Leading Visionaries Podcast

What if the biggest obstacle to your business growth isn't your strategy, your team, or your next big goal? In this episode of Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Rajesh Nagjee, CEO mentor, creator of CEO Freedom OS, and trusted advisor to business leaders.

Discover how the way you listen can transform your leadership, why convincing people is different from enrolling them in a shared vision, and how acknowledging your team can unlock greater enthusiasm, ownership, and performance.

If you're ready to move from being the chief problem-solver to becoming a leader who empowers others to thrive, this conversation will challenge you to rethink what leadership really requires.

Why CEOs can become the biggest bottleneck in their own business success.

The difference between creating a vision and discovering or receiving one.

How listening to others creates opportunities for collaboration, alignment, and shared ownership.

The seven filters of listening that can prevent meaningful communication and genuine connection.

Why convincing people can limit engagement and how listening can create authentic enrollment.

How the TALA leadership toolkit of telling, asking, listening, and acknowledging supports stronger leadership.

Why listening and asking questions can either increase or drain a team's energy.

How the concept of EROS connects enthusiasm, engagement, motivation, and performance.

Why acknowledgment is essential to helping employees feel valued and recognized.

How a weekly acknowledgment ritual can strengthen relationships, build team confidence, and uncover overlooked contributions.

How leaders can create a culture where team members feel empowered to recognize and learn from one another.

Why building a legacy business requires planning beyond the founder's lifetime.

Why do CEOs become bottlenecks in their own businesses?

CEOs can become bottlenecks when they take on too much responsibility for solving problems, making decisions, and directing their teams.

What are the seven filters of listening?

The seven filters of listening are default listening, expert listening, judging, interpreting, looking good, senior and junior dynamics, and a sea of opinions.

How can leaders improve team engagement and performance?

Leaders can improve engagement by listening to their teams, asking questions that encourage participation, acknowledging contributions, and creating an environment where people feel valued and empowered.

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What happens when more than 100 people reject your idea, the funding falls far short of what you need, and everyone tells you it can't be done? In this episode of Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Larry Namer, founder of E! Entertainment Television, to explore the unconventional journey behind one of the world's most recognizable entertainment networks.

Larry also offers practical advice for entrepreneurs and visionary leaders navigating uncertainty, scaling a business, and developing ideas that challenge conventional thinking. He explains why founders must be willing to pivot and why being good at something and working hard to master it may be a better starting point than simply following your passion.

The conversation also explores Larry's work in China and his book, Two-Minute Television: The Future Will Be in Your Pocket.

How an unexpected career opportunity can lead to building a successful business.

Why persistence matters when a business idea faces repeated rejection.

How to recognize opportunities others overlook by questioning industry norms.

Why entrepreneurs need to adapt their original vision as technology, audiences, and markets change.

What it takes to scale a business quickly while navigating new challenges and responsibilities.

How curiosity, cultural awareness, and listening to local experts can support international business success.

Why founders should focus on developing their strengths instead of relying on passion alone.

How vertical video and mobile-first entertainment are changing the future of media.

What entrepreneurs can learn from building media businesses across international markets.

How can entrepreneurs turn an innovative idea into a successful business?

Entrepreneurs can turn innovative ideas into successful businesses by identifying an overlooked opportunity, developing a clear plan, seeking the right funding and partners, and remaining persistent through rejection.

Why is persistence important when starting a business?

Persistence helps entrepreneurs continue pursuing opportunities when others doubt their ideas.

Why should entrepreneurs be willing to change their original business plan?

Technology, customer preferences, and market conditions can change quickly.

Book: Two Minute Television

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What separates a leader who gives orders from one who inspires others to lead? The answer lies in vision and the willingness to grow beyond yourself. In this episode of Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with TJ Baird, a retired U.S. Army Command Sergeant Major with more than 32 years of experience leading intelligence, special operations, and global mission teams.

Now an author, speaker, and co-founder of Warrior Dad Stories, TJ shares how his leadership journey evolved from direct command to delegation, strategic decision-making, and developing the next generation of leaders.

Through stories of fatherhood, perseverance, and finding a new direction after retirement, TJ reminds us that meaningful leadership is about more than achieving success.

How leadership evolves from giving direction to delegating, resourcing teams, and making strategic decisions.

Why great leaders must first learn how to be great followers.

How trust, coaching, and mentorship help leaders develop stronger teams.

Why data-driven decisions can protect organizations from costly emotional reactions.

How to prioritize competing ideas, manage resources, and keep a vision moving forward.

What TJ's four life principles teach us about discipline, well-being, purpose, and enjoying life.

