How Leaders Think with Kenny Lange

Kenny Lange
  • 4.9 (10)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Biweekly

Discover the secrets to impactful leadership with How Leaders Think, hosted by Kenny Lange. This podcast is your go-to resource for insights from top leaders across various industries. Each episode delves into the minds of successful entrepreneurs, CEOs, and thought leaders to uncover strategies for personal and professional growth. Key Topics Covered: - Emotional goals and effective leadership - Coaching and employee retention - Innovation and AI in business - Escaping hustle culture - Building strong organizational values - Adaptability in nonprofit leadership - The intersection of personal growth and spirituality Join us every Wednesday to transform your leadership approach and unlock your potential. Subscribe now and never miss an episode! Subscribe, leave a review, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Visit our website at kennylange.com for more resources and updates.

  1. Sep 3

    How Angela Finlay Thinks About Skills Over Job Titles

    You keep saying you can't find the right people. What if they already work for you? Angela Finlay is a fractional and interim CHRO who helps companies rebuild how they hire, promote, and plan. She also wrote a book about it and teaches in Columbia University's M.S. in Human Capital Management program. Her argument is blunt: most companies track people by job title, and a job title is just a snapshot of what someone did before. The thing that actually predicts whether a person can do the work is their skill portfolio — everything they can do, most of which never makes it onto a resume. So leaders end up hiring for a skill that is already sitting ten desks away. Kenny pushes on what that means for how you build an org chart when you don't know what the roles will be in eighteen months. Chapters 00:00 The Talent Paradox: Short on People, Planning to Cut 06:25 The STACK Model: Five Kinds of Skill Behind a Job 14:30 Start With Outcomes, Not Job Titles 22:09 Reward Managers for Growing Skills, Not Just Numbers 27:53 What Counts as a Skill — and Who Validates It 34:33 Why Small Companies Turn Faster Than Big Ones 38:18 The Skills Leaders Are Actually Short On 43:23 Fifteen Minutes on a Friday: Build Your Inventory What You'll Learn • Why "we can't find the right people" and "we're about to cut people" are the same problem, not two • The STACK model — the five kinds of skill inside any job: supportive, tactical, adaptive, complementary, and knowledge-seeking • How to build a role backwards from the outcome you need, instead of forwards from a job title • Why paying managers to grow their team's skills is the change that makes every other change stick • The AI skill nobody is hiring for: not using it, but knowing what should never be handed to it • Two first steps that cost nothing — fifteen minutes on a Friday for you, and a look at your last three job postings if you lead people About Angela Finlay Angela Finlay is a fractional and interim CHRO, author of Skill Stacking: Taking Ownership of Your Career in Changing Times, and an educator who helps organizations and professionals rethink what it means to build a successful talent organization in today's ever-changing workplace. Angela Finlay Resources Website: https://windwardhcm.com/ Resources (book, white paper, contact): https://windwardhcm.com/podcasts/ Book — Skill Stacking: Taking Ownership of Your Career in Changing Times: https://a.co/d/c1OVVx9 White paper — Stacking for Growth – The GROWING Model: https://windwardhcm.com/podcasts/ Skills inventory — the STACK Profiler: https://app.stackingyourcareer.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ablumfinlay Listen on Other Platforms Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts Website: https://howleadersthink.kennylange.com/ Free 5-minute leadership diagnostic: https://kennylange.com/diagnostic Change the way you think, you'll change the way you lead. Hashtags #HowLeadersThink #Leadership #Hiring #Skills

    How Angela Finlay Thinks About Skills Over Job Titles

  2. Jun 24

    How Dre Baldwin Thinks About Personal Agency for Success

    What separates top performers from everyone else? In this episode, Kenny Lange sits down with Dre Baldwin, founder of Work On Your Game®, former professional basketball player, 4x TEDx speaker, and author of 43 books. Dre shares how discipline, personal initiative, and relentless execution helped him go from an overlooked Division III athlete to a successful entrepreneur and thought leader. They explore the difference between information and implementation, why most organizations struggle with execution, and how entrepreneurs can scale their impact without constantly creating something new. If you're ready to stop chasing ideas and start producing bigger results, this conversation is for you. Listen on Other Platforms Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy50cmFuc2lzdG9yLmZtL2tlZXAtcmlzaW5nLXdpdGgta2VubnktbGFuZ2U= Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts Website: https://howleadersthink.kennylange.com/ Dre Baldwin Resources Website: http://www.WorkOnYourGame.com LinkedIn: http://LinkedIn.com/in/DreAllDay Facebook: http://Facebook.com/WorkOnYourGameUniversity Podcast: http://www.WorkOnYourGamePodcast.com Book: http://ThirdDayBook.com Books Mentioned The Third Day — Dre Baldwin http://ThirdDayBook.com The Mental Handbook — Dre Baldwin Hashtags #HowLeadersThink #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #Execution

