No Bullsh!t Leadership
Episodes
Moment #22: Unmasking Reluctant Leaders
25 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #22 // Some people really don't want to lead. But they don’t necessarily know that they don’t want to. So, why would they take on a leaders...
Indispensable Workplace Competencies: Getting to the top
20 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #251 // There are a range of competencies required to forge a successful career. On this podcast, of course, we focus predominantly on how to ...
Moment #21: How To Be More Promotable
18 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #21 // There are a few key things you need to do in order to maximize your promotability. How do you stamp yourself as a trusted advisor, ...
Leveraging Parenthood into Performance: Marty Interviews Em
13 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #250 // One of the most intractable issues affecting gender equity in the workplace is maternity leave. Companies and countries are trying to ...
Moment #20: Why Performance Trumps Tenure
11 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #20 // In a hot job market, you can't retain every one of your people, which is why it’s important to think about who your star performers ar...
Self-Driven Success: Navigating Your Own Professional Growth
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #249 // Did you know that while 83% of organizations acknowledge the importance of developing leaders, only 5% actually follow through? It's n...
Moment #19: Burn the Boats: Committing to Culture Change
04 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #19 // To make any serious change requires a change of culture—the way we do things around here—and changing culture is not for the faint o...
The CEO and the Board: Are outcomes improving?
30 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #248 // We still seem to be witnessing some pretty spectacular failures in corporate governance. Every week, the financial press manages to un...
Moment #18: When To Part Ways With a Poor Performer
28 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #18 // How do you know when the right time is to let a poor performer go? Many leaders sit back and just hope that the person will improve. But...
Achieving Operational Excellence: Leading sustainable improvement
23 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #247 // Virtually every organization has some form of operational delivery capability for its products and services. More often than not, your...
Moment #17: The 5 Hidden Enemies Of High Performance
21 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #17 // Low accountability cultures are riddled with barriers to performance. The leaders resign themselves to the fact that gaps and overlaps a...
The Curse Of Short-Term Focus: Finding a balance
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #246 // One of the most widespread and seemingly intractable problems facing leaders and organizations everywhere, is the drive to focus only ...
Moment #16: Don’t Believe Your Own Bullsh!t
14 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #16 // Some companies have turned the concept of believing your own bullshit into an art form! It’s really easy to convince ourselves that we...
Drive For Performance or Bullying? It's a fine line...
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #245 // I’m a vocal advocate of strong leadership: the need to stretch people to achieve extraordinary performance, with a single-minded foc...
Moment #15: Unlocking True Capability
07 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #15 // The primary function of a leader is to create and maintain a culture that’s conducive to performance excellence… a culture where eve...
Cracking the Performance Management Code
02 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #244 // One of the toughest elements of leadership is managing your people’s performance. Everyone has to meet a minimum acceptable standard...
Moment #14: How To Spot a Political Animal
30 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #14 // On one level, politics can be seen simply as a process of influencing. But more often, it’s a devious, divisive tool used by unscrupul...
Credibility: The Hallmark Of Great Leaders
25 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #243 // Whatever you try to achieve as a leader relies, at least to some extent, on your credibility. If you have strong personal credibility,...
Moment #13: Struggling With Simple Decisions?
23 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #13 // Do you have decision fatigue? During the course of every day, our brains are forced to make thousands of decisions, big and small. The c...
Leading Older Workers: Capturing the value opportunity
18 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #242 // The question we used to ask only occasionally has now become more frequent… “how old is too old?” While most countries still reg...
Moment #12: Blaming Others Doesn’t Help
16 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #12 // Blaming others when something doesn’t go to plan is one of the most insidious leadership behaviors. It’s a cancer in your culture th...
Need More People? Here's how to convince your boss
11 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ep #241 // It’s always been a tough ask to get your boss to provide additional resources, whether it’s money, people, or assets. And it’s certai...
Moment #11: What Standard Are YOU Setting?
09 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #11 // One of the most important roles that a leader plays is to set the right standards for performance and behavior. Sometimes, we think we'r...
The Talented Jerk: How much should you tolerate?
04 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #240 // We’ve all come across people during our careers who are really good at what they do, but are just awful to work with. They seem to t...
Moment #10: Why Is Respect Before Popularity So Crucial?
02 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #8 // If you need to be liked, and you have aspirations of being a leader, you’re going to find yourself in trouble pretty quickly. Virtually...
Leading In a Low Performance Culture: Can it work?
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #239 // The proverbial high performing team has become a leadership cliché, and I can’t count the number of leaders who claim to have built...
