“Someone contacted me the other day and said, ‘My CEO told me to reach out to you because he heard your podcast.'” – Matt Poepsel, PhD
Executive Summary
When Matt Poepsel launched “Lead the People” as a passion project in 2021, he couldn’t have predicted it would become a cornerstone of Predictive Index’s thought leadership strategy. Through their partnership with PeopleForward Network (PFN), Predictive Index transformed their podcast from a DIY side project into a strategic business asset that delivers measurable growth, premium guest relationships, and executive-level influence.
The Challenge: From Passion Project to Professional Platform
As a thought leader at Predictive Index, Matt recognized a critical gap in the market for middle managers—leaders who manage teams but don’t own the company. These professionals needed practical guidance and inspiration but had limited resources designed specifically for their unique position.
The Mission Gap: “When I was coming up, when I was a young manager, there was really not a lot of codified instruction about how to be a better leader,” Matt explains. Traditional leadership content focused either on entry-level management or C-suite executives, leaving middle managers without targeted resources.
Matt launched Lead the People to fill this void, wanting to “give back a little bit when it came to management and leadership development” while meeting “really cool people” and continuing his own learning journey.
The DIY Challenges: While the podcast concept was working, the operational demands created significant obstacles:
- Production burden: Matt was managing all production aspects himself
- Isolation and burnout: “It’s a very lonely act to be a creator in a DIY mode, because you spend all your time by yourself… you’re shouting into the void”
- Limited professional quality: The show felt “very DIY” rather than matching PI’s other professional initiatives
- Missed growth opportunities: Without professional support, the podcast couldn’t reach its full potential
The Solution: Strategic Partnership for Growth
When Predictive Index decided to formalize Matt’s thought leadership role, they recognized the podcast’s potential but needed to elevate its execution. This aligned perfectly with PI’s broader strategic shift.
The Strategic Context: “People now who are out shopping in B2B, they want to do business with people, not just companies,” Matt explains. “So personal branding has really turned into this big thing at PI generally.” The company was investing in thought leadership content and personal branding across the organization.
Finding the Right Partner: The decision to partner with PFN came through trusted recommendations from their network:
- Tracy Austin, a podcast guest who had her own show with PFN, recommended Nikki and the team
- Titus, a PI partner, also worked with PFN for their podcast
“People that we know, love, and trust are choosing PeopleForward Network…we should probably have a conversation,” Matt notes. “As you know, it only takes one conversation with Nikki, and the rest is kind of history.”
The Partnership Vision: PFN brought more than just production support—they offered strategic vision for transforming the podcast into a comprehensive business development tool while maintaining its authentic educational mission.
The Results: Immediate and Dramatic Impact
Explosive Growth:
- 15x increase from May to June 2024, when the PFN partnership began (422 to 6,521 downloads)
- 148x year-over-year growth (January 2024: 39 downloads vs. January 2025: 5,805 downloads)
- Sustained performance, maintaining 5,000-12,000+ monthly downloads consistently
Premium Guest Access: PFN’s relationships opened doors to high-profile guests, including:
- Kim Scott (author of Radical Candor) for the 100th episode milestone
- Marcel Schwantes from Inc. Magazine
- Jason Pfeiffer (Editor-in-Chief of Entrepreneur Magazine)
“We have amazing guests on the show with the help of PFN,” Matt notes, about Kim Scott specifically: “because of the relationship with PFN making the ask, it was a fabulous episode.”
Executive-Level Business Development: The podcast generates business inquiries at the highest levels. As Matt explains: “Someone contacted me the other day and said, my CEO told me to reach out to you because he heard your podcast.”
Operational Excellence:
- Production relief: “I literally just have to show up and have conversations”
- Professional quality: The show now matches PI’s other professional initiatives
- Strategic support: Marketing kits, SEO optimization, and video-first content strategy
The Strategic Transformation
Rediscovering Authentic Content
One of PFN’s most valuable contributions came during a strategy call when Matt confided that he “liked but didn’t love” his show. Through exploration, PFN identified that Matt had stopped doing a signature trivia segment—a lighthearted moment where he posed questions he didn’t know the answer to, creating “unexpected delight” for guests.
