Lead the People

Matt Poepsel, PhD
  • 5.0 (10)
  • Management
  • Updated Weekly

Lead The People is your guide to unlocking your true potential as an authentic leader. Hosted by Dr. Matt Poepsel—The Godfather of Talent Optimization—this podcast dives deep into the art and science of what it takes to lead at the next level. With insightful conversations and practical strategies, each episode equips executives, strategic HR pros, and aspiring leaders with the tools it takes to boost performance, inspire teams, and drive meaningful impact. Whether exploring the latest workplace trends or tackling real-world leadership challenges, Lead The People offers an enlightened approach to leadership. Embark on a rewarding journey to become the leader your people deserve—the leader you were meant to be.

  1. 4d ago

    #181 The 90% Forgetting Problem No One Talks About (feat. Mamie Kanfer Stewart)

    Most leadership development follows the same logic: bring people together, fill them with good content, and trust that something will stick. It doesn't. Within two weeks, research shows we've forgotten 90% of what we learned, not because the content was wrong, but because the format was never built for the way adults actually work. Mamie Kanfer Stewart figured this out the hard way. As the founder of Meeteor and host of the Modern Manager podcast, she spent years running workshops that left people energized and changed almost nothing. So she walked away from that model, went deep on adult learning science and behavior design, and built something different: the micro-workshop approach, a format designed for distributed, time-strapped teams that can't afford to disappear for a day, and can't afford to keep training that doesn't move the needle. In this episode, Matt Poepsel sits down with Mamie Kanfer Stewart, founder of Meeteor and author of Momentum: Creating Effective, Engaging, and Enjoyable Meetings, to challenge the assumptions most organizations hold about how people learn at work. They dig into why knowledge and behavior change are not the same thing, why the format of training, not the content, is what usually fails, and how short, recorded, action-anchored sessions can do what three-hour offsites can't.  In this episode, you'll learn: The Knowledge-Skill-Behavior Gap: Having information is step one. Knowing how to use it is step two. Actually doing it under pressure is where most training falls completely apart.Why the Format Is the Problem: Organizations keep blaming the facilitator or the topic when the real issue is a delivery model that was never designed to produce lasting change.The APPLY Framework: Mamie's learning design approach anchors every session to real work, builds in practice time, draws on group experience, and sends everyone out with one shared next action, not a personalized list no one follows.Living Assets Over One-Time Events: When sessions are short and recorded, they stop being moments and start being infrastructure, for catch-up, for reinforcement, and for onboarding every new hire who comes after. Highlights:(00:00) Meet Mamie Kanfer Stewart(01:30) The gap between saying you value learning and actually doing it(04:50) The three components of learning, and where training breaks down(10:42) Why we lose 90% of what we learn within two weeks(11:57) What led Mamie to walk away from the traditional workshop model(13:07) Diving into adult learning science and BJ Fogg's behavior design(17:19) The APPLY framework, broken down(22:58) Training that lives beyond the event(27:00) What AI changes, and what it can't replace, in team learning Resources:Follow Mamie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mamiekanferstewart/ Visit Mamie's website: mamieks.comListen to the Modern Manager podcast: themodernmanager.com Follow Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpoepsel/Subscribe to The Predictive Index on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePredictiveIndex Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: shareyourgenius.com

    #181 The 90% Forgetting Problem No One Talks About (feat. Mamie Kanfer Stewart)

  2. Jul 16

    #180 The Culture That Punishes the Questions It Claims to Want (feat. Charles Lee)

