A podcast dedicated to advancing thought on inspirational leadership in the modern world.

The Leadership Project podcast aims to get people to stop, reflect, and rethink what it means to be a leader in the modern world. We bring together thought leaders from all over the world to share their wisdom on specific leadership topics. Our guests include bestselling authors in leadership, successful CEOs, and deep experts in psychology and human behavior. Each guest comes with deep expertise in one or more leadership topics, such as organizational culture, psychological safety, and emotional intelligence. We have developed a strong following, including people looking to become better leaders, senior leaders looking to mentor the next generation and leadership coaches. Each episode contains practical advice and takeaways that people can immediately put into practice in their leadership approach.

We started this podcast to address what we see as a leadership crisis in the world. Only 20% of people truly love their job and like their boss. This is a tragedy. People spend up to 1/3 of their lives in the workplace, and we all deserve better. The previous model of leadership has clearly not worked, and it is time to reset leadership practices and culture. The podcast is designed to bring forward the conversations we need to have. We set out to break the pattern where people mimic the behavior of poor leaders before them. To give them a new model of what a great leader looks like.
The Leadership Project podcast started in 2021. I had been an avid consumer of podcasts, learning every day. Podcasting provided the perfect platform for deeper conversations on critically important topics while giving people practical tips they can immediately implement.
Our vision was to have people listen to the podcast on the way to work and implement what they hear. This vision has become a reality and a great source of pride for the team.

We release a new episode every week. I am blessed and cursed with waking up at 4:30 am, hours before the rest of my family. This works perfectly because I can interview people worldwide, in different time zones, and in a quiet home.
Podcasting itself is not expensive. Initially, I did everything myself, but I can now have our small team do the audio and video editing for me.
Recording the interview takes 90 minutes per episode. The audio editing is around 6 hours, and we produce an edited video excerpt) of each episode (3 - 5 minutes which takes about 8 hours to make.

We do not monetize the podcast itself and have no plans to do so for now. This is a passion project that brings us great joy. We get more than 1000 downloads per month, and this is growing.

I personally benefit from the podcast, learning something new from every episode. It also brings me great joy when we hear back from our audience. Listening to stories of how The Leadership Project podcast has helped them be better leaders makes it all worthwhile.

Initially, we reached out to potential guests for the show. However, now that we have gained a strong following, we get a constant flow of guest requests (more than we can accommodate). We choose guests who will bring something new and thought-provoking to the conversation.

We record using Zoom and a Rodecaster Pro (which is just amazing). We edit using Adobe Audition and Adobe Premiere Pro. Our hosting is on Buzzsprout (which we love). We do wish there was a better way to merge the worlds of audio and video podcasting.

We use traditional social media channels to promote each episode. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram are where we get the highest engagement. We also have YouTube and TikTok, which attracts a different audience that consume short-form video content.

47% of our audience comes from Apple Podcasts and 20% from Spotify. The show has spread to 105 countries and more than 1600 cities, which blows our minds. The audience is spread across North America, Asia, Australasia, and Europe.

The most significant change I made in our approach was to stop scripting questions!!!. I research my guest and have a small list of bullet points in front of me. However, I just deeply listen to the guest and let my curiosity wander. This approach has made for a far more natural conversation and taken us on a journey of deep discovery. I no longer think or worry about what I will say next and deeply focus on my guests. This approach led to amazing feedback from the guests, who truly felt they had been listened to, and great feedback from the audience about my ability to summarise the key points the guest was sharing.
When I started, Buzzsprout and their podcast and video tips were the best resources.
It is easier than it looks. Just get started.

Wesbite: www.mickspiers.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickspiers/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mickspiers
Buzssprout: https://theleadershipproject.buzzsprout.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mickspiers.official/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theleadershipprojectbymickspiers
Email Address: mick@mickspiers.com and/or sei@mickspiers.com
Support the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mickspiers