Podcast: *Spark Leadership

Jonathan Passmore is an international respected coaching psychologist, Chair of the The British Psychological Society Coaching Division, researcher, author, executive coach, Professor of Coaching and Behavioral Change and Senior VP of Coaching at Coachhub. Jonathan has dedicated his career to helping leaders, managers and organizations improve performance and well-being, which includes many years of experience working at international businesses such as PwC, IBM and OPM. He is also written 100 scientific articles and an author of over 30 books, including his latest titled, Excellence in Coaching. Listen now

Terrence Taylor, was born in Sierra Leone and grew up in Maryland, USA. He began his career working on Wall Street, was a VP at CitiBank and served as CFO for startup Africa.com In the past 20 years he has created and built impactful leadership development programs across leadership pipelines. He now works at Google as the Regional Talent & organizational Development Consultant for the Americas at Google. In this episode he shares insights on African and American leadership and the importance of bringing a voice to those who are being led. Listen now

Brenda Bence is passionate about two things – leadership and branding, and how the two work together to help leaders achieve greater success in the workplace. Sought after across six continents as an executive leadership coach and motivational keynote speaker, Brenda is known for her “inside-out” leadership system. Recognized by Thinkers50 as a World Leader in Coaching, she is also consistently ranked by GlobalGurus as a Top-10 coach worldwide. Brenda earned her MBA from Harvard Business School and is the author of 11 award-winning books on leadership, coaching, and branding. Brenda’s latest book titled, The Forgotten Choice: Shift Your Inner Mindset, Shape Your Outer World. Listen now

Cary L. Cooper is the 50th Anniversary Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health at Manchester Business School, University of Manchester. He is also a founding President of the British Academy of Management, President of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), has been an advisor to the World Health Organization, ILO, and EU in the field of occupational health and well-being. Professor Cooper is an author/editor of over 250 books in the field of occupational health psychology, workplace well-being, women at work and occupational stress. He is also currently the Chair of the National Forum for Health & Wellbeing at Work and was awarded Knighthood from the Queen of the United Kingdom for his contribution to the Social Sciences. Listen now

Sally Helgesen is an international best-selling author, speaker and leadership coach. She is cited in Forbes as the world’s premier expert on women’s leadership and was named by Thinker’s 50 as one of the world’s top 20 coaches and ranked number 6 among the world’s thought leaders by Global Gurus. Sally’s contribution has helped companies understand what women offer to organizations rather than how they need to change and adapt. For over 30 years, Sally has delivered leadership workshops and keynotes for companies, partnership firms and associations around the world. Her most recent book, How Women Rise, co-authored with coaching legend Marshall Goldsmith, explores specific habits that hinder women as they seek to advancement and offers powerful practices to help women realize their full potential. Listen now

Charmaine Roche is an accredited executive coach, coach supervisor, PhD researcher, writer and podcaster. Her approach builds on a 29-year career as an educator and advisor, as well as being a contributor to thought leadership in the field of executive coaching through her focus on the ethics of coaching for social change. Charmaine has been developing thinking around coaching for social justice and enjoys convening spaces for challenging conversations. Moreover, she is the founder The Philosopher’s Stone Collective, a global community of practice that supports and encourages freedom of thought, expression and action for those in education. The Philosopher’s Stone Collective also helps establish a social justice eco-system that supports professionals explore social equity and decoloniality. Her latest research paper Racial Justice, Equity and Belonging with Jonathan Passmore, explores the question of whether coaching is an inclusive and diverse industry? Also, can and should coaching contribute towards racial justice and equity? Listen now

Ben Renshaw is a world renowned leadership coach, speaker and author. His focus on authentic leadership and high performance is under-pinned by his inspirational ‘purpose’ approach which has been utilized by world-class companies. Ben’s innovative work with leading organizations, senior executives and entrepreneurs has helped in the development of leadership capability, high performing teams and transforming organizational cultures. Ben’s work focuses on helping people think beyond what they first thought was possible and inspires them to be the best version of themselves. Some of his popular books include Being, Purpose, LEAD, SuperCoaching and his latest book LoveWork. Listen now