Moment #9: High-Performing Teams Start With High-Performing Individuals
26 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #9 // Many leaders claim to have built high-performing teams but, in my experience, most can’t even clearly articulate what a high-performing...
Navigating Toxic Work Cultures & Office Politics: Q&A with Marty and Em
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #238 // Leadership drives culture, culture drives performance.Today, we look at a few very common team culture dynamics, and give some perspec...
Moment #8: Permissive Leaders Make People Unproductive AND Unhappy
19 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #8 // Permissive Leaders Make People Unproductive AND UnhappyI've seen the devastating effects of laissez-faire leaders. They seem to think tha...
Hiring Better People: Are personality profiles useful?
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #237 // If you feel as though you’re struggling to hire the right people at the moment, this episode will rebuild your faith in the process,...
Moment #7: Building a Diverse Organization Isn’t Simple
12 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #7 // Building a Diverse Organization Isn’t SimpleIf it was easy to build a diverse organization, everyone would have already done it. There'...
It’s All In the Mind: The mental game of leadership
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #236 // Have you ever wondered why people who are clearly at the top of their game all of a sudden have a steep decline in performance? Things...
Moment #6: What Does a Great Decision-Making Culture Look Like?
05 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #6 // Great leaders set an appropriate decision-making culture. People need to know that robust challenge is expected and rewarded, not frowned...
Our Framework Facelift: No Bullsh!t Leadership Evolves
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #235 // Momentum is really picking up for Your CEO Mentor in 2023, so in this episode I thought I’d share our plans for the evolution of No ...
Moment #5: What’s Busy Work, and Why Is It So Common?
26 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #5 // What’s Busy Work, and Why Is It So Common?One of the hardest things to do in any organization is to stop activity once it’s started—...
Employee to Entrepreneur: The Art of Self-Leadership with Amy Porterfield
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #234 // Without Amy Porterfield there would be no Your CEO Mentor, no No Bullsh!t Leadership podcast and no Leadership Beyond the Theory, the ...
Moment #4: Is Leading From the Front a Good Thing?
19 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #4 // It’s great to lead from the front, but you have to understand what that means. You can’t do your people’s work for them, only to sa...
The 4-Day Work Week: Q&A with Marty and Em
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #233 // Workforce layoffs have continued in the US, as large companies trim the fat in advance of the recession that looks likely to head our ...
Moment #3: Why Most Leaders Avoid Hard Conversations
12 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #3 // Why Most Leaders Avoid Hard ConversationsWhy do so many leaders choose to avoid hard conversations? It's much more about a lack of will t...
What Motivates Your People? Revisiting a critical truth
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #232 // Motivation can be pretty tricky. Trying to work out what you can do to help your people reach a state of motivation and stay there for...
Moment #2: Ban These 5 Words from Your Corporate Values
05 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #2 // Ban These 5 Words from Your Corporate ValuesVirtually every company has a set of values that adorns its glossy brochures and marketing ma...
Talent Management: Planning for the future
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #231 // If you’re a regular listener of No Bullsh!t Leadership, you’ll know that I speak about talent frequently, in a range of different ...
Moment #1: The Purpose of Leadership
29 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moment #1 // The Purpose of LeadershipWe sometimes forget what the true purpose of leadership is. It’s not to entertain your people during their wor...
Too Many Cooks: Managing complex accountabilities
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #230 // In this modern era of enlightened inclusiveness, the pendulum has swung decisively from independently operating silos towards sharing ...
Confidence, Arrogance, and Self-Doubt: The fine lines we tread
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #229 // In the world of modern leadership, we’re conditioned to believe that humility is the most essential characteristic we can possess. A...
Resilience Myths: What really makes you stronger?
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #228 // Since the Covid pandemic, resilience has captured a much greater share of our collective consciousness. And, as tends to happen, the w...
Leadership in 2023: What will we be navigating?
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #227 // At the end of each year, I usually spend some time studying a variety of sources to come up with a view on possible future outcomes in...
The Five Best Episodes of 2022: Chosen by Marty & Em
27 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #226 // This is the fifth Christmas for the No Bullsh!t Leadership podcast and, as we traditionally do at this time of year, Em and I are taki...
Handling Layoffs Competently: Protecting your talent
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #225 // The restructuring and layoff season appears to be in full swing… and many of the examples that are popping up in the public domain f...
Leading Through Major Upheaval: 90% attitude, and a dash of realism
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #224 // There are many upheavals that you’re likely to experience throughout your career that will challenge you. And sometimes, they’ll p...
