
Coaching for Leaders
Leaders aren’t born, they’re made. This Monday show helps you discover leadership wisdom through insightful conversations. Independently produced weekly since 2011, Dr. Dave Stachowiak brings perspective from a thriving, global leadership academy, plus more than 15 years of leadership at Dale Carnegie. Bestselling authors, expert researchers, deep conversation, and regular dialogue with listeners have attracted 40 million downloads and over 250K followers on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Activate your FREE membership to access the entire leadership and management library at CoachingforLeaders.com
Latest episodes

Jul 10, 2017 • 43min
305: How to Deal With the Diminishers, with Liz Wiseman
Liz Wiseman: Multipliers
Liz Wiseman has been listed on the Thinkers50 ranking and named as one of the top 10 leadership thinkers in the world and recipient of the 2016 ATD Champion of Talent Award. She is the author of three best-selling books, including Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter*.
Key Points
Some leaders make the people around them less capable.
Leaders who diminish others get less than half of their capabilities.
Diminishing often comes from good intentions.
Leadership is a skill you can learn.
A good boss sees the genius in others.
Find a way to let your boss know what you’re best at.
By admitting our own mistakes, we create an environment where others are willing to take risks.
Ask yourself how you might be shutting down people’s ideas and capabilities.
Resources Mentioned
Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter (revised and updated)* by Liz Wiseman
Related Episodes
How to Engage With Humor, with David Nihill (episode 245)
The Way to Stop Rescuing People From Their Problems, with Michael Bungay Stanier (episode 284)
What Gets Between You and Greatness, with Lolly Daskal (episode 296)
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Jul 3, 2017 • 43min
304: How to Change Behavior, with Bonni Stachowiak
Bonni Stachowiak: Teaching in Higher Ed
Bonni Stachowiak is the host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, a professor of business and management at Vanguard University, and my life partner. Prior to her academic career, Bonni was a human resources consultant and executive officer for a publicly traded company. She is the author of The Productive Online and Offline Professor: A Practical Guide*.
Questions
Kristi asked about how to consistently apply what she’s learning from the show until new habits become unconscious behaviors.
Kimberly asked for advice on how to handle a situation where she is co-managing a team.
Bar asked about the best ways to navigate imposter syndrome.
Jonny asked about avoiding career moves that may be motivated only by status or money.
Resources Mentioned
7 Ways to Maximize Misery
The Power of Habit* by Charles Duhigg
Radical Candor* by Kim Scott
Why Is Authenticity So Hard and How Can You Be The Best Kind of Real? - Chris Brogan
Tom Henschel Interviews Dave (episode 300)
Coaching for Leaders Academy
Cars 3
Very Bad Wizards
Related Episodes
The Way to Make New Behaviors Stick, with Marshall Goldsmith (episode 196)
The Best Way to Make New Habits Reality, with Kendra Kinnison (episode 217)
How to Challenge Directly and Care Personally, with Kim Scott (episode 302)
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Jun 26, 2017 • 44min
303: The Way to Inspire Ownership, with Pete Mockaitis
Pete Mockaitis: How to Be Awesome at Your Job
Pete Mockaitis is the host of the How to be Awesome at Your Job podcast, regularly listed as a top careers show on Apple podcasts.
Key Points
Your sense of ownership in your work can have huge consequences in how well things unfold.
Self-efficacy has a large effect on your sense of ownership in your work.
Try to connect the job someone is doing with the overall mission of the organization.
The effects of micromanaging can be disastrous for an organization.
When delegating a job, think about the critical components of the job and what you want the result to be, then let employees get the job done however they see fit.
Delegation doesn’t have to be an all-in-one-shot type of thing, it can be done in stages.
Steps to delegating:
Watch me do this
Help me do this
Let’s do this together
I’ll help you do this
I’ll watch you do this.
