Disrupt Your Career

Riet Grond is a Human Resources executive with 25 years of experience. He has a successful track record in strategic HR leadership, with in-depth experiences across major functional HR areas (Data & Analytics, Talent Acquisition, Talent Development, Organization and Culture Development), covering geographies such as China, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Europe, and the USA. He is recognized for excellence in leading transformative change, developing diverse talent, managing difficult situations, and creating inspiring and curious work environments that drive exceptional performance.We talk with Riet about how his extraordinary career has unfolded, his moments of pride and challenge, his transition from consulting to HR, the key lessons he learned  working with diverse leaders, his advice for early career professionals who are looking to start out in their careers, his passion for mountaineering and how is uses it as a school for life and leadership, how individuals and organization can better frame returning to work after time spent parenting, how organizations should reconsider their approach to people management in a context of rapid change and his most exciting projects for the coming year.Links from the episode:Riet’s LinkedIn profileCareers at NovartisLearn more about the exceptional mountain rescuer Bruno JelkThanks for listening!Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.comIf you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Octavia Goredema is the founder of Twenty Ten Agency, a career coaching company and the author of PREP, PUSH, PIVOT: Essential Career Strategies for Underrepresented Women. Her mission is to help underrepresented professionals advance their careers. Octavia has coached leaders at renowned companies including Google, American Airlines, Tinder, General Motors, Nike and Dow Jones. She is the host of the Audible Original series How to Change Careers with Octavia Goredema. Originally from England, she is based in Los Angeles where she has lived for over a decade. We talk with Octavia about how her own career journey unfolded, the lessons she learned working in PR, media and communications, her advice for early career professionals who are looking to start out in their careers, why she wrote Prep, Push, Pivot and the main ideas of her book, the importance of discovering your true worth and cementing your career values, her Audible book series How to change career, what she would like to see organizations doing better when managing talent and careers, and her most exciting projects for the coming year. Links from the episode: Octavia’s personal siteOctavia’s book PREP, PUSH, PIVOTOctavia’s LinkedIn profileThanks for listening!Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.comIf you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Valerie Sutton is a thought leader in career theory, coaching, and leading teams. Creating “career consciousness” with clients is her passion. A seasoned career coach with specialization in the MBA and education sectors, she has successfully overseen offices catering to over 900 students on an annual basis and is a LinkedIn Learning Instructor. Valerie’s prior experience includes the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. We talk with Valerie about her own career journey and the lessons she learned along the way, her time as head of career in universities and her transition as a co-founder, her advice for early career professionals who are looking to start out in their careers, her motivation to be involved in volunteering projects, her thinking and recommended strategies around networking, what she wishes employers could change, and her most exciting projects for the future. Links from the episode:   Valerie’s homepage ‘Career Solution by Valerie’ Valerie’s courses on LinkedIn LearningValerie’s LinkedIn ProfileThanks for listening!Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.comIf you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Julia trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (UCL) and went on to a successful career as actor, director and producer in television, film and theatre. She launched the pioneering You Brand methodology and philosophy in 1989, at the start of a major recession, and she and her team have been using it to help people and organizations realize their full potential ever since.We talk with Julia about her career journey from actress to leadership coach and the lessons she learned along the way, her advice for early career professionals who are looking to start out in their careers, her motivation and process to write ‘You Brand: a Manual for Confidence’ and the main ideas for her book, her view and advice on how to best communicate during video or AI powered interviews, the importance of confidence and authenticity, and her plans for the future including writing of her memoir. Links from the episode:Julia’s Personal Presentation websiteJulia’s book You BrandJulia’s LinkedIn ProfileThanks for listening!Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.comIf you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

