International

If you want people to tell you what they really think, simply asking for feedback isn’t enough—you have to earn their trust. 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. Along the way, she makes the case that if leaders want excellence, they first have to earn the right to demand it.

Most leaders say people matter—but that commitment gets tested when growth, performance, accountability, and opportunity are on the line. In this episode, Ambriza Social Mexican Kitchen cofounder and CEO Julio Garcia joins David Ashcraft to explore what people-first leadership looks like in practice.

Julio shares how his own understanding of leadership shifted from status and entitlement toward responsibility and service, and how that change now shapes Ambriza’s culture. He explains why leaders need to know the people behind the roles, how the company develops employees toward greater responsibility and even ownership, and why caring for people still requires clear standards.

The conversation also examines a harder question: What happens when you invest deeply in someone—and that growth eventually takes them somewhere else? Julio offers a practical picture of leadership that measures success not only by organizational growth, but by what becomes possible for the people you lead.

Strong leaders do more than delegate responsibility—they develop people who can eventually take their work farther than the leader could alone. In this episode, David Ashcraft shares how he learned to build teams by intentionally investing in people, establishing trust, and giving them room to become experts in their own areas.

David explains why development requires more than hiring talented people and handing them responsibility. Leaders need to stay closely engaged early, create shared learning experiences, communicate expectations, and be willing to course-correct when necessary. He also challenges leaders to examine their own role when someone on the team is struggling.

The goal is not to remain the most capable person in every area. It is to build people who grow in expertise, ownership, and confidence—and strengthen the organization in ways the leader could never accomplish alone.

Good decisions depend on more than having the most information—they require knowing when to trust experience, whose judgment matters most, and how to keep hierarchy from getting in the way. In this episode, Andy Stanley draws from his latest book, What Great Leaders Do, which identifies seven practices of effective leadership. This conversation goes deeper on two: trusting your leadership intuition and resisting the “evolution of a court” around influential leaders. Andy explains why intuition is often acquired knowledge leaders cannot immediately articulate, how to draw that judgment out of the right people on your team, and why positional authority should not determine whose voice carries the most weight. He also explores the safeguards leaders need as their influence grows and why finishing well requires choosing enduring values over immediate pressures. The conversation was conducted by Life.Church founding pastor Craig Groeschel in front of a live audience at the 2026 Global Leadership Summit.

Organizations can have vision, resources, and opportunity—and still be held back because they do not have enough leaders ready to take responsibility. In this episode, David Ashcraft explains why leadership development works best when it becomes part of an organization’s culture rather than another class, program, or pipeline.

David outlines the practices that help create an environment where people continually grow as leaders: intentionality, consistent development rhythms, shared experiences, and time. He also explains the power of ‘unconscious competence’—how an idea can become so embedded in a culture that people begin developing in that direction almost without realizing it.

Whether you lead a large staff, a small team, or a volunteer-driven organization, the conversation offers a practical challenge: develop the people already around you so your organization is prepared when new opportunities arrive.

Leaders — we see you. We hope you are walking away from this week knowing that you are not alone and that you have influence. Different starts now.

Register now for #GLS27 on August 5-6, 2027 — www.globalleadership.org/summit

Join online host Trey McKnight for the 2026 Global Leadership Summit, featuring special guests exclusive to the online experience.

Leaders communicate constantly, but not everything they say is remembered, internalized, or acted on. In this episode, David Ashcraft talks with Emma Kuhl Pitts, CEO of PullSpark and, about how leaders can create messages and experiences that stay with people. Emma shares why attention is not the same as impact, how memory shapes influence, and why leaders should ask, “What do I want people to believe?” before asking, “What do I want people to do?” PullSpark is also the official creative partner of the Global Leadership Summit, and this conversation gives a behind-the-scenes look at how Emma and her team help shape creative moments at the Summit, from openers and story videos to the details that help leaders engage more deeply. For pastors, executives, communicators, and team leaders, this conversation offers a practical framework for creating moments people do not just consume, but remember.

We’re just days away from the world’s premier leadership event, the 2026 Global Leadership Summit. Hear from one of our speakers, Craig Groeschel, on why you should make GLS26 a priority. Get your ticket: www.GlobalLeadership.org/Summit

Some of the most consequential leadership in an organization happens far from the stage. Lori Hermann has helped lead the Global Leadership Summit team for 14 years, drawing on more than three decades of experience creating events and experiences that serve leaders around the world.

In this conversation with David Ashcraft, Lori explains how she learned to recognize her influence even though she did not fit the image of an outspoken, visionary leader. She also offers a practical look at the leadership behind the Summit: assembling people with complementary strengths, developing a shared standard of excellence, encouraging honest collaboration and finding the courage to speak up when the work begins to drift.

Lori’s approach demonstrates that excellence is not the same as perfection. It grows through continual learning, thoughtful preparation and leaders who care enough about the people they serve to ask difficult questions and keep improving.