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The Global Leadership Podcast

The Global Leadership Podcast

Global Leadership Network 100 Episodes Aug 19, 2026

The Global Leadership Podcast features honest, practical conversations with world-class leadership experts from various industries. Past guests include Craig Groeschel, Joni Eareckson Tada, Coach K, Erin Meyer, Marcus Buckingham, Juliet Funt, and Ryan Leak. Hosts David Ashcraft and Whitney Putnam draw on the Global Leadership Network's 30 years of curating actionable leadership insights. The GLN is the creator of the Global Leadership Summit, which reaches over 350,000 leaders worldwide annually.

Episodes

Ep 216: Building a Culture That Develops Leaders (with David Ashcraft)
Ep 216: Building a Culture That Develops Leaders (with David Ashcraft) Aug 19, 2026 28:33 Organizations can have vision, resources, and opportunity—and still be held back because they do not have enough leaders ready to take responsibility. In this episode, David Ashcraft explains why leadership development works best when it becomes part of an organization's culture rather than another class, program, or pipeline. David outlines the practices that help create an environment where peop
Ep 215: How Leaders Make Ideas Stick (with Emma Kuhl Pitts)
Ep 215: How Leaders Make Ideas Stick (with Emma Kuhl Pitts) Jul 29, 2026 39:03 Leaders communicate constantly, but not everything they say is remembered, internalized, or acted on. In this episode, David Ashcraft talks with Emma Kuhl Pitts, CEO of PullSpark and, about how leaders can create messages and experiences that stay with people. Emma shares why attention is not the same as impact, how memory shapes influence, and why leaders should ask, "What do I want people to bel
Ep 214: Excellence, Influence and the Making of the Summit (with Lori Hermann)
Ep 214: Excellence, Influence and the Making of the Summit (with Lori Hermann) Jul 22, 2026 36:23 Some of the most consequential leadership in an organization happens far from the stage. Lori Hermann has helped lead the Global Leadership Summit team for 14 years, drawing on more than three decades of experience creating events and experiences that serve leaders around the world. In this conversation with David Ashcraft, Lori explains how she learned to recognize her influence even though she d
Ep 213: Our Favorite Moments, Spring 2026—Four Leadership Lessons for Uncertain Seasons (with Whitney Putnam and Eric Case)
Ep 213: Our Favorite Moments, Spring 2026—Four Leadership Lessons for Uncertain Seasons (with Whitney Putnam and Eric Case) Jul 15, 2026 29:42 When plans change, leaders still need to provide clarity, steady themselves internally, and help their teams keep moving forward. In this Q2 "Best Of" episode, Whitney Putnam and Eric Case revisit four leadership moments from recent conversations with Craig Groeschel, David Ashcraft, Chris McChesney, and Edgar Sandoval. Together, these clips explore what leaders can do when strategy meets reality:
Ep 212: Why Productivity Starts with Clarity (with David Ashcraft)
Ep 212: Why Productivity Starts with Clarity (with David Ashcraft) Jul 8, 2026 22:22 Productive teams do not move faster because leaders push harder; they move faster because the goal is clear. In this episode, Whitney Putnam talks with GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft about productivity from a team leadership perspective—not as a system of hacks, but as a question of clarity, initiative, accountability, and trust. David shares why he looks for initiative in team members, how
Ep 211: On Calling, Counsel and Courageous No's (with Priscilla Shirer)
Ep 211: On Calling, Counsel and Courageous No's (with Priscilla Shirer) Jun 17, 2026 38:09 Leaders are constantly presented with opportunities, expectations, and decisions—but not every open door is an assignment. In this episode of the Global Leadership Podcast, GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft talks with Priscilla Shirer about how leaders discern what is truly theirs to carry. Priscilla shares practical wisdom on calling, wise counsel, humility, accountability, and learning to sa
Ep 210: What Leaders Miss About Motivation, Purpose and Progress (with Chris McChesney)
Ep 210: What Leaders Miss About Motivation, Purpose and Progress (with Chris McChesney) Jun 10, 2026 45:48 Many leaders are trying to solve burnout with more inspiration, when their teams may actually need clearer progress. In this episode, GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft talks with Chris McChesney, author of The 4 Disciplines of Execution, about the difference between employee satisfaction and true engagement. Chris explains why people can have what looks like an ideal job and still feel disconne
Ep 209: Communication, Candor and Trust (with David Ashcraft)
Ep 209: Communication, Candor and Trust (with David Ashcraft) Jun 3, 2026 26:32 Communication can make or break trust on a team, especially when the conversation gets tense. In this episode, Whitney Putnam and GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft talk about one of the most common leadership challenges: how to communicate with clarity, candor and care when the stakes are high. They unpack a real moment from a recent GLN all-staff meeting, where a public challenge created tens
Ep 208: Leading When the Plan Falls Apart with Craig Groeschel
Ep 208: Leading When the Plan Falls Apart with Craig Groeschel May 20, 2026 44:53 Every leader eventually faces a moment when the plan stops working. A strategy fails, a team dynamic breaks down, growth creates new complexity, or an unexpected circumstance forces a change in direction. In this episode, David Ashcraft talks with Craig Groeschel, founder and senior pastor of Life.Church, about how leaders can respond when leadership does not go as planned. Craig reflects on faile
Ep 207: Leading Through Leadership Hijacks with Edgar Sandoval
Ep 207: Leading Through Leadership Hijacks with Edgar Sandoval May 13, 2026 50:27 Every leader eventually encounters disruption—moments that challenge assumptions, redirect plans, and test resilience. In this episode, GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft talks with Edgar Sandoval, President and CEO of World Vision, about navigating what David calls "leadership hijacks": unexpected events that reshape both leadership and life. Edgar shares his journey from immigrating to the Uni
Ep 206: When Leadership Gets Hijacked: Reclaiming Your Focus, Identity, and Definition of Success (with David Ashcraft)
Ep 206: When Leadership Gets Hijacked: Reclaiming Your Focus, Identity, and Definition of Success (with David Ashcraft) May 6, 2026 20:58 Leadership doesn't usually derail all at once—it gets hijacked slowly by subtle internal forces like comparison, self-doubt, and misplaced definitions of success. In this episode, Whitney Putnam sits down with David Ashcraft to unpack the internal and external "hijacks" that pull leaders off course. They explore how even confident leaders can fall into comparison traps, how self-doubt often disgu
Ep 205: Our Favorite Moments, Winter 2026 — Lessons on Resilience, Presence, and Perspective (with Whitney Putnam and Eric Case)
Ep 205: Our Favorite Moments, Winter 2026 — Lessons on Resilience, Presence, and Perspective (with Whitney Putnam and Eric Case) Apr 29, 2026 26:11 Leadership is often formed in the middle—when progress is slow, challenges persist, and outcomes are unclear. This episode highlights key moments from recent conversations to help you stay grounded in those seasons. You'll hear insights on perseverance from Walker Hayes, practical wisdom on resilience from David Ashcraft, and a timely reminder from John Maxwell about embracing the season you're in

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