and Unleash Your Team’s Potential.

In this conversation with Daniel and Peter, Phil shares some powerful insights about leadership from the perspective of a consultant and a leader–including the lessons he learned from atop Mt. Stupid.

Tune in to learn:

• Three signs of an approaching leadership trainwreck
• Why imposter syndrome can be helpful for leadership growth
• The four beliefs leaders need to deliver results

Plus, Daniel, Peter, and Phil share some memories about growing up in the family business.

In this episode:

2:09 – Memory Lane

5:26 – Topic: How to Avoid a Leadership Train Wreck

13:18 – Imposter Syndrome vs. the Dunning-Kruger Effect

16:10 – The Four Beliefs

20:28 – The View from Mt. Stupid

26:45 – The Hero Assumption

32:04 – Lightning Round

LRI Consulting Services, Inc.

The Leader-Shift Playbook: 4 Simple Changes to Score Big and Unleash Your Team’s Potential

The Dunning-Kruger Effect (Mount Stupid)

Imposter Syndrome

Real-life “Batman” Daniel Kish Demonstrates Human Echolocation (YouTube)

Stewart Leadership Insights and Resources:

How Most People Become Leaders (Video)

Develop Your Managers by Focusing on These 8 Skillsets

Start Training on These 6 Essential Skills for Managers

4 Ways to Encourage a Growth Mindset Culture

7 Mindset Shifts that Will Make You a Great Manager

6 Tips for Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace

3 Human Needs to Retain Every Employee

52 Leadership Gems: Practical and Quick Insights for Leading Others

If you liked this episode, please share it with a friend or colleague, or, better yet, leave a review to help other listeners find our show, and remember to subscribe so you never miss an episode. 

For more great content or to learn about how Stewart Leadership can help you grow your ability to lead effectively, please visit stewartleadership.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. 

There is no doubt that artificial intelligence is a game-changing technological advancement–one that has generated excitement, fear, nervousness, cautious optimism, and a fair amount of hype.

But what are its implications for leadership development?

Today’s guest has some answers. “AI, to me, is a power tool supreme,” says Frank Russell, CEO of the award-winning talent development consulting firm Prositions.

Of course, as exciting and powerful as AI is, we still need to balance it with a healthy dose of humanity and wisdom–just as with any technological change.

In this conversation, Daniel, Peter, and Frank discuss the latest developments in artificial intelligence and how it can accelerate leadership development.

Tune in to learn:

• The importance of safety and wisdom in implementing AI
• How leaders can put learning in the flow of work in as little as 45 seconds
• The one thing a leader can do to leverage technology for development

Plus, some reflections on technological change in leadership development over the last 40 years.

In this episode:

1:52 – Introduction: Frank Russell, CEO, Prositions

4:15 – Memory Lane

8:06 – Topic: Leadership Development and AI

13:38 – How Leaders Can Leverage AI Technology

17:45 – How to Find Balance Between Technology and Humanity

21:44 – How to Balance Your Expectations of AI Tools

29:48 – How Leaders Can Leverage Nano-Learning

34:14 – Lightning Round

Prositions

Stewart Leadership Insights and Resources:

Stewy: Your AI Leadership Coach

LEAD NOW! Leadership Development Model

10 Ways to Grow Your Career with Stewy, Your New AI Coach

10 Cool Things Leaders Can Do with an AI Coach

How to Overcome the 6 Most Common Obstacles to Change

4 Questions to Help You Take Risks as a Leader

The AI Integration Roadmap

7 Things to Consider When Developing a Microlearning Experience

If you liked this episode, please share it with a friend or colleague, or, better yet, leave a review to help other listeners find our show, and remember to subscribe so you never miss an episode. 

For more great content or to learn about how Stewart Leadership can help you grow your ability to lead effectively, please visit stewartleadership.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. 

A good coaching session is about more than just complaints or chit chat. “Coaching sessions are not just to have a feel-good moment,” says Daniel. “They are intended to focus on action and follow up.”