Resources Mentioned
Albert Bandura
The 80/20 Principle* by Richard Koch
Essentialism* by Greg McKeown
The ONE Thing* Gary Keller Jay Papasan
Arthur Woods podcast episode
Jeff McManus podcast episode
Financial Intelligence* by Joe Knight
Improve Your Financial Intelligence, with Joe Knight (episode 244)
Episodes from the How to be Awesome at Your Job podcast that may be of value to your team:
Increasing Confidence by Increasing Self-Awareness with Dr. Tasha Eurich
Making Stress Work for You with Dr. Melanie Greenberg
Overcoming Self-limiting Beliefs with R. Michael Anderson
Honing Your Persuasive Skills with Kwame Christian
Communicating with Inspiration and Clarity with Mawi Asgedom
Related Episodes
The Seven Steps You Follow To Delegate Work (episode 117)
The Four Stories Leaders Need For Influence, with David Hutchens (episode 148)
How to Challenge Directly and Care Personally, with Kim Scott (episode 302)
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Jun 19, 2017 • 43min
302: How to Challenge Directly and Care Personally, with Kim Scott
Kim Scott: Radical Candor
Kim Scott is a co-founder of Candor, Inc. She has been an advisor at Dropbox, Kurbo, Qualtrics, ReelGoodApp, Rolltape, Shyp, Twitter, and several other Silicon Valley companies. She is the author of the book Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss without Losing your Humanity*.
Key Points
Show you care at a personal level.
You can’t build a relationship that’s not personal.
In order to care personally for someone, you have to bring your whole self, not just your “business” persona.
Sometimes we get so focused on the work that we forget there’s actually a person doing the work.
Begin by soliciting feedback, not by giving it.
To get feedback, come up with a go-to question like “Is there anything I could do or stop doing that would make it easier to work with me?”
Resources Mentioned
Radical Candor* by Kim Scott
Radical Candor podcast
Book Notes
Download my highlights from Radical Candor in PDF format (free membership required).
Related Episodes
Start With Why, with Simon Sinek (episode 223)
How to Manage Abrasive Leaders, with Sharone Bar-David (episode 290)
How to Get the Ideal Team Player, with Patrick Lencioni (episode 301)
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6 snips
Jun 12, 2017 • 40min
301: How to Get the Ideal Team Player, with Patrick Lencioni
Patrick Lencioni, author of The Ideal Team Player, discusses the importance of hiring team players who are humble, hungry, and smart. He emphasizes the difficulty in teaching hunger, the need for unconventional interviews, and the high cost of hiring someone with misaligned values. Lencioni's insights provide practical tips for recognizing and cultivating essential virtues in team dynamics.

Jun 5, 2017 • 48min
300: Tom Henschel Interviews Dave
Dave Stachowiak: Coaching for Leaders
Tom Henschel, host of The Look & Sound of Leadership podcast, executive coach at Essential Communications, and friend of Dave, interviews him on the growth of Coaching for Leaders and how he developed his voice.
Key Points
When trying to do something that helps others, remember that it’s not about you—don’t worry about you, worry about them.
The best way to build a connection with people is to get really curious about them.
You have to make the decision to listen.
If you don’t have a lot of time to listen, figure out how much time you do have and make the decision to be totally present in that short time.
Listening is an attitude, not a set of skills.
View failure as data rather than an identity.
Resources Mentioned
The Look & Sound of Leadership podcast
The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, with Susan Cain (episode 44)
How to Steal the Show, with Michael Port (episode 219)
Failing Forward * by John Maxwell
Introduction to Powerful Listening (episode 1)
The Lean Startup* by Eric Ries
Related Episodes
Six Mistakes That I Have Made Podcasting (episode 57)
Three Steps to Take After You Conduct a Survey, with Bonni Stachowiak (episode 150)
What This Show is About (episode 197)
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May 29, 2017 • 40min
299: How to Lead Top-Line Growth, with Tim Sanders
Tim Sanders: Dealstorming
Tim Sanders was the Chief Solutions Officer at Yahoo! and later, the company’s leadership coach. He is the author of four books, including the New York Times bestseller Love Is the Killer App: How To Win Business & Influence Friends* and his new book Dealstorming: The Secret Weapon That Can Solve Your Toughest Sales Challenges*.
