Welcome to Leadership: The Secret Sauce with Coaches Dave Lipsky and Matt Dodson, where leadership meets coaching in an insightful blend of expertise and inspiration. Join us as we dive into the minds of successful leaders, uncovering their unique strategies, and asking the question: “What is your secret sauce?” Tune in for powerful conversations that unravel the essence of effective leadership and coaching, revealing the ingredients that make each guest’s journey truly exceptional. Get ready to elevate your leadership game and discover the keys to unlocking success.
Season 6, Episode 5: Stay Curious A Little Bit Longer with Michael Bungay Stanier
What happens when the person being coached is exceptionally good at avoiding what actually matters?
In this episode of Leadership: The Secret Sauce, we sit down with Michael Bungay Stanier, bestselling author of The Coaching Habit, for a candid conversation about coaching, leadership, organizational change, curiosity, and the messy reality of helping people move forward.
Michael shares the unexpected experiences that shaped his approach—from crisis counseling and innovation consulting to coaching, writing, and building a mission around making possibility contagious.
He also gets remarkably honest about his own experience as a coaching client, admitting that he can use speed, intelligence, and persuasion to redirect a coaching conversation and avoid doing the hard things.
We explore why great coaching isn't about having all the answers, why leaders need to resist the urge to become the “Advice Monster,” and why a simple, practical question can sometimes be more powerful than an elaborate framework.
Michael also challenges conventional approaches to organizational change, questions the role of dedicated change teams, and explains why he believes coaches need to get much clearer about who they serve and the problems they actually solve.
“I can do misdirection around coaching calls so that I get the coach colluding with me to avoid actually doing the hard things.”
A conversation about what happens beneath the surface of leadership—and what it takes to create genuine progress rather than simply having a good conversation.
🎧 Listen to the full episode of Leadership: The Secret Sauce and follow the show for more conversations with extraordinary coaches and leaders.
31 Aug 2026
What Leaders Really Want From Coaches: Part Two with Keith Wargo
What does a leader actually want from a coach?
Keith Wargo, CEO of Autism Speaks, joins us for a candid conversation about coaching across different stages of his career—and what he learned about trust, vulnerability, challenge, and leadership growth along the way.
Keith shares why his two coaching experiences were so different, why he values coaches who will challenge his thinking, and why becoming more senior can make honest feedback harder to find.
We also explore leadership inflection points, navigating competing stakeholders, the importance of showing up, and how personal purpose can influence the biggest career decisions.
“You’ve got to commit yourself and you’ve got to make yourself vulnerable.”
If you’re a leader or coach, this episode asks an important question: Are you getting the kind of coaching that makes you feel better—or the kind that helps you grow?
Listen to the full episode, and share it with a leader or coach who needs the reminder that meaningful growth isn't always comfortable.
#Leadership #ExecutiveCoaching #LeadershipDevelopment #Coaching #LeadershipGrowth #SelfAwareness
28 Aug 2026
What Leaders Really Want From Coaches: Part One with Dave Anderson
What do leaders really want from coaches?
In this episode of What Leaders Really Want From Coaches, presented by Leadership: The Secret Sauce, we sit down with Dave Anderson, an attorney, business leader, and longtime coaching client, to explore what coaching actually looks like from the leader’s side of the relationship.
Dave shares an unusually candid five-year perspective on coaching — including what worked, what he would do differently, where coaching can blur into therapy, and what ultimately created the greatest movement in his leadership and business.
One of his biggest insights is that the most powerful coaching moments weren't necessarily the most profound conversations. They were the moments that created enough accountability to take a concrete—and sometimes scary—step.
“The most powerful stuff has been accountability around taking concrete and scary steps.”
Dave goes on to describe the ultimate measure of that progress: “It’s not scary anymore because I did it.”
In this conversation, we explore:
• What leaders actually look for when choosing a coach
• Why “gentle but firm” can be more effective than relentless accountability
• How coaching helped Dave move from employee to business owner
• The difference between reflection and action
• Why clients need to feel safe enough to be challenged
• When a coach should push—and when a client simply isn't ready
• The importance of being willing to push back on your coach
• How self-awareness and accountability interact
• Why coaches need the courage to ask the tough question
• What leaders can learn from their own experiences rather than simply receiving answers
This is a conversation about the messy middle of leadership: the moments when you know what you need to do but aren't quite ready to do it.
Watch the full episode and tell us: What is the scary step you already know you need to take?
#Leadership #ExecutiveCoaching #LeadershipDevelopment #Coaching #LeadershipPodcast #ICF #ExecutiveLeadership #Accountability
Who has been a guest on Leadership: The Secret Sauce
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
ALLIE DODSON
Shelli Hendricks
Renee Dineen
Jennifer Riley
Helen Wada
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
5 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 30 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
46
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
32
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Guest appearances
Does not typically book guests
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Questions about Leadership: The Secret Sauce
Who hosts Leadership: The Secret Sauce?
DAVE LIPSKY and MATT DODSON host the show. Published by Dave Lipsky and Matt Dodson.
How often do new episodes come out?
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The show does not typically feature guests, based on episode analyses.
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