July Listening List: Leadership Lessons from 5 of My Favourite Podcasts

This month I’ve been soaking up a range of podcasts that blend leadership insight with inspiration, tech trends, and a few good laughs over a beer (or two). Whether you’re walking a dog or stuck in traffic, these episodes offer thoughtful perspectives…and just the right dose of optimism.

Between Two Beers: Greg Foran

Greg Foran is one of my all-time favourite leaders. In this episode, he shares reflections on leading both from the front and the back — showing up on the front lines, having trust in his leadership team – and being there to back them up. His career shift from retail (Walmart) to aviation (Air New Zealand) is proof that great leadership is transferable across industries. In the podcast, he opens up about some of the incredible stories from China, including a 200m long concrete wall being built across his store overnight.

Lesson I took away: The power of presence and empathy. Being a genuinely good human — visible, approachable, and engaged with people on the ground goes a long way. Also being able to identify instances of cost cutting gone wrong by asking his 5,000+ store managers “where they’ve cut muscle not fat”.

Satya Nadella: Microsoft’s AI Bets, Hyperscaling, Quantum Computing Breakthroughs

This conversation spans generative AI, hyperscaling, and future of software development. Satya admits he doesn’t love the term artificial intelligence (I don’t – either), and he candidly addresses the big elephant in the room: AI’s energy footprint. It’s a thoughtful look at the future of software development and the responsibilities that come with it.

Lesson I took away: Leaders don’t need all the answers — but they do need the courage to name the hard problems and stay open to solving them.

A Bit of Optimism: Simon Sinek with Colonel CQ Brown

This piece is super rich in service-first leadership insights. From CQ’s experience as a combat-tested military leader, we hear about the “three eights” — delegate, tolerate, iterate — and a philosophy of empowering people by delegating to the lowest capable level, not just the next rank down.

Lesson I took away: Skip the middleman sometimes — if you want to inspire and align your team, speak to them directly.

Between Two Beers: Gordon Walker (Coach of Lisa Carrington)

One of my favourite lines: “A good and a bad training plan can look exactly the same on paper.” It’s the execution, environment, and individual mindset that make the difference. I couldn’t help but draw a parallel with business — where sometimes bad plans could win undeserved support by being packaged with lots of data and delivered with confidence, and vice versa.

Lesson I took away: Context is king. Plans don’t succeed on paper — they succeed in practice.

A Bit of Optimism: Col. Dede Halfhill

This powerful conversation explores what it’s like to be a woman leading male-dominated military teams. Dede’s reflections on leadership presence — especially not sounding like their mother — are funny, insightful, and real.

Lesson I took away: You can’t fake authority — but you can lead with authenticity and strength, no matter the environment.

The Infinite-Minded CEO: Trek Bicycle’s John Burke

How do you grow a B2B business from $250M to $2B? By helping your customers run their business profitably. John Burke’s approach to leadership and growth is refreshingly grounded in long-term thinking and service.

Lesson I took away: Profit follows purpose. Help your customers thrive, and your business will too.

If you give any of these a listen, I’d love to hear what stood out to you.