Todd Bertsch, an inspiring entrepreneur and life-optimization coach, shares his journey from early life challenges to transformative leadership. He discusses the power of embracing a growth mindset, highlighting how it fosters empathy and self-awareness. Todd underscores the importance of personal growth as a foundation for effective leadership, explaining how supportive relationships play a crucial role. He emphasizes the value of reflection and vulnerability in guiding others, making a compelling case for leaders to prioritize their own well-being.

Send us a textDr. Flo Falayi, a Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry, leads leadership and executive development within the Advisory practice, CEO/C-Suite Accelerator, and Succession team. He focuses on executive development, coaching, team effectiveness, and inclusive leadership programs to align with strategic priorities and enhance satisfaction, motivation, and retention.With 28 years of experience, Dr. Flo helps organizations execute strategy through effective leadership development and coaching. He has held P&L responsibilities across HR, Business Technology, L&D, and Training in global organizations.Dr. Flo Falayi brings a global perspective from working across North America, Europe, and West Africa. He applies psychological principles to solve leadership challenges and partners with senior leaders on assessments, 360 evaluations, and succession planning.Before Korn Ferry, he co-founded a boutique firm and was a principal at a global consultancy. A recognized thought leader, his insights appear in various publications, and he speaks frequently on inclusive leadership, hybrid leadership, and coaching strategies.Flo is married to his college sweetheart, Lande and they have three young men, two in college and a high school junior.Flo is a YALE scholar, holds a PhD in Organizational Leadership and an Executive MBA candidate at the University of Georgia, Terry College of Business. He holds a Master's degree and a Bachelor's degree in Computer Information Systems, and a Bachelor's degree in Architecture. Dr. Flo is an accredited coach (ACC) certified by the International Coach Federation (ICF) and a member of the American Psychological Association (APA), Change Management Professionals (ACMP), Project Management Institute (PMI), and the Forbes Coaches Council.A Quote From This Episode"Enterprise leaders have to be able to perform and transform the business at the same time."Resources Mentioned in This EpisodeArticle: Top 5 Leadership Trends That Will Shape 2025 (Korn Ferry)Book: Calling Bullshit byCalling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World by Carl T. Bergstrom & Jevin D. WestBook: The Trusted Advisor byThe Trusted Advisor by David H. Maister, Robert Galford, and Charles Green Book: Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading by Ronald A. Heifetz  & Martin Linsky About The International Leadership Association (ILA)The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Plan for Prague - October 15-18, 2025!About  Scott J. AllenWebsiteWeekly Newsletter: Pra ♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

Send us a textCorey Crossan is a research and teaching fellow at The Oxford Character Project where she develops and facilitates character development programs for students and industry. She is also the co-founder of Virtuosity Character, a mobile software application created to support the daily, deliberate practice of character-based leadership development.Dr. Mary Crossan is a Distinguished University Professor and Professor of Strategic Leadership at the Ivey Business School at Western University, Ontario. She is also a co-founder of Virtuosity Character and co-host of the “Question of Character” podcast.A Quote From This Episode"We discovered that it wasn’t a failure of competence, but largely this failure of character.”Resources Mentioned in This EpisodeApp: Virtuosity CharacterMary Crossan on Google ScholarMovie: Freud's Last LessonsBook: The Science of Motivating Young People by Yeager About The International Leadership Association (ILA)The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Plan for Prague - October 15-18, 2025!About  Scott J. AllenWebsiteWeekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for LeadersBlogMy Approach to HostingThe views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic. ♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

Send us a textJeffrey Beeson has a dual MBA in finance from the Wharton School of Business and an MA in international business from the Lauder Institute. They set the foundation for Jeffrey's interest in business strategy, culture, and leadership.During his work in the European offices of Bain and McKinsey, he led projects in a broad spectrum of industries on a pan-European and worldwide basis. During his collaboration with clients, Jeffrey experienced firsthand that culture eats strategy for breakfast. Jeffrey expanded his expertise in culture transformation by joining Senn Delaney, the first firm to foster thriving organizational cultures worldwide. At Senn Delaney, he headed culture rollout initiatives for multinational corporations throughout Europe. Jeffrey continued his personal learning journey at the European Office ofthe Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), a prestigious worldwide leadershipdevelopment practice. During his tenure at CCL he touched the lives ofthousands of leaders throughout Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region and worldwide.From 2003 to 2011, Jeffrey served on the board of the International Leadership Association, the largest member-based organization dedicated to advancing leadership worldwide. A Quote From Beeson"The newly emerging science of networks opens an entirely new horizon on how to lead people, design organizations, and make sense of complex social environments."Resources Mentioned in This EpisodeNetwork Leadership: Promoting a Healthier World through the Power of Networks by Jeffrey Beeson Jeffrey's BlogJeffrey's NewsletterBook: No Fit - My 1,700-Mile Walk from Apartheid by Nico de Klerk About The International Leadership Association (ILA)The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Plan for Prague - October 15-18, 2025!About  Scott J. AllenWebsiteWeekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for LeadersBlogMy Approach to HostingThe views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic. ♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

