Building Better Leaders
The Doolittle Leadership Center's podcast, Building Better Leaders, features candid conversations with a wide range of influential leaders about their stories—and how they have learned to lead. Dr. Patrick Donley, Director of the DLC, hosts episodes at a variety of exciting locations across the globe as he tours with the DLC's on-location leader development workshops.
Episodes
Building trust with employees is a vital leadership quality. Gen. Bussiere explains what “leading from the front” means and how trust is built from the top down. Gen. Thomas Bussiere is the former commander of Air Force Global Strike Command. In addition, as a command pilot, Gen. Bussiere accrued over 3,400 hours of flight time and has decades of leadership experience both in the air and on the ground. Book a leadersh...
Setting goals for your employees means more than setting a target: Your job as a leader is to clarify your vision, establish key performance indicators, give them the resources, identify obstacles, and help them stay on track in the midst of changing circumstances.
Spacepower isn’t just about technology—it’s about the people, legacy, and mindset driving it forward. We talk to Dr. David Arnold, a renowned expert on space, General Bernard Schriever’s enduring impact, and the leadership principles that shape today’s Air and Space Forces. From historical perspective to modern-day relevance, Dr. Arnold shares insights on innovation, optimism, and what it means to lead...
Military spouses are the prime example of how a behind-the-scenes support role can drive change, build trust, and inspire leaders wherever they are. We talk to Debbie Schiess, a nonprofit leader, parent, and spouse of Deputy Chief of Space ...
Elite leadership is earned through self-discipline. Take charge of yourself and you’ll inspire your followers to do the same—learn how in this power-packed episode with CMSAF David Wolfe and SEAC #4 Ramón “CZ” Colón-López.
Colón-López's 2026 book, “Carnivore Leadership: Taking Charge Instead of Taking Shit,” is available for purchase now.
#leadershiptips #leadershipdevelopment #leadershiptraini...
Most leaders don’t look forward to having difficult conversations with their employees, but giving honest, actionable feedback leads to a culture where speaking up makes the whole team stronger. Here’s Chief Master Sgt. Katie McCool, Command C...
Chief Master Sgt. of the Space Force John Bentivegna—the highest-ranking enlisted Guardian—describes the habits that real leaders follow, and how they inspire those habits in their followers.
Here’s how to develop employees effectively with a 4-step method from Dr. Patrick Donley, host of the “Building Better Leaders” podcast and director of the Doolittle Leadership Center. This practical leadership training breaks down a simple 4-step framework—Discover, Teach, Model, and Coach—to help you grow your team’s skills, behavior, and performance.
Senior leaders from the 35th Fighter Wing at Misawa Air Base in Japan explain how to develop leaders, own up to mistakes, and prioritize people while operating in non-stop high-stakes scenarios.
Col. David Wilson knows he isn’t the smartest person in the room—and that makes him an excellent leader. He digs into his experience as a wing commander and senior leader to share his hard-earned lessons of leadership.
The Doolittle Leadership Center's podcast, Building Better Leaders, features candid conversations with a wide range of influential leaders about their stories— and how they have learned to...
AFCENT’s commander and enlisted command chief explain the importance of providing steady leadership to roughly 10,000 to 13,000 deployed personnel who constantly rotate in and out of their organization in the Middle East.
There’s arguably no military service in the world with a group identity as deeply ingrained or cherished as the U.S. Marine Corps. How did the Semper Fidelis, “Oohra!” culture come about? More importantly, how can leaders of other organizations create an identity that encourages similar buy-in and team motivation? Giles Kyser explains.
The Doolittle Leadership Center's podcast, Building Better Leaders, f...
It’s hard for leaders to accurately assess whether they’re leading well simply based on results. Dr. Patrick Donley—a global leadership instructor and host of the “Building Better Leaders” podcast—shares a simple, 10-minute drill leaders can start using today to can boost intentionality and team-wide performance.
Learn more at www.afa.org/DLC
Lt. Gen. Andrea Tullos joined “Building Better Leaders” a few weeks before retiring as the President of Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. There she oversaw the entire spectrum of education programs within the U.S. Air Force, from professional military education, continuing education, and granting academic degrees to 170,000 students each year.
The Doolittle Leadership Center's podcast, Building Bet...
Gen. Kevin "Gumby" Schneider leads U.S. Air Force activities in the Pacific, a responsibility that encompasses more than half the globe. In this episode of "Building Better Leaders," Schneider shares leadership lessons on how to effectively manage an organization of such enormous scale, especially one that's centerstage in geopolitical tension. He offers insights on building culture, staying flexible while managing risk, and foster...
Perhaps no modern organization understands the symbiotic relationship between leadership and culture better than the U.S. Space Force, which was founded in 2019 and saw thousands of military personnel (mostly Airmen and Pentagon civilians) transition into its ranks. So just how did the Space Force establish a culture unique from its sister service—and what can leaders learn from this ongoing cultural construction project? Chi...
Fresh off the release of their new book “Get Back Up: Lessons in Servant Leadership,” the 24th Secretary of the Air Force Dr. Heather Wilson and the 21st U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein, USAF (Ret.) join “Building Better Leaders” for an incredible breakdown of cooperative leadership. They tell stories—from death-defying combat operations over Serbia, to navigating the culture and pers...
When the U.S. Space Force was founded in 2019, Gen. John “Jay” Raymond was tapped to serve as its inaugural leader and America’s first-ever Guardian. Now three years retired from the historic role, Raymond joined “Building Better Leaders” to share behind-the-scenes stories about building the identity and culture of America’s first new military branch since the WWII era, and how the monumental pro...
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