Practical Wisdom for Leaders with Scott J. Allen, Ph.D.

Scott J. Allen
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Practical Wisdom for Leaders is your fast-paced, forward-thinking guide to leadership. Join host Scott J. Allen as he engages with remarkable guests—from former world leaders and nonprofit innovators to renowned professors, CEOs, and authors. Each episode offers timely insights and actionable tips designed to help you lead with impact, grow personally and professionally, and make a meaningful difference in your corner of the world.

  1. 4 days ago

    Developmental Fitness with Dr. Keith Eigel

    Send us Fan Mail Keith Eigel, Ph.D. is the founder of The Leaders Lyceum (lye-see-um), an organization dedicated to leveraging challenges to accelerate the leaderʼs journey to sustained effectiveness. He is co-author of a forthcoming book on personality, leader effectiveness, and leveraging the diversity of perspective for team performance called The Vehicle.  Over the last twenty-five years, his research and writing have had a global reach, being cited in academic and best-selling publications on 5 continents. Keith and his team have honed a developmental curriculum that extends and leverages over sixty years of research to help executive and next-generation leaders measurably advance leader maturity, the best predictor of a leader’s effectiveness. Thousands of leaders from dozens of industries have been transformed by their experiences with The Leaders Lyceum. Additionally, he'sbeen an executive coach to several C-Level Fortune 50 leaders and University Presidents. A Few Quotes From This Episode "I don't want my growth to be determined by the whims of circumstance. I want to have some voice, some proactivity in that.""Developmental maturity, vertical development, is about challenging the lens that we see the world through. This conversation may make the lens we have tomorrow slightly different. And if it has, that's vertical growth.""Learn to embrace your complaint — because it is the thing that we can't help but feel. And wherever our lens is, our pain meets us where we are. Then it opens the door."Resources Book: The Map by Eigel and KuhnertAbout The International Leadership Association (ILA) The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Attend The Global Conference in Toronto, October 28-31.About  Scott J. Allen WebsiteWeekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for LeadersMy Approach to Hosting The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic. ♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast! ⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice. ➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech. 📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles. 🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

    38 min

  2. 18 Jun

    There's a Lot of Space For Us to Shift with Dr. Randal Joy Thompson

    Send us Fan Mail Dr. Randal Joy Thompson is a scholar-practitioner and global citizen who has assumed leadership positions and led teams in countries around the world including Cameroon, Morocco, Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus, Iraq, Afghanistan, Morocco, Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana, Myanmar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and El Salvador, initially as a Commissioned US Foreign Service Officer and then as independent contractor. Her scholarship has focused primarily on leadership, focusing on women, teams, and the commons. She works with organizations to help facilitate the establishment of autonomous self-led teams as well as to help build relationships among existing team members by creating the environment where they experience the socio-emotional forces connecting them. In addition to her PhD and MA in Human and Organizational Systems from Fielding Graduate University, she earned an MBA from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago, an MA in Political Philosophy from the University of Chicago, an MA in Biblical Exposition from Capitol Bible and Graduate School, and a BA in Philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley. A Few Quotes From This Episode "Relationships, not structure, are what create stability now in organizations.” “The team itself is a leader.” “What binds them together are relationships. Resources Book: The Four Forces: Igniting Emergent Generative Team Leadership in a Complex Perennial World Inspired by Nature and the DaoAbout The International Leadership Association (ILA) The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Attend The Global Conference in Toronto, October 28-31.About  Scott J. Allen WebsiteWeekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for LeadersMy Approach to Hosting The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic. ♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast! ⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice. ➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech. 📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles. 🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

    25 min

  3. 10 Jun

    Seeing Lincoln Through His Front Door with Dr. Jonathan White

    Send us Fan Mail Dr. Jonathan W. White is an endowed professor in the School of Civic Leadership at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author or editor of more than 17 books covering various topics, including civil liberties during the Civil War, the USS Monitor and the Battle of Hampton Roads, the presidential election of 1864, and what Abraham Lincoln and soldiers dreamt about. Among his awards are the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Award (2019), CNU’s Alumni Society Award for Teaching and Mentoring (2016), the Abraham Lincoln Institute Book Prize (2015), and the University of Maryland Alumni Excellence Award in Research (2024). His recent books include A House Built By Slaves: African American Visitors to the Lincoln White House (2022), which was co-winner of the Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize (with Jon Meacham); Shipwrecked: A True Civil War Story of Mutinies, Jailbreaks, Blockade-Running, and the Slave Trade (2023); Final Resting Places: Reflections on the Meaning of Civil War Graves (2023); and an exciting new children’s book, My Day with Abe Lincoln (2024). Quotes From This Episode “Lincoln understood you start with something that everyone can agree on.”“He believed that persuasiveness is the most important thing for a leader.”Resources Mentioned in This Episode Book:  Lincoln Home (Images of America)About The International Leadership Association (ILA) The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Attend The Global Conference in Toronto, October 28-31.About  Scott J. Allen WebsiteWeekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for LeadersMy Approach to Hosting The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic. ♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast! ⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice. ➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech. 📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles. 🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

