“Leadership” podcasts fall into a special category. They are filled with everyone from former Navy SEALs to motivational speakers who’ve never managed anything more complex than their own Twitter/X accounts. These audio empires have multiplied faster than middle managers at a Fortune 500 company, each one promising to unlock your inner CEO through a potent combination of buzzwords, anecdotes about climbing Mount Everest as a metaphor for quarterly earnings, and the occasional guest who actually knows what they’re talking about.
So grab your noise-canceling headphones and prepare to discover which leadership gurus will help you transform from a regular human being into the kind of person who unironically uses phrases like “thought leadership” and “paradigm shift”, because apparently, that’s what peak performance looks like in today’s hellscape of corporate mambo jumbo.
Alright fine, forget all that, I’ll just give you the top leadership podcasts that are actually useful and mostly bearable.
Radical Candor: Communication at Work
Prepared to excel at your job and become an inspiring leader? This is the Radical Candor podcast, where host Amy Sandler and co-founders Kim Scott and Jason Rosoff teach you to Care Personally and Challenge Directly for stronger teams and better feedback. Get practical advice to do your best work while building great relationships.
Build with Leila Hormozi
How do you build an indestructible enterprise? I’m Leila Hormozi and I surpassed $100M before turning 28. Currently I’m expanding acquisition.com into a billion-dollar collection. In this show, I reveal the insights I’ve gained from growing major companies and assisting our portfolio businesses achieve similar results.
Dare to Lead with Brené Brown
Brené’s latest podcast draws from her #1 bestselling book, Dare to Lead. She writes, “The Dare to Lead podcast combines solo episodes with conversations featuring change-catalysts, culture-shifters, and troublemakers. Building a better world requires courageous leadership in all areas of life: work, home, and community.”
Coaching Real Leaders
Everyone seeks career advancement, yet many find themselves plateaued. Experienced leadership mentor Muriel Wilkins brings you into authentic coaching sessions with top performers tackling workplace obstacles and developing their leadership skills. Hear genuine discussions and gain fresh perspectives plus actionable advice for your professional journey.
HBS Managing the Future of Work
Machine learning. Automation. Freelance labor markets. Global interconnectedness. Our world transforms at breakneck speed in manners that will dramatically impact economics, employment and human capital movement. How will companies adapt to upcoming shifts and what actions must they implement now? Every episode showcases professors from top business schools speaking with executives, tech innovators and cutting-edge specialists about navigating and succeeding while shaping tomorrow’s workplace.
No Bullsh!t Leadership
No Bullsh!t Leadership features host Martin G Moore, Wall Street Journal bestselling author, sharing high-performance leadership secrets and career accelerators you won’t learn elsewhere. Get practical insights from a successful CEO who’s walked the path.
How Leaders Lead with David Novak
How Leaders Lead features host David Novak, Co-founder and former CEO of Yum! Brands, in exclusive conversations with iconic leaders like Tom Brady, Condoleezza Rice, Jamie Dimon, Coach Prime (Deion Sanders), Indra Nooyi, and Stanley Druckenmiller. Get actionable insights to elevate your leadership skills, whether you’re starting out or already leading teams.
Worklife with Adam Grant
You dedicate twenty-five percent of your existence to your job. You deserve to find fulfillment in it! Workplace psychologist Adam Grant explores the perspectives of extraordinary professionals worldwide to uncover secrets for improved career satisfaction. From embracing competitors to channeling irritation productively, you’ll transform your perspective on work forever. Created with Transmitter Media.
Jocko Podcast
Former Navy SEAL, Jocko Willink and Director, Echo Charles examine self-control and guidance in commerce, combat, partnerships and daily existence. Discover the best episodes of the Jocko Podcast.
Modern Mentor
Rachel Cooke serves as your mentor for management and interpersonal skills, assisting you in building a professional atmosphere you can be proud of. She provides strategies for harmonizing career and personal priorities, wisely allocating your time, and being intentional about your energy investment. Allow Rachel to guide your journey toward achievement, whatever that means to you.
People Managing People
The People Managing People podcast, with host David Rice, seeks to motivate team leaders, supervisors, and HR experts while they construct tomorrow’s workplace and cultivate the skills required for success. Our speakers are pioneers and visionaries examining subjects from innovation to performance evaluation, organizational culture and staff satisfaction.
Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques
Effective communication is crucial for success. Join Matt Abrahams, bestselling author and Stanford Graduate School of Business lecturer, as he interviews experts providing actionable insights for clear, confident communication. Think Fast, Talk Smart gives you tools and techniques to express yourself effectively in any situation and build stronger professional relationships.
Manager Tools
Fed up with management concepts? Looking to acquire concrete abilities that enhance your supervisory effectiveness? Then Manager Tools is the show for you! Manager Tools is a weekly business program dedicated to helping professionals become more capable supervisors and leaders. Weekly, we explore particular steps for professionals to implement in reaching their leadership and career aspirations.
Founders
Learn from history’s greatest entrepreneurs. Weekly, I read an entrepreneur’s biography and share ideas you can apply. As Marc Andreessen says, for little money and time, you can learn from someone’s accumulated experience, there’s much more to discover from the past than we realize. Discover the best episodes of Founders.
The Leadership Antidote Podcast
Are you a manager continuously pursuing methods to enhance yourself and your staff? Seeking actionable guidance, tactics, and resources to become a more impactful and motivating leader? This podcast serves you. Every episode delivers new and creative concepts to revolutionize your leadership style. From navigating challenging discussions to cultivating a development-oriented perspective, we address diverse subjects applicable to leaders across all tiers.
HBR On Leadership
Leadership isn’t an inherent quality, it’s a collection of abilities. Whether you’re influencing superiors or inspiring your team, HBR On Leadership offers insights and motivation from leading practitioners and authorities worldwide. Each Wednesday, Harvard Business Review editors present carefully selected discussions and examples featuring international business executives, management specialists, and scholars to help you unlock excellence in others.
A Bit of Optimism
My career happened by chance while rediscovering my lost passion. I’m fascinated by what drives people to find joy and meaning. A Bit of Optimism features honest conversations with guests who challenge and teach me. Whether household names or new faces, each shares insights to help us all grow. Join me for inspiration and reminders that good things are possible!
Do you know of another leadership podcast that you think should be on this list? Let me know.
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