Claim OwnershipThe Leadership Foundry Podcast
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Welding together practical insights and powerful conversations to forge world-class leaders.
140 Episodes
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With four in five managers reporting difficulty leading Gen Z employees, the question isn't why—it's how. How can leaders close the gap and foster authentic engagement and communication across generations? We're excited to welcome back friend of the show and best-selling author, Tim Elmore, as he shares practical guidance from his new book, The Future Begins with Z: Nine Strategies to Lead Generation Z as they Disrupt the Workplace.
With any equation, remove a key element, and the outcome changes — often not in the way you want. On today's Leadership Foundry Podcast, Brandon Smith and Randy Hain dive into the pitfalls teams face when the balance between compassion, empathy, and accountability is off — and why leaders must be actively involved, engaging and conversing with their teams, so everyone feels connected, supported, and able to do their best work.
The world feels tense right now — from politics to rapid changes in technology. But what about your workplace? Without a strong, intentional culture, external chaos can spill inside, turning your organization into yet another source of stress. When you invest in a healthy workplace culture, you create stability, trust, and countless benefits that help your team stay grounded, connected, and ready to rise above the noise. To guide us on this journey, Brandon Smith is joined by special guest host, David Papa, on this week's edition of The Leadership Foundry Podcast.
Many workplace challenges stem from unspoken assumptions. Through our coaching conversations, we often see questions like: What really makes someone a high performer? What's the right way to operate as a team? Categories of assumptions include those around the way we work, our communication style, people and their roles. On today's Leadership Foundry Podcast, Brandon and Randy are back on the mics to address some of these assumptions head-on.
Time is our most finite resource, and in today's fast-paced world, everything feels urgent. As leaders, the real challenge isn't just managing our schedules—it's protecting and preserving our time so we can focus on what truly drives impact, both in the office and at home. To help us achieve this goal, Brandon and Randy share their top five best practices to reclaim your time.
"The best leaders have incredible self-belief without self-absorption." The key to this balance is self-awareness. Les Csorba, author of the newly released book, 𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘊𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺, joins Brandon Smith on today's Leadership Foundry Podcast to share his findings in detail, highlighting how self-awareness has become a crisis with many leaders believing they are more self-aware than they actually are.
There's a lot to gain from being in the office—especially when it comes to finding and nurturing career advocates. But what makes someone a great advocate, and why does it matter so much? Brandon and Randy return to the mics to unpack these insights and more.
We're excited to have returning guest, Jennifer Kahnweiler, back on the show today to share about the updated Third Edition of her book, The Introverted Leader. She and Brandon discuss how introverts can stand out and harness their unique strengths as leaders—along with tips for non-introverts to recognize and support those same qualities, maximizing impact across the organization.
Are you bringing enough positivity to work? Consider giving feedback at a ratio of five positive to every one negative (5 to 1).
Co-host, Brandon Smith, is joined by returning guest Shane Jackson—a seasoned executive, trusted voice in leadership, and author of the brand-new book, This is The Thing. In this episode, Shane breaks down what so many leaders tend to overcomplicate: purpose. He challenges us to stop chasing vague ideals and instead focus on uncovering our unique gifts, talents, and strengths—so we can show up with clarity and serve our teams with intention. Shane details how aligning with your purpose isn't just a personal win—it's essential for building a strong, healthy culture, inspiring those around you, and leading in a way that multiplies impact.
If you are not spending time to intentionally connect with your colleagues to strengthen trust and alignment, this is a must! Here's your Leadership Intention for the week: Challenge yourself to reach out to one of your peers and schedule some one-on-one time to learn more about them, their team and how you can better collaborate. Pro Tip: Consider inviting them to coffee or lunch "off campus" to enhance the richness of the conversation.
When everything is urgent, nothing is urgent. For this week's "Leadership Intention" - what are the three priorities you need to communicate to your team on Monday?
In a fluid environment, how do we remain flexible leaders? Kevin Eikenberry returns to share insights from his new book, Flexible Leadership. Listen in as he and co-host Brandon Smith discuss critical thinking, engaging in better one-on-one conversations, regular examination of our leadership style, and more.
Who can you intentionally recognize and celebrate? Here's your "Leadership Intention for the Week" (with a bonus tip on how to make sure this actually gets done)!
Brandon tackles a leadership challenge he continues to encounter in various organizations: striking the balance between compassion and accountability. He explores how leaders can offer grace and empathy without losing sight of performance, standards, and the mission at hand.
It's time for our first "Leadership Intention for the Week!" Your mission, if you choose to accept it: be intentional to set (or maintain) a boundary this week.
The best leaders "pull complexity up and push simplicity down." This episode featuring Frank Blake, former Chairman and CEO of The Home Depot is a true gift! Frank highlights how CEOs and senior teams need to understand the inverted pyramid (you're at the bottom, folks!). Communication does not cascade. He also talks about listening to your team and maintaining the mindset of a continuous learner. These are important concepts to revisit on a regular basis.
Have you ever made a $2 million mistake at work? Today's guest did during his early days as CMO of Chick-fil-A. Listen in to this special edition of the podcast as Steve Robinson, author of Covert Cows and Chick-fil-A, shares what he learned and how it changed his career.
We're taking it back to one of our favorites from the vault this week. In this episode, Brandon Smith sits down with Rick Gilkey, a member of the Emory University family as a professor for many years. The two discuss how, if we better understand our brains, we better understand ourselves AND our relationships! Our brain creates 10,000 new neurons each day! But as Rick says, "use it or lose it!"
Keynote speaker and bestselling author Jennifer Kahnweiler has been a friend of the show for many years. We're excited to welcome her back later this spring for a brand new episode on her book, The Introverted Leader 3rd Edition! So to help us prepare, we're pulling one of Brandon's previous conversations with Jennifer from the vault for this week's release. Whether you lead with quiet influence or you're looking for tips on how to be the best "introvert ally" - today's show is for you!
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