Explore every episode of the podcast The World Class Leaders Show: The CEO leadership podcast for leaders who solve big problems and build better futures.
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 261 - Why 50% of New CEOs Fail in the First 18 Months (and What to Do About it) | 15 Oct 2026 | 00:15:13 | |
Nobody tells you that the job you were promoted for is not the job you now have. You earned the corner office because you were excellent at something. Finance, operations, commercial, product. That excellence is real, and it is exactly what makes the next part so hard, because the instinct that got you here is to go back to it. When the pressure rises, you return to the function you know best, where you can still be the smartest person in the room and feel useful by lunchtime. It looks like diligence. It is actually avoidance. And it is why so many new CEOs come unstuck inside their first eighteen months, not for lack of capability, but because they are still occupying the role they left rather than the one they have taken. There is a space the job is asking you to step into, and most leaders never quite move into it. It is wider, less comfortable, and far less obvious about what good looks like on any given day. In this episode I break down three shifts that separate the CEOs who make that move from the ones who stay stuck: going from doing to deciding, from performing to architecting, and from holding authority yourself to distributing it across your leadership team. The hardest part is not learning anything new. It is giving up the thing you were best at. 📘 PRE-ORDER MY NEW BOOK Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure (Wiley) is available for pre-order now. 👉 https://www.reinventionatthetop.com/preorder 🚀 JOIN WCL21 WCL21 is a private community for CEOs leading mid-market companies, featuring confidential peer roundtables, masterclasses, and leadership conversations. 👉 https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 📩 NEWSLETTER Join 192,000+ leaders receiving Andrea Petrone's weekly leadership insights. 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ CONNECT WITH ANDREA PETRONE LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Subscribe for weekly conversations with researchers and executives on leadership, teams, and organizational change.
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| 260 - Why the Best CEOs Are the Quietest in the Room | 08 Oct 2026 | 00:15:08 | |
In This Episode
We've all been sold the same story about influence. Communicate more. Be more visible. Bring more energy into the room. The louder you are, the more you lead.
I think it's backwards. At the top, volume becomes noise, and noise is corrosive. It trains your people to watch you instead of owning the work.
The best leaders I know look quieter than you'd expect. Not passive, not soft, but the opposite. Saying less and making it land. They hold a standard without raising their voice. Protecting the truth in a meeting when it would be far easier to protect the harmony. I call it the quiet mark, and it's a chapter of my new book.
Here's the physics of it. A loud leader creates motion: heat, speed, visible momentum. A quiet leader creates alignment, and alignment compounds in a way motion never does. Drucker spotted this decades ago. The most effective executives he studied shared almost nothing in personality. Some were warm, some cold, some magnetic, some near recluse. What they shared was discipline.
And loud leadership gets more expensive as you scale. When the company is small, your personality can be the operating system. At scale, it breaks. Senior people start managing you instead of running their part of the business, problems surface late, and the whole place runs on whatever mood you woke up in.
Because this is the thing. You are the strongest signal in the system, whether you mean to be or not. Your attention is a signal. What you tolerate, what you reward, what gets a rise out of you. People read all of it and tune themselves to match. Your calendar isn't your schedule; it's your strategy, broadcast to the company every week. Your people don't believe what you say your priorities are. They believe where your time goes.
I share the handful of habits that build the quiet mark, none of them talent, and the test I'd leave you with: what happens when you're not in the room? If the work stalls and decisions pile up, your organisation is running on your presence, not your standard. That's fragile, however impressive it looks. If the work holds and people make the call you would have made, you've built something.
The louder path feels better in the moment. The quieter one is what people are still standing on long after you're gone.
📘 PRE-ORDER MY NEW BOOK Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure (Wiley) is available for pre-order now. 👉 https://www.reinventionatthetop.com/preorder 🚀 JOIN WCL21 WCL21 is a private community for CEOs leading mid-market companies, featuring confidential peer roundtables, masterclasses, and leadership conversations. 👉 https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 📩 NEWSLETTER Join 192,000+ leaders receiving Andrea Petrone's weekly leadership insights. 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ CONNECT WITH ANDREA PETRONE LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Subscribe for weekly conversations with researchers and executives on leadership, teams, and organizational change. | |||
| 259 - Most CEOs Don't Know What AI Really Is! Ft. Don Tapscott | 01 Oct 2026 | 00:35:56 | |
Most CEOs think AI means ChatGPT or a few tools in the supply chain. Don Tapscott says they're missing the biggest shift: personal AI agents that will become an extension of every employee, customer, and leader. In this episode of The World Class Leader Show, Andrea Petrone talks with Don Tapscott, one of the world's leading authorities on technology in society, about "Identity AI," why leaders need to stop building an "AI strategy," and who should own and be accountable for the AI agents acting on our behalf. 🔑 IN THIS EPISODE
⏱ TIMELINE 0:00 Trailer 0:53 How to see a technology shift before everyone else 3:59 What separates leaders who adopt from those left behind 4:42 The "new technology order" and rebuilding a country for AI 8:13 Paradigm shifts and the leadership crisis 11:08 What is Identity AI, and why care now? 14:19 Is it scary? "We're creating gods" 17:56 Why personal AI agents must be decentralized 21:30 What CEOs should actually do in the next 12 months 26:56 The biggest mistakes leaders make with AI 29:15 Who is accountable when AI agents decide? 32:38 Where to find Don's work 📘 PRE-ORDER MY NEW BOOK Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure (Wiley) is available for pre-order now. 👉https://reinventionatthetop.com/preorder Order the book before 22 October and get the companion toolkit plus a seat in a private live session with Andrea. 🚀 JOIN WCL21 WCL21 is a private community for CEOs leading mid-market companies, featuring confidential peer roundtables, masterclasses, and leadership conversations. 👉 https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 📩 NEWSLETTERJoin 183,000+ leaders receiving Andrea Petrone's weekly leadership insights. 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ Connect with Andrea PetroneLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Connect with Don TapscottLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dontapscott/
💬 QUESTION FOR YOU Do you think your leadership team really understands what AI is? Tell us in the comments. #AI #DonTapscott #Leadership #AILeadership #ArtificialIntelligence #IdentityAI #AIAgents #FutureOfWork #CEO #DigitalTransformation #WorldClassLeaderShow | |||
| 258 - How Great CEOs Lead Their Board Instead of Managing It | 24 Sep 2026 | 00:11:47 | |
Sunday night. A CEO I work with is still at his desk building the deck every chart, every question anticipated. By Monday he'll walk in armoured. And he told me he still dreads it. Every single time. So I said: that deck isn't managing your board. It's managing your fear. Your board is the one room where the power is inverted, and that single fact turns leaders into defendants. Covering every base feels like diligence. It's fear wearing a suit, and the board can smell it. The harder you work to look invulnerable, the less they trust you, a very large deck doesn't signal command, it signals anxiety. So they lean in, dig deeper. The thing you did to feel safe is the thing that makes them circle. Underneath it is one confusion: governance is not relationship. If the quarterly rhythm is the only time you engage your board, you haven't got a relationship. You've got a series of exams with the people who can end your career. The best CEOs have flipped it. Their board meetings are almost boring, because everything real happened outside the room. I share the two moves that get you there. Neither is a deck.
📘 PRE-ORDER MY NEW BOOK Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure (Wiley) is available for pre-order now. 👉 https://www.reinventionatthetop.com/preorder
🚀 JOIN WCL21 WCL21 is a private community for CEOs leading mid-market companies, featuring confidential peer roundtables, masterclasses, and leadership conversations. 👉 https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21
📩 NEWSLETTER Join 192,000+ leaders receiving Andrea Petrone's weekly leadership insights. 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/
CONNECT WITH ANDREA PETRONE LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x
Subscribe for weekly conversations with researchers and executives on leadership, teams, and organizational change. | |||
| 257 - Confidence Kills CEOs Faster Than Bad Strategy! | 17 Sep 2026 | 00:43:39 | |
Every CEO thinks they're supposed to have the answers. Jim Brown used to think so too, until he sat in on a leadership meeting and noticed something strange. Every time a hard question came up, the whole room turned to look at the founder. Not because anyone asked them to. It had just become the pattern. She gave the answer, the meeting moved on, and nobody thought twice about it. Except Jim did. When he pointed it out to her afterward, she realized something uncomfortable. She wasn't really leading her team anymore. She'd become their bottleneck. That single moment is at the center of this conversation with Andrea Petrone. Jim spent years inside boardrooms watching smart, hardworking CEOs quietly sabotage their own companies, not through bad decisions, but through the exhausting pressure to look like they never make any. He calls it the hero trap, and once you see it, you start noticing it everywhere. In this episode: The founder who didn't realize her entire team was waiting on her for every answer A $1M mistake at a chemical plant, caused by a culture where nobody felt safe speaking up How a struggling Canadian factory went from the most expensive plant in its global network to the cheapest, in under a year The four hidden risks quietly shaping every company's future, and why most leaders never see them coming Why "the leader goes first" might be the hardest, most important habit any CEO can build If you've ever felt like you're supposed to have it all figured out, this conversation will change how you think about leadership, authenticity, and what's really driving your company's results. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:42 Why CEOs feel more pressure today than ever before 03:15 The moment everyone turned to look at her for the answer 09:01 Why authenticity beats having all the answers 15:46 Why teams go quiet instead of speaking up 18:20 What organizational health actually means 23:28 The factory that cut costs by changing how its leaders worked 28:40 The $1M mistake nobody spoke up about 31:15 Why the leader has to go first 37:00 What got you promoted won't keep you at the top 40:08 Final thoughts and where to learn more 📘 PRE-ORDER MY NEW BOOK Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure (Wiley) is available for pre-order now. 👉https://reinventionatthetop.com/preorder Order the book before 22 October and get the companion toolkit plus a seat in a private live session with Andrea. 🚀 JOIN WCL21 WCL21 is a private community for CEOs leading mid-market companies, featuring confidential peer roundtables, masterclasses, and leadership conversations. 👉 https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 📩 NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders receiving Andrea Petrone's weekly leadership insights. 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ Connect with Andrea Petrone LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Connect with Jim Brown LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/authorjimbrown/ Subscribe for weekly conversations with researchers and executives on leadership, teams, and organizational change. | |||
| 256 - How Great CEOs Cut the Jargon and Lead With Clarity | 10 Sep 2026 | 00:13:48 | |
"We need to operationalize efficiencies." I've heard that sentence in a dozen boardrooms. It always means the same thing: we're cutting costs and some roles will go. Everyone in the room knows it. Nobody says it. And the people who'll actually lose their jobs are left reading fog. That's what this episode is about. Jargon isn't a communication problem, it's a courage problem. It's what we reach for when we haven't done the hard work of getting clear, and it does something for us even as it fails our teams. Say we're stopping the small business segment to go all in on enterprise, and you can hold me to it. Say we're optimizing our customer portfolio strategy, and I've risked nothing. Safe for me. Useless for everyone listening. I share four moves to fix it, including the one test I trust most: can someone four levels down repeat your message accurately in the corridor? If not, you don't have a message yet. And I'll be honest about why this is hard. Plain words commit you to a position you can be wrong about. The jargon was never protecting your team from confusion it was protecting you from exposure. Your people aren't waiting for you to be more inspiring. They're waiting for you to be clear.
📘 PRE-ORDER MY NEW BOOK Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure (Wiley) is available for pre-order now. 👉 https://reinventionatthetop.com/preorder
🚀 JOIN WCL21 WCL21 is a private community for CEOs leading mid-market companies, featuring confidential peer roundtables, masterclasses, and leadership conversations. 👉 https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21
📩 NEWSLETTER Join 192,000+ leaders receiving Andrea Petrone's weekly leadership insights. 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/
CONNECT WITH ANDREA PETRONE LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x
Subscribe for weekly conversations with researchers and executives on leadership, teams, and organizational change. | |||
| 255 - Why the Best Innovation Comes From Employees, Not CEOs | 03 Sep 2026 | 00:44:38 | |
Steve Jobs. Elon Musk. Mark Zuckerberg. We tell their stories like they invented the future alone in a garage. Kaihan Krippendorff says that the story is mostly fiction, and the data backs him up.