    Your biggest leadership challenge may not be your workload, your team, or the pace of change. It may be that somewhere along the way, you stopped asking questions.  Charles Lee, Founder and CEO of Ideation and author of Design Your Good Life: The Framework for Discovering Your Purpose, Actualizing Your Vision, and Amplifying Your Impact, has spent nearly two decades helping leaders turn ideas into action. Through that work, he's uncovered a surprising truth: the greatest obstacle to innovation isn't a lack of ideas, it's the environments, assumptions, and habits that prevent people from exploring them. In this episode, Matt Poepsel sits down with Charles to explore why purpose and curiosity are essential leadership tools in an era increasingly defined by automation. They examine how organizations unintentionally discourage questioning, why successful leaders often find themselves unfulfilled despite achieving their goals, and how middle managers can create meaningful cultures even when they don't control the entire organization. Charles's message is both timely and provocative: the future belongs to leaders who move beyond busyness and build lives rooted in purpose, curiosity, and impact. In this episode, you'll learn: Where Curiosity Dies: Curiosity often fades as careers advance, replaced by conformity that feels safer and more rewarded in most organizations.Purpose Over Output: High performance without meaning leads to burnout, while lasting impact comes from connecting work to deeper purpose.AI as Space, Not Work: Technology’s real value isn’t speed or scale—it’s freeing leaders to focus on thinking, coaching, and human development.Leadership as Stewardship: Influence grows when leaders prioritize trust, growth, and care for people over status or short-term results. Highlights:  (00:00) Meet Charles Lee (01:00) Why great ideas fail in the culture, not the concept (04:00) Success without purpose is just efficient busyness (07:00) The overlooked leadership power of middle managers (10:00) Why curiosity fades as careers move forward (14:00) The leadership habit that unlocks innovation (17:00) What AI can never replace in great leaders (20:00) Use AI to create space, not just more productivity (22:00) Be the best for the world, not just the best in it (26:00) A framework for leading at work and at home Resources: Follow Charles Lee on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlestlee/ Charles Lee's website: https://www.charlestlee.com/about Get a copy of: Design Your Good Life: The Framework for Discovering Your Purpose, Actualizing Your Vision, and Amplifying Your Impact: https://www.charlestlee.com/design-your-good-life-book-landing-page Follow Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpoepsel/  Subscribe to The Predictive Index on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePredictiveIndex Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: shareyourgenius.com

    #180 The Culture That Punishes the Questions It Claims to Want (feat. Charles Lee)

  3. Jul 9

    #179 What Leaders Get Wrong About AI (feat. Lance Neuhauser)

    AI is changing what it means to be valuable at work. The tasks that once defined expertise are increasingly being automated, forcing leaders and employees alike to confront a harder question: What happens when the machine becomes better than we ever were? Lance Neuhauser, CEO of The Predictive Index and a longtime leader of companies navigating disruption and transformation, sheds light on one of the most consequential workplace shifts in modern history.  In this episode, Matt Poepsel sits down with Lance to make a compelling argument about why the future belongs to those who learn how to work alongside AI. Together, they unpack why organizations are struggling with trust, grief, and identity as AI reshapes roles and teams, why adaptability is becoming the defining skill of the modern workforce, and how the most successful leaders will move beyond optimization to rethink the very nature of work itself. In this episode, you'll learn: Adaptability Wins: In a world where roles evolve faster than job descriptions, the ability to reinvent how you contribute becomes the ultimate career advantage.From Doing to Deciding: As AI handles execution, human value shifts to judgment, context, and the ability to ask better questions.Trust Drives Transformation: AI scales capability, but organizations that fail to preserve trust risk losing the engagement that makes change sustainable.Behavior Is the Interface: Competitive advantage increasingly comes from understanding how humans and AI communicate, collaborate, and make decisions together. Highlights: (00:00) The quote redefining career anxiety (01:00) Meet Lance Neuhauser (02:00) Why "it's just AI" is the wrong diagnosis (03:30) How AI broke organizational trust twice (06:00) The junior analyst problem: 2022 vs. 2026 (09:30) Why AI makes "good" accessible but excellence harder (12:00) In the loop vs. above the loop (15:30) Problem first, technology second (17:00) The optimist's case: renaissance, honesty, and globalization (27:00) PI's vision as the behavioral intelligence layer Resources: Follow Lance on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lanceneuhauser/The Predictive Index's website: https://www.predictiveindex.com/  Follow The Predictive Index on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-predictive-index/  Follow Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpoepsel/  Subscribe to The Predictive Index on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePredictiveIndex Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: shareyourgenius.com

    #179 What Leaders Get Wrong About AI (feat. Lance Neuhauser)