Ira Chaleff, an esteemed author and executive coach, dives into the dynamics of political followership and leadership. He discusses how followers can influence leaders' effectiveness and the importance of courageous followership. Chaleff examines motivations behind support for destructive leaders, drawing insights from historical events like the Holocaust. He also critiques political polarization and emphasizes the need for diverse viewpoints in enacting change. The conversation highlights the crucial role followers play in promoting ethical accountability and curbing tyranny.

Send us a textZuzana Čmelíková has been teaching and coaching for more than 20 years, especially in the diagnosis and creation of organizational culture, leadership development, self-management, resilience, stress management, time management, managerial training, soft-skills training. Zuzana has completed the 3rd degree of university studies in the field of human management at Matej Bel University. She successfully completed professional internships abroad in Belgium and in the USA. In 2019, she became an internationally certified persolog® coach for increasing personal performance, organizational performance and streamlining communication and teamwork. In 2020, she received certification at the University of Pennsylvania in the specialization Positive Psychology and Resilience, directly from the creators of this concept. In 2024 she won the category Lecturer of the Year in Learning & Development Awards.She is a Leadership & Resilience Professional in Slovakia.A Quote From This Episode"We need to be aware of who we are and what we stand for, and it will create a cultural identity. And I believe that we can base it on our history. We have amazing role models who fought for freedom in our country."Resources Mentioned in This EpisodeBook: Ethics: The Heart of Leadership by Joanne B. Ciulla About The International Leadership Association (ILA)The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Plan for Prague - October 15-18, 2025!About  Scott J. AllenWebsiteWeekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for LeadersBlogMy Approach to HostingThe views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic. ♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

Send us a textNeal Foard has spent 30 years in advertising and marketing, creating award-winning campaigns for global power brands like Budweiser, Sony and Lexus. For his work on Toyota, Neal ranked among the top ten most awarded creative directors in the world in 2002. As the author of an innovative talent development series, Neal was named Worldwide Director of Creative Learning for global ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi. He has consulted on creative messaging for Fortune 500 companies, governments and universities and been a featured speaker at TEDx conferences. Most recently, Neal has gained a following on social media for his inspirational videos about the kindnesses of everyday people.A Quote From This Episode"Curiosity and humility. Boy, those are going to go a long way as a leader."Resources Mentioned in This EpisodeYoutube - Neal's YouTube ChannelWebsite - Neal's WebsiteTedTalk - Neal's TedTalkEmpathy Video - Cleveland ClinicBook - The Brothers Karamazov by DostoevskyPoet - Charles Bukowski About The International Leadership Association (ILA)The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Plan for Prague - October 15-18, 2025!About  Scott J. AllenWebsiteWeekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for LeadersBlogMy Approach to HostingThe views of my guests do not constitute "truth." Nor do they reflect my personal views in some instances. However, they are views to consider, and I hope they help you clarify your perspective. Nothing can replace your reflection, research, and exploration of the topic. ♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

Send us a textAfter a life of playing professional baseball, Josh Lindblom quickly realized he had nothing on his resume between "player here" and "player there." He felt a deep longing to discover who he had been created to be so that he could do what he had been designed to do. After being guided through retirement by a coach and having numerous discussions with friends and teammates, he realized that the longing he felt also resided deep and unsurfaced in the hearts of everyone he talked to. Congruency quickly changed from something he wanted to do to something he had to do.Josh is married to his high school sweetheart, Aurielle. They have four children. He enjoys getaway weekends with his wife, coaching his kids and their friends in any and every sport, and hosting friends for any and every reason—like a spontaneous Royal Rumble party. Josh has a Master’s in Biblical Studies (MABS), a personal and leadership development certification from Leader Breakthru, and an Associate Certified Coach certification (ACC) from the International Coaching Federation.Josh’s greatest passion is walking alongside others as they discover who they are and decide to make the courageous choice to align who they are with what they do each day of their lives.A Quote From Josh"We help you make your invisible life visible so you can break free from where you are and become who you were created to be."Resources Mentioned in This EpisodeOrganization: CongruencyBook: Garden City by John Mark ComerBook: Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership by Ruth Haley BartonBook: Life Without Lack by Dallas Willard About The International Leadership Association (ILA)The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Plan for Prague - October 15-18, 2025!About  Scott J. Allen ♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