On this episode of The World Class Leaders Show, host Andrea Petrone talks with Kaihan Krippendorff, founder of Outthinker and one of Thinkers50's top 20 global management thinkers, about who actually creates the world's biggest innovations. Spoiler: it's usually not the founder.
Kaihan walks through the numbers. Looking at the 30 most transformative innovations of the last 30 years, from the internet to DNA sequencing to solar advances, roughly 70 percent were conceived by employees working within already established companies, not by entrepreneurs starting something new. He explains why we tell the founder story anyway, because it's a great story, not necessarily a true one, and why that matters more than it sounds. If the only innovation story we tell is to quit school, go to a garage, disrupt everything, most people quietly write themselves out of the innovation conversation entirely.
From there, Andrea and Kaihan dig into what founders actually do well, creating the conditions for other people to innovate, and what most companies get wrong about unlocking that from their own employees, including an idea borrowed from Amy Edmondson's work on psychological safety that has nothing to do with venting complaints and everything to do with giving people room to propose a half formed idea without getting shot down.
What you'll get out of this episode: Why 70 percent of the most transformative innovations came from employees, not founders Why the garage founder story is more myth than fact, and why it gets told anyway What founders actually do well, and why that's different from inventing The psychological safety piece most companies get wrong about employee innovation Kaihan's framework for finding a fourth option when everyone else is stuck choosing between three His concept of proximity, and why value creation is moving closer to the moment of demand The four things he believes AI still can't do in strategy
Timestamps: 00:00 Trailer 02:01 The Lego story 04:19 Innovation is forgotten, not learned 06:20 How industries shift unnoticed 08:46 When past success blinds leaders 11:15 Think inside a new box 12:33 Military strategy's limits 15:23 What top strategists do differently 17:44 The 70 percent stat 19:08 Why the garage myth sticks 21:45 Space for impossible ideas 24:55 What proximity means 27:48 Four questions for your next move 31:12 What AI still can't do 36:13 Why we trust illogical humans 37:39 Culture shapes strategy 41:07 His final message for CEOs
📘 PRE-ORDER MY NEW BOOK Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure (Wiley) is available for pre-order now. 👉 https://reinventionatthetop.com/preorder
🚀 JOIN WCL21 WCL21 is a private community for CEOs leading mid-market companies, featuring confidential peer roundtables, masterclasses, and leadership conversations. 👉 https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21
📩 NEWSLETTER Join 192,000+ leaders receiving Andrea Petrone's weekly leadership insights. 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/
CONNECT WITH ANDREA PETRONE LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x
Connect with Kaihan Krippendorff LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaihankrippendorff/
Subscribe for weekly conversations with researchers and executives on leadership, teams, and organizational change. | |||
| 254 - The Reinvention Every CEO Has to Make (And Why It's So Hard) | 27 Aug 2026 | 00:10:57 | |
A CEO told Andrea, "I don't recognize my own calendar anymore." He built the company, the company outgrew him, and nobody around him would say it. This episode is about the hardest reinvention a leader ever has to make and why growth is so good at hiding the need for it. In This EpisodeThe business reinvents itself; the leader doesn't. Andrea unpacks a pattern he's watched for years: a company changes shape three times over new markets, new model, new scale while the CEO keeps leading the way they did when it was small enough to hold in two hands. It works, right up until it quietly stops working. And because the numbers are still climbing, nobody looks underneath them, leaving the leader alone with a feeling they have no words for. He names the signals worth watching (every decision still routes through you, your leadership team has stopped disagreeing with you, you're working harder each year while the company grows slower), explains why this change is a different order of difficulty it asks you to change the person doing the leading, not something outside you and shares the heart of the shift: naming the loss of who you were, leading from the question instead of the answer, and measuring how many good decisions get made without you.
Timestamps 00:00 — "I don't recognize my own calendar anymore" 01:00 — The founder still leading a company that no longer exists 02:00 — You're not being asked to become better. You're being asked to become different. 03:00 — The silence around it: who tells the CEO? 04:00 — Why changing how you lead feels like betraying yourself 05:00 — Working harder as the most respectable way to avoid the real change 05:30 — The four signals you haven't caught up yet 06:00 — Naming the loss: honoring the old self without staying it 07:00 — Lead from the question, not the answer — and change what you measure 08:00 — The plateau that nothing forces you to fix 09:00 — Reinvention at the Top: why pre-orders matter 10:00 — The question to sit with: did the company you run today hire the leader you're still being?
📘 PRE-ORDER MY NEW BOOK Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure (Wiley) is available for pre-order now. 👉 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reinvention-Top-Playbook-Under-Pressure/dp/1394430426
🚀 JOIN WCL21 WCL21 is a private community for CEOs leading mid-market companies, featuring confidential peer roundtables, masterclasses, and leadership conversations. 👉 https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21
📩 NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders receiving Andrea Petrone's weekly leadership insights. 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/
CONNECT WITH ANDREA PETRONE LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x
Subscribe for weekly conversations with researchers and executives on leadership, teams, and organizational change. | |||
| 253 - Amy Edmondson: Why "safe" doesn't mean "comfortable" | 20 Aug 2026 | 00:41:34 | |
In this episode of The World Class Leaders Show, host Andrea Petrone sits down with Amy Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership at Harvard Business School and the world's #1 ranked management thinker (Thinkers50), to challenge what most people get wrong about psychological safety. Amy explains why psychological safety isn't about being nice or comfortable. It's about candor. She and Andrea talk through the "skunk at the picnic" story behind a failed acquisition, the real difference between blameworthy and intelligent failure, and how organizations fall into what she calls "failure theater," celebrating mistakes without ever building real accountability. They also get into how leaders can protect high quality conversations under pressure, how to repair psychological safety once it's broken, and why systems thinking might be the next big skill leaders need to develop. Amy Edmondson is the author of "The Fearless Organization" and "Right Kind of Wrong," winner of the Financial Times & Schroders Business Book of the Year award.
⏱ TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Introduction to Amy Edmondson 02:41 How Amy accidentally discovered psychological safety through a hospital study 09:51 The biggest misconception: it's not about being nice 13:45 Why "safe" doesn't mean "comfortable" 17:05 The "skunk at the picnic" story 19:05 Protecting psychological safety under pressure 24:06 Why stress triggers self-protection, and how teams can counter it 26:46 Blameworthy failure vs. intelligent failure 31:05 "Failure theater" explained 35:19 How to repair psychological safety after it's broken 39:43 Beyond psychological safety: systems thinking 42:48 Amy's challenge for every CEO listening 📘 PRE-ORDER MY NEW BOOK Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure (Wiley) is available for pre-order now. 👉 https://www.reinventionatthetop.com/preorder
🚀 JOIN WCL21 WCL21 is a private community for CEOs leading mid-market companies, featuring confidential peer roundtables, masterclasses, and leadership conversations. 👉 https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21
📩 NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders receiving Andrea Petrone's weekly leadership insights. 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/
CONNECT WITH ANDREA PETRONE LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Connect with Amy Edmondson LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amycedmondson/ Subscribe for weekly conversations with researchers and executives on leadership, teams, and organizational change. | |||
| 252 - Why You're Losing Your Best Employees (and What It's Really Costing You) | 13 Aug 2026 | 00:12:10 | |
Losing a top performer costs 2.5 times their annual salary and most leaders don't see it coming until it's too late. Andrea Petrone shares the seven things that actually keep great people, and why none of them is a bigger paycheck. When a talented employee walks out the door, you lose far more than their output. You lose years of institutional knowledge, you take a hit to team morale and trust, and you absorb the time and expense of rebuilding from scratch. Research puts the cost of losing a single high performer at roughly 2.5 times their annual salary but as Andrea explains, the financial number isn't the worst part. The real damage is the disruption, and it usually happens because leaders unintentionally neglect the things that make people want to stay. In this episode, Andrea walks through seven practical shifts: paying well but going further with recognition and growth, rewarding potential instead of only past results, helping people connect their daily work to a bigger purpose, protecting their autonomy instead of micromanaging, building relationships that go beyond job titles, taking mental health and burnout seriously, and making feedback a continuous two-way conversation rather than an annual formality. Retention, he argues, isn't about flashy perks, it's about building an environment where people feel valued, trusted, and supported.
📘 PRE-ORDER MY NEW BOOK Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure (Wiley) is available for pre-order now. 👉 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reinvention-Top-Playbook-Under-Pressure/dp/1394430426
🚀 JOIN WCL21 WCL21 is a private community for CEOs leading mid-market companies, featuring confidential peer roundtables, masterclasses, and leadership conversations. 👉 https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21
📩 NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders receiving Andrea Petrone's weekly leadership insights. 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/
CONNECT WITH ANDREA PETRONE LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x
Subscribe for weekly conversations with researchers and executives on leadership, teams, and organizational change. | |||
| 251 - MIT Professor Reveals Why Imposter Syndrome Happens? | 06 Aug 2026 | 00:43:10 | |
Even the most accomplished executives secretly feel like frauds. MIT Professor Deborah Ancona has spent over a decade studying why and the real cause has nothing to do with confidence. On this episode of The World Class Leaders Show, host Andrea Petrone talks with Deborah Ancona, Distinguished Professor of Management at MIT Sloan and Founder of the MIT Leadership Center about her research on "Family Ghosts in the Executive Suite" and why imposter syndrome persists no matter how much someone has achieved. Deborah explains how childhood roles the pleaser, the perfectionist, the joker quietly resurface in the boardroom, driving burnout and self-doubt long after they've stopped being useful. She walks through the exact process she uses with C-suite leaders to spot these patterns and reframe them without losing what made them successful. Then Andrea and Deborah shift to her X-Teams framework explaining why the best teams look outward before setting goals with real examples from Takeda and Microsoft. In this episode: The real root of imposter syndrome (it's not a confidence problem) What "family ghosts" are, and why high achievers have the strongest ones A 4-step process to recognize and reframe self-sabotaging patterns What X-Teams are, and why "out before in" drives real innovation ⏱ TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Why execs secretly feel like frauds 02:26 From MIT theory to real world 04:49 What are "family ghosts"? 06:27 The Perfectionist Ghost 08:12 The People-Pleaser Ghost 12:46 Spot your own ghost in 4 questions 14:52 The exec who couldn't stop joking 15:35 The 3-step reframe method 21:13 The "provisional self" trick 25:27 Sense-making: the #1 leadership skill 31:18 Meet X-Teams: "out before in" 35:00 Why teams become an echo chamber 39:34 Inside a pharma biotech deep-dive 42:16 X-Teams at Microsoft 45:33 When you skip senior buy-in 47:02 Where to find Deborah's work 📘 PRE-ORDER MY NEW BOOK Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure (Wiley) is available for pre-order now. 👉 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reinvention-Top-Playbook-Under-Pressure/dp/1394430426 🚀 JOIN WCL21 WCL21 is a private community for CEOs leading mid-market companies, featuring confidential peer roundtables, masterclasses, and leadership conversations. 👉 https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 📩 NEWSLETTERJoin 183,000+ leaders receiving Andrea Petrone's weekly leadership insights. 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ CONNECT WITH ANDREA PETRONELinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x CONNECT WITH DEBORAH ANCONALinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahancona123/ Subscribe for weekly conversations with researchers and executives on leadership, teams, and organizational change. | |||
| 250 - How to Build CEO Credibility in Your First 90 Days (Before It's Too Late) | 30 Jul 2026 | 00:08:46 | |
Your credibility as a CEO isn't built over years, it's won or lost in your first 90 days. In this episode of World Class Leaders, executive coach Andrea Petrone shows you exactly how to build it fast: why new CEOs and top leaders are judged within their first three months, the three traps that quietly destroy credibility (waiting too long to act, drowning in data, and ignoring culture), and the three winning moves, clarifying your identity, securing symbolic wins, and aligning around a few priorities that build instant trust and set the tone for years of leadership. In this episode:
Chapters: 00:00 — Why the first 90 days define your leadership reputation 01:15 — Trap #1: Waiting too long to act 02:10 — Trap #2: Overloading on data and analysis 03:00 — Trap #3: Ignoring company culture 04:39 — Winning Move #1: Clarify your leadership identity 05:45 — Winning Move #2: Pick symbolic wins early 06:40 — Winning Move #3: Align around 2-3 priorities (the Satya Nadella example) 07:45 — Recap and why this matters more than ever 📘 PRE-ORDER MY NEW BOOK Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure (Wiley) is available for pre-order now. 👉 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reinvention-Top-Playbook-Under-Pressure/dp/1394430426
🚀 JOIN WCL21 WCL21 is a private community for CEOs leading mid-market companies, featuring confidential peer roundtables, masterclasses, and leadership conversations. 👉 https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21
📩 NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders receiving Andrea Petrone's weekly leadership insights. 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ Connect with Andrea Petrone LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x | |||
| 249 - Former Kraft Heinz CEO on the Loneliness of Leadership | Carlos Abrams-Rivera | 23 Jul 2026 | 00:44:58 | |
When Carlos Abrams-Rivera became CEO of Kraft Heinz, the biggest challenge wasn't managing a global business, it was discovering how leadership changes you. Overnight, people treated him differently. One of his executive coaches gave him a warning he'd never forget: "You no longer own your own face." In this episode of The World Class Leaders Show, Andrea Petrone sits down with Carlos for a candid conversation about the realities of leading at the highest level. Drawing on more than 30 years of leadership across Kraft Foods, Mondelēz, Campbell's, and Kraft Heinz, Carlos shares the lessons that only come from leading one of the world's largest consumer brands. From navigating the loneliness of the CEO role and receiving the brutal "Red Folder" feedback that reshaped his leadership, to building trust, leading through uncertainty, and proving the ROI of AI before scaling it across 36,000+ employees, this conversation offers a rare look inside the mindset of a Fortune 500 CEO. Whether you're a CEO, founder, entrepreneur, executive, or aspiring leader, you'll walk away with practical insights on leadership, decision-making, resilience, AI, and building organizations that thrive through change. 🔑 In This Episode
