LevelUp Leadership | Executive Coaching, AI and Management

Navigating the complexities of modern leadership in large organisations. An award winning podcast (2026 AVA Digital Media Awards).Join Author and Leadership Coach Lee Whitmore for actionable strategies on leading change, implementing AI, and managing team dynamics.​Whether you are rewiring workflows or managing burnout, LevelUp provides the toolkit for senior leaders to drive performance without losing their balance.

LevelUp Leadership | Executive Coaching, AI and Management is a business podcast hosted by LevelUp Leadership, with 62 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

LevelUp Leadership hosts LevelUp Leadership | Executive Coaching, AI and Management, a business show with 62 episodes published.

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  LevelUp Leadership | Executive Coaching, AI and Management

  How to Give Difficult Feedback & Lead Like A Coach

  Sep 12, 202629 minS1

  Learn how to frame difficult feedback so it stops feeling like a conflict and starts driving high performance.Are you tired of feeling "stuck in motion" - busy all week but with nothing to show for it? Executive coach Nikki Goldman unpacks the hidden cost of avoiding hard conversations and how "conflict debt" drains team performance. She shares practical frameworks for reframing feedback, bridging generational communication gaps, and defining what "winning" actually looks like for busy leaders.We also explore why maintaining your calm is a leader's ultimate superpower, especially when guiding teams through AI adoption and rapid organisational change. Discover how to step out of the weeds, stop dropping the glass balls, and start leading with intention.CHAPTERS00:00 Description01:54 Nikki Goldman's Journey to Coaching06:05 Bridging Generational Communication Gaps08:52 The "Spinach in Your Teeth" Feedback Rule13:30 Why Coaching Needs 360-Degree Feedback16:47 The Danger of Being "Stuck in Motion"18:58 Defining Your Personal Win Conditions20:00 Preparing Teams for AI-Driven Change22:15 Why Calm is a Leader's Superpower24:39 Real-World Example: Employee-First LeadershipRESOURCES MENTIONEDRadical Candor by Kim Scott: A framework for delivering feedback that challenges directly while caring personally.IO Coaching: https://www.iocoaching.co/Nikki Goldman's newsletter with weekly insights on leadership and performance: https://www.iocoaching.co/KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR LEADERSTreat negative feedback like telling someone they have spinach in their teeth: do it quickly, directly, and kindly.Stop relying on external validation; define your own clear "win conditions" for the week.Map out the communication styles of your team to reduce friction and misalignment.Treat your composure as a tool: if you cannot regulate your own emotions, you cannot lead your team effectively.View AI adoption as a capability to build into your team's development path, not just a tool to use.KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR COACHESConduct interview-style 360 reviews to pull the thread on complex stakeholder dynamics.Push clients to track the difficult conversations they are having—or avoiding.Help clients distinguish between "glass balls" (critical tasks) and "plastic balls" (tasks that can bounce).Recognise that your role is a temporary thought partner, not a permanent fixture; prepare clients to eventually fly solo.GUEST BIOGRAPHYNikki Goldman is the founder of IO Coaching, a Miami-based executive coaching firm specialising in leadership development, communication, and high-performance team dynamics.Thank you for watching/ listening.#ad Editing my podcast used to be the most time-consuming part of my week. I now use Descript to edit my audio and video by simply deleting words from a transcript. It allows me to create my YouTube Shorts and TikTok clips in a fraction of the time.If you want to try it for your own projects, you can sign up here: https://get.descript.com/LevelUpUsing this link costs you nothing extra, but the small commission I receive helps support the work I do on my podcast and articles.Music & Image: attribution.Podcast Background Track: https://pixabay.com/users/poorartistt-45918667/Images: https://gemini.google/overview/image-generation/ & https://www.perplexity.ai/Disclaimer.LevelUp and the podcast host do not endorse, verify, or take responsibility for any products, services, views, or claims presented by guests during podcast episodes. Any opinions or statements made by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of LevelUp or its representatives.© 2026 LevelUp.This episode is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International.To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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  LevelUp Leadership | Executive Coaching, AI and Management

