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Leadership Explored

Leadership Explored

By: Ed Schaefer and Andy Siegmund
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Leadership Explored is a podcast where Edward and Andy dive into what it means to lead. From practical strategies to deep insights, we explore leadership in all its forms—across industries and beyond. Join us for real conversations about how to lead with purpose.

www.leadershipexploredpod.comEd Schaefer and Andy Siegmund Career Success Economics
Episodes
  • Myth of the Natural Leader

    Myth of the Natural Leader
    Aug 25 2026
    Myth of the Natural Leader: Why Leadership Is Built, Not BornHosts: Ed Schaefer and Andy SiegmundEpisode: 29 (Season 2, Episode 15)Runtime: Approximately 55 minutesRelease Date: August 25, 2026Website: leadershipexploredpod.comEpisode Description“You’re a natural.” It sounds like a compliment — and in the moment, it might even feel accurate. But what if being called a natural is one of the most quietly damaging things a leader can believe about themselves? In this episode, Ed and Andy dismantle one of leadership’s most persistent myths: that great leaders are born, not made.Ed and Andy dig into where this belief comes from, who it actually harms, and what the research says about how leadership competency is really developed — closing with four concrete, practice-ready behaviors leaders can take into the week ahead.In this episode, Ed and Andy Discuss* The three specific ways the “natural leader” myth damages individuals and organizations* How premature promotion without support sets confident leaders up to silently unravel* Why self-selection out of leadership is the most invisible — and most damaging — organizational loss* The 19th-century “Great Man Theory” and how its cultural residue still shapes who gets promoted today* What twin studies reveal: 25–35% of leadership effectiveness traces to innate traits, the rest is built* The difference between a trait-based advantage and a practiced skill — and why one has a ceiling* Carol Dweck’s fixed vs. growth mindset applied directly to leadership identity* Why reluctance and humility are better starting conditions for great leadership than confidence or ease* The reinforcing loop that keeps organizations selecting leaders for the wrong signals* Four behavioral practices leaders can start this week to close the gap between coasting and growingThis episode is packed with research-grounded insights and direct, practical takeaways — especially for the leader who has never felt like a natural and has been quietly building the skill all along.Episode Highlights⏳ [00:00] – Ed opens with the “you’re a natural” compliment and why effortlessness may be leadership’s most dangerous blind spot.⏳ [03:15] – Andy reflects on the wide range of leaders he’s worked with — reluctant to aspiring — and what drove them into leadership roles.⏳ [06:00] – Ed introduces the three specific costs of the natural leader myth: premature promotion, self-selection out, and failure misread as identity threat.⏳ [08:30] – The “mid-level team lead” archetype: promoted for being a great individual contributor, then left without scaffolding or support.⏳ [12:45] – Andy on the self-selection out problem: why narrowing the leadership talent funnel often costs organizations their best potential leaders.⏳ [15:20] – Andy’s observation that reluctant leaders frequently become the strongest leaders — and how ease can become a ceiling.⏳ [19:00] – Ed on the self-reinforcing loop: organizations select for the same traits the myth promotes, making the myth harder to break.⏳ [22:30] – The roots of the myth traced to 19th-century Great Man Theory and its modern cultural residue in how we talk about CEOs, coaches, and film characters.⏳ [27:00] – What twin studies and the 2013 Leadership Quarterly study actually show: 25–35% innate, 65–75% built through experience and practice.⏳ [31:00] – Ed draws the distinction between advantages (getting you in the room) and skills (keeping you effective once you’re there).⏳ [35:30] – Andy on the tells of a leader coasting on advantages: holes in execution, inability to delegate, or the opposite — inability to do anything themselves.⏳ [40:00] – Ed applies Carol Dweck’s fixed vs. growth mindset framework directly to leadership identity and coachability.⏳ [45:00] – Ed speaks directly to the listener who has never felt like a natural: deliberate practice, feedback-seeking, and working through discomfort are the reps.⏳ [49:00] – Andy on what a leader must believe about themselves for deliberate practice to stick: belief in the ability to grow, and leaning on proof of past reps.⏳ [52:00] – Ed closes with four practice-ready behaviors: taking a deliberate rep, finding your coasting zone, seeking feedback on something you feel confident about, and tracking one trainable skill for a week.Visit leadershipexploredpod.com for more episodes and resources.Follow Leadership Explored on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode.💡 Have a topic you’d like us to cover? Email us at leadershipexplored@gmail.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.leadershipexploredpod.com
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    43 mins
  • Soft Skills Are Hard