⏱ Chapters 00:00 Introduction 00:36 The Biggest Surprise After Becoming CEO 02:49 Why Carlos Performs Best Under Pressure 05:35 Why Every CEO Needs Coaches 10:08 The "Red Folder" Leadership Lesson 15:40 Protecting Your Family from CEO Pressure 18:27 Why CEOs Are Becoming Society's Trusted Voice 23:46 How Kraft Heinz Approached AI 28:03 Changing Company Culture with AI 32:55 AI Advice for CEOs in the Next 90 Days 34:59 Life After Stepping Down as CEO 39:08 Why Volatility Is the New Normal 43:20 Advice for Future Leaders
📘 PRE-ORDER MY NEW BOOK Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure (Wiley) is available for pre-order now. 👉 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reinvention-Top-Playbook-Under-Pressure/dp/1394430426
🚀 JOIN WCL21 WCL21 is a private community for CEOs leading mid-market companies, featuring confidential peer roundtables, masterclasses, and leadership conversations. 👉 https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21
📩 NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders receiving Andrea Petrone's weekly leadership insights. 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ Connect with Andrea Petrone LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Connect with Carlos Abrams-Rivera | |||
| 248 - Why 72% of Executives Make Bad Calls - And How to Fix It | Cornelia Choe | 16 Jul 2026 | 00:45:11 | |
A McKinsey study found that 72% of senior executives now make bad decisions as often as good ones and the world isn't slowing down to give them room to cat ch up. Wars, inflation, AI disruption, and an ever-growing list of stakeholders are colliding faster than most leadership models were built to handle. In this episode, Andrea Petrone sits down with Cornelia Choe, CEO of The Leaders Alliance and co-author, alongside Marshall Goldsmith, of the upcoming book The Panoramic Leader: How Great Leaders See Differently. Cornelia has advised CEOs, C-suite executives, and heads of multilateral organizations across five continents, with a background in private equity and Morgan Stanley, degrees from Georgetown University and Harvard Kennedy School, and a life lived across seven countries. Together, they unpack panoramic leadership, the discipline of updating the mental map that quietly drives every decision you make, before reality outpaces it. Cornelia walks through the GEM method (Get up close, Establish meaningful bonds, Map your evolving perspective) using real turnarounds at Ford and Best Buy, introduces the idea of "optimistic fear" through Serena Williams' comeback after her biggest loss, and gives leaders one simple question to find their own blind spots: who's not at my table? Key Takeaways:
_________________________________________________________________ BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order your copy now: _________________________________________________________________ FREE GUIDE Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies _________________________________________________________________ WCL21 WCL21 is a private, curated community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations that don't happen anywhere else. We're in the founding member phase — a few seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 _________________________________________________________________ 1:1 COACHING Want to work with me directly? I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through exactly the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/strategy-call-30 _________________________________________________________________ COACHING APP Want to grow as a leader on the go? My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits, guided by the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone/executive _________________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ _________________________________________________________________ MORE FROM ANDREA Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Follow The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/ _________________________________________________________________ Follow Cornelia Choe: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cornelia-choe/ Website: https://www.corneliachoe.com Book: The Panoramic Leader: How Great Leaders See Differently — with Marshall Goldsmith, out July 7 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GX2XPRMV) Company: The Leaders Alliance | |||
| 247 - 6 Signs Your Leadership Team Is Failing You | 09 Jul 2026 | 00:12:25 | |
Here's something I've learned after coaching hundreds of CEOs. When a company stalls, the strategy is rarely the first thing that fails. The top team failed first, quietly, months before the numbers showed it. In this episode I walk through the six signs that tell you your leadership team is failing you, often long before the results do. Leadership breakdowns don't announce themselves. They show up as slightly slower decisions, a little more politics, one too many escalations landing on your desk, nothing dramatic enough to trigger alarm until the damage is already done. I cover the six signals to watch for, from decisions routing through the CEO and disagreement disappearing from the room, to bad news arriving late and leaders quietly working around each other instead of through each other. I also get into why CEOs consistently wait too long to act, and the one question every CEO should be asking about their leadership team before the board asks it for them. The bottom line is that a wrong person left too long in a leadership seat doesn't just underperform. They reset the standard for everyone below them. Timestamps 0:00 Introduction and the central idea 0:30 Why strategy doesn't fail first, the top team fails first 3:00 The six signals of a failing leadership team 8:00 Why CEOs wait too long to act 10:00 Closing thoughts and the question every CEO should ask _________________________________________________________________ BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order your copy now: _________________________________________________________________ FREE GUIDE Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies _________________________________________________________________ WCL21 WCL21 is a private, curated community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations that don't happen anywhere else. We're in the founding member phase — a few seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 _________________________________________________________________ 1:1 COACHING Want to work with me directly? I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through exactly the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/strategy-call-30 _________________________________________________________________ COACHING APP Want to grow as a leader on the go? My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits, guided by the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone/executive _________________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ _________________________________________________________________ MORE FROM ANDREA Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Follow The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ | |||
| 246 - Alain Bejjani on Leading Through Disruption, AI, and the New Realities | 02 Jul 2026 | 00:49:22 | |
Most leadership models assume tomorrow will look like today. But what happens when war, a pandemic, economic shocks, or AI reshape your market overnight? In this episode, Andrea Petrone sits down with Alain Bejjani, former CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Group, investor, Shark Tank Lebanon panelist, and author of *NEXT: Leading Through the New Realities*. Alain led a 50,000-person, multi-billion-dollar group across the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia through a pandemic, oil price collapse, and regional conflict without abandoning his core leadership principles. They explore why resilience must be built before a crisis, why AI is changing growth and headcount, and why disruption is not the opposite of direction. Key Takeaways:
_________________________________________________________________ BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order your copy now: _________________________________________________________________ FREE GUIDE Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies _________________________________________________________________ WCL21 WCL21 is a private, curated community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations that don't happen anywhere else. We're in the founding member phase — a few seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 _________________________________________________________________ 1:1 COACHING Want to work with me directly? I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through exactly the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/strategy-call-30 _________________________________________________________________ COACHING APP Want to grow as a leader on the go? My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits, guided by the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone/executive _________________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ _________________________________________________________________ MORE FROM ANDREA Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Follow The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/ _________________________________________________________________ Follow Alain Bejjani: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alainbejjani Website: https://alainbejjani.com/ Book: NEXT: Leading Through the New Realities Company: https://www.majidalfuttaim.com/ | |||
| 245 - How CEOs Make High-Stakes Decisions When the Data Isn’t There | 25 Jun 2026 | 00:13:22 | |
Every CEO faces this moment: a high-stakes decision with enormous consequences, real money on the line, thousands of people affected and not enough information to know what's right. The board wants conviction. The team wants clarity. And you're sitting there thinking: I'm not sure. In this episode, I'm breaking down what the best CEOs actually do under pressure, why the thing slowing down your decision-making rarely has to do with missing data, and the exact framework I walk my coaching clients through when they're stuck on irreversible calls with incomplete information. You'll discover how to distinguish reversible decisions from the truly irreversible ones, surface the critical assumptions that actually matter, develop the judgement to act inside uncertainty, and master the discipline that separates strong executive leadership from the leaders who freeze. Plus: the one thing most leaders get wrong after they decide and why it's the difference between building authority or losing it. If you're a CEO, founder, or executive leader wrestling with ambiguity and the weight of carrying decisions that nobody else can make, this one's for you. _______________________________________________________________________________ TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Introduction: When Data Isn't Enough (00:30) The Moment Every CEO Faces (03:15) Why CEOs Freeze on Big Decisions (06:45) The Real Problem: Anxiety, Not Missing Data (09:45) Judgement Over Certainty: The Core Reframe (12:15) Recognition-Primed Decision-Making & Expert Intuition (15:45) A Practical Four-Step Framework for High-Stakes Calls (23:30) The Discipline After the Decision: Commitment vs. Ego (25:30) Closing Thoughts: You Were Never Meant to Be Certain _______________________________________________________________________________ BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order your copy now: _______________________________________________________________________________ FREE GUIDE Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies _______________________________________________________________________________ WCL21 WCL21 is a private, curated community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations that don't happen anywhere else. We're in the founding member phase — a few seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 _______________________________________________________________________________ 1:1 COACHING Want to work with me directly? I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through exactly the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/strategy-call-30 _______________________________________________________________________________ COACHING APP Want to grow as a leader on the go? My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits, guided by the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone/executive _______________________________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ _______________________________________________________________________________ MORE FROM ANDREA Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Follow The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ | |||
| 244 - Why Cultural Fluency Is The Future Of Leadership | 18 Jun 2026 | 00:42:43 | |
Most leaders are trained to lead inside one system: one company, one market, one culture, one playbook. But what happens when your career requires you to move across countries, governments, boardrooms, startups, and global power structures — and still build trust? In this episode, Andrea Petrone sits down with Arun M. Kumar, Managing Partner at Celesta Capital, former Chairman and CEO of KPMG India, and former Assistant Secretary of Commerce under President Obama. Arun shares leadership lessons from working with Ratan Tata early in his career, representing the United States in global commercial diplomacy, leading thousands of people at KPMG India, and now investing in deep tech across the US-India corridor. This conversation is about the leadership skill that rarely appears in strategy decks but matters everywhere: the ability to build trust across borders, cultures, hierarchies, and systems. Arun explores why purpose, decency, teamwork, transparency, and cultural fluency are not soft ideas — they are essential leadership capabilities in a fragmented world. _________________________________________________________________ BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order your copy now: _________________________________________________________________ FREE GUIDE Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies _________________________________________________________________ WCL21 WCL21 is a private, curated community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations that don't happen anywhere else. We're in the founding member phase — a few seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 _________________________________________________________________ 1:1 COACHING Want to work with me directly? I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through exactly the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/strategy-call-30 _________________________________________________________________ COACHING APP Want to grow as a leader on the go? My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits, guided by the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone/executive _________________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ _________________________________________________________________ MORE FROM ANDREA Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Follow The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/ _________________________________________________________________ Follow Arun M. Kumar: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/arunmkumar Website: arunmkumar.com Book: The Global Trade Paradigm Company: www.celesta.vc | |||
| 243 - The Four Words Every CEO is Afraid to Say | 11 Jun 2026 | 00:08:23 | |
There are four words that could rebuild trust on your team, surface the best thinking of the people around you, and lift a weight off your shoulders you've been carrying for years. Most CEOs will never say them, because saying them feels like the opposite of what the job demands. In this episode, we unpack why "I need your help" is the hardest sentence in leadership. Drawing on Adam Bryant's conversations with over a thousand CEOs, we look at how self-reliance becomes the very reflex that carries leaders to the top and then quietly starts working against them. Because the problems at the top are too big, too complex, and too buried in other people's heads to solve alone. We also get honest about what it costs a company when the CEO never asks. Teams stop volunteering their best thinking, problems get escalated too late, and the whole organisation bottlenecks around one person. Then we get practical, with three small ways to start asking this week. If you've ever caught yourself thinking "I'll just figure this out myself," this one's for you. _________________________________________________________________ BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order your copy now: _________________________________________________________________ FREE GUIDE Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies _________________________________________________________________ WCL21 WCL21 is a private, curated community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations that don't happen anywhere else. We're in the founding member phase — a few seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 _________________________________________________________________ 1:1 COACHING Want to work with me directly? I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through exactly the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/strategy-call-30 _________________________________________________________________ COACHING APP Want to grow as a leader on the go? My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits, guided by the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone/executive _________________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ _________________________________________________________________ MORE FROM ANDREA Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Follow The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ | |||
