The Enlightened Executive

Having trouble sourcing new talent? Here's a surprising solution for expanding your talent pool.

Consider offering an apprenticeship at your company. But, what about training and experience?

Most executives and entrepreneurs look to hire employees who have a college degree, or that already have a certain amount of experience. Instead, challenge the notion that talent must complete a bachelor's degree before providing value. Find and retain capable talent through apprenticeship.

On the latest episode of The Enlightened Executive podcast, Petra Schmidt, a managing partner at Aon's Enterprise Client Group and member of Aon's Apprentice Program Leadership Group, explains the benefits of the apprenticeship model and how to use it to expand your talent pool and drive employee retention.

When it comes to sales, most executives and entrepreneurs want instant gratification. You don't want the needle to move five or ten years from now, you want that ROI today.

But what if slow progress leads to more growth in the long run? What if being selfless, not ruthless, is the key to long-term success?

If you want to build trust with clients and create a community of advocates for your business, be a resource to others first.

Selfless service is doing everything in your power to help as many people in front of you as you can. Without worrying about how it will benefit you or your business in the long term.

On the latest episode of The Enlightened Executive podcast, bestselling author and entrepreneur, Jonathan Keyser, explains why selfless service is the key factor in driving trust and building brand loyalty. He shares his own process for building trust and provides tools for practicing selfless leadership.

Are entrepreneurs the main drivers of innovation?

Conventionally, the most groundbreaking ideas are thought to come from entrepreneurs and executives. But innovative ideas can come from passionate and driven employees as well, if you know how to unleash the power of their creativity.

Without psychological safety, employees won't feel comfortable brainstorming or sharing their ideas out loud with the rest of the group. As a leader, you need to create the conditions that allow your employees to thrive, contribute, feel engaged, and collaborate with one another.

Want to encourage innovation in your organization?

In the latest episode of The Enlightened Executive podcast, bestselling author Kaihan Krippendorff, shares his process for encouraging innovative ideas and explains how leaders can create a psychologically safe environment to foster creativity in the workplace.

For most executives and entrepreneurs, the four-day workweek feels like a pipe dream. When you're working 50-60 hours a week, it's hard to picture eliminating an entire workday.

There's not enough time in the day to get everything done as it is. What about revenue? Employee productivity?

With less time at work, how will your company stay competitive?

Yet, more and more companies are shifting to this new work schedule. They are finding that the four-day workweek actually prevents burnout, engages employees, and ultimately improves their businesses.

In the latest episode of The Enlightened Executive podcast, author and podcast host, Joe Sanok, shares the science and productivity gains behind the four-day workweek, and explains how to implement new schedule practices at your company.

What if finding joy outside of work is one secret to finding joy at work? Think of the last time you felt true joy. Maybe it was going for a walk at the beach. Painting. Playing tennis. What lights you up?

So often, your career, family, and responsibilities prevent you from feeling connected to your dreams for your life. But dreams aren't meant to be forgotten.

What if you could reignite your passion for your dreams? How would that joy impact your life at home and at work?

In the latest episode of The Enlightened Executive podcast, bestselling author and consultant, Dane Espegard, explains his Dreams System and shares how leaders can re-engage their teams by helping employees reconnect with their personal dreams.

How often do you find yourself interrupting someone? Wishing they'd get to the point? Willing them to just stop talking!

The reasons why people ramble are many: they're nervous; they haven't structured their thoughts in advance; they're thinking things through "out loud;" they're lost in the detail and can't see the big picture, etc.

Sometimes it's hard not to finish people's sentences to move things along. Time is short. Getting impatient with people who won't get to the point is a totally natural reaction.

The trick is knowing what to do about it. Intervening effectively is a balancing act.

You need to steer the conversation where it needs to go and stay open to hear new information from the other person. And you need to do this in a way that doesn't seem rude, impatient, or that could jeopardize your work relationships.

Susan Drumm, CEO Coach, shares three effective ways to deal with people who won't get to the point.

Mental health and emotional well being aren't just buzzwords anymore. Today, mental health is an essential component of the enlightened workplace and it is crucial for leaders to promote mental health across their organizations. The first step conscious leaders can take to help others is to find balance and to understand their own mental, emotional, and physical health. Then they can go beyond protecting their personal brain health, by promoting the mental health and wellbeing of their employees, too. By setting the foundation with a balanced brain, executives and entrepreneurs can more effectively lead high-performing, emotionally intelligent teams. In the latest episode of The Enlightened Executive podcast, expert Lee Gerdes, tells us why he believes brain optimization is the first step to rebalancing and minimizing the impact of stress. He also shares stress management tools, emotional awareness techniques, and brain optimizing strategies that you can put into practice with your whole team.

Happy 2022! This time of year always makes me excited to learn new things and grow as a person. A 'growth mindset' is one of the biggest indicators of success — in business and in life.

So, what exactly is a growth mindset?

Dr. Carol Dweck, who coined the term, describes it this way: "In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and exploration — brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment."

Does this time of year have you yearning to learn something new and test your abilities?

Susan Drumm, CEO Coach, walks you through these 5 outside-the-box ideas for professional and personal development.

If business is a game, how do you play to win? As a leader, it's natural to put pressure on yourself to avoid losing at all costs. The stakes are high. Your business is your livelihood. You have investors and employees counting on you. But the most effective leaders are like football coaches. They don't quit after one single loss: they're resilient to setbacks and comfortable testing new strategies. In the latest episode of The Enlightened Executive podcast, expert Sophie McLean, shares how leaders can become innovators and risk-takers in their businesses (and, in turn, live a more fulfilling life).

Have you ever wondered how you could develop greater executive presence for yourself? Clarity, authority, and confidence are the three most important aspects of having strong, effective, executive presence. Developing these three things will showcase your public speaking skills in conferences, meetings, and presentation situations.

Speaking to an audience of your peers is a confidence-shaking experience for lots of people. But, it doesn't have to be.

Want to know the trick?

Susan Drumm, CEO Coach, walks you through three main aspects of executive presence, and gives you instructions and insights on how to develop them further.