the podcast
Ryan Castle sits down with founders, operators, and people leaders to talk about what it really takes to lead: the decisions behind the wins, the habits that hold up under pressure, and how they close the gap between a good plan and real execution. Real stories, not just theory. If you lead people and want your strategy to actually land, this is your show.
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Why AI coaching fails without human intelligence. Dr Mike Ashby
Mike Ashby, founder of Level 10 Leaders, shares why AI coaching stalls in the content layer of the 10/20/70 model, what the great training robbery really costs organisations, and how Dr Mike AI supplements human coaching instead of replacing it.
Power tip: "Don't forget the person behind the skills," Alex Franklin
Technical competency is eligibility for a role. Behavioural competency is suitability. Alex Franklin on why leaders keep confusing the two.
On camaraderie, why relationships come before results. Rajiv Mehta
Rajiv Mehta, the NASA and Apple engineer who spent 20 years studying how people care for each other, joins Ryan Castle to reveal why relationships come before results, how simple paper and pencil tools build camaraderie in distributed teams, and why self-discovery beats being told what to fix.
Power tip: “A full calendar isn't productivity, it's structural debt," Kenny Cao
Kenny Cao of Cultivator Co on why a packed calendar signals a design problem, and how the escalation ratio reveals which decisions to hand over.
How to execute strategy through behaviour. Kyle Harkema
Kyle Harkema, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer at KMC Controls and author of Strategic Clarity, joins Ryan Castle to reveal why organisations execute behaviour, not strategy, how leaders create clarity over certainty, and how decision frameworks turn strategic plans into daily action.
Power tip: "Where to focus for team growth," Dr Mike Ashby
Developing your team isn't one size fits all. In this Level 10 Leaders Power Tip, Dr Mike Ashby explains where to focus your energy for team growth, giving stars autonomy, limiting drag from the bottom 20%, and moving the middle, plus how to adapt to each stage of the growth S-curve.
How to make HR a strategic driver. David Alsop
David Alsop, CHRO at Ultradent Products, shares how to align HR strategy with business outcomes, build a total wellness proposition, and create the conditions where people and results thrive together.
Power tip: "You can't automate what you don't understand," Sara Reece
Automation doesn't fix broken processes, it amplifies them. In this Level 10 Leaders Power Tip, Sara Reece of Workmind explains why understanding how work really gets done has to come before any decision to automate, and how humility on the frontline leads to smarter, leaner workflows.
Why the best leaders play the long game. Tanner Kinzler
Tanner Kinzler shares three leadership principles that built a multi-generational business: structure for alignment, ask for help generously, and always play the long game.
Power tip: "The one meeting habit that keeps your team on track," Adam Law
In this Level 10 Leaders Power Tip, Adam Law shares a simple but effective approach to managing your issues list before and during your Level 10 meeting.