Send us a textCarey Jaros brings passion for our Purpose — Saving Lives and Making Life Better Through Well-Being Solutions — to her daily work at GOJO (the makers of Purell). Her focus is on continuously extending GOJO leadership as a market-making, growth-oriented Company that cares about the health and well-being of people worldwide and within its walls. Carey joined GOJO in 2014 as a board member, then held executive roles as Chief Strategy Officer – where she oversaw Marketing, Product Management, and Innovation – and as Chief Operating Officer before becoming President and CEO in January 2020.As an operator, investor, and board member, Carey has worked on and in more than 50 organizations— from established public and private companies, to startups and non-profits. Prior to GOJO, Carey was the President of Walnut Ridge Strategic Management Company, and was a Vice President at Dealer Tire, a large privately held tire distributor. She spent the first 12 years as a management consultant at Bain & Company.Carey is a Board Director of Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ: GO) and an Advisory Board Member of venture-backed menstrual products startup Aunt Flow. She also serves on the Boards of The Cleveland Foundation, University Hospitals, and Laurel School.Carey received her A.B. in Public Policy from Brown University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She and her husband live in Northeast Ohio with their three children.A Quote "We have a whole-systems approach to social, environmental, and economic sustainability, including certification as a WBE, product certifications, and a vertically integrated supply chain. With our strong foundation in place, we're advancing our Sustainable Value strategy and action plan."Resources Mentioned in This EpisodeBook - The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American SwamiWebsite - Frances Frei and Anne MorrissBook - Unleashed by Frances Frei and Anne MorrissTed Talk - How to Build (and Rebuild) Trust by Frances FreiPodcast - Fixable About The International Leadership Association (ILA)The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, and teaching leadership. Plan for Prague - October 15-18, 2025!About  Scott J. AllenWebsiteWeekly Newsletter: Practical Wisdom for LeadersBlogMy Approach to Hosti ♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.

Send us a textRalph A. Gigliotti, Ph.D., serves as Assistant Vice President for Organizational Leadership in University Academic Affairs at Rutgers University. In this role, he directs the Office of Organizational Leadership and provides executive leadership for a portfolio of signature leadership programs, consultation services, and research initiatives. Ralph regularly partners with campus leaders on projects of strategic importance, and he serves as an executive advisor for senior academic leaders across Rutgers in the areas of change leadership, crisis leadership, organizational strategy, and continuous improvement. He holds part-time faculty appointments in the Department of Communication (School of Communication and Information), Ph.D. Program in Higher Education (Graduate School of Education), Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), and Rutgers Business School. He is author and editor of 10 books and nearly 50 journal articles and book chapters on topics related to organizational communication and leadership in higher education. Ralph is president of the Network for Change and Continuous Innovation (NCCI) —an organization of nearly 100 colleges and universities from across North America who seek to advance sustainable excellence in higher education by promoting successful practices and approaches used to drive change, innovation, and continuous improvement across academic and administrative functions. We had two other guests toward the end of the episode who promoted some upcoming events with the Network for Change and Continuous Innovation (NCCI).Kim-Marie Jenkins, Senior Director for Organizational Change and Culture, University of Maine SystemRick Wernoski, Associate Vice Chancellor for Operational Excellence, University of North Carolina, Chapel HillA Quote From This Episode"We find ourselves at a moment in time where individuals, organizations, and communities are responding to the waves of change."Resources Mentioned in This EpisodeBook: Post-Crisis Leadership: Resilience Renewal and Reinvention in the Aftermath of Disruption by GigliottiOrganization: Network for Change and Continuous Innovation (NCCI)Learning Opportunity: NCCI In-Person Institutes Book:  Grant by Ron ChernowBook: Whatever It Is, I’m Against It: Resistance to Change in Higher Education by Rosenberg About The International Leadership Association (ILA)The ILA was created in 1999 to bring together professionals interested in studying, practicing, a ♻️ Please share with others and follow/subscribe to the podcast!⭐️ Please leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or your platform of choice.➡️ Follow me on LinkedIn for more on leadership, communication, and tech.📜 Subscribe to my weekly newsletter featuring four hand-picked articles.🌎 You can learn more about my work on my Website.