“That recommendation from PFN to say, bring that back. You know, if that feels like it’s authentically you, you’ll have a show that you actually just enjoy producing more. And it turned out to be so true. It’s such a great call.”
From DIY Burden to Professional Support
The Psychological Transformation: “When you’re working with PFN, now all of a sudden, it feels like you’ve got help of a team, you’ve got confidants who want to grow the show alongside you,” Matt reflects. The partnership solved the fundamental isolation problem: “You put something on LinkedIn saying, hey, I released a podcast episode, and no one cares… But when you’re working with PFN, your numbers get better because we’re producing these shorts and these other ways people can engage.”
Business Development Integration: PFN transformed the podcast from a content marketing expense into a relationship-building platform through:
- Premium guest access through PFN’s relationships and reputation
- Network amplification through PFN’s established audience of people-first leaders
- Cross-promotion opportunities within the PFN ecosystem
- Strategic content development that serves both educational and business development goals
What’s Next: Scaling Impact and Revenue
Enhanced Production and Distribution
The partnership continues to evolve with new strategic initiatives:
Video-First Strategy: “The way that people find podcasts is that a clip shows up for them on their Instagram or LinkedIn or TikTok,” Rachel explains. The team is investing heavily in video content creation, recognizing that clips drive discovery more than traditional podcast directories.
Internal Resource Optimization: “We’ve put a lot more of our resources into growing the discoverability of the show,” Rachel notes. This includes dedicated team members working on SEO, YouTube optimization, and strategic content distribution.
Revenue and Partnership Development
Monetization Pipeline: “We’re leaning into the world of sponsorship and partnerships. And that’s definitely on the top of our mind,” Rachel shares. “Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean that it’s not happening next week or something. I know they’re having conversations with a lot of different organizations.”
Long-term Vision: The goal extends beyond just sponsorships to creating a comprehensive platform where “organizations have the best tool stack that they can” through strategic partnerships that provide genuine value to the audience.
Systematic Approach to Growth
Matt and Rachel have developed clear frameworks for sustainable growth:
- Enhanced guest vetting processes as demand increases
- Systematic content creation that serves multiple marketing channels
- Community integration with other PFN shows and audience cross-pollination
- Performance measurement focusing on both audience growth and business development outcomes
Key Takeaways for Business Leaders
The Lead the People transformation offers valuable insights for organizations considering strategic podcasting:
1. Start with Authentic Mission
Matt’s genuine passion for helping middle managers provided the foundation for sustainable content creation and audience connection. “I just decided one day I’m going to host a podcast of my own and really try to give back a little bit when it came to management and leadership development.”
2. Recognize When Professional Support is Needed
The transition from DIY to professional partnership came at the right moment—when internal resources could support growth but expertise was needed for execution and strategic development.
3. Leverage Trusted Networks for Partnerships
The decision to work with PFN was validated by recommendations from existing relationships, demonstrating the importance of network effects in business decisions.
4. Focus on Relationships Over Pure Metrics
While download numbers matter, the most significant business impact comes from the quality of relationships built through authentic conversations. The CEO referral story exemplifies this principle.
5. Integrate with Broader Business Strategy
The podcast’s success stems from its alignment with Predictive Index’s broader personal branding and thought leadership initiatives, not as an isolated marketing tactic.
6. Expect Both Immediate and Long-term Benefits
While the audience growth was immediate (15x increase), the business development benefits build over time through relationship cultivation and brand authority establishment.
7. Professional Partnership Enables Sustainability
“We would never be where we’re at without a partnership with PFN,” similar organizations might say. The key is finding partners who understand both the technical and strategic aspects of podcast-driven business development.
“We know from our own experience… we have this magnetic effect. We can draw a lot of people into our world and make sure we constantly give them access to good information. And in their own time, when they’re ready, enough of them will come and say, you know what, I’m ready to now start to solve my problem in a more material way.” – Matt Poepsel, PhD
This case study was developed based on an interview with Matt Poepsel, PhD, and Rachel Rosenthal from Predictive Index, conducted in June 2025.