How personal experiences and challenges can become the foundation for a meaningful business.

Why building the next generation of leaders is essential to creating a lasting legacy.

How to seek guidance, build supportive relationships, and avoid trying to build a business alone.

How to turn life lessons into stories that inspire reflection, personal growth, and action.

How does leadership change as someone advances in their career?

Leadership often evolves from directly guiding individuals and teams to delegating responsibilities, providing resources, overseeing operations, and making strategic decisions.

Why is data-driven decision-making important in leadership?

Data-driven decision-making helps leaders evaluate situations objectively, allocate resources effectively, and make choices that support organizational goals.

Why is being a good follower important to becoming a great leader?

Great leaders understand how to follow others, learn from experience, and work within a shared mission.

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What if your business could do more than generate profit? What if it could help create a better future? In this episode of Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Isabelle Grosmaitre, founder and CEO of Goodness & Co., to explore how courageous leaders can turn business purpose into meaningful action.

Isabelle also opens up about the realities of entrepreneurship, including financial uncertainty and learning to reinvent your business model. Discover how leaders can build future-ready organizations by making purpose part of strategic decisions and creating collaborative governance that moves meaningful change forward.

How a defining life experience can shape your vision and sense of purpose.

Why business can be a powerful force for positive change.

How to listen to your inner voice and build confidence in your leadership.

Why choosing to collaborate with pioneering organizations can create greater impact than fighting against established systems.

What entrepreneurs can expect when navigating financial uncertainty and risk.

Why business owners should avoid limiting themselves when pricing and monetizing their expertise.

How regularly reinventing your business model can support entrepreneurial growth.

How to move beyond purpose statements and integrate purpose into strategic business decisions.

Why collaborative governance and stakeholder engagement are essential to organizational transformation.

How boards, executives, employees, and partners can work together to create lasting change.

What does it mean for a business to be a force for good?

A business becomes a force for good when it uses its influence, resources, and decisions to create positive change while remaining financially successful. This means integrating purpose into business strategy, empowering stakeholders, and finding ways to contribute to a better future.

How can a company turn its purpose into action?

A company can turn purpose into action by making it part of its strategic decisions, business model, innovation efforts, and relationships with stakeholders. Purpose should guide how the organization operates rather than exist only as a mission statement or slogan.

What is purpose-driven leadership?

Purpose-driven leadership means guiding an organization with a clear commitment to making a meaningful contribution beyond financial performance alone. It involves aligning business decisions with a broader vision, empowering others, and working collaboratively to create lasting impact.

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What happens when the vision you have for your life is bigger than what the people around you believe is possible? In this episode of Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Steve Gutzler, leadership expert, speaker, coach, and the president of Leadership Quest.

Steve shares how lessons from his family's pancake house shaped his approach to leading people, why attitude sets the tone for an entire organization, and how a clear vision can create the passion needed to keep moving forward when life does not go according to plan.

Get ready to discover how to keep getting better forever while leading with vision, emotional intelligence, and purpose.

Why a compelling vision can create passion and motivation in the present.

How a leader's attitude can influence the people and culture around them.

Why leaders manage things but lead people.

How to maintain perspective and navigate emotions when life goes sideways.

Why entrepreneurial and leadership journeys rarely move in a straight line.

How lifelong learning can help leaders continue growing and evolving.

Why emotional intelligence is a critical leadership skill, not simply a soft skill.

How emotionally intelligent leaders create trust, connection, and a sense of value in others.

Why your inner circle can either strengthen or diminish your biggest vision.

How anchoring yourself in your core values can help you navigate challenging seasons.

What is the relationship between vision and leadership?

Vision gives leaders a clear picture of the future and creates the passion needed to move toward it. A strong vision can help people understand where they are going, why it matters, and what they need to do in the present to make that future possible.

How does emotional intelligence improve leadership?

Emotional intelligence helps leaders understand and navigate their own emotions while recognizing and responding to the emotions of others. This creates stronger relationships, greater trust, and a leadership environment where people feel valued, appreciated, and empowered.

Why is emotional intelligence important for entrepreneurs?

Entrepreneurs are constantly communicating ideas, building relationships, making decisions, and influencing others. Emotional intelligence helps entrepreneurs connect with people beyond simply exchanging information, making it easier to build trust and move people toward a shared vision.

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What happens when you stop looking at people as a business expense and start seeing them as the force that creates value? In this episode of Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Rohit Bassi, the founder of People Quotient and the creator of PQ, a framework that defines an organization’s capability through its people.

