Learn to Lead

As we approach the new year, we wanted to share a short reflection on the time we've spent with you as listeners since we first launched the Learn to Lead Podcast only twenty-one months ago. Host Matt Confer encourages you to think a little about time passing using a short anecdote about great movies, time travel, and the moon landing (trust us!). We are incredibly grateful to get to share the air...

Rita Gunther McGrath is a best-selling author, a sought-after speaker, and a longtime professor at Columbia Business School. She is widely recognized as a premier expert on leading innovation and growth during times of uncertainty. Rita has received the #1 achievement award for strategy from the prestigious Thinkers50 and has been consistently named one of the world’s Top 10 management thinkers in...

Eric Pliner is the CEO of YSC Consulting, a global leadership strategy consultancy headquartered in London and focused on the styles, dynamics, and cultures that enable successful achievement of strategy. On this episode, we discussed Eric’s recommendations for effectively managing difficult conversations at work, the lessons Eric’s learned as a leader in the last year (hint: it involves constant...

Kim Kaupe is the founder of Bright Ideas Only where she has worked with Oprah, Paul McCartney, and Jimmy Buffett. Her first company, The Superfan Company, allowed her to work with everyone from Katie Perry to the Boston Red Sox. She was recognized as a Forbes 30 under 30, and by Inc Magazine, 35 under 35. She also received one of the highest offers on Season 5 of Shark Tank . On this episode, we d...

Kara Goldin is the Founder and CEO of Hint, Inc., best known for its award-winning Hint® water, the leading unsweetened flavored water. She has been named one of InStyle’s Badass 50, Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs, Fortune's Most Innovative Women in Food & Drink and EY Entrepreneur of the Year for Northern California. Kara has succe...

For over two decades, Moshe Cohen has been helping people unlock their potential to negotiate more effectively, communicate more skillfully, lead more purposefully, and manage conflict more artfully. His book, Collywobbles: How to Negotiate When Negotiating Makes You Nervous , combines negotiation with emotional intelligence to help you overcome emotional barriers, apply your skills, and become a...

Mallory Rowan is an entrepreneur passionate about fitness, digital marketing, and building community. She has built her life around following her passions and sharing lessons along the way. On this episode, we discussed her journey to and through burnout, her personal practices to ensure she can perform at a high level without pushing herself to the brink, and we dug into what her experiences as a...

As founder of The Change Coaches, LaTonya Wilkins works with leaders and their teams where human connection and cultural change really happen: below the surface. LaTonya has built a career working in HR, talent management, and learning & development at GE, Abbott Laboratories, AbbVie, and other corporations. Her book  Leading Below the Surface: How to Build Real (and Psychologically Safe)...

Elliott Masie is a provocative, engaging, and entertaining researcher, educator, analyst, and speaker - focused on the changing world of the workplace, learning, and technology. Elliott is acknowledged as the first analyst to use the term eLearning and has advocated for a sane deployment of learning and collaboration technology as a means of supporting the effectiveness and profitability of enterp...

Sara Canaday's professional career spans 20 years including sales, leadership, and executive roles. She is the author of two books: You -- According To Them and Leadership Unchained. On this episode, we discuss why people relate best to storytelling, how a change of scenery supports her creativity, and what she’s curious about these days. Additionally, she shares the importance of pace-setting and...

John Eades is the CEO of LearnLoft a leadership development company which exists to turn managers into leaders. He was named a 2017 LinkedIn Top Voice in Management & Workplace.  He is the author of  Building the Best: 8 Proven Leadership Principles to Elevate Others to Success and is the host of the Follow My Lead Podcast. On this episode, we discuss the importance of how you g...

Tina Frey Clements currently leads rpc, a consulting company that focuses on elevating the performance of companies by focusing on people engagement. Over her career she has worked with organizations such as The BMW Group on performance management, talent management, development, and training. On this episode, we discussed why, sometimes, failure is an option and what her experience was like joini...

Bjorn Billhardt is the CEO and Founder of Abilitie, an award-winning leadership development company -- the very company that produces this podcast! In a special live-recorded episode of the Learn to Lead Podcast, we discuss Bjorn's origin story in business and how that first endeavor got derailed. We also talk about what brought Bjorn to focus his career in the education space, and the core purpos...