  Structured Problem Solving for Senior Leaders - The Toyota Way

  Aug 29, 202611 minS1

  Discover how to use Toyota problem solving to identify root causes and build team capability, not just fix symptoms. Many leadership teams move quickly but solve the wrong problem. This episode breaks down how the Toyota Way helps you slow down just enough to improve decisions, reduce duplication, and focus on what actually drives performance. You will learn how ‘go and see’ changes judgement, why A3 thinking sharpens conversations, and how continuous improvement builds capability over time. The episode also explores the tension between pressure and clarity, and why better questions outperform faster answers in complex environments. If you are dealing with overloaded meetings, unclear priorities, or teams stuck in reactive cycles, this gives you a practical structure to reset how work gets done. CHAPTERS 00:00 Why leaders solve the wrong problem 01:05 The two pillars: improvement and respect 03:00 Go and see: understanding real work 04:05 Duplication vs capacity: a case example 05:00 A3 thinking for decision clarity 06:10 Respect for people in practice 07:00 Kaizen and daily improvement habits 08:00 Using tension to drive learning 09:00 Applying Toyota thinking to leadership KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR LEADERS Go and see the work before deciding what the problem is Separate symptoms from root causes; map the current state clearly Use A3 thinking to force clarity and shared understanding Build capability by asking better questions, not giving faster answers Improve processes incrementally; do not wait for large transformations KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR COACHES Use ‘what is the actual problem?’ as a recurring intervention Introduce A3 as a structure for 1:1 and group reflection Challenge clients to validate assumptions through direct observation Help leaders calibrate stretch without overwhelming teams Thank you for watching/ listening.#ad Editing my podcast used to be the most time-consuming part of my week. I now use Descript to edit my audio and video by simply deleting words from a transcript. It allows me to create my YouTube Shorts and TikTok clips in a fraction of the time.If you want to try it for your own projects, you can sign up here: https://get.descript.com/LevelUpUsing this link costs you nothing extra, but the small commission I receive helps support the work I do on my podcast and articles. Paid plans start at around £12 / $16 per month (billed annually) for the Hobbyist tier.Music, jingles, and images - attribution.Podcast Background Track: ⁠https://pixabay.com/users/poorartistt-45918667/⁠Images: ⁠⁠https://www.perplexity.ai/⁠Disclaimer.LevelUp and the podcast host do not endorse, verify, or take responsibility for any products, services, views, or claims presented by guests during podcast episodes. Any opinions or statements made by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of LevelUp or its representatives.© 2026 LevelUp.This episode is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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  LevelUp Leadership | Executive Coaching, AI and Management

