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The Game of Leadership

The Game of Leadership

By: Nathan Pali
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About this listen

The Game of Leadership is a leadership and sports podcast exploring how the greatest coaches, teams, and leaders mastered the strategies, systems, and psychology of winning.

Leadership is a game. With rules. With pressure. With consequences.

This podcast studies elite coaching, leadership through sports, and the hidden strategies behind sustained success. Each episode explores legendary coaches, championship teams, and iconic leaders from across football, basketball, baseball, soccer, hockey, and beyond, blending sports history, biography, and leadership analysis to uncover how leaders think, adapt, compete, and build cultures that win.

You’ll learn:

  • How great leaders built winning systems
  • How culture and accountability created dynasties
  • How strategy shaped long-term success
  • How leaders handled pressure, conflict, and failure
  • How psychology influenced performance and decision-making
  • How coaches developed future leaders
  • How leadership evolves across seasons and eras

This isn’t a highlight show or a motivational podcast. It’s a story-driven guide to leadership strategy, coaching philosophy, organizational culture, and understanding how the best leaders in history learned to play — and win — the game of leadership.

If you’re interested in leadership, sports leadership, coaching philosophy, team culture, organizational leadership, performance psychology, great coaches, and learning how elite leadership actually works — this podcast is for you.

The Game of Leadership Because leadership is played one decision at a time.

© 2026 The Game of Leadership All rights reserved.
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Episodes
  • Dan Gable: The Pursuit of Absolute Dominance
    Feb 15 2026
    In this episode, we explore the coaching philosophy of legendary wrestling coach Dan Gable, examining how personal tragedy and a single competitive loss shaped his relentless pursuit of perfection. We also discuss how Gable's unyielding standards and focus on extreme preparation transformed the Iowa wrestling program into a national powerhouse.Chapters00:00 Gable’s Unyielding Standard01:57 Personal Loss and Redirection03:33 The Defining Loss of 197005:32 Coaching at Iowa: Escalation08:52 Overwhelming Opponents13:59 Trusting the System & Legacy
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    11 mins
  • Newt Rockne's Football Legacy
    Feb 14 2026
    In this episode, we explore the strategic decisions and organizational brilliance of legendary football coach Newt Rockne. We discuss how he built a powerful program at Notre Dame through innovation, adaptability, and a focus on systematic excellence rather than individual talent.Chapters00:00 Rockne's Early Innovation00:22 The 1913 Army Game03:38 Building a Cohesive Program08:35 Adapting and Sustaining Excellence15:17 Confronting Complacency and Safety18:20 Rockne's Enduring Legacy
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    12 mins
  • Connie Mack: The Quiet Leader of Baseball
    Feb 13 2026
    In this episode, we explore the unconventional leadership of Connie Mack, who managed the Philadelphia Athletics for 50 years. We discuss how his focus on long-term institutional survival, even at the cost of short-term wins, provides valuable lessons for modern leadership in any field.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Connie Mack's Leadership02:00 Mack's Early Career and Principles05:32 Dismantling Championship Teams10:00 Mack's Enduring Legacy
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    10 mins
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