| 242 - What a Near-Death Experience Taught a $500B CIO About Leadership | 04 Jun 2026 | 00:46:33 | |
Most leaders are taught to push harder, move faster, and never give up. But what if that mindset is exactly what puts their health, judgment, relationships, and long-term performance at risk? In this episode, Andrea Petrone sits down with Sébastien Page, Head of Global Multi-Asset and Chief Investment Officer at T. Rowe Price, author of The Psychology of Leadership, and a leader overseeing more than $500 billion in assets under management. Sébastien shares the personal health crisis that forced him to rethink resilience, performance, and the real cost of ambition. This conversation explores what leaders can learn from psychology, sport, finance, and high-pressure decision-making — from feedback and strategic patience to goal-induced blindness, time management, ego, and the importance of meaning in work. _________________________________________________________________ BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order your copy now: _________________________________________________________________ FREE GUIDE Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies _________________________________________________________________ WCL21 WCL21 is a private, curated community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations that don't happen anywhere else. We're in the founding member phase — a few seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 _________________________________________________________________ 1:1 COACHING Want to work with me directly? I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through exactly the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/strategy-call-30 _________________________________________________________________ COACHING APP Want to grow as a leader on the go? My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits, guided by the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone/executive _________________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ _________________________________________________________________ MORE FROM ANDREA Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Follow The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/ _________________________________________________________________ Follow Sébastien Page: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastien-page/ Book: The Psychology of Leadership Company: https://www.troweprice.com/ Substack: https://substack.com/@sebastienpage | |||
| 241 - Why the Best CEOs Were Forged by Adversity | 28 May 2026 | 00:09:19 | |
In this episode of The World Class Leaders Show, I unpack the pattern I've observed across more than a decade of coaching leaders at the top and that Adam Bryant confirmed after interviewing over a thousand of them. The CEOs who perform under the most pressure almost always share the same origin. They were shaped by adversity. Not as a metaphor. As a lived reality that burned away hesitation and replaced it with a kind of drive that can't be taught. I walk through what that adversity actually looks like, why it creates such an unusual capacity for pressure, and the four categories that shape exceptional leaders including the one that dominates all the rest. But I also go into the part nobody warns you about. The same wiring that forged these leaders often becomes the thing that quietly limits them. The inability to ask for help. The instinct to carry everything alone. It feels like strength. It makes things harder. This episode is for CEOs, founders, and senior executives who want to understand where their drive actually comes from and whether the survival instinct that got them here is still working for them, or running the show without their permission. _________________________________________________________________ BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order your copy now: _________________________________________________________________ FREE GUIDE Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies _________________________________________________________________ WCL21 WCL21 is a private, curated community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations that don't happen anywhere else. We're in the founding member phase — a few seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 _________________________________________________________________ 1:1 COACHING Want to work with me directly? I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through exactly the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/strategy-call-30 _________________________________________________________________ COACHING APP Want to grow as a leader on the go? My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits, guided by the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone/executive _________________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ _________________________________________________________________ MORE FROM ANDREA Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Follow The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ | |||
| 240 - Why Most CEOs Are Thinking About AI Wrong | 21 May 2026 | 00:48:10 | |
Most CEOs are trying to figure out how to turn AI into real strategic value, not just productivity gains. In this episode, Andrea Petrone speaks with Charlene Li, a bestselling author and leadership advisor, about why AI transformation is not just a technological challenge, but also a leadership, cultural, strategic, and decision-making challenge. Charlene explains why the companies that win with AI will be the ones with clear direction, strong leadership conviction, and the courage to break through internal resistance. _________________________________________________________________ BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order your copy now: _________________________________________________________________ FREE GUIDE Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies _________________________________________________________________ WCL21 WCL21 is a private, curated community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations that don't happen anywhere else. We're in the founding member phase — a few seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 _________________________________________________________________ 1:1 COACHING Want to work with me directly? I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through exactly the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/strategy-call-30 _________________________________________________________________ COACHING APP Want to grow as a leader on the go? My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits, guided by the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone/executive _________________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ _________________________________________________________________ MORE FROM ANDREA Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Follow The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/ _________________________________________________________________ Follow Our Guest: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/charleneli Website: charleneli.com | |||
| 239 - Why Great CEOs Fail Under Pressure (And How to Avoid It) | 14 May 2026 | 00:12:14 | |
In this solo episode of The World Class Leaders Show, I unpack the pattern I've seen destroy more leaders than any market shift ever has. It's not uncertainty that breaks CEOs. It's what uncertainty creates inside them. Under real pressure, most leaders revert to the version of themselves that used to win. I call this Achieved Identity and under pressure, it takes the wheel without asking permission. It feels like leadership. It makes things worse. I walk through the three things that break down every time a leader is under sustained pressure, why the sequence matters, and the exact steps one CEO took to lead through a company in crisis without losing himself in the process. This episode is for CEOs, founders, and senior executives who are carrying real pressure right now and need a clearer sequence for moving through it without losing themselves in the process. _________________________________________________________________ BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order your copy now: _________________________________________________________________ FREE GUIDE Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies _________________________________________________________________ WCL21 WCL21 is a private, curated community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations that don't happen anywhere else. We're in the founding member phase — a few seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 _________________________________________________________________ 1:1 COACHING Want to work with me directly? I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through exactly the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/strategy-call-30 _________________________________________________________________ COACHING APP Want to grow as a leader on the go? My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits, guided by the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone/executive _________________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ _________________________________________________________________ MORE FROM ANDREA Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Follow The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ | |||
| 238 - The Truth That Almost Cost This CEO Everything | 07 May 2026 | 00:43:38 | |
AI is not going to destroy every software company — but it may expose the ones without a clear strategy. In this episode of The World Class Leaders Show, host Andrea Petrone is joined by Dr John Bates, CEO of Doxis, a former Cambridge computer science academic, and a technology leader who has built and led five successful companies. John shares what he has learned from leading through the dotcom crash, 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, COVID, and today’s AI disruption. He explains why CEOs must stay focused on business value, sharpen their positioning, and avoid panicking when markets shift. The conversation explores AI, crisis leadership, competing with giants like Microsoft and Box, the burden of CEO transparency, and why every leader needs trusted people around them when pressure is high. John also reflects on why transformation can be more powerful than starting from scratch, why great CEOs must sometimes act as agitators, and what it really takes to lead with clarity when uncertainty never seems to end. _________________________________________________________________ BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order your copy now: _________________________________________________________________ FREE GUIDE Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies _________________________________________________________________ WCL21 WCL21 is a private, curated community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations that don't happen anywhere else. We're in the founding member phase — a few seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 _________________________________________________________________ 1:1 COACHING Want to work with me directly? I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through exactly the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/strategy-call-30 _________________________________________________________________ COACHING APP Want to grow as a leader on the go? My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits, guided by the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone/executive _________________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ _________________________________________________________________ MORE FROM ANDREA Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Follow The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/ _________________________________________________________________ Follow Our Guest: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/drjohnbates Learn more about Doxis: https://www.doxis.com
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| 237 - What Tim Cook just taught every CEO about knowing when to change | 30 Apr 2026 | 00:13:35 | |
In this solo episode of The World Class Leaders Show, I explore one of the most difficult leadership risks for CEOs to recognise: the moment when the operating mode that created success begins to limit the organisation. Using Tim Cook’s transition at Apple as a lens, I examine how strength, identity, and context can quietly fall out of alignment at the top. This episode is for CEOs, founders, successors, and senior executives who sense that what used to work is no longer creating the same momentum. I explain why leadership identity is not fixed, why operating modes have a shelf life, and why the most important work for a CEO is often not becoming more capable, but becoming more appropriate to the moment the business is actually in. _________________________________________________________________ BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order your copy now: _________________________________________________________________ FREE GUIDE Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies _________________________________________________________________ WCL21 WCL21 is a private, curated community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations that don't happen anywhere else. We're in the founding member phase — a few seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 _________________________________________________________________ 1:1 COACHING Want to work with me directly? I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through exactly the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/strategy-call-30 _________________________________________________________________ COACHING APP Want to grow as a leader on the go? My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits, guided by the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone/executive _________________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ _________________________________________________________________ MORE FROM ANDREA Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x
Follow The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/
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| 236 - She Leads 50,000 People. Here's What She Refused to Do on Day One. | 23 Apr 2026 | 00:49:56 | |
Most leaders say they’re ready for change. Very few are ready to lead when the answers are incomplete, trust is not yet earned, and the pace keeps accelerating. In this episode of The World Class Leaders Show, Andrea Petrone sits down with Francesca Lagerberg, CEO of Baker Tilly International, to explore what leadership really demands in today’s environment: building trust fast, making decisions without perfect information, leading through ambiguity, and creating the kind of mindset that helps organizations adapt at scale. Francesca shares what it was really like stepping into the CEO role as an outsider, how she approached her first 90 days, why trust must be earned before strategy can land, and what leaders often misunderstand about leading change in large, complex organizations. This conversation also goes deeper into the future of leadership: the role of AI in knowledge-based businesses, how companies should think about upskilling talent at scale, why diversity of thinking matters more than ever, and what it actually feels like to carry the responsibility of the CEO seat. In this episode, you’ll learn:
If you’re a CEO, senior executive, founder, or aspiring leader navigating growth, pressure, and uncertainty, this episode will give you a practical and honest look at what world-class leadership requires now. Subscribe for more conversations with world-class leaders on leadership, transformation, CEO mindset, and decision-making in high-stakes environments.
