Maxwell Leadership Podcast
The Maxwell Leadership Podcast is a regular examination of what it means to be a transformational leader—someone who daily influences people to think, speak, and act to make a positive difference in their lives and in the lives of others. This podcast will teach you the principles, practices, and process of becoming a transformational leader because leadership isn't an event—it's an uphill journey. Every week we will offer a free tool to help you on this journey, so let leadership authority Dr. John C. Maxwell show you the way.
Be Aware of Your Blind Spots (Part 2)
Don't let your blind spots stay your blind spots. In this week's episode, John Maxwell continues his lesson on the most common blind spots that derail leaders—and how awareness unlocks your influence and potential.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Traci Morrow unpack the practical steps you can take to apply these principles in your own leadership.
Key takeaways:
Insecurity causes a leader to think only of themselves, and the very essence of leadership is others. Pride is concerned about who's right. Humility is concerned about what's right. Character doesn't make you a le...Be Aware of Your Blind Spots (Part 1)
What you don't know could be hurting your leadership. In this week's episode, John unpacks why blind spots are inevitable in leadership—and how their unseen impact can shape every decision you make.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Traci Morrow provide practical strategies and real-life stories to help you recognize and address your own leadership blind spots, starting today.
Key takeaways:
We don't see others as they are; we see others as we are.
The first person we must examine is ourselves.
Listener Questions: Timeless Leadership In a Data-Driven Age
Good leaders ask great questions—so this week, in our (first-ever!) call-in episode of the Maxwell Leadership Podcast, Mark Cole answers your real-world leadership questions. Find out how to stay influential (especially in an age of AI), tackle people problems behind data indicators, and persevere when opportunities seem elusive.
Key takeaways:
The most powerful tools in a leader's arsenal—relationship, trust, discernment, and values—can never be outsourced.
Strong teams are built by leaders who confront problems head-on instead of avoiding them.
Leadership is measured by influence, not position.
Success and Gratitude: Why Great Leaders Revisit Where They Came From
How do great leaders keep success from breeding entitlement? In this week's episode, John Maxwell teaches why revisiting where you came from—and cultivating gratitude—creates the stable foundation every leader needs to rise higher.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Goede discuss real-life strategies to help you anchor your leadership in authentic gratitude and apply John's insights today.
Key takeaways:
To balance an entitlement mindset, put gratitude beside it.
You always need to go back and visit where you came from.
You never want to forget all the...
Leaders Who Get the Most Give the Most
Anne Frank said, "None has ever become poor by giving." In this week's episode, John Maxwell unpacks the three types of generosity that set extraordinary leaders apart and reveal the true path to influential leadership.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Traci Morrow share practical strategies for weaving generosity into your leadership journey, equipping you to start making a bigger impact today.
Key takeaways:
A clenched fist gives nothing but is also unable to receive anything.
If you sow a lot of seeds, the harvest takes care of itself.
The Growth Guarantee (Part 2)
What separates leaders who keep expanding their impact from those who quietly plateau? In this week's episode, John Maxwell continues revealing the promises and pitfalls on the path to continual, intentional growth.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Robinson share how to recognize your growth zone and offer strategies you can use to keep advancing in your leadership journey.
Key takeaways:
Don't be a know-it-all. Be a learn-it-all.
You don't coast to greatness.
Everything
The Growth Guarantee (Part 1)
Growth isn't automatic, but it can be guaranteed. In this week's episode, the first in a two-part series, John reveals his personal blueprint for guaranteed growth and the three simple disciplines that set extraordinary leaders apart.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Robinson offer strategies to help you turn intentional growth into a daily habit, no matter where you're starting.
Key takeaways:
You can't learn anything while you're talking.
Sustained thinking will change your life.
