Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts)

Ben Fanning
  • 4.8 (66)
  • CAREERS
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

Real CEOs. Real Stories. Hosted by Ben Fanning—2025 Gold Stevie Award winner for Best Business Podcast and ranked in the Top 2% globally—Lead the Team draws on over 600 CEO interviews to take you inside the minds of leaders from brands like Honeywell, HP, IBM, Dunkin’, and L’Oréal. In each episode, you’ll hear raw, unfiltered stories of leading through rapid growth, high-stakes decisions, and make-or-break moments—plus the CEO-tested tools and strategies they use to build high-performing teams. From turning around billion-dollar brands to sparking innovation at scale, these leaders share lessons you can put into action right now to lead your own team better. Subscribe now. ------------- https://www.benfanning.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/benfanning/

  1. Bruce Springsteen Revolutionized My Company (Chairman at Virtual, Andy Freed)

    3D AGO

    Bruce Springsteen Revolutionized My Company (Chairman at Virtual, Andy Freed)

    Do you know BRUCE? Andy Freed, Chairman of Virtual, Inc. has seen Bruce Springsteen nearly 100 times, and was so inspired by what he saw that he wrote a book about it.... ...Lead Like The Boss: The Bruce Springsteen Framework to Elevating Your Leadership What Andy took from those shows completely changed how he leads. For instance at the end of every show, Bruce walks to the back of the stage… …and personally acknowledges every single band member. For about 10 seconds each, he makes them feel like the most important person in the world. Andy saw that and thought: "Isn’t that the job of a leader?" But it raises bigger questions… Why can a rock concert hold attention for 3 hours… while an executive loses the room in 3 minutes? When did leadership become about slides… instead of connection? Most leaders are focused on: what they need to say what they need to get done what they need to present Bruce is focused on: what the audience feels how the moment lands how people walk away That’s the difference. I’ve been in rooms where the strategy was right… …but the leader lost the room in 60 seconds. And I’ve seen the opposite—where the message wasn’t perfect… …but the leader had people leaning in, locked in, all the way through. That’s not an accident. That’s intentional. So here’s the real question: Are you trying to be heard… or are you trying to make people feel something? ----- Connect with the Host, #1 bestselling author Ben Fanning Speaking and Training inquires Subscribe to my Youtube channel LinkedIn Instagram Twitter

    48 min
  2. monday.com CRO - Why Great Mentors Push You to Leave, Case George

    6D AGO

    monday.com CRO - Why Great Mentors Push You to Leave, Case George

    Why Leave Success? monday.com CRO Case George once got career advice he never expected. After decades at IBM a close mentor looked at him and said: “I’ll deny it if you tell anybody… but I think you should leave.” It was unexpected but that advice changed everything for Case. He went on to help scale billion-dollar revenue organizations and now leads global revenue at monday.com, a platform used by 200,000+ organizations worldwide. You'll also discover: • Why great mentors sometimes push you out of comfort • The strategy that grew monday.com into a $1.5B+ company • What happens when your response times drop from 24 hours to 2 minutes? ---- He shared with me that you don’t fully appreciate what you’ve learned… until you’re forced to use it somewhere new. Do you believe ambitious leaders leave successful companies earlier to grow faster, or can they do it where they are? ----- Connect with the Host, #1 bestselling author Ben Fanning Speaking and Training inquires Subscribe to my Youtube channel LinkedIn Instagram Twitter

    35 min
  3. From NYSE to DailyPay: The Risk That Reshaped a COO’s Career (Andrew Brandman)

    APR 30

    From NYSE to DailyPay: The Risk That Reshaped a COO’s Career (Andrew Brandman)