Timestamps [00:00] - Teaser and introduction of Francesca Lagerberg [02:48] - Walking into a new organization as an outsider [04:39] - Building trust and credibility as a new CEO [07:21] - The 90-day plan, quick wins, and resisting pressure to move too fast [09:09] - A non-linear career path across audit, tax, advisory, and beyond [11:28] - Leading through change on incomplete information [16:32] - Communicating strategy through repetition across 50,000 people [22:11] - The fusion of humanity and AI in knowledge-based industries [24:32] - Rethinking retention and maximizing shorter tenures [30:03] - Being the first woman to lead a global accounting network [33:44] - Diversity of thinking and the empty chair technique [38:39] - What it really means to be a CEO and why it's worth it [41:16] - Handling pressure and the power of collaboration [46:03] - Legacy, going for it, and advice for aspiring CEOs [47:47] - Trusting your gut, building great teams, and keeping your humor _________________________________________________________________ BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order your copy now: _________________________________________________________________ FREE GUIDE Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies _________________________________________________________________ WCL21 WCL21 is a private, curated community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations that don't happen anywhere else. We're in the founding member phase — a few seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 _________________________________________________________________ 1:1 COACHING Want to work with me directly? I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through exactly the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/strategy-call-30 _________________________________________________________________ COACHING APP Want to grow as a leader on the go? My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits, guided by the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone/executive _________________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ _________________________________________________________________ MORE FROM ANDREA Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Follow The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/ _________________________________________________________________ Follow Our Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francescalagerberg/ Website: https://www.bakertilly.global/
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| 235 - The 5 Mistakes New CEOs Make in Their First 6 Months | 16 Apr 2026 | 00:17:00 | |
The first six months as a new CEO is where authority is decided, where the leadership team forms its view of you, and where the organisation calibrates to your signals. Most new CEOs who struggle don't fail because they lack capability. They fail because they make early mistakes that feel like the right call at the time. In this solo episode, I walk through five specific mistakes I see new CEOs make in their first six months — the impulse to prove you deserve the role, the quiet retreat into a former expert identity, the delay in confronting leadership team gaps, the failure to align with the board before aligning the organisation, and the corrosive gap between stated values and actual behaviour. These aren't theoretical risks. They are patterns that compound fast, and each one carries a cost that grows the longer it goes unaddressed. _________________________________________________________________ BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order your copy now: _________________________________________________________________ FREE GUIDE Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies _________________________________________________________________ WCL21 WCL21 is a private, curated community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations that don't happen anywhere else. We're in the founding member phase — a few seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 _________________________________________________________________ 1:1 COACHING Want to work with me directly? I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through exactly the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/strategy-call-30 _________________________________________________________________ COACHING APP Want to grow as a leader on the go? My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits, guided by the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone/executive _________________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ _________________________________________________________________ MORE FROM ANDREA Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Follow The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/
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| 234 - Jeetu Patel: From Failure to President of 40,000 Cisco Employees | 09 Apr 2026 | 00:47:36 | |
From stuttering waiter to President at Cisco, this is the real story behind world-class leadership. In this episode of The World Class Leaders Show, host Andrea Petrone is joined by Jeetu Patel, President and Chief Product Officer at Cisco and Board Member at JLL. Jeetu shares his journey from growing up with uncertainty and responsibility in India to becoming a leader at one of the world’s largest technology companies. He opens up about insecurity, imposter syndrome, Jeetu explains how early struggles, including overcoming stuttering and pushing himself through a 72-hour typing marathon, helped him develop a “learn it all” mindset. He shares why focusing on craftsmanship and doing great work is more powerful than networking, and how thinking like an owner creates a significant advantage in any career. He also discusses the realities of leadership at scale, including loneliness, decision-making under pressure, and the importance of surrounding yourself with people who share your values and give honest feedback. The conversation also explores how leaders can build strong conviction, develop self-awareness, and lead with clarity in a rapidly changing world. Jeetu shares his perspective on innovation, why it is always a choice, and how even large organizations can move fast by adopting a startup mindset. He also reflects on the role of AI in shaping the future of leadership, decision-making, and business strategy. What You'll Learn - How insecurity, imposter syndrome, and adversity shape strong leaders. - Why doing great work matters more than networking for long-term success. - How adopting a “learn it all” mindset accelerates personal and professional growth. - Why thinking like an owner creates a powerful advantage in your career. - The reality of leadership at scale, including loneliness, pressure, and decision-making. - How strong values and conviction help leaders stay grounded and effective. - Why innovation is a choice and how large companies can still operate like startups. - How AI is influencing leadership, strategy, and the future of business. Timestamps [00:00] - Teaser and introduction of Jeetu Patel [02:45] - Early life, responsibility, and survival mindset [06:00] - How hardship shapes leadership and success [07:20] - Overcoming stuttering and building confidence [08:29] - The 72-hour typing story and learning mindset [09:43] - Why great work matters more than networking [10:55] - Craftsmanship, design, and attention to detail [13:51] - Moving from startup to big tech and scale [15:08] - Thinking like an owner vs employee mindset [19:37] - Leadership loneliness and hidden pressures [25:35] - A powerful lesson on values from his daughter [29:23] - Innovation as a choice in modern organizations [32:45] - Leading at scale and managing large teams [35:00] - Building high-performance culture [40:00] - AI, SaaS, and the future of leadership [41:39] - Final advice for leaders and long-term success _________________________________________________________________ BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order your copy now: _________________________________________________________________ FREE GUIDE Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies _________________________________________________________________ WCL21 WCL21 is a private, curated community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations that don't happen anywhere else. We're in the founding member phase — a few seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 _________________________________________________________________ 1:1 COACHING Want to work with me directly? I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through exactly the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/strategy-call-30 _________________________________________________________________ COACHING APP Want to grow as a leader on the go? My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits, guided by the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone/executive _________________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ _________________________________________________________________ MORE FROM ANDREA Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Follow The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ | |||
| 233 - What 11 CEOs Said When Nobody Else Was Listening | 02 Apr 2026 | 00:19:32 | |
This episode goes inside a private CEO roundtable where the usual leadership script disappeared within minutes. What emerged wasn’t polished insight, but unfiltered reality, the pressures, trade-offs, and decisions CEOs rarely articulate in formal settings. It reveals how quickly the quality of conversation changes when performance is removed and the right question is introduced. More importantly, it surfaces the structural challenges shaping leadership today: the increasing weight of board dynamics, delayed executive team decisions, the fragility of execution without conviction, and the quiet drift from strategy into operations. These are not isolated issues. They are patterns. And left unaddressed, they compound. _________________________________________________________________ BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order your copy now: _________________________________________________________________ FREE GUIDE Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies _________________________________________________________________ WCL21 WCL21 is a private, curated community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations that don't happen anywhere else. We're in the founding member phase — a few seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 _________________________________________________________________ 1:1 COACHING Want to work with me directly? I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through exactly the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/strategy-call-30 _________________________________________________________________ COACHING APP Want to grow as a leader on the go? My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits, guided by the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone/executive _________________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ _________________________________________________________________ MORE FROM ANDREA Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Follow The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ | |||
| 232 - The Fears Every CEO Has Right Now (But Won’t Admit) | 26 Mar 2026 | 00:15:36 | |
We're closing the founding member window for WCL21 at the end of March. If you're a CEO running a mid-market or growth-stage company and want a private space to pressure-test decisions with peers who understand the weight. We have two seats left. 👉 Request your invitation TODAY: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 Leading at the highest level right now is not simply a matter of capability. It is a sustained confrontation with pressure, ambiguity, and personal limits. The data points to rising uncertainty, accelerating transformation, and increasing organisational strain. But in my work with CEOs, what’s happening beneath those signals is more telling. Leaders are being asked to project clarity while operating inside conditions that are structurally unclear. Over time, that gap doesn’t just create operational tension — it creates cognitive and emotional load that compounds quietly. In this solo episode, I explore a pattern I’m seeing across almost every CEO conversation I’m having today: the unspoken fears shaping leadership behaviour beneath the surface. I outline four that are particularly pervasive — the compression of decision-making beyond the pace of clear thinking, the growing tension between performance demands and human capacity, the quiet reassessment of leadership team readiness, and the deeper risk of identity drift under sustained pressure. These aren’t problems to quickly solve. They are realities to confront directly, because the moment you name what you’re carrying is the moment you start leading it again. _________________________________________________________________ BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order your copy now: _________________________________________________________________ FREE GUIDE Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies _________________________________________________________________ WCL21 WCL21 is a private, curated community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations that don't happen anywhere else. We're in the founding member phase — a few seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 _________________________________________________________________ 1:1 COACHING Want to work with me directly? I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through exactly the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/strategy-call-30 _________________________________________________________________ COACHING APP Want to grow as a leader on the go? My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits, guided by the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone/executive _________________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ _________________________________________________________________ MORE FROM ANDREA Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Follow The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ | |||
| 231 - The 7 Sins Killing Leadership for CEOs to Build Trust & Lead with Humanity – Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño | 19 Mar 2026 | 00:43:07 | |
In this episode of The World Class Leaders Show, host Andrea Petrone is joined by Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño, President of IE University, Author of book Dante in the Workplace, Member of the Board at EFMD Global and Board Member of Headspring Executive Development. Santiago shares his perspective on leadership, virtues, and the role of character in modern business. Drawing on the Seven Deadly Sins, he explains how pride, envy, anger, and laziness show up in organisations and how leaders can develop humility, balance, and self awareness. He also discusses the impact of AI on education and management, the importance of lifelong learning, and why cultivating the humanities helps leaders stay human and effective in a fast changing world. Santiago explains how leaders can develop stronger character by understanding how pride, envy, anger, and laziness appear in everyday business life. He shows why many executives struggle with feedback, humility, and balance, and why self reflection and mentorship are essential for long term success. Santiago also shares his views on AI and how it is changing education and management, while stressing that human qualities such as judgment, curiosity, and empathy will matter even more. He offers practical advice for CEOs to see their career as a marathon, commit to lifelong learning, and cultivate the humanities to lead with clarity and purpose. What You’ll Learn in This Episode:-How the Seven Deadly Sins such as pride, envy, anger, and laziness show up in modern organisations. -Why humility, self awareness, and openness to feedback are essential for effective leadership. -How lifelong learning, mentorship, and reflection help leaders grow over time. -The impact of AI on education and management, and why human judgment still matters. -Practical advice for CEOs to build balance, nurture the humanities, and lead with purpose in a fast changing world.
📘 Get your copy of “Dante in the Workplace” by Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño and explore how leaders can avoid common pitfalls and build stronger character in business. 👉 Visit: https://a.co/d/06BJ1FCw Timestamps:[00:00] - Teaser and introduction of Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño [03:40] - What it means to lead a global university in 2026 [04:50] - Dante in the Workplace and the Seven Deadly Sins [05:18] - Pride, envy, anger, and virtues in business life [15:13] - Feedback, humility, and the challenge for senior leaders [21:06] - Resilience, AI, and the growing role of humanity [24:39] - Reflection, balance, and mental wellbeing for leaders [31:00] - Leading people with care and building healthy organisations [34:49] - AI in education and the evolution of the classroom [40:42] - Final advice for CEOs on lifelong learning and the humanities _________________________________________________________________ BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order your copy now: _________________________________________________________________ FREE GUIDE Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies _________________________________________________________________ WCL21 WCL21 is a private, curated community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations that don't happen anywhere else. We're in the founding member phase — a few seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 _________________________________________________________________ 1:1 COACHING Want to work with me directly? I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through exactly the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/strategy-call-30 _________________________________________________________________ COACHING APP Want to grow as a leader on the go? My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits, guided by the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone/executive _________________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ _________________________________________________________________ MORE FROM ANDREA Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Follow The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/ _________________________________________________________________ Follow Our Guest Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño: -LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siniguez/ -IE University: https://www.linkedin.com/school/ie-university/ -EFMD Global: https://www.linkedin.com/company/efmd-global/ -Headspring Executive Development: https://www.linkedin.com/company/goheadspring/
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| 230 - The CEO Who Gave Every Manager an Executive Coach (For 1% of the Cost) - Jennifer Dulski | 12 Mar 2026 | 00:43:09 | |
In this episode of The World Class Leaders Show, host Andrea Petrone is joined by Jennifer Dulski, CEO & Founder of Rising Team, Faculty Lecturer in Management at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and Lead Independent Director at Arcadia. Jennifer shares insights from over 25 years of executive experience leading teams at companies like Facebook, Google, and Yahoo. She explores the challenges leaders face today, including constant change, hybrid work, efficiency pressure, and AI. Jennifer explains how AI can support managers through coaching and role play while strengthening human connection. She also reflects on her journey as a founder and why resilience, adaptability, and empathy are essential for building high performing teams. Jennifer explains how today’s leaders can navigate constant change by focusing on learning speed, adaptability, and human connection. She shares how managers are under pressure from transformation, hybrid work, efficiency demands, and rapid growth of AI. Jennifer describes how AI can support leaders with coaching, role play, and better team conversations, while still keeping people at the center. She reflects on her own journey as a founder, including setbacks and moments of doubt, and how she learned to recover faster over time. Throughout the conversation, she offers practical insights on building trust, supporting managers, and using AI as a tool to strengthen leadership and team performance. What You’ll Learn in This Episode:-How leaders can manage constant change in today’s workplace. -Why managers are feeling overwhelmed and how AI can support them. -How AI coaching and role play can improve leadership skills. -Why human connection and trust are critical for strong teams. -How adaptability, learning speed, and resilience shape effective leadership.