Dr. Oleg Konovalov is an acclaimed global thought leader, author, business educator, consultant, and C-suite coach. He is named among the top eight global experts in leadership and shortlisted for the Distinguished Award in Leadership by Thinkers50. Dr. Konovalov is also on Global Gurus Top 30 in Leadership, has been recognized as #1 Global Thought Leader on Culture by Thinkers 360. Having been named as ‘the da Vinci of Visionary Leadership’ by many leading authorities of our time, Dr. Oleg Konovalov is helping companies to create and execute their vision, maintain a strong productive corporate culture and achieve superior business performance.Most recently, his book, ‘The Vision Code: How to Create and Execute a Compelling Vision for your Business’ reveals the secrets of building and executing a strong vision within any organization. Listen now

Thomas A. Kolditz is a highly accomplished leadership expert, educator, author, consultant and a retired Brigadier General. He has been ranked among the top 25 coaches globally for the past five years and is the founder of five leader development startups, including Executive Director of the Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University. His latest book Leadership Reckoning has kicked off a movement in higher education to improve the quantity and quality of leader development for students. Moreover, Thomas A. Kolditz has held various leadership roles on four continents and has been named a top leadership Thought Leader by the Leader to Leader Institute. In his 12 years at the U.S. Military Academy West Point, Kolditz led the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership and was responsible for teaching, research, and outreach activities in Management, Leader Development Science, Psychology and Sociology. Listen now

In this episode, Maria Guimaraes and host Lisa Tomlin discuss how to empower high performers in organizations as well as ways that coaching can support cultural organizational transformations. Maria Guimaraes is a purpose-driven leadership coach who supports extraordinary visionaries to lead with purpose, build thriving businesses, and ignite action that positively impacts people and planet. Over the past 18 years, she has worked with some of the biggest advocates of change worldwide, such as UNICEF, UN Women, and others to mobilize leaders, CEOs and entrepreneurs to lead with purpose, heart and authenticity. She grew up in Mozambique, and has lived and worked in numerous countries – including China, Thailand, South Africa, the Netherlands and USA – where she partnered with visionaries and entrepreneurs to catalyze real transformation and change. Maria is currently based in Panama, where she is heading the United Nations World Food Programme’s Partnerships division in Latin America and the Caribbean. She leads a team of inspiring change-makers to galvanize governments, the private sector, philanthropists, foundations and the public at large to end hunger, further gender equality and address the root causes of poverty. Listen now

Dr. Kenneth Nowack is a highly accomplished psychologist, neuroscientist, researcher and author. He serves as the President/Chief Research Officer of Envisia Learning, Inc. and also the developer of a new behavior change platform called Talent Accelerator, which designed to help coaches, consultants and trainers more effectively facilitate learning transfer and successful habit/behavior change while providing a feature to measure ROI. In addition, Ken is a member of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations and has conducted research and published extensively in the areas of 360° feedback, leadership, health psychology, survey research, assessment and coaching. We’ll talk about the intersection of science and leadership, and how understanding the neuroscience behind psychological safety and trust can help retain talent and sustain high performance within organizations. Listen now

Whitney Johnson is an award winning author, coach and executive advisor whose expertise is focused on helping leaders grow their people to grow their organization. Whitney is the CEO of Disruption Advisors, a tech-enabled talent development company and one of the ten leading business thinkers in the world as named by Thinkers50. In 2017, she was selected from more than 17,000 candidates for the initial cohort of Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named as the #1Talent Coach. Whitney is also world-class key note speaker and frequent lecturer for Harvard Business School’s Corporate Learning and an executive coach and advisors to CEOs. Some of her bestselling books include: Smart Growth, Build an A Team, a Financial Times Book of the Month and the critically acclaimed Disrupt Yourself. In this episode we’ll talk about how organizations can grow their people in a smart and efficient way. Listen now

