No Bullsh!t Leadership

Moment #72: Leading In Organization-Induced Chaos

09 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #72 // It is common in most larger organizations to restructure from time to time, even though these restructures are often ill-conceived. Any ...

Bouncing Back From Major Failures: Not all mistakes are equal

04 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 301 // A lot has been written and said over the years about the necessary role that failure plays in our quest for success. Anyone who has eve...

Moment #71: How To Make YOUR Project Fail Proof

02 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #71 // How often do we hear leaders claim that their project was delivered “on time, and on budget”. This is often wildly misleading, beca...

Humor is ESSENTIAL: How to keep it light!

28 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #300 // “If you can look on the light side of any crisis, remain positive and optimistic, and crack a joke or two, you'll be in a much bette...

Moment #70: What Can Hindsight Teach Us?

26 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #70 // There are any number of life lessons that I could absolutely have used earlier on, and lots of stuff that would have made me a better le...

Setting a Higher Standard: How everyone benefits!

21 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode 299 // “When you try to protect your people by setting a lower standard, you effectively rob them of their opportunity to improve, to thrive...

Moment #69: Are You a Transformational Leader?

19 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #69 // Virtually every senior leader finds themself executing a major change or transformation program at some point in their career. It’...

Leading Through Resistance and Inertia: Q&A with Marty & Em

14 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #289 // "Build an island of excellence within your team, even if the organizational culture resists change. Your leadership can thrive despite...

Moment #68: When You Lack Control, Use Influence

12 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #68 // There are many ways to get your team to do things, and the type of power you use to get results is all-important. But, we rarely think a...

Making Yourself Indispensable: Will it protect your job?

07 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #297 // “If you ever find yourself thinking, "How could the company possibly do without me?" Well, trust me, they'll work it out!” For as ...

Moment #67: Life Principles That Guarantee Success

05 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #67 // You’ll often hear people explain away someone else’s success by saying, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know!”It’s e...

The Comeback of the Middle Manager: A welcome trend!

30 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #296 // "Middle management is the engine room of performance. This is where you are closest to the work, and you can make some real inroads in...

Moment #66: Preparing For the Next Level

28 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #66 // Leaders who have been passed over for promotion are often told, “You need to be more strategic”... whatever that means!There could b...

My Biggest Executive-Level Mistakes: And how I turned them into strengths

23 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #295 // “We make mistakes, at each new level that we move to – it's an essential part of our growth and development. But the higher up you...

Moment #65: Modifying Your Style to Reach Your People

21 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #65 // If you want to be a great leader, you have to learn to read the play – to know when it’s appropriate to push one of your people hard...

Is Faster Always Better?

16 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #294 // “If you can create a culture that values momentum, you will almost always outperform teams that don't!” I often talk about the nee...

Moment #64: Does Your CEO Have the Stomach for Change?

14 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #64 // Many CEOs and senior executives talk a good game when it comes to culture change and transformation… it’s almost expected. But, even...

Leading High Performers: It’s harder than it looks!

09 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #293 // “I look at my high performers with one thought in mind: What will it take for them to get to the next level?”When you focus on set...

Moment #63: Playing the Long Game With Suppliers

07 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #63 // Times are tough and, when the pressure is on, it doesn’t take long before companies start to squeeze their suppliers in an attempt to ...

Crafting Your Leadership Identity: Q&A with Marty and Em

02 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #292 // “In team sports, “leading from the front” means a completely different thing than it does in business.”There are a number of e...

Moment #62: Who's Running the Show? CEO or Board?

31 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #62 // The board of directors is increasingly seen as the accountable body for ensuring ethical, responsible behavior from companies. But we st...

Real Leaders Keep People Safe: Physically, mentally, and psychologically

26 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #291 // “The boundaries between our work and personal lives have shifted, and leaders need to deal with the fallout.” When I began my corp...

Moment #61: Do Your People Know What You Want?

24 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #61 // What if your people knew exactly what to expect from you? What if they understood your style, the objectives that drive you, and the th...

Stakeholder Mastery: Moving from chaos to control

19 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #290 // "The best leaders do what's needed to master their stakeholder ecosystem, taking it from chaos and unpredictability to control and ali...

Moment #60: Getting Help Without Breaking the Bank

17 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #60 // I’m a big believer in avoiding the problems that inevitably emerge when you become too isolated, or spend too much time cocooned in yo...