🚀 Discover Rising Team’s AI-powered leadership platform for transforming managers into super leaders. Visit: risingteam.com 💡 Want to be the first to know when SuperManager.ai launches? Get on the waitlist now! Visit: supermanager.ai Timestamps: [00:00] - Teaser and introduction of Jennifer Dulski [02:39] - The workplace tornado and why leadership is harder today [05:48] - How AI can scale leadership support for every manager [06:38] - Manager burnout, overload, and the cost to performance [08:12] - Engagement, retention, and why people performance matters [10:06] - Limits of engagement surveys and reactive leadership [13:00] - Moving engagement with the right tools and team sessions [15:16] - The super manager concept and AI as a leadership trainer [19:01] - Personalized leadership development and role play with AI [20:33] - How AI works in practice with teams and managers [24:41] - Using role play to prepare for hard leadership conversations [28:13] - Leading through rapid AI change and learning fast as a company [31:40] - AI bootcamps, experimentation, and building adaptability [36:38] - Founder journey, resilience, and recovering from setbacks [40:38] - Final advice on AI, human connection, and leadership today _________________________________________________________________ BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order your copy now: _________________________________________________________________ FREE GUIDE Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies _________________________________________________________________ WCL21 WCL21 is a private, curated community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations that don't happen anywhere else. We're in the founding member phase — a few seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 _________________________________________________________________ 1:1 COACHING Want to work with me directly? I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through exactly the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/strategy-call-30 _________________________________________________________________ COACHING APP Want to grow as a leader on the go? My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits, guided by the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone/executive _________________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ _________________________________________________________________ MORE FROM ANDREA Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Follow The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/ _________________________________________________________________ Follow Our Guest Jennifer Dulski: -LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdulski/ -Rising Team: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rising-team/ -Stanford University Graduate School of Business: https://www.linkedin.com/school/stanford-graduate-school-of-business/ | |||
| 229 - Why Half of New CEOs Fail in the First 18 Months | 05 Mar 2026 | 00:15:13 | |
Stepping into the CEO role is not simply a change in responsibilities. It is a profound psychological transition. Research shows that a significant portion of new CEOs struggle within their first 18 months, not because they lack the capabilities required for the role, but because they remain anchored to the expertise that earned them the promotion in the first place. The instinct to remain deeply involved in a familiar function can feel productive, yet it quietly prevents leaders from fully occupying the broader integrative responsibilities of the CEO role. In this solo episode, I'll explore one of the most common traps in leadership transitions: the tendency for new CEOs to retreat into their former expert identity rather than stepping into the architect role the position requires. He outlines three leadership shifts that define successful CEO transitions — moving from doing to deciding, from performing to architecting, and from concentrating authority to distributing it across the leadership team. _________________________________________________________________ BOOK PRE-ORDER 📘 My new book 'Reinvention at the Top: The Playbook for CEOs to Lead Under Pressure' (Wiley) is out in October. Pre-order your copy now: _________________________________________________________________ FREE GUIDE Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of '10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One': 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies _________________________________________________________________ WCL21 WCL21 is a private, curated community of CEOs running mid-market companies. Monthly roundtables, masterclasses, and confidential conversations that don't happen anywhere else. We're in the founding member phase — a few seats remain. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 _________________________________________________________________ 1:1 COACHING Want to work with me directly? I coach a small number of CEOs and senior leaders each year through exactly the challenges in this show. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching: https://calendly.com/andreapetrone/strategy-call-30 _________________________________________________________________ COACHING APP Want to grow as a leader on the go? My Executive coaching app helps Directors, VPs and C-suite leaders build world-class leadership habits, guided by the Throughline™ framework: Identity, Message, Presence. 👉 See the app: https://studio.com/apps/andreapetrone/executive _________________________________________________________________ NEWSLETTER Join 183,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights on leading at the top: 👉 https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ _________________________________________________________________ MORE FROM ANDREA Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com Instagram: instagram.com/andreapetrone_x Follow The World Class Leaders Show: Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/
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| 228 - She quit her CFO job for this! This Female Executive Made a Bold Career Move | Cameron Drinkwater | 26 Feb 2026 | 00:45:30 | |
We’re opening doors to WCL21. The first private and exclusive community for CEOs who want to grow their leadership, pressure-test decisions, and create meaningful connections with other peers in a trusted environment.
👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of “10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One” 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies __________________________________________
In this episode of The World Class Leaders Show, host Andrea Petrone speaks with Cameron Drinkwater, Chief Product & Operations Officer, S&P Dow Jones Indices at S&P Global. Cameron shares insights from her journey across finance, strategy, and product leadership, and how she built a career by taking smart risks and embracing change. She explains how her leadership is shaped by adaptability, authenticity, and a strong commitment to culture, learning, and development. Cameron also discusses the importance of psychological safety, leading large teams, and balancing career growth with raising a young family. Cameron shares how leaders can grow their careers by taking bold but smart moves, focusing on roles that build new skills and bring real joy. She explains how her success comes from a clear career strategy, strong personal values, and the ability to adapt to new challenges. Cameron talks about building trust as a young leader, leading large teams through change, and creating a culture that supports learning and innovation. She also highlights the role of coaching, feedback, and setting clear boundaries to stay healthy and balanced. Throughout the conversation, she gives honest advice and real-life tips for leading with impact and purpose. What You’ll Learn in This Episode:- How to grow your career by making bold but smart job moves. - Why personal values and clear goals help guide better decisions. - Ways to lead with impact even without being a subject expert. - How to build a strong culture that supports learning and risk-taking. - Tips for balancing leadership, family life, and personal well-being. Timestamps: [00:00] - Teaser and introduction of Cameron Drinkwater [03:04] - The career mindset behind bold job transitions [05:06] - Learning to adapt and lead through personal strengths [08:31] - From finance to product and operations: why Cameron made the shift [14:00] - Leading 500 people and driving impact through indexing [16:31] - Building a high-performance culture with learning and mobility [23:20] - Taking smart risks and shaping leadership identity [25:13] - The value of coaching and becoming a stronger leader [27:04] - Leading with clarity, consistency, and team recognition [31:41] - Balancing career growth with family and personal boundaries [39:30] - Lessons from sport: mindset, focus, and leadership routines Follow Our Guest Cameron Drinkwater: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameron-drinkwater/ - S&P Dow Jones Indices: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/s&p-dow-jones-indices/ Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone - Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x/ Follow The World Class Leaders Show and Stay updated: - Subscribe to The World Class Leader Show: https://shorturl.at/E9WE7 - Newsletter: https://shorturl.at/dMRp6 - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ - Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/ - Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl - Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ ⭐If you are leading teams or navigating career growth, this conversation with Cameron Drinkwater offers real advice on taking smart risks, leading with authenticity, and building a strong culture that supports both people and performance. | |||
| 227 - The 3-Word Lie That's Costing Every CEO Millions | 19 Feb 2026 | 00:17:11 | |
We’re opening doors to WCL21. The first private and exclusive community for CEOs who want to grow their leadership, pressure-test decisions, and create meaningful connections with other peers in a trusted environment. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 __________________________________________ Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of “10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One” 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies __________________________________________ In Episode 227, Andrea examines the hidden financial cost of performed certainty inside executive leadership. When CEOs default to projecting confidence instead of naming uncertainty, they unintentionally compress organisational intelligence upward — creating decision bottlenecks and suppressing early risk signals. This episode introduces a four-part framework for maintaining authority while increasing transparency. The core argument is simple but uncomfortable: the leader’s relationship with truth determines the organisation’s capacity to think. When certainty becomes theatre, silence becomes culture. And silence is where strategic errors compound.
- Like my work? Follow or connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ - Want to become a world-class leader? Join 155,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights here: https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ | |||
| 226 - Rethinking Your AI Strategy: What Josh Bersin Knows Most CEOs Don’t | 12 Feb 2026 | 00:37:32 | |
We’re opening doors to WCL21. The first private and exclusive community for CEOs who want to grow their leadership, pressure-test decisions, and create meaningful connections with other peers in a trusted environment. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of “10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One” 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies __________________________________________
In this episode of The World Class Leaders Show, host Andrea Petrone is joined by Josh Bersin, Founder and CEO of The Josh Bersin Company, Founder and Dean of Galileo by the Josh Bersin Company, and Board Member of University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, a globally recognized expert on HR and the future of work. Josh shares his insights on the transformative role of AI in business. He discusses how AI can break down organizational silos, improve productivity, and drive innovation. Josh explains why CEOs must rethink business models to integrate AI across functions and how AI can reshape leadership, talent development, and decision-making for long-term success.
Josh shares how leaders can leverage AI to transform their businesses by breaking down silos and creating more integrated workflows. He explains why many companies focus on AI as a tool for individual tasks, missing the opportunity to use it for rethinking entire business models. Josh introduces his vision for AI as a "super agent" that can drive efficiency across various functions like marketing, sales, and HR. He also discusses how AI can enhance leadership, talent development, and decision-making, and offers clear examples and practical steps for companies to adopt AI successfully and drive long-term growth. What You’ll Learn in This Episode:-How AI can break down organizational silos and create more integrated workflows. -Why CEOs need to rethink their business models to fully leverage AI. -The potential of AI to drive innovation and reshape leadership practices. -How AI can improve talent development and decision-making across functions. -Practical steps companies can take to successfully implement AI for long-term growth.
📢 Explore Galileo - Access world-class HR and Management Consulting at an incredible value with Josh Bersin's AI-powered platform. 👉 Visit: https://getgalileo.ai/ Timestamps:[00:00] - Teaser and introduction of Josh Bersin [02:16] - The current state of AI and its transformative potential [07:40] - Reengineering business models with AI for long-term growth [09:52] - Overcoming organizational silos with AI integration [14:17] - Galileo: The future of AI-powered advisory and research [19:55] - How AI can help CEOs rethink company culture and innovation [24:42] - Practical steps for CEOs to leverage AI for success [32:22] - Building a super manager mindset in an AI-driven company Follow Our Guest Josh Bersin: -LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bersin/ -Website: https://joshbersin.com/ -The Josh Bersin Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/joshbersin/ -Galileo by the Josh Bersin Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/galileo-by-josh-bersin-company/ -University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business: https://www.linkedin.com/school/berkeley-haas/ Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on:
-LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone -Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com -Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x/
Follow The World Class Leaders Show and Stay updated:
-Subscribe to The World Class Leader Show: https://shorturl.at/E9WE7 -Newsletter: https://shorturl.at/dMRp6 -LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ -Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/ -Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl -Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ ⭐If you're leading a business or exploring AI adoption, this conversation with Josh Bersin offers valuable insights on how AI can transform organizations, improve efficiency, and drive long-term success in today’s fast-growing market. | |||
| 225 - Crisis, Layoffs, and Reinvention: What Every CEO Can Learn from Dan Rosensweig | 05 Feb 2026 | 00:39:57 | |
We’re opening doors to WCL21. The first private and exclusive community for CEOs who want to grow their leadership, pressure-test decisions, and create meaningful connections with other peers in a trusted environment. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of “10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One” 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies __________________________________________ In this episode of The World Class Leaders Show, host Andrea Petrone is joined by Dan Rosensweig, CEO of Chegg Inc.. With a rich career spanning leadership roles at Yahoo, Dan shares his journey of reinvention in the face of challenges at Chegg Inc.. He discusses the importance of transparency, authenticity, and adaptability for CEOs, especially during times of crisis and transformation. Dan also highlights the evolving landscape of education and Chegg’s shift toward skilling, focusing on helping students become more employable in a rapidly changing world.
