No Bullsh!t Leadership
Episodes
Moment #122: Building a Success Mindset
25 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #122 // Some of the most important success principles are counterintuitive. It’s in our nature to look for easy answers to the things that ch...
351. Are You Stunting Your People's Growth? 5 rules for leading without over-functioning
20 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I came across a great quote recently, thanks to one of the leaders in our inner circle, Natasha Read. It was a quote from Maria Montessori,...
Moment #121: Keep it fun!
18 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #120 // Humour can vastly improve team dynamics and culture, by breaking through tension and giving people a laugh.But organisations have becom...
350. Fewer, Better People: Why more people won’t solve your problems
13 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fewer, Better People. What a great mantra! The meaning is crystal clear and, what’s more, there’s absolutely zero fat on it - no corporate speak, ...
Moment #120: How Do You Fix a Broken Team?
11 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #120 // It’s almost guaranteed that when you take over a new team, it’s going to be a little dysfunctional.Sometimes, the team you inherit ...
349. Building a Culture of Psychological Safety: Create the Conditions for High Performance
06 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Psychological safety is a critical part of a high-performance culture. Unless people feel comfortable contributing their ideas and challenging the voc...
Moment #119: Leave the Social Issues to the Celebrities
04 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #119 // There’s been an increasing trend over the last several years for high profile leaders to come out in support of social issues.Many CE...
348. How To Overcome Your Fear Of Feedback
29 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fear of feedback...it's one of the biggest barriers that holds leaders back from reaching their potential.Even some of the smartest, most talented lea...
Moment #118: How To Spot a Political Animal
27 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #118 // Politics is so ingrained in human nature that it can be really hard to identify and neutralize… Political animals are everywhere.Iden...
347. How To Wildly Exceed Your People’s Expectations: The psychological contract
22 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Keeping people happy…it seems to be a constant focus for leaders at all levels, and it spawns all sorts of cultural ills. But the worst part is...
Moment #117: Can We Overcome Short-Termism
20 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #117 // Short-term focus is one of the biggest problems in business today. And it’s also one of the most intractable.In this moment, we expla...
346. Leading a Unionised Workforce: The truths that no one wants to admit
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Leading a team in a unionised business is different. It’s hard enough to lead when you have direct line of sight to your people, but when there’s ...
Moment #116: Leadership Power Is Dangerous
13 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #116 // Leadership power can be dangerous, if you use it thoughtlessly. But if you take the time to understand it, and use your power deli...
345. Upward bullying is real. Here’s how to handle it
08 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Work-related mental health issues are on the rise - and this increase seems to be fuelled by an entitlement culture that’s holding many companies ca...
Moment #115: Does Anyone Read What You Write?
06 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #115 // Written communication in business is pretty poor, for the most part. People put countless hours into writing, and it may or may not sur...
344. How to Build a Winning Team Culture (In Just 4 Steps)
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the high stakes world of Formula 1 motor racing, the difference between the fastest cars and the slowest cars can be measured in fractions of a sec...
Moment #114: Success Playbook of the Strong Leader
30 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #114 // Although we like to create neat definitions for different leadership approaches, every individual has a different style.Any style can b...
343. 6 Proven Hiring Tactics That Will Upgrade Your Entire Team
25 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I was preparing a resource for a group of CEOs who are currently in our Business Accelerator Program, and one part of the content jumped out at me—h...
Moment #113: Where Do We Go Wrong With Strategy?
23 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #113 // Many company strategies look good on face value, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re effective.There are many reasons for thi...
342. Are We Winning the Gender Equality Battle? With Helen Conway
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of No Bullsh!t Leadership, we’re tackling one of the biggest, most complex issues in the workplace - gender equality.Joining me for ...
Moment #112: Your Stakeholders Will Make Or Break You!
16 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #112 // Are Your Stakeholders Your Biggest Blind Spot? Too many leaders throw around the word stakeholders without actually knowing who they ar...
341. The Leadership Playbook for Every Business Phase: What’s YOUR Sweet Spot?
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I address a question from Virginie Hoareau, one of our dedicated listeners and Leadership Beyond the Theory alumna. Virginie ask...
Moment #111: The 4 Competencies You Need to Future-Proof Your Career
09 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #111 // There are many schools of thought on which competencies are most useful to help you achieve your career ambitions.So, which key areas s...
340. Driving a High Impact Value Focus: Cutting through the noise
04 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Every day, you’ll find countless opportunities to get distracted, which could potentially compromise your ability to deliver on the main game.Many y...
Moment #110: How To Become Completely Unflappable
02 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #110 // We talk a lot about resilience. These days, just mustering the capacity to cope with the pressures of everyday life is difficult.For le...
