The QBQ! Podcast
What changes when we stop blaming, complaining, and waiting—and start asking better questions?
Hosted by Kristin Lindeen, The QBQ! Podcast brings the principles of the bestselling book QBQ! The Question Behind the Question into everyday life. Through honest conversations, practical insights, and real-life stories, Kristin explores how personal accountability can strengthen our leadership, relationships, families, workplaces, and choices.
Because lasting change doesn’t begin with someone else. It begins with the questions we ask ourselves.
Personal accountability—it’s really that simple.
Episodes
35 episodes
What Does THAT Have to Do with QBQ?
What happens when you sit down with John G. Miller and ask him a bunch of random questions?Apparently, you still end up talking about personal accountability.In this episode, Dad and I go a little off-script with a mix of fun, une...
“I Love You Just as You Are”: Helping Our Kids Grow Without Changing Who They Are
Resources: https://qbq.com/relationships-7-perfect-words/https://qbq.com/books/raising-accountable-kids/How do I help my children stretch and grow without making them feel as though who they are isn’t enough?Ins...
What can I do to make you feel AWESOME?
I talk a lot about asking better questions—but I loved the way my guest John Kirkman applies that idea: What can I do to help this person feel awesome?(check out https://awz.me/ for a creative way to encourage others!)John ...
How Great Leaders Let Go
Two weeks ago, I talked about using QBQ! to find calm in the middle of change. This week, Cindy Moen joins me to continue that conversation.Cindy recently retired from her role as Chief People Officer and shares how she used QBQ! to proc...
Finding Calm in the Middle of Change
Change is inevitable, but chaos doesn't have to be. In this episode, Kristin shares why change naturally leads us to ask lousy questions, and how asking better ones can help us respond with calm instead of frustration. Through stories from rece...
Accountability in the age of AI: Don't Outsource Your Thinking
AI is changing the way we work, learn, and do business—but what does that mean for personal accountability?In this episode, I sit down with entrepreneur, business coach, and my sister-in-law, Jen Hickle, to talk about navigating change i...
When Caring Too Much Becomes a Problem
One of the biggest misconceptions I encounter about personal accountability is the belief that it means doing more, working harder, and saying yes to everything.In this solo episode, I share a conversation I recently had with a client le...
From “Why Me?” to “What Can I Do?” | Real-Life QBQ! Application
When life feels unfair, where does your thinking go first?In this episode of The QBQ! Podcast, I sat down with Brad Detchevery, a longtime QBQ! reader and listener who shared how personal accountability transformed the way he handled one...
From Trade Show Tent to Industry Leader: The Power of Personal Accountability
I’m re-sharing one of my favorite QBQ! Podcast conversations today with Joe Hamilton, CEO and President of Vortex Optics. Plus a little surprise!Joe shares the incredible story of building Vortex from a small trade show tent into the lar...
What Our New Puppy Is Teaching Me About Personal Accountability
We just brought home a new puppy, and within hours, I caught myself asking all the wrong questions.“Why is she doing this?” “When is she going to learn?” “Who's going to handle this mess??”Sound familiar?In this episode, I’...
From Finger Pointing to Double Digit Growth
What does it take to move a team from finger-pointing to real results?In this episode, I talk with Debbie Slocum, a longtime QBQ user and former HR leader at Husqvarna. She shares what it was like to be the “lone wolf” introducing QBQ to...
Stop Speaking in Code: What Outstanding! Organizations Do Differently
What do outstanding organizations actually do differently?In this episode of The QBQ! Podcast, I’m joined by my dad, John, as we talk about the books beyond QBQ!—including Flipping the Switch, I Own It!, Ra...
From Micromanaging to Leading: The Power of Better Questions
In this episode of the QBQ! Podcast, I’m joined by Laura Train, founder of Integrity Training Solutions and a longtime QBQ practitioner and distributor. Laura first encountered QBQ! while working at the Social Security Administration, and she s...
Raising an Accountable Generation: What It Takes to Raise Ownership at Every Age
Part 2 of a conversation with the Coast to Coast Camps leadership team, this episode turns the focus to parenting, modeling, and what it really takes to raise an accountable generation.From foster care to grandparenting, from todd...
When Every Problem Points to You: From Bottleneck to Breakthrough
When Every Problem Points to YouFrom Bottleneck to BreakthroughWhat do you do when every problem seems to land on you?In this episode of the QBQ! Podcast, I’m joined by the leadership team ...
You Can’t Hold People Accountable (And Why That’s Good News for Leaders)
“I still have to hold my people accountable.”Managers say this all the time—and it’s a fair question.In this short, one-off episode of the QBQ! Podcast, Kristin Lindeen clarifies the difference between personal accounta...
Great Hospitality Starts with Better Questions: The QBQ Approach to Restaurant Leadership and Accountability
Why Great Hospitality Starts with Better Questions The QBQ Approach to Restaurant Leadership and AccountabilityIn the restaurant world, it’s easy to spend your days reacting—putting out fires, fixing mistakes, and won...
Why the Questions We Ask Matter (with Charles Alexander): A featured conversation from the Do More By Doing Less podcast
This week, we’re sharing a conversation from the Do More By Doing Less podcast, hosted by Charles Alexander.Charles recently sat down with my dad, John G. Miller, author of QBQ! The Question Behind the Question, for a t...
Careers Aren't Straight Lines: Taking Ownership from Customer Service to Operational Excellence
In this episode, Kristin talks with Cindy Darnell of Element about how personal accountability shapes everything from team dynamics and customer service to parenting and career growth. Cindy shares how QBQ helped her move from blame to ownershi...
Letting Go and Letting Be: A Peaceful Holiday Season
Kristin shares seven simple “let” ideas—let go, let loose, let others, let up, let in, let be, and let me—to help create a calmer, more joyful holiday season. A quick QBQ reminder to pause and ask: What can I do to bring more joy to the peo...
The Story of QBQ! – Part 5: The Shaping of the QBQ! book with David Levin
In Part 5 of The Story of QBQ! series, Kristin talks with David Levin — the creative partner who helped shape the QBQ! book we all know today. Together they revisit how it all came together, from cassette tapes to a timeless m...
Accountability in Sales: Kristin Lindeen on the Awesome Impact Podcast
QBQ! goes B2B! Kristin joins John DiMare on The Awesome Impact B2B Sales Podcast to unpack how The Question Behind the Question® empowers sales leaders to stop blaming, start owning, and lead with action. Hear how accountabili...
Accountability Isn’t a Policy—It’s Personal.
When HR leads with accountability, everyone wins.How Liberty Hospital’s HR leader turned one simple book into a movement of personal accountability.Liberty Hospital’s VP of HR, Thomas Murphy, joins Kristin Linde...
We Don't Leave Companies, We Leave Managers: Becoming an Outstanding Manager with QBQ!
Managers shape culture more than any perk or policy. In this episode, John G. Miller and Kristin Lindeen explore why people often leave managers—not companies—and how personal accountability, humility, and the lessons from Outstanding!...
Believe or Leave: Building a Performance Culture with CRO Steve Chamberlin
What happens when entitlement and blame meet a culture of accountability? In this episode of the QBQ! Podcast, Kristin Lindeen sits down with Steve Chamberlin, Chief Revenue Officer of Momentum Textiles and Wallcovering, to explore how QBQ has ...