What People Misunderstand About Success (Part 2)
This week on the Maxwell Leadership Podcast, find out what an ice cube can teach you about patience and results. Today, John Maxwell finishes up his two-part lesson on the compounding power of daily action, reflection, and intentional growth on the path to lasting leadership success.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Goede dive into real-world strategies and personal stories to help you immediately implement John's teaching.
Key takeaways:
Your first step is your most important step.
Success is a series of steps, not one giant leap.
What People Misunderstand About Success (Part 1)
The real measure of success isn't the recognition you receive, but the daily choices no one sees. In this week's episode—the first in a two-part series—John unpacks the misunderstood foundations of success and reveals why consistency, not accolades, is the true driver of extraordinary results.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Goede share practical strategies for applying John's success journey to your own leadership and team impact.
Key takeaways:
Desire is the seed of every great accomplishment.
The greatest way to make progress is to move forward.
Are You Leading a Good Life or Just Maintaining a Good Image?
Are you leading a life of real impact, or just working hard to perfect your image? In this week's episode, John Maxwell teaches how embracing authenticity over appearance is a central pillar for meaningful leadership and lasting success.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Robinson share practical strategies to help you bring authenticity to the forefront of your leadership—on your team, at home, and beyond.
Key takeaways:
The way to balance and stabilize an image issue is authenticity.
You lose your authenticity when you try to hold onto things th...
Good Leaders Make Friends, Not Fans
Are you letting your success create distance between you and your team? In this episode, John Maxwell unpacks why leadership success can easily lead to isolation—and what you can do to resist it. Discover how making friends (not just fans) helps you stay relatable, authentic, and influential.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Goede dive into real-life strategies to help you put connection at the heart of your leadership journey.
Key Takeaways
Success can isolate, but connection is the cure. Intentional relationships keep leaders grounded and approachable.
Service trumps ti...
How to Stabilize Your Success
How do you keep your success from becoming the very thing that sabotages your leadership? In this week's episode, John Maxwell reveals the overlooked practices that stabilize lasting achievement and keep leaders grounded at every stage of their journey.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Robinson share real-world strategies and thoughtful application to help you translate John's insights into leadership habits you can use today.
Key takeaways:
True success starts within—before you pursue outer victories, define what success means to you at the deepest level.
Power without accountability destabilizes le...
Learn These Skills to Become a Memorable Leader: A Fireside Chat with John Maxwell and Jeff Henderson
Do you want to be the kind of leader people never forget? This week in a first-of-its-kind react-style Maxwell Leadership Podcast episode, John Maxwell sits down with Jeff Henderson to share the essential skills that turn everyday leadership into a lasting legacy. As John teaches, Mark Cole provides practical strategies to help you activate John's teachings and elevate your impact right now.
Key takeaways:
Empowering others doesn't diminish your influence—it multiplies it, as the best leaders know they're always stronger together than alone.
Authentic leadership requires living the message before you teach it...
The Five-Step Cycle That Turns Failure into Your Fastest Path to Growth
Your failure is the most effective engine for your growth — and the most underutilized. In this week's episode, John reveals the five-step cycle that transforms every setback into your next leap forward as a leader.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Goede dive into real-world strategies to help you put this growth cycle into action and boost your team's innovation.
Key takeaways:
True innovation thrives when leaders create a culture where failing is seen as a crucial part of learning and improving.
The sequence of testing, failing, learning, improving, and re...
How Great Leaders Stay Focused When Everything is Falling Apart
You've been there: Pressure is high. Priorities are competing. Everything feels urgent. How do you stay focused when you're being pulled in a million different directions? In this week's episode, John Maxwell reveals the mindset and habits that empower leaders to bring stability and hope to the seasons that matter most.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Goede provide practical strategies you can use right now to lead your team through challenging times with clarity and confidence.
Key takeaways:
Traction comes from focusing on what you can control and letting go of...
Why So Many Leaders Stop Growing
Leaders go farther when they don't see a finish line — are you letting perceived limits hold back your impact? In this week's episode, John Maxwell reveals why so many leaders stop growing, and how leaders can maintain a lifelong commitment to learning and relevance.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Traci Morrow unpack the practical steps you can take to apply these principles in your own leadership.
