Discover the relief of knowing you're not alone. Every leader faces self-doubt and criticism. Shared experiences reveal it's a universal challenge, not a personal failing. #Leadership #SelfDoubt #Motivation #MentalHealth

Prepare for difficult conversations by knowing the essential message, no matter the reaction. Don't sugarcoat feedback about performance impacts, like missed deadlines. Be clear, and deliver it. #FeedbackTips #PerformanceReview #ManagementSkills #DifficultConversations

Struggling with small talk? Instead of 'What do you do?', try 'What do you do when you're not here?'. It frees people to share authentically and reveals more about them. Follow up with 'How did you get into that?' to show genuine interest and be the best conversationalist in the room. #ConversationTips #Networking #HumanConnection #CommunicationSkills #Engage

We constantly tell ourselves stories. Choose to hold the pen, deciding your perception and how you write your life's narrative. Accept what you can't control, forgive those who hurt you, and find gratitude for what you have. Love awaits. #MindsetMatters #PersonalGrowth #Forgiveness #Gratitude #Resilience

That quiet voice saying “I’m not good enough” shows up for almost every leader, even the ones who look the most confident from the outside. Mick Spiers sits down with world-renowned leadership coach Marc A. Pitman, author of The Surprising Gift of Doubt, to unpack why self-doubt and imposter syndrome are so persistent and how they can actually point you toward growth, alignment, and better leadership decisions. We dig into the stories we tell ourselves and how confirmation bias turns those stories into “proof.” Mark shares practical ways to rescript self-talk with simple language shifts that move you from fixed labels to a growth mindset, plus the pattern-interrupt questions that help you stop reacting on autopilot. We also talk about fear of loss, why it blocks action, and how reframing rejection through a “Go for No” mindset can make hard calls and bold moves feel more doable. From there, Mark maps the Leader’s Journey through four quadrants, showing why copying others only works for so long and how authentic leadership emerges when you integrate internal signals like values, emotions, and lived experience with external inputs like books, mentors, and training. We also cover strategic vulnerability, the fear of judgment in social settings, and how to help team members who doubt themselves by giving specific feedback they can actually believe and repeat. 🌐 Connect with Marc: • Website: https://www.nonprofitacademy.com/ https://concordleadershipgroup.com/ • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcapitman/ • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcpitman/ 📚 You can purchase Marc's books on Amazon: • The Surprising Gift of Doubt: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1989603998/ • Ask Without Fear!: https://www.amazon.com/dp/193807906X/ Send us Fan Mail (https://www.buzzsprout.com/1704997/fan_mail/new) Support the show (https://paypal.me/theleadershipproject) ✅ Follow The Leadership Project on your favourite podcast platform and listen to a new episode every week! 📝 Don’t forget to share your thoughts on the episode in the comments below.   🔔 Join us in our mission at The Leadership Project and learn more about our organisation here:  https://linktr.ee/mickspiers 📕 You can purchase a copy of the Mick Spiers bestselling book "You're a Leader, Now What?" as an eBook or paperback at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZBKK8XV If you would like a signed copy, please reach out to sei@mickspiers.com and we can arrange it for you too. If you're thinking about starting a podcast or upgrading your hosting, Buzzsprout is a great option! This link will give both of us a $20 credit when you upgrade: 👉 https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1701891 Create forms easily with Jotform! Sign up with my link: https://www.jotform.com/?referral=AkWimLxOBz Get extra Dropbox space—sign up with my link: Dropbox Referral Link (https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/AABS6mINckNfJfXjZEaOymg0zSdlShz83fk?src=global9) Wise Referral link: https://wise.com/invite/dic/michaels11434 Strea...

Discover the top-performing cultures: the sweet spot of high connection and high courage. Where care and accountability thrive together for ultimate success. Learn how to achieve it. #HighPerformance #CompanyCulture #Leadership #Teamwork #BusinessGrowth

High-performing teams don't sacrifice connection for results. Build trust, care, and empathy for sustained, exceptional performance. It's about BOTH. #TeamBuilding #Leadership #Performance #Connection #Trust