Rohit shares how his childhood vision for global impact shaped his leadership journey, what he learned from working with more than 100 businesses, and why translating a big vision into something tangible is essential for creating real-world impact. He also explains his five-year vision for bringing PQ to businesses around the world.

Why having a big vision requires both imagination and practical structure.

How to connect what you are solving for with the value you want to create.

Why people are fundamental to turning a vision into measurable business value.

What People Quotient, or PQ, means and how it applies to leadership, organization, and talent.

Why businesses benefit from thinking about their people proactively instead of only reacting to employee issues.

Why bringing a vision to life requires other people, not just the person who created the vision.

How a big idea can become a tangible framework that other people can understand, use, and apply.

What is People Quotient?

People Quotient, or PQ, is a framework for thinking about an organization’s people through three areas.

Why are people important to business success?

People are responsible for carrying out the work that creates value within an organization.

How is People Quotient different from IQ and EQ?

Rohit describes IQ and EQ as familiar ways of thinking about individuals, while PQ focuses on the people and organizational side of a business.

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What happens when you spend years learning how to lead, knock on 9,000 doors, and discover that the conversations happening face-to-face are dramatically different from the conversations happening online? In this episode of Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Christopher Rivers, former Army Officer and author of You Shouldn’t Have to Kill to Get Ahead.

Christopher shares what he learned from knocking on thousands of doors, why he believes meaningful change starts with everyday conversations, and how his book became the foundation for a larger mission to make complicated policy and political conversations more approachable.

You'll also hear how Christopher is turning his ideas into multiple formats, including an audiobook and digital experiences, while building a mission-driven business.

How having a clear vision differs from being able to see the path to achieving it.

Why your vision may develop through experience rather than appearing fully formed.

How a 1% improvement mindset can help develop leadership over time.

Why leadership is built through consistent personal growth rather than a single workshop or title.

What Christopher learned from knocking on 9,000 doors during his political campaigns.

How information overload can make it harder to find the information needed to make good decisions.

Why face-to-face conversations can help people navigate disagreement and different perspectives.

Two questions that can create more productive conversations around difficult issues.

How a book can become the foundation for a larger mission-driven business.

Why entrepreneurs need to meet people where they are and create multiple ways for people to engage with their ideas.

How speaking, books, digital products, and educational tools can become revenue streams for a mission-driven organization.

How does the 1% mindset help develop leadership?

The 1% mindset focuses on becoming a slightly better version of yourself each day. Christopher Rivers believes that consistently improving yourself over time can develop the discipline, experience, and personal growth required for leadership.

What can knocking on 9,000 doors teach you about leadership?

Knocking on 9,000 doors created an opportunity to speak directly with people across different political perspectives. Those conversations showed Christopher that many people's personal concerns and conversations were different from the broader conversations happening through media and online platforms.

How can people have better conversations when they disagree?

Two questions can help create more productive conversations: "What would you have to see to change your mind?" and "How would you feel if it happened to you?" These questions encourage people to consider whether they are genuinely open to new information and how an issue might affect them personally.

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What if the biggest thing standing between your big vision and the life you want isn't a lack of ambition, but a lack of a road map? In this episode of Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Jason Clark, Chief Marketing Officer of Tectonic. Jason helps organizations connect branding, technology, marketing, and growth strategy.

Jason challenges some common assumptions about marketing and visibility. Marketing doesn't create value where none exists. It amplifies the value that's already there.

Hear Jason's perspective on ego, collaboration, knowing when you're truly ready to sell a business, and why getting out of your own head may be one of the most important leadership practices of all.

How road mapping can turn a big vision into practical milestones.

Why BHAGs need benchmarks and smaller steps along the way.

How to lead and support other visionaries without taking over their vision.

Why ego can become an obstacle to long-term success.

How relationships and community contribute to achieving ambitious goals.

Why marketing works best when it amplifies proven value.

Why likes, followers, and visibility do not automatically create cash flow.

How founders can recognize when they are ready to sell or exit a business.

What changes when a founder moves from business owner to C-suite leader.

Why disconnecting from work can help leaders gain perspective.

How legacy, family, and presence can shape a leader's definition of success.

How do you turn a big vision into an actionable plan?

Start by defining the desired outcome and then work backward to identify the milestones required to reach it. A large goal becomes more manageable when it is broken into benchmarks, timelines, and measurable steps.

How can leaders help entrepreneurs achieve their vision?

Leaders can help entrepreneurs by bringing experience, perspective, strategic guidance, and an understanding of potential roadblocks. Rather than telling someone exactly what to do, effective leadership can help them anticipate challenges and create a practical path forward.

