Forgiveness as a Leadership Advantage with Doug Holladay, Author of Rethinking Success

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Jan 8, 2026

Doug Holladay, an author and leadership advisor, discusses the transformative power of forgiveness as a vital leadership skill. He emphasizes that resentment depletes mental bandwidth, while forgiveness fosters trust and strengthens team dynamics. Sharing insights from his book, he highlights the distinction between forgiveness and reconciliation, and the importance of leaders modeling behaviors over mere words. Doug recounts compelling stories, like the impact of the Stanford project, revealing how forgiveness serves as a path to personal and organizational healing.

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INSIGHT

Resentment Steals Leaders' Bandwidth

Bitterness consumes mental bandwidth and prevents leaders from caring for others.
Forgiveness frees focus and creates space for constructive leadership.

ADVICE

Model Behavior To Shape Culture

People follow people, so leaders must model forgiveness to shape culture.
Do focus on what happens in the halls, not just what's written on mission statements.

INSIGHT

Forgiveness ≠ Reconciliation

Forgiveness and reconciliation are distinct: forgiveness is internal, reconciliation requires two.
Leaders can forgive without controlling the other's response or behavior.

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In this episode of the Revenue Builders podcast, returning guest Doug Holladay joins the show to explore why forgiveness is not just a personal virtue, but a critical leadership skill. Drawing from Doug’s book Rethinking Success and decades of leadership experience, the conversation reframes forgiveness as a way to reclaim mental bandwidth, build trust-driven cultures, and prevent resentment from quietly eroding performance. The discussion moves beyond theory into real stories, practical distinctions, and leadership behaviors that directly impact how teams operate and scale.

Doug Holladay is an author, educator, and leadership advisor known for helping leaders examine the internal patterns that shape culture, decision-making, and long-term success. He is the author of Rethinking Success and a frequent contributor to conversations on leadership, humility, and organizational health.

Resources mentioned:

Key takeaways from this episode:

01:33 Why holding onto resentment quietly drains a leader’s focus, energy, and decision-making capacity
10:45 What most leaders get wrong about culture, and why how you handle conflict matters more than what’s written on the wall
12:28 The difference between forgiveness and reconciliation -- and why waiting for an apology keeps leaders stuck
23:34 What forgiveness actually looks like in real leadership moments (and why it’s not about fairness or closure)
26:44 Why leaders who avoid examining their own role in conflict rarely move forward – even when they’re “right”
35:42 Why humility isn’t weakness -- and how strong leaders redirect power instead of using it defensively
49:13 How shifting from “What’s wrong with them?” to “What happened to them?” changes the way leaders respond under pressure

Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results.

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