Flourishing Leaders Podcast

Scott Parsons
  • 5.0 (14)
  • Self-Improvement

The Flourishing Leaders Podcast Character. Leadership. Human Flourishing. Join Dr. Scott Parsons—retired Army officer, character development leader, and founder of The Flourishing Leaders Academy—for inspiring weekly conversations with influential thinkers, leaders, and changemakers psychology, philosophy, sports, business, and the arts—united by one goal: exploring how we can all lead with character and live flourishing lives. Each episode explores how to lead with character, make ethical decisions, build antifragile teams, and live a flourishing life. Guests share actionable insights on leadership development, emotional intelligence, growth mindset, moral courage, and practical wisdom—essential traits for today’s purpose-driven professionals. Join us as we dive into timeless wisdom and cutting-edge science to uncover strategies for ethical leadership, virtue cultivation, and living with purpose. Guests include Brian Johnson, Tal Ben-Shahar, Sean Casey, Caroline Adams Miller, Kristján Kristjánsson, and many more. Perfect for coaches, educators, executives, healthcare leaders, and lifelong learners, The Flourishing Leaders Podcast is your go-to resource for cultivating strong values, navigating complexity, and unlocking human potential. Listen every week to grow as a leader—and help others flourish too. #Leadership #LeaderDevelopment #CharacterDevelopment #CharacterEducation #PositivePsychology #Flourishing #VirtueEthics #Virtue #Areté #Arete #Phronesis #PracticalWisdom #Wisdom #Coaching #EthicalLeadership #EmotionalIntelligence #Heroic #Antifragile #Antifragility #Purpose #GrowthMindset #WellBeing #Well-Being

  1. 1d ago

    Episode 74: “Cicero's New Leadership: Why Good Leaders Must Be Ethical AND Effective” with Dr. Evan Dutmer

    What makes a leader truly good? Is achieving results enough—or must leadership also be grounded in moral character? More than 2,000 years ago, the Roman philosopher and statesman Cicero wrestled with questions that remain remarkably relevant to leadership today. In Episode #74 of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast, host Dr. Scott Parsons welcomes his friend and colleague Dr. Evan Dutmer, an ancient philosophy scholar, character educator, and author of Cicero's New Leadership (Edward Elgar, 2026). Together, they explore a timeless but urgent idea: Genuinely good leadership must be both ethical and effective. Drawing on Cicero, Aristotle, contemporary leadership research, and his experience teaching young people at Culver Academies, Evan explains why leadership cannot be reduced to power, performance, influence, or getting things done. Instead, leadership at its best develops character, elevates others, and contributes to the common good. In this episode, you'll discover: What makes a flourishing leader: Why great leaders help others develop their virtues and become better versions of themselves. The ancient roots of modern leadership: How Cicero anticipated important elements of transformational leadership theory. Ethical versus effective leadership: Why genuine leadership excellence requires both moral goodness and practical competence. The danger of expediency: What happens when leaders sacrifice ethical principles to achieve desired results. Leadership as moral example: Why Cicero described ideal leaders as mirrors through which others can learn what virtue looks like in action. Character as a guiding competency: How virtues help direct confidence, perseverance, courage, and other leadership capabilities toward worthy ends. Ancient wisdom in divided times: What Cicero's experience during the collapse of the Roman Republic can teach us about leadership amid polarization and institutional challenges. Character education in practice: How Evan helps students at Culver Academies cultivate virtues through weekly intentions, reflection, real-world leadership experiences, and mutual accountability. Philosophy as formation: Why the ultimate purpose of studying ethics is not merely to know more about goodness, but to become better human beings. Leadership for future generations: Why our decisions today should reflect loving concern for the world we leave behind. Evan also shares a remarkable personal story: At just 16 years old, he discovered Cicero's On Duties and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics in a bookstore on the same day. That encounter helped transform his understanding of human potential and inspired his lifelong commitment to philosophy and character development. His closing advice to leaders is both simple and profound: "Don't sacrifice the good for the expedient." Whether you're an educator, business leader, student, executive, coach, or someone committed to becoming a better human being, this conversation offers practical and philosophical wisdom for leading with character. 🎙️ Join us for an inspiring exploration of ancient wisdom, ethical leadership, virtue development, and human flourishing. About our guest Dr. Evan Dutmer is Senior Instructor in Ethics and Curriculum Leader in the Department of Leadership Education at Culver Academies, where he holds a J.D. Williamson '63 Fellowship. He earned his Ph.D. in Ancient Philosophy from Northwestern University in 2019. Evan's scholarship focuses on ancient philosophy, especially Cicero's moral and political thought, virtue ethics, character education, and leadership studies. He is the author of Cicero's New Leadership (2026) and co-author, with Verónica Fernández, of the chapter "Virtues for Leadership for Flourishing" in the Oxford University Press volume Leadership for Flourishing. He is also a member of the Leadership for Flourishing community and co-chair of the Justice for Flourishing Interest Group within the Harvard Human Flourishing Program's Flourishing Network. Resources Cicero's New Leadership — Evan Dutmer, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2026."Cicero's New Leadership and the Question of Good Leadership: How Virtue Ethics Is Changing Leadership Studies" — Evan Dutmer, Blog of the American Philosophical Association, July 28, 2026.Leadership for Flourishing — Oxford University Press.  Thank you for listening to the Flourishing Leaders Podcast! Hosted by Dr. Scott Parsons, this podcast explores how character, virtue, wisdom, and purpose can shape a more flourishing life and leadership journey. Learn more at: Flourishing Leaders Academy Subscribe & Follow: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | YouTube Share this episode with someone who’s ready to lead with integrity and flourish in every domain of life. Connect with Scott: LinkedIn | Scott@FlourishingLeaders.us Flourish with us—because leadership rooted in character changes everything.