    Soft Skills Are Hard
    Aug 11 2026
    Soft Skills Are Hard (And Hard Skills Are Easy)Hosts: Ed Schaefer and Andy SiegmundEpisode: 28 (Season 2, Episode 14)Runtime: Approximately 55 minutesRelease Date: August 11, 2026Website: leadershipexploredpod.comEpisode DescriptionThe words “hard skills” and “soft skills” have been part of the professional vocabulary for decades — but what if that vocabulary has been misleading leaders the whole time? In this episode, Ed and Andy make a compelling case that the naming convention is not just imprecise, it’s backwards, and that the misalignment has real consequences for how leaders invest in themselves and their teams. They trace the surprising military origins of the term “soft skills,” propose a more honest replacement framework — durable vs. perishable skills — and get tactical about what it looks like to actually build the skills that matter most in the age of AI.In this episode, Ed and Andy Discuss* The military origin of “soft skills” — what the term actually meant in 1968 and why it was never a judgment about difficulty or importance* How the words “hard” and “soft” absorbed a false hierarchy in corporate culture and what that hierarchy has cost leaders* The pattern of technically excellent contributors who plateau — and why that ceiling is almost always a durable skills problem* Why the genius jerk archetype requires top 0.1% talent to survive, and what that means for everyone else* The durable vs. perishable framework as a replacement for hard vs. soft — and why those words tell the truth in a way the old ones never did* How AI is dramatically accelerating the perishability of technical skills and what that means for your career strategy right now* Why durable skills — empathy, active listening, navigating ambiguity, conflict resolution — cannot be automated and don’t have a half-life* The role of culture and cultural fluency in what gets labeled “soft skills” in organizations* Four practical tactics: the 90-day audit, naming your one durable skill, finding real reps, and asking someone who sees you* Low-stakes ways to practice durable skills in everyday life — from addressing your server by name to shortening the timeline on hard conversationsThis episode is packed with real-world insights and practical takeaways for anyone serious about building a career that compounds over time, not just one that performs well right now.Episode Highlights⏳ [00:00] – Ed opens with the central provocation: what if “hard” and “soft” have had it completely backwards the whole time?⏳ [02:45] – Andy on how “soft skills” shows up in performance reviews — rarely with any real action plan behind it.⏳ [05:10] – Ed traces the origin story: 1968, the US Army, and why “soft” just meant “not a piece of hardware.”⏳ [08:20] – Andy on why it’s no surprise the term came from the military — and how much of modern management culture is derivative of military structure.⏳ [12:00] – The drift: how “soft” went from military shorthand to corporate shorthand for “secondary” and “optional.”⏳ [14:30] – Andy on the genius jerk myth — and the important flip: they don’t get to be a jerk because they’re great; they have to be that great because they’re a jerk.⏳ [19:00] – Ed on the two-track failure: the brilliant technician pushed into management with no support, and the B+ contributor who rises further because of exceptional durable skills.⏳ [22:10] – Andy on the sports coaching analogy — why Wayne Gretzky was a terrible coach and what that tells us about leadership.⏳ [26:00] – Ed introduces the durable vs. perishable framework and explains why perishable skills, by definition, expire — and are the most exposed to AI automation.⏳ [30:45] – The counterargument: if culture changes, aren’t “durable” skills perishable too? Ed and Andy work through why the answer is no.⏳ [36:00] – Andy on practical techniques for coaching someone toward durable skill development — SBI framework, modeling admired leaders, and being directive when necessary.⏳ [40:00] – Andy’s low-stakes practice tip: use your server’s name at dinner, strike up conversations at the grocery store — reps are everywhere.⏳ [44:30] – Ed on AI and the urgency of the reframe: the leaders most worried about automation are the ones most invested in perishable skills.⏳ [48:00] – Ed’s four tactical takeaways: the 90-day audit, naming one durable skill, finding real reps this week, and asking someone who sees you.⏳ [53:00] – Closing challenge: ask yourself honestly — are you treating durable skills as something you develop, or something you already have?Visit leadershipexploredpod.com for more episodes and resources.Follow Leadership Explored on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode.💡 Have a topic you’d like us to cover? Email us at leadershipexplored@gmail.com This is a public episode. If ...
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    52 mins
  • Leadership is Teaching

