The World Class Leaders Show: The CEO leadership podcast for leaders who solve big problems and build better futures.

As a Leader, you may have asked yourself, "why do some businesses achieve extraordinary results while ours don't?" If so, it's probably because the answer to this question lies in the gap between where we are today and where we want our business to be. In this episode of ‘The World Class Leaders Show,’ your host, Andrea Petrone, talks about what is needed to achieve extraordinary results in busine...

The modern workplace generally presents unique leadership challenges due to differing perspectives, cultures, and beliefs, and leading a diverse organization is about much more than simply acknowledging differences. For episode 070 of my podcast, ‘The World Class Leaders Show’, I invited Renée McGowan, Chief Executive Officer, Marsh McLennan India, Middle East & Africa, to talk about how she e...

Ownership can be the core component of one's perception of leadership. It requires a strong sense of responsibility, bravery and commitment. It's one of the most critical factors that can either make or break you as a leader. But when do you start taking ownership? How does ownership affect the company's goals and vision?  In this episode of ‘The World Class Leaders Show,’ your host, Andrea Petron...

Our ability to work together depends on one thing: TEAM'S SUCCESS But team alignment isn't easy to achieve. Some members might have conflicting or competing priorities, while others might have misaligned goals and objectives or be stretched thin because of their workloads. It can be difficult to get everyone to agree on common goals, but this is what makes teamwork possible. Leaders who want their...

You Can Achieve Your Success But in order to do that, one of the best things that I can offer to you today is maybe sharing some reflection and observation that I had in the last couple of weeks during holidays. Based on all the conversation that actually I had in 2022 with all amazing guests that are invited on the show, I found interesting that most of them shared very similar approach to leader...

Self-Centered, Arrogant, Distant, Spoiled, and Driven. We've all seen news stories about unethical CEOs.  But do a few rotten leaders affect the reputation of the other leaders? For this episode of ‘The World Class Leaders Show’, I invited Michael Mlynarski, Founder & CEO of QualityMinds. Michael Mlynarski shared the biggest myths employees believe about CEO jobs. Here are some details that mi...

For today’s episode, we want to repurpose one of the best episodes of the last 12 months. My interview with Haytham Kaddoura, CEO of SmartStream Technologies, a global company leader in financial transaction management solutions. In this episode, we discussed how you could drive a successful turnaround by covering some interesting topics like:   Regardless of your position, you need to be accessib...

I still remember my first real leadership experience. I was in Egypt and was asked to lead a team of 150 people. Before that, I led a group of 5. This was a giant leap. I enjoyed it despite the challenge but I remember how many things I needed to learn and change to be ready for the new journey. Something similar happened to Iggy Domagalski - President and CEO of a Canadian-based company, Wajax, t...

Creating a bold vision is not what many CEOs do. Many leaders play conventional by either creating a fluffy vision to hang on the wall or by not finding the courage to aspire to what looks impossible in the present. They're stuck in their own perspectives that limit them to think bigger. To achieve the impossible. On the other hand, some (very few though) leaders go beyond what looks possible righ...

What separates successful CEOs from average CEOs is not what many people think. It’s not much about their experience, skills, or abilities.  It comes down to their mindsets. For episode 062 of my podcast, ‘The World Class Leaders Show’, I invited  Carolyn Dewar , Senior Partner in McKinsey & Company’s San Francisco office. Carolyn co-leads McKinsey & Company’s CEO and Board Excellence prac...

What is your attitude towards risk and ambition? A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure to be interviewed by  Noi Ha Nguyen  at the #InsightsSharing Show where I shared my journey, life principles, and insights I learned in the last 20+ years working with leaders. I thought you might like this to get to know a little bit more about me but more importantly, to get my perspective on things like risk, c...

It’s not so common to meet CEOs who have built a bold vision for their companies and didn’t stop until they achieve it. Most leaders don’t have either the courage or the persistence to go beyond the drift and make a significant impact. They prefer to play safe and go for more predictable outcomes. Not  Dr. Doron Myersdorf , co-founder of  StoreDot . StoreDot’s Mission is to use nanoscale metalloid...

Only 20% of CEOs are able of driving change in their organizations. According to the latest CEO study from Egon Zehnder, a poor alignment between the CEO and the leadership team is one of the main reasons. You can have a great purpose, the best vision, and a wonderful strategy but if your team is not aligned, everyone is gonna go in different directions. Leaders will build competing priorities and...

It’s no shock to anyone that starting up a business comes with a lot of challenges, setbacks, and disappointments. People who are driven by the money that can come with success often forget that it takes more than just a good product. It’s understanding your market and understanding people. The people you surround yourself with as part of your team, and the customer. For episode 058 of ‘The World...

Social isolation. Lack of feedback. Fear of making bad decisions. These are typical challenges that first-time CEOs experience. This is not ideal for leading an organization through the current level of uncertainty. However, these feelings are normal, so the key is not to hide them. It’s to acknowledge them and learn how to see things from a different lens. In this episode, I share 8 key pieces of...

In the ‘old’ Western European world, internal business leaders were typically viewed as the top of the organizational hierarchy pyramid — the ones who ‘knew it all’ and made the decisions accordingly.  Today’s business wisdom turns the prevailing structure upside down, with customers sitting at the top of the pyramid; for true organizational success, this is where all business decisions should ste...

What’s the fine balance of leadership? It’s the perfect equilibrium that great leaders find when they manage their teams. It’s the trade-off between pushing too much and overcontrolling their work and being too distant and often unavailable when teams need it. In this episode, I’ll share: The expected consequences of being too pushy The expected consequences of being too distant A proven multistep...

All successful CEOs possess several critical skills and attributes. Chief among them is the ability to build a diverse team that complements the CEO’s capabilities and expertise and provides both support and challenge as needed.  A CEO must be able to decisively manage ambiguity and constant change, while focusing on strategic clarity and communication. For episode # 54 of my podcast series, The W...

Today is a special day.  The World Class Leaders Show podcast turns 1 and I thought to share with you some of the key lessons that top performer CEOs, business leaders, and best-selling authors shared with me during the last year. You’re going to love them! Plus, I got some news for you about the future of the podcast and what to expect from the new season that starts next week. Stay tuned…. I loo...

While many organizations promote and publicize their ESG (Environmental, Social, & Governance) efforts, still there exist significant gaps between concepts and execution. This is especially true for the Social and Governance dimensions.  Environmental initiatives are generally maturing. However, the Social aspect is receiving preliminary, and sometimes misguided, attention, and the Governance...

I don't believe that what we often label as "weaknesses" is correct. Some of them are actually great signs of leadership. In this episode, I shared some typical misconceptions about weaknesses in the workplace and explained why seemingly-weak behaviors are actually wonderful ways to demonstrate good leadership. I look forward to hearing your thoughts or reading your comments about this episode at:...