  2. Oct 27

    Episode 73: “The Frankenstein Factor: When Success Becomes a Monster” with Tom Morris on Character, Wisdom & Leadership

    Can extraordinary success become a catastrophic failure? Just in time for Halloween, The Flourishing Leaders Podcast welcomes back renowned philosopher and bestselling author Dr. Tom Morris for a fascinating conversation about ambition, character, wisdom, leadership, and the hidden dangers of success. Tom, who first appeared in Episode #12, returns to discuss his new book, The Frankenstein Factor: Monster Success and Massive Failure—An Urgent Warning for Our Time, the culmination of 30 years of philosophical reflection. Drawing on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and more than 4,000 years of literature and philosophy, Tom reveals how highly intelligent, creative, and ambitious people can achieve extraordinary goals while inadvertently causing devastating harm. The greatest danger, he argues, often begins not with our actions but with the motives and mindsets that shape them. In this thought-provoking conversation, hosts Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar explore: The Frankenstein Factor: Why extraordinary achievement can produce extraordinary failure.The monsters within: How ego, envy, insecurity, and grandiosity can quietly undermine character.Wise ambition: Why purpose and ambition must be grounded in truth, beauty, goodness, and unity.The Double Power Principle: How our greatest strengths and capabilities can become sources of harm.Character and leadership: Why competence, productivity, and personality are insufficient without trustworthy motives.Negative capability: What John Keats teaches us about patience, complexity, and resisting premature conclusions.Artificial intelligence and ethics: Why technological capability must be guided by worthy purposes and moral excellence.Guidance and guardrails: How wisdom helps us achieve meaningful success while avoiding destructive consequences.Responsibility and stewardship: Why leaders must consider the long-term consequences of everything they create.Tom also shares memorable stories, including a hilarious moment when his young son thought he'd been in the bathroom for three days, and a remarkable example of a business executive whose life changed after hearing Tom speak about the four foundations of greatness. At its heart, this episode asks a profound question: What separates a flourishing leader from a Frankenstein leader? The answer has less to do with how much we accomplish and more to do with our character, motives, and responsibility toward others. Whether you're a business leader, educator, student, entrepreneur, philosopher, or someone striving to live a meaningful life, this episode offers timeless wisdom for pursuing success without losing sight of what matters most. 🎧 Join us for a Halloween-week conversation that's equal parts entertaining, challenging, and deeply relevant to our world today. About our guest Dr. Tom Morris is a renowned public philosopher, former Notre Dame professor, and author of more than 30 books, including If Aristotle Ran General Motors, True Success, The Art of Achievement, and Stoicism for Dummies. His latest work, The Frankenstein Factor, examines the hidden mindsets that can transform extraordinary success into destructive failure. Connect with Tom Morris: https://www.tomvmorris.com Thank you for listening to the Flourishing Leaders Podcast! Hosted by Dr. Scott Parsons, this podcast explores how character, virtue, wisdom, and purpose can shape a more flourishing life and leadership journey. Learn more at: Flourishing Leaders Academy Subscribe & Follow: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | YouTube Share this episode with someone who’s ready to lead with integrity and flourish in every domain of life. Connect with Scott: LinkedIn | Scott@FlourishingLeaders.us Flourish with us—because leadership rooted in character changes everything.

