Perhaps the very best podcast I have listened to that offers insight for future business leaders is an HBR IdeaCast episode with Guy Raz. In this episode, Raz discusses the three qualities that hundreds of business founders and leaders of successful organizations have in common: they create a culture of collaboration, encourage risk taking, and allow for failure. Interestingly, top MBA programs share these qualities as well! Business schools bring together students with diverse personal and professional experiences. A well-crafted MBA classroom and a supportive community enable students to spark conversations and present radical ideas in a safe space where nobody is at risk of losing their job. While some MBA programs may be viewed as competitive, others emphasize collaboration and the sharing of ideas to create win/win situations for their students.
Whenever I listen to Guy Raz’s How I Built This podcast, I come away with at least one nugget that will improve my leadership. Often, it comes from hearing a founder in a space that I am unfamiliar with share their journey to success. Although my background is in consulting, technology, and education, I find inspiration in the insights shared by founders of food and clothing companies—usually those who stumbled upon an idea by simply paying attention to what customers wanted, such as Stacy Madison of Stacy’s Pita Chips. You don’t have to have entrepreneurial aspirations to glean value from this podcast.
After listening to dozens of How I Built This episodes, I was left wanting more and discovered Guy Raz’s Wisdom From The Top. The unpredictable and diverse journeys of the leaders of major global corporations are inspiring, giving talented young professionals a glimpse of the variety of paths one might take on the road to the C-suite. Takeaways include being vulnerable, asking the right questions, listening to understand, and taking risks. These lessons can be applied at any stage in your career—and even in your personal life.
Clearly, communicating effectively is instrumental to being an outstanding leader. Another favorite podcast is Think Fast, Talk Smart with Matt Abrahams from Stanford GSB. Each week, Matt and his guests—many of whom are business school professors—share insights on how communication can allow you to build trust, motivate others, negotiate, and more! I find myself leaning into these tips and techniques when working with clients to uncover and craft their narratives for business school applications.
One of Matt’s recent guests was Amy Edmondson, an HBS professor whose teaching focuses on psychological safety and failing well at work. She speaks about the importance of situational awareness and creating a culture where failure is accepted and asking questions is encouraged. In 2023, Matt and Kim Scott discussed Scott’s book, Radical Candor, specifically the value of leaders demonstrating that they care personally while simultaneously challenging their employees directly.
If you want to get really focused on leadership or strategy, Harvard Business Review has created HBR On Leadership and HBR On Strategy, which hand-curate episodes from all of the publication’s podcasts. These are binge-worthy podcasts if you want a lot of insights on either leadership or strategy from a variety of perspectives.
I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout-out to Wharton professor Adam Grant, whose Re:Thinking podcast explores how we challenge ourselves and each other to think differently. One of my favorite episodes was the one when he went head to head with Malcolm Gladwell. Another was a conversation with soccer superstar Abby Wambach. Who doesn’t love the leadership lessons you can take away from world-class athletes?
My children often roll their eyes when I begin a sentence with “I was listening to this great podcast…” However, the young professionals I support are grateful to receive an email from me with a link to a nugget of insight or wisdom that relates to their background, interests, motivations, or aspirations. Whether you listen to podcasts on your way to the gym, during your commute, while getting in your daily step count, or while making dinner, take time to listen. And, thanks to a former client, I now know to set my podcasts on 2x speed so I can listen to more content each day!
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