The ET project

In our episode today our destination is Santa Fe, New Mexico. A wonderfully historic location and a launching point for many great adventures.

Our guest is Ms. Ann Betz, the co-founder of BEabove Leadership and an international speaker and trainer on the intersection of neuroscience, coaching, and human transformation.

Ann is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, a Professional Certified Coach, and a Master Neuro-Transformational Coach.

In 2011, Ann studied neuroscience at the graduate level and using this fascinating research, in 2012 co-developed (and is a senior leader for) BEabove Leadership's popular training program for advanced coaches: Neuroscience, Consciousness, and Transformational Coaching. This program has been offered in person worldwide and is now available in an in-depth virtual format.

Ann was a faculty member and served as the neuroscience consultant to The Coaches Training Institute (CTI) for many years. She provides neuroscience, leadership, and coaching consulting to many other corporations and non-profits, including the International Coaching Federation.

A certified professional coach for more than 20 years, Ann contributes to Choice Magazine, Coaching at Work, Coaching World, the ICF and CTI's blogs, and other coaching and HR publications.

She is the lead author of Integration, the power of being Co-Active in work and life, an exploration of consciousness, as well as a ground-breaking white paper on neuroscience for the International Coaching Federation coaching competencies.

Visit our website for access to the episode notes, and guest links and download the full transcript - Coaching4Companies

Can you believe that we have hit the end of 2022 already? Incredible! Our planet seems to be spinning faster each year around that little star we call our Sun. BTW I'm wondering why our ancestors chose the name SUN – maybe if there are some budding Astrophysicists out there, they could let me know.

Well, there are two reasons why I'm flying solo today – the first is I wanted to say a special thank you to all our listeners for making 2022 so memorable for me and the ET project team. This year as I'm sure you have heard me say, we decided to cut the corporate cord and get serious about building our company Skills 4 Executives.

One division of this company is Coaching 4 Companies and that is the area of business we are placing most energy right at this moment, but it also sits closely with and feeds our Facilitation and Education divisions.

There has been so much activity in C4C in the past 6 months that it's difficult to pinpoint any one shining moment, however, I do wish to acknowledge those that nominated and voted for me which led to me receiving the CEO Today 2022 Executive Coach of the Year award in November. Truly honored thank you. At the end of this recording, I'll speak a little about what lies ahead for our business in 2023.

The second and very important reason for today's episode is that we are at the end of our 2nd quarter for this show The ET project podcast and as we did at the end of Qtr. 1, we'll be recapping the Qtr. 2 guests that graced our presence, looking at some of the pearls of wisdom they shared with us along the way.

And as I do at the beginning of each episode let me pinpoint where in the world we are broadcasting from. This week I'm at home sitting in sunny Shanghai China, with my wife and daughter, and celebrating the Festive Season with many friends and colleagues.

So, let's get straight into it, shall we? Another 12 amazing guests from a cross-section of professions, scattered (intentionally on our part) in many locations worldwide.

Visit our website to access the episode notes, links, and full transcript - Coaching 4 Companies

In our episode today our destination is Europe. And narrowing that focus further, we are setting sail for the country of Belgium and its capital city Brussels to chat with our guest Ms Tiffany Cheng.

Tiffany is the founder of INSPIRE MY DAY and helps ex-pats who feel that they are stagnating in middle management to move up and reach the top leadership role of their dreams by changing the way they influence themselves and others, in order to make a bigger impact and higher income.

Prior to becoming a leadership communications coach, Ms. Cheng was the Vice President of Communication at the Volvo Group and the Atlas Copco Group.

During the 16 years of her corporate career, she directly advised global and regional Presidents and coached nearly 100 senior leaders.

Tiffany is married and a mom with a 4-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy and they share their home with a very active Border Collie.

While at home the family speaks three languages - English, French, and Chinese which is providing a great grounding for the children.

Born in Shanghai to a low-income family, Tiffany has maintained two lofty professional dreams:

• the first is to reach the top of the corporate ladder and become a person of success.

Having nailed this one she has turned her attention and focus firmly on the second which is,

• to become a self-made entrepreneur and a person of value.