Key takeaways:
Growth requires continual refreshment—leaders who thrive consistently seek to update their thinking, materials, and approach to stay relevant.
The willingness to anti...
Leaders Reproduce Who They Are
Are you leading from your strengths, or simply telling others what they should do? In this week's episode, John Maxwell unpacks the challenging truth that leaders don't just teach what they know—they reproduce who they are by their example.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Goede provide practical strategies you can use to strengthen your self-leadership and intentionally shape the culture around you.
Key takeaways:
Leading yourself effectively with authenticity and consistency can be your greatest daily challenge.
The responsibility of leadership means modeling growth and resilience so your te...
One Decision That Separates Good Leaders From Great Leaders
Leaders make lots of key decisions—but one decision can be the separator between leadership that sustains and leadership that thrives. In this week's episode, John reveals how the choice to be intentional transforms good leaders into great ones and empowers you to make a real difference.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Traci Morrow unpack the practical steps you can take to apply these principles in your own leadership.
Key takeaways:
Generational greatness demands intentional actions, a growth mindset, and a commitment to serving others.
The best leaders shine their li...
What Your Dream Team Should Look Like
Myth: Leaders need to be balanced. Fact: Together, you and your team can be balanced. In this week's episode, John Maxwell reveals why the dream team isn't about perfection in individuals, but about creating collective balance through diversity of skills, passion, and perspective.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Goede dig into high-level strategy for building a team where everyone's strengths thrive and the leader's vision multiplies.
Key takeaways:
A balanced team is built on diverse strengths—no single leader can or should do it all alone.
Exceptional leaders replace as...
Better Days Are Ahead of You
Where is your finish line? Trick question—your growth doesn't need to have one. In this week's episode, John Maxwell reveals how to cultivate a forward-focused mindset that unleashes continual development and lasting impact.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Robinson provide practical strategies to help you step out of the past and anticipate a future filled with possibility!
Key takeaways:
— Finish lines are self-imposed—when you decide you're done, you limit your future; growth and contribution continue as long as you focus forward.
Five Questions to Help You Add Value to Others
How do you know if you're truly adding value to those around you, or just going through the motions? In this week's episode, John Maxwell reveals the five essential questions every leader should ask to elevate their influence and impact.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Goede dive into their strategies for weaving these value-adding principles into your everyday leadership.
Key takeaways:
Before you can add value to others, you must recognize and develop the unique value you bring to the table.
Valuing what you do—and the people you se...
Four Ways to Turn Failure Into Success
Don't spend your leadership journey trying to avoid failure; you will end up thinking, planning, and dreaming too small. Instead, invest your time creating a framework to let failure work to your advantage. In this week's episode, John Maxwell teaches four ways you can transform setbacks into powerful steppingstones for success!
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Robinson share actionable strategies to help you turn John's insights on failure into practical growth for yourself and your team.
Key takeaways:
The most effective leaders learn to distinguish between good misses that move them...
Values Are the Soul of Leadership
What values are defining your legacy as a leader? In this week's episode, John Maxwell illuminates how true leadership can only center on values, and those values can only center on people.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Robinson dig into practical ways you can identify, live out, and multiply these values within your team and organization.
Key takeaways:
The test of good values is whether they value all people, all the time, in every situation—this alignment is the foundation of real leadership.
Leaders who see and lift others un...
Maximize Your Joy (Part 2)
Life is going to have challenges whether we expect them or not — we might as well use them to grow. In this week's episode, John continues his lesson from last week to share a few key principles that impact the joy in your leadership journey. After his lesson, Mark Cole and Traci Morrow share real-life strategies to help you apply these principles in your life and leadership.
Key takeaways:
Growth happens not by avoiding adversity but by doing hard things—so you're prepared to take on even greater challenges.
