What actually makes learning stick when it matters most? In this episode of The Good Leadership Podcast, Charles Good sits down with Dr. Megan Sumeracki to explore the science of effective learning and why so many common study habits fail to produce lasting performance.

They unpack the power of retrieval practice, the role of growth mindset in sustained improvement, and practical tools like the WHOOP framework to help learners turn good intentions into meaningful action.

Whether you are a leader, educator, student, or lifelong learner, this conversation offers research-backed strategies to strengthen memory, improve retention, and transfer learning into real-world results. If you want to learn smarter, remember more, and perform better under pressure, this episode is for you.

In this episode:

00:00 The Learning Gap: Understanding Memory and Learning

01:52 The Power of Retrieval Practice

03:18 Assessments and Their Formats

08:06 Scaffolding Retrieval for Effective Learning

10:59 Implementing the WHOOP Strategy

14:49 Barriers to Effective Learning Strategies

20:21 The Impact of Mindset on Learning

24:33 Learning Myths & Future of Learning

29:20 Learning Strategy Effectiveness for Adults

31:35 Key Takeaways

Is AI making your people more capable, or just more dependent? In this solo episode of The Good Leadership Podcast, Charles Good explores one of the most important leadership questions of the AI era: what happens to judgment, expertise, and human thinking when AI starts doing more of the cognitive heavy lifting?

Drawing on research from Ethan Mollick, Boston Consulting Group, behavioral science, learning science, aviation, chess, and real-world leadership practice, Charles unpacks the hidden capability gap that can form beneath rising productivity.

He reveals why higher output does not always mean stronger people, how AI can either sharpen or replace human thinking, and what leaders must do now to ensure their organizations are not just faster, but genuinely smarter.

Chapters

00:00 The Impact of AI on Human Capability

02:39 Understanding AI Adoption and Transformation

04:53 The Hidden Capability Gap

06:59 The Autopilot Problem and Its Lessons

09:21 Cyborgs vs. Centaurs: Human-AI Collaboration

11:30 The Generation Effect and Learning Frameworks

13:33 Categorizing Capabilities: Risks and Strategies

15:27 Patterns of AI Use: Replacement vs. Sharpening

18:35 Practical Steps for Leaders

20:11 The Future of Human and AI Collaboration

21:07 Key Insights and Takeaways

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Most leaders think their job is to have the answers. That instinct is exactly what’s holding them, and their teams, back.

In this episode of The Good Leadership Podcast, Charles Good sits down with Michael Bungay Stanier, author of The Coaching Habit (1.5M+ copies sold), to unpack a counterintuitive truth:

👉 The best leaders don’t give better advice.

👉 They ask better questions.

But here’s the catch…Even after training hundreds of thousands of leaders, most still struggle to make coaching stick. Why?

Because knowing what to say is only half the equation.

How you show up changes everything.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction to Michael Bungay Stanier

02:35 The Evolution of The Coaching Habit

05:20 The Distinctiveness of the Coaching Habit

08:14 Barriers to Effective Coaching

11:19 The Biggest Myths and Wastes of Time in Coaching

13:42 What Leaders Still Get Wrong About Curiosity

16:31 What is powerful about coaching & What to focus on

22:13 The Paradox of Confident Humility

28:49 Celebrating the new edition

30:24 Key Insights and Takeaways