    37 min

  4. 3 Jun

    The Fog of Work with Adam Tarnow

    Send us Fan Mail Adam Tarnow is a leadership development specialist, keynote speaker, and author of The Fog of Work. With a unique blend of humor, humility, and hard-won insight, Adam helps professionals get out of their own way, navigate complexity, and lead with confidence. A recovering CPA and former public accountant, Adam now heads up the Leadership Development Practice at PeopleWorks International, where he equips leaders to thrive in today’s fast-paced, people-driven workplaces. He’s spoken to audiences across industries—from manufacturing to professional services to education—and has a gift for making complex leadership ideas simple, practical, and unforgettable. He earned his accounting degree from Clemson University and holds a “Ducktorate” from Disney University (yes, it’s real… no, it’s not accredited). He’s been married since 2003, is the proud dad of two teenage boys, and believes any day is better when it starts with coffee and a New York Times crossword puzzle. Whether he’s speaking about leadership, communication, optimism, or culture, Adam’s goal is always the same: cut through the noise and help good people become great leaders. A Few Quotes From This Episode "You are being held accountable for outcomes you know you do not fully control.” “I didn’t need a new job. I needed a new system for handling the inevitable stress that goes with leadership.” “Your story doesn’t have a villain. It just has a valley.” Resources Book: The Fog of WorkAbout The International Leadership Association (ILA) The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Attend The Global Conference in Toronto, October 28-31.About  Scott J. Allen WebsiteWeekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for LeadersMy Approach to Hosting The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic. ♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast! ⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice. ➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech. 📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles. 🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

    32 min

  5. 27 May

    Leadership is Not Built in Comfort with Cameron Mofid

    Send us Fan Mail Cameron Mofid is a traveler, social entrepreneur, and speaker who became one of the youngest verified people ever to visit all 195 countries in the world by the age of 25. After struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder for much of his life, Cameron used travel as a form of “real-world exposure therapy,” pushing himself into unfamiliar and uncomfortable environments across the globe. His experiences ultimately inspired him to found Humanity Effect, a nonprofit organization supporting children in Makoko, Nigeria through schools and an orphanage serving hundreds of students. Cameron’s work and story have been featured by Forbes, CNN, People Magazine, and other major media outlets for his message around resilience, uncertainty, gratitude, and service. A Couple of Quotes From This Episode “She wasn’t dancing because everything was okay. She was dancing because it wasn’t.”“To become best versions of ourselves, we really have to learn to accept and work on all of those things.”Resources Website - Humanity Effect CNN Article - ‘It was a form of healing’: How traveling to every country helped this American cope with a mental health disorderAbout The International Leadership Association (ILA) The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Attend The Global Conference in Toronto, October 28-31.About  Scott J. Allen WebsiteWeekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for LeadersMy Approach to Hosting The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic. ♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast! ⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice. ➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech. 📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles. 🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

    28 min

  6. 20 May

    Being Human with Marshall Ganz

    Send us Fan Mail Marshall Ganz is a senior lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and one of the leading thinkers on leadership as collective action. He began his career as a grassroots organizer during the civil rights era, working with Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and later with the United Farm Workers, where he helped build organizing capacity among farmworkers. That field experience became the foundation for his lifelong focus on leadership, organizing, and social movements. Ganz later transitioned into academia, where he developed frameworks that bridge practice and theory. He is best known for his work on public narrative, organizing strategy, and leadership development through action. His teaching and research emphasize how leaders mobilize others by linking values to action, building relationships, and creating structures that enable collective effort. He also played a key role in organizing the grassroots structure of the Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign, demonstrating how his principles could scale in a national political context. His work continues to influence leaders across sectors, including politics, nonprofits, and increasingly, corporate environments. A Couple of Quotes From This Episode “It’s not enough to have virtuous people. We have to have virtuous institutions.” “Leadership is about accepting responsibility for enabling others to achieve shared purpose under conditions of uncertainty.” Resources Book: People, Power, Change: Organizing for Democratic Renewal by Ganz Book: Dopamine Nation by LembkeAbout The International Leadership Association (ILA) The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Attend The Global Conference in Toronto, October 28-31.About  Scott J. Allen WebsiteWeekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for LeadersMy Approach to Hosting The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic. ♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast! ⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice. ➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech. 📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles. 🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