339. How I Climbed the Corporate Ladder: Proof that even bad decisions work out!
25 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I’m often asked, “Marty, how did you manage your career to get to where you are today?”Like everyone else, I had to start at the bottom and work...
Moment #109 Don’t Let Failure Dent Your Confidence
23 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #109 // One of the most important principles of great leadership is to let go of perfectionism, and instead drive towards excellence… it’s ...
338. The Leadership Trends That Are Holding You Back (And What Works Instead)
18 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Many leaders find it difficult to keep up with the pace of change. And you may be feeling as though that the world is changing faster than it ever has...
Moment #108: High Performers Are Hard To Lead
16 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #108 // We often kid ourselves that someone is a high performer when, in reality, they’re just good at one particular aspect of their job.How...
337. How To Do Hard Things: 4 Strategies to Implement TODAY
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re like most people, there’s probably a key area of leadership that you’ve been struggling with – or even worse, not struggling with, b...
Moment #107: How Will You Differentiate Yourself As A Leader?
09 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #107 // As you rise through the ranks of your organization, you’ll see that your peers are really smart too… increasingly so, the higher up...
336. Maximizing Your Leadership Development ROI (+ a Free ROI Calculator)
04 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, we produced a BUMPER episode on the pros and cons of an MBA qualification. I even gave you a framework to help you evaluate whether an MBA ...
Moment #106 How to Give Your Boss Feedback (without it being a career limiting move)
02 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #106 // Most people would rather resign than raise issues with their boss…but before you push the big red button, it might be helpful to thin...
335. Is the MBA Dead? Listen to this before dropping $100k
28 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re considering the possibility of studying an MBA – or even if you have an MBA and want to work out how to maximize its value – this epis...
Moment #105: How to Use Your Judgment Effectively
26 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #105 // With ready access to mountains of information, decision-making processes in many companies have become more and more about data analyti...
334. The Perfect Ending for a 1:1 Meeting (Clarity is everything)
21 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Performance management gets a bad rap these days. There’s a school of thought that formal performance management processes do more harm than good. A...
Moment #104: Team Morale Is Elusive
19 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #104 // Conventional wisdom tells us that “happy workers are productive workers”... but short-term, sugar-hits of happiness don’t lead to...
333. How to Set Career Goals (And Actually Achieve Them)
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For the last four years, we’ve run the Crush Your Career Challenge with thousands of ambitious leaders, who’ve not only set bold career goals but ...
Moment #103: Making Natural Tensions Constructive
13 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #103 // Virtually every company has natural tensions built into its DNA, and these tensions can deliver incredible value – if you know how to...
332. The 5-Step Formula for Regaining Control of Your Week
07 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Many leaders struggle every day with oppressive workloads and long hours. We all have busy periods – it comes with the territory – but if this pat...
Moment #102: Does Indispensability = Job Security?
05 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #102 // You may think that the most certain way to build job security is to make yourself indispensable – but you would probably be wrong!Ind...
331. Leading in 2025: What Can We Expect?
31 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s episode is a bit of fun! As I like to do each year, I take a look at what’s likely to be ahead for economies, businesses, and leaders in 2...
Moment #101 How Do You Grow Your Talent From Within?
29 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #101 // In these days of competitive labor markets, greater employee mobility, and increasing recruitment costs, our emphasis has to be on grow...
330. The Five Best Episodes of 2024: As chosen by Marty and Em
24 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s Christmas Eve here in Boston, so Merry Christmas everyone! If Christmas isn’t your thing, then Happy Hanukkah, Ōmisoka, or Kwanzaa - whateve...
Moment #100 Where Should Every Leadership Decision Begin?
22 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #100 // Many leaders talk about value, but for the people they’re trying to motivate, it’s almost meaningless.What should they do different...
329. Don’t Feed Your People’s Delusion: Embracing cause and effect
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One of the more difficult aspects of leadership is managing your people’s expectations. You’re in the hot seat, and your team will judge your lead...
Moment #99 How Bad Apples Kill Momentum (And What to Do)
15 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #99 // During my executive career, I gained a lot of experience in driving change. I’ve also read all the iconic literature on change managem...
Building Resilience Into the Fragile: THIS is a growth industry!
10 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #328 // After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, we seem to be reaching a more stable position on how work and life should coexist in a post-...
Moment #98 What World-Class Leaders Know That You Don’t
08 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #98 // Sitting down to interview Scott J Miller was like sitting down with Graham Norton, or Joe Rogan, or David Letterman — so, I was intrig...
Your Boss Is Probably Lying To You! How to read between the lines
03 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #327 // Bad news can be really tough to handle, especially when it’s so unexpected that you didn’t see it coming.At times like these, it’...
