Top 10 Podcasts for Managers and Mid-Level Leaders

Forbes

2 days ago

Brené Brown's "Dare to Lead" is one of the best podcasts for managers and mid-level leaders.
Managers and mid-level leaders may have the hardest jobs in the workforce. They are tasked not with setting an agenda but with following one, motivating their employees to stay on task, focusing on the road ahead, and supporting the vision of leadership at the top. These managers are leaders in their own right but often limited in how much they can effect change, while also hearing complaints from above and below. Balancing all this can be a challenge, and so it helps to know that there are others experiencing the same difficulties and also reaping the many rewards that come with middle-management. This list of podcasts for new and seasoned managers and mid-level leaders can help you find inspiration, new approaches and joy in your job.
The 10 Best Podcasts For Managers And Mid-Level Leaders
This list was compiled based on podcast ratings on iTunes and other sites, social media presence of the podcast, expertise of the hosts, and quality and diversity of guests. Read on to find your next five-star listen.
Hosted by renowned academic and storyteller Brené Brown and based on her book of the same name, Dare to Lead challenges listeners to innovate and create new approaches to leadership. Brown interviews celebrities, cultural tastemakers and thought leaders who give insights into finding your own leadership style and perfecting that approach.
Some of her most popular episodes have focused on impostor syndrome, armored vs. daring leadership, creating brave spaces and defining daring leadership. Guests range from the incredibly famous, like Former President Barack Obama, to gifted communicators like author Ruchika T. Malhotra.
This podcast is best for managers trying to define and hone their leadership styles. You can listen to Dare to Lead on iTunes, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio and Spotify.
From Harvard Business Review, HBR IdeaCast features interviews with business leaders and managers and is hosted by HBR Executive Editor Alison Beard and Senior Editor Curt Nickisch. Each episode provides actionable tips for making day-to-day decisions easier and maximizing time.
Topics range from finding ways to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) for training and project management to the wisdom of immigrant entrepreneurs. Guests include Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts, Harvard University President Emeritus Lawrence H. Summers and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.
This podcast is best for up-and-coming managers looking to establish their footing. You can listen to HBR IdeaCast on iTunes, YouTube, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio and Spotify.
Host Adrion Porter started Gen X Amplified with Adrion Porter to give voice to the generation stuck between the Baby Boomers and Millennials. He focuses on mid-career leaders who have learned from both experience and observing those above and below them, offering unique insights into everyday leadership.
Topics include reaching your full potential at work, creating a purposeful career path, recovering from burnout and how to cultivate empathy. Guests tend less toward celebrities and more toward authors, journalists and creators, such as CNBC's Jon Fortt, equity strategist and author Tara Jaye Frank and Ian Schafer, president of Issa Rae's Ensemble.
This podcast is best for mid-career managers looking for inspiration as they aim even higher. You can listen to Gen X Amplified with Adrion Porter on iTunes, Audible, YouTube, Amazon Music and Spotify.
Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist, delves into workplaces that have incorporated innovative strategies to make every day more productive and actually fun. His message on WorkLife with Adam Grant: Work doesn't have to suck, and anyone can play a role in changing the culture.
Topics include improving meetings (oh hallelujah!), the pitfalls of charisma and how to avoid that trap, navigating bureaucracy, and how to stop chasing perfectionism. The guests include a mix of everyday people and workplace experts as well as the occasional A-list celebrity like Dolly Parton.
This podcast is best for managers looking to encourage changes in their work culture but uncertain where to begin. You can listen to WorkLife With Adam Grant on iTunes, TED, Amazon Music, YouTube, iHeartRadio and Spotify.
Radical candor is the idea of stating your honest opinion, the positive and negative, while exhibiting empathy for the other person. Kim Scott's book Radical Candor inspired this podcast, where Scott and Radical Candor co-founder Jason Rosoff speak to lead Radical Candor coach Amy Sandler about the concept and how to deploy it.