I've spoken with Tiffany on multiple occasions and as you will also hear in our conversation about her career story and rapid rise up the corporate ladder, I can imagine it won't be long before this target is also achieved. And in her own words – she is well underway.

Tiffany started as an English teacher in Shanghai, and by age of 36, had been appointed as Vice President of a 41 billion Euro company with 100,000 employees.

Her hard-working ethics, focus, and clarity of purpose, materialize in her leadership ideas that are both practical and based on firsthand experience. The learnings acquired throughout a diverse personal and professional life are now being transferred in her coaching to clients, worldwide

So please join me now as we chat with Tiffany in today's episode titled "Improving Leadership Influence Through Effective Communication."

Visit our website to access and download the full transcript, read the episode notes and find all site links mentioned - https://coaching4companies.com/et-podcast/

In our episode today we're off to Hollywood and the broader LA area to chat with our special guest Dr. Chaz Austin.

Dr. Charles Michael Austin, (aka "Doctor Chaz") holds a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.

And for the past 20 years, has worked with clients all over the world, advising leaders and managers on how to be more effective, and how to use social media to reach their target audiences.

He also trains workers how to market themselves in The Gig Economy and has published two books on self-marketing, and learning to treat yourself like a business and behave like an entrepreneur:

Dr. Austin has been a college professor for over 20 years, teaching a wide range of courses in business, leadership, and communication. Additionally, he offers a series of three courses on LinkedIn Learning around career planning, and transitioning out of one job and into another.

What I like about this conversation with Dr. Chaz Austin is that he is a realist. Through his work and training, he is delivering concrete actionable steps that enable you to keep moving forward and find ways to reinvent yourself and the work you're doing.

If you are one of the millions worldwide coming to terms with this new era of freelance working, which is growing at a rapid pace and you are struggling to understand how best to market yourself then this is an episode not to miss.

So please join me now as we converse with Dr. Chaz in today's episode titled "Coming to terms with our new way of earning a living."

Visit our website to access and download the full transcript, read the episode notes and find the links to Dr. Chaz's sites. https://coaching4companies.com/et-podcast

In our episode today our guest is situated very close to my home city, 1hr south in fact to the wide white sandy beaches and majestic coastline known as the Gold Coast of Australia. This location is home to many friends and colleagues as well as a favorite destination for tourists from interstate and around the world.

It's also home for our guest Ms. Tanya Abbey, who is a CEO, Recruitment Expert + seasoned Mentor.

Tanya is the CEO of the Australian company Recruitcorp (catering to the recruitment and placement of key executive talent for organizations of all sizes.

Additionally, Tanya is the CEO and Founder of the Candidate and Career Consulting platform Placeme.com.au.

She volunteers her services as a Small Business Mentor under the Queensland Government's Mentoring for Growth program and was voted as one of the Top 50 Small Business Leaders in 2021 by the Inside Small Business Magazine.

Tanya is a popular event speaker and during our conversation, we touch on key elements of recruiting from both sides of the fence.

We chat about what today's leader - who is wanting to improve on their recruiting success rate - needs to be considering before and during the interview and then turn our attention to the understand more about the mindset needed by the candidate.

Discussing specific actions, they can take in the preparation phase as well as how best to behave on the day.

Visit our website for the notes, links, and full transcript - The ET project

In our episode today the journey and global travel continue as we stop off in Montreal, Canada. This is such a fun adventure, I'm truly hoping that we are bringing everyone incredible value through this variety of leadership topics each week.

One of the greatest takeaways for me so far is an awareness that we are all people regardless of where in the world we are based – sharing common passions, interests, challenges, and desires. And so is the case again today, as we speak with Mr. Brenden Kumarasamy, a communications expert.

Brenden is the founder of MasterTalk, he coaches ambitious executives & entrepreneurs to become the top 1% of communicators in their industry.

Now, as we know, communications is a very broad topic, and Brenden's specific area of focus is on public speaking and presentations. So, for all of you this is a particularly important conversation should you wish to pick up some tips on how to improve your performance in this area.

Brenden has a popular YouTube channel called MasterTalk, with the goal of providing free access to communication tools for everyone in the world. My last check of this site revealed a total of 199 short videos, each packed with nuggets of free advice on practical actions you can implement.