Quiet Quitting and Elon Musk: Q&A with Marty and Em
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #223 // There’s a lot going on in the world of work right now. The Covid pandemic was a huge catalyst for a major shift in how people see th...
The Power of Simplicity: Unlocking performance
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #222 // We live in a complex world… a world where, as a leader, you have to find a way to interpret the complexity, uncertainty, and ambigui...
Managing Supplier Relationships: Taking the long view
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #221 // Times are tough. Inflation is on the rise, input costs are escalating, and organizations are tightening their belts. And it won’t be...
Management Consultants: Are they worth it?
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #220 // Many companies use consultants of one type or another. In this episode, I give a bird’s-eye view of the consulting market, based upo...
Intelligence Is Overrated: So, what matters more than that?
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #219 // When it comes to business, the relationship between intellect and leadership can be fraught. A strong leader with high intellect can b...
Is Working From Home Working? Getting back to the office
01 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #218 // The dust is well and truly starting to settle on the Covid pandemic, and life is back to relative normality. But one of the lingering ...
Trusting Your Instincts: Data isn’t everything
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #217 // In last week’s episode, we looked at high-impact decisions. They’re the ones that have potentially significant consequences, and s...
High-Impact Decisions: Getting it right when it counts
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #216 // Decision-making is a key part of leadership. The ability to make high-impact decisions quickly, under pressure, in a complex and uncer...
Results Or People...which is more important?
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #215 // Adam Grant produces a huge volume of thoughtful, intelligent, insightful content on leadership and organizational behavior. And althou...
Lessons From Leaders Who Grow: Q&A with Marty & Em
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #214 // In the last four years, we’ve had over 1,000 leaders take our Leadership Beyond the Theory program. We’ve been fortunat...
Getting An ROI From Leadership Training: Is it even possible?
27 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 213 // In a sea of potentially valuable career development options, it’s hard to work out which one is right for you. It’s even harder to ...
Your Professional Development Roadmap: Five valuable options
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #212 // With so many opportunities for professional development, it’s really difficult to know which one to pursue. And the most valuable co...
Successful Delegation: Why is it so important?
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #211 // Most leaders understand the concept of delegation pretty well, but they struggle to execute. There are any number of ways that delegat...
Managing Your Time and Energy: Master this, or burn out!
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #210 // We still get a seemingly endless stream of questions from leaders who feel as though they’re heading towards burnout, and have very ...
The New Leaders’ Playbook: Where do you start?
30 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #209 // New leaders: this is the framework you need to follow if you want to be successful in your first leadership roles. Experienced le...
Breaking Into the C-Suite: What you should know
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #208 // We get an incredible number of questions from our podcast community about career development. Working out how to progress in your care...
Leadership Transparency: Are there limits?
16 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #207 // Transparency in leadership is a huge topic! Virtually every leadership pundit on the planet will tell you what an important quality tr...
It’s STILL Respect Before Popularity: An update on your favorite episode
09 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #206 // The very first episode that we decided to lead out with on the No Bullsh!t Leadership podcast was Respect Before Popularity! We figure...
Leading in a Low-Accountability Culture: Q&A with Marty & Em
02 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #205 // Every piece of content we produce focuses on the link between leadership and performance. Value creation is the name of the game, so k...
The Big Leadership Moments: When real leaders step up
26 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #204 // Adventurer and TV personality, Bear Grylls, (protagonist of the docuseries, Man Vs. Wild) said in an interview, “You have to come al...
Defending Against Disruptive Innovation: Capability is Everything
19 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #203 // Episode #85 of the podcast addressed one of the most important (but often misunderstood) business fundamentals: “Strategy isn’t ha...
Eliminating Selection Bias: Why is it so hard?
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #202 // Despite the very vocal and public focus on Diversity & Inclusion in the last 10+ years, it still appears to be a huge struggle for...
Finding Your Purpose: How important is it?
05 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #201 // I recently came across two articles on the role that purpose plays in your career. The first, by Marcus Buckingham, proposed the idea ...
5 Episodes That Every Leader Must Listen To!
28 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #200 // When Em and I started the No Bullsh!t Leadership podcast in September 2018, we spent a lot of time thinking about how we would ensure ...
Employee Engagement: Is it the right measure?
21 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #199 // In the last 20 years, employee engagement has become the dominant method of understanding and measuring job satisfaction. There are a ...