Topics include deep dives on employee one-on-one sessions and how to improve them, the problem with vanishing vacations, how to become a boss, and how to give feedback to employees about their tone. Not every episode has a guest, but notable ones include Google Distinguished Designer Ryan Germick, The Economist's 'Bartleby' columnist Andrew Palmer.
This podcast is best for managers looking to improve their communication skills. You can listen to The Radical Candor Podcast on iTunes, YouTube, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio and Spotify.
You don't need to be an entrepreneur to benefit from EntreLeadership, from noted financial guru Dave Ramsey's Ramsey Solutions. Ramsey offers business and leadership coaching, with a generous dose of encouragement for those finding their footing in the entrepreneurial world—but these tips are also applicable to middle managers.
Topics often touch on current events, such as the impact of tariffs on business, and managers can skip most of those. But the in-depth considerations of issues like when to intervene when someone you supervise is having a problem and when leadership structure becomes a problem are definitely worth your time. Ramsey uploads new episodes several times a week, too.
This podcast is best for anyone looking for inspiration. You can listen to EntreLeadership on iTunes, YouTube, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio and Spotify.
Hosted by twins identified only as 'The Recruiter' and 'The Expert,' The Career Salon With the HR Twins draws on their more than 38 years of combined experience in human resources and recruiting to advise listeners on critical aspects of business. Their fun rapport and curiosity make this listen fly by.
Topics range from in-the-weeds breakdowns of performance improvement plans to hiring dos and don'ts from an attorney. The twins usually have at least one guest, often chief people officers or recruiters, but they also examine general trends in HR and offer insights based on their real-world experience.
This podcast is best for managers involved in hiring. You can listen to The Career Salon With The HR Twins on iTunes, Overcast and Spotify.
What have seasoned leaders learned over the years and how can managers put those lessons to work for them? That question drives The Global Leadership Podcast, hosted by Global Leadership Network executives Whitney Putnam and David Ashcraft. Whether you want to know how to manage conflict or increase productivity, they have answers.
Topics include using science-backed theories that have helped high-level athletes in the workplace, how to focus on high-level work, and applying military strategies to the workplace. Guests are experts in their fields, which may be a Navy pilot, a bestselling author or a scientist, though sometimes it's just Ashcraft sharing his expertise.
This podcast is best for managers struggling to focus their work who want to become more productive. You can listen to The Global Leadership Podcast on iTunes, YouTube, iHeartRadio and Spotify.
LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock partner Reid Hoffman has experienced business success and knows how others can try to achieve it. His podcast, Masters of Scale, features other successful founders, CEOs and entrepreneurs who share how they overcame challenges and break down how they achieved their biggest triumphs.
Topics include how to grow small businesses, navigating global expansion and ways AI can benefit managers. He also tackles timely issues in the news. Hoffman's list of guests is a who's who of the business world, including authors John Green and Suzy Welch, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol and PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger.
This podcast is best for managers looking for outside-the-box ideas. You can listen to Masters of Scale on iTunes, YouTube, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio and Spotify.
No matter your identity, you can find inspiration and advice from Latina Leadership Podcast, an insightful show focused on navigating life and work with purpose and progress. Anjelica Cazares founded the podcast during the pandemic to help bring Latina women together. Other co-hosts are Olga Rodriguez, Susie Barrera and Andrea Diaz.
Topics include maintaining mental health, the ups and downs of launching a new business, how to navigate working with family (a great niche topic that is hard to find honest coverage on), and finding reliable role models. Guests include a who's who of Latina women in business (plus many others), from IT executives to dietitians to health care providers.
This podcast is best for managers looking for support and reassurance. You can listen to Latina Leadership Podcast on iTunes, YouTube, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio and Spotify.
Grab your AirPods and plug in to any one of these insightful and often uplifting podcasts for managers and mid-level leaders to help you take your career to the next level.