  3. Oct 20

    Episode 72: “Beyond the Average: Intellectual Humility, Character Measurement, and Seeing the Person Behind the Data” with Dr. Elise Dykhuis

    How do we know whether character development is actually happening? And what might we miss when we reduce human growth to a single average? In Episode #72 of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast, Dr. Scott Parsons welcomes Dr. Elise Dykhuis, Assistant Professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point and a multidisciplinary researcher whose work bridges psychology, statistics, leadership, intellectual humility, character development, and higher education. Elise challenges us to think more carefully about what it means to develop—and measure—character. Together, Scott and Elise explore: Why flourishing leadership begins with becoming the kind of person others might look to as a beacon How Elise’s interdisciplinary journey brought together psychology, philosophy, statistics, and human development Why intellectual humility is more than simply acknowledging what we don’t know The importance of balancing humility with healthy intellectual confidence Why leaders may need intellectual humility more than anyone else What person-centered and context-sensitive measurement means Why the same intervention can affect different people in dramatically different ways Why measuring character is so difficult The difference between conceptualizing a virtue and operationalizing it What Elise has learned from more than a decade of work connected to West Point Why faculty and staff may be the most important drivers of an institution-wide culture of character What emerged from a recent Templeton Religion Trust-supported convening on the future of character measurement Why assessment should be built into character programming from the beginning rather than treated as an afterthought At its heart, this conversation is about taking human development seriously enough to ask better questions. Because behind every dataset, every intervention, and every measurement is a person whose story may not look anything like the average.  Thank you for listening to the Flourishing Leaders Podcast! Hosted by Dr. Scott Parsons, this podcast explores how character, virtue, wisdom, and purpose can shape a more flourishing life and leadership journey. Learn more at: Flourishing Leaders Academy Subscribe & Follow: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | YouTube Share this episode with someone who’s ready to lead with integrity and flourish in every domain of life. Connect with Scott: LinkedIn | Scott@FlourishingLeaders.us Flourish with us—because leadership rooted in character changes everything.

  4. Oct 13

    Episode 71: “Young People Are Ready to Lead Now: Agency, Service, and Community Flourishing” with Jonathan Harper, FRSA