Leaders maximize their impact when...
Maximize Your Joy (Part 1)
Are you leading with joy, or just surviving? In this week's episode, John Maxwell reveals eight essential ways to maximize your joy, showing how intentional living shapes your leadership journey.
After John's lesson, Mark Cole and Traci Morrow unpack the practical steps you can take to apply these principles in your own leadership.
Key takeaways:
Joy is found in the journey, not the destination—and it starts with living intentionally and defining your purpose.
Growth, daily self-improvement, and a focus on adding value to others are core ingredients for a fulfilling le...
Preparing is Caring
How much do you really care for the people you lead—and what does your preparation say about it? In this week's episode, John Maxwell reveals why genuine care can only be expressed through the discipline of preparation, and how your commitment to leading others starts long before you ever enter the room.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Robinson dive into real-world strategies and personal stories to ensure you can put John's principles into practice right away.
Key takeaways:
If you only "wing it," you may get by—but you'll never brea...
How Serving Others Unlocks Self-Discovery
Discover one of the great leadership paradoxes: the surprising growth that comes from serving others. In this week's episode, John Maxwell teaches how putting others first unlocks unexpected personal development and deeper self-understanding.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Robinson dive into real-world ways to apply these transformative insights, offering strategies to help you lead with greater impact starting today.
Key takeaways:
When leaders intentionally serve others, they gain profound insights about their own motives, abilities, and growth areas.
True leadership begins when you shift from seeking followers for your...
Cultivating Humility for Lasting Influence
John Maxwell shares that there's one most important quality of leadership. Do you have it? In this week's episode, John Maxwell reveals why humility isn't just a virtue—it's the essential ingredient for lasting influence and meaningful leadership.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Goede dive into real-life examples and honest reflections, sharing how you can apply John's wisdom to multiply your impact and create sustaining influence as a leader.
Key takeaways:
True humility empowers you to learn, grow, and serve others, turning challenges into opportunities for lasting impact.
Leaders wh...
The Meaning of Your Life with Dr. Arthur C. Brooks
Are you striving for success, yet finding yourself wondering if your achievements really matter? The answer to a fulfilled life may lie in asking deeper questions, not just chasing accomplishments. In this bonus episode of the Maxwell Leadership Podcast, Mark Cole and Jared Cagle are joined by author and professor Arthur C. Brooks to discuss the pillars of a meaningful life (especially in an age of emptiness).
Key takeaways:
Meaning in life isn't just about setting goals; it's about asking "why" and finding deeper significance in what you do.
Serving others shifts the...
The Qualities of an Authentic Leader
How do you earn the loyalty that supports real influence? You won't change lives or amplify your results without the ability to connect authentically. In this week's episode, John Maxwell is sharing how to do that, as he teaches the five essential qualities that define an authentic leader!
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Robinson provide practical strategies you can use right away to embody authenticity and deepen your impact as a leader.
Key takeaways:
Leading with heart—through empathy, courage, and genuine care—creates meaningful connections that drive lasting results.
C...
Success and Failure: The Partnership that Fuels Growth
Are you ready to turn your greatest setbacks into the fuel for exponential growth? In this week's episode, John Maxwell unpacks how the partnership between success and failure is essential to leadership—and why your perspective on failure determines your path to achievement.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Goede provide real-world strategies you can use right away to embrace failure as a catalyst for learning and growth.
Key takeaways:
How you view failure shapes your response to it—and seeing it as part of success unlocks growth, humility, and maturity.
S...
The Leadership Lens: How You View Things is How You Do Things
How you see your world determines the actions you take and the results you create—what lens are you using to view your leadership? In this week's episode, John Maxwell unpacks how your perspective shapes your impact, and reveals four keys to developing a leadership lens that drives lasting effectiveness.
After John's lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Robinson dive deep into practical ways you can shift your perspective and model impactful leadership behaviors in your daily life.