    They Said Don’t. Andrew Brandman, COO of DailyPay and a former leader at the New York Stock Exchange, knows risk taking When he decided to join the NYSE back in the day, everyone told him he was making a mistake. “Everyone was saying to me, don’t do it!.” He did it anyway. That decision didn’t just work out — it actually put him at the center of transforming a 200+ year old institution and reshaped the trajectory of his entire career. But it wasn’t just the risk. It was why he took it. He saw a mission big enough to matter. A chance to impact not just a company… but the people behind it — the ones whose lives are affected by every decision. It's a call to action for leaders at every level... - How often are we evaluating opportunities based on comfort… instead of impact? - What if the best career decisions don’t feel safe at all? - What if consensus is actually a warning sign? And how do you know when to ignore smart people… and trust your instincts anyway? ----- Connect with the Host, #1 bestselling author Ben Fanning Speaking and Training inquires Subscribe to my Youtube channel LinkedIn Instagram Twitter

    43 min
  4. ZOOM COO Admits Fastest Tech Adoption in History (Leadership Talk with Aparna Bawa)

    APR 28

    ZOOM COO Admits Fastest Tech Adoption in History (Leadership Talk with Aparna Bawa)

    Fastest Tech Adoption in History. Zoom COO Aparna Bawa was right in the middle of it... helping lead the company as the entire world moved onto one platform in a matter of weeks. For work. For school. Even for final goodbyes. I sat down with Aparna to understand what leadership actually looked like in that moment. One decision changed it all... They turned Zoom on for K–12 schools across the U.S.—for free. No perfect information. No time to overanalyze.J ust a call that had to be made. And as she put it: “Never once thinking about whether it’s a great opportunity for Zoom…it was about the obligation to help people get that human connection.” That’s leadership. Not certainty, but responsibility. And when things did break (because of course they did), her mindset was just as clear: “You cannot blame the customer. You have to own it, fix it, and move forward with humility.” If you’re leading through pressure right now, making decisions without all the answers...this conversation is worth your time. And if someone came to mind while reading this… send it to them. Because this a powerful of example of leading team in the uncertainty.. ----- Connect with the Host, #1 bestselling author Ben Fanning Speaking and Training inquires Subscribe to my Youtube channel LinkedIn Instagram Twitter

    57 min
  5. Microsoft CEO Changed How I Lead My Company (Hayden Stafford Seismic CRO)

    APR 26

    Microsoft CEO Changed How I Lead My Company (Hayden Stafford Seismic CRO)

    Inside the Room. Hayden E. Stafford, President & CRO at Seismic, had a front-row seat to Satya Nadella rebuilding Microsoft from the inside out. The world saw the outcome. Hayden saw the decisions. The ones that got challenged. The ones that got changed. And the ones leaders refused to change. He saw that alignment didn’t break all at once. It broke when signals said something isn’t working… and nothing changes. That’s when teams drift. Priorities split. And small gaps turn into real consequences. You’ll discover: - What it was really like in those rooms—and how Satya handled bad decisions. - What Hayden saw that changed how he leads. - What makes asmall misalignment turn into a million-dollar problem. And he’s now applying those same lessons across thousands of employees and customers at Seismic. So: When you know something isn’t working is your tendency to… Change it— or convince yourself it will? ----- Connect with the Host, #1 bestselling author Ben Fanning Speaking and Training inquires Subscribe to my Youtube channel LinkedIn Instagram Twitter

    44 min
  6. You Still Own It: The Leadership Skill You Can’t Delegate to AI (with PROS CRO Eileen Sweeney)

    APR 21

    You Still Own It: The Leadership Skill You Can’t Delegate to AI (with PROS CRO Eileen Sweeney)

    AI isn’t accountable. Leaders are. Eileen Sweeney, PROS CRO, operates in a world where algorithms influence billions in airline revenue. The scale and speed are staggering. What a conversation on a big idea that leaders and teams are challenged by right now... When algorithms shape decisions… who owns the outcome when it goes wrong? Not the system. The leader. You see it in high-stakes deals—everything points to “close it.” The system says go. But the real question becomes: Are you willing to own what happens next? And sometimes… the answer is no. Not because the technology failed— but because the risk isn’t something you’re willing to stand behind. Algorithms can optimize. But they can’t take responsibility. That still sits with the leader. 🎯 Questions worth thinking about: How do you evaluate when the risk–reward no longer makes sense in the AI age? How do you build trust when decisions are shaped by data and models? And when a decision carries real risk… how do you ensure it’s clearly owned? 👉 Where have you seen a decision made—but no one owned the outcome? ----- Connect with the Host, #1 bestselling author Ben Fanning Speaking and Training inquires Subscribe to my Youtube channel LinkedIn Instagram Twitter

