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Partnering Leadership
Partnering Leadership
Partnering Leadership is an award-winning global podcast for CEOs, board members, and senior executives who want to think more clearly about what is changing, what may be coming next, and what it means for their organizations. Hosted by Mahan Tavakoli, the podcast draws on 450+ conversations with CEOs, founders, researchers, futurists, and leading thinkers on strategy, leadership, organizational transformation, innovation, and AI. The conversations go beyond generic leadership advice. They explore the questions senior leaders increasingly need to wrestle with: What is changing that could reshape our business? Which assumptions about strategy, customers, work, and organizations may no longer hold? What will AI change beyond productivity? Where might value move next? How should organizations and leadership evolve as the answers change? Guests have included Ram Charan, John Kotter, Stephen M.R. Covey, Ajay Agrawal, Azeem Azhar, Ranjay Gulati, Sangeet Paul Choudary, David Marquet, Bob Johansen, David Rubenstein, Jean Case, Paul Daugherty, Carolyn Dewar, Whitney Johnson, Ron Adner, and many others shaping how leaders think about strategy, organizations, technology, and the future of business. Mahan brings an advisor’s perspective to each conversation, pushing beyond surface-level answers to explore the choices, trade-offs, and implications that matter in the C-suite and boardroom. The result is a broader, more forward-looking perspective on the decisions leaders are making today and the ones they may need to make sooner than they think. Available on all major podcast platforms and at PartneringLeadership.com.
July 29, 2025

400 [BEST OF] Michele McQuaid on using research-based positive psychology to become a better leader

400  [BEST OF] Michele McQuaid on using research-based positive psychology to become a better leader

Welcome to the Best Of series on Partnering Leadership. While many of us take a bit of a breather in July and August, we’re revisiting standout episodes—conversations that are worth hearing again, especially as leadership challenges shift and new moments call for fresh thinking. I’ve also pulled together 12 of the leadership books I recommend most often—each linked below to my conversation with the author. Whether it’s your first listen or a return visit, the best conversations have a way of ...

Welcome to the Best Of series on Partnering Leadership.

While many of us take a bit of a breather in July and August, we’re revisiting standout episodes—conversations that are worth hearing again, especially as leadership challenges shift and new moments call for fresh thinking.

I’ve also pulled together 12 of the leadership books I recommend most often—each linked below to my conversation with the author.

Whether it’s your first listen or a return visit, the best conversations have a way of revealing something new when the moment calls for it.

We’ll be back in September with more great conversations and powerful ideas.

Thanks for continuing to learn, grow, and lead in ways that make a real difference.

Mahan


Trust & Inspire – Stephen M. R. Covey

CEO Excellence – Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller & Vik Malhotra

Simple Truths of Leadership – Ken Blanchard & Randy Conley

Leading Change – John Kotter

How to Lead – David Rubenstein

Prediction Machines – Ajay Agrawal, Avi Goldfarb & Joshua Gans

The Performance Paradox – Eduardo Briceño

How Minds Change David McRaney

Human + Machine – Paul Daugherty & H. James Wilson

10 Stories Great Leaders Tell – Paul Smith

Turn the Ship Around! – L. David Marquet

Magic Words – Jonah Berger


"I would rather read the best 100 books over and over again until I absorb them rather than read all the books." Naval Ravikant

Connect with Mahan Tavakoli:

Mahan Tavakoli Website

Mahan Tavakoli on LinkedIn

Partnering Leadership Website