In this week’s episode, Daniel and Peter demystify a typical coaching session. They discuss some of the questions they typically ask, the common way they begin many sessions, and the importance of both behavior change and mindset shift.

Tune in to learn:

• The one thing a coachee should do to optimize a coaching session
• The one thing a coachee should do right after a coaching session
• The value of a retainer model in hiring an outside coach

Through a typical structure that’s flexible enough to allow for the needs of the moment, great coaching can lead to sustained change and maximum leadership effectiveness.

Plus, more insights from Gallup about common leader blind spots, and three tips on how to best recognize direct reports.

In this episode:

2:20 – Insight of the Week

14:16 – Topic: What to Expect During a Coaching Session

15:55 – What a Typical Coaching Session Looks Like

20:49 – How to Balance a Long-Term Action Plan with Daily Challenges

34:03 – How to End a Coaching Session

40:56 – Lightning Round

Gallup: “The Strengths, Weaknesses and Blind Spots of Managers”

Harvard Business Review: “Do Compliments Make You Cringe? Here’s Why.”

Stewart Leadership Insights and Resources:

5 Reasons to Encourage Compliments in the Workplace

6 Ways to Regulate Your Emotions for Leadership Effectiveness

8 Keys to Managing Conflict Well

10 Questions to Ask to Best Develop Your Individual Action Plan

6 Ways to Become Aware of Your Leadership Blind Spots

Eight Skills of Great Coaching Managers

6 Keys to Setting Yourself Up for Success with an Executive Coach

White Paper: Coaching for Organizational Growth: A Powerful Resource for Maximizing Human Capital

Leadership Growth Podcast Episode 29: “The 5 Steps of Great Coaching”

If you liked this episode, please share it with a friend or colleague, or, better yet, leave a review to help other listeners find our show, and remember to subscribe so you never miss an episode. 

For more great content or to learn about how Stewart Leadership can help you grow your ability to lead effectively, please visit stewartleadership.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. 

Executive coaching is more than just a series of nice, but unconnected, conversations, says Peter Stewart. “It’s a development process with real teeth and traction in it” to help leaders meet goals.

In this episode, Peter and Daniel demystify the coaching process with a look at their five-step approach to coaching. This approach identifies clear objectives, sets measurable and time-bound goals, and integrates feedback to help leaders course correct as they progress.

Anyone can benefit from a coaching engagement. “It is not about the coach,” says Daniel. “It is about what you need, and for you to be confident and comfortable to be a self-advocate for your own development.”

Tune in to learn:

• The most common objectives leaders have when working with a coach
• The value of feedback in coaching
• The one thing you should know to optimize your coaching experience

Plus, insights from Gallup on the relationship between feedback and employee engagement, and a flashback to the struggles of owning a home sprinkler system.

In this episode:

2:08 – Memory Lane

5:32 – Insight of the Week

11:20 – Topic: The 5 Steps of Great Coaching

13:49 – Step 1: Establishing the Objective

21:16 – Step 2: Understanding Through Assessment

24:20 – Step 3: Providing Feedback

28:47 – Step 4: Identifying Goals

32:52 – Step 5: Following Up with Support

36:48 – Lightning Round

Gallup: “How Effective Feedback Fuels Performance”

Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development

Stewart Leadership Insights and Resources:

Podcast Episode 13: How to Create an Effective Action Plan for Development

The Five Steps of Great Coaching

How the Right Coach Can Ease a New Executive Transition

10 Questions to Ask to Best Develop Your Individual Action Plan

6 Ways to Become Aware of Your Leadership Blind Spots

Eight Skills of Great Coaching Managers

6 Keys to Setting Yourself Up for Success with an Executive Coach

White Paper: Coaching for Organizational Growth: A Powerful Resource for Maximizing Human Capital

If you liked this episode, please share it with a friend or colleague, or, better yet, leave a review to help other listeners find our show, and remember to subscribe so you never miss an episode. 

For more great content or to learn about how Stewart Leadership can help you grow your ability to lead effectively, please visit stewartleadership.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. 