    What if the next generation of leaders doesn't need to wait until tomorrow to start changing the world? In this episode of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast, Dr. Scott Parsons welcomes Jonathan Harper, FRSA, an award-winning social entrepreneur and co-founder of Global Social Leaders, for an inspiring conversation about youth leadership, character development, service learning, community belonging, and human flourishing. With more than 20 years of experience developing youth leadership and social impact initiatives, Jonathan has helped empower over 10,000 young people across 100 countries to deliver more than 3,500 community action projects. Jonathan shares why real-world experiences are essential for developing confidence, responsibility, compassion, and agency—and why adults sometimes need to step aside and give young people the space to lead. Together, Scott and Jonathan explore: Why leadership is a responsibility, not simply a title.How experiential learning and community service help young people develop character.Inspiring social action projects led by young people in India and Ukraine.What supporting families after the Grenfell Tower tragedy taught Jonathan about compassion, listening, and trust.How CanTeam transforms school canteens into welcoming community dining spaces.Why belonging, relationships, and shared meals can strengthen entire communities.How to grow successful social initiatives while preserving local ownership and human connection.From youth-led innovation to community dinners, Jonathan demonstrates how meaningful leadership begins when we create opportunities for people to contribute. The central message: Young people are ready to lead now. Our responsibility is to create the conditions that allow them to flourish. Whether you're an educator, parent, coach, community organizer, nonprofit leader, or someone who believes in the potential of the next generation, this conversation will challenge you to think differently about leadership, learning, and service. Connect and learn more: Global Social Leaders: https://www.globalsocialleaders.com/ CanTeam: https://www.future-foundations.co.uk/canteam/  Thank you for listening to the Flourishing Leaders Podcast! Hosted by Dr. Scott Parsons, this podcast explores how character, virtue, wisdom, and purpose can shape a more flourishing life and leadership journey. Learn more at: Flourishing Leaders Academy Subscribe & Follow: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | YouTube Share this episode with someone who’s ready to lead with integrity and flourish in every domain of life. Connect with Scott: LinkedIn | Scott@FlourishingLeaders.us Flourish with us—because leadership rooted in character changes everything.

  5. Oct 6

    Episode 70: “What Fear Leaves Out: Agency, Connection, and Human Flourishing” with Angela McIllece

    What happens when fear makes our differences louder than our shared humanity? In Episode #70 of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast, Dr. Scott Parsons and co-host Jason Viyar sit down with Angela McIllece, Co-Founder, President, and COO of Human Flourishing, for a deeply personal conversation about agency, identity, authenticity, disagreement, and what it takes to build relationships and communities in which people can truly flourish. Angela shares how more than 30 years as a military spouse and more than 20 moves around the world shaped her understanding of identity, adaptation, and belonging—including a powerful story about moving to New Delhi with four young children and discovering how fear can narrow our view of other people. The conversation explores why Human Flourishing was created, how we can recover agency when circumstances feel overwhelming, why understanding someone does not require agreeing with them, and what becomes possible when we approach disagreement with curiosity rather than defensiveness. Angela also explains why Human Flourishing is committed to measuring whether its work actually changes how people live, why Mission Partners such as Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Institute for Character and Leadership matter to the movement, and what Human Flourishing hopes to learn at its upcoming Founding Salon and public gathering, The Case for Optimism. At its heart, this is a conversation about becoming harder to divide and better at connecting—and learning to stay grounded in what we believe without hardening toward one another. In This Episode Scott, Jason, and Angela explore: What flourishing leadership looks like when leaders create space for agency, growth, risk, and even failureIdentity beyond the roles we playWhy fear can make differences louder than our shared humanityAgency as the question, “What can I actually do?”Why we cannot defend a belief and examine it at the same timeUnderstanding versus agreementMeasuring flourishing through meaningful changes in behaviorThe role of Mission Partners in the Human Flourishing movementWhy authentic relationships require vulnerabilityThe upcoming Human Flourishing Founding Salon and The Case for OptimismAngela’s hope that we become harder to divide and better at connecting  Connect & Learn More HumanFlourishing.us  Thank you for listening to the Flourishing Leaders Podcast! Hosted by Dr. Scott Parsons, this podcast explores how character, virtue, wisdom, and purpose can shape a more flourishing life and leadership journey. Learn more at: Flourishing Leaders Academy Subscribe & Follow: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | YouTube Share this episode with someone who’s ready to lead with integrity and flourish in every domain of life. Connect with Scott: LinkedIn | Scott@FlourishingLeaders.us Flourish with us—because leadership rooted in character changes everything.