Improving Your Promotion Prospects: Getting to the next level

12 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #289 // “In the absence of your ability to handle pressure at your current level, your boss is going to think twice about promoting you”Al...

Moment #59: Accountability First, Collaboration Second

10 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #59 // Collaboration is one of the big buzz words of 21st century leadership. But the concept of collaboration in business dates back to the 19...

My Recent Epic Fail: Controlling the controllables

05 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #288 // “After almost 62 years on this planet, you'd think I'd know better – and I kind of do – but it doesn't mean I always get it righ...

Moment #58: Putting Your People First

03 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #58 // Conventional wisdom tells us that we have to put people before profits… that if we look after our people then, in turn, they will look...

The Pressures Leaders Face: It’s different at every level

27 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #287 // “It's way easier just to roll your sleeves up and fix something, than it is to put in the hard work of leadership to lift someone el...

Moment #57: Change Only Hurts When It’s Irrational

25 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #57 // Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution is often summarized as: the survival of the fittest. But, in fact, Darwin’s conclusion was that...

The Accidental Leader: It’s the most common variety

20 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #286 // “While one in four people in the workforce have managerial responsibilities, very few have actually been trained. 82% of leaders are...

Moment #56: Making the Most of the Feedback You're Given

18 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #56 // We talk a lot as leaders about how to give feedback, and it takes many years of experience to actually get good at it. What we don’t t...

When Profits Create Problems: What can we learn from Boeing?

13 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #285 // “If you make decisions in isolation, you're likely to miss the implications of those decisions on the whole ecosystem, and this is o...

Moment #55: Do You Want To Be Right? Or Successful?

11 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #55 // Being right isn’t everything – it’s just a good start.Many leaders like to position themselves as “the smartest person in the ro...

Giving Your Boss Feedback: How honest should you be?

06 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #284 // “There are very few bosses who will say “no” when asked if they’d like feedback. But even though they might say “yes”, you...

Moment #54: Great Leaders Are Great Negotiators

04 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #54 // We all think we know how to negotiate. After all, our negotiating skills are honed from birth, as we tussle with our parents to try to c...

Trusting Your Team: Are you making this mistake?

30 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #283 // “If your people trust and respect you, there's nothing you can't say to them.”When we talk about trust in the context of leadershi...

Moment #53: Push Back or Burn Out!

28 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #53 // The factors behind the increasing levels of work stress that people are experiencing are many and varied – it’s a complex issue. Wha...

Celebrating 5 Million Downloads: Unpacking our podcast’s 5 success principles

23 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #282 // “A lot of the more senior leaders reject No Bullsh!t Leadership, because the higher up they go, the more they have to lose – they ...

Moment #52: Building Professional Credibility

21 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #52: Building Professional Credibility // Whatever you try to achieve as a leader relies, at least to some extent, on your credibility. If you ...

Building Team Morale: Confident, Secure, and Enabled to Perform

16 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #281 // “If you focus on trying to make your people happy instead of providing the opportunity for them to develop their self-esteem, you're...

Moment #51: Presenting for Impact

14 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #51// We’ve all sat in meeting rooms where we’ve been subjected to death by PowerPoint. For every leader, the ability to present informatio...

Leading in 2024: What can we expect?

09 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #280 // “The productivity decline isn’t just a flash in the pan: it’s a structural reset that we're all going to have to grapple with in...

Moment #50: The Inter-Generational Divides

07 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #50 // Many young leaders who have to manage older, more experienced workers find the whole process quite intimidating. Equally, older leaders ...

Crush Your Career in 2024

02 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #279 // “Most of us are highly rational leaders, and our instinct is to make the long-term planning process a purely intellectual exercise. ...

Moment #49: Want To Be Successful? Pull Your Weight!

31 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #49 // There are two types of people in the world: lifters and leaners. Lifters carry the burden for themselves and others… they take on more...

The Five Best Episodes of 2023 as Chosen by Marty & Em

26 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #278 // We’ve been producing this podcast now for over five years and, as we traditionally do at this time of year, Em and I are taking a lo...

Moment #48: Building a Culture of Healthy Disagreement

24 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #48 // One of the things that characterizes a high-performing team is the ability to withstand and harness the value that lies in healthy disag...

Our Best and Worst of 2023: The YCM end of year stocktake

19 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #277 // The end of year is a time of renewal. We all instinctively take the opportunity to reflect on the year just gone, and reset our expect...

Moment #47: Are You Chasing Attributes, Or Competencies?