Dan shares how CEOs must evolve their leadership style in response to changing times, focusing on authenticity, transparency, and the ability to lead through crises. He explains the challenges of leading in the tech industry, particularly when facing disruptions like AI and market shifts. Dan discusses the importance of clear communication with employees and stakeholders, especially during tough decisions like layoffs. He also highlights the need for CEOs to balance personal growth with company transformation, using real-world examples from his own career to illustrate key leadership lessons and strategies. What You’ll Learn in This Episode:- Why transparency and authenticity are crucial for CEOs, especially in times of crisis. - How leaders can evolve their approach to meet the demands of a rapidly changing market. - The importance of clear communication during difficult decisions like layoffs. - Why reinvention and adaptability are key to long-term business success. - How CEOs can balance personal growth with transforming their company’s future. Timestamps: [00:00] - Teaser & Introduction of Dan Rosensweig [02:24] - Why Dan returned as CEO of Chegg during challenging times [06:13] - What reinvention means for CEOs personally and professionally [12:20] - The challenges of leading in tech and balancing work with personal life [14:12] - Dan’s thoughts on leadership evolution and introspective work for CEOs [19:54] - The importance of consistency and clarity in CEO communication [24:06] - The impact of layoffs and transparent communication during difficult decisions [33:05] - The importance of empathy in leadership, especially during tough times [34:18] - Leadership and mental health: The personal impact of being a CEO [38:56] - Dan's vision for Chegg's future and the shift to skilling over homework help Follow Our Guest Dan Rosensweig: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielrosensweig/ - Chegg Inc.: https://www.linkedin.com/company/chegg-inc-/ Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone - Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x/ Follow The World Class Leaders Show and Stay updated: - Subscribe to The World Class Leader Show: https://shorturl.at/E9WE7 - Newsletter: https://shorturl.at/dMRp6 - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ - Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/ - Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl - Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ ⭐If you're leading a company or navigating change, this conversation with Dan Rosensweig provides valuable lessons on evolving as a CEO, staying authentic, and making tough decisions to drive long-term success in a fast-changing business landscape. | |||
| 224 - This Is the Moment the Year Starts Running You | 29 Jan 2026 | 00:12:41 | |
We’re opening doors to WCL21. The first private and exclusive community for CEOs who want to grow their leadership, pressure-test decisions, and create meaningful connections with other peers in a trusted environment. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 __________________________________________ Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of “10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One” 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies __________________________________________ By the end of January, the holiday energy is gone, the pressure is back, and your momentum starts to slip. Decisions slow down, priorities blur, meetings pile up — and the year already feels suspiciously like last year. In this episode, I’ll explain why the “January dip” actually peaks in the last week of the month, the three forces that quietly collapse CEO momentum (over-activation, fragmentation, and leadership reversion), and why so many leaders enter February already tired and reactive. You’ll learn how world-class CEOs reset before February hits: how to redraw your attention map, reestablish a sharper decision rhythm, and design an environment that supports 30,000-feet thinking instead of dragging you back into the weeds — so the next 11 months compound in the right direction instead of the wrong one. I’ll also share more about WCL 21, my new CEO community for fast-growth and mid-size CEOs who want a stronger inner circle, better challenge, and a real space to think.
- Like my work? Follow or connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ - Want to become a world-class leader? Join 155,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights here: https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/
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| 223 - From a Gas Station Job to a Billion-Dollar CEO with Shirin Behzadi | 22 Jan 2026 | 00:38:31 | |
We’re opening doors to WCL21. The first private and exclusive community for CEOs who want to grow their leadership, pressure-test decisions, and create meaningful connections with other peers in a trusted environment. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of “10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One” 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies __________________________________________ In this episode of The World Class Leaders Show, host Andrea Petrone is joined by Shirin Behzadi, Keynote Speaker, Bestselling Author, Board Director & Investor at Shirin Behzadi, LLC. She is also the author of the book “The Unexpected CEO”. Shirin shares her journey from working behind bulletproof glass at a gas station to becoming a billion-dollar CEO. She opens up about fleeing Iran, building resilience through adversity, and leading a company through major transformation. Shirin discusses the mindset shifts that helped her succeed, how she used empathy in leadership, and why setbacks can be powerful turning points for growth and reinvention. Shirin shares how leaders can turn adversity into a strength by changing their mindset and focusing on what is possible. She explains how her early challenges, from fleeing Iran to recovering from a life-threatening brain tumor, shaped her views on resilience and reinvention. Shirin introduces key lessons from her book, including the power of belief, the value of listening, and the importance of defining a clear vision. She also talks about how empathy helps leaders build stronger teams and make better decisions. Throughout the conversation, she offers honest stories and practical advice for growing as a leader and building a successful business. What You’ll Learn in This Episode:- How to turn adversity into a powerful tool for personal and business growth. - Why mindset and belief play a key role in achieving big goals. - Steps to move from financial insecurity to successful leadership. - How to use empathy to lead teams and make better business decisions. - Why defining your vision and listening to others can drive real transformation.
📘 Read “The Unexpected CEO” - Discover how Shirin Behzadi went from a gas station cashier to leading a billion-dollar company with lessons in resilience, leadership, and growth. 👉 Visit: https://shirinbehzadi.com/book/ Timestamps: [00:00] - Teaser and introduction of Shirin Behzadi [03:00] - Why Shirin wrote The Unexpected CEO and its impact [04:51] - Life before and after exile from Iran and key early lessons [06:26] - How mindset and belief helped shape her future [09:33] - Seeing adversity as a strength and growth opportunity [12:38] - Facing a near-fatal brain tumor and learning resilience [16:19] - Reframing setbacks and growing during the Great Recession [18:38] - From CFO to CEO and leading major business growth [24:02] - Key leadership principles that drove 70% company growth [28:19] - How empathy shaped her leadership and team success [33:58] - Why the book is a roadmap for decision-making and growth [37:01] - Final advice for CEOs facing uncertainty and adversity Follow Our Guest Shirin Behzadi: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shirin-behzadi/ - Website: https://shirinbehzadi.com/ - Shirin Behzadi, LLC: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shirin-behzadi-llc/ Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone - Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x/ Follow The World Class Leaders Show and Stay updated: - Subscribe to The World Class Leader Show: https://shorturl.at/E9WE7 - Newsletter: https://shorturl.at/dMRp6 - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ - Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/ - Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl - Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ ⭐If you're leading through change or facing big challenges, this talk with Shirin Behzadi offers real guidance on turning setbacks into strength, leading with empathy, and building a business with purpose and vision. | |||
| 222 - The Leadership Space CEOs Have Been Missing | 15 Jan 2026 | 00:16:09 | |
We’re opening doors to WCL21. The first private and exclusive community for CEOs who want to grow their leadership, pressure-test decisions, and create meaningful connections with other peers in a trusted environment. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21 __________________________________________ Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of “10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One” 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies __________________________________________ January exposes a quiet truth for many CEOs: your calendar is full, but your leadership space is empty. You’re making high-stakes decisions without a room that keeps you clear, sharp, and truly at altitude. In this episode, I unpack why so many CEOs feel isolated—even when surrounded by teams, advisors, and board members—and why traditional CEO groups, conferences, and masterminds rarely give you the depth and challenge you need. You’ll discover what WCL21 is (and what it’s not): not another mastermind, not a content library, not generic group coaching—but a curated leadership environment for serious CEOs who want strategic clarity, sharper identity, and better decisions under pressure. I walk you through what members get inside WCL21—from monthly CEO roundtables and live “CEO Insights” sessions, to AMAs, private dinners, retreats, company visits, and a rhythm that keeps you thinking and operating at altitude all year. Finally, I explain who WCL21 is for (and who it’s not for), why founding membership is open only once, and the three advantages founding members get: significant pricing, real influence on the platform’s DNA, and priority access to the highest-impact experiences. If you don’t want to lead alone in 2026, this is your invitation to step into a different kind of CEO room.
- Like my work? Follow or connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ - Want to become a world-class leader? Join 150,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights here: https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ | |||
| 221 - How Great CEOs Are Leading the AI Tsunami with Nancy Duarte | 08 Jan 2026 | 00:38:29 | |
We’re opening doors to WCL21. The first private and exclusive community for CEOs who want to grow their leadership, pressure-test decisions, and create meaningful connections with other peers in a trusted environment. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21
Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of “10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One” 👉 Download - https://bit.ly/10-fool-proof-ceo-strategies __________________________________________
In this episode of The World Class Leaders Show, host Andrea Petrone is joined by Nancy Duarte, CEO & Principal at Duarte, Inc. and author of six bestselling books. Known for transforming how leaders communicate, Nancy shares how CEOs can lead in the era of AI by becoming strategic, authentic communicators. She explains how to use AI to drive both efficiency and creativity, why clear messaging is essential during change, and how to build a strong leadership presence that inspires trust. Nancy also reflects on her own leadership journey and the importance of empathy and values in shaping a high-performing culture. Nancy shares how CEOs can lead with confidence in a fast-changing world shaped by AI and rising complexity. She explains why leaders must understand AI at a deep level and use it across the whole business, not just for small tasks. Nancy highlights the growing need for strong communication, showing how leaders can build trust through clear, authentic messages. She also talks about the importance of storytelling, emotional connection, and adapting communication to different teams. Throughout the conversation, she offers real insights and practical tools leaders can use to guide change, reduce resistance, and grow with purpose. What You’ll Learn in This Episode:- Why CEOs must lead AI efforts instead of leaving them to others - How to use AI to improve both productivity and creativity at work. - The role of authentic communication in building trust and clarity. - Ways to prepare for resistance and guide teams through change. - How strong values and culture can support performance and growth. 👉 Check out her Books: https://www.duarte.com/resources/books/ 👉 Check out her Newsletter: https://www.duarte.com/help-contact/newsletter/ Timestamps:[00:00] - Teaser and Introduction of Nancy Duarte [02:21] - Why AI is a tsunami that CEOs must lead through [04:06] - Using AI for both productivity and creative value [06:38] - How CEOs can build a strong AI-driven business [14:28] - What separates world-class leaders from the rest [16:49] - Preparing for resistance and gaining buy-in through story [21:19] - How to cascade communication across the company [26:42] - Nancy’s shift from founder to visionary CEO [34:45] - Balancing values and performance for long-term success [37:08] - Final advice for CEOs to lead with empathy and clarity Follow Our Guest Nancy Duarte: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyduarte/ - Twitter (X): https://x.com/nancyduarte - Duarte, Inc.: https://www.linkedin.com/company/duarte-design/ Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone - Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x/ Follow The World Class Leaders Show and Stay updated: - Subscribe to The World Class Leader Show: https://shorturl.at/E9WE7 - Newsletter: https://shorturl.at/dMRp6 - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ - Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/ - Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl - Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ ⭐If you're leading a team or driving change, this talk with Nancy Duarte offers powerful lessons on using AI wisely, communicating with impact, and leading with empathy in today’s fast-moving business world. | |||
| 220 - The 2026 CEO Mindset - 7 Shifts Every Leader Must Make This Year | 01 Jan 2026 | 00:10:03 | |
We’re opening doors to WCL21. The first private and exclusive community for CEOs who want to grow their leadership, pressure-test decisions, and create meaningful connections with other peers in a trusted environment. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21
Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of “10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One” 👉 Download Now ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026 won’t reward the same leadership habits of the past. This year will demand more clarity, more courage, and more self-awareness than any other — especially as AI, complexity, and pressure keep accelerating. In this first episode of the year, I walk you through the seven mindset shifts every CEO must make to lead confidently in 2026: from knowing to learning, from more goals to fewer but better commitments, from leading alone to leading in community, from static strategic plans to strategic adaptability, from authority to authenticity, from managing performance to designing culture, and from chasing growth to building legacy. You’ll be challenged to audit how you’re really leading today, spot where you’re still operating from “old” logic, and redesign your 2026 around clarity of intent, identity, and impact. I’ll also share why this is the year to stop carrying leadership alone and how WCL21 — my new CEO circle — will support you in making these shifts real in your world.