Does marketing create value for a business?

Marketing primarily amplifies existing value. Strong marketing can increase awareness, improve messaging, support sales, and create momentum, but marketing cannot compensate indefinitely for an offering that has not demonstrated real value in the marketplace.

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What happens when a personal problem becomes the doorway to a much bigger purpose? In this episode of Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Carmine Del Sordi, founder and president of Pure and Easy Tea, a luxury tea company built around purity, transparency, quality, and purpose. Carmine shares how self-discovery shaped his approach to leadership, why he believes vision and visualization are two distinct but connected practices, and how he learned to turn what he could see into a roadmap for action.

If you've ever had a vision that wouldn't leave you alone, this conversation offers a powerful reminder: sometimes the thing that begins as a solution for yourself is actually the beginning of something meant to serve others.

Why self-discovery is foundational to intentional leadership.

How knowing your core values and principles can strengthen your leadership.

The difference between receiving a vision and using visualization to bring that vision into reality.

How to turn a vision into a practical roadmap for action.

How a personal challenge can become the starting point for a business idea.

Why curiosity and experimentation are important parts of the innovation process.

How to recognize when an idea feels like a calling rather than simply an opportunity.

Why purpose can provide the persistence needed to navigate the difficult seasons of entrepreneurship.

How ritual can create space for gratitude, reflection, release, and intentional creation.

Why entrepreneurs need to recognize the financial investment and opportunity cost involved in bringing a vision to life.

How Carmine built Pure and Easy Tea around purity, transparency, quality, and function.

Why staying committed to a vision can matter when early business results are discouraging.

How do you turn a vision into reality?

Turning a vision into reality starts with clearly seeing the desired outcome and then creating a practical roadmap to move toward it. Visualization can help clarify the destination, while intentional action, experimentation, persistence, and planning help transform the vision into something tangible.

What is the difference between vision and visualization?

Vision is the ability to see or receive a clear sense of what could be created or accomplished. Visualization is the intentional practice of mentally seeing the desired end result and using that image to help construct a path toward it.

Why is self-discovery important for leadership?

Self-discovery helps leaders understand their core values, principles, motivations, and identity. Knowing who you are makes it easier to lead with intention and create a vision that is authentic to you.

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What if changing the way you see yourself could change the way you move through one of the hardest seasons of your life? In this episode of Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Amanda Goodwin, founder of Cancer Sharks, a storytelling and advocacy platform inspired by her experience with stage four melanoma. A longtime communications and leadership professional, Amanda has led nonprofit initiatives, fundraising campaigns, childcare organizations, and a technology startup.

Amanda shares how Cancer Sharks is evolving through storytelling events, merchandise, publishing, and speaking, while staying rooted in its larger purpose: creating connection when people need it most.

This conversation is about far more than cancer. It is about trusting your knowing, advocating for yourself, and having the courage to let a vision grow before you know exactly where it will lead.

How self-leadership can become a powerful form of advocacy when navigating difficult circumstances.

Why advocating for yourself sometimes requires researching decision-makers and understanding what matters to them.

How years of leadership experience can become unexpectedly valuable during a personal crisis.

Why vision isn't always visual and can instead emerge through intuition, awareness, feeling, or a deep sense of knowing.

Why changing the language we use around difficult experiences can change how we relate to them.

How storytelling can create connection and vulnerability in places where people often feel isolated.

Why a vision does not have to be perfectly formed before you begin bringing it into the world.

How Amanda is building Cancer Sharks through storytelling, events, publishing, merchandise, and speaking.

Why entrepreneurs and visionaries need to be willing to experiment, learn, and allow their original vision to evolve.

How the words used by leaders, healthcare professionals, and caregivers can profoundly affect people during critical moments.

Why no one should have to swim alone when navigating a difficult season.

What is Cancer Sharks?

Cancer Sharks is a storytelling and advocacy platform founded by Amanda Goodwin following her experience with stage four melanoma. The platform uses storytelling, community, merchandise, events, and speaking to create a more empowering way for people to connect around cancer.

How can storytelling help people going through difficult experiences?

Storytelling can help people feel less isolated by creating opportunities for shared vulnerability and connection. Amanda found that sharing Cancer Sharks stickers and cards in medical settings often encouraged people to open up and share their own stories.

Why is the language used during critical care important?

Words can significantly affect how people experience vulnerable and frightening situations. Amanda's keynote, The Weight of Words in Critical Care, explores how communication can either increase fear or provide reassurance, connection, and empowerment.

Cancer Sharks

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