Coaching for Leaders

Dave Stachowiak
  • 4.8 (1.4K)
  • Management
  • Updated Weekly

Leaders aren’t born; they’re made. Many leaders reach points in their careers where what worked yesterday doesn’t work today. This Monday show helps leaders thrive at these key inflection points. Independently produced weekly since 2011, Dr. Dave Stachowiak shares insights from a decade of leading a global leadership academy, plus more than 15 years of leadership at Dale Carnegie. Bestselling authors, proven leaders, expert thinkers, and deep conversation have attracted 50 million downloads and over 300,000 followers. Join the FREE membership to search the entire leadership and management library by topic at CoachingforLeaders.com

  1. 5h ago

    How to Engage People at Trade Shows, with Robyn Davis

    Robyn Davis: Exhibit Smarter Robyn Davis has been advising exhibitors across industries and around the world on the strategies that work at trade shows since 2009. As an award-winning speaker, trainer, and consultant, Robyn is known for her fresh perspective and process-driven approach to exhibitor success. She is the author of Exhibit Smarter: A Step-by-Step Guide to Trade Show Success (Amazon, Bookshop)*. Almost every professional has been to a trade show. A lot of us have represented our organizations at conferences and shows. And many leaders have trade shows somewhere in their portfolios. In this conversation, Robyn and I explore how to help your team engage the right people at these events to ensure the investment you’ve made is worth it. Key Points Prioritize strategic value over vanity metrics and activities. Tactics that get people into your booth aren’t necessarily the ones that line up with the needs of your organization. The decisions that organizations make about trade show activities are often heavily influenced by what’s been done in the past. Use five steps to lead interactions inside your booth: Welcome visitors with a targeted question that quickly identifies if a conversation is useful for both parties. Create and use a qualification rubric for your team to quickly triage interactions. Ensure smooth handoffs to the right party by making a personal introduction and relying on relevant details of whatever conversation has already taken place. If the next step is an on-site meeting, make it concise (5-10 minutes) and follow up with a longer interaction later. If demoing a product or service, involve the visitor in the demonstration. Close with a thank you, business card, brief review of the notes, next steps, and gracefully saying goodbye. Resources Mentioned Exhibit Smarter: A Step-by-Step Guide to Trade Show Success by Robyn Davis (Amazon, Bookshop)* Interview Notes Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required). Related Episodes Serve Others Through Marketing, with Seth Godin (episode 381) The Reason People Make Buying Decisions, with Marcus Collins (episode 664) How High Performers Land New Business, with Matt Dixon (episode 736) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. Go beyond the podcast to find the right ideas and apply them with confidence inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

  2. Sep 28

    How Leaders Turn Conflict Into Progress, with Priya Parker

    Priya Parker: The Art of Fighting Priya Parker is a facilitator, strategic advisor, bestselling author of The Art of Gathering, and executive producer and host of the New York Times podcast, Together Apart. Trained in the field of conflict resolution, she has spent 20 years guiding leaders and groups through complicated conversations about community, identity, and vision at moments of transition. She is the author of the new book, The Art of Fighting: The Transformative Power of Conflict (Amazon, Bookshop)*. Often we assume that good leaders and good teams don’t fight. In this conversation, Priya tells us that, “Fighting is not the death of community. It is its lifeblood.” We explore how to turn conflict into progress. Key Points Even experts who handle group conflict often find it challenging, fearful, and unsettling. Becoming a durable, sustainable group does not happen without a fight. One of the biggest myths that hold leaders back is that “good” people and “good” groups don’t fight. There’s a seniority caveat to conflict. Leaders often confuse what needs to be felt with what needs to be said. It’s a lie to believe that “if only” one thing hadn’t happened that conflict would not have occurred. If it wasn’t that, it would have been something else. Milestones, transitions, schedule changes, and celebrations are often triggering events for conflict. Instead of thinking, “This is the worst timing,” expect conflict at these times. Resources Mentioned The Art of Fighting: The Transformative Power of Conflict by Priya Parker (Amazon, Bookshop)* Interview Notes Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required). Related Episodes How to Create Meaningful Gatherings, with Priya Parker (episode 395) The Way Out of Major Conflict, with Amanda Ripley (episode 529) How to Help Difficult Conversations Go Better, with Sheila Heen (episode 655) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. Go beyond the podcast to find the right ideas and apply them with confidence inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

  3. Sep 21

    How to Make Better Decisions With Data, with Sebastian Wernicke

    Sebastian Wernicke: Data Inspired For over 20 years, Sebastian Wernicke has guided organizations around the world to harness the power of data and AI to achieve breakthrough transformation. His three acclaimed TED Talks have reached over 5 million viewers. He is the author of Data Inspired: Building an Organizational Culture of Inquiry for Lasting Transformation (Amazon, Bookshop)*. We all have more access to data than ever. That means we should be making better decisions than we ever have before, yes? If only it were that simple. In this conversation, Sebastian and I explore how you can actually use all that data to make better decisions. Key Points Data initiatives don’t necessarily fail, but often do something worse: make your organization stay the same. Better data does not automatically result in better decisions. An organization also needs the cultural maturity to be swayed by the data. Nobody makes decisions that look like the logical decision-making processes we see in books. In addition, the emotions we put into decisions are actually critically helpful. During uncertainty, more data tends to make us more uncertain. Once we’ve decided something, we tend to discount contrary data. Decisions are rarely made entirely by one person and heavily influenced by the team or organization’s culture. Leaders can help integrate helpful data by saying things like, “I’m looking for data to tell me where I am wrong.” Bringing in structure such as written notes or memos before or at the start of meetings can help data be considered before we discount it. Resources Mentioned Data Inspired: Building an Organizational Culture of Inquiry for Lasting Transformation (Amazon, Bookshop)* Interview Notes Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required). Related Episodes How to Involve Stakeholders in Decisions, with Eric Pliner (episode 586) How to Change People’s Minds, with Michael McQueen (episode 676) – contradictory data not swaying people How to Lead Engaging Meetings, with Jess Britt (episode 721) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

