What Happens When You Lead Without Emotional Intelligence with Adam Holbrook

Keep The Change

In this episode, my guest is Adam Holbrook from Maxwell Leadership—an entrepreneur who built and sold two companies, and someone who knows firsthand what it means to lead others after learning how to lead himself.

We talk about the side of leadership that doesn’t show up on spreadsheets—like what to do when you’re working 90 hours a week, miserable, and pretending everything's fine. Adam shares how emotional intelligence helped him go from burnout and self-destruction to peace and purpose. He opens up about how delaying your emotions, releasing blame, and letting go of the need for an apology can shift not just your leadership, but your entire life.

We also dive into:

• What separates great salespeople from real leaders
• The personal habits that affect your professional culture
• How to grow your emotional intelligence (and why it matters more than IQ)
• How small mindset shifts can help you handle conflict and lead with clarity

This episode is full of honest stories, practical takeaways, and tools you can apply whether you lead a dealership, a team, or your own household. If you're tired of the noise and just want real talk about what it takes to be better—for your people and for yourself—this is one to listen to from start to finish.

Enjoying the show? Subscribe and leave a review on your favorite podcast players!

• Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/keep-the-change/id1622521488
• Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2xcQk7kNGNOnWuZ14aDkWC

Connect with Adam Holbrook

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-holbrook-40618019/

Connect with Bart Nollenberger:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-nollenberger-4949405a/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BartNollenbergerCoaching