Humanergy Leadership Podcast

David Wheatley

Impactful leadership development. For 25 years, Humanergy has helped leaders cut through the noise and take real action. This podcast delivers straight-talking insights, practical tools, and expert strategies you can actually use—right away. Whether it’s a deep-dive conversation with an experienced coach or a quick, powerful tip from the field, every episode is designed to help you lead with clarity and impact. Practical, proven, and built for real-world leadership.

  1. 8h ago

    Ep 254 When You're Out of the Loop and No One's Talking

    Three months of silence. A leadership group that doesn't seem to get along. A board meeting on the calendar that might explain everything, or might explain nothing at all. This week's scenario comes from someone stuck in exactly that gap: no information, no clarity, and a growing sense that something's happening without them. David Wheatley and Quay Eady dig into why silence gets filled with conjecture almost every time, what to actually say in the conversation that clears it up, and how a communication vacuum at the top usually traces back to something much more fixable than office politics: a delegation problem, a missing cadence of one-on-ones, or a leader who's simply overloaded. You'll walk away with a clearer way to think through uncertainty at work, not a script to read off. The Coaching Table is Humanergy's live coaching series, part of the Humanergy Leadership Podcast. Real scenarios, real coaches, no prep. Learn more about Humanergy's leadership development work at humanergy.com. Learn more about Humanergy's work: https://www.humanergy.com Join the Humanergy community on LinkedIn. Sign up for our FREE leadership workshops.

  2. Sep 11

    Ep 253 Succession Planning Simplified

    Succession plans live in a binder nobody opens until someone quits, and by then it's out of date. Here's a two-part excise you can actually run this week.  In this episode, David Wheatley opens a four-part series on succession planning by skipping the expensive consulting version most companies pay for and never use again. Instead, he breaks it down to two tools built to actually get used - 2 Names, 3 Charts. Learn more about Humanergy's work: https://www.humanergy.com Join the Humanergy community on LinkedIn. Sign up for our FREE leadership workshops.

  3. Sep 4

    Ep 252: Why Being the Expert Isn't Enough Anymore

    A lot of leaders build their careers on being the expert in the room. What happens when that stops working? David Wheatley talks with Nikki Patterson about why, as AI makes information available to everyone instantly, the leaders who succeed won't be the ones who know the most. They'll be the ones who can build a team willing to challenge them, question the machine's output, and learn faster than the situation changes. They get into what Nikki calls the silence tax, the cost organizations pay when people can see a problem coming and don't feel safe enough to say so, Amy Edmondson's research on psychological safety, and what it actually takes to shift your own identity from expert to expert learner. Humanergy has spent over two decades helping leaders build stronger teams and better conversations. Learn more at humanergy.com. Learn more about Humanergy's work: https://www.humanergy.com Join the Humanergy community on LinkedIn. Sign up for our FREE leadership workshops.

  4. Jun 26

    Ep 251: Leadership Books Worth Reading This Summer (2026)

    Seven books. One summer. A few of them might change how you think about leadership. David Wheatley, co-founder of Humanergy and host of the Humanergy Leadership Podcast, wraps up the season with his annual summer reading list for leaders. This year's picks span decentralized leadership, AI, gender dynamics in the workplace, coaching philosophy, team performance, and how people build a life worth living. The books on the list: Turn the Ship Around by David Marquet — a classic on leader-leader culture that keeps coming back into the conversation for good reason. The AI-Driven Leader by Jeff Woods — the book Humanergy has been recommending all year for leaders trying to get a practical handle on AI. The Only Woman in the Room by Lisa Davis — not just for women. David interviewed Lisa earlier this season; this is a good companion listen. The Score Takes Care of Itself by Bill Walsh — a look at what actually goes into building a winning culture, from the coach who rebuilt the 49ers. And It Was Beautiful by Phil Hay — the story of Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds, and a counterpoint to Walsh worth reading alongside it. What Great Teams Do Great by Humanergy — if you haven't read it yet, it's 98 pages and worth every one of them. What to Make of a Life by Jim Collins — his newest book. If you know Collins from Good to Great or Great by Choice, you know what to expect: rigorous, research-driven, and worth your time. Drop your own summer reading recommendations in the comments. Humanergy is a leadership development company based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Learn more at humanergy.com. Learn more about Humanergy's work: https://www.humanergy.com Join the Humanergy community on LinkedIn. Sign up for our FREE leadership workshops.