  4. Sep 14

    Make Your Message Clear, with Stephanie Evergreen

    Stephanie Evergreen: Build a Data Culture Stephanie Evergreen is a data visualization and design expert. She has trained future data nerds worldwide through keynotes and workshops, for Fortune 500 clients like MasterCard and Facebook and mission-aligned clients like the United Nations, the Boys and Girls Club, AARP, and The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. She has three books and a popular blog on data visualization. Data: we’ve all got tons of access to it these days. But perhaps almost too much – how do we actually make sense of it and then communicate clearly with it? In this conversation, Stephanie and I explore how a leader can best use data to make their message land. Key Points Many of us are overwhelmed by access to data, but lots of leaders find that much of the data isn’t actionable for increasing performance. Because dashboards attempt to answer many questions, they often result in doing a poor job of highlighting a key message or insight. Instead of showing every data point you’ve ever collected, use smart formatting to highlight the single thing your team needs to know. Decide in advance what the key message of a slide, chart, or presentation should be. Then, design for that clear message. Answer the burning question that your audience is likely asking. Leaders set the tone for transparency with data that isn’t good news. Encourage and reward hearing the honest story to establish a culture where truth is shared and addressed. Resources Mentioned Build a Data Culture by Stephanie Evergreen Why Data-Packed Meetings Miss the Mark (And What to Do About It) by Stephanie Evergreen Related Episodes Performance Measurement That Gets Results, with Stacey Barr (episode 419) The Way to Influence Executives, with Nancy Duarte (episode 450) How to Respond When You Don’t Have Resources, with Laura West (episode 699) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

  5. Sep 11

    FINAL Day to Apply for the Academy

    Today is the FINAL day to apply for the Coaching for Leaders Academy. Are you at an inflection point? Apply to the Academy by the of the day today, Friday, September 11th.

  6. Sep 7

    Four Words That Set Successful Leaders Apart

    Dave shares four words that detail what’s different about leaders who consistently get better – and even THRIVE – and those who don’t. Are you at an inflection point? Apply to the Coaching for Leaders Academy by Friday, September 11th.

  7. Sep 7

    How Leaders Stay Grounded, with Aiko Bethea

    Aiko Bethea: Anchored, Aligned, Accountable Aiko Bethea is the Founder and CEO of RARE Coaching & Consulting, a leadership development firm that partners with Fortune 100 companies, nonprofits, and global organizations to build accountable, values-driven cultures. She is listed as #3 on the list of Top Executive Coaches of 2026 by the Industry Leader and has spent over a decade coaching C-suite leaders across industries, and served previously as deputy director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She is the author of Anchored, Aligned, Accountable: A Framework for Transcending BS and Transforming Our Lives and Work (Amazon, Bookshop)*. I have seen so many activities over the years to help leaders clarify their values. I have built some of them myself. And most of them, including the ones I’ve built, miss a big question: what do those values actually mean? In this conversation, Aiko and I explore that question in detail to help us all do a better job of staying grounded. Key Points In an era of information everywhere, it’s more challenging than ever to engage our inner awareness. An anchor keeps a ship in place during the storm. Our values do the same for us as leaders. Values aren’t just decorative. Simply naming a value doesn’t tell us much about what it means. Explore the behaviors that come out of labels we use for values. Those behaviors help us better align with others – and ourselves. A value label may mean one thing to one person and something entirely different to someone else. Curiosity will help you uncover what really matters to people. Beware naming values that are simply aspirational. Instead, zero in on what is actually true for you. Resources Mentioned Anchored, Aligned, Accountable: A Framework for Transcending BS and Transforming Our Lives and Work by Aiko Bethea (Amazon, Bookshop)*. Interview Notes Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required). Related Episodes Leadership in the Midst of Chaos, with Jim Mattis (episode 440) How to Discover What Others Value, with Joe Hart (episode 616) The Way to Build Collective Power, with Ruchika T. Malhotra (episode 759) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. Go beyond the podcast to find the right ideas and apply them with confidence inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

  8. Sep 2

    How to Show Up at Your Best, with Jen Quammen

    Academy alum Jen Quammen joins Dave to share how she prioritized showing up at her best when taking on a major leadership role. Are you at an inflection point? Apply to the Coaching for Leaders Academy by Friday, September 11th.

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About

Leaders aren’t born; they’re made. Many leaders reach points in their careers where what worked yesterday doesn’t work today. This Monday show helps leaders thrive at these key inflection points. Independently produced weekly since 2011, Dr. Dave Stachowiak shares insights from a decade of leading a global leadership academy, plus more than 15 years of leadership at Dale Carnegie. Bestselling authors, proven leaders, expert thinkers, and deep conversation have attracted 50 million downloads and over 300,000 followers. Join the FREE membership to search the entire leadership and management library by topic at CoachingforLeaders.com

Information

  • Creator
    Dave Stachowiak
  • Years Active
    2011 - 2026
  • Episodes
    811
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Innovate Learning, LLC
  • Show Website
    Coaching for Leaders

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