Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast

If every yes sits with you, chances are every roadblock sits with you, too. In this month’s episode, we look at five ways leaders can empower their teams to say yes. Put them into practice, and your best people will stop waiting on you and start leading.

AI can make you faster … but is it making you better? In this episode, bestselling author Carey Nieuwhof shares a year of research on what AI is doing to human ingenuity, and how leaders can use AI to sharpen their thinking instead of replacing it.

Your organization is only as fast as the person everyone is waiting on. Is that person you? In this episode, Craig shows you the three places bottlenecks live, plus four questions to help you find yours and get moving again.

The parts of your role you want to skip are often the very things that build your credibility as a leader. In this conversation, Eric Geiger explains how to grow your threshold of competence in uncomfortable areas and why an ambition to serve others makes it sustainable.

In this first-ever live podcast recording, John Maxwell and Craig get candid about why your response to failure matters more than the failure itself. When most people spend their energy trying to avoid failure, John shows you how great leaders get a return on it.

Great leadership isn't charismatic or flashy. It's consistent, faithful, and most of the time ... boring. In this live talk from the Global Leadership Summit, Craig breaks down why boring beats brilliant every time and the simple equation that turns ordinary habits into lasting influence.

Every leader has something they keep putting off. In this episode, Jon Acuff joins Craig to name the procrastination cycle holding leaders back and how to build the habits and mindsets that move you from hesitation to real action.

Praising the people you lead is a great instinct, but the greatest leaders take it further. This episode reveals how to master affirmation in three different directions, and why the leaders who do multiply their influence and build stronger leaders around them.

Most leaders think people leave for more money, but the data tells a different story. In this episode, Craig shares one leadership habit that matters more than any benefit you can offer and why valuing your people is the real driver of retention, engagement, and team culture.

Your mind is more powerful than you think. Are you leading it well? Dr. Caroline Leaf breaks down the science and practical steps to manage your mind under pressure—and how rewiring unhealthy thought patterns builds the mental resilience great leaders need.

Is your best player underperforming … or in the wrong seat? In this episode, we’re sharing four reasons why the right person might be in the wrong role and how you can position them to win.

What separates great leaders from extraordinary ones? In this episode, elite psychologist Dr. Wayne Chappelle reveals the traits top-performing leaders have in common and why the health of your mind determines how strong you lead under pressure.

Ten years of leadership come with challenges and change. In this episode, Craig shares five hard-earned lessons from the past decade that reshaped how he thinks and leads.

Leadership growth requires change. In this 10-year anniversary episode, Craig reflects on 30 years of leadership—sharing beliefs he once held and the lessons learned when growth demanded a new way of leading.

The best leaders don’t wait until January to plan what’s next. In this episode, learn six essential evaluations every leader should reflect on to lead ahead of the curve and position your organization to start the year strong.

With 30 years of leadership at the CEO level, Jimmy Mellado knows what it takes to lead with courage, hire with purpose, and build a life and leadership that lasts.

As CEO of the world’s most-downloaded Bible App, Bobby Gruenewald knows what it takes to innovate. In this episode, he shares how an abundance mindset, leading through constraints, and quick pivots can turn your best ideas into course-altering growth.

Some leadership habits seem helpful, but their hidden weaknesses can actually frustrate and suppress team potential. In this episode, Craig shares two more leadership blind spots and how to fix them before they limit your organization’s growth.

Your “healthiest” leader could be the one quietly hurting your culture. In this episode, Craig shares two hidden leadership blind spots. Learn how to spot them early, address them quickly, and lead your team toward greater impact.

In this episode, Charles Duhigg shares how to read the room, adapt to each person, and communicate in ways that inspire personal growth. Whether on stage or in a meeting, you’ll move people to lean in, listen, and take action.

Consistency isn’t flashy, but it’s what sets good leaders apart from great ones. In this episode, I’m sharing four practical hacks to help you show up strong every day—with consistency that builds trust, earns respect, and drives real results over time.

It can be easy to feel overwhelmed by endless meetings, emails, and responsibilities. In this episode, Juliet Funt shares practical strategies to simplify your schedule, re-energize your leadership, and create “white space” to help you cut through the chaos and empower your team.

In a world where mistrust is the default, trust is hard to earn and easy to lose. If you want to build a healthy culture, care for people, and lead with lasting impact, trust isn’t optional. It’s essential.

What if the key to your leadership isn’t what you achieve, but how you connect? In this episode, America’s Got Talent winner Dustin Tavella shares why putting people first leads to greater impact—and how to build connections that last.

What if one sentence could make someone instantly feel valued? In this episode, Vanessa Van Edwards shares how you can develop everyday charisma and how small shifts in language build powerful leadership influence.

