The Dog Who Taught Me to Lead

Dr. Andy Neillie has a doctorate, a bestselling book, and five million frequent-flyer miles spent coaching leaders across Fortune 500 firms — but he’ll be the first to tell you his real education came from a string of rescued dogs. In this conversation, Andy traces his leadership philosophy back to two early bad bosses (one with an anger problem, one with an ego problem) and forward to The Golden Principles, the book a boutique publisher coaxed out of him after hearing him tell a story about a dog named Redford rescued from a puppy mill.

Jeanne and Andy dig into what it actually takes to be “a leader worth following” — the three imperative conversations every leader must be able to have, why managers have easy conversations while leaders have hard ones, and the humbling story of the first person Andy tried to fire. Along the way they talk about “confident uncertainty,” the leader’s hour, and why the best leaders sit at the bottom of the pyramid, not the top. Andy is refreshingly candid that he’s not sure he was ever a great leader himself — just a determined student of it.

Recorded a week after Andy and his wife lost their beloved golden Sawyer, the episode carries a tenderness that sneaks up on you — and a reminder that the day you rescue a dog, you promise to love them well, even at the end. The conversation closes with a loose, funny round of Two Truths & A Lie that proves even a man this thoughtful can still keep you guessing.