Layoffs Are Back: Q&A with Marty and Em
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #198 // The great resignation is in full swing, and this is causing a shortage of people in the labor market…which in turn, is pushing up wa...
Why Can’t We Be Friends? Navigating friendships as a leader
07 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #197 // I first outlined one of my most important leadership philosophies in Ep.14: Friendly, But Not Friends. Since then, a few things have c...
Virtue Signals Aren’t Enough: Leadership requires more
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #196 // It may surprise you to learn that organizations across the globe spend over US $370 billion annually on leadership development program...
Understanding Fuels Communication: Make the complex simple
24 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #195 // Albert Einstein said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough”. Communication is an incredib...
Are Entrepreneurs Happier? Or is the grass just greener...
17 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #194 // In last week’s Q&A episode with Em, I mentioned the revival of the entrepreneur in the context of the Great Resignation: there’...
Navigating The Great Resignation: Q&A with Marty and Em
10 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #193 // A lot of businesses are finding it extremely challenging to operate in the volatility of a hot labor market. Despite the hundreds of p...
Avoiding Common Biases: What really drives our decisions?
03 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #192 // We frequently hear about cognitive biases, especially when it comes to discrimination on the basis of gender, race, and sexual orienta...
Are You a Hypocritical Leader? You may be surprised…
26 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #191 // Many leaders inadvertently behave in a hypocritical way when they take a “do as I say, not as I do” approach. Sometimes, this is t...
Leaving Space For People To Grow: Remembering Taylor Hawkins
19 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #190 // After the recent untimely passing of Foo Fighters’ drummer, Taylor Hawkins, I came across an article in Rolling Stone magazine. It w...
Successful Transformation: Is there such a thing?
12 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #189 // The term 'Transformation' can mean a lot of different things. I’ve seen it used to describe everything from a new IT system, to a si...
It’s Hard To Say Sorry: So when should you?
05 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 188 // People make mistakes all the time, and leaders are people! More often than not, when a leader makes an honest mistake, everyone just mo...
Avoiding Burnout: Streamlining your leadership approach
29 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 187 // In a recent episode, we explored the continuing decline in mental health, and how it can affect a leader’s role. It’s a sensitive t...
Your Personal Leadership Audit: Discovering your leadership blind spots
22 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #186 // After being inundated with questions about our upcoming cohort of Leadership Beyond the Theory, we thought it would be useful to produ...
The Mental Health Minefield: How do you lead?
15 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 185 // TW. Today’s episode is about mental health in the workplace, so if you are currently struggling with trauma or any other mental healt...
Exiting Gracefully and Asking for More: Q&A with Marty and Em
08 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #184 // Have you ever faced a situation where you were being paid to do a job, but your heart simply wasn’t in it? Even as an individual con...
Mentors, Coaches, and Trusted Advisors: What’s the difference?
01 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #183 // There’s an inordinate number of passionate, dedicated people all over the world who coach, mentor, and advise others. Many do this a...
What is Strong Leadership? Taking people where they ought to be
22 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #182 // Almost all of the content that we produce on the No Bullsh!t Leadership podcast is designed to help you become a stronger leader. But ...
Leading with EQ: Arman Assadi Interview
15 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #181 // This episode goes deep into the things that determine who we are, and how we lead. Arman Assadi is one of those rare individuals who’...
The Family Culture: Is it a good thing?
08 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #180 // I’ve heard many leaders in my time making statements about their team being “more like a family” than anything else (as if that’...
Survival of the Fittest: Is it the path to high performance?
01 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #179 // While enjoying my holiday Netflix binge, I watched the documentary series, Formula 1: Drive to Survive. While I’m not a fan of motor...
Visibility in a Remote World: Appearances can be deceiving
25 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #178 // Since the pandemic forced us into remote working, many people have turned their work day into performance art. They now pursue the goa...
The Billable Hours Dilemma: Breaking the paradigm
18 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #177 // In the billable hours world, supplier companies deliver services to client companies in an exchange of time for money. It’s the domi...
When You Don’t Get the Job: What next?
11 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #176 // Apart from the multitude of listener questions on leadership and business that we get at Your CEO Mentor each week, we also field quit...
Crush Your Career in 2022: Making Bold Moves
04 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #175 // 2021 is now behind us and we’re looking forward to what 2022 will bring! The time for uncertainty is over—the people and companies...
The Five Best Episodes of 2021
28 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Episode #174 // As we traditionally do at Christmas time, we take a look back on our year of podcast episodes. Em and I have picked our favorites for ...