    33 min

  7. 13 May

    Leadership From The Land with Dr. Eric Kaufman & Brian Zimmerman

    Send us Fan Mail Dr. Eric Kaufman is a Professor, Extension specialist, and associate head for Virginia Tech’s Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education. He developed and now coordinates Virginia Tech’s graduate certificate program in Collaborative Community Leadership.  He also supports an academic major in Community Leadership and Development, as well as an undergraduate minor in Leadership and Social Change.  Eric’s research investigates and promotes collective leadership, with special emphasis on followership, problem solving, and leadership-as-practice.  He is a past president of the Association of Leadership Educators (ALE) and a past chair of the International Leadership Association (ILA) Followership Community.  His professional recognitions include the Distinguished Agricultural Leadership Educator Award from the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE). Brian Zimmerman has served as CEO of Cleveland Metroparks since 2010, overseeing more than 25,000 acres of parks, trails, golf courses, and the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Under his leadership, the organization has added more than 4,000 acres of protected land, expanded access across six counties, added 60+ miles of trails, and revitalized hundreds of acres of Cleveland lakefront. He has also guided major investments in Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, including nationally recognized animal habitats and conservation initiatives. Zimmerman’s work has earned numerous honors, including the 2021 National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Park Management and recognition as one of Ohio’s most influential civic leaders. A Couple of Quotes From This Episode “You cannot control every outcome and you cannot control every person. You have to empower your people to get there.”“If I'm surrounding myself with the right people, and I'm empowering them to be successful, we can accomplish great things together.”“We need to stop thinking about leadership as something individuals do and start seeing it as something communities build together over time.”About The International Leadership Association (ILA) The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Attend The Global Conference in Toronto, October 28-31.About  Scott J. Allen WebsiteWeekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for LeadersMy Approach to Hosting The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic. ♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast! ⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice. ➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech. 📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles. 🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

    35 min

  8. 6 May

    Humans in the Loop with Dr. Dan Jenkins & Dr. Gaurav Khanna

    Send us Fan Mail Dan Jenkins, Ph.D., is Professor of Leadership & Organizational Studies at the University of Southern Maine. Co-author of The Role of Leadership Educators: Transforming Learning and author of over 75 peer-reviewed publications, his scholarship spans leadership pedagogy, artificial intelligence (AI), followership, critical thinking, and curriculum design. A pioneer in integrating AI into development, training, and education, he develops innovative courses preparing students for digital-age leadership challenges. Dan serves as Co-Founder of the International Leadership Association’s Leadership Education Academy, Associate Editor of the Journal of Leadership Studies, and co-host of The Leadership Educator and Leaders in the Loop podcasts. An award-winning international speaker and facilitator, he engages thousands of leadership educators, scholars, students, and professionals worldwide on innovative teaching approaches and AI integration. Gaurav Khanna, Senior Manager, Data Science and Digital Journeys, Cisco Systems, has 25 years of experience in technology and entrepreneurship. During the past five years, he has led efforts to automate business workflows using machine learning and deep learning techniques. His work focuses on using large language models and generative AI to transform how users interact with sales acceleration platforms. Khanna is passionate about demystifying complex subjects and is a frequent speaker on AI/ML topics. He received a BS in physics from Yale and an MS and a PhD in materials science and engineering from Stanford. A Couple of Quotes From This Episode “We’re beyond the point of innocent wonder about AI.”“How do we align human values with machine learning and generative AI?”Resources Podcast: Humans in the LoopAbout The International Leadership Association (ILA) The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Attend The Global Conference in Toronto, October 28-31.About  Scott J. Allen WebsiteWeekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for LeadersMy Approach to Hosting The views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic. ♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast! ⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice. ➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech. 📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles. 🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

    38 min
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Practical Wisdom for Leaders is your fast-paced, forward-thinking guide to leadership. Join host Scott J. Allen as he engages with remarkable guests—from former world leaders and nonprofit innovators to renowned professors, CEOs, and authors. Each episode offers timely insights and actionable tips designed to help you lead with impact, grow personally and professionally, and make a meaningful difference in your corner of the world.

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