Dr. Modupe Taylor-Pearce is a scholar and practitioner of organizational development and leadership. Over the past three decades, he has successfully coached and trained leaders in Africa, North America and Europe. His passion for leadership enhancement was born out of his experiences as a cadet in the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) and as a military officer serving in combat in the Sierra Leone Civil War, where he was shot twice. As the only Sierra Leonean with a PhD in Leadership, Modupe was the founding Dean of the African Leadership University School of Business, an institution providing a Pan-African MBA degree to Africa’s mid-career professionals. He is also the Founder and CEO of Breakfast Club Africa Leadership, an organization that has impacted over 2,000 African leaders with coaching and knowledge-sharing services. In addition, Modupe leads a team of 32 Coaches across Africa and is the curator of The Made in Africa Leadership Conference. A TEDx speaker, Modupe has authored two books on leadership (“Striking Sustainable Success” and “Tough Love”) and a journal article in the International Journal of Leadership in Education. He is an alumnus of Capella University, Cornell University and the United States Military Academy. In this episode he will discuss his work in leadership development across Africa and why coaching is important for leaders who are already successful. Listen now

Maria Biquet is an experienced management consultant, executive coach and ethics researcher who has worked with senior executives from different countries in the private sector, the public sector and international NGO’s. She is also a lecturer at University of East London – Athens, Researcher on Ethics and President of EMCC Greece. Maria brings knowledge and experience from various business sectors such as Telecommunications, Automotive, Retail Financing, Insurance, Banking and Consulting. In the last 25 years, she has worked for multinational companies in strategic marketing positions and led start – up projects for setting up new companies. In the latest episode, our host Windy and Maria will discuss Maria’s recent findings from the research she conducted on ethical dilemmas in coaching today. Listen now

Dr. Pennington is a leadership development consultant who focuses on accelerating and elevating the effectiveness of leaders, teams, and organizations. With over 30 years of experience, he has served in internal and external roles in a wide range of companies, organizations, and associations, across industries. My personal and professional missions blend together to keep me focused on “making a difference”. In this episode, host Windy and Dr. Pennington discuss what it means to have conscious effort and intention behind leadership as well as how to develop your own leadership signature. Listen now

Judith Mangelsdorf is Germany’s first professor for positive psychology at the German University of Health and Sports. She is founder and director of the German Society of Positive Psychology as well as mentor coach and supervisor. In this episode, host Windy and Dr. Mangelsdorf discuss positive psychology and coaching as well as how to harness your top strengths. They also take a deep dive into how to utilize positive leadership styles during times of crisis and growth. Listen now

In this episode, host Windy and Nicholas Janni, theater director turned coaching and leadership thought leader, discuss his book, “Leader as Healer.” In his book, Janni pushes back against the left-brain dominance in today’s culture and seeks to re-introduce our often dismissed capacities for feeling, sensation, mindfulness and intuition. Their conversation will explore how these qualities are essential in facing the challenges of our times. Nicholas Janni has devoted his life to the study of human potential. Over the last 20 years he has gained an international reputation for his transformational coaching and leadership development seminars. He works with organisations, NGO’s and senior leaders worldwide and teaches at the IMD Business School in Switzerland. He bridges the worlds of creative, personal, spiritual and professional development in a uniquely powerful, relevant and accessible way. In his first career he was a theatre director. He taught acting at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and directed his own theatre company. He has spent over 30 years researching the theory and the practice of ‘the zone’ of peak performance in art, life and work, and has studied and practiced multiple mind/body disciplines. He co-founded the arts-based consultancy Olivier Mythodrama in 2001, and teaches at the IMD Business School in Lausanne, and the University of Oxford Said Business School. His book “Leader as Healer, a new paradigm for 21st century leadership” was published in March 2022. Listen now

Dr Dumi is an Executive Coach, Team Coach and Ubuntu Intelligence Coach based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He works towards rehumanizing organisations and other shared spaces using Ubuntu values and creating safety for everyone to bring their best selves forward. He has just been elected to serve on the ICF Global Board as vice Chair (2022-2023). In this week’s *Spark Leadership episode, Windy Tshepiso Maledu speaks with Executive Coach & Ubuntu practitioner Dr. Dumi Magadlel, about the concept of Ubuntu Intelligence, a way of seeing the world and each other as interconnected. They will explore how this mindset can benefit coaching practices and how this concept is quickly becoming a global phenomenon. Listen now

