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The Edge of Leadership

The Edge of Leadership

Hosted by Michael Molinaro and Gregg Thompson

Episodes

23

Latest episode

Feb 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

The Edge of Leadership podcast series tests and expands the boundaries of traditional organizational learning practices. Michael and Gregg seek to bring fresh thinking to the critical endeavor of leader development. They bring to air both new and established voices working with leaders at all levels, and organizations of all sizes. Their conversations with fanatical outliers, unapologetic contrarians and passionate zealots will challenge you to rethink your most-closely held beliefs about leadership and its place in today’s organizations.

Listen to episodes

23 recent
February 23, 2026Episode 2242 min

Who You Are is How You Lead

Courage, justice, wisdom, humanity, transcendence…are such virtues just nice-to-have elements of a leader’s development or the indispensable building blocks of a successful career? Michael and Gregg are joined by Dr. Toby Newstead, a scholar at the Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, Management, to explore some thorny questions: Do you need to be a good person to be a good leader? How does a leader develop character?

January 20, 2026Episode 2135 min

Are You an Authentic Leader or an Authentic Jerk?

In this not-to-be- missed episode Dr. Hannes Leroy, professor of leadership development at the Rotterdam School of Management, joins Michael and Gregg to discuss his somewhat radical thoughts on authenticity and leadership. As this spirited conversation evolves, Dr. Hannes challenges us with the question: “Is much of our popular leadership development just happy-making?’Read the MIT Sloan Management Review article

December 18, 2025Episode 2024 min

A Culture of Confession and Pastoral Power?

Is sharing one’s deep personal beliefs, values and feelings a prerequisite to developing as a leader or just the facilitator/coach’s desire for “pastoral power”? Have we created a pervasive culture of confession? To what end? Are we grooming leaders or compliant subjects? Dr. Nicole Ferry of the Copenhagen Business School joins Michael and Gregg in a conversation that tackles these thorny questions.

November 6, 2025Episode 1947 min

David Day

Our guest, Dr. David V. Day, is one of the true icons of leadership research. With decades of work shaping the field, he pulls no punches—arguing that much of what passes for “leadership development” today isn’t grounded in real science. From overused assessments to flimsy models, Dr. Day challenges our industry to raise its game. If you care about what actually works in developing leaders, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss. A must-read! David’s latest book. Developing Leaders and Leadership: Principles, Practices, and Processes

August 12, 2025Episode 1826 min

An Inconvenient Truth – Leadership Styles Don’t Matter - (Part 2)

Michael and Gregg continue their conversation with Dr. Eva exploring the dramatic shifts needed in today’s LD programs, the pressing need for collective leadership training and the deep-rooted propensity to lead based on how others look.

August 12, 2025Episode 1728 min

An Inconvenient Truth – Leadership Styles Don’t Matter - (Part 1)

Our guest, Dr. Nathan Eva and his colleagues recently published a ground-breaking paper entitled “An Inconvenient Truth: A Comprehensive Examination of the Added Value (or Lack Thereof) of Leadership Measures”, that challenges the underpinnings on many of our industry’s most popular models and development programs. Are leadership styles virtually indistinguishable? Do the associated assessments essentially measure popularity? Should we scrap these programs and focus on a handful of leadership behaviors that actually produce tangible results?

May 27, 2025Episode 1634 min

Performance Feedback…why bother?

We know intuitively that performance feedback is a key element in accelerating the development of leaders, but is it worth it? It is often time-consuming, poorly delivered and demotivating. In this episode, Michael and Gregg discuss this perplexing dilemma with Dr. Ken Nowack and Dr. Sandra Mashihi, authors of the recently published book, Performance Feedback Strategies: Driving Successful Behavior Change.

April 1, 2025Episode 1527 min

Mintzberg on Arrogance and Political Managerial Incompetence.

On this powerful episode of The Edge of Leadership, we’re joined by the legendary Prof. Henry Mintzberg, who doesn’t hold back in his bold critique of political and corporate managerial incompetence. Get ready for a no-holds-barred discussion as Mintzberg takes aim at the likes of Elon Musk and President Trump, exposing the dangers of arrogance in leadership.

November 27, 2024Episode 1437 min

Becoming an Executive Coach; the iCoach Experience

How do you become a great executive coach? For over 20 years iCoach Global has been the premier training program helping new coaches get their start. In this episode we hear from one of iCoach Global's founders; Jeremy Robinson, and a recent alum of the program Veronika Shiroka, who share the philosophy and approach of this unique experience.  To learn more about iCoach Global visit: icoachglobal.com.

October 9, 2024Episode 1328 min

Confronting the Dearth of Women in Senior Leadership Roles in Healthcare Organizations

Are exclusive development programs the answer? Drexel University’s Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) has been graduating women leaders for thirty years. Are they moving the needle? Michael and Gregg discuss this challenging question with Dr. Nancy Spector, Executive Director of ELAM.

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