What if the key to building a lasting legacy is choosing the right people? In this episode, Mart Green shares lessons from leading at Hobby Lobby, launching Mardel, and building teams with vision and purpose.

Ever wonder why driven leaders hit an invisible wall? In this episode, Arthur Brooks explains why high achievers burn out—and how to pivot toward greater impact by shifting your mindset, redefining success, and leading with wisdom that lasts.

What does it take to build a thriving, value-driven organization? In this episode, Dave Ramsey breaks down the five stages every healthy business must grow through and shares practical wisdom he’s learned while leading Ramsey Solutions.

You might think that you need to have all the answers in leadership. But the reality is that the one who talks the most learns the least. In this episode, Craig teaches the top skill that sets apart great leaders.

The right question at the right time can change everything. If you want to become a better leader, ask better questions. In this episode, Craig shares practical strategies he uses to ask the right questions.

Your leadership potential will never outperform your daily habits. Healthy habits will propel you forward, but unhealthy habits will hold you back. In this episode, Craig shares three more habits great leaders avoid.

Do businesses exist to make a profit or care for people? In this episode, Simon Sinek challenges a broken leadership theory and shares a new mindset for organizations to follow.

The potential of your leadership is a reflection of the quality of your habits. So, to be great, don’t just develop the right habits; eliminate the wrong ones. In this episode, Craig shares the first three of the six habits great leaders avoid.

The best leaders are always learning. They read books, learn from mentors, and grow through failure. In this episode, Mark Batterson shares the five-level framework he used to read 3,000 books as well as how you can maximize your time with top leaders.

If you want a high-performing team tomorrow, develop a great culture today. In this episode, Craig shares how to design a culture that consistently attracts and builds great leaders.

Whether you’re stepping into a new role or facing a new leadership challenge, you need a plan for thriving as a leader in today’s world. In this episode, Craig shares the skills you’ll need to lead well in this next season.

Is it better to seek out new opportunities or wait for them to come to you? In this episode, Craig shares three steps that will position you for a future promotion. He also highlights the critical role humility plays in this process.

Without a system of honest feedback, your team’s growth will always be limited. In this episode, Craig shares the power of giving helpful feedback, practical tips for how to do it, and pitfalls to avoid when having developmental conversations.

No matter your role, you’ll eventually need to influence someone higher up in the organization. When you do, your posture, timing, and intentions have to be in check. In this episode, Craig shares five steps to follow when leading up to your boss.

Great leaders ask great questions. In this episode, Craig shares how to influence your peers and leaders through questions. He also gives practical advice for meeting with leaders you admire.

Scott Harrison spent a decade as one of the top nightclub promoters in New York City. After 10 years, he was broken and needed a radical change. Today, he shares how he used his skills as a promoter and storyteller to bring clean water to millions.

Any wrong mindsets you adopt early in leadership can actually hold you back later. The best leaders replace some of their early mindsets with new, counterintuitive ways of thinking. In this episode, I share three adjustments that will help you grow.

Great leaders care deeply about accomplishing their mission. But is it possible to care too much? In today’s podcast, Craig shares a better way to lead your organization into the future and the high cost of not letting go.

Why are some leaders more inspirational than others, and what sets them apart? In this episode, Priscilla Shirer shares how to become more inspirational in your leadership and communication—and how to inspire your team to change the world.

Many of the best leaders are confident and humble, driven yet healthy, and focused but still flexible. Greatness is often found in those extremes, and in this episode, Craig shares the secrets to mastering these extreme qualities.

For a leader to grow, they’ll need the investment and coaching of a few mentors along the way. In this episode, one of Craig's mentors Rob Hoskins shares the practical strategies he uses to develop leaders and the advantages of finding a mentor.

Of all the books Craig read in 2023, two stood out as top recommendations. Will Guidara’s "Unreasonable Hospitality" is one, and in this episode, Will shares why any organization will grow when they’re unreasonable about serving others.

The best salespeople are excellent servants. They find out what their customer needs, and they work to meet that need. Great leaders exercise the same skills. In this episode, billion-dollar sales leader Stephanie Chung shows you how.

The best leaders know there’s a time to encourage and a time to challenge themselves and their team. Dr. Josh Axe shares practical tools and phrases for encouraging and challenging—and shares his top health and lifestyle adjustments you can make today.

You know "what got you here won’t get you there." With the near-constant rate of change in our world today, if you aren’t adapting your leadership approach, you’re likely getting left behind. Today, Craig shares three keys to staying agile in leadership.

It’s impossible to succeed your way to self-worth. While many of us try to find fulfillment in success, today’s guest Jamie Kern Lima shows us how to find true fulfillment by growing our self-worth, not just our self-confidence.

