Leadership is more than just a word; it's a critical quality for business and entrepreneurial success. Leadership involves far more than line management and reacting to problems. It's about inspiration, creative thinking, humility and a clear vision that encompasses the present and multiple potential futures.

Some are born leaders, while others develop and mature their skills over time. Whichever of these camps you fall into, there is one trait that unites all impressive leaders – the desire to never stop learning.

With this in mind, we have compiled twenty of the finest leadership podcasts available for listening today. Wherever you indulge your podcast habit – while commuting, working out or walking the dog – these shows are sure to bolster your knowledge and potentially improve your fortunes in the business world.

1. The John Maxwell Leadership Podcast

As the author of the New York Times bestseller 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You, Dr. John C. Maxwell knows a thing or two about leading teams. This podcast focuses on the core facets of taking charge of situations and environments, often utilizing interviews with fellow captains of industry, with each episode based around a core tip or piece of advice.

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2. Lead to Win

Father and daughter team Michael S. Hyatt and Megan Hyatt Miller are the brains behind Lead to Win. Hyatt is a NYT bestselling author, and along with COO of his company Megan, he shares multiple tips for effective and efficient leadership techniques that will ensure any business is a roaring success.

3. The EntreLeadership Podcast

Host Alex Judd leads the interview based EntreLeadership podcast, which is centered around conversations with leading lights in the self-employed business world. Each episode revolves around a different theme, including fiscal responsibility, the dangers of ego and emotion, and how to create a diverse and inclusive business that reflects the world around us.

4. Catalyst Podcast

Change can be intimidating, but it also brings great opportunity. This is the key theme of the Catalyst podcast. The show is built around interviews with business leaders and entrepreneurs that have managed to turn challenging circumstances into launchpads for success.

5. No Ego

If you're going to be a successful leader, you'll need to check multiple things at the door – including the desire to please everybody and be liked. No Ego, hosted by celebrated public speaker Cy Wakeman, imparts valuable wisdom about how you can put the needs of your business first – achieving success as a result.

6. Y Combinator

The business world is constantly changing and evolving. If we're not careful, any one of us could be left behind. Y Combinator hosts discussions with individuals on the precipice of an ever-changing culture, ensuring that you'll never be blindsided by a new development.

7. HBR IdeaCast

Harvard Business Review is already a must-bookmark website for anybody seeking advice and insight in the world of commerce. Now, you can gain further insights in audio form. The HBR IdeaCast hosts weekly tips and deep dives into relevant and contemporary subjects pertaining to business and entrepreneurship.

8. The Top Podcast

If you're interested in what Aurabear has to offer, you're most likely in the world of SaaS. If that's the case, be sure to subscribe to The Top. Host Nathan Latka, author of How to be a Capitalist Without Any Capital, releases regular bite-sized (roughly 15-minute) chats with the leading lights of our industry to learn how they built their business.

9. The Nordic Growth Show

Of course, you could also head straight to the source! The Aurabear team host our very own podcast, The Nordic Growth Show, geared toward aiding and educating entrepreneurs and startups in Northern Europe. We do so by exploring the entrepreneurship scene in Nordic countries and diving deep into entrepreneurial journeys.

10. The School of Greatness

Think you learned everything you need to know in business school? Think again. Lewis Howes, a former professional athlete and now entrepreneur with a multi-million dollar business empire, imparts lessons on discipline, relationship building and self-belief in his School of Greatness.

11. Smart Passive Income Podcast with Pat Flynn

Passive income – the ability to generate revenue without being chained to a desk – is the endgame for all entrepreneurs. Pat Flynn is a veteran of both generating passive income and podcasting, beginning this show over a decade ago, so you'll find a vast array of helpful advice on how you can build your business to the point that it practically runs itself.

12. StartUp - Gimlet Media

Starting your own business sounds fun, but there are a lot of variables involved. To really gain an insight into what it's really like to be your own boss and turn your ideas into reality, be sure to tune into this unflinchingly honest and hugely informative podcast.

13. The Richie Norton Show

Richie Norton is a business coach with a simple aim. He wants to ensure that you are successful in your business endeavors – but equally importantly, that you have a good time while doing so. This podcast combines tips and advice from Richie himself with interviews with business leaders to set you on the path of triumph without sacrificing quality of life.

14. How I Built This

Every journey begins with a single step. Host Guy Raz meets with the leaders of some of the biggest companies in the world on How I Built This, quizzing hugely successful entrepreneurs on how they turned their ideas and dreams into successful global enterprises.

15. The Knowledge Project

The Knowledge Project, as the name suggests, places a great deal of value and emphasis on expertise. Each episode of this podcast involves an interview with a market leader from a different field, picking their brains and revealing facts about the business world that may have previously escaped your attention.

16. The Tim Ferriss Show

The toast of Silicon Valley, Tim Ferris is best known as the author of The 4-Hour Workweek. This podcast blends interviews and insights from business leaders and celebrities to provide inspiration and motivation as to how you can achieve more success in a shorter time frame.

17. Incoming Chat

Hosted by Marcos Bravo C., the mastermind of Startupbootcamp, Incoming Chat is a series of interviews with entrepreneurs that started with nothing and steadily built a successful business. Inspirational and educational in equal measure, this is a must-listen, especially if you're at the early stages of your entrepreneurial journey.

18. Noah Kagan Presents

Noah Kagan made his name with OKDork, a blog dedicated to building a successful start-up business. In this podcast, Noah interviews a range of self-made business leaders from a wide array of industries, from YouTube vloggers to ecommerce entrepreneurs, alongside providing tips of his own on how to brand and build a business and keep income flowing.

19. Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders

Stanford University has been nurturing some of the greatest business minds in the world for over a century. The establishment's eCorner also hosts podcasts. Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders is a regular series of interviews with successful self-starters, who share their tales of success, failure and the lessons they learned along the way.

20. Stanford Innovation Lab

If any entrepreneur or business leader is to be successful, they must remain on the very bleeding edge of their chosen industry. This podcast from Stanford discusses emerging and upcoming trends in technology and strategy, ensuring that listeners will always remain one step ahead of the curve.

Naturally, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Leadership and entrepreneurship are hugely popular topics in the business blogosphere, and podcasts are a natural extension of this.

These examples are more than enough to aid you in starting or continuing your journey into superior leadership, though. Make use of the download and subscribe buttons, and you'll take another step toward greatness.

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