Four podcasts to help you turn downtime into primetime for personal growth.

This is the final installment of A Better You, a special summer series featuring popular podcasts from I Wish They Knew, a show where leaders share big ideas that deserve more attention in about the time it takes to enjoy a cup of coffee. (Or the amount of time they wish they had to enjoy it!)

The first edition featured great insights on discovering our hidden influence, developing a plan for productivity, growing sideways in our careers and finding that missing spark of motivation.

Last week’s edition provided useful tips on turning workplaces into communities, becoming everyday innovators, making your office less toxic and leading with consistent body language.

This week, I’m excited to share one last batch of podcasts to help you reflect and rethink as summer fades away.

Now heard in 35 countries around the world, I Wish They Knew features world-renowned business leaders, media personalities, bestselling authors and education reformers. It explores big ideas in short conversations – from learning to loss, purpose to public speaking, work to wellness, and, of course, feedback.

I hope these episodes help you become…a better you!

Build together, not alone (Pamela Slim)

To build a business or an organization, you need an ensemble. And the best way to do that is to identify your ideal customers and partners, then build together. Pamela Slim shows us how creating the “widest net” helps us operate within high-potential ecosystems, forge strong collaborations with strategic partners, and nurture relationships the right way. 

Perfect your persuasion skills (Jonah Berger)

The key to changing someone’s mind isn’t to push harder, but to push aside hard issues. Jonah Berger explores the science and skills of persuasion and why the most convincing people help others convince themselves. Berger offers practical ways to put people in control of their decisions while still guiding them to a desired outcome — from helping others let go legacy thinking to creating options to boost adoption rates.

Cultivate your confidence (Nate Zinsser)

Confidence is a skill that can be taught, improved, and applied by anyone to enhance nearly every aspect of our lives and careers. So what’s getting in our way? Nate Zinsser shares principles he’s used to help West Point cadets and elite pro athletes develop a “confident mind” — and his cognitive tools and techniques will help you turn setbacks into comebacks.

Negotiate the sweet spot (Leigh Thompson)

To get the most out of our negotiations, we need to optimize, not compromise. Leigh Thompson describes a more effective approach to finding the “sweet spot” in every negotiation and outlines practical steps we can take to maximize the value of our position. Whether you’re negotiating a high-stakes deal with business partners or a highly sensitive issue with loved ones, Leigh offers research-backed advice to help you walk away with optimal results.

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