5 Hard Leadership Lessons 2025 Taught Me

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the L3 Leadership Podcast , Doug Smith shares Part 2 of his annual reflection series , unpacking the final ten lessons he learned in 2025 and how they are shaping his leadership moving into 2026. Drawing from real conversations, leadership challenges, faith, and personal growth, Doug challenges leaders to rethink success, create margin, embrace hard seasons, and recognize the significance of the work God is doing in and through them. ⏱️ Episode Breakdown 00:00 – Why Doug shares his annual lessons and how they’re selected 01:45 – Lesson 11: You can have everything and still have nothing 03:30 – Lesson 12: In leadership, there are things only you can do 05:00 – Lesson 13: The necessity of people who challenge your perceptions 07:45 – Lesson 14: Follow a proven path when you don’t know what to do 08:45 – Lesson 15: Why AI can be a powerful personal and leadership coach 10:30 – Lesson 16: Margin matters—create it with time and finances 11:45 – Lesson 17: You’re always campaigning, whether you realize it or not 13:30 – Lesson 18: The gospel comes with a house key 15:15 – Lesson 19: Lessons learned in one season prepare you for the next 17:30 – Lesson 20: Don’t minimize the work God is doing in and through you 18:45 – Final encouragement: Don’t quit—your leadership matters more than you think Resources Mentioned: The Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield “Good” Leadership Mindset – Jocko Willink (Video) The L3 Leadership Podcast is sponsored by Andocia Marketing Solutions . Andocia exists to bring leaders’ visions to life. Learn more at 🎧 LISTEN ON SPOTIFY: 🎧 LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS: 🎙️ LISTEN ON ALL PLATFORMS:

You can listen to 5 Hard Leadership Lessons 2025 Taught Me online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

5 Hard Leadership Lessons 2025 Taught Me is an episode from L3 Leadership Podcast by Doug Smith.

This episode is 20:27 long.

This episode was published on Feb 3, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from L3 Leadership Podcast when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.