In this episode, host Windy and John Mattone discuss how to unlock your leadership potential through “intelligent leadership”, why vulnerability is a leadership strength, and why leaders need to focus on developing their inner core. John Mattone is the author of 10 books including 5 bestsellers. The Intelligent Leader (2019) was recognized by Forbes as a top leadership book of 2019 and Bookauthority.org has this book ranked as one of the best leadership books ever written. John’s latest work, The Executive Coach’s Handbook-Volume I, was released in August 2022 and became an Amazon best-seller and #1 Amazon best-selling new release in multiple categories. Since 2019, John Mattone has been ranked as the World’s #1 Executive Coach (Globalgurus Research Organization). Learn more about his organization, Intelligent Leadership Movement:https://ilmovement.com/. Listen now

In this episode, host Windy and Haesun Moon, Ph.D., explore the power of words, how to better curate conversations and how ordinary words can alter perspectives, thinking patterns and behaviors. Haesun Moon, Ph.D., is a communication scientist, an educator, and author of Coaching A to Z: The Extraordinary Use of Ordinary Words. Haesun received her Ph.D. in Adult Education and Community Development from University of Toronto. She believes that conversations can change the world, and she defines this process as hosting dialogic conditions in which people participate to imagineer and perform their preferred change. Her research led to development of a simple coaching model, Dialogic Orientation Quadrant (DOQ), which has transformed the way people coach and learn coaching worldwide. Haesun teaches Brief Coaching at the University of Toronto and serves as Executive Director at the Canadian Centre for Brief Coaching, and Principal at The Human Learning Institute. You can visit her online atwww.briefcoaching.caandwww.coachingatoz.com. Listen now

In this episode, Valeria Cardillo Piccolino and host Kate Leismer unpack headwinds women face in the workplace and how coaching can help them to thrive at all levels of their careers. Valeria Cardillo Piccolino is a psychologist, coach and senior behavioral scientist with CoachHub. She is an organizational psychologist and ICF-accredited business coach whose main expertise lies in supporting the talent, organizational and leadership development strategy of big corporates, especially during delicate phases of cultural and organizational change. She has a background in HR consulting, coaching and training in various industries, from the United Nations to banking, from retail to no-profit, at an international level for more than 10 years. Her main mission is related to the development of ethical, green and inclusive leadership, in which ideally every employee can become a sustainability-oriented decision maker. Listen now

In this episode, Fergus Connolly, PhD. and host Yannis Niebelschuetz discuss what top business executives can learn from leaders in sports and the military, and explore how coaching can take “the best to better.” Dr. Fergus Connolly is one of the world’s foremost human performance thought leaders and influencers, and has applied performance science with leading sports, military, and business teams. He is the only coach to have full times roles in every major sport. Fergus has served as Director of Elite Performance for the San Francisco 49ers, Sports Science Director with the Welsh Rugby Union, and Performance Director for University of Michigan Football. He has guided coaches, support staff and players in the NBA, Australian Rules Football and international cricket. Fergus has also trained world boxing champions and advises elite military units and companies across the globe. You can find Fergus’ books including 59 Lessons: Working with the World’s Elite Coaches, Athletes and Special Forces and The Process Level III: The Methodology, Philosophy & Principles of Coaching Winning Teams on Amazon. Listen now

In this episode, Dr. Taryn Marie Stejskal and host Rosie Evans explore top resilience practices that can benefit business leaders. They also take a look at the role of resilience in talent retention and succession planning. Dr. Taryn Marie Stejskal is the founder of the Resilience Leadership Institute (RLI). She previously served as the Head of Executive Leadership Development & Talent Strategy at Nike, and Head of Global Leadership Development at Cigna. Dr. Taryn Marie earned her doctoral degree from the University of Maryland and completed pre- and postdoctoral fellowships in neuropsychology at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Medical Center. She is a Marshall Goldsmith Top 100 Coach Globally (MG100), and her TEDx talk entitled “How Resilience Breaks Us Out of Our Vulnerability Cage” has already surpassed 1 million views. Her sons Samson and Sawyer are always teaching her how to be more resilient. You can find Taryn’s book, The Five Practices of Highly Reslient People, on Amazon and other book sellers. Listen now