Over the last few decades, the attitude on leadership coaching has shifted dramatically. What was once considered necessary only when there was a performance issue is now a common piece of leadership development.

“More and more leaders are seeing executive leadership coaching as actually a sign of investment and development,” says Daniel. “It’s a positive thing.”

But being given a coaching opportunity can raise a lot of questions. Can you choose your coach, or will your company assign you a coach? How much will your boss know about your coaching sessions? And what does a coaching session even look like?

In this episode, Daniel and Peter take a look at the value of coaching, what to look for in a coach, and how to make the most of a coaching experience.

Tune in to learn:

• The difference between a coach and a mentor–and why both can be helpful to your career
• The importance of coaching as a “safe space” for leaders
• The one thing you should NOT do if you want to get the most out of your coaching experience

Plus, what we can learn from Costco’s Code of Ethics, and the strategy you need to win (almost) every game of Risk (at least when you play against Daniel and Peter).

In this episode:

1:42 – Insight of the Week

5:42 – Memory Lane

8:50 – Topic: What to Expect from Your Executive Coach

10:31 – Why Executive Coaching?

18:21 – How Do You Choose an Executive Coach?

31:56 – What Does a Coaching Session Look Like?

34:40 – Lightning Round

Costco Code of Ethics

The Ultimate Risk Strategy Guide

Stewart Leadership Insights and Resources:

Choosing a Coach: How the Right Coach Can Help You Get Unstuck

The Five Steps of Great Coaching

How Do You Know if You Are Choosing the Right Executive Coach?

How the Right Coach Can Ease a New Executive Transition

10 Questions to Ask to Best Develop Your Individual Action Plan

If you liked this episode, please share it with a friend or colleague, or, better yet, leave a review to help other listeners find our show, and remember to subscribe so you never miss an episode. 

For more great content or to learn about how Stewart Leadership can help you grow your ability to lead effectively, please visit stewartleadership.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. 

What if AI were the key to innovation inside your company?

Today’s guest suggests that AI puts innovation in the hands of people who aren’t necessarily scientists or programmers.

Travis Hoppe is the Assistant Director of AI Research and Development at The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He co-authored The Pile, a pioneering open source dataset used for training large language models that served as a catalyst for promoting open science within the field of AI, and he holds a PhD in physics.

In this conversation, Daniel and Travis discuss everything AI–from the basics of machine learning and algorithms to implications for leaders to the most promising applications of AI.

“Now, people can experiment with some really good idea,” Travis says. About 20% of your organization really wants to build stuff. “Oftentimes you just need to bring them together and you need to give them the freedom to do so.”

Tune in to learn:

• Why guardrails in AI innovation are so important
• Why leaders have a unique opportunity to be pioneers right now
• Why you don’t need to fear “the singularity”

Join us for a fascinating conversation about the present–and future–of AI.

In this episode:

1:35 – Introduction: Travis Hoppe

2:53 – What is AI?

9:25 – Algorithms: A Brief Review

13:05 – How Should Leaders Think About AI?

18:40 – AI Guidance for Teams and Businesses

28:00 – AI in Practice

32:40 – Lightning Round

Travis Hoppe profiles:

• @metasemantic on X
• LinkedIn
• Google Scholar

The Pile

Memorandum M-24-10 (listed under “Memoranda 2024”)

Stewart Leadership Insights and Resources:

• 4 Ways to Encourage a Healthy Failure Culture
• The Power of Imagination in Planning
• 7 Ways to Prepare Leaders for Disruption
• 5 Advantages of Becoming a Digitally Literate Change Leader
• 5 Ways to Help Manage Your Team’s Change Exhaustion
• AI-Powered Talent Retention
• Women and AI

If you liked this episode, please share it with a friend or colleague, or, better yet, leave a review to help other listeners find our show, and remember to subscribe so you never miss an episode. 

For more great content or to learn about how Stewart Leadership can help you grow your ability to lead effectively, please visit stewartleadership.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. 

How do other people see you?

