The Leadership Toolkit

In this episode of The Leadership Toolkit, Mike Phillips sits down with Micah Birkholz, National Director of Sales at Loon Advertising, for a raw and powerful conversation about leadership, reinvention, growth, and the fear that keeps many people stuck.

Micah shares his journey from automotive sales and finance into national leadership roles in marketing and advertising, while opening up about the mindset shifts, failures, hard deci...

🔥 BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND 🔥 One of the HIGHEST DOWNLOADED episodes of The Leadership Toolkit (#34) is returning this week!

What if the biggest thing holding you back is just waiting for the “perfect” moment?

In this powerful episode of The Leadership Toolkit, Mike Phillips sits down with Christopher Rausch, the internationally recognized “No Excuses Coach,” for a raw conversation about leadership, fear, confi...

What if the real reason you feel stuck in leadership… isn’t your strategy, your team, or your environment?

In this episode of The Leadership Toolkit, Mike Phillips sits down with Frank Szymanski, former juvenile court judge and author of Identity Design, to explore the deeper truth behind leadership, mindset, and personal transformation.

After more than 20 years on the bench, Frank witnessed firsthand how trauma, poor de...

What if the biggest thing holding you back as a leader isn’t your strategy… but something you can’t even see?

In this episode of The Leadership Toolkit, Mike Phillips sits down with mindset expert Curtis McCullom to uncover the subconscious programming that drives your decisions, your confidence, and your results.

From childhood experiences to the words you use every day, this conversation reveals how hidden patter...

What makes people trust a leader in today’s world?

In this episode of The Leadership Toolkit, Mike Phillips is joined by Jess Jensen, founder of Co-pilot Communications and former leader with experience at Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Adidas.

Jess shares how leaders can build a stronger personal brand, why executive presence matters more than ever, and why people trust people more than brands.

Mike and Jess discuss:

• How Jess helped...

What separates a good leader from one people never forget? In this episode of The Leadership Toolkit, Mike Phillips is joined by two great friends of the show—Mike Ashie (Leadership With Mike) and Jim Burgoon (Lead With Jim)—for a powerful, real-world conversation on transformative leadership.

This isn’t about titles, authority, or short-term results. It’s about becoming the kind of leader who changes people ...

What separates elite performers from everyone else?

In this episode of The Leadership Toolkit, host Mike Phillips sits down with internationally recognized mental performance coach Gary Chupik to explore the mindset, discipline, and self-leadership required to perform at the highest levels in business, sports, and life.

Gary has coached athletes, executives, and high performers connected with organizations such as the Houston Texans,...

In this episode of The Leadership Toolkit, host Mike Phillips sits down with RJon Robins, cofounder and CEO of How To Manage Enterprises, to break down one of the most overlooked leadership skills in business: clear thinking.

RJon leads an award-winning eight-figure company that helps entrepreneurs and law firm owners scale their businesses from startup to multimillion-dollar operations. In this conversation, he shares powerful insi...

In this episode of The Leadership Toolkit, Mike Phillips sits down with Pete Steege, founder of B2B Clarity and author of Radical Clarity, to unpack the real leadership challenge in the age of AI.

As inboxes flood, automation accelerates, and content becomes easier to produce than ever before, one truth is emerging:

The most human leaders will win.

Pete shares powerful insights for Accidental CEOs and growth-focused executives who wan...

In this powerful episode of The Leadership Toolkit, Mike Phillips sits down with leadership expert and author William Davis to unpack one of the biggest issues facing organizations today: the confusion between management and leadership.

After spending 38 years in corporate America, William shares why most companies promote functional success but fail to develop real leadership ability. The result? Broken trust, disengaged teams, and...

What if resilience is not a personality trait, but a trainable skill

In this episode of The Leadership Toolkit, host Mike Phillips sits down with Dr. Andrew Wittman, former U.S. Marine infantry veteran, law enforcement officer, federal agent, and creator of the Inner Armor system, to unpack what it truly means to build mental toughness in high-stress environments.

From protecting national leaders to training elite military operators,...

In this episode of The Leadership Toolkit, host Mike Phillips is joined by Jim Saliba, executive leadership coach, former tech VP, and host of the Building Legendary Leaders podcast

This episode centers on a powerful and timely leadership idea: how to lead like a CEO without needing a new title.

Jim shares what he learned moving from individual contributor to executive leadership inside a multibillion-dollar tech organization, and wh...

Hard conversations are unavoidable for leaders. Avoiding them is not optional.

In this powerful episode of The Leadership Toolkit, our host Mike Phillips sits down with Dianna Anderson, Co-Founder and CEO of Cylient, to unpack why tough conversations feel so difficult and how leaders can navigate them with confidence, clarity, and purpose.

Dianna is the creator of Untying the Knot, a proven framework that helps leaders coach in the m...

What if real leadership growth does not come from big moments, but from small, consistent actions practiced every day?

In this episode of The Leadership Toolkit, Mike Phillips sits down with bestselling author, keynote speaker, and creator Sam Demma for an energizing and deeply practical conversation about leadership, resilience, kindness, and intentional growth.

Sam shares his journey from career-ending injuries to building a global...

In this powerful episode of The Leadership Toolkit, Mike Phillips sits down with Australian employment lawyer, HR strategist, and leadership coach Karen Ansen, founder of Ignite HR and Ignite Your Purpose.

Karen is widely known as the person organizations call when the situation is at its toughest. From guiding boards through high-stakes CEO exits to navigating workplace conflict with compassion and clarity, she blends legal precisi...

From food stamps to keynote stages, Hailey Evans has lived the kind of story most leaders are afraid to tell. In this powerful episode of The Leadership Toolkit, Mike Phillips sits down with Hailey, an award winning storyteller, marketing strategist, and creator of the EPIC Communication Framework and EPIC Storytelling App.

Hailey opens up about becoming a mom at 17, walking through bankruptcy, infidelity, missions work, her ex husb...

In this episode of The Leadership Toolkit, Mike Phillips sits down with award-winning author, keynote speaker, and Deep Listening podcast host Oscar Trimboli to explore what it really means to listen as a leader. Oscar shares the pivotal boardroom moment at Microsoft that sparked his quest to “code” how the world’s best listeners operate and explains why the difference between hearing and listening is always found...

Are you ready to take charge of your career, earn what you’re worth, and lead with confidence? In this episode of The Leadership Toolkit, host Mike Phillips sits down with Nate Dinet, digital entrepreneur, product leader, and founder of The Step Manager, a platform that’s helped more than 56,000 professionals worldwide achieve promotions, negotiate raises, and build leadership confidence that lasts.

Nate shares his journ...

In this episode, Mike Phillips sits down with Doug Gray, PhD, CEO of Action Learning Associates, to unpack practical, outcome based leadership and family-business succession that actually works. Doug reframes SWOT so leaders focus on what they can control, explains why the least structure necessary accelerates execution, and walks through his simple rubric for succession: pace, space, grace. You will also hear when to use closed LL...