  6. Sep 29

    Episode 69: “Rooted in Purpose: Character, Caring, and Creating the Conditions for Flourishing” with Dr. Cheryl Maurana

    How do we create institutions where people do more than survive or avoid burnout—where they can genuinely flourish? In the Season 3 premiere of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast, Dr. Scott Parsons welcomes Dr. Cheryl Maurana, Provost at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Founding Executive Director of the Kern National Network for Flourishing in Health. Cheryl has spent much of her career asking how institutions can honor human dignity, strengthen connection, cultivate character, and help people become their fullest selves. Together, Scott and Cheryl explore: Why flourishing leadership begins with purpose and caring for others How the Kern National Network for Flourishing in Health began Why health professions education needed to move beyond burnout, resilience, wellness, and well-being The KNN framework of character, caring, practical wisdom, and flourishing Why flourishing must be woven through the fabric of institutions rather than treated as an add-on What the KNN Forest teaches us about interconnectedness, community, and growth Why people were never meant to flourish in isolation The importance of building bridges across differences Why “brave spaces” may matter more than merely “safe spaces” How moral dilemmas can deepen judgment, empathy, and practical wisdom Why leaders should stay rooted in purpose rather than productivity How small practices of hope can sustain people through difficult seasons Why flourishing is not a destination but a way of showing up in the life we actually have At its heart, this conversation is about creating the conditions in which people, professions, institutions, and communities can flourish together. And Cheryl leaves us with one final invitation: Kindness. Always kindness. Thank you for listening to the Flourishing Leaders Podcast! Hosted by Dr. Scott Parsons, this podcast explores how character, virtue, wisdom, and purpose can shape a more flourishing life and leadership journey. Learn more at: Flourishing Leaders Academy Subscribe & Follow: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | YouTube Share this episode with someone who’s ready to lead with integrity and flourish in every domain of life. Connect with Scott: LinkedIn | Scott@FlourishingLeaders.us Flourish with us—because leadership rooted in character changes everything.

  7. Aug 25

    Episode 68: “Flourishing Conversations: What Makes a Flourishing Life?” | Season 2 Finale

    What actually makes a flourishing life? Love? Purpose? Character? Wisdom? Relationships? Challenge? Service? Perhaps the answer is not one ingredient at all—but the way these things come together. In the Season 2 finale of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast, Dr. Scott Parsons introduces a new recurring series: Flourishing Conversations: A Quarterly Roundtable. Four times during Season 3, the podcast will bring together scholars, practitioners, educators, and changemakers around one important question at the heart of human flourishing. For this inaugural conversation, Scott is joined by four returning podcast guests: Dr. Katy Granville-Chapman, educator, leadership scholar, author, and Senior Fellow of the Harvard Human Flourishing Network; Emmie Bidston, educator, author, leadership practitioner, and Associate Fellow at the Oxford Character Project; Brian Wellinghoff, Senior Director of Leadership and Outreach at Barry-Wehmiller; and David Pickersgill, Senior Outreach Program Leader at Barry-Wehmiller. Together, they explore: Why flourishing is a journey rather than a destination How people can flourish even through difficult “winter” seasons Whether love can—and should—be reclaimed in leadership Why character enables us to put love into action How purpose gives courage and direction The role of wisdom in adapting to life’s changing circumstances Why flourishing is inherently relational How mistakes can become pathways to growth and practical wisdom Why accountability can elevate rather than diminish people The difference between work-life balance and work-life harmony Why being loved for who we are may matter more than being admired for what we achieve How listening, kindness, recognition, and courageous action make flourishing practical The episode closes with a new tradition for Flourishing Conversations: One Practice—a simple action each participant offers listeners to try in the week ahead. This episode closes Season 2 of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast and offers a first glimpse of a new series that will return four times during Season 3. The podcast returns with its Season 3 premiere on September 29, 2026. Thank you for listening to the Flourishing Leaders Podcast! Hosted by Dr. Scott Parsons, this podcast explores how character, virtue, wisdom, and purpose can shape a more flourishing life and leadership journey. Learn more at: Flourishing Leaders Academy Subscribe & Follow: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | YouTube Share this episode with someone who’s ready to lead with integrity and flourish in every domain of life. Connect with Scott: LinkedIn | Scott@FlourishingLeaders.us Flourish with us—because leadership rooted in character changes everything.

