Chief Change Officer Podcast Summary

Episode #421: Kevin Eikenberry — Leading on Purpose, Not by Default (Part One)
Host: Vince Chan
Guest: Kevin Eikenberry (Founder, The Kevin Eikenberry Group; Acclaimed Leadership Author)
Date: July 6, 2025

Episode Overview

In this invigorating conversation, host Vince Chan sits down with renowned leadership thinker Kevin Eikenberry to explore the roots, evolution, and core lessons of flexible leadership. The episode traces Eikenberry’s journey from a Michigan farm to the frontlines of leadership education, offering wisdom on adaptability, priorities, and leading authentically in a world of constant change. Part one sets the stage for deeper dives on intention and context in leadership, and why some fundamentals never change—even as everything else shifts.

Key Points & Discussion Highlights

1. Kevin Eikenberry’s Origin Story: From Farm Fields to Leadership Expert

[03:25 – 08:58]

• Early Influences:
  • Growing up on a farm in Michigan, Kevin learned discipline, responsibility, and prioritization caring for animals:
    • Quote: “One of the things that I think that you learn if you raise livestock is that... some things must override them all because if you mess that up, everything else will fall away.” (Kevin, 04:13)
• Academic Path:
  • Studied agriculture at Purdue, initially envisioning a future in the family business; credits this with learning “systems… biological and mechanical,” now applied to “human systems.”
    • Quote: "...Now what I work on are human systems. And so I don't think it's actually... my degree and my time at Purdue served me extremely well." (Kevin, 05:15)
• Career Shift:
  • Found his calling in facilitating training and adult learning during a sales & marketing stint at Chevron.
  • Entrepreneurship began by serving internal clients from his previous employer, but he cautions against relying solely on these relationships long-term.

2. Lessons from Early Entrepreneurship & Career

[08:58 – 11:22]

• Initial Clients: Internal contacts smoothed his transition—“they didn’t want [his] replacement, they wanted [him],” but this delayed the need to develop broader marketing and sales skills.
• On Sustainability:
  • Emphasized the need to always market, not just deliver, to avoid feast-or-famine cycles.
    • Quote: "If you're not always marketing, you're going to have these cycles where you've got a lot of work and no work. You really don't want that." (Kevin, 08:58)
• Approach to Consulting:
  • Strived to develop clients' self-sufficiency rather than dependency, even if it challenged short-term business stability.

3. The Evolution & Essence of Flexible Leadership

[11:22 – 13:52]

• Genesis of the Book:
  • “Flexible Leadership” is not merely a response to current trends, but the culmination of decades observing what actually drives effective leadership through uncertainty.
    • Quote: “I believe, Vince, it’s the best work I’ve done and I think hopefully can be the most impactful work I’ve done...” (Kevin, 12:11)
• Objective of the Book:
  • To provide a playbook for navigating uncertainty and leading confidently when no old playbook fits.

4. Evergreen Versus Opportunistic Content

[13:52 – 17:41]

• Staying Evergreen:
  • While previous successes (e.g. “The Long Distance Leader”) were “timely” during the pandemic, Eikenberry writes for timeless impact—prioritizing proven, relevant, long-term ideas over trendy topics like AI.
    • Quote: "We've always been careful to write... in ways that are timeless rather than timely..." (Kevin, 15:03)
• The Link Between Leadership and Change:
  • Leadership exists because of change. If everything were static, only managers would be needed.
    • Quote: "...if there were no change, we wouldn't need leaders now, we might still need managers, but we wouldn't need leaders..." (Kevin, 17:41)

5. Fitting ‘Flexible Leadership’ into Eikenberry’s Broader Work

[18:50 – 21:24]

• Not Just Another Piece:
  • The new book sits atop a “three-dimensional” body of thought—connected to, yet distinct from, previous works.
    • Quote: "It is the evolution of my thinking to this point. It's the evolution of my observations about leadership, and it's the evolution of my own leadership practice..." (Kevin, 20:08)
• Stands Alone:
  • Readers don’t need prior familiarity with Eikenberry’s books to apply Flexible Leadership’s lessons.

6. Change: What Never Changes?

[21:24 – 25:09]

• Core Truths Remain:
  • While tools and contexts shift (fax to email to Zoom), human nature and foundational leadership behaviors endure.
    • Quote: “People have been leading other humans for centuries. And while context is changing... teams behave in certain ways... human beings are still human beings, amazing, wonderful, remarkable and messy...” (Kevin, 22:24)
• Managing Change Effectively:
  • Leaders should clarify what ISN'T changing to reduce anxiety and increase clarity during transitions.
    • Quote: "We make the change efforts harder when we only talk about what's changing and don't talk about what's the same." (Kevin, 22:24)
• Focusing on the Unchanging Reduces Fear:
  • Recognizing stable elements grounds teams and makes adaptation more manageable.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |------------|---------|-------| | 04:13 | Kevin | "You might have a lot of things going on... but some things that must override them all because if you mess that up, everything else will fall away." | | 05:15 | Kevin | "Now what I work on are human systems... my degree and my time at Purdue served me extremely well." | | 08:58 | Kevin | "If you're not always marketing, you're going to have these cycles where you've got a lot of work and no work. You really don't want that." | | 12:11 | Kevin | "I believe, Vince, it's the best work I've done and I think hopefully can be the most impactful work I've done..." | | 15:03 | Kevin | "We've always been careful to write... in ways that are timeless rather than timely..." | | 17:41 | Kevin | "...if there were no change, we wouldn't need leaders... leadership at the end of the day, is about reaching valuable outcomes, which means that we're moving to a place that we aren't currently." | | 20:08 | Kevin | "It is the evolution of my thinking to this point... the evolution of my own leadership practice put into a format that people can use, I hope. Practically." | | 22:24 | Kevin | "People have been leading other humans for centuries... human beings are still human beings, amazing, wonderful, remarkable and messy." |

Timestamps of Important Segments

• [03:25] — Kevin’s upbringing & early influences
• [05:15] — Transition from agriculture/systems to leadership/human systems
• [08:58] — Lessons from starting out as an entrepreneur
• [12:11] — The vision and motivation behind Flexible Leadership
• [15:03] — On choosing evergreen, not just timely, topics in writing
• [17:41] — The perpetual need for leadership amid change
• [20:08] — How the new book fits into Kevin’s thought leadership
• [22:24] — What never changes in leadership and human nature

Closing

This episode lays the foundation for understanding flexible leadership as a response not just to modern workplace disruptions, but to the enduring need to adapt—anchored in time-tested human truths. Eikenberry’s story and perspective set the stage for part two: a deeper dive into how intention and context shape truly effective, flexible leaders.