JP Elliott is a forward-thinking global human resources executive with extensive experience implementing human capital initiatives across a broad spectrum of industries. He is currently the Chief People Officer at WilliamsMarston and previously worked at companies like McAfee, DICK’S Sporting Goods, Brink’s, Lenovo, IBM and Taco Bell. JP runs his own podcast, The Future of HR, the only podcast whose mission is to inspire the next generation of HR Leaders. He received his PhD in Organizational Psychology from Alliant International University.We talk with JP about his own career journey in HR, how he managed each transition, the lessons he learned working alongside the leaders of many prominent companies, his advice for young professionals who are looking to start their careers, especially those contemplating a career in HR, his motivation to create the Future of HR podcast, what he learned from it and the impact on its audience, what progress, room for improvement and advice he has for HR and Talent professionals, and what are his most exciting projects for the future. Links from the episode: The Future of HR podcastJP’s LinkedIn profileThanks for listening!Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.comIf you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Jo Owen is an award-winning author, keynote speaker and social entrepreneur. Following a business career, he now helps great leaders, managers and teams become even better through coaching, writing and speaking. Jo started eight not for profit organisations and is a founder of Teach First, a top graduate recruiter in the UK. His books have been published in over 100 editions globally and he has appeared in major media including BBC, Fortune, Financial Times and The Times.We talk with Jo about how his extraordinary career unfolded in the UK and around the world, how he became an accidental leadership guru, his definition of leadership and how to learn and build leadership skills, what it takes for global teams to succeed, how to build trust remotely, the ‘tea bag theory of leadership’, the advice that Jo would give his 18 year-old self, his experience in social enterprises and the impact of Teach First.Links from the episode:Jo’s personal homepageJo’s most recent book Smart WorkJo’s LinkedIn profileThanks for listening!Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.comIf you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

A former Fortune 50 senior executive turned board director, professor, leadership coach, and author, Ellen Connelly Taaffe is on a mission for women to have more seats and voices at the table of workplace decisions. In her book, The Mirrored Door (Page Two, October 2023), Ellen uses her vast experience to help women understand and navigate through internal and external obstacles to create the future career they desire.We talk with Ellen about how her own career unfolded and the lessons she learned from working in brand management, how she managed to move into consulting, coaching,  academia and writing, her advice for early career professionals, why she wrote The Mirrored Door and the main ideas of her book, her advice to overcome some of the perils of success―such as being prepared to perfection, eager to please, or trying to fit the mold— and her most exciting projects for the future. Links from the episode: Ellen’s personal websiteEllen’s book The Mirrored DoorEllen’s LinkedIn profileThanks for listening!Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.comIf you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Rich Rosser is an ex-McKinsey consultant turned start-up co-founder of Movemeon with Nick Patterson. Their vision is to get all the best jobs for strategy, management consultants and freelance consultants in one place, with none of the frustrations of agencies or job boards. Rich holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford. He is a dad of three and spends Fridays looking after his kids. We talk with Rich about his own career journey, the lessons he learned from McKinsey and how he transitioned to start-up founder, his advice for early career professionals who are looking to start their careers, the importance of defining a career Plan A and vision, his experience with social media platforms, the ideal transition out of consulting or financial services and the do’s and don’ts to consider, what he would like to change about the world of work, and his most exciting projects for rest of the year.Links from the episode: Movemeon homepage  Rich’s article What's "plan A"​? And why does it matter?Rich’s LinkedIn profileThanks for listening!Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.comIf you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

In this edition of Author Chat, Disrupt Your Career speaks with Sven Sommerlatte about his new book Successful Career Strategy: An HR Practitioner’s Guide to Reach Your Dream Job (Springer, June 2023). Sven Sommerlatte, the CHRO of Boehringher Ingelheim, explains that advancing your career in the best possible way requires a well-structured and targeted approach. An edited version of the conversation follows.To order Sven’s book Career Stories on Sven’s blogThanks for listening!Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.comIf you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