- Like my work? Follow or connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ - Want to become a world-class leader? Join 150,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights here: https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ | |||
| 219 - The 10 Leadership Lessons 2025 Taught Me | 18 Dec 2025 | 00:12:40 | |
We’re opening doors to WCL21. The first private and exclusive community for CEOs who want to grow their leadership, pressure-test decisions, and create meaningful connections with other peers in a trusted environment. 👉 Request your invitation: https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21
Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of “10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One” 👉 Download Now ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2025 was the year I sat with some of the sharpest minds in leadership — CEOs who turned around distressed businesses, thinkers who challenged how we work, and operators who rebuilt organizations from the inside out. In this final episode of the year, I’m not recapping episodes. I’m pulling out the 10 deepest leadership lessons that kept showing up — from Amy Edmondson on psychological safety to Gary Hamel on systems, Adam Bryant, Linda Gratton, Jim Keyes, Chris O’Neill, Ole Rosgaard, Brian Melka, Leisha Ward and more — and what their ideas mean for how you lead in 2026. We cover why psychological safety is courage plus accountability, why clarity is the most underrated CEO superpower, why culture is engineered not declared, how discomfort and reinvention drive growth, why time and attention are your real constraints, how AI is making leadership everyone’s job, and why legacy beats performance. If you want a sharp reset for how you lead in 2026, this episode is your roadmap.
- Like my work? Follow or connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ - Want to become a world-class leader? Join 150,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights here: https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ | |||
| 218 - The CEO decisions you can’t share (and why I built WCL21) | 15 Dec 2025 | 00:10:23 | |
Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of “10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One” 👉 Download Now ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From the outside, you look like a successful CEO. But inside, you feel the gap: more pressure, fewer real conversations, and almost no space to say what it’s really costing you. This quiet gap between the role everyone sees and the reality you live is where even the best leaders start to drift — not in a big breakdown, but through decision fatigue, overthinking, reactive leadership, and the sense that you should be further ahead by now. In this episode, I explain why even successful CEOs feel stuck, why 2026 will amplify this “CEO gap”, and why the real problem isn’t your capacity but your environment. I’ll also share why I created WCL21 — a high-level, intentionally small circle of CEOs — and how the right space can restore your clarity, confidence, and strategic altitude. If you want to learn more or join as a founding member, go to https://andreapetrone.com/wcl21.
- Like my work? Follow or connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ - Want to become a world-class leader? Join 140,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights here: https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ | |||
| 217 - How Smart CEOs Turn Brand into a Real Business Asset (with David Aaker) | 11 Dec 2025 | 00:40:23 | |
Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of “10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One” and start leading with confidence today! 👉 Download Now - https://bit.ly/10-foolproof-ceo-strategies ----------------------------------------------------------------------
In this episode of The World Class Leaders Show, host Andrea Petrone is joined by David Aaker, Vice Chairman of Prophet. Recognized as the father of modern branding, David is a renowned author of 18 books and over 120 articles, with more than 170,000 citations. He shares his updated thinking from the new edition of his book “Aaker on Branding”, highlighting how branding must evolve in a fast-changing world. David explains the dangers of short-term thinking, the power of building strong brand portfolios, and why branding is key for long-term growth and innovation.
David shares how leaders can bring branding back to the center of business strategy by treating it as a long-term asset, not just a marketing tool. He explains why many organizations fall into the trap of short-term thinking and how this weakens brand value. David introduces his five key principles of modern branding, covering areas like relevance, loyalty, and brand portfolios. He also shows how branding plays a key role in driving innovation, building trust, and standing out in crowded markets. Throughout the conversation, he offers real examples and clear steps leaders can take to build stronger, more meaningful brands. What You’ll Learn in This Episode:1. Why short-term thinking can damage brand value and business growth. 2. The five key areas that make up a strong and modern brand strategy. 3. How branding supports innovation and helps create new markets. 4. Ways to build trust and stand out in a crowded, skeptical market. 5. Why brand and company culture must work together for long-term success.
📘 Read “Aaker on Branding” - Unlock the essential guide to building powerful, strategic brands from David Aaker. 👉 Visit: https://prophet.com/2025/04/aaker-on-branding-second-edition/ Timestamps:[00:00] - Teaser and introduction of David Aaker [02:50] - What is new in the updated edition of Aaker on Branding [04:59] - The five key elements of modern branding [07:44] - Why branding is vital for disruptive innovation [14:49] - How to build trust and capture attention in crowded markets [22:51] - Real examples of brands that stand out and stay consistent [26:46] - How CEOs can treat branding as a long-term asset [30:33] - Branding in B2B and its connection to company culture [33:50] - Should brands take a stand on social or political issues? [38:56] - Final advice for leaders to strengthen brand strategy Follow Our Guest David Aaker: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidaaker/ - Prophet: https://www.linkedin.com/company/prophet/ Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone - Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x/ Follow The World Class Leaders Show and Stay updated: - Subscribe to The World Class Leader Show: https://shorturl.at/E9WE7 - Newsletter: https://shorturl.at/dMRp6 - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ - Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/ - Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl - Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ ⭐If you're leading a brand or shaping strategy, this talk with David Aaker offers valuable insights on building strong brands, staying relevant, and driving long-term growth in a fast-changing business world. | |||
| 216 - Trust Is Collapsing in Leadership — Here’s How to Rebuild It | 04 Dec 2025 | 00:09:22 | |
Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of “10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One” 👉 Download Now ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trust is collapsing in institutions and leadership teams, and when your people stop believing you, execution falls apart. In this short solo episode, I unpack why trust is in crisis and what CEOs can do to rebuild it quickly and credibly. I talk about:
If you’re leading in an environment where promises have been broken or engagement is slipping, this episode will help you treat trust as a strategic asset and rebuild it through integrity, transparency and aligned action.
- Like my work? Follow or connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ - Want to become a world-class leader? Join 140,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights here: https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ | |||
| 215 - The CEO’s New Playbook for Digital Transformation with Alex Adamopoulos | 27 Nov 2025 | 00:39:54 | |
Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of “10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One” and start leading with confidence today! 👉 Download Now - https://bit.ly/10-foolproof-ceo-strategies ---------------------------------------------------------------------- In this episode of The World Class Leaders Show, host Andrea Petrone speaks with Alex Adamopoulos, Forbes Business Council Influencer at Forbes Boston Business Council, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at Emergn, a seasoned executive with over 30 years of experience in business transformation. Emergn, a global digital business firm that has helped major companies through their transformation journeys. Alex is recognized as a thought leader and contributor to industry discussions, including writing for Forbes. He shares insights on why many transformations fail, the importance of a product-led approach, and how AI can enhance learning and drive human-centered value in organizations. Alex shares how leaders can drive successful transformations by embracing a product-led approach, where teams work together to create value through continuous, incremental delivery. He explains why many transformation efforts fail, often due to disconnected leadership and unclear goals. Alex highlights the importance of building the right capabilities, encouraging experimentation, and using AI to enhance learning. He also discusses how a mindset shift in leadership can help organizations adapt and thrive in today’s fast-evolving business world. What You’ll Learn in This Episode:- Why many transformation efforts fail and how to avoid common pitfalls. - How to build a product-led organization through incremental delivery. - The importance of leadership alignment and clear value creation. - How AI can support learning and drive human-centered value. - Why investing in skills and capabilities is key to successful change. Timestamps:[00:00] - Teaser and introduction of Alex Adamopoulos [02:25] - Why do many transformation efforts fail? [04:15] - The role of silos in organizational transformation [08:08] - The concept of a product-led organization explained [11:52] - Mindset shifts leaders need for a product-led organization [17:35] - Building capabilities and skills for successful change [21:17] - How AI enhances learning and drives value creation? [24:53] - AI's Return on Investment and Practical Application Challenges [30:53] - AI-Driven Learning Platforms for Skill Building [32:08] - Human-Centric Value in AI Adoption [37:27] - Practical tips for leaders to move towards AI-enabled organizations Follow Our Guest Alex Adamopoulos: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aadamopoulos/ - Forbes Boston Business Council: https://www.linkedin.com/company/forbes-boston-business-council/ - Emergn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/emergn/ Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone - Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapetrone_x/ Follow The World Class Leaders Show and Stay updated: - Subscribe to The World Class Leader Show: https://shorturl.at/E9WE7 - Newsletter: https://shorturl.at/dMRp6 - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-world-class-leaders-show/ - Website: https://www.andreapetrone.com/podcast/ - Spotify: https://shorturl.at/DSHUl - Apple: https://shorturl.at/JZAmQ ⭐If you're leading change or looking to grow as a leader, this talk with Alex Adamopoulos offers key insights on driving transformation, leveraging AI, and building strong leadership in today’s fast-growing business world. #Leadership #ProductLed #AI #Transformation #AlexAdamopoulos #Emergn #WorldClassLeadersShow | |||
| 214 - The False Hope of Stability: How Great CEOs Build Real Resilience | 20 Nov 2025 | 00:09:52 | |
Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of “10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One” 👉 Download Now ------------------------------------------------------------------------- CEOs keep telling themselves, “once we get through this quarter, things will stabilise.” The truth is, stability isn’t coming, volatility is the new baseline. In this solo episode, I explain why most leaders still misunderstand resilience and what it really takes to perform consistently when the world refuses to calm down. I talk about:
If you’re a CEO or senior executive still hoping the external environment will stabilise, this episode will help you reframe resilience around adaptability, recovery and purpose, the real foundations of performance in a volatile world.
- Like my work? Follow or connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ - Want to become a world-class leader? Join 140,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights here: https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ | |||
| 213 - Amy Edmondson: The Truth About Psychological Safety for CEOs to Drive Perfomance | 13 Nov 2025 | 00:41:34 | |
Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of “10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One” and start leading with confidence today! 👉 Download Now - https://bit.ly/10-foolproof-ceo-strategies __________________________________________
In this episode of The World Class Leaders Show, host Andrea Petrone talks with Amy Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School and top global expert on psychological safety and leadership. Amy is the author of The Fearless Organization and Right Kind of Wrong, and has been ranked #1 by Thinkers50 in 2021 and 2023. She shares why psychological safety is key for learning, teamwork, and innovation, how leaders can handle failure well, and why honesty and trust matter now more than ever in fast-changing times.
Amy shares how leaders can build trust by creating a space where people feel safe to speak up with honesty and ideas. She explains why psychological safety is not about being nice but about learning, being real, and taking smart risks. Amy highlights the need for open talk, shared goals, and dealing with failure in a way that drives learning. She also shares how teams can rebuild trust after setbacks and why clear purpose, honesty, and teamwork are key to lead in today’s fast-changing world. What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
📘Check out Amy Edmondson's powerful books, The Fearless Organization and Right Kind of Wrong & others, available on her website! Visit: https://amycedmondson.com/books/ Timestamps: [00:00] - Teaser and introduction of Amy Edmondson [04:01] - How Amy shifted from engineering to studying people and teams [06:44] - Discovering psychological safety through research on errors [10:56] - Common myths: psychological safety is not about being nice [17:48] - Balancing authenticity with work-relevant honesty [19:22] - How to hold high-quality conversations under pressure [26:05] - Understanding intelligent vs. blameworthy failures [29:19] - How to avoid “failure theatre” and promote real learning [34:26] - Rebuilding psychological safety after it’s been broken [37:50] - Why systems thinking is the next step for leaders [40:49] - Amy’s final challenge for CEOs: double down on purpose Follow Our Guest Amy Edmondson:
Follow our Host Andrea Petrone on:
Follow The World Class Leaders Show and Stay updated:
⭐If you're leading people, facing big challenges, or aiming to grow as a leader, this talk with Amy Edmondson gives clear insights, real stories, and useful tips on building trust, handling failure, and leading with honesty and purpose in today’s fast-changing world.
#Leadership #PsychologicalSafety #Teamwork #SmartFailure #AmyEdmondson #HarvardBusinessSchool #WorldClassLeadersShow | |||
| 212 - The CEO Trap: How Over-Delegation Erodes Credibility and Connection | 06 Nov 2025 | 00:10:22 | |
Want to establish authority and lead with confidence from Day One as a CEO? Grab your FREE copy of “10 Foolproof Ways New CEOs Establish Authority From Day One” 👉 Download Now ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Delegation is a strength..until it becomes a trap. Many CEOs step back so far they lose sight of strategy, culture, and credibility. In this episode, I’ll share why over-delegation is rising, the hidden risks it creates, and three ways to strike the right balance.
- Like my work? Follow or connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreapetrone/ - Want to become a world-class leader? Join 140,000+ leaders who read my weekly insights here: https://www.andreapetrone.com/newsletter/ | |||