Innovating Leadership: Shorts

The advantages – and disadvantages – of a DEI program depend largely on a business’ board of directors…how they implement it, and react to it. The CEO of Competent Boards, Helle Bank Jorgensen, explains.   Learn more in our full interview with Helle on Podbean at https://bit.ly/YourFutureBoard , watch on YouTube at https://bit.ly/YourFutureBoard-YT , or search for “Innovating Leadership: Co-Creati...

We won’t like absolutely everything our favorite leader says. When we disagree with them, it’s important to let them know; that’s actually an expression of loyalty. Our guest, author Ira Chaleff, explains why that simple act makes you a courageous follower.   Listen to our full interview with Ira here on Podbean at https://bit.ly/StopATyrant , watch on YouTube at https://bit.ly/StopATyrant-YT , or...

Kara Hurst leads Amazon’s sustainability work, and is on track for the company to be net-zero carbon by 2040. She brought 525 other companies on board, too. Here’s how she did it.   Hear our full interview with Kara on Podbean at https://bit.ly/BeyondRetail , on YouTube at https://bit.ly/BeyondRetail-YT, or search for “Innovating Leadership: Co-Creating Our Future” on your favorite podcast platfor...

Change comes fast these days...and it'll come 4x faster soon. How can your business handle it? Ken Moore, Mastercard's Chief Innovation Officer, uncovers the three things you'll need. Hear our full interview with Ken on Podbean at https://bit.ly/MCInnovations2, or watch on YouTube at https://bit.ly/MCInnovations2-YT.

Massive amounts of money move across the globe every day. Mastercard soon realized that they could improve that system for consumers if they focused on collaboration and partnership, rather than competition. The result: improved choice, convenience, and security for your payments. Hear the full interview with Mastercard Senior VP Jennifer Marriner on Podbean at https://bit.ly/MCInnovations1, or wa...

There's still a huge gender gap in the C-suite, and in the 2024 US Presidential election, some voters admit they're "not ready for a female President." What gives? Tall Poppy Syndrome, for one thing. Guest Betsy Myers, a former White House advisor, talks about that, the stats, and other reasons we're (often subconsciously) biased against women at the helm. Check out our full interview with Betsy i...

Deb Liu, president & CEO of Ancestry, sees how rapidly the world is changing -- so wants people who can change with it. That will keep the company relevant for Ancestry's customers. In this video, she reveals the qualities she looks for when people want to join her team, including thinking out of the box, and being a team player instead of a superstar. Listen to our full interview with Deb on...

Change is happening faster and faster -- exponentially so. Leaders who fight the change instead of preparing for it will increasingly be left behind. The first step in preparing is recognizing why change is happening. Guests Chris Nolan and Mike Schindler provide an explanation of what the military's VUCA acronym means -- then reveal why we're entering the era of VUCAMax. Hear the full fascinating...

Hilton has over a century of success; their leader culture is a big reason why. Shruti Gandhi Buckley, SVP of Hampton by Hilton & Spark by Hilton, explains her three areas of focus leading to her team's success: - Put people first - Be inclusive & empowering - Inspire change. Get the details in Shruti's full interview. You can listen on Podbean at https://bit.ly/HiltonHospitality, or watch...

Guest: Steve Robinson, former Chick-fil-A CMO "There's a great leader in every Chick-fil-A restaurant." Former Chick-fil-A CMO Steve Robinson explains the origins of the company's philosophy for leadership in individual restaurants. After opening the first two stores, founder Truett Cathy saw plenty of problems with the standard fast-food management system, so he created an entirely new operator m...

Dave Levy shares the promise of AI -- and the ways those benefits are coming true now, including: - Empowering decision-makers with better data - Speeding up research - Personalizing services (and making them more convenient), especially in dealing with government, and - Converting ideas into action. Dave is the Vice President of Amazon Web Services (AWS) Worldwide Public Sector (WWPS), playing a...

Although Artificial Intelligence is making fast inroads into business, HR departments are often lagging behind. Sander van 't Noorende, the CEO of multinational HR firm Randstad, says it's for good reason: AI still doesn't understand human nuance, which is vital in the hiring process. Learn more in our full interview with Sander; the podcast is available on Podbean at https://bit.ly/PayWithPurpose...

