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How Leaders Lead with David Novak

David Novak
Leadership
Entrepreneurship
Customer Experience
Innovation
Artificial Intelligence
Yum! Brands
Leadership Development
Company Culture
Liquid Death
NFL
Crisis Management
Chevron
Decision Making
Rory Mcilroy
Taco Bell
Culture
Motivation
Kentucky Derby
How Leaders Learn
Teamwork

How Leaders Lead gives you a front-row seat to exclusive conversations with the world’s most iconic leaders across business, sports, and entertainment. Hosted by David Novak, Co-founder and former CEO of Yum! Brands, this podcast pulls back the curtain on how top CEOs, founders, and game-changers make things happen. When you tune in, you’ll learn from legends like Tom Brady, Condoleezza Rice, Jami... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes475Founded9 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
ManagementBusinessEntrepreneurship

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Artwork for How Leaders Lead

Latest Episodes

Game 7 of the 2016 World Series had gone to extra innings. The Cubs were trying to break a 108-year championship drought that some called a curse.

If you’re a baseball fan, you already know what happened next: With two runners on base, Ben Zobrist s... more

Imagine being Zac Taylor in 2019. He was 0-11 in his first season as head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. He knew they were doing a lot of things right, but the results just weren’t coming.

Eventually, they did: just over two years later, Zac led h... more

We’ve all got big goals and dreams, both for ourselves and our people.

But often, there’s a gap between what we say we want and what we’re actually willing to do to get it.

Vanderbilt head football coach Clark Lea is obsessed with closing that gap.... more

Everyone says to “hit the ground running.” Tony Spring thinks that’s terrible advice.

Tony is the Chairman and CEO of Macy’s, Inc. an iconic retail institution with over 150 years of history. He took charge in 2024 after a 35-year career moving thro... more

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Recent Guests

Clark Lea
Head Coach Vanderbilt Football
Vanderbilt University
Episode: #307: Clark Lea, Head Football Coach, Vanderbilt – Belief is a practice
Tony Spring
Chairman & CEO of Macy's, Inc.
Macy's, Inc.
Episode: #306: Tony Spring, Chairman & CEO, Macy’s, Inc. – Hit the ground listening
Harry Arnett
Co-founder and CEO of Municipal
Municipal
Episode: #305: Harry Arnett, Cofounder & CEO, MUNICIPAL – Bet on yourself
Ron Johnson
Retail executive known for Target and Apple Stores
Apple Inc. (former executive) and Target (former executive)
Episode: #304: Ron Johnson, Creator of the Apple Store – A great customer experience is an act of love
Ben Goodwin
Co-founder, CEO & Formulator of Olipop
Olipop
Episode: #303: Ben Goodwin, Cofounder, CEO & Formulator, OLIPOP – The power of emotional intelligence
Varun Krishna
CEO of Rocket
Rocket Companies
Episode: #302: Varun Krishna, CEO, Rocket Companies – Culture is rooted in behavior, not words
Julie Bornstein
Founder and CEO of Daydream, AI-powered fashion search
Daydream
Episode: #301: Julie Bornstein – Founder & CEO, Daydream – People skills matter most
Marty Smith
ESPN reporter covering college football, golf, NASCAR
ESPN
Episode: #300: Marty Smith, Reporter, ESPN – Deep listening builds deep trust
David Dorman
Former CEO of AT&T
AT&T (former)
Episode: #299: David Dorman, Former CEO, AT&T – See around corners

Host

David Novak
Host of leadership-focused conversations with world-class leaders.

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 864 ratings
  • Real Big CEOs

    There is no other podcast that has:

    1. Host has former chairman and CEO of >$1B valuation company.

    2. Guests as real CEOs consistently of >$1B valuation companies.

    All other podcasts have super junior hosts, super junior guests, and super theoretical leadership lessons.

    Thank you David Novak!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    H.H.H.HHH.H.H.H
    Canada7 months ago
  • Great Leadership Podcast!