Key Points
Every big thing we try to do is not just the one thing, it’s a lot of smaller things put together.
You no longer sell to just one decision-maker, you have to sell to an entire team or a committee.
When selling, you’ll probably never meet most of the people need to influence.
Somebody in the company you’re selling to needs to be your advocate.
Leaders should always have a mentee because it’s a great leadership habit, not because it’s an HR program.
The best mentors expect nothing in return.
If you assume people are acting with the best intentions, you’re going to be a much happier leader.
Resources Mentioned
Dealstorming: The Secret Weapon That Can Solve Your Toughest Sales Challenges* by Tim Sanders
Love Is the Killer App: How To Win Business & Influence Friends * by Tim Sanders
Related Episodes
The Surprising Truth About Influencing Others, with Daniel Pink (episode 84)
How to Collaborate Across Organizations, with Kirsten Foot (episode 215)
How to Actually Move Numbers, with Chris McChesney (episode 294)
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May 22, 2017 • 38min
298: Tools for Saving Time and Learning More, with Bonni Stachowiak
This discussion dives into a variety of tools to boost productivity and learning. Scheduling apps like Doodle and TimeTrade simplify planning. The capture technique for task management helps manage commitments effectively. Blinkist offers quick book insights for busy minds, while SaneBox organizes emails by importance. The Overcast app enhances podcast listening with customizable playback speeds. Social media platforms are explored for their role in expanding professional networks and sharing valuable content.

May 15, 2017 • 40min
297: Four Steps to Get Unstuck and Embrace Change, with Susan David
Susan David: Emotional Agility
Susan David is a psychologist on the faculty of Harvard Medical School; cofounder and codirector of the Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital; and CEO of Evidence Based Psychology. She is the author of the bestselling book Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life*.
Key Points
Showing Up: Instead of ignoring difficult thoughts and emotions or overemphasizing ‘positive thinking’, facing into your thoughts, emotions and behaviors willingly, with curiosity and kindness.
Stepping Out: Detaching from, and observing your thoughts and emotions to see them for what they are — just thoughts, just emotions. Essentially, learning to see yourself as the chessboard, filled with possibilities, rather than as any one piece on the board, confined to certain preordained moves.
Walking Your Why: Your core values provide the compass that keeps you moving in the right direction. Rather than being abstract ideas, these values are the true path to willpower, resilience and effectiveness.
Moving On: Small deliberate tweaks to your mindset, motivation, and habits — in ways that are infused with your values, can make a powerful difference in your life. The idea is to find the balance between challenge and competence, so that you’re neither complacent nor overwhelmed. You’re excited, enthusiastic, invigorated.
Resources Mentioned
Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life* by Susan David
Emotional Agility Quiz
3 Ways to Better Understand Your Emotions
Related Episodes
Ten Ways to Pick Yourself Up When You’re Beaten Down (episode 85)
How to Lead Through Uncertainty and Change, with Jacqueline Farrington (episode 224)
How to Increase Your Conversational Intelligence, with Judith Glaser (episode 271)
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34 snips
May 8, 2017 • 34min
296: What Gets Between You and Greatness, with Lolly Daskal
Lolly Daskal: The Leadership Gap
Lolly Daskal is the CEO of Lead From Within and was designated a Top-50 Leadership and Management Expert by Inc. magazine. She is the author of the the new book The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness*.
Key Points
If the situation isn’t working, what can you change about yourself?
Ask yourself what type of person you need to be in a situation.
There are aspects of ourselves that come out in times of stress.
When you’re aware of your actions, you can choose how you’re going to act in the next moment.
Allow your employees to teach you.
Resources Mentioned
The Leadership Gap
The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness* by Lolly Daskal
Related Episodes
The Way to Make New Behaviors Stick, with Marshall Goldsmith (episode 196)
How to Tame Your Inner Critic, with Tara Mohr (episode 232)
Use Power for Good and Not Evil, with Dacher Keltner (episode 254)
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Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.