MPWR Podcast | Become The Leader YOU Want To Follow

Feeling stuck? The answer might be closer than you think.

We can only lead others to the degree that we can lead ourselves. In this episode, Eric Pfeiffer and Dawn Neldon return to their self-leadership series and apply MPWR’s Radical Minimum Standards to the hardest person to lead: yourself.

You’ll learn:
Why leaders have to set standards for themselves before they set them for their teams
The three self-awareness skills: honesty, humility and self-love
The three self-leadership skills: composure, flexibility and learning
How the urge to overinflate ourselves fuels imposter syndrome, and where real confidence comes from
Why owning your mistakes builds trust instead of breaking it

Dawn also shares what happened when she, the calmest person in the room, completely lost her composure on a frustrating phone call, and what she did next.
As Eric puts it, real confidence means “these are the cards I have in my hand. I’m gonna play them and let the chips fall where they may.” And as Dawn reminds us, “The problem is not when we fall below. The problem is when we pretend that it doesn’t happen.”
If you’re feeling stuck, plateaued or derailed, this conversation will help you see what’s holding you back and how to move forward.
Listen now, and share it with a leader who needs it. Then join Eric and Dawn live, virtually, at the free monthly MPWR masterclass: mpwrcoaching.com/masterclass

🎧 Listen now and start leading the way you were meant to.
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What do you do when the dream you worked your whole life for disappears?

Landry Fields did everything right. He fought his way into Stanford, survived two years on the bench, and became a second-round pick who started every game of his rookie season with the New York Knicks. Then, after signing a big contract with the Toronto Raptors, his shooting hand began curling in on itself every time he shot. A dozen specialists and two surgeries later, no one could explain it, and his NBA career was over.

In this honest conversation, Eric Pfeiffer and Landry walk through the highs, the pits and the hard-won lessons every leader needs:
Why rest and outside passions fuel excellence instead of slowing it down
How “the pit” builds the character and skill that success requires
Why we were never meant to go through the hardest seasons alone
What to do when a vision dies, and how a new one is born
Why who you become matters more than what you achieve

As Landry puts it, “There’s so much gold in the pit.” And the reframe that changed his life came from Eric: “The vision is not the point. The point is the vision behind the vision.”

If you’re building a business, leading a team or rebuilding after a setback, this episode will help you see your own pit differently. Listen now and share it with a leader who needs it. Then join Eric live at the free monthly MPWR masterclass: mpwrcoaching.com/masterclass

🎧 Listen now and start leading the way you were meant to.
Stay connected with us:
🌐 Learn More: https://MPWRcoaching.com
📩 Contact: Admin@MPWRcoaching.com
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

At 19, Derek Bareman was leading 30 to 40 volunteers twice his age, with no paycheck to offer and no playbook. Today he’s the chief of staff of a large Nashville organization with more than 120 staff, leading its executive team. In the first-ever client conversation on the MPWR Podcast, Eric Pfeiffer walks with his friend of nearly 20 years through four seasons of leadership growth, and the hard lessons in each one.

You’ll learn:
How to motivate people when money isn’t the lever, and why that matters for the next generation of talent
How to lead friends and former peers without losing the relationship or the results
Why “know your tendency” and “turn signals” make hard conversations easier
How to stop sacrificing relationships for success, and choose both/and over either/or
What “humble assertiveness” is, and how quieter leaders can own their authority

As Derek puts it, “I care about what you do, but I care more about who you are becoming.” And as Eric reminds us, “Too often we get so caught up in trying to be something and not doing the work to become something.”
If you lead people, this conversation will help you lead them, and yourself, with more clarity and less drama.
Listen now and share it with a leader who needs it. Then join Eric live at the free monthly MPWR masterclass: mpwrcoaching.com/masterclass

🎧 Listen now and start leading the way you were meant to.
Stay connected with us:
🌐 Learn More: https://MPWRcoaching.com
📩 Contact: Admin@MPWRcoaching.com
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Low Character, High Talent: The Leadership Blind Spot

Most leaders know the rule: tolerate low performers and your best people walk. But the reverse is just as true. When you excuse toxic behavior from talented people, or from yourself, trust erodes and the culture follows. In this episode of the MPWR Podcast, Eric Pfeiffer and Dawn Neldon continue their self-leadership series with Radical Minimum Standards: the floor for both what your team delivers and how they deliver it.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why leaders make exceptions for high performers, and what it quietly costs the team
How to give your core values teeth with one simple formula: We value X, by practicing Y, because Z
The research showing teams led by consistent leaders had 23% higher retention than teams led by talented but inconsistent ones
The one word that ruins a leader’s apology
Why owning your mistakes builds trust instead of eroding it

As Dawn puts it, “The how is part of the job.” And as Eric reminds leaders who fear looking weak, owning the gap between who you want to be and how you showed up “is not hypocrisy. That’s called humility.”
If you lead a team, a company, or a family, this conversation will change how you think about standards, starting with your own.
Listen now, then share it with a leader who needs it. Join Eric and Dawn live at the free monthly MPWR masterclass: mpwrcoaching.com/masterclass
Find out where your culture is breaking down with the free Culture Assessment: assessment.mpwrcoaching.com

🎧 Listen now and start leading the way you were meant to.
Stay connected with us:
🌐 Learn More: https://MPWRcoaching.com
📩 Contact: Admin@MPWRcoaching.com
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What do great leaders do in the split second after they’re triggered?

In Part 3 of our self-leadership series, Eric Pfeiffer and Dawn Neldon dig into the emotional intelligence skill that separates good executives from great ones: coaching yourself through trigger moments under pressure.
A tense board meeting. An email that feels unfair. A setback you didn’t see coming. Most leaders were never taught how to handle these moments, so they fall back on one of two unskilled defaults: they suppress it, or they let emotion take the wheel. Either way, the cost shows up in your decisions, your team, and your life at home.
“Your drunk self hopped in the driver’s seat and is now in control.”

In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why emotional triggers make you “un-sober,” and how that distorts your judgment
Why buzzed emotions are just as dangerous as a full-blown hijack
The two faces of a triggered leader: the aggressor and the withdrawer
How to take an honest inventory of your default reactions, and who to ask for feedback
The dashboard lights that signal you’re about to react instead of respond
A simple mind, emotions, body self-check to use before, during, and after high-stakes meetings
Why rescuing your team makes them weaker, and why your brain prefers a bad story over no answer

“Self-leadership is self-coaching. The best leaders are coaches of themselves and others.”
Imagine walking into your next hard conversation with clarity instead of chaos. Your team gets the best version of you, and so does your family.
Listen now, then follow the MPWR Podcast and leave a 5-star review to help more leaders find these tools. Want to go deeper? Eric’s books, Leadership Gravitas, Upgrade Your Leadership, and Transform Your Trajectory, are available on Amazon.

🎧 Listen now and start leading the way you were meant to.
Stay connected with us:
🌐 Learn More: https://MPWRcoaching.com
📩 Contact: Admin@MPWRcoaching.com
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.