    Leadership is Teaching
    Jul 28 2026
    Leadership is Teaching: You’re Always in the ClassroomHosts: Ed Schaefer and Andy SiegmundEpisode: 27 (Season 2, Episode 13)Runtime: Approximately 65 minutesRelease Date: July 28, 2026Website: leadershipexploredpod.comEpisode DescriptionIn this follow-on to their “Reading Is Leading” conversation, Ed Schaefer and Andy Siegmund make the case that leadership and teaching are inseparable — and that the most consequential curriculum your team is enrolled in isn’t the one you designed. It’s the one running through your behaviors, your patterns, and your responses when pressure is highest. Most leaders put effort into only one layer of teaching and leave the other two entirely unmanaged, which is where drift, dependency, and disengagement quietly take root. Ed and Andy break down all three layers — the explicit, the developmental, and the implicit — and argue that the obligation to keep learning sits underneath all of them.The conversation moves from vision and strategy (why stating it once is an announcement, not a lesson) to the harder work of teaching people how to think rather than just what to do. Andy shares a sharp example of a CFO who trained an entire deal team to ask the right questions simply by being consistent — no formal instruction required. Ed works through why leaders default to giving answers, why that creates dependency over time, and why patience is the hidden prerequisite for making the shift. Both hosts are direct: the short-term cost of coaching someone through their reasoning is real, but the long-term compounding benefit makes it one of the highest-return investments a leader can make.The implicit curriculum section is where the episode gets most pointed. Ed examines what a late-night email actually teaches, what the phrase “one throat to choke” signals regardless of intent, and why what a leader does in a crisis is what their team learns the values actually are. Ed and Andy both draw on Marcus Aurelius and Seneca to ground the obligation to keep learning — not as a nice-to-have, but as a discipline. The episode closes with four concrete tactics you can run this week: audit your implicit curriculum, shift one answer to a question, teach the why behind a current priority, and learn something visibly from someone on your team.In this episode, Ed and Andy Discuss* Why leaders are always teaching — whether they intend to be or not* The difference between announcing a vision and actually teaching it* How to teach people to think, not just what to think* Why giving answers creates dependency while asking questions builds capability* The hidden curriculum embedded in everyday leader behaviors and language* What phrases like “one throat to choke” are actually teaching your team* Why sending emails at 11PM communicates more than a no-pressure disclaimer ever can* The obligation to keep learning — and why stopping makes your teaching go stale* Four concrete tactics leaders can use immediately to become more intentional teachersEpisode Highlights⏳ [00:00] – Ed opens with a reframe: the moment you took on a leadership role, you stepped into a classroom⏳ [02:10] – Andy reflects on the leaders who shaped him most — and why the best ones blended deliberate instruction with modeling by example⏳ [04:30] – Ed shares that most leaders he’s worked under taught him what not to do — a common but underexamined leadership failure⏳ [06:50] – Andy makes the case for the selfish side of teaching: upskilling your team directly reduces your workload and improves retention⏳ [10:15] – Ed breaks down why vision and strategy require deliberate, repeated instruction — not a single all-hands announcement⏳ [14:40] – Andy explains why corporate strategy always risks sounding like clichés, and why that’s a structural communication problem, not laziness⏳ [18:20] – Ed draws the line between repeating a message louder and actually teaching for comprehension⏳ [22:55] – The conversation shifts to teaching people how to think — why answering every question creates bottlenecks and stunts your team⏳ [27:30] – Andy shares a real example of a CFO who trained an entire team to ask the right question preemptively just by being consistent⏳ [31:10] – Ed explains why patience is the hidden prerequisite for shifting from answer-giver to question-asker — and why leaders chronically undervalue the long-term payoff⏳ [35:45] – The implicit curriculum: what late-night emails, crisis reactions, and phrases like “one throat to choke” are actually teaching your team⏳ [42:00] – Andy describes how he explicitly tells his team why he works odd hours — and how that transparency itself becomes a lesson in boundary-setting⏳ [47:20] – Ed connects Marcus Aurelius’s private journaling practice to the discipline of closing the gap between your intentions and your actual behavior as a leader⏳ [51:00] – Ed’s warning: leaders who stop learning ...
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    1 hr and 5 mins
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