Ep:156: Ryan Leak on How Failure Has Been His Best Teacher
Release Date: 11/26/2024
The Global Leadership Podcast
As 2025 wraps up and 2026 gets started, we thought we’d take a look back on all the great conversations we’ve had over the past year and pick a few of our favorites to share with you. Whitney and Content Producer Eric Case talk through their reactions to episodes with guests Marcus Buckingham, Joni Eareckson Tada, David Ashcraft and Gabe Salguero.
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The end of the year is a natural time to look back and take stock on what we’ve done and how far we’ve come. In honor of that, GLN VP of Marketing and Communication Whitney Putnam sat down with President and CEO David Ashcraft to get his thoughts on reflection and celebration.
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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to see the people around you—your teammates, your friends, your spouse, your children—absolutely thriving? Today’s guest is Bradley Rapier. Bradley is an award-winning, Emmy-nominated choreographer with over three decades of experience in dance, production and leading teams and talent from Hollywood to Broadway. Whether dance and choreography is your thing or not, what Bradley teaches in this conversation with GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft is what happens when people feel engaged and connected, and how we as...
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When the topic of rest comes up, most of us fall into one of two camps. Some of us welcome the conversation and immediately begin to think about when we get to ease off the gas pedal and relax a little. Others, however, just as quickly start to experience frustration and maybe even anxiety. Maybe you struggle to unplug and take some time for yourself; maybe you’re not even sure why rest is necessary. Wherever you are, this podcast is for you, and we invite you to listen in as GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft shares what he has learned about the importance of rest in a leader’s life.
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If you’re looking for some best practices around communicating in today’s digital, virtual environments, this episode is for you. Today, we listen in on a conversation between David Ashcraft and digital body language expert Erica Dhawan. Together they explore how communication has changed, particularly over the past 5 years, and what leaders can do right now to communicate effectively with their teams to maximize collaboration and effectiveness.
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What keeps you from accomplishing your goals? Jon Acuff is passionate about answering that question and helping people to become the best versions of themselves. Recently he sat down with GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft to talk about some of the methods he uses to become one of INC’s Top 100 Leadership Speakers, how he leverages positive self-talk and how leaders can help individuals on their teams to overcome procrastination.
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There are few things more powerful than the culture of an organization. Culture has the power to enhance a leader’s vision, or it can be a powerful roadblock. The good news is that leaders have a strong influence on organizational culture, and in this episode GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft shares what he has learned about why culture matters and a few ways that leaders can begin to establish, maintain or correct their own team cultures.
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Gabriel Salguero is a pastor and the founder and CEO of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition. Recently he sat down with GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft, and together they had a vital and honest conversation about how leaders can learn to build bridges with those they lead. Gabe also shares the story of how he came to be a leader and talks about how leaders can balance their authority with the call to serve their followers. This is an episode that speaks to the challenges facing leaders in today’s world.
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In this episode, David Ashcraft sits down with speaker, author and activist, Christine Caine. They explore what Christine’s path to leadership looked like, what it was like to overcome gender bias and prejudice, and how she moved from a moment of inspiration to building the anti-human trafficking organization, The A21 Campaign. They also talk about what the mindset change that is necessary for a leader to build something that outlasts them. This episode is full of solid and hard-won leadership wisdom that can help leaders in all seasons.
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As critical as “vision” is, if a leader fails to execute on that vision—and helps others to do the same—nothing ever changes. In this episode of the Global Leadership Podcast, GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft shares his wisdom and experience regarding the importance of execution, along with some practical tips on how to keep teams engaged while in the mundane work of getting things done.
info_outlineHow do you react when you fail? Have you ever wished that you could learn more quickly from your failures and move on? In this episode, GLS Executive Producer Lori Hermann sits down with CEO, executive coach and best-selling author Ryan Leak to hear how he learned more from his failures than he ever did from his successes. In their conversation, they discuss his documentary, “Chasing Failure,” and how failure became the best teacher throughout his life.