    35 min
  7. The Automation Mistake That Costs Millions (CEO Americas HAI Robotics, ex-Target, GXO, Adrian Stoch))

    APR 19

    The Automation Mistake That Costs Millions (CEO Americas HAI Robotics, ex-Target, GXO, Adrian Stoch))

    Looks Like Progress. It’s Not. So I asked Adrian Stoch, CEO Americas at Hai Robotics: What’s the mistake that looks right… but costs millions? Why do “working” systems still fail? What breaks first when you scale? He’s led automation at massive scale. Inside Target. Inside GXO. Now leading robotics. He told me about one warehouse…Robots installed. Systems live. Dashboards green. It looked like progress. Until it didn’t. 30% of the products didn’t even fit the system. $3M a year… gone. Here’s what most leaders are missing: The failure didn’t start with the robots. It started earlier. Bad inputs. Broken processes. Assumptions no one challenged. Automation didn’t fix it. It exposed it. Fast. Expensive. Unavoidable. Amateurs scale chaos. Leaders fix the system first… then automate… then scale. If your systems look like they’re working—but outcomes aren’t— 👉 where do you actually look first? ----- Connect with the Host, #1 bestselling author Ben Fanning Speaking and Training inquires Subscribe to my Youtube channel LinkedIn Instagram Twitter

    49 min
  8. Why Charisma Fails Leaders (After 10,000 Interviews) CEO Rod McDermott, McDermott + Bull; Activate 180

    APR 13

    Why Charisma Fails Leaders (After 10,000 Interviews) CEO Rod McDermott, McDermott + Bull; Activate 180

    After 10,000 Interviews... Rod McDermott, CEO of McDermott + Bull and founder of Activate 180, has noticed that the executives who win interviews… ...aren’t always the ones who build results. And that’s the trap. It's so easy to fall for the wrong signals. The leader who owns the room. The polished answers. The one who leaves everyone thinking, “That was impressive.” But impressive DOESN'T SCALE. Rod reminded me:Leadership isn’t performance.It’s followership. The real test of a leader isn’t how they show up in the interview. It’s what happens after they leave the room. Do people trust them? Do people believe them? Do people want to follow them when things get difficult? That’s a very different standard. In this episode of Lead the Team, Rod shares what he’s learned from decades inside the world’s most elite boardrooms: • Why charisma wins interviews but loses organizations • The leadership trait that actually creates followership • How great CEOs strengthen the entire enterprise, not just the corner office Are we still falling for impressive leaders… instead of effective ones? ----- Connect with the Host, #1 bestselling author Ben Fanning Speaking and Training inquires Subscribe to my Youtube channel LinkedIn Instagram Twitter

    39 min
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Trailer

4.8
out of 5
66 Ratings

About

Real CEOs. Real Stories. Hosted by Ben Fanning—2025 Gold Stevie Award winner for Best Business Podcast and ranked in the Top 2% globally—Lead the Team draws on over 600 CEO interviews to take you inside the minds of leaders from brands like Honeywell, HP, IBM, Dunkin’, and L’Oréal. In each episode, you’ll hear raw, unfiltered stories of leading through rapid growth, high-stakes decisions, and make-or-break moments—plus the CEO-tested tools and strategies they use to build high-performing teams. From turning around billion-dollar brands to sparking innovation at scale, these leaders share lessons you can put into action right now to lead your own team better. Subscribe now. ------------- https://www.benfanning.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/benfanning/

Information

  • Creator
    Ben Fanning
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    450
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Ben Fanning

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