Key takeaways:
The most important voice you listen to is your own—guard your self-talk and ensu...
Episode 400: How to Use Failure for Success
Failure can either hold you back or become fuel for your growth. In this week's episode — the Maxwell Leadership Podcast's 400th episode! — John Maxwell joins Mark Cole for a glimpse into John's upcoming book, How to Get a Return on Failure, and a perspective-shifting discussion on how you can invest failure to fuel resilience, sharpen your judgment, and accelerate your impact.
Key takeaways:
Your response to failure determines whether it becomes an asset or a liability.
Success and failure must be kept together; embracing both builds resilience and humility for lasting leadership.
P...
How to Surround Yourself with Great People (Part 2)
Last week, John Maxwell shared three of his six insights for surrounding yourself with people who can accelerate your growth journey. In this week's episode, John Maxwell is revealing the last three, so you can get yourself around great people!
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Traci Morrow unpack John's lesson so you can apply these principles in your own leadership.
Key takeaways:
Being unforgettable isn't about showing off—it's about finding innovative ways to serve others and do for them what they can't do for themselves.
True vision matures when yo...
How to Surround Yourself with Great People (Part 1)
Who are you intentionally inviting into your growth journey? The company you keep could be your greatest accelerator—or your greatest limitation. In this week's episode, John Maxwell teaches how to surround yourself with great people by unveiling the disciplines and mindsets that attract high-potential leaders to your circle.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Traci Morrow share real-life strategies you can use right now to elevate your relationships and leverage the power of your network for exponential growth.
Key takeaways:
Your desire for greatness—and action toward it—opens doors to impactful relati...
Principles that Guide Your Life
What defines the world you create with your leadership? In this week's episode, John Maxwell reveals the ten guiding principles that have anchored his life and success for more than four decades!
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Robinson dive into real-life strategies that help you put John's principles to work in your own leadership journey.
Key takeaways:
Your attitude is a daily choice that sets the ceiling for your potential.
Personal growth always precedes professional advancement; who you are determines how far you can go.
What You Expect is What You Experience
Do your expectations shape your reality—or limit it? Imagine what would happen if you raised the bar for yourself and those around you. In this week's episode, John Maxwell reveals how the expectations you set determine the experiences you create, and why possibility thinking is every leader's secret advantage.
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Robinson share actionable strategies for resetting team expectations and building a culture of higher achievement, so you can apply John's insights right away.
Key takeaways:
Successful leaders continually set higher, self-driven expectations and upgrade them over ti...
How Empowerment Fuels Team Success
How do the best leaders unlock extraordinary results in their teams? In this week's episode, John Maxwell reveals how empowering others not only helps them reach their potential, but also equips them to pass on that growth beyond themselves!
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Robinson dive into practical strategies and real-world examples to help you apply empowerment in your own leadership journey right away.
Key takeaways:
The strongest teams thrive when leaders actively demonstrate that they need their people and invite them to contribute.
Empowerment is more than delegation...
It's Not About You: Leadership, Communication, and Putting Others First
It's not about you—it's about them. In this week's episode, John Maxwell shares the powerful shift that transforms everyday leaders into extraordinary influencers and makes it possible for your leadership to truly impact others!
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Goede share real-world examples of how making it about others unlocks trust, connection, and next-level leadership.
Key takeaways:
The more you focus on adding value to others, the more you'll receive value in return.
To communicate in a way that truly resonates, make your message all about your audience, no...
The Bookends of Success
Ready to discover the key to getting the most benefit out of every experience? In this week's episode, John Maxwell reveals the two "bookends of success" that elevate your preparation and multiply your results!
After his lesson, Mark Cole and Chris Robinson discuss practical ways to apply John's powerful insights to your daily routines and most important goals.
Key takeaways:
Preparation on the front end and reflection on the back end transform average experiences into powerful growth opportunities.
Realistic thinking is the foundation of effective preparation.
