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If you’re a busy professional interested in becoming a manager someday, listening to the best leadership podcasts is a great idea.
Listening to podcasts while driving or doing other tasks around the house is a good way to learn more about the latest trends in leadership and managing people.
Here’s a list of 12 of the best podcasts on leadership to inspire your leadership journey:
1. Coaching for Leaders Leadership Podcast
Dr. Dave Stachowiak offers leadership wisdom, teaching the basics of leadership and how to bring out the best in the people you lead. With insightful conversations with experts, the show targets experienced professionals, managers, executives, and business owners seeking to improve themselves and their careers.
The podcast is the leading management podcast on Apple and has over 30 million downloads.
Most popular podcasts:
- How to Create a Mission Statement, with Bonni Stachowiak – building a mission statement, connecting and staying in touch with people, and how to seek feedback
- How to Create a Vivid Vision with Cameron Herold – creating a vivid vision for the entire organization and individual employees for each business area
- Leadership through Consistency with Joseph Getuno – highlights the value in establishing team guidelines, zeroing in on self-awareness, and the power of consistency
Listen to Coaching for Leaders.
2. People Managing People Leadership Podcast
Host Tim Reitsma delivers actionable advice to help leaders, managers, and HR professionals create a healthy and productive workplace. The show’s guests range from best-selling authors to culture innovators and thought leaders who give real-life examples and solutions to the organizational problems of turnover, burnout, and disengagement in the workplace.
Topics discussed in the podcast include employee engagement, the future of work, employee retention, leadership development, productivity, and organizational culture.
Most popular podcasts:
- Diversity is more than a metric with Anthony Clay – discusses the true meaning of DEI, how to measure it, and how to build a diverse organization
- How to lead courageously in the face of conflict with Marlene Chism – talks about a framework on how to navigate conflict
- How to embrace emotions to build high-performance teams with Carolyn Stern – how to have an honest conversation about digging into our emotions, seeking feedback from others, and how we can become emotionally strong leaders
Listen to People Managing People.
3. At the Table Leadership Podcast
Leadership and business pro Patrick Lencioni offers practical tips for everyday leaders. Each episode covers various work-related subjects like culture, teamwork, and creating a world-class organization. Listeners can expect real conversations and leadership tips delivered in Lencioni’s simple and approachable style.
And, his books, “Getting Naked” and “5 Temptations of a CEO,” are highly recommended for anyone looking to enhance their business skills.
Most popular podcasts:
- The upside of conflict – provides practical tips for leaders and teams looking to bring more healthy conflict into their decision-making
- Managing up without sucking up – teaches about ways to become a hero and influence your boss
- Two extremely dangerous attitudes about work – covers two very common and very dangerous perspectives about work
Listen to At the table.
4. Learning Leader Show Leadership Podcast
Ryan Hawk’s goal is to help leaders learn from the experience of other successful leaders. The Learning Leader Show interviews accomplished leaders who share their success stories, failures, and lessons learned.
The show highlights the importance of continuous learning and self-improvement for leaders.
Most popular podcasts:
- The secret of highly-successful groups with Daniel Coyle – Some people think that great culture is genetic and comes naturally. But a great culture is something that can be created and learned
- The keys to great execution (Oprah, Starbucks, Steve Jobs) with Keith Yamashita – the keys to great execution & implementation – (1) develop mind fitness (2) build a daily creative practice (3) understand what moment you’re in – develop keen awareness to the moments
- Self-made billionaires shares his keys to success with Clay Mathile – having a personal board of advisors, treating individuals with respect, as a manager, you’re job is to develop others
Listen to Learning Leader Show.
5. A Bit of Optimism Leadership Podcast
Simon Sinek’s podcast focuses on teaching leaders and organizations how to inspire people and is often quoted by national publications.
He is also an internationally-renowned speaker, who has gained fame for his TED talk on the inspiration behind Apple. He has written several best-selling books, including “Start With Why” and “Leaders Eat Last.” He travels the world, inspiring leaders with ideas on how to build a world where people are inspired, feel safe, and are fulfilled by their work.
Most popular podcasts:
- Extreme listening with Deeyah Khan – raises the question, “What if we all had the capacity for extreme listening?”
- Raising resilient kids with Angela Duckworth – With unprecedented levels of stress and depression amongst young people, Sinek explores ways how an older generation like himself can do to help
Listen to A Bit of Optimism.
6. Leadership Next Leadership Podcast
Under constant pressure from various stakeholders, top CEOs today take on the most pressing issues like diversity, employee retraining, and climate change. They have to prove that their business practices are to make the world a better place and not just to make a profit.
In the “Leadership Next” podcast, Fortune CEO Alan Murray and Senior Editor Ellen McGirt explore the best leaders in business and their strategies for making a positive impact.
Most popular podcasts:
- Are CEOs truly committed to stakeholder capitalism – discusses implementing standards to better measure the impact of the stakeholder approach and how the pandemic has impacted adherence to the stakeholder model
- The small hedge fund pushing big change at Exxon – the board shakeup at Exxon is one of the biggest business stories of 2021. Chris James of Engine joins Alan and Ellen McGirt to explain what inspired the activist campaign and why it succeeded.
- Why more companies should consider becoming B corps? – Former Danone CEO Emmanuel Faber tells how shifting to B corp status has changed the company’s behavior
Listen to Leadership Next.
7. Power + Presence + Position Leadership Podcast
Hosted by journalist and women’s leadership expert Eleanor Beaton, this podcast advocates women’s empowerment. The episodes discuss various topics, from emotional resilience to mastering “baller moves” in business.