    How Dre Baldwin Thinks About Personal Agency for Success

  3. Jun 17

    How Neal Foard Thinks About Trade Over Business for Building Meaningful Customer Relationships

    What if we've been thinking about business all wrong? In this episode, Kenny Lange sits down with Neal Foard, founder of Storyfire®, to explore why the word "business" may have distanced us from the people we serve—and why thinking like a tradesman changes everything. Neal shares lessons from decades creating campaigns for brands like Toyota, Budweiser, Lexus, and Sony, revealing how storytelling, generosity, and genuine care create companies that customers love and employees are proud to represent. If you're a business leader, entrepreneur, or anyone who wants to build something meaningful, this conversation will challenge how you think about customers, culture, and the stories your organization tells itself. Listen on Other Platforms Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy50cmFuc2lzdG9yLmZtL2tlZXAtcmlzaW5nLXdpdGgta2VubnktbGFuZ2U= Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts Website: https://howleadersthink.kennylange.com/ Neal Foard Resources Website: https://www.storyfire.net LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neal-foard/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nealfoard YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nealfoard Personal Website: https://nealfoard.com Hashtags #howleadersthink #leadership #storytelling #businessleadership

    How Neal Foard Thinks About Trade Over Business for Building Meaningful Customer Relationships

  4. Jun 10

    How Michael Neuendorff Thinks About Leading as a Coach for Organizational Growth

    What does it take to move from being a high performer to becoming a leader who develops others? In this episode of How Leaders Think, Kenny Lange sits down with Michael Neuendorff, President of Bay Area Executive Coach, to discuss why today's leaders must move beyond command-and-control leadership and embrace a coaching mindset. They explore leadership blind spots, the dangers of the advice trap, reverse mentoring, earning influence, and practical ways to build stronger teams. If you're a business leader, entrepreneur, manager, or nonprofit executive looking to develop people more effectively, this conversation will challenge how you think about leadership. Listen on Other Platforms Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy50cmFuc2lzdG9yLmZtL2tlZXAtcmlzaW5nLXdpdGgta2VubnktbGFuZ2U= Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts Website: https://howleadersthink.kennylange.com/ Michael Neuendorff Resources Website: https://www.bayareaexecutivecoach.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelneuendorff/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bayareaexecutivecoach LinkedIn Company Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bay-area-executive-coach/?viewAsMember=true Books Mentioned The Coaching Habit — Michael Bungay Stanier The Advice Trap — Michael Bungay Stanier The Founder's Evolution — Scott Ritzheimer (upcoming) Hashtags #HowLeadersThink #LeadershipDevelopment #ExecutiveCoaching #LeadershipSkills

    How Michael Neuendorff Thinks About Leading as a Coach for Organizational Growth

  5. Jun 3

    How Jay Owen Thinks About AI for More Human Leadership

    AI is changing the way leaders think, work, hire, create, and make decisions. In this episode of How Leaders Think, Kenny Lange talks with Jay Owen, CEO and Founder of Business Builders, about why leaders cannot afford to ignore AI and how it can become a tool for creativity, productivity, and better stewardship. Jay shares how AI is already reshaping marketing agencies, workplace expectations, hiring conversations, ministry work, and strategic decision-making. He also explains why the future will not only be more automated, but also more dependent on real human community, accountability, and relationships. Listen on Other PlatformsApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy50cmFuc2lzdG9yLmZtL2tlZXAtcmlzaW5nLXdpdGgta2VubnktbGFuZ2U= Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts Website: https://howleadersthink.kennylange.com/ Jay Owen ResourcesAI with Jay: https://aiwithjay.com Jay Owen Live: https://jayowenlive.com Business Builders: https://businessbldrs.com Books MentionedBuilding a Business That Lasts by Jay Owen https://jayowenlive.com Hashtags#HowLeadersThink #AILeadership #FutureOfWork #BusinessLeadership

