Disrupt Your Career

Ben Legg helps entrepreneurs reinvent themselves, their teams and society. His early career included relieving the siege of Sarajevo in 1995, McKinsey strategy consultant, turning around Coca-Cola India, COO of Google Europe and global tech CEO. In 2019 he 'ditched the day job' to focus on his portfolio career. Then in 2020 he launched The Portfolio Collective – now the world’s leading community of portfolio professionals – to help other professionals understand, launch, manage and grow portfolio careers.

In this episode, we talk with Ben about his diverse career journey, from the military to consulting, corporate roles, and startup advising. Ben shares key leadership lessons, how he left corporate life to pursue side hustles, and eventually launch The Portfolio Collective. He explores the changing nature of work, the rise of portfolio careers, the importance of career agility, networking, and effective talent management. Ben highlights the potential of fractional talent, how companies can benefit by offering flexibility and tapping into this growing workforce, and reveals some of his most exciting projects for the year ahead.

Links from the episode:  

• The Portfolio Collective, a global community of over 12,000 Portfolio Professionals
• Ben’s LinkedIn profile

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Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.com
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Joerg Staff is a Chief People Officer, Executive Board Member, Supervisory Board Member, Investor and Advisor for (Tech) Start Ups with over 20 years of experience leading HR and transformation strategies at global companies like Atruvia AG, SAP, DHL/Deutsche Post and Daimler. He specializes in business and digital transformation, cultural change, and employee experience. Joerg is a thought leader on the future of work, having authored numerous articles and a book, delivered keynotes, and pioneered innovative HR practices in large organizations.

In this episode, we talk with Joerg about his diverse career journey, from his early ambition for financial independence to leading global HR and transformation initiatives, his key leadership lessons, the importance of vision for career planning, and how he navigated his transition from corporate life to consulting. Joerg also delves into the future of work, emphasizing human-centric leadership and the role of digitalization and AI, while offering advice on balancing personal and professional growth in a rapidly changing environment.

Links from the episode: 

• Joerg’s LinkedIn profile
• Joerg’s Disrupt Your Career Author Chat interview about his book The AI Revolution in the World of Work

Thanks for listening!
Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.com
If you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Imagine living a life with no limits, overcoming self-doubt, and making the most of every situation. What if you could go to bed every night without worrying about tomorrow? Dr. Benjamin Ritter offers a powerful roadmap to build self-confidence, resilience, and a fearless mindset.

In this edition of Author Chat, Disrupt Your Career speaks with Dr. Benjamin Ritter about his new book, Becoming Fearless: 65 Strategies to Journey from Self-Doubt to Self-Mastery (Live for Yourself Consulting, September 2024). In this transformative guide, Dr. Ritter provides actionable strategies to help readers overcome their fears, defeat self-doubt, and unlock their inner strength.

Order Dr. Benjamin Ritter’s book

Dr. Benjamin Ritter’s personal page

Dr. Benjamin Ritter’s LinkedIn profile

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Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.com
If you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Mosongo Moukwa is a seasoned executive and consultant who has dedicated his career to helping companies thrive by commercializing new technologies, diversifying their product offerings, and entering new markets. Across thirty-plus years in leadership positions, Mosongo has applied his unique talent for identifying leadership gaps and developing the talent and culture necessary for success. He is the author of Be a Leader of Significance: Build Your Legacy, Leave an Impact, was featured in Business Today and is a regular contributor to Business Standard.

In this episode, we talk with Mosongo about his career journey, the importance of leadership and human connection, his unexpected transition from research scientist to manager, and the value of psychological safety in leadership. We also explore why he wrote Be a Leader of Significance, the key ideas from his book, and how impactful leadership is achieved through meaningful interactions and trust-building. We discuss the significance of small gestures and moments of connection in fostering team engagement and development, and touch on Mosongo’s most exciting upcoming projects.

Links from the episode: 

• Mosongo’s personal site
• Mosongo’s book Be a Leader of Significance
• Mosongo’s LinkedIn Profile

Thanks for listening!
Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.com
If you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Sarah Wittman is an Assistant Professor of Management at George Mason University’s School of Business. Her research explores people’s transitions within, across, and beyond organizational boundaries; the organizational impacts of transitions; and the social, technological, and learning support systems that can help make these comings and goings more personally and organizationally successful. She holds a PhD in Organizational Behaviour (INSEAD), a Master’s degree in Comunicación Política y Corporativa (Universidad de Navarra-George Washington University), and a Bachelor of Business Administration (Simon Fraser University).

We talk with Sarah about her career journey, the lessons she learned from collaborating with other academics and insights on being a thinker, human, and leader, her advice for young people considering a career in academia, her HBR article on career transitions, the importance of psychological transitions for new hires and finding roles that fit one's identity, the phenomenon called the ‘Big Stay’, tips for handling offboarding gracefully, Sarah’s vision for changing the world of work, and her most exciting projects and articles for the future. 

