How to Lead Strategically When the World is On Fire

Nov 18, 2025

01:00:18

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How do you think strategically when it feels like all you do is put out fires? It's a common challenge among all leaders a in this episode, we'll be learning about how to tackle this from a very unlikely and different perspective: someone who teaches frameworks to military leaders who manage geopolitical crises that can help you build a stronger workplace culture, lead through disruption, and stop feeling so reactive.

When disruption becomes the new normal, from AI upheaval to geopolitical instability to constant organizational change, it’s easy for leaders to lose sight of workplace culture and long-term strategy. In this episode, Dr. Jill Goldenziel brings an unexpected lens to understanding workplace leadership: lessons from teaching colonels, generals, and senior government officials as a full professor at the National Defense University. You’ll learn how to think like a strategist, how to build trust and calm in chaos and how to align people around purpose in times of change. She will also discuss why most leaders are thinking about AI wrong and what that means for workplace culture.

This conversation is for leaders who are tired of feeling reactive, who want to move from firefighting to strategic thinking, and who need practical tools to lead their teams through disruption without losing what makes leadership human.

She also she also shares her own leadership journey of getting promoted to be the only female full professor at Marine Corps University and being a civilian working in a male-dominated, leadership-focused organization, and teaching strategy to military and government leaders in the context of cyber, information, and disruptive tech like AI.

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ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Dr. Jill Goldenziel is a leadership coach, speaker, and strategic advisor who helps executives lead smarter in a world on fire. As CEO of JG Strategy, she equips business, government, and military leaders to manage risk and turn global disruption into competitive advantage. She is a professor at the National Defense University, a Fellow at the Fox Leadership International Program at the University of Pennsylvania, and columnist for Forbes and Bloomberg Opinion. Dr. Goldenziel is a recognized expert on leadership, law, geopolitical risk, and disruptive tech whose insights have shaped decision-making across Fortune 500 companies, law firms, and US and allied militaries. She is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. ***Dr. Goldenziel is speaking in her personal capacity. Her views are her own and do not necessarily represent those of her University, the Department of Defense, or any other arm of the US Government.***

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FIND OUR GUEST HERE:

Website: www.jillgoldenziel.com

Jill's Newsletter The Strategic Lead: bit.ly/jillnewsletter

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jillgoldenziel/

Twitter: @JillGoldenziel twitter.com/JillGoldenziel

Instagram: @JillGoldenziel instagram.com/JillGoldenziel

Facebook: www.facebook.com/JillGoldenziel/

Bluesky: @JillGoldenziel bsky.app/profile/jillgoldenziel.bsky.social

Threads: @JillGoldenziel www.threads.com/@jillgoldenziel

Youtube: @JillGoldenzielStrategy www.youtube.com/channel/UCGpU8acgBZZb6o3L6yFBWhg

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