Visit our website for the notes, links, and full transcript - The ET project

In our episode today we continue our epic adventure, this time stopping off in Athens, Greece. A city of sentimental meaning for me as it's where I proposed to my wife, proclaiming her as Goddess APS against the backdrop of the Parthenon. It's also home for our guest Mrs. Zoe Fragou.

Mrs. Fragou is an Organisational Psychologist with an MSc in Human Resources Management, holding a clinical psychologist license, a diploma in Business Coaching & Mentorship, and a Certificate in Agile Leadership.

At this moment, she is a Ph.D. Candidate at Panteion University and her research is mainly focused on the psychometrics of corporate culture.

Alongside Zoe's academic interests, she is operating professionally in the full spectrum of her science, taking over projects of culture transformation, employee training and development, business coaching, personal branding, public speaking, and writing, for both private and corporate clients globally.

She is a mentor for Women on Top, a feministic organization trying to bring equality in the workspace, a senior member of the Hellenic Institute of Coaching, and was voted best career coach in the Global Coaching Conference of 2021.

This is an important conversation as we tackle the darker side of leadership. In fact, 3 personal characteristics are referred to in psychology as the Dark Triad. And Zoe's message is clear should you encounter such a leader – Run, run hard and fast to avoid being consumed by this often-charismatic type of tyrant.

Visit our website to access the notes, links and full transcript - The ET project

I was first introduced to Gordon Tredgold's work through his book "Leadership – it's a marathon, not a sprint" some years back and I have followed him since then.

When the opportunity arose for Gordon to be a guest on the ET project, I was particularly happy as it presented the chance to discuss with him not only his perspectives on business and leadership but also to connect through a common passion in sports.

Gordon is 6 months younger than me and therefore we grew up and competed in the same era, albeit he is far more knowledgeable and experienced than I ever was about the various sports codes. A true veteran in the world of Rugby – both League and Union.

If you visit Gordon's website, you will see his opening statement

And after speaking with him, researching his talks, books, and articles, and getting to understand the character traits of Gordon, it's clear that he lives this statement.

Regardless of whether you're a sports fan or a die-hard Leadership expert, there is something in today's discussion for you.

Visit our website to access the episode notes, and Gordon's links, plus download the full transcript - The ET project

Many times in life, things happen unexpectedly and, on some occasions, with positive outcomes. The chance meeting and subsequent friendship with Mr. Vidusha Nathavitharana is a great case in point, and I'm reminded of the quote, "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear."

This gentleman who has appointed himself the "Destiny Architect" of his company, High 5 Consultancy, is a true gentleman, scholar, and successful entrepreneur. And as you will repeatedly hear during our conversation, he has an incredible sense of humor but understands how to mix business and pleasure.

Maybe this blend was not always evident, as Vidusha's father pointed out during one discussion. "The problem with you is that you take yourself more seriously than taking your work seriously. Take your work seriously. Don't take yourself seriously."

Only the other side of the coin, Vidusha considers disciplining something that he brings to his parenting, his study, and his professional career. "I am strict, by the way. I make no bones about this. I do tell my kids that, to me, discipline is fundamental. Being able to focus on something is fundamental, and being well-mannered and values-driven is fundamental. Those are not things that are up for negotiation."

I hope you will join me through this wide-ranging conversation.

Visit our site to read the episode notes, access the links, and download the full transcript - The ET project

I first met Marie Stuppard in a coaching program where we were learning to tweak our business and find ways to garner a larger following. It became obvious very quickly that some in the group stood out more than others with their clarity of focus and commitment to their passion.

After a few subsequent discussions, Marie introduced me to her coaching practice and the niche she was supporting – Women in Business and helping them to find their voice in corporate life.

Marie's interest in people, their stories, and their motivations lead to a deep appreciation for the resiliency of the human spirit. People's inane ability to survive, evolve, and adapt fascinates her and fuels her desire to be a catalyst for change.

She's passionate about helping people harness the ability to make positive lifelong changes to their core. The concept of transformation combined with the power of human resolve drives her work.

And she thrives on coaching people through the issues that block their potential and helping them turn obstacles into golden opportunities.

Visit our website to access the episode notes, site links, and the full transcript - The ET project