17 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #47 // There are literally thousands of articles and posts written every week about the attributes of great leaders. Humility, Transparency, Fa...

Building Leadership Confidence: Small steps yield BIG results!

12 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #276 // One of the biggest barriers to change, in any area of your life, is your own awareness of the size of the gap—that gap between your ...

Moment #46: Do Your Own Job

10 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #46 // As you transition through to more senior leadership roles, you’ll realize that you can’t continue to compensate for your people when...

When Should You Let Someone Go? Are Guenther’s days numbered?

05 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #275 // One of the most common questions I field from our leadership community is, “Marty, how much time should I give someone when they’r...

Moment #45: It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint

03 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #45 // With the sustained, relentless pressure of performing as a leader in today’s business world, combined with the expectation that you’...

Taking Control of Your Future: Q&A with Marty and Em

28 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #274 // Since releasing our new self-paced short course, Landing Your Dream Job, we’ve had a stream of questions from our leadership communi...

Moment #44: Leading for Long-Term Success

26 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #44 // If you’re in it for yourself, your people will never be in it for you. Ever. Self-seeking leaders can’t bring out the best in t...

Leadership is Never Black or White: 1,000 annoying shades of gray

21 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #273 // In order to convey the No Bullsh!t Leadership principles concisely, I explain them in quite categorical terms—it has to be that way ...

Moment #43: Where Stress Meets Performance

19 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #43 // We generally talk about stress like it's a bad thing. Putting people under stress is something that many leaders try to avoid. Why? Beca...

How to Ask Excellent Questions: Nailing interviews, networking and negotiations

14 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #272 // According to LinkedIn, 70% of the global workforce isn't actively job searching, but 87% are open to new opportunities.This reflects a...

Moment #42: Why You Shouldn’t ‘Just Do It!’

12 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #42 // Have you ever questioned your boss about a particular task, and at the end of a brief exchange, he simply says: “Look, just do it, OK?...

The Wellness Puzzle with Kristel Bauer

07 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #271 // In today’s evolving world of business, there’s an ever-increasing focus on employee wellness. Mental health, which was a taboo sub...

Moment #41: My script for setting the standard

05 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #41 // It can be a little daunting to take on a new role, especially when it's at a higher level than the roles you've previously held. Wh...

Squeezing the Juice from Innovation: Maximizing the value of creativity

31 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #270 // Innovation is key to sustained performance. Whether we look at it from a company perspective, or at the level of countries and global ...

Moment #40: How to REALLY get results

29 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #40 // Simplicity goes hand-in-hand with focus. We all try to do too much, for all the right reasons, and with the best intent. But, more often...

Performing After Promotion: From peer to leader

24 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #269 // One of the positive (and virtually inevitable) outcomes of improving your leadership confidence and capability is that your opportunit...

Moment #39: Does Your Education Determine Your Opportunities?

22 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #39 // Formal education is important to establish a baseline for your career. It’s like buying a ticket to the dance. But management and lead...

How To Get Through To Your People: Use this golden question

17 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #268 // We know that every individual is unique, and despite all the conventional wisdom about how to motivate people, everyone is completely ...

Moment #38: Does More Information = Better Decisions?

15 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #38 // Is the virtually limitless supply of cheap, instantaneously-accessible information making it easier for us to make decisions? And are th...

Management vs. Leadership: What’s the difference?

10 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #267 // Every so often, we produce an episode of No Bullsh!t Leadership that challenges conventional leadership wisdom. I call them my 'myth b...

Moment #37: Shifting Mindsets for Inclusive Hiring

08 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #37 // There's no doubt that systemic bias exists in hiring - but sometimes, even with the best intentions, it's really difficult to improve di...

What the Best CEOs Do: Achieving Aspirational Performance

03 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #266 // Some of the most impactful transformation work that I saw in large industrial firms came as a result of McKinsey’s involvement: ever...

Moment #36: Is Your Team Addicted to Crisis?

01 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #36 // Well-run businesses can be boring. They don't experience frequent crises and they don't encounter surprises at every turn. Why? Because ...

Leadership’s Most Underrated Ingredient

26 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #265 // Em and I work our butts off every day to produce high-quality, practical leadership content that you can apply immediately, to improve...

Moment #35: Roadmap to the C-Suite

24 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #35 // There are many ways to end up in the C-suite. You can just choose to work hard, and wait for your promotions. But, in larger organi...