When was the last time you heard a senior executive say, “I screwed up?”   It’s exceedingly rare – and it’s holding organizations back. Why? Because, as guest Tammy Alvarez – the CEO of Career Winners Circle – points out, you can’t succeed without failure. In fact, you’re likely to learn more from failures than successes! Tammy has more details in this excerpt from our interview.   The full interv...

We’ve seen the leadership trap a lot in CEOs post-COVID: they’re too set in their old status quo. Being static or stagnant in your beliefs traps you in the past, unable to respond successfully to new issues.   But our guest, Shaan Patel (CEO of Prep Expert), says the solution is simple: adopt a mindset of nimbleness and agility. Curiosity, too: take a look at  new tech, for example, and consider h...

Guest: Stephanie Lemek, Founder: The Wounded Workforce Up to 70% of your workforce faced at least one trauma and its aftermath. That affects their work...but leaders aren't equipped to be therapists. What can you do? In this video, Stephanie Lemek, founder of The Wounded Workforce, highlights the four things every leader can do: - Be informed - Be aware - Avoid re-traumatizing and - Actively minim...

Guest: Mike Morrow-Fox, Organizational Development Consultant Teachers want their students to have horizontal and vertical development. But leaders need to grow like this, too. So what are they? In this clip from our interview with Michael Morrow-Fox, he explains the basics.   Check out the full interview in our Podbean podcast at https://bit.ly/BeyondConvention. Mike provides more detail on horiz...

Have you heard of Cali Sober? It’s gaining popularity with leaders, although it’s been around for years. As health – mental and physical – becomes a bigger priority in C-suites, leaders are looking for less toxic ways to destress than drinking alcohol. With Cali Sober, execs are turning to psychedelics instead. In this video, Paul Austin, the CEO of Third Wave, explains further. For our full explo...

Arguments at work seem inevitable -- but you can easily defuse them by cooling down a heated discussion before it explodes. The key? Take a pause. In this video, elite executive coach Amiel Handelsman offers three very distinct ways you can smoothly take that pause. It's part of our longer interview with him about helping leaders communicate better. You'll find it on our podcast platform with Podb...

If your employees aren't ready for the future, your organization isn't, either. Tech companies like Amazon can't afford that -- so they create their future by preparing their employees. Steve Armato, Amazon's VP of Middle Mile and Tech, explains a few of the ways their teams get ready for the future: with upskilling, training, education, and empowerment. The result? About half of Amazon's new inno...

GUEST: Nate Rempe, Omaha Steaks CEO Omaha Steaks has led their market for over a century. CEO Nate Rempe says maintaining that lead for the next century requires several ingredients in their secret sauce for success...especially horizontal leadership. It creates cohesive leadership teams, connecting across lines of business. Nate explains more in this excerpt from our full interview.

Dr. Reza Soltanzadeh points out that, while 828 million people go hungry every night worldwide, 1.2 billion are malnourished. And he feels that can be solved using American manufacturing excellence, producing high quality foods at low price points to feed those in need. Our full interview with Dr. Soltanzadeh is available on YouTube at https://bit.ly/BorealisFoods-YT, or on our podcast host at htt...

As businesses adopt AI, ethical questions arise about its use: generating misinformation and disinformation are only the beginning! What do you do in the gray zone, where the ethics aren't obvious? Competent Boards CEO Helle Bank Jorgensen says one solution is to take it to your board of directors; after all, it's their job to ask questions. Listen to our full interview with Helle about the risks...

Change is scary — especially in the restaurant business, where routine and consistency are often the root of success. But Donatos Pizza CEO Tom Krouse explains the key roles of a leader to smoothly incorporate innovation. Number one: communicate! When your people understand WHY change is needed, they're more likely to accept it. This is an excerpt from our full interview with Tom. Check out the co...

Beverley McLachlin -- former Chief Justice of Canada's Supreme Court -- points out that leadership requires more of judges. Their decisions change people's lives. Their leadership principles are solid behaviors for ALL leaders: chiefly, leading by listening carefully to all present, but also considering multiple ideas, and taking the perspective of each person involved before making a decision. Li...

Physicist Julius Sumner Miller used to say failure doesn't exist in science because you learn from EVERY outcome. As guest Beryl Tomay reveals, the culture at Amazon is similar. She started there as an intern, and rose to Vice President. We all make mistakes, and she had her share of stumbles -- but the workplace was supportive, with both she and the company learning and growing. That's a key elem...