René Carayol is a keynote speaker specializing in diversity, leadership, and culture who draws on his experiences on the boards of top British and American companies. He is the author of the best-selling business books "Corporate Voodoo" and "My Voodoo". His latest best-selling book, "SPIKE", is leading the ‘Strengths based Revolution’. René continues to facilitate and host conferences all over th...

Originally a UCLA professor of psychiatry for over 25 years, and a former FBI and police hostage negotiation trainer, Dr. Mark Goulston’s unique background has made him a sought-after resource and change facilitator to Fortune 500 leaders, entrepreneurs, and educators across the nation. On this episode, we discuss how his mental health challenges in college led to his work helping leaders be more...

Dr. Sarabeth Berk is a personal branding strategist, career advisor, the leading expert in hybrid professional identity, and the founder of More Than My Title. She’s also a hybrid professional herself. Additionally, Sarabeth has been a TEDx speaker, cited in Forbes, and received a “Colorado Inno on Fire Award” for her innovative work. On this episode, we discuss what a hybrid professional is, the...

Mark Schaefer is a globally recognized keynote speaker, educator, and business consultant. He is the bestselling author of nine books including the first book ever written on influence marketing. On this episode, we discuss how a decision to get an AOL account for work in the 90s changed his career path forever, the three things he leverages to remain productive, and his advice to non-marketers as...

Cathy Hackl is a leading tech futurist and globally recognized business leader who was included in the 2021 prestigious Thinkers50 Radar list of the 30 management thinkers most likely to shape the future of how organizations are managed and led. She leads the Futures Intelligence Group, a futures research & consulting firm that works with clients in tech, fashion, media, government, and defense im...

Lou Adler is the CEO and founder of Performance-based Hiring Learning Systems. He is the author of the Amazon top 10 bestseller, Hire With Your Head, The Essential Guide for Hiring & Getting Hired. On this episode, he shares how he landed in the human capital industry, why he thinks there's nothing more important than hiring, and what he means when he says you ought to hire people who are "differe...

Scott Clary runs a global SaaS sales and marketing organization and is the host of the Success Story podcast where he interviews inspirational people, mentors, and leaders. On this episode, we discuss Scott's process for producing content and maintaining his online presence, how your personal brand impacts your ability to sell, and the importance of grit. Scott also shares how he reverse engineers...

Judy Robinett is the author of Crack the Funding Code: How Investors Think and What They Need to Hear to Fund Your Startup and How to Be a Power Connector: The 5-50-150 Rule. Robinett is a business thought leader who is known as “the woman with the titanium digital Rolodex.” On this episode, we discuss why "keep your head down" is terrible advice for fulfilling your potential, how Judy recommends...

Croft Edwards is a Master Certified Coach who has been serving an array of clients with his company Croft + Company. He has created Performance Management Process courses and accompanying one-on-one coaching sessions with over 90 leaders of the largest platinum and palladium mining company in the western hemisphere. On this episode, we discuss why the first person you must learn to manage is yours...

Karl Kapp is the Director of Bloomsburg's Institute for Interactive Technologies, the founder of “The Learning and Development Mentor Academy,” and the co-founder of The Enterprise Game Stack. On this episode, we discuss what Walt Disney's planning process has to do with Karl's own career and niche, the ways that COVID-19 has forced rapid discovery in e-learning, and his advice for aspiring leader...

Amanda Slavin is a former educator with a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction, the #1 best-selling author of The Seventh Level, the Co-founder of creative agency CatalystCreativ, and was named Forbes 30 Under 30 for Marketing and Advertising. On this episode, we discuss what her background as a classroom teacher brings to her work in marketing, her journey to find balance in her work, and what i...

Dr. Gleb Tsipursky is an internationally renowned thought leader in future-proofing and cognitive bias risk management. He serves as the CEO of the consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts, which specializes in helping forward-looking leaders avoid dangerous threats and missed opportunities. A best-selling author of several books, Dr. Gleb is well-known among business leaders for his national bestse...