Inspirational Leadership for People Managers, Executives & HR Leaders

Kristen Harcourt is an emotional intelligence expert who brings that specialty front and center in everything she does on this podcast. She mixes solo episodes with interviews featuring progressive CEOs, HR leaders, and workplace psychologists, and the conversations regularly go places most management podcasts avoid entirely. Topics include burnout recovery, self-regulation under pressure, empathy gaps in leadership, and creating workplaces where people genuinely thrive rather than just survive until Friday. With 134 episodes, a perfect 5.0 rating from 20 reviews, and a biweekly release schedule, the show maintains high quality throughout its growing catalog. Episodes range from 17 to 61 minutes depending on format and guest. Harcourt recently covered coaching skills for leaders, intentional leadership practices, and human-centered HR approaches that actually work. What distinguishes this show is the emphasis on the emotional and relational dimensions of management that other shows tend to gloss over. Most new manager advice focuses on processes, meetings, and deliverables. Harcourt tackles what happens when you are managing someone through a personal crisis, or when your own frustration is visibly affecting your team, or when the gap between your company values and your lived experience at work becomes too wide to ignore. Her guests tend to be thoughtful practitioners rather than celebrity authors, which keeps the conversations grounded in real experience. If emotional intelligence is your growing edge as a new manager, start here.