  Execution: Why Coaching Culture Closes the Strategy Gap

  Aug 15, 202627 minS1

  Learn how to build a coaching culture that closes the gap between strategy and execution, with growth consultant Dave Reynolds. Most leaders can write a good plan. Far fewer can get their teams to execute it well. In this episode, Dave Reynolds, founder and CEO of The Rumin8 Group, explains why the gap between success and failure is rarely knowledge, it is application, and why coaching culture is what bridges that gap. Dave breaks down coaching as a two-way partnership rather than a one-way transfer of instructions, and why question-led leadership builds ownership instead of dependency. We also get into succession planning as a proactive culture shift rather than a reactive scramble, and why organisations that invest in people's futures see far lower turnover at senior levels. If you are trying to get better buy-in from your team or you are stuck rolling out plans that stall at execution, this conversation gives you a practical starting point. CHAPTERS 00:00 Why plans fail at execution 01:45 Introducing Dave Reynolds and The Rumin8 Group 02:32 What coaching really means as a partnership 03:45 The mentor who shaped Dave's coaching style 05:45 Closing the gap between strategy and execution 07:52 One-to-one coaching versus team workshops 09:10 Diagnosing culture and communication gaps 10:14 The discovery process: treating organisations like a puzzle 12:12 How leaders can start leading like a coach 14:25 Why follow-up is the missing link in coaching 18:07 Succession planning as a competitive advantage 19:22 Staff turnover and career clarity 21:41 Rumin8's book and current focus for 2026 22:55 Who is a leader that you admire RESOURCES MENTIONED Radicle Growth : Dave Reynolds' book on his question-led coaching methodology The Rumin8 Group : Dave's global growth consulting firm. http://rumin8group.com/ Dave Reynolds : Connect on https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-reynolds-99a71047/ KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR LEADERS Build plans with your team, not for them, to secure genuine buy-in. Lead with questions rather than directives to build ownership, not dependency. Treat every coaching conversation as chained to the next: start by reviewing prior commitments. Prepare for coaching sessions in advance; preparation time directly affects the value of the conversation. Make succession planning proactive, not reactive; build it into culture years before you need it. Ask critical staff where they see their future in the organisation and build a visible plan around it. KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR COACHES Use the 'puzzle' framing in discovery sessions: ask questions that flip pieces over before assuming you know the picture. Ask clients directly: 'Did you build this plan with the team or for the team?' to surface resistance early. In 1:1s, always open with a review of prior commitments before introducing new material. Thank you for watching/ listening.#ad Editing my podcast used to be the most time-consuming part of my week. I now use Descript to edit my audio and video by simply deleting words from a transcript. It allows me to create my YouTube Shorts and TikTok clips in a fraction of the time.If you want to try it for your own projects, you can sign up here: https://get.descript.com/LevelUpUsing this link costs you nothing extra, but the small commission I receive helps support the work I do on my podcast and articles. Paid plans start at around £12 / $16 per month (billed annually) for the Hobbyist tier.Disclaimer.LevelUp and the podcast host do not endorse, verify, or take responsibility for any products, services, views, or claims presented by guests during podcast episodes. Any opinions or statements made by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of LevelUp or its representatives.© 2026 LevelUp.This episode is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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  LevelUp Leadership | Executive Coaching, AI and Management

  Communication Design: Why Format Is Your Real Leadership Problem

  Aug 1, 202620 minS1

  Learn how to redesign internal communication so your people actually absorb, retain, and act on the information you're sending them. Most leaders communicate constantly and still find their teams don't know what's happening. The problem is rarely effort or intent; it's design. When the format doesn't match how people learn, the message doesn't land, no matter how clearly it's written. This episode makes the case for a deliberate, tiered multimedia communication strategy, grounded in cognitive science and the practical reality of busy organisations managing fast-moving change. Lee covers the three-tier framework (awareness, understanding, reference), addresses the short-form video debate directly, and challenges the assumption that professional communication has to be formal and written to be credible. CHAPTERS 00:00:00: Why your communication isn't landing 00:01:10: The case for multimedia communication strategy 00:03:25: Research on communication channel misalignment 00:05:05: How people actually absorb information (Mayer's cognitive load research) 00:08:10: The three-tier framework: awareness, understanding, reference 00:11:20: The TikTok attention span objection, answered 00:14:25: How to build this strategy in your organisation 00:17:05: From broadcast to design: the real shift RESOURCES MENTIONED Harvard Business Review research: Finding that 38% of employees report excessive communication volume in their organisations 2025 doctoral study on hyper-communication: Surveyed 600+ employees; identified communication channel misalignment as the strongest predictor of workplace distraction Richard Mayer's multimedia learning research: Cognitive scientist whose work underpins dual-channel learning theory and cognitive load 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis (71 studies, ~100,000 participants): Found associations between heavy short-form video use and reduced attention Enhanced Leadership by Lee Whitmore: Referenced throughout; available at whitmorelee.com/enhancedleadership KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR LEADERS Audit your last major change: count how many formats you used and whether each was chosen for the audience or for your own convenience Use short-form video (60 to 90 seconds) for awareness; reserve documents for reference and governance, not initial communication Treat internal communication as a design discipline, not an operational default Model the format yourself: senior leaders recording direct-to-camera updates normalises the approach across the organisation Build feedback loops into your communication strategy, not just broadcast mechanisms KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR COACHES Ask clients: 'When did you last choose a communication format based on your audience rather than your habit?' Use the three-tier framework (awareness, understanding, reference) as a diagnostic tool in communication audits Explore where communication channel misalignment is creating invisible friction in a client's change programme Prompt reflection: 'Who in your team is a sharp thinker but disengaged because your default formats don't suit how they learn?' Thank you for watching/ listening. #ad Editing my podcast used to be the most time-consuming part of my week. I now use Descript to edit my audio and video by simply deleting words from a transcript. It allows me to create my YouTube Shorts and TikTok clips in a fraction of the time. If you want to try it for your own projects, you can sign up here: https://get.descript.com/LevelUp Using this link costs you nothing extra, but the small commission I receive helps support the work I do on my podcast and articles. Paid plans start at around £12 / $16 per month (billed annually) for the Hobbyist tier. © 2026 LevelUp. This episode is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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  LevelUp Leadership | Executive Coaching, AI and Management