In this episode, Jerry Colonna and host Yannis Niebelschuetz take a deep dive into the top challenges that executives face in today’s volatile global marketplace and explore the concept of “radical self-inquiy” through coaching. Founder and CEO of Reboot.io, Jerry Colonna is a certified professional coach. He draws on his wide variety of experiences to help clients design a more conscious life and make needed changes to their career to improve their performance and satisfaction. He established his coaching practice in 2007. Prior to this work, Colonna was a venture capitalist focused on investing in early-stage technology-related startups. You can find Jerry’s book Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up on Amazon, Apple books, and other retailers. Listen now

In this episode, Navid Nazemian and host Matti Niebelschuetz take a deep dive into how executives can master transitions. Navid is a multiple award-winning executive coach and a bestselling author. He helps executives successfully transition by maximizing their leadership impact, build high performing teams and create admired organizations. His book Mastering Executive Transitions: The Definitive Guide is a #1 new release and international bestselling book on Amazon. Navid has been recognized as HR’s Most Influential Practitioner by the HR Magazine, #1 Coach of the Year by CEO Today, named as 101 Most Iconic Coaching Leaders Global by ET World & CHRO Asia, and has received the Outstanding Leadership Award from Education 2.0. Listen now

In this episode, Liz Wiseman and host Lisa Tomlin address how leaders can avoid being an “accidental diminisher” and ways coaching can help people at all levels of the organization become “impact players.” Liz Wiseman is a researcher and executive advisor who teaches leadership to executives around the world. She is the author of New York Times bestseller Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter and is the CEO of the Wiseman Group, a leadership research and development firm headquartered in Silicon Valley, California. Some of her recent clients include: Apple, AT&T, Disney, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Nike, Salesforce, Tesla, and Twitter. Liz has been consistently listed on the Thinkers50 ranking from 2013 to 2021, and in 2019 received the top achievement award for leadership from Thinkers50. She has conducted significant research in the field of leadership and talent management and writes for Harvard Business Review, Fortune, and a variety of other business and leadership journals. She is a frequent guest lecturer at BYU and Stanford University and is a former executive at Oracle Corporation, where she worked as the Vice President of Oracle University and as the global leader for Human Resource Development. You can find Liz’s books, including Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, on Amazon. Listen now

In this episode, La Juana Chambers Lawson and host Matti Niebelschuetz discuss the role of organizational leadership in talent development and bringing corporate DEI&B visions to life. La Juana “The PMO CEO” Chambers Lawson, MPA, PMP, LSSGB is the Founder and CEO at Tacit Growth Strategies, a leading project management office (PMO) and management consulting firm that specializes in government contracting, grant and proposal writing, impact investment strategy, and comprehensive international business development consulting. In addition to running Tacit Growth Strategies, La Juana is a REALTOR® and certified Military Relocation Professional (MRP) with Phyllis Browning Company. La Juana has been featured in O, The Oprah Magazine, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Marquis Who’s Who in America (Texas Business Owners), is a San Antonio Business Journal 40 Under 40 Honoree (2022), and was a Finalist for the National Association of Women Business Owners San Antonio Chapter’s Women Business Owner Awards (2023). She is the international best-selling author of “Master Grant Writing: A Project Manager’s Guide” published by River Walk Publishing, a comprehensive guide from the perspective of a grant writing and project management expert that demonstrates how to build and maintain a successful nonprofit or for-profit impact business. La Juana serves as Vice President of the Bexar County/City of San Antonio U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Continuum of Care the South Alamo Regional Alliance for the Homeless, Community Advisory Board Member of the River City Federal Credit Union, Director-General of the Global Alliance for Angel Investor and Venture Capital Networks by the esteemed Global Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Mentor for Trinity University’s MIT Venture Mentoring Program. You can find La Juana’s book, Master Grant Writing: A Project Manager’s Guide, on Amazon and be sure to check out her podcast, “Real Management Talk with LJ and Jocelyn.” Listen now