In this episode, Global Leadership Network President and CEO David Ashcraft joins Whitney Putnam to explore how curiosity and hands-on experience help leaders continually improve. David shares how studying successful organizations helped him grow as a leader, why learning doesn't look the same for everyone, and how taking action often reveals what we most need to learn next. This episode will help you discover practical ways to learn from leaders who are ahead of you, expand your team's vision, and overcome the perfectionism that can keep good ideas from becoming reality. Because sometimes the best way to become a better leader is to start leading.

Leaders rarely have all the information they'd like before making an important decision. But waiting for certainty can keep teams stuck and organizations from moving forward. Kelly Merryman Hoogstraten has navigated these challenges while helping build Netflix's streaming and international businesses, leading at YouTube, and co-founding Wonder Project. In this conversation with GLN President and CEO David Ashcraft, she shares why making an imperfect decision is often better than making no decision at all. You'll hear how Netflix's philosophy of "context, not control" empowered people to make decisions, why successful organizations must remain willing to change, and how Kelly's faith and personal convictions shaped her professional direction. It's a practical invitation to make thoughtful decisions, equip others to lead, and keep moving even when the path isn't entirely clear.

In this episode, TIAA President and CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett shares practical ways leaders can get closer to their people, uncover perspectives they might otherwise miss, and create a culture where honest feedback and high expectations can coexist. Thasunda explains why leaders need to “get proximate,” how she uses small-group conversations to hear directly from employees throughout the organization, and why asking for the “counter-narrative” can improve decision-making. She also explores how vulnerability creates permission for others to bring more of themselves to work, why job titles shouldn’t limit someone’s contribution, and how leaders can guide people through the uncertainty created by AI.