Leading Outward
Leading Outward is a podcast from The Arbinger Institute that focuses on practical solutions to the people problems that hold back performance. Rather than offering vague leadership platitudes, it coaches leaders in real time as they address culture breakdowns, accountability failures, conflict, blame, and team dysfunction. The show also features behind-the-scenes conversations with executives and leaders from around the world about how they solve their most pressing challenges. It is aimed at listeners who want to move beyond managing symptoms and start addressing root causes in their organizations.
Episodes
How listening wins in wars and workplaces.
In this gripping episode of Leading Outward, I delve into the transformative power of listening, drawing on the extraordinary experiences of Eric Maddox, a retired Army Ranger and key player in Saddam Hussein's capture. We explore how empathy and curiosity can turn adversaries into allies, both on the battlefield and in the workplace. Eric's remarkable storytelling reveals how he shifted from trad
Who we are is who we are together.
What if the very pain we hide is what could heal us? And what if the people who trigger our pain are the ones we most need to connect with?
In this part two of this Summit 2022 session, Nate Mitchell and participants wrestle with what it means to “become part of we.” Through personal experiences and reflection, they reveal how connecting with others through our pain opens the door to the connecti
The pain of forgetting we belong to each other.
If connection is what makes us human, why do we keep pulling away? And at what point does hiding my pain become more painful than the pain itself?
In this episode, we take you inside one of our past Summits as Nate Mitchell explores the idea that humanity isn’t something we carry inside ourselves but exists in the space between us. Through stories and raw conversation, he reveals why isolation fe
I signed up to coach baseball. I got a leadership masterclass.
If influence is what makes leadership possible, what creates influence? And does how we influence change across settings or are the principles the same?
In this episode, Arbinger’s Bryan Fulkerson takes outward mindset principles from the boardroom to the baseball field and discovers that the fundamentals of leadership are universal. Across age and context, positive influence grows from the
When did saving lives become just surviving shifts?
How do you improve patient and client outcomes? Is it possible to prevent burnout in high-pressure fields?
In this episode, surgical oncologist Dr. Laura Lambert explores what leaders can learn from the operating room and what it truly means to have the privilege of caring for another human being, whether as a doctor or as a leader.
Ideas we explore:
03:47 – She never wanted to be a
How to cut costs without killing your company.
What if the pressure to cut costs could actually unlock innovation?
In this episode, former Fortune 500 division president Louise Francesconi and Arbinger consultants Mike Merchant and Duane Boyce share how two organizations on opposite ends of the globe faced the impossible mandate of cutting $100 million. Instead of collapsing under pressure, their leaders discovered how an outward
Coaching leaders to confront the fears they can’t outrun.
What if our strengths, values, and even our success are the blind spots that keep us stuck?
In this episode, Gill Campbell—seasoned executive coach and co-leader of Arbinger UK—shares her personal journey and how she helps senior leaders uncover what’s really blocking their growth. From the hidden fear of being exposed to the subtle ways we self-sabotage, Gill unpacks the surprising truths
Why the hardest people to reach may be your biggest opportunity.
Are you overlooking the potential in “hard” people? What if the most difficult students or employees hold untapped greatness? And what happens when you help people see their progress when they feel stuck or broken?
We’re starting season 2 of Leading Outward by sitting down with Ivan Cornea, a beloved high school art teacher whose classroom became a place where struggling and rejected
Season 2 Sneak Peek — Coming Sept 16!
In this engaging sneak peek of Season 2 of Leading Outward, we dive into the messy, transformative moments that define effective leadership. Join me as we explore how leaders often find themselves part of the problem and the critical realizations that lead to change. This season, we'll navigate through the challenges of accountability, autonomy, and failure—drawing parallels between boardroom dile
You talk about them, never with them.
When was the last time you vented about someone? And why didn’t you just talk to them instead?
In this season finale, we hear from three listeners whose lives shifted because of the show: a mom who saw her son differently, a leader who publicly owned his coaching experience, and a son who finally had an honest conversation with his parents. These are stories of ownership, agency, and the sp
Why your plans die in execution.
What was it all for?
You've shared the vision, trained the team, and gave them everything they needed to succeed.
And they still aren't following through.
In part two of this raw coaching series, Daniel—a high school principal—continues to wrestle with this leadership challenge. What starts as a reflection on stalled execution becomes a deep reckoning with busyness, control, and the fear of le
You don’t call it micromanaging. Your team might.
Feel like you're just being thorough? Focused on quality? Clear about your expectations? You might call it leadership, but to your team, it might feel like control. So what happens when your high standards start getting in the way of growth?
In this raw coaching episode—part one of a two-part series—Daniel, a high school principal with deep experience across every level of school leadership, wres
How to not hate your customers.
Ever resented someone you were supposed to help? Or felt too exhausted to care, even when you knew you should?
Our guests have. Daren Forbes has dedicated his life to funeral service, and Dr. Steve Jackson serves people as a physician. They know what it’s like to feel called to meaningful, people-centered work—and still feel resentful, drained, or disconnected from the very people they’re trying
How to stop sabotaging your most important relationships.
Can we let people—especially the ones we care about most—chart their own path? What about when we think they're making a mistake?
In this part 2 episode, Janette returns to examine how the same leadership patterns she’s untangling in her role at work are playing out at home—with her son, her daughter-in-law, and her husband. What starts as a family conflict becomes a raw reckoning with expectatio
Why can’t your team solve problems without you?
Are your efforts to be helpful actually helpful? And when you step in, is it because your team needs your help or because you need to feel needed? If you’ve ever used the word helpful to describe yourself, this episode is for you.
Because in this raw coaching session, Janette—a former teacher turned HR director—works with her Arbinger coach, Mitch Warner, to confront how her well-intended desire
Is precision actually possible when people are involved?
How do you build a team that doesn’t sit around waiting for instructions? What if your people knew exactly what to do, even when the plan changed and you weren’t in the room to explain it?
This episode explores the tension between roles that demand split-second precision and those where ambiguity is the norm. McKinlay Otterson talks with Carey Jones, former Flying Training Wing Vice Commander at
Can I lead without being liked?
We’ve all felt it: the tension between being real and being in charge. But as inner-city middle school teacher Carla and retired Air Force commander Naomi reveal, that’s a false choice. Connection isn’t a distraction from leadership—it’s the doorway into it.
This episode explores what happens when leaders stop hiding behind roles and start showing up as people. The result? Teams that listen, trus
How to lead a team whose job you’ve never done before.
Have you ever started a new role only to feel like none of your past experience is recognized? Like no one sees the value you bring, no matter how much you’ve accomplished?
In this raw coaching episode, Jeremy—a senior leader in a construction and engineering company with 24 years of military experience—unpacks that exact challenge with his Arbinger coach. Together, they dig into the mindset and
How to fix a toxic culture.
Are you holding meetings where no one speaks up? Dealing with employees who don’t take ownership?
This company was too until they flipped their fear-based culture into a high-trust, high-performance workplace. And in 5 years, they’ve grown revenue by 56%.
Come onsite with us as we take you inside OC Tanner—a global leader in lean manufacturing and workplace culture—where Executive Vice Preside
Welcome to Leading Outward!
When was the last time a leader told you the truth—not the cleaned-up truth—the raw, chaotic, messy truth of their biggest leadership failures? Exactly. Most leadership podcasts stay safe.
Leading Outward by The Arbinger Institute is not that show. We coach leaders in real time to tackle their messiest issues—culture breakdowns, accountability failures, conflict and blame, and team dysfunction.
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