Promoted Not Prepared

Promoted Not Prepared

A Podcast for Emerging Leaders

A Podcast for Emerging Leaders

You got the title. Nobody gave you the manual. Promoted Not Prepared is the show for first-time and emerging managers navigating the hardest transition in a career: from doing the work to leading & influencing the outcomes of the people who do it.

Podcast host in conversation
Podcast guest speaking
Promoted Not Prepared podcast badge (Background Removed)
Promoted Not Prepared podcast badge (Background Removed)

Catch our most recent Episodes::

Catch our most recent Episodes::

THE GAP

You were promoted for what you were, not who your people need you to be.

You were promoted for what you were, not who your people need you to be.

You were promoted for what you were, not who your people need you to be.

Promoted Not Prepared closes the gap one honest conversation at a time — translating research, pressure-tested stories, and practical tools into leadership habits you can use before your next meeting.

Promoted Not Prepared closes the gap one honest conversation at a time — translating research, pressure-tested stories, and practical tools into leadership habits you can use before your next meeting.

60%

60%

60%

of new managers fail within their first 24 months — often because nobody teaches the soft-skill infrastructure leadership requires.

of new managers fail within their first 24 months — often because nobody teaches the soft-skill infrastructure leadership requires.

What You’ll Get

What You’ll Get

Research rigor. Organizational scars. No corporate jargon.

Research rigor. Organizational scars. No corporate jargon.

Research rigor. Organizational scars. No corporate jargon.

Real Talk

Unfiltered stories of management failure and discovery, straight from the hosts’ own careers.

What the Research Says

The actual science behind what makes development stick, translated into plain language and story.

The Scenario Room

Gritty, anonymized listener situations worked through from two different leadership lenses.

The Tool Drop

One practical framework or technique each week, built to use before your next meeting.

WHO THIS IS FOR

Built for the first 24 months of leadership.

Built for the first 24 months of leadership.

First-time managers

You got the team and the title, but no one handed you the roadmap for becoming someone others can rely on.

HR and L&D leaders

You’re building the programs meant to support new managers before struggle impacts revenue.

Senior leaders

You want to understand why so many new managers are set up to struggle — and what better support looks like.

WHY TWO HOSTS

Leadership isn’t a solo discipline, and neither is this show.

Leadership isn’t a solo discipline, and neither is this show.

Dr. Neil brings the research: how transformation actually happens inside people. Dr. Rick brings the lived architecture: how that transformation plays out inside real organizations. Presented not just from an academic lens, but from lived experiences of those walking the walk. The mentors you weren't assigned. Together, they present new data on what it takes to lead humans in an increasing non-human world… it’s the whole kit and caboodle.

Neil asks, “What does the research say?”

Rick asks, “Here’s what actually happened.”

Meet the Hosts

New episodes drop every Friday morning. Available wherever you listen.

New episodes drop every Friday morning. Available wherever you listen.

New episodes drop every Friday morning. Available wherever you listen.

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

YouTube

Helping Emerging Leaders move from Gap to Growth

Promoted Not Prepared podcast badge (Background Removed)