In this episode of the Inspire Greatness Podcast, I had the chance to have a conversation with Claudius Hildebrand. He is a consultant at Spencer Stuart, focusing on CEO performance and leadership advisory services. 

Having analyzed the performance of over 10,000 CEOs and conducted interviews with 100 CEOs and directors, Claudius has been able to identify key success factors. He provides guidance to CEOs, CHROs, and boards on how to improve performance and unleash potential.

Claudius is recognized as an award-winning author and contributes regularly to the Harvard Business Review. His work is often referenced in leading publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes, and the Financial Times. 

He is also the author of The Life Cycle of a CEO: The Myths and Truths of How Leaders Succeed, which he co-authored with Robert J. Stark. The book explores the anticipated challenges and successes that CEOs encounter throughout their leadership journey.

The book combines unprecedented research and 100 in-depth interviews to reveal how successful CEOs navigate these cycles by developing fresh skills and strategies. It provides insights into personal growth, navigating crises, and unlocking higher individual and corporate performance.

During our conversation, Claudius discussed three proven methods for inspiring greatness in team members:

1. Planting flags and building roads
2. Giving up control to be in control
3. Playing to win or avoiding to lose

Tune in to be inspired by Claudius’s wisdom and passion!

In this episode of the Inspire Greatness Podcast, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jen Thornton, the founder and CEO of 304 Coaching. This renowned business consulting company is dedicated to helping organizations amplify their positive impact through progressive leadership.

Jen is particularly passionate about the adult development model and its profound influence on leadership. She specializes in guiding leaders through the critical transition from a reactive stage to a creative stage. Interestingly, only 30% of adults successfully progress beyond the reactive stage, making this transition essential for leaders who aspire to inspire their teams.

Jen emphasizes the importance of self-authorship in driving personal and team performance, as well as organizational success. During our conversation, she shared her three proven methods for inspiring greatness in team members: 

1. Understanding how social change propels leadership evolution
2. Developing the ability to self-author
3. Transitioning from a reactive to a creative leadership mindset.

In this episode of the Inspire Greatness Podcast, I had the incredible opportunity to chat with Genevieve Piturro, the inspiring founder of Pajama Program.

Pajama Program is a nonprofit dedicated to helping children facing adversities by providing them with the essentials for a comforting bedtime and a better quality of life.

Genevieve is also the author of Purpose, Passion, and Pajamas: How to Transform Your Life, Embrace the Human Connection, and Lead with Meaning. In her book, she shares her remarkable journey of discovering and following her true calling.

During our enlightening conversation, Genevieve revealed her three powerful strategies for inspiring greatness in team members:

1. Listening to your heart voice

2. Being a cheerleader for your team members

3. Understanding that true change comes from the power of one another, not just one individual

Tune in to be inspired by Genevieve’s wisdom and passion!

In this episode, I had an insightful conversation with Sunil Rajasekar, the CEO of Billtrust.

Billtrust is a cutting-edge financial services organization that provides cloud-based software and comprehensive payment processing solutions. Their goal is to enable finance teams to drive growth and to provide guidance and inspiration to businesses.

Sunil brings over 20 years of experience in the business software industry. Before leading Billtrust, he was the President of Mindbody, a prominent experience technology platform serving the fitness, wellness, and beauty sectors. Prior to that, Sunil held key roles as a General Manager at eBay and the CTO of Lithium Technologies. Additionally, he actively invests in and advises startups.

During our conversation, Sunil delved into his personal journey, sharing how he grappled with leadership challenges as a VP and how he realized the importance of adopting a leadership mindset as he transitioned to senior leadership.

This realization ultimately led him to develop the 8 tenets of leadership, which define his aspirations as a leader and provide support to other leaders within his organization.

In this episode I talked with Kendra Davenport, CEO of Easterseals.

Easterseals is a disability services organization which envisions all people having choices and opportunities to reach their potential.

Since 2022 Kendra has served as President and CEO of Easterseals and has also held other leadership positions at organizations such as Operation Smile, the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation, and Africare.

In this episode, she’s going to share how her tendency to be a control freak was causing all sorts of problems for her while she was serving as chief of staff at Africare, and how she was able to solve those problems and go on to be very successful as a leader, now serving as the CEO of Easterseals.