  4. Jul 2

    #178 Burnout Is Not a Personal Failure (feat. Elizabeth Rosenberg)

    What if burnout isn’t a warning sign that something is wrong with your job, but a signal that something is misaligned in how you’re living? Most leaders are conditioned to see exhaustion as a time management problem. But burnout often has less to do with productivity and more to do with the gap between how we live and what our bodies can sustainably handle. Elizabeth Rosenberg, founder of The Good Advice Company, challenges that assumption from personal experience. After years as a global communications executive, a health crisis forced her to confront the personal cost of relentless achievement and rethink the assumptions many leaders make about success, resilience, and well-being. In this episode, Matt Poepsel sits down with Julian to explore how burnout operates less as a singular breaking point and more as a dynamic feedback loop that varies across individuals. They examine why it can surface in unexpected ways and why recovery is never standardized. Rosenberg makes the case that leadership today depends on awareness as a core capability, particularly the ability to notice early signals of strain before they escalate into crisis. In this episode, you'll learn: Burnout as Signal System: Burnout is a feedback signal, not failure, revealing when sustained misalignment exceeds the body’s capacity.Awareness Over Endurance: Leadership effectiveness depends on noticing strain early instead of defaulting to push-through resilience.Purpose Beyond Profession: Meaning strengthens when it’s detached from job identity and sourced from broader lived experience.Intuition in the AI Era: As AI homogenizes thinking, intuition becomes a key edge for judgment in complex, ambiguous decisions. Highlights: (00:00) Purpose is more than career success(01:00) Rethinking burnout as a modern leadership problem(03:00) When you love your job but still hit burnout(05:00) How the body forces attention through physical signals(07:00) Why leaders must model rest and recovery(09:00) Normalizing vulnerability in high-performing teams(10:00) Walking away from a high-status career path(12:00) How AI is changing work identity and communication(13:00) Defining spiritual health beyond religion and work(18:00) Intuition as a missing leadership and decision-making skill(22:00) The risk and reward of public authenticity(26:00) Intuition, AI, and rebuilding human judgment at scale Resources: Follow Elizabeth on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethrosenberg/    The Good Advice Company's website: https://www.thegoodadvicecompany.com/  Follow Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpoepsel/  Subscribe to The Predictive Index on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePredictiveIndex Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: shareyourgenius.com

    #178 Burnout Is Not a Personal Failure (feat. Elizabeth Rosenberg)

  5. Jun 25

    #177 The Real Cost of Broken Trust (feat. Yolanda K. Davis)

    Trust doesn't break all at once. It erodes quietly, through gaps in communication, unanswered questions, and decisions that arrive without context. By the time leaders notice it's gone, the damage is already running through the numbers. In this episode, Yolanda K. Davis, an HR executive, Gallup-certified strengths coach, and author of The Trust Advantage, makes the case that organizations treat trust like a mood when they should treat it like payroll. When the system stops running, everything stops with it. Yolanda walks through the pressure points that are cracking trust right now: AI mandates that outpace communication, return-to-office friction, and the particular bind middle managers find themselves in when executives move fast, and employees demand answers no one has yet. Her framework cuts through the noise by giving leaders something concrete to work with,  not a values poster, but a diagnostic. The conversation gets specific. How do you stay transparent without breaching confidentiality? What does it actually cost when a position sits open because people stopped believing in the place? And why does pretending to have the answers destroy credibility faster than just saying you don't? This one is for the managers holding the line between leadership decisions and team trust, trying to stay credible on both sides. In this episode, you'll learn: Why treating trust as a feeling makes it impossible to measure, scale, or fix;How AI adoption and return-to-office mandates are accelerating trust erosion in real time;What middle managers can say honestly when they don't have the answers;The T.R.U.S.T. framework and how it applies even during closures and major org changes; andWhy your track record as a leader is either an asset or a liability long before a crisis hitsHighlights: (00:00) Meet Yolanda K. Davis (03:00) Trust as a system, not a feeling (05:00) The true cost of disengagement and turnover (08:00) How middle managers get caught in the trust gap (10:00) What to say when you can't say everything (13:00) Transparency without breaching confidentiality (15:00) Navigating acquisitions, closures, and big change (18:00) The T.R.U.S.T. framework(21:00) Managing the person, not the policy (24:00) Reliability as reputation (28:00) Are you smarter than AI?  Resources:About our guest, Yolanda K. Davis Website: https://yolandakdavisbooks.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yolandakdavis/ Instagram: @iamyolandakdavis  Follow Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpoepsel/  Subscribe to The Predictive Index on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePredictiveIndex Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: shareyourgenius.com

    #177 The Real Cost of Broken Trust (feat. Yolanda K. Davis)

  6. Jun 18

    #176 Storytelling Skills That Set Managers Apart (feat. Johanna Walker)

    Storytelling isn't a performance trick or a "nice-to-have" for leaders who like to talk. It's the fastest way to move a team, align a room, and make people care about work that might otherwise feel abstract. Most managers reach for dashboards, memos, and productivity systems when alignment breaks down. But for Johanna Walker, public speaking and storytelling coach and founder of Women Who Speak, the real gap isn't strategy; it's the absence of a story that makes the strategy matter. In this episode, Matt Poepsel sits down with Johanna Walker, founder of Women Who Speak and the Speakers Playground, to dig into why the most ordinary moments make the most powerful stories, why managers who skip the story lose the room before they even start, and how the leaders who can communicate with presence and emotional honesty will hold a real edge in an AI-shaped workplace. Johanna makes the case that storytelling is not a talent you either have or don't, it's a muscle. And like any muscle, it gets built through discomfort, repetition, and a willingness to feel a little awkward before you feel confident. Together, they explore what it takes to notice, shape, and deliver stories that move people from passive listeners to committed teammates.  In this episode, you'll learn: Story Is the Moving Walkway: Without a story connecting people to the why, teams move more slowly, buy in less, and fill the gaps with their own assumptions.Stakes Drive Every Story: A good story isn't about what happened; it's about what someone wanted, and whether they got it. That uncertainty is what makes people lean in.The Treasure Chest Habit: Stories don't require epic experiences. The benign, specific moments of daily work life are often the most compelling, if you're paying attention.Go For Awkward: Building a storytelling culture on your team will feel uncomfortable at first. That discomfort is the signal you're actually creating something new, not the signal to stop.Highlights:  (00:00) Meet Johanna Walker  (01:47) Why managers don't have time NOT to tell stories  (04:08) How story connects people to purpose  (05:02) Finding stories in ordinary moments  (09:21) What makes a story tick: character, goal, stakes  (15:15) Story templates as a starting point  (18:21) Why storytelling feels unnatural at work  (20:12) How to build a team storytelling culture  (24:38) Are You Smarter than AI trivia question (25:50) Engineers, dinner, and the question that changed the room Resources:  Follow Johanna on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannawalkerspeaking/  Visit Johanna's website: https://johannawalker.com Follow Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpoepsel/  Subscribe to The Predictive Index on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePredictiveIndex Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: shareyourgenius.com

    #176 Storytelling Skills That Set Managers Apart (feat. Johanna Walker)

  7. Jun 11

    #175 What Executives Decide Behind Closed Doors (feat. Julian Lighton)