Moment #97 Career Accelerators That No One Talks About
01 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #97 // Everyone says leaders are learners, but the truth is, not all learning accelerates your career.You can spend hours consuming information...
Accountability, Motivation, and Culture: A World-Class Leadership Playbook
26 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #326 // Yes I'm talking about Tom Brady again in this episode BUT DON'T KEEP SCROLLING! This episode is an absolute must-listen!!As you know, ...
Moment #96 Not Every Organization Wants Performance
24 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #96 // Every organization talks about performance – but not every organization is serious about it. When push comes to shove, many companies...
Finding Your Team's Superpower: The ONE thing that matters most
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #325 // I’m sure you hear me talk frequently about value creation. As a leader, your primary objective above all else is to deliver value. H...
Moment #95 Epic Fails - All Care, No Responsibility
17 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #95 // Working successfully in complex organizations requires collaboration. But you shouldn’t sacrifice strong accountabilities for the sake...
Live Q&A on Your Biggest Challenges: 30 minutes you can’t miss
12 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #324 // Welcome to a special episode from our recent No Bullsh!t Leadership Live event in Sydney! Marty dives into the real, pressing issues l...
Moment #94 How To Really Make Delegation Stick
10 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #94 // During my corporate executive career, not working at the right level was probably the most common problem that I saw holding leaders bac...
How To Stop Missing Targets: Finding the hidden bottlenecks
05 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #323 // Last week, we launched our No Bullsh!t Leadership Hub community, and it’s already firing on all cylinders. For those of y...
Moment #93 Rising Above the Concrete Layer
03 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #93 // Middle management jobs are the toughest jobs in any organization. You’re effectively the meat in the sandwich, and the senior leadersh...
The FREE Leadership Hub That Will Transform Your Leadership Game
29 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #322 // This week, I’m announcing something big: The No Bullsh!t Leadership Hub, our brand-new free community built for leaders who are seri...
Moment #92 Getting Your Boss To Agree To Your Plan
27 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #92 // Whenever you need approval to allocate resources, you’ll most likely need to convince your boss that it’s a good idea.All organizati...
Friends, Family, and Favoritism with Pat Lencioni
22 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #321 // In the final part of my conversation with leadership expert Pat Lencioni, we take a quick dive into the complex dynamics of working wi...
Moment #91 What Does Engagement Really Tell Us?
20 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #91 // You’ve no doubt heard the expression, Employee Engagement. It’s roughly equivalent to the age-old concept of job satisfaction, or JS...
Is Data Illiteracy Holding You Back? How to make better decisions
15 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #320 // Was Lucy Letby wrongly convicted in her healthcare murder trial? We may never know… but what we do know is that her trial was plague...
Moment #90 Can You Still Be Happy If You Don't Have a Purpose?
13 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #90 // There’s a lot of talk these days about purpose… we’re indoctrinated with the notion that, if you don’t pursue your purpose, what...
5 Rules for Leading Through Change Without Losing Your Team
08 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #319 // We are constantly inundated with media reports, LinkedIn blogs, and conversations around the water cooler about the amount of stress w...
Moment #89: My #1 Hack for Overcoming Self-Interest
06 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #89 // You can tell the character of a leader by watching what they do under pressure. Some choose to do what’s in the best interests of thei...
5 Reasons Why Your Strategy is Failing and What to Do About It
01 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #318 // Peter Drucker, one of the founding fathers of modern management theory said, “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that ...
Moment #88 Why Doesn’t My Boss Give Me More Direction?
29 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #88 // When you get promoted, you may expect your boss to spend time with you to induct you, to explain what’s important in your new role, an...
Leadership Confidence Is Crumbling… Here’s What’s Really Happening
24 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #317 // Research from top executive search firm, Russell Reynolds, recently found that leaders’ confidence in their executive leadership tea...
Moment #87 When Overruling Your Team Is the Right Move
22 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #87 // A “captain’s call” is a decision made unilaterally by a team leader without consulting colleagues, often resulting in a massive cl...
The Secret to Aligning Talent with High-Impact Work with Patrick Lencioni
17 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #316 // I'm releasing Part 2 of my interview with Patrick Lencioni today, where we're going to dive straight into how you can use his&nbs...
Moment #86 The Truth About Performance Reviews
15 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Performance reviews seem to have fallen out of fashion in many companies, particularly those companies that focus purely on people’s short-term need...
How to Find and Keep Rare Talent That Drives 800% More Value
10 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #315 // I frequently mention high performers in passing, but I don’t often talk about how to find them, how to keep them, and how to get the...
Moment #85 Achieve More with the Power of Layered Excellence
08 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #85 // Enabling perfectionism creates all sorts of problems. Even though the quest for perfection sounds noble, in reality, it's mostly driven ...