Links from the episode: 

• Sarah’s academic biography
• Sarah’s HBR article When Changing Jobs Changes Your Identity
• Washington Business Journal article about the ‘Big Stay’
• Sarah’s LinkedIn profile

Thanks for listening!
Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.com
If you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Carmen Wee is the Founder and CEO of the strategic HR Advisory services firm Carmen Wee & Associates. She brings a strong track record as a global C-suite business HR leader with over 25 years of international business experience, driving large scale transformation within fast-growing companies. She sits on several boards and serves the community through her active involvement in government agencies and educational institutions in Singapore. She is the author of 'From The Kampung To The Boardroom: My Leadership Journey'.

We talk with Carmen about how her career has unfolded and the key lessons she learned working alongside diverse leaders, her transitions from corporate HR leader to consultant then board member and author, her advice for HR professionals and aspiring board members, why she wrote ‘From the Kampung to the Boardroom’ and the main ideas of her book, the importance of job readiness as an antidote for unexpected career breaks, what she would like to see organizations doing better when it comes to talent and career management and her most exciting projects for the coming year.

Links from the episode: 
Carmen’s LinkedIn profile
Carmen’s book 'From The Kampung To The Boardroom’

Thanks for listening!
Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.com
If you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Do you feel dissatisfied with the contribution you're making? Afraid I’m falling behind? Stuck in your job with no way out, or passed over for jobs, projects or clients? If the answer is 'yes' to any of the above, this book is a blueprint for pursuing a career on your terms, whatever stage you’re at.

In this edition of Author Chat, Disrupt Your Career speaks with Angela Lane and Sergey Gorbatov about their book, Move Up or Move On: 10 Secrets to Develop your Career (Pearson Business, May 2024). Their book includes 10 practical ways to get clarity on where you are now, your career options, what you need to do, and how to keep evaluating your progress towards your goals.

Order Angela and Sergey’s book

Angela and Sergey’s Edge website

Angela and Sergey’s LinkedIn profiles

Thanks for listening!
Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.com
If you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Andre Martin, PhD, is an organizational psychologist and talent management executive with 20+ years of experience in talent development, executive team development, employee engagement, culture change, C-suite assessment and succession planning, innovation/design thinking, strategy development, and employee experience design. He has worked at or with Nike, Disney, Target, Mars Inc., Google, and more. He is also a father, a husband, and a wildly curious learner who is dedicated to ensuring iconic brands become iconic companies.

We talk with André about how his career has unfolded and the key lessons he learned working with iconic leaders, how he transitioned from a corporate employee, to a consultant while becoming an author along the way, why he wrote Wrong Fit, Right Fit and the main ideas of his book, the importance of knowing ourselves when looking for jobs and to keep our engagement high, the pitfall for companies and talent to try to be ‘first-date’ ready for interviews, the challenge for leaders to build trust and relationship in a hybrid work environment, and André’s most exciting projects for the coming year. 

Links from the episode:  

• André’s personal homepage
• André’s book Wrong Fit, Right Fit
• André’s LinkedIn profile

Thanks for listening!
Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.com
If you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

How will artificial intelligence change the world of work? Joerg Staff explores this important and timely question, providing an overview of the perspectives, strategies, opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence on management, organization and human resources.

In this edition of Author Chat, Disrupt Your Career speaks with Joerg Staff about his book co-authored with Michael Groß, The AI Revolution in the World of Work: Perspectives for Management, Organization and HR (Haufe, May 2024). Their book, currently available in German language, offers highly topical contributions on the applications of AI in the HR field that are already possible today, with concrete recommendations for action and practical examples from well-known companies and institutions. An edited version of our conversation with Joerg follows.

• Order Joerg’s book
• Joerg’s LinkedIn profile

Thanks for listening!
Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.com
If you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Asad Husain is a strategic Human Resources leader who is passionate about inspiring and influencing people to achieve their career dreams on a global scale. He has over 30 years of HR experience in blue-chip companies such as The Gillette Company, P&G and Dun & Bradstreet. He has lived and worked in USA, UK, UAE, Russia and Pakistan, and had responsibility for many other countries over the years. In the second chapter of his career, Asad wants to share his learnings to inspire success for future business leaders.

We talk with Asad about how his international career has unfolded and the key lessons he learned working with many diverse leaders in global companies, his transition from corporate C-suite to consulting, his advice for early career professionals who are looking to start out in their careers, why he wrote Careers Unleashed and the main ideas of his book, the importance of knowing yourself and finding your ‘true north’ and the four kinds of career conversation people can have.

Links from the episode:  

• Asad’s personal homepage
• Asad’s book Career Unleashed
• Asad’s LinkedIn profile

Thanks for listening!
Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.com
If you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast