SUMMARY

Today’s episode draws on the wealth of experience of GLN President and CEO, David Ashcraft, as he and GLN VP of Marketing Whitney Putnam cover a variety of topics related to working with teams. This conversation ranges from values, to empowerment, to conflict, and is absolutely full of practical leadership gems.

IN THIS EPISODE

0:00 Intro

02:00 What it’s like to be a Cowboys fan.

03:40 The advice David would give his younger self on leading teams.

06:00 How to come up with values.

08:40 Why leaders hesitate to unleash others.

11:00 What happens when teams just aren’t working.

25:00 Outro

LISTEN

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

STANDOUTS AND TAKEAWAYS

• The advantage of teamwork is that you can compensate for each other’s weaknesses and truly be well-rounded.

• Power comes from working with teams.

• Teamwork means elevating others so that they can become experts.

• Often, you learn and discover values as you work and grow.

• Fear is usually at the root of failing to empower others.

• If you want to grow as an organization, you have to downplay the need for control, and lean into trust and empowerment.

• Leaders that are more concerned about their own platforms will erode the trust of others.

• If you elevate the organization’s platform first, your own personal platform will follow.

• Although some tension within a team is good, sometimes a leader needs to acknowledge that personnel on a team may need to change.

• There needs to be unity on the big picture issues (“Are we a train, or an airplane?”).

• Don’t bring “enemies” on to your teams.

• Conflict—even hard, challenging conflict—is fine, but keep short accounts with other team members.

• If you can resolve conflict publicly, it saves time in needing to go to individual team members.

• Consider the price someone is willing to pay to criticize you.

LINKS MENTIONED

• Website: Team365

• Website: Global Leadership Summit 2025

• Website: Global Leadership Network