In a world where there’s more noise than ever before, many of us have lost our ability to communicate with empathy, says Stacey Hanke, executive mentor and author of Influence Elevated: Maximizing Your Connection Monday to Monday. In this conversation with Daniel and Peter, Stacey shares her insights about how leaders can learn–or relearn–how to connect with consistency across platforms and maximize their influence.

“Every conversation is your opportunity to practice something,” says Stacey. Whether it’s improving meetings, asking for feedback, or even watching a recorded meeting to critique their own screen presence, leaders should increase their focus on how others perceive them to maximize their influence on their teams and across their organizations.

Tune in to learn:

• Three practical tips to improve remote meetings
• Two ways for leaders to coach their team members
• One valuable technique that can improve a leader’s influence

Join us for this practical and insightful discussion.

In this episode:

1:40 – Introduction: Stacey Hanke

2:24 – Elevating Your Ability to Influence

10:38 – What Leaders Need to Be Influential Today

16:50 – Practical Tips to Strengthen Influence on Remote Teams

20:34 – Guidance for Coaching Team Members

32:05 – Lightning Round

Stacey Hanke’s Website

Influence Elevated: Maximizing Your Connection Monday to Monday

Stacey Hanke Amazon Author Page

Stewart Leadership Insights and Resources:

• Ask This One Question to Evaluate Your Leadership Skills
• 3 Simple Words to Receive Actionable Feedback from Your Associates
• You Do Need an Ego! But How Much?
• Six Secrets to Your Leadership Growth
• 4 Ways to Encourage a Growth Mindset Culture
• 4 Ways to Prime Your Brain to Receive Feedback
• 10 Tips for Effective Video Meetings
• 5 Characteristics of Leaders Who Show Up With Authority
• 6 Tips for Improving Your Active Listening Skills
• The Two Levels in Every Conversation

If you liked this episode, please share it with a friend or colleague, or, better yet, leave a review to help other listeners find our show, and remember to subscribe so you never miss an episode. 

For more great content or to learn about how Stewart Leadership can help you grow your ability to lead effectively, please visit stewartleadership.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. 

“We don't spend a lot of time thinking about how we breathe. We just do it,” says Jamie Flinchbaugh. “But then we find out, whether we're training for sports or meditation or other things, that there's more to learn about breathing. And when we are thoughtful about it, we can do it better, more usefully.”

Solving problems as a leader is similar to breathing, says Flinchbaugh. Leaders take it for granted that they can solve problems in the usual way. They’re often on autopilot, and they forget to think about their roles–and the roles of others around them–in solving problems, which can lead to a “cascade of errors.”

Jamie Flinchbaugh is author of the book People Solve Problems and the host of a podcast by the same name. He acts as a trusted advisor and thought partner for leaders through his firm, JFlinch. Jamie joins Daniel and Peter on this episode of The Leadership Growth Podcast to talk about how leaders solve problems, some of the mistakes they can make, and how they can improve. 

Tune in to learn:

• The three roles of leaders as they solve problems
• The importance of curiosity and uncomfortable learning in problem-solving
• Why designing for optimal circumstances is a bad strategy for problem-solving

Join us for this practical and insightful discussion.

In this episode:

0:55 – Introduction: Jamie Flinchbaugh

1:44 – What Do Leaders Get Wrong?

6:23 – Leader Role #1: System Architect

17:44 – Leader Role #2: Culture Builder

31:46 – Leader Role #3: Shaper

36:56 – Lightning Round

Jamie Flinchbaugh’s Website

People Solve Problems Podcast

People Solve Problems book on Amazon.com

Stewart Leadership Insights and Resources:

• How to Prioritize Your Work
• The Difference Between Important and Urgent
• The 10 Tenets of Calendar Management
• The Accountability Scale
• Four Keys to Creating Accountability
• 4 Ways to Encourage a Growth Mindset Culture
• You Do Need an Ego! But How Much?

If you liked this episode, please share it with a friend or colleague, or, better yet, leave a review to help other listeners find our show, and remember to subscribe so you never miss an episode. 

For more great content or to learn about how Stewart Leadership can help you grow your ability to lead effectively, please visit stewartleadership.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.