The Silent Career Killer: Navigating the Dark Side of Office Politics
03 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #314 // Politics exists in every organization. Some companies tolerate it more than others, and it’s not uncommon for ego-driven leaders to ...
Moment #84: Can You Teach an Old Dog New Tricks?
01 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #84 // At some stage during your career, you’ll no doubt find yourself in the position where you need to drive a turnaround in your team’s ...
You’re Not Behind: 4 Steps for Getting Out of Career Stagnation
27 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #313 // We’ve all heard the stories about the people who started entrepreneurial ventures quite late in life, and found success at a mature ...
Moment #83 When Personal Problems Spill Over Into Work (And How to Handle It)
25 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #83 // Over the last several years, we’ve seen greater integration of our work and personal lives than ever before… some would even go so f...
Your 5 Hardest Conversations and How to Nail Them!
20 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #312 // Last week I leaned into the more philosophical side of my content with my 12 hard leadership truths. This week, we’re back at the co...
Moment #82 The 3 Keys to Real Transformation (And Why Most Fall Short)
18 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #82 // Cutting through change-resistant behavior in any team is incredibly difficult, because the people who are supposed to be driving the cha...
12 Hard Leadership Truths That Every Leader Needs To Hear
13 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #311 // In this episode I cover 12 things that you’ll instinctively resist on your leadership journey. Not all of you will resist all of the...
Moment #81 How Can You Manage What You Can't See?
11 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #81 // During the pandemic, work became performance art for many, as they pursued the goal of looking busy, rather than actually delivering rea...
3 Proven Strategies to Elevate Your Leadership Presence
06 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #310 // Join the free bootcamp here! Over the last several months, a lot of leaders have told us that their companies are hunkering down, in a...
Moment #80 Why Most Leaders Fail at Hiring
04 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #80 // Hiring really good people has always been hard. There’s serious competition for talent in many industries, and limitations in your pot...
Patrick Lencioni on Leadership Courage and the Future of Hybrid Work
30 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #309 // We rarely do interviews on No Bullsh!t Leadership. But when Patrick Lencioni’s team reached out to us earlier this year, we jumped a...
Moment #79: Something Just Doesn’t Seem Right
28 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #79 // Over the course of your leadership career, you’ll deal with people from all walks of life, many different cultures, and a range of soc...
Responding In Pivotal Moments: The principles of mastery
23 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #308 // It’s pretty rare that you’re faced with a decision that’s final or irreversible. And when one comes along, it’s normally prett...
Moment #78: Don't Fall In Love With Family Culture
21 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #78 // Most successful founders face a problem as their business grows: the attributes that made them successful in the first place (e.g. innov...
How to Build Confidence Quickly...for you AND your people!
16 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #307 // There’s a lot to be said for having confidence. It’s an essential ingredient for any leader who aspires to lift their people to gr...
Moment #77: Don't Let Unconscious Biases Rule You
14 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #77 // We’re all driven, to a greater or lesser extent, by unconscious biases. These invisible forces hijack our cognitive processes, and imp...
The DNA of Peak Performance: Learning from the best
09 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #306 // I’ve always been fascinated by people who transcend the limits of human performance, in any field. They lead the way, expanding our ...
Moment #76: Building a Team that Outlasts Others
07 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #76 // If you want to build a team that outlasts others, you need each and every individual to be comfortable under pressure. And this starts w...
Should Leaders Buy Into Social Issues? Dodging the landmines
02 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #305 // Over the last decade, there’s been a creeping trend for CEOs to weigh in on social issues, making their private stance very public.T...
Moment #75: My Failproof Formula For Speaking Confidently
30 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #75 // Many people rate public speaking as one of their top fears. And even though they may learn to push through and suck it up, it’s only a...
Hard Work Can’t Outpace Bad Strategy: Q&A with Marty and Em
25 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #304 // There are many things that can go wrong between when we utter the words, “Let’s develop our corporate strategy” and the words, “...
Moment #74: Conveying Key Messages With Clarity
23 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #74 // Communication is an incredibly important element of leadership. How you talk to your team, how you deliver a presentation when you’re ...
Navigating Wicked Problems: Compartmentalization is key
18 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #303 // We know that problem solving is a critical part of leadership life — we spend a lot of time on any given day solving our own problem...
Moment #73: Leading People To Do the Sh!t Work
16 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #73 // I talk a lot about high performance. But what about the people who find themselves doing relatively mundane, repetitive, or low-skilled ...
7 Big Culture Killers: Don’t let mediocrity destroy performance
11 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #302 // One of our dedicated listeners, Jonathan, observed that a number of culture killers can be described by words that end with the suffix...