  AI Leadership & Culture: Why Rollouts Fail Across Borders

  Jul 18, 202631 minS1

  Learn how to fix AI rollout failures across cultures by using cultural translation, better diagnosis, and building trust and authority instead of just pushing technology.Most AI rollouts fail not because of the technology, but because leaders ignore cultural nuance. The same rollout strategy produces completely different outcomes across countries. What sounds decisive in a New York boardroom can read as domineering in São Paulo or dismissive in Bogotá.Ru Bashir, Global HR leader across 20+ countries in a Fortune 500 multinational, reveals why teams misread resistance, how cultural definitions of courage differ, and what leaders must do to close the diagnostic gap. This episode covers AI orchestration between humans and agents, the apprentice gap, and why Nelson Mandela remains the ultimate example of cultural leadership.If you're leading AI transformation or major change programmes, this is essential listening. For more on leadership in an AI-augmented world, explore Enhanced Leadership, my book on judgement, orchestration, and the apprentice gap. Subscribe to the LevelUp Leadership podcast at levelupleadership.uk and watch更多 episodes on youtube.com/@levelup_leadership.CHAPTERS(00:00) Why AI rollouts fail without trust (02:20) The hidden role of authority in adoption (05:10) Misreading resistance in global teams (08:00) Cultural translation across 20 countries (12:15) Diagnosis before intervention (16:30) Orchestrating humans and AI agents (19:30) What trust looks like in AI-augmented teams (22:00) The apprentice gap in AI era (25:20) Nelson Mandela: learning the opponent's languageRESOURCES MENTIONEDEnhanced Leadership: Book exploring AI leadership, judgement, orchestration, and the apprentice gap whitmorelee.com/enhancedleadershipGUEST BIOGRAPHYRu Bashir leads Global HR at a Fortune 500 multinational with scope spanning more than 20 countries across the globe. Trilingual in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, he has built nearly two decades of experience sitting where global playbooks meet local reality. His unique cross-cultural perspective reveals how AI rollouts actually land on the ground across time zones and cultures. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rui-bashir/Thank you for watching/ listening.#ad Editing my podcast used to be the most time-consuming part of my week. I now use Descript to edit my audio and video by simply deleting words from a transcript. It allows me to create my YouTube Shorts and TikTok clips in a fraction of the time.If you want to try it for your own projects, you can sign up here: https://get.descript.com/LevelUpUsing this link costs you nothing extra, but the small commission I receive helps support the work I do on my podcast and articles. Paid plans start at around £12 / $16 per month (billed annually) for the Hobbyist tier.Music, jingles, and images - attribution.Podcast Background Track: https://pixabay.com/users/poorartistt-45918667/Guitar Jingle: https://pixabay.com/music/introoutro-guitar-intro-ident-151972/Images: https://gemini.google/overview/image-generation/ & https://www.perplexity.ai/Disclaimer.LevelUp and the podcast host do not endorse, verify, or take responsibility for any products, services, views, or claims presented by guests during podcast episodes. Any opinions or statements made by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of LevelUp or its representatives.© 2026 LevelUp.This episode is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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