How Trusted Leaders Listen, Decide, and Build Trust | Al pilong with Jim Daniel

What separates leaders who sustain trust from those who eventually lose it? In this episode of The AP Leadership Podcast, I sit down with Jim Daniel, a longtime healthcare attorney, trusted advisor, and named partner at Hancock Daniel Johnson in Richmond, Virginia. Jim has spent decades advising CEOs and senior executives through complex, high-stakes decisions. Our conversation explores what he has learned from sitting alongside leaders when the pressure is on. We talk about: • Why listening is one of the most important skills of a trusted advisor • How strong leaders make difficult decisions under pressure • Why authenticity and staying close to the work build trust • The importance of weighing what is legal, ethical, and moral • How preparation creates opportunity • What great mentors do for developing leaders • Why “good and on time is better than perfect and late” Jim also shares some of the lessons he wishes he had learned earlier in his career. And in this episode’s Leadership Lens, I reflect on one of the tensions every leader eventually faces: knowing when to listen, when to speak, and when it’s time to decide. If you lead people, advise leaders, or aspire to greater leadership responsibility, I think you’ll find a lot to consider in this conversation. The AP Leadership Podcast Leadership insights for leaders at every level.