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Meditations on Leadership with Don Carpenter: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Don Carpenter
Leadership begins within. In Meditations on Leadership with Don Carpenter, author, youth development pioneer, and relational leadership coach Don Carpenter invites you into a weekly practice of deeper reflection, personal clarity, and meaningful connection. Each episode begins with a short meditation from Don’s soon to be released book, The Inner Work of Leadership: 52 Meditations for a Life of Meaning, Courage, and Growth. From there, Don offers personal commentary and lived insights before welcoming a guest, leaders from all walks of life, to explore how that week’s theme plays out in their own professional journey. The episode closes with two powerful questions to help you pause, reflect, and grow as a leader from the inside out. Whether you’re leading a team, a classroom, a nonprofit, or your own life, this podcast is a companion for those committed to doing the inner work that sustains courageous outer change.
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 4 days ago51 min
Is Happiness a Leadership Responsibility? | With Paula Umaña
Meditations on Leadership is back for Season 2, and we're trying something a little different! This season moves beyond traditional interviews to explore questions about leadership, life, and what it means to be human through thoughtful, unscripted conversations. In our season premiere, Don Carpenter welcomes Paula Umaña, an executive leader and advocate for economic mobility, health equity, and community well-being, to explore a deceptively simple question: Is it actually a leader's respons...
- 3 weeks ago48 min
Season 1 Finale - Looking Back, Leading Forward
In this special season finale of Meditations on Leadership, the roles are reversed. After 54 episodes and more than 52 conversations, Don hands the microphone to his uncle and former guest, Dean Borgman, for a retrospective on the journey. Together, they explore what surprised Don along the way, the themes that kept resurfacing, what he now sees differently about leadership, and the questions he is still carrying forward. It’s less a look back at individual episodes and more a reflection on ...
- 4 weeks ago58 min
The Illusion of Motion
How often do we mistake being busy for actually making progress? In this episode of Meditations on Leadership, Don reflects on the difference between activity and meaningful movement, and on the ways busyness can quietly distract us from what matters most in our work, relationships, and lives. He is joined by Emily Day, a physical therapist, former collegiate outdoor leader, and someone Don has known since she was 13 years old through Trekkers. Their conversation reflects on the young person...
- Sep 23, 20261h 7m
What We Measure, We Grow
What we choose to pay attention to has a way of shaping what grows. In this episode of Meditations on Leadership, Don reflects on the things we say matter most, how we know whether they are actually taking root, and why some of the most important forms of growth are also the hardest to measure. He is joined by Shaun Haskins, Co-Executive Director of Cobscook Institute, for a thoughtful conversation about leadership, community, feedback, shared responsibility, and the challenge of recognizing...
- Sep 8, 20261h 0m
When Two Feet Face the Same Direction
What happens when part of us knows where we want to go, but another part is still holding back? In this episode of Meditations on Leadership, Don reflects on the hidden cost of indecision, the energy we lose when we are divided within ourselves, and what can begin to happen when clarity, intention, and action finally align. He is joined by Haley Bezon, founder of Hearty Roots, for a conversation about courage, entrepreneurship, leadership, and the difficult choices that come with building so...
- Aug 31, 202658 min
Aligned and Afraid (But Moving Anyway)
What if courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to keep moving while fear is still present? In this episode of Meditations on Leadership, Don reflects on the moments when fear and self-doubt collide with a deeper sense of knowing that it is time to move. He is joined by Bill Walch, whose career has spanned journalism, philanthropy, institutional leadership, global health, consulting, and nonprofit governance. Together, they explore where our ideas about courage come from, wha...
- Aug 13, 202659 min
The Cost of Being Indispensable
In this episode, Don reflects on the hidden cost of becoming indispensable, not only the toll it can take on us, but the ways it can unintentionally limit the growth, confidence, and capacity of those around us. He is joined by longtime friend Larry Bartlett, an engineer, architect, business founder, educator, mentor, and community leader whose life has been shaped by both professional accomplishment and a deep commitment to serving others. Together, they explore the tension between helping ...
- Aug 4, 202657 min
Stepping Back To Be More
What happens when leadership asks us not to step forward, but to step back? In this episode, Don reflects on the difference between doing less and being more, and on the quieter forms of leadership that emerge when we release the need to control, solve, or remain at the center. He also explores the identity shift that can come when a role ends, but the habits and weight of responsibility remain. Don is joined by Fred Adair, a CEO advisor and leadership coach with more than 25 years of experi...
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About Meditations on Leadership with Don Carpenter
Leadership begins within. In Meditations on Leadership with Don Carpenter, author, youth development pioneer, and relational leadership coach Don Carpenter invites you into a weekly practice of deeper reflection, personal clarity, and meaningful connection. Each episode begins with a short meditation from Don’s soon to be released book, The Inner Work of Leadership: 52 Meditations for a Life of Meaning, Courage, and Growth. From there, Don offers personal commentary and lived insights before welcoming a guest, leaders from all walks of life, to explore how that week’s theme plays out in their own professional journey. The episode closes with two powerful questions to help you pause, reflect, and grow as a leader from the inside out. Whether you’re leading a team, a classroom, a nonprofit, or your own life, this podcast is a companion for those committed to doing the inner work that sustains courageous outer change.
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