Controlling Without Micromanaging: Getting the balance right

19 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #264 // I read an article in the MIT Sloan Management Review, titled The Art of Balancing Autonomy and Control, which outlines how to get the ...

Moment #34: The Power of Transparent Leadership

17 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #34 // They say that the best disinfectant is sunlight, and I'm a huge believer in that principle. If my direct reports in CS Energy heard it o...

How I Keep Learning: My 5 Hot Tips

12 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #263 // After speaking to a group of Executive MBA students last week, I had pause to reflect on my career journey, my educational choices, an...

Moment #33: Overcoming the Need to be Liked

10 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #33 // Why is it so difficult to get over the need to be liked? Because it’s completely ingrained… it's programmed into all of us. It's par...

Don’t Let Your Career Stall: Q&A with Marty and Em

05 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #262 // Really good people get stuck in their careers, for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes, it’s obvious why it’s happening to them, and o...

Moment #32: Emotional Resilience in Corporate Chaos

03 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #32 // I went through some incredibly disruptive events during my corporate career - and it's fair to say that some of them pushed me to the ed...

Do You REALLY Understand Value? The bedrock of team success

29 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #261 // The central element of the No Bullsh!t Leadership Framework is value. It should be the primary focus of every leader, at every level, ...

Moment #31: The Anatomy of High Impact Decisions

27 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #31 // How comfortable are you when making “high-impact” decisions? You know, the ones that really test you… the ones that scare you... t...

Setting the Bar: Raising the standard of leadership excellence

22 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

*SPECIAL EPISODE* #260 // Are you fed up with average team performance and missed targets?Or maybe you feel like your passion for leadership has been ...

Moment #30: Why Do Leaders Believe Their Own Bullsh!t?

20 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #30 // Why are such vast numbers of senior leaders so prone to believing their own bullsh!t?There are a bunch of underlying (but observable) fa...

The Things I Wish I’d Known Earlier: Hindsight and maturity

15 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #259 // I’ve been doing quite a few guest appearances on other people’s podcasts in recent weeks, and I’ve been asked on several occasio...

Moment #29: Balancing Banter With Boundaries

13 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #29 // Having close friends is one of life’s ultimate joys. But, as a leader, that’s the last thing you want. Being friends with someone wh...

Future Trends in Business: Where are we heading?

08 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #258 // One of the principal occupations of many consultants, speakers, and business experts is to try to predict the future. And, although th...

Moment #28: When Should You Outsource?

06 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #28 // How do you go about making an outsourcing decision for your company? It’s important to be clear on exactly why you want to outsou...

Your Leadership User Manual: Clarifying expectations for success

01 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #257 // I came across an article by Shanna Hocking, which introduced me to the concept of the Leadership User Manual. Hocking credits its orig...

Moment #27: Defining Weak Leadership

30 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #27 // Weak leaders are characterized by what they’re not prepared to do.Weak leaders are unwilling to push back on the boss; they don't put ...

Barriers to Building Emotional Intelligence with Dr Rebecca Heiss

25 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #256 // The concept of EQ isn’t new. It was the subject of academic research way back in the 1960s, but it took another 30 years before we g...

Moment #26: From Individual Contributor to Leader

23 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #26 // Of the many mistakes that new leaders are prone to make, over-functioning for certain individuals is one of the most common, and the mos...

Building a Better Mousetrap: The productivity reality

18 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #255 // Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door!”. This quote, espousing the...

Moment #25: Why Management Teams Become Stale

16 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #25 // High-performance is fragile. Teams can lose their lustre for a whole range of reasons, and leading a team of high performers can be incr...

What the Best Leaders Do Differently with Scott J. Miller

11 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #254 // We’re approached all the time to interview other thought leaders on this podcast. However, since No Bullsh!t Leadership is predomina...

Moment #24: The Risks Of Office Romances

09 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #24 // As a leader, how do you set appropriate boundaries in your work relationships? How do you strike the balance between establishing trust-...

Lifters and Leaners: The contribution mentality

04 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #253 // In life, there tend to be two kinds of people: there are lifters and there are leaners. Lifters carry the burden for themselves and ot...

Moment #23: Mastering Your Mindset

02 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moment #23 // You don't want your business to suffer the impact of poor decisions that are driven by fear. If you can sense, and then short-circuit yo...

Hard Lessons of the Ego: The pride before the fall

27 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Episode #252 // Chris Licht, the former CEO of CNN, resigned recently after a scathing exposé in The Atlantic. What was supposed to be an opportunity...