    Have listened to a number of “leadership” podcasts…This is the one! It brings great discussion with leaders from varied fields that have a lot of real world experience, and unique perspectives…and host David Novak has been there, done that as well. Great job!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Bloorya
    United Statesa year ago
  • This is the premier leadership podcast

    Every single episode will challenge you, inspire you and give you immediate skills and practical steps to improve your leadership. The interviews are top-notch, the guest are brilliant and David is an incredible host. Thank you so much for producing incredible leadership podcast!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Jason Raitz
    United States2 years ago
  • Inspiring Conversations on Leadership

    If you’re passionate about leadership and personal growth, How Leaders Lead with David Novak is a must-listen. David has a knack for making every conversation feel authentic, relatable, and packed with valuable insights. His guests are accomplished, hardworking individuals, and you can tell he genuinely enjoys learning from them—which makes it even more inspiring to tune in. Whether you’re leading a team or just trying to get better at life, this podcast leaves you with ideas you can actually us... more

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    carolannemichelle
    United States2 years ago
  • Used to be a fan, until...

    On a recent episode, Koula mentioned visiting an ice cream shop just to take in the smells--not necessarily eat the ice cream. David responded by saying this was "the dumbest thing he had ever heard." He could have made light of this without saying her remarks were dumb in front of thousands of listeners. It sounded condescending...would he have used that language while interviewing one of his world-class guests? I would never tell any of my team members their remarks are "dumb"--even in a light... more

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    Hoops 1021
    United States2 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Credible guests and practical takeaways for leaders
Great leadership discussions with real-world impact
Consistently delivers thoughtful questions and authentic storytelling
At times can feel aspirational; some listeners crave more tactical how-tos

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

#308: Zac Taylor, Head Coach, Cincinnati Bengals – Consistency creates results
Q: What keeps you motivated through tough seasons?
A deep love for the game, a belief in the process, and the desire to create a culture that can win consistently, outlined by clear expectations and trusted leadership.
#304: Ron Johnson, Creator of the Apple Store – A great customer experience is an act of love
Q: How did you convince teams to buy into a bold store redesign at Apple?
Johnson explains that getting buy-in required one-on-one dialogue, showing how redesigns would help teams and customers, and inspiring people by offering a chance to do something original, not merely follow a directive.
#304: Ron Johnson, Creator of the Apple Store – A great customer experience is an act of love
Q: What surprised you most about Steve Jobs in your first meeting?
Ron Johnson describes Steve as incredibly curious and an exceptional listener who focused on inputs and process rather than immediate outcomes, which reshaped Johnson's approach to leadership.
#302: Varun Krishna, CEO, Rocket Companies – Culture is rooted in behavior, not words
Q: What is Ism's Day and why is it important for Rocket's culture?
Ism's Day is a quarterly culture-focused day where the team “bathes in” culture, discusses examples, and reinforces shared language and behaviors to maintain cohesion amidst change.
#302: Varun Krishna, CEO, Rocket Companies – Culture is rooted in behavior, not words
Q: How do you balance data and intuition in leadership decisions?
He explains starting from data and evidence as a foundation (about 80-90%), then layering intuition based on experience for the remaining 10-20%, using AI as a decision-support tool for complex scenarios.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Frequently Asked Questions About How Leaders Lead

What is How Leaders Lead about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This show delivers in-depth conversations with world-class leaders across business, sports, and beyond, focusing on how they think, lead teams, and navigate growth under pressure. Episodes frequently center on authentic leadership, culture, strategic decision-making, and building resilient organizations, often highlighting practical frameworks, hard-wought lessons, and real-world examples from iconic brands and industries. Listeners can expect actionable takeaways on team dynamics, customer focus, innovation, and governance, presented through storytelling, candid reflections, and interviewer-driven exploration that draws out both measurable results and human-centered leadership. A standout thread across episodes is the emphasis on empathy, ... more

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Which podcasts are similar to How Leaders Lead?

These podcasts share a similar audience with How Leaders Lead:

1. The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk
2. The Knowledge Project
3. Masters of Scale
4. David Senra
5. Founders

How many episodes of How Leaders Lead are there?

How Leaders Lead launched 9 years ago and published 475 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on How Leaders Lead?

Recent guests on How Leaders Lead include:

1. Clark Lea
2. Tony Spring
3. Harry Arnett
4. Ron Johnson
5. Ben Goodwin
6. Varun Krishna
7. Julie Bornstein
8. Marty Smith

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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