    Your title tells people where you sit. Your mastery tells them why you matter. Most managers spend years chasing the next promotion, only to wake up realizing the ladder was leaning against the wrong wall. Julian Lighton, Business Coach at Moo Pie Coaching Inc., former McKinsey partner, four-time Chief Strategy Officer, and one of Silicon Valley's most sought-after executive coaches, has spent 30 years studying why some people break through and others stall. The answer has nothing to do with talent. In this episode, Matt Poepsel sits down with Julian, author of Navigating Your Next: Discover the Career You Want and the Path to Get There, to pull back the curtain on how high-stakes executive decisions actually get made, and why every manager below the C-suite needs that context. They dig into why the skills that got you here won't get you there, why AI isn't the threat most people think, and why the managers who lean into curiosity, hypothesis-building, and human judgment will come out ahead. The case Julian makes is simple: intentional navigation beats upward momentum every time. In this episode, you'll learn: The Room You're Not In: High-stakes decisions are shaped by asymmetric incentives and incomplete information, and understanding that dynamic changes how you lead your team through the fallout.Mastery Over Title: Career success isn't a ladder; it's a set of levers, and knowing which ones to pull, and when to say no, defines your trajectory more than any promotion ever will.The Four Life Transitions: Every manager hits the same crossroads. Recognizing which one you're in right now is the first step toward getting unstuck.Your Human Edge: AI will absorb the red ocean work. The people who build hypotheses, read patterns in messy data, and ask the right questions first are the ones it can't replace. Highlights: (00:00) Meet Julian Lighton (01:28) What really happens in the executive room (06:51) The "conversation that should never happen without you" (09:57) Why leadership stops getting taught (14:58) The four career transitions every manager faces (17:57) Nobody's coming to rescue you (19:07) The four-click framework for knowing who you are (25:57) Red ocean vs. blue ocean, where AI leaves you (33:14) The rule of three and radical focus Resources: Follow Julian on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/julianlighton    Julian Lighton’s website: https://www.julianlighton.com/   Get a copy of Navigating Your Next: Discover the Career You Want and the Path to Get There: https://www.julianlighton.com/book  Follow Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpoepsel/  Subscribe to The Predictive Index on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePredictiveIndex Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: shareyourgenius.com

    #175 What Executives Decide Behind Closed Doors (feat. Julian Lighton)

  8. Jun 4

    #174 Escaping the Fear-based Leadership Trap (feat. Justin Ricklefs)

    Culture isn’t a poster on the wall; it’s the daily, unglamorous discipline of showing up with intention. Most businesses assume demanding results mean sacrificing relationships. But for Justin Ricklefs, founder and CEO of Guild Collective and author of the new book Give a Damn: The Catalyst for Caring Companies, the real threat to any great company isn't leniency. It's the slow, systemic drift toward apathy that makes 81% of employees dread Mondays. In this episode, Matt Poepsel sits down with Justin Ricklefs to dig into why top talent leaves fear-based cultures, why seeking out your team's perspectives is a massive advantage, and how communicating solely for yourself has quietly destroyed value for decades. Justin challenges the idea that being nice is enough, arguing that empathy without subsequent action is ruinous. Together, they explore what it means to implement human-first frameworks and why genuine care creates compounding profitability. In this episode, you’ll learn: The Danger of "Default Drift": Without intentional energy from leaders, organizations naturally slide into apathy and separation.Care as a Competitive Advantage: Giving a damn is a "hard as flint" strategy that accelerates progress and compounds profitability.Empathy in Action: Merely understanding an employee's feelings isn't enough; leaders must take concrete action.The High Cost of Confusion: A lack of clarity breeds resentment, and effective communication is always determined by the receiver. Highlights: (00:00) Meet Justin Ricklefs(05:56) The fear-based leadership trap (06:59) Compassion is hard work(11:37) Recognizing the default drift(14:57) Lead with a question(22:21) Empathy requires taking action(26:32) Confusion breeds team resentmentResources: Follow Justin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinricklefs/ Get Justin’s new book, “Give a Damn: The Catalyst for Caring Companies”  Guild Collective’s website: https://guildcollective.com/  Follow Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattpoepsel/ Subscribe to The Predictive Index on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePredictiveIndex Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: shareyourgenius.com

    #174 Escaping the Fear-based Leadership Trap (feat. Justin Ricklefs)
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About

Lead The People is your guide to unlocking your true potential as an authentic leader. Hosted by Dr. Matt Poepsel—The Godfather of Talent Optimization—this podcast dives deep into the art and science of what it takes to lead at the next level. With insightful conversations and practical strategies, each episode equips executives, strategic HR pros, and aspiring leaders with the tools it takes to boost performance, inspire teams, and drive meaningful impact. Whether exploring the latest workplace trends or tackling real-world leadership challenges, Lead The People offers an enlightened approach to leadership. Embark on a rewarding journey to become the leader your people deserve—the leader you were meant to be.

Information

  • Creator
    Matt Poepsel, PhD
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    184
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Lead the People
  • Show Website
    Lead the People

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