    How Jay Owen Thinks About AI for More Human Leadership

  6. May 27

    How Esther Stewart Thinks About Business Growth Beyond Cookie-Cutter Strategies

    In this episode of How Leaders Think, Kenny Lange sits down with Esther Stewart, founder of CottnOwl Agency, to talk about the overwhelming noise in online marketing and why so many founders are burning out chasing the latest strategy. Esther shares her perspective on high-ticket client acquisition, simplifying offers, building authentic relationships, and how AI is reshaping marketing and sales. Together, they unpack why clarity, positioning, and real human connection matter more than ever in today’s business landscape. If you’re a founder, coach, consultant, or leader trying to grow your business without losing yourself in the process, this conversation will help you think differently about scaling, sales, and sustainable success. Listen to the full episode and learn how to simplify your business while creating deeper trust with the right clients. Listen on Other Platforms Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy50cmFuc2lzdG9yLmZtL2tlZXAtcmlzaW5nLXdpdGgta2VubnktbGFuZ2U= Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts Website: https://howleadersthink.kennylange.com/ Esther Stewart Resources Website: https://cottnowlofficial.com LinkedIn: https://LinkedIn.com/cottnowlofficial Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cottnowlofficial Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2teA8oeVPUUREUaJPWxRBO?si=MIH-uMv0TJ2aIIVaqMNoNA Hashtags #HowLeadersThink #HighTicketSales #Entrepreneurship #marketingstrategy

    How Esther Stewart Thinks About Business Growth Beyond Cookie-Cutter Strategies

  7. May 22

    How Adam Steck Thinks About The Blueprint of Strong Cultures

    In this episode of “How Leaders Think,” Kenny Lange sits down with Adam Steck, Chief Servant Officer of Southwest Steel Buildings, to talk about leadership development, lean culture, and building people instead of just building products. Adam shares how Toyota lean principles transformed the way his company empowers employees, develops leaders, and creates long-term culture. This conversation explores why great leadership starts with humility, why culture matters more than skillset, and how leaders can better serve their teams by getting out of the office and onto the “shop floor.” If you’re a business owner, team leader, or entrepreneur trying to build a healthier company culture, this episode is packed with practical wisdom and honest insights. Other places to find the “How Leaders Think” podcast: * Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807 * Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh * Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy50cmFuc2lzdG9yLmZtL2tlZXAtcmlzaW5nLXdpdGgta2VubnktbGFuZ2U= * Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts * Website: https://howleadersthink.kennylange.com/ Be sure to subscribe so that you don’t miss an episode! Resources: Adam Steck LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamsteck/ Website: https://www.southwest-metal.com/ #LeadershipDevelopment #CompanyCulture #LeanManagement #InnovativeLeaders #EmpowermentAtWork

    How Adam Steck Thinks About The Blueprint of Strong Cultures

  8. May 13

    How Art Serna Thinks About When God Unleashes The New Billionaire Class

    What if the pressure you’re facing is actually preparing you for your future calling? In this episode of “How Leaders Think,” Kenny Lange sits down with Art Serna to explore identity, purpose, leadership, and what it means to build something that outlives you. Art shares his journey through business leadership, faith, burnout, and rediscovering a deeper sense of calling beyond hustle culture and external success. This conversation is for leaders who feel the tension between achievement and purpose — and are ready to rethink how they lead, build, and serve. Listen on Other PlatformsApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-leaders-think-with-kenny-lange/id1434737807 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2wKtzb6KaF1vNlG9TsZkzh Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy50cmFuc2lzdG9yLmZtL2tlZXAtcmlzaW5nLXdpdGgta2VubnktbGFuZ2U= Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b13c5d64-50db-4626-9685-c356116ec54b YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KennyLange/podcasts Website: https://howleadersthink.kennylange.com/ Art Serna ResourcesWebsite: https://unknownsrising.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/utartserna Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unknownsrising Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1CCuc7hddn/ YouTube: https://youtube.com/@unknownsrising Book: https://a.co/d/0cA258Vx Books MentionedThe Unknowns Rising by Art Serna — https://a.co/d/0cA258VxThe Only Leaders Worth Following by Tim Spiker Hashtags#HowLeadersThink #LeadershipDevelopment #EntrepreneurMindset #PurposeDrivenLeadership

    How Art Serna Thinks About When God Unleashes The New Billionaire Class
See All (155)

4.9
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

Discover the secrets to impactful leadership with How Leaders Think, hosted by Kenny Lange. This podcast is your go-to resource for insights from top leaders across various industries. Each episode delves into the minds of successful entrepreneurs, CEOs, and thought leaders to uncover strategies for personal and professional growth. Key Topics Covered: - Emotional goals and effective leadership - Coaching and employee retention - Innovation and AI in business - Escaping hustle culture - Building strong organizational values - Adaptability in nonprofit leadership - The intersection of personal growth and spirituality Join us every Wednesday to transform your leadership approach and unlock your potential. Subscribe now and never miss an episode! Subscribe, leave a review, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Visit our website at kennylange.com for more resources and updates.

Information