What if the promotion, the praise, and the “big win” you’re chasing isn’t actually the thing you’re looking for? We sit down with Anthony (a professor and leadership researcher focused on relationships, loneliness, and sustainable leadership) to challenge a stubborn assumption in modern work culture: that success and outcomes are the path to happiness. We dig into why leaders get trapped by results, even though results live outside our control. Anthony offers a practical shift: focus on the process you can control, accept the reality you’re operating in, and invest in the quality of relationships that make teams thrive. Along the way, we explore his framework that moves from acceptance to forgiveness to gratitude to love, and why resentment can quietly paralyze leaders and poison culture. We also talk about the difference between goals and values, why “respect” is deeper than politeness, and what compassionate, meaningful, sustainable relationships look like in real organizations especially in a hybrid and remote world. You’ll hear stories and research that connect personal well-being to leadership effectiveness, including how solitude and presence help us stop living an inherited life of “shoulds” and start building a life of meaning. If you’re wrestling with burnout, disengagement, or that nagging feeling that achievement still isn’t enough, this conversation will give you language and tools to reset your compass. 🌐 Connect with Anthony: • Website: https://theartoflivingfree.org/ • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-silard-a305516/ • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anthony.silard/ 📚 You can purchase Anthony's books on Amazon: • Love and Suffering: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0981785379/ • Screened In: https://www.amazon.com/dp/098178531X/ Send us Fan Mail (https://www.buzzsprout.com/1704997/fan_mail/new) Support the show (https://paypal.me/theleadershipproject) ✅ Follow The Leadership Project on your favourite podcast platform and listen to a new episode every week! 📝 Don’t forget to share your thoughts on the episode in the comments below.   🔔 Join us in our mission at The Leadership Project and learn more about our organisation here:  https://linktr.ee/mickspiers 📕 You can purchase a copy of the Mick Spiers bestselling book "You're a Leader, Now What?" as an eBook or paperback at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZBKK8XV If you would like a signed copy, please reach out to sei@mickspiers.com and we can arrange it for you too. If you're thinking about starting a podcast or upgrading your hosting, Buzzsprout is a great option! This link will give both of us a $20 credit when you upgrade: 👉 https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1701891 Create forms easily with Jotform! Sign up with my link: https://www.jotform.com/?referral=AkWimLxOBz Get extra Dropbox space—sign up with my link: Dropbox Referral Link (https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/AABS6mINckNfJfXjZEaOymg0zSdlShz83fk?src=global9) Wise Referral link: https://wise.com/invite/dic/michaels11434 Strea...

Start feedback by sharing a positive intention. It calms the recipient's emotional system, making them receptive to your message and fostering trust. 'I'm giving you this feedback because I want you to succeed.' #FeedbackTips #CommunicationSkills #PositiveIntentions #ProfessionalDevelopment

Unlock the secrets of System 1 thinking. We explore the availability heuristic and confirmation bias with vivid examples, revealing how quick decisions shape our reality. #System1 #CognitiveBiases #PsychologyFacts #DecisionMaking #Heuristics

One leader shares how his own bias nearly blinded him to a game-changing solution. Discover the power of curiosity in turning potential failure into unexpected success. Stay open, stay innovative. #ConfirmationBias #DecisionMaking #LeadershipLessons #Curiosity #ProblemSolving

As a psychotherapist, the skills used are identical to leadership. Discover how this seamless transition empowers effective leadership, proving that empathy and understanding are universal tools. #LeadershipSkills #Psychotherapy #Communication #Empathy #Business

Your culture isn’t what you say in calm moments. It’s what your team experiences when tension rises, deadlines slip, and someone has to tell the truth. We sit down with returning guest Bill Benjamin, co-author of The Last 8%, to move from individual stress behaviors to the bigger question leaders wrestle with: what happens to your culture when things get hard? Bill shares a simple, powerful way to diagnose any team culture using two dimensions that decide everything people do under pressure: courage and connection. We unpack what it looks like when courage shows up without care (transactional, results-first, often unsustainable) and when care shows up without courage (the “family” vibe that can quietly breed frustration, slow decisions, and protect underperformance). We also name the fear-based culture many people recognize and the real costs of silence. From there, we focus on the target: high care with high accountability. We talk about why connection comes before courage, how leaders can create psychological safety without lowering standards, and how to handle the last 8% moments that define trust. You’ll also get highly practical tools for leadership communication, including a two-step feedback approach that reduces defensiveness, helps you stay specific, and ensures the hard message actually lands. We close on why culture is the operating system for strategy, execution, engagement, and retention. If this helps you see your team more clearly, subscribe, share the episode with one person who needs it, and leave a review with the quadrant you think your culture lives in today. 🌐 Connect with Bill: • Website: https://ihhp.com/ • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-benjamin-12b671/ • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bill.benjamin/ Send us Fan Mail (https://www.buzzsprout.com/1704997/fan_mail/new) Support the show (https://paypal.me/theleadershipproject) ✅ Follow The Leadership Project on your favourite podcast platform and listen to a new episode every week! 📝 Don’t forget to share your thoughts on the episode in the comments below.   🔔 Join us in our mission at The Leadership Project and learn more about our organisation here:  https://linktr.ee/mickspiers 📕 You can purchase a copy of the Mick Spiers bestselling book "You're a Leader, Now What?" as an eBook or paperback at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZBKK8XV If you would like a signed copy, please reach out to sei@mickspiers.com and we can arrange it for you too. If you're thinking about starting a podcast or upgrading your hosting, Buzzsprout is a great option! This link will give both of us a $20 credit when you upgrade: 👉 https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1701891 Create forms easily with Jotform! Sign up with my link: https://www.jotform.com/?referral=AkWimLxOBz Get extra Dropbox space—sign up with my link: Dropbox Referral Link (https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/AABS6mINckNfJfXjZEaOymg0zSdlShz83fk?src=global9) Wise Referral link: https://wise.com/invite/dic/michaels11434 Strea...

Ever wonder why you make certain choices? It's System 1 (fast, intuitive) versus System 2 (slow, logical) thinking. Learn how biases trick your judgment. #DecisionMaking #Psychology #CognitiveBiases #System1 #System2