The Global Leadership Podcast

What if the biggest risk in your next leadership decision isn't making the wrong choice—but waiting too long to make one? 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.

When a team feels frustrated, disconnected or unsure where to focus, the problem may not be effort or talent—it may be clarity. In this episode, Whitney Putnam talks with Global Leadership Network President and CEO David Ashcraft about a leader's responsibility to create direction people can understand, remember and act on. David explains why leaders often need to repeat the vision more than they think, why collaboration and candor can sharpen direction, and how unclear communication from senior leaders can unintentionally send teams running in the wrong direction. He also shares a simple practice his teams use to distinguish between processing an idea and actually making a decision. Whether you are setting organizational strategy or leading a team through a new initiative, this conversation offers practical ways to reduce unnecessary confusion and make the direction simple enough for people to follow.

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.

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.

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.