We all have limiting beliefs. Whether it’s “I’m not a person who works out” or “I’m not a leader,” our thoughts and beliefs can hold us back. In this episode, Steven Furtick shares how we can change our thought patterns to break those limiting beliefs.

One factor can have the biggest impact on the trajectory of your leadership, and it’s not your genetics, appearance, or intelligence. It’s your ability to be consistent. Today, I’m sharing three keys to consistency from my new book, Think Ahead.

If you’ve ever inherited a struggling project, team, or organization, you know how hard it can be to fix something you didn’t break. Today’s episode with Dr. Jon Chasteen will give you practical leadership tools for rebuilding what’s been broken.

The future of your leadership will be determined by the quality of your decisions. In part two, Craig outlines the final three factors of great decision makers. If you want to strengthen your decision making, apply these factors.

Growing leaders tend to have growing disciplines. But how do you know which disciplines to focus on? In this episode, Westfall Gold CEO Dan Clark shares the habits and disciplines that consistently help him grow as a leader.

The quality of your decisions determines the direction of your life—if you want to grow as a leader, grow in your decision making. In part one, Craig outlines five of the eight factors of great decision makers. (Catch the exclusive bonus episode, too!)

Many leaders fall into the trap of copying other leaders and communicators rather than learning to master their own style. In this episode, creative leader Louie Giglio shares how to identify and develop your own leadership and communication style.

In this episode, Craig highlights five of the most powerful moments from the year and reviews the key lesson we can learn from each. Learn about daily habits, communication, leadership confidence, building culture, and so much more.

If you want to sharpen your leadership, sharpen your thinking—learn how from author, pastor, and coach Erwin McManus. Today, he’s sharing how he broke through his own mental barriers and the most common mind shifts leaders need to make.

To lead well, practice communicating well. Today, we'll hear from Liz Bohannon—top-20 ranked speaker by Forbes—on all things public speaking. She shares brilliant insights on preparation, emotional mapping, and how to read an audience.

Your reaction to problems, people, and even your own limits will determine your leadership potential. In this episode, Rener Gracie shares the jiu-jitsu and leadership principles that teach us to win when we face challenges in these three areas.

It’s increasingly difficult to know if you’re leading your team in the right direction post-2020. Today, Jennie Allen shares how she’s guiding her team forward in the next year, and how she’s leading with confidence even when taking big risks.

Since 2020, trust is no longer the default posture in the workplace. The problem? Trust is the glue that holds your team together. Dr. Henry Cloud joins us to share the key elements of trust that will help you accomplish your mission.

Have you lost the momentum you once had? In today’s episode, Craig shares a practical plan to revive energy and drive in your leadership and asks you the four key questions that will help you jump-start your momentum at work and at home.

Cynt Marshall has been first plenty of times—from student council to being the first Black female CEO in the NBA. Her forty years of climbing and growing taught her that nothing matters more than loving the people you serve.

Creating momentum is like launching a rocket. You’ll use a disproportionate amount of energy to get off the ground, but once you overcome gravity, you can maintain your momentum with minimal effort. Today, Craig shares the four factors that fuel momentum.

Unusual times demand unusual leadership. Luckily, you aren’t a usual leader. You’re driven, passionate, and willing to be unreasonable. Today, Craig shares why we need “Strategic Unreasonableness” in leadership and gives three ways to think unreasonably.

People may admire your strengths, but they’ll connect with your weaknesses. In today’s episode, bestselling author and speaker Albert Tate shares how authentic, vulnerable communication can be the superpower that makes you a more compelling leader.

According to John Maxwell, communication is “the most important skill.” So if you want to grow in your leadership, grow in your communication. In this episode, John shares his best insights on communication for writers, leaders, and public speakers.

Your leadership moves in the direction of your strongest thoughts. Unfortunately, it's easy to focus on the negatives and head in the wrong direction. Today, best-selling author Jon Gordon dives into the science of optimism and positivity in leadership.

It’s rare that an organization lasts beyond the third generation. Why is that? In today’s episode, I explain the three generational mindsets and how you can lead your entire team to "think like an owner" no matter their age, role, or tenure.

As a leader, you're not only leading. You're leading towards growth. In this episode, New York Times bestseller and business coach Donald Miller shares six things you need to grow your business, church, or non-profit and build an organization that lasts.

Early in her career, Amy Porterfield felt insecure about her education and experience (or lack thereof.) Now a New York Times bestselling author and business coach, Amy shares how to grow into the confident, courageous leader you want to be.

Success is always a good thing—until it isn’t. Join Craig’s conversation with pro athlete, podcaster, and New York Times bestselling author Lewis Howes, and learn why service always trumps success and how to develop your own “greatness mindset.”