The podcast teaches women how to think, communicate, and get paid like a 7-figure CEO. It aims to double the number of women entrepreneurs who generate over a million dollars in yearly revenue.
Start with these podcasts:
- Growth vs. scaling and why it matters – Beaton explains the principles of scale to get more cash, influence, and autonomy while fulfilling the mission
- The 7-figure service business ecosystem part 1: What is PPAM? – the host unveils the PPAM model, what it is, how it works, and why it’s effective
- The 7-figure service business ecosystem part 2: 3 phases of growing a PPAM business – expanding the information about PPAM and how to build a successful service-based business
Listen to Power + Presence + Position.
8. IdeaCast Leadership Podcast
IdeaCast is a weekly podcast hosted by Harvard Business Review’s editors, Alison Beard and Curt Nickisch. It covers business strategy, innovation, leadership, and management. Each episode is 20-30 minutes long and features business heavyweights like Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, Mastercard’s Ajay Banga, and General Motor’s Mary Barra.
Since 2006, the podcast has over 600 episodes and also includes themed-bonus episodes that spotlight business ideas that changed the world. It’s a great option for busy individuals who want to improve their leadership skills in bite-size episodes.
Most popular podcasts:
- How to be less distracted at work – and in life – guest Nir Eyal said everyone should learn to be less distracted to help achieve daily goals
- A new to combat bias at work – guest Joan Williams shares specific suggestions for how bosses can shift their approach in four areas: hiring, meetings, assignments, and reviews/promotions to reap the benefits of diversity
- The 3 types of leaders of innovative companies – explains how highly innovative organizations have three kinds of leaders: entrepreneurial, enabling, and architecting ones and how these roles work together to give direction and avoid creative chaos
Listen to HBR’s Ideacast.
9. WorkLife Leadership Podcast
Organizational psychologist Adam Grant explores the minds of unique professionals to uncover ways to improve work life. He shares insights on enjoying work, including learning to appreciate rivals and using frustration to drive productivity.
Grant hosts chart-topping podcasts recognized as some of the best by Spotify and Apple. His podcast, WorkLife, has over a million listeners per episode and has been ranked #1 on the Apple Podcasts chart.
Most popular podcasts:
- The problem with all-stars – Adam joins the team to talk about why stars are overrated, role players are underrated, and humility can go hand in hand with confidence
- How to love criticism – Adam shows how you can learn to receive criticism positively – and get better at dishing it out
- Indra Nooyi wants us to reimagine the return of work – PepsiCo CEO Indra and Adam explores some of the big questions about the future of work – from embracing flexibility to creating equitable arrangements for women to making family a real priority.
Listen to Worklife.
10. Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast
The Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast provides practical coaching lessons to help leaders grow, optimize their time, develop their teams, and structure their organizations.
Each episode offers empowering insights and easy-to-understand takeaways for personal and team leadership.
Most popular podcasts:
- 6 keys to leading out of crisis part 2 – Craig shares six key steps you need to take to lead your team and yourself out of the chaos of the last two years
- Heart over head: the power of emotion in leadership – Craig shows how connecting with people’s hearts is the quickest way to inspire them to action
- Learning to lead yourself part 1 – Craig teaches two ways to develop your own leadership identity and goals.
Listen to Craig Groeschel.
11. Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast
With more than 20 years of experience of solid leadership experience, Andy Stanley provides real-life examples of his leadership experiences and other impressive leaders who are making significant contributions to their organizations and communities.
Each episode features practical leadership principles applicable to any industry.
Most popular podcasts:
- Leading in times of Disruption, Part 1 – Andy and Lane discuss how to lead in uncertain times
- Enneagram for Leaders, Part 1 – Ian Cron and Allie Stanley join Andy to discuss how the Enneagram can help leaders understand the lens through which they see the world and how to lead each type more effectively.
- Leadership and Parenting, Part 1 – part 1 of the two-part conversation about the important topic of leading at home.
Listen to Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast.
12. The Leadership Antidote Podcast
Hosted by leadership coach, author, speaker, and CEO Dr. Kim Hires, the Leadership Antidote Podcast focuses on helping leaders avoid burnout and adopt a healthy leadership mindset through short, action-oriented episodes.
Listeners can learn about conscious choice, prioritizing moments over outcomes, finding accountability partners, supporting employees, and more. Dr. Hires interviews various industry leaders and educates listeners about new ways of leading through imagination and innovation.
Listen to the Leadership Antidote Podcast.
Most popular podcasts:
- Episode 4: People Matter to Me with Dr. Nicole Gruebling – this episode discusses: What is leadership kryptonite? What is the fundamental value effective leaders must have? What is the #1 challenge for leaders today?
- Episode 3: Confronting the Leader with Colleen Davis – guest Colleen shares her story of how she developed her leadership awareness and identity in post-apartheid South Africa.
- Episode 5: The Secret Sauce with Avery Nesbitt – guest Avery Nesbitt answers the how of leadership, discusses the future of leadership, and the need for highly effective leadership that can re-write the future
Why I wrote this:
Ongig aims to promote HR best practices, which include writing effective and inclusive job descriptions. These leadership podcasts give busy HR leaders and recruiters (like you) an excellent resource for staying updated on the latest trends and best practices in leadership and management.
Shout-outs:
- Most popular podcasts by Podtail and Owtail
- The 10 Best Leadership Podcasts to Make You a Better Leader – Hubspot
- 100 Best Leadership Podcasts – Feedspot
