The Thoughtful Leader Podcast
Hi, I’m Ben Brearley and I’m the host of the Thoughtful Leader Podcast.
The Thoughtful Leader Podcast provides short, sharp leadership advice for thoughtful leaders like you, who care about their teams and want to improve performance and job satisfaction.
Leadership can be challenging, frustrating and daunting, so hopefully listening to these episodes helps you lead your team with confidence. Join me as I cover a diverse range of leadership topics.
You can subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your other favourite podcast app of choice.
Of course, you can also listen to them right here by playing them in the web player or by clicking on the individual episodes below.
Or, Listen to the Episodes Right Here
Podcast Episode List
Is a work team really similar to a professional sporting team?
Professional sport is one of leadership's favourite sources of inspiration. Books about championship teams, legendary coaches and elite athletes are everywhere. But how much of that advice actually applies to [...]
Don’t bring an “Engineering mindset” to your team.
Many leaders approach people problems as if there must be a perfect technical solution. In this episode, Ben explains why leadership is rarely that simple and why a scientist's mindset [...]
“Don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions.”
The phrase "don't bring me problems, bring me solutions" is common leadership advice. In this episode, Ben explains why this slogan can create barriers between leaders and their teams, reduce [...]
That wouldn’t work in my team – or would it?
Many leaders quickly dismiss leadership ideas by saying they won't work in their team or industry. In this episode, Ben explores why this reaction happens, what may be sitting underneath [...]
5 things you’ll need to deal with that difficult person
Difficult people are a reality of leadership. Whether it's a resistant team member, a challenging stakeholder or someone with a strong personality, there is rarely a simple solution. In this [...]
Are you walking on eggshells in your team?
Do you feel like you’re walking on eggshells with members of your team? In this episode, Ben explores why thoughtful leaders can become overly cautious in their leadership: avoiding difficult [...]
Maintaining personality and values balance in a team
Is there a “perfect” balance of personalities and values in a team? In this episode, Ben explores the idea of diversity through the lens of personality and personal values. Inspired [...]
Q: How much empathy should you have? A: 37%
In this episode, Ben explores an important distinction between empathy and accountability. Inspired by a question raised during a training workshop, he explains why empathy should always be present in [...]
I took an Emotional Intelligence assessment and got a shock.
In this episode, Ben shares his experience of taking an emotional intelligence assessment and the surprising results that came back. The assessment highlighted strengths as well as areas where his [...]
Recreating the conditions for confidence.
In this episode, Ben explores how confidence is often linked to the conditions surrounding our work rather than being a fixed personal trait. When people lose confidence, it can feel [...]