The potential of your leadership is a reflection of the quality of your habits. In this episode, Craig outlines the final four habits many great leaders have in common. If you want to have a bigger impact, develop better habits.

Few things in life are more frustrating than knowing you need to change and trying to change but never changing. This episode dives into the first two points of Craig's newest book, The Power to Change: Mastering the Habits That Matter Most.

What sets apart great leaders? Great leaders are fanatically consistent with a few strategic habits. Today, Craig outlines the first four habits many great leaders have in common. If you want to grow in your leadership, start mastering these habits.

If you’re like most leaders, you have days when you love your job way more than others. What sets those great days at work apart? And is it possible to have even more? Today, Patrick Lencioni outlines the freedom of discovering your Working Genius.

If you want to be more effective as a leader, you need to get more strategic with your habits. In this episode, Craig helps you identify who you want to be as a leader and what habit you need to start this year to get there.

For the first time, five generations are sharing today’s modern workplace. That’s a big opportunity. In this episode, Tim Elmore shares how to leverage the strengths of Gen Z, Builders, and every generation in between to accomplish more together.

Leading without healthy boundaries can lead to feeling frustrated, burned out, and ineffective. In today’s episode, my good friend Lysa TerKeurst returns with practical strategies for learning when and how to create boundaries at work and at home.

What team members are looking for today is different than what they were looking for three years ago. In this episode, Craig outlines three new employee “wants” in the workplace and how you can create a workplace culture people don’t want to leave.

You gain or lose influence with every interaction. So even when you say all the right words, your non-verbal cues can undermine your leadership. Today, Vanessa Van Edwards shares the keys to communicating with influence and charisma in every interaction.

Right now, some of you are deeply dissatisfied at work and might be considering quitting your job. In this episode, Craig will help you discern your next best career move by sharing the four questions you need to ask before you quit your job.

Few people have won a Heisman trophy, written four NYT Best Sellers, waged war on human trafficking, and founded a non-profit that fights for people in more than 70 countries. Tim Tebow has. He shares how he leads through it all in today’s podcast.

Great leaders can seem enigmatic or unpredictable, but it's often because they're operating in key talents and skills that don't naturally coexist. In Part 2 of "Lead Like It Matters," Craig shares six more qualities of leaders who have "it."

You might look at a leader and wonder, “What’s their secret?” They’ve accomplished so much and show no signs of slowing down. In today’s episode, we talk about what sets apart the leaders who have “it” from those who don't.

Today's guest is a driven, effective, hugely successful 24-year-old leader. Her secret? Staying humble through the success. Today, Sadie Robertson Huff shares the strengths of different generations, her advice to Gen Z, and how she embraces failure.

Two things are true of every leader: you want to get better, and you want your organization to get better. So often, we think "better" requires more money, time, or effort. In this episode, we'll learn that isn't always the case when you "bend the curve."

So many leaders are afraid to show weakness to their teams. Today, Shawn Johnson walks us through his own raw battle with anxiety, how to lead while attacking anxiety, and how showing your struggles can strengthen, not weaken, your leadership.

Many leaders avoid conflict and end up holding their teams back. In today’s episode, Dave Ramsey returns to talk about the kinds of fights he loves to lose with his team members, healthy conflict, and helping his staff avoid burnout.

Leading out of a crisis is more difficult than leading during one. Today, in part two of “Leading Out of Crisis,” Craig shares six key steps you need to take to lead your team and yourself out of the chaos of the last two years.

If your leadership plan today is the same as your pre-pandemic plan, it's probably a bad plan. You can’t just lead after a crisis, you need to lead out of a crisis. And that requires a different approach. Today, part one of "Leading Out of Crisis."

Authenticity alone doesn’t guarantee success, but inauthenticity does guarantee failure. Jamie Kern Lima, who founded It Cosmetics and sold it for $1.2 billion 8 years later, shares the keys to building great organizations.

The potential of your leadership is a reflection of the quality of your habits. That’s good news if you have good habits, but bad news if you don’t. In today's episode, Craig shares two steps to breaking the bad habits that limit your leadership impact.

Leaders often live in a cycle of failed New Year's resolutions, losing the same 20 pounds or quitting the same bad habit. What can leaders do to break this cycle? Craig shares three practical secrets for starting habits that stick in today’s new episode.

Do you feel like your New Year's resolutions don't last? Today, in part one of a new series, Craig shares three major reasons most New Year’s resolutions don’t stick and how you can focus on building a healthy identity through high-impact habits.

In today’s episode, #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Todd returns to talk about three books that changed his leadership, two things you should focus on if you want a promotion, and why becoming an overnight success shouldn’t be your goal.