  5. Jun 19

    Ep 250: How AI Erodes Trust on Teams

    AI tools create a specific kind of trust problem on teams, and most leaders aren't sure what to name it or where it's coming from. In this Practical Field Notes episode, Mimi and David react to a Harvard Business Review piece by Jayshree Seth and Amy Edmondson on psychological safety and AI integration. They connect the article's ideas to what leaders are actually navigating in their organizations, including how to build learning loops that keep AI use transparent and how leaders can model the kind of openness that makes it safe for teams to question, challenge, and learn. Humanergy is a leadership development company that helps leaders and teams work better under real conditions. Learn more at humanergy.com. (Note: The HBR article is behind a paywall. HBR offers free monthly access, if you're out of free reads, you can still follow this conversation without it.) Link to article here: https://hbr.org/2026/02/how-to-foster-psychological-safety-when-ai-erodes-trust-on-your-team Learn more about Humanergy's work: https://www.humanergy.com Join the Humanergy community on LinkedIn. Sign up for our FREE leadership workshops.

    Ep 250: How AI Erodes Trust on Teams

  6. Jun 12

    Ep 249: What to Say When You Need to Hold Someone Accountable

    Managers know when a performance conversation is overdue. What stops them is not knowing what to say, or worrying the conversation will go sideways. In this free workshop, Humanergy coach Jim Marshall shares two practical tools: the WXYZ framework for giving specific, grounded feedback without triggering defensiveness, and Feed Need Seed Weed, a four-part structure for organizing accountability conversations from recognition through correction. If you're sitting on a conversation you've been delaying, this one's for you. Humanergy is a leadership development company that helps leaders work better and make better decisions in real organizations. Learn more at humanergy.com. Learn more about Humanergy's work: https://www.humanergy.com Join the Humanergy community on LinkedIn. Sign up for our FREE leadership workshops.

  7. Jun 5

    Ep 248: When You Promote Your Best Employee and It Backfires: The Coaching Table

    Three high-performing individual contributors got promoted to lead roles. All three are now miserable. The manager who promoted them is asking what to do. In this episode, Humanergy coaches John Barrett and Quay Eady work through exactly that scenario — why it happens, what the manager can do now, and what organizations consistently get wrong about developing people before they're promoted. The conversation covers a practical tool called FROM/TO for mapping where someone's strengths came from and what success looks like in their new role. Humanergy helps leaders and organizations work through real challenges like this one. Learn more at humanergy.com. Learn more about Humanergy's work: https://www.humanergy.com Join the Humanergy community on LinkedIn. Sign up for our FREE leadership workshops.

    Ep 248: When You Promote Your Best Employee and It Backfires: The Coaching Table

  8. May 29

    Ep 247: "Why" Is Not a Neutral Question

    When leaders ask "why," they often get defensiveness instead of dialogue, even when that's not what they intended. In this episode, David Wheatley explores why the word "why" tends to put people on the front foot and shares a simple language shift that changes the whole tone: replacing "why" with "what's causing that?" It's a small swap, but it opens conversations that might otherwise close down.  Humanergy is a leadership development firm dedicated to practical, human-centered leadership. Learn more at humanergy.com. Learn more about Humanergy's work: https://www.humanergy.com Join the Humanergy community on LinkedIn. Sign up for our FREE leadership workshops.

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About

Impactful leadership development. For 25 years, Humanergy has helped leaders cut through the noise and take real action. This podcast delivers straight-talking insights, practical tools, and expert strategies you can actually use—right away. Whether it’s a deep-dive conversation with an experienced coach or a quick, powerful tip from the field, every episode is designed to help you lead with clarity and impact. Practical, proven, and built for real-world leadership.

Information

  • Creator
    David Wheatley
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    247
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Humanergy Leadership Podcast
  • Show Website
    Humanergy Leadership Podcast