Radical Humility: Urs Koenig on Leading with Grit, Heart, and High Standards

Guest Bio / Introduction

Urs Koenig is a leadership coach, keynote speaker, former NATO peacekeeping commander, and ultra-endurance athlete. With an eclectic background spanning UN peacekeeping missions, military command, competitive cycling, academia, and business coaching, Urs brings a rare blend of lived experience and research-backed insight to leadership. His award-winning book, Radical Humility, challenges the outdated “heroic” leadership model and offers a compelling framework for blending high performance with humanity.

 

---

 

Episode Summary

In this episode of The Grit Factor, Shannon Huffman Polson talks with Urs Koenig about his journey from the intense world of ultra-endurance sports to leading international peacekeeping missions—and how those experiences shaped his philosophy of “radical humility.” Urs shares how failure in a 3,000-mile race across America became a crucible for growth, why loving people is at the heart of great leadership, and how leaders can be both tough on results and tender on people. They also explore the five shifts in his leadership framework, the importance of self-awareness, and how purpose evolves over time. Urs leaves listeners with practical strategies for managing energy, building agency in teams, and redefining success as being both a badass leader and a good human.

 

---

 

Important Topics Covered

• 00:02:45 – Urs’s unconventional journey from academia to ultra-endurance sports to military command.
  
  

• 00:07:20 – The Race Across America failure story and how reframing setbacks fuels growth.
  
  

• 00:11:35 – Why leaders must truly love people to be effective.
  
  

• 00:15:50 – “Tough on results, tender on people” — balancing high standards with deep care.
  
  

• 00:20:12 – The Five Shifts of Radical Humility explained.
  
  

• 00:26:40 – Commander's Intent: how clarity of purpose empowers teams.
  
  

• 00:33:05 – Managing energy like an elite athlete for sustainable performance.
  
  

• 00:37:15 – The confidence vs. competence trap in leadership promotion.
  
  

• 00:42:28 – When transparency becomes oversharing—and the concept of being “translucent.”
  
  

• 00:48:00 – Lessons from Urs’s father on reinvention and courage.
  
  

• 00:53:22 – Redefining success as being both a badass leader and a good human.

 

 

---

 

Episode Highlights

00:07:50 – “That DNF was one of the best things that ever happened to me—it taught me how to reframe failure.”

00:11:40 – “You want to be a leader? You have to love people. It’s not about being an extrovert—it’s about caring deeply.”

00:15:55 – “Caring gives you the license to set high standards.”

00:22:10 – The Five Shifts:

1. Digging Deep (Self-awareness & self-leadership)
   
   

2. Tough on Results, Tender on People
   
   

3. Leading Like a Compass (Commander's Intent)
   
   

4. Full Transparency
   
   

5. Championing Fearless Culture
   
   

00:33:45 – Why managing energy beats managing time.

00:37:20 – “We often promote the loudest person, not the most competent one.”

00:42:40 – Why leaders sometimes need to be “translucent” instead of fully transparent.

00:48:25 – His father’s midlife leap from corporate executive to artisan cheesemaker.

00:53:30 – “Success is being a badass and a good human.”

Book: https://bookshop.org/a/15754/9781637554050
Website: https://www.urskoenig.com/
Email: [e-mail]
Phone: [phone]