  8. Aug 18

    Episode 67: “Seeking the Good: Character, Truth, Mentorship, and a Life of Flourishing” with Professor James Arthur OBE

    What is education ultimately for? Is it simply about knowledge, examinations, and preparation for employment—or should education also help us become good people capable of contributing to the common good? In Episode #67 of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast, Dr. Scott Parsons welcomes his longtime mentor and friend Professor James Arthur OBE, one of the world’s leading scholars of character education and the founding director of the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham. James has spent decades advancing the idea that education must concern itself not only with what students know, but with who they are becoming. Together, Scott and James explore: Why flourishing means seeking the good for ourselves and for others How James’s own teachers first awakened his interest in character Why he and Dr. Jack Templeton created the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues Why education must extend beyond examinations and academic outcomes The leadership virtues of persistence and patience Why great mentors must both encourage and challenge Why truth may be one of the virtues contemporary culture most misunderstands How honesty, openness, civility, and respect make meaningful disagreement possible Why flourishing has become such an important global conversation James’s unforgettable exchange with Queen Elizabeth II about measuring character Why experienced educators still need professional judgment and practical wisdom The international influence of the Jubilee Centre’s Framework for Character Education What a lifetime of awards and honors means to James—and why he sees them as recognition of a team rather than himself James also reflects on the growing global interest in character education and the profound joy of watching ideas, students, and colleagues carry this work forward around the world. This is a conversation about scholarship and education. But even more, it is a conversation about living well, seeking truth, serving the common good, and helping others flourish. Thank you for listening to the Flourishing Leaders Podcast! Hosted by Dr. Scott Parsons, this podcast explores how character, virtue, wisdom, and purpose can shape a more flourishing life and leadership journey. Learn more at: Flourishing Leaders Academy Subscribe & Follow: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | YouTube Share this episode with someone who’s ready to lead with integrity and flourish in every domain of life. Connect with Scott: LinkedIn | Scott@FlourishingLeaders.us Flourish with us—because leadership rooted in character changes everything.

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The Flourishing Leaders Podcast Character. Leadership. Human Flourishing. Join Dr. Scott Parsons—retired Army officer, character development leader, and founder of The Flourishing Leaders Academy—for inspiring weekly conversations with influential thinkers, leaders, and changemakers psychology, philosophy, sports, business, and the arts—united by one goal: exploring how we can all lead with character and live flourishing lives. Each episode explores how to lead with character, make ethical decisions, build antifragile teams, and live a flourishing life. Guests share actionable insights on leadership development, emotional intelligence, growth mindset, moral courage, and practical wisdom—essential traits for today’s purpose-driven professionals. Join us as we dive into timeless wisdom and cutting-edge science to uncover strategies for ethical leadership, virtue cultivation, and living with purpose. Guests include Brian Johnson, Tal Ben-Shahar, Sean Casey, Caroline Adams Miller, Kristján Kristjánsson, and many more. Perfect for coaches, educators, executives, healthcare leaders, and lifelong learners, The Flourishing Leaders Podcast is your go-to resource for cultivating strong values, navigating complexity, and unlocking human potential. Listen every week to grow as a leader—and help others flourish too. #Leadership #LeaderDevelopment #CharacterDevelopment #CharacterEducation #PositivePsychology #Flourishing #VirtueEthics #Virtue #Areté #Arete #Phronesis #PracticalWisdom #Wisdom #Coaching #EthicalLeadership #EmotionalIntelligence #Heroic #Antifragile #Antifragility #Purpose #GrowthMindset #WellBeing #Well-Being

Information

  • Creator
    Scott Parsons
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    75
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Flourishing Leaders Podcast
  • Show Website
    Flourishing Leaders Podcast

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