A business leader, psychologist and executive coach, Chris Parke is passionate about building inclusive organisations where business and individuals thrive. Following a career in investment banking and consulting, he co-founded Talking Talent in 2005 to help organisations link strategy to inclusion and remain relevant in rapidly changing diverse markets. Chris has a diploma in Clinical Organisational Psychology from INSEAD and was awarded a scholarship MBA from Imperial College London. We talk with Chris about how his own career unfolded, how he became interested in leadership, his transition from corporate to entrepreneurship, his advice for early career professionals who are looking to start out, his motivation for creating the podcast ‘Voices with Talking Talent’, what leaders can do to build a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace, the impact of coaching on individuals and groups, and his most exciting projects for the rest of the year.Links from the episode: Talking Talent homepage Voices with Talking Talent podcast  Chris’ LinkedIn profileThanks for listening!Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.comIf you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Aliya Hamid Rao is an Assistant Professor at the London School of Economics. She completed her PhD in Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania and a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Stanford University. Her research interests span the study of work and organizations, family, gender, economic sociology, and emotions. Her first book, Crunch Time: How Married Couples Confront Unemployment, provides a detailed examination of how professionals in the US contend with unemployment. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals and publications such as the Financial Times, the New York Times and Harvard Business Review. We talk with Aliya about how her own career unfolded and the lessons she learned along the way, what drew her towards her research on gender, family, and their influence on the workplace and individual careers, her advice for early career professionals, why she wrote Crunch Time and the main ideas of her book, her practical advice for women who have gaps in their careers and are seeking to be rehired, examples of good Diversity & Inclusion practices by organizations, and her most exciting projects for the future. Links from the episode: Aliya’s personal homepageAliya’s book : Crunch Time: How Married Couples Confront UnemploymentAliya’s LinkedIn profileBook mentioned by Aliya: “Getting to Diversity: What Works and What Doesn’t” by Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev  Thanks for listening!Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.comIf you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Amanda Goodall is a Senior Lecturer in Management at Bayes Business School. She started in fashion, then to NGOs, and finally into to academe.  She completed her PhD in leadership at Warwick Business School. Her research looks at the relationship between leadership and organizational performance; it shows that leaders should have a deep understanding of the core business of the organizations they are to lead. Amanda publishes in academic journals, practitioner publications and in the media. In June 2023 she released her new book “Credible: The power of Expert Leadership”. We talk with Amanda about how her career unfolded, her transition from working as a model then to NGOs and into academia, the lessons she learned along the way and her advice for early career professionals, why she wrote Credible and the main ideas of her book, how should organizations approach the mix of both experts and generalist, which industries are better off with an expert leader, what makes an organization an expert-friendly one and the notion of Expertopia, and her advice for professionals who want to develop their career as experts.Links from the episode: Amanda’s personal homepageAmanda’s new book Credible: The Power of Expert LeadersAmanda’s LinkedIn profileThanks for listening!Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.comIf you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Janine Mathó is a global leader with 20+ years of experience in external relations. A first-generation Cuban-American, she overcame poverty, homelessness, and family trauma in her early career. She has held senior roles in world-class organisations including Pearson and Harvard University. Janine is cofounder & CEO of ExponentialChangemakers, a growing global network for women in the first ten years of their careers working to close the early-career gender gap. She is also an Executive Coach who supports senior female leaders at critical career junctures. We talk with Janine about how her career unfolded, the lessons she learned along the way, how she experienced her more recent transition from being an executive in global organizations to becoming a consultant, coach and a founder, her advice for early-career professionals who are getting started, her passion to create greater gender equity in the workplace and what challenges she wants to address, what she would like to change about the world of work, and their most exciting projects and initiatives for the future. Links from the episode: ExponentialChangemakers’ websiteExponentialChangemakers on InstragramJanine’s LinkedIn profileThanks for listening!Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.comIf you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Michel is a Senior Client Partner and a member of Korn Ferry’s Leadership Development Solutions Group. He has extensive experience in executive assessment, coaching, and designing leadership development portfolios. He is passionate about helping leaders and their teams unlock their unrealized potential and cultivate their own and others’ resilience in the face of change and uncertainty. He holds a PhD in organizational psychology from Columbia University and a doctorate in clinical human sciences from the University of Paris.We talk with Michel about how his own career unfolded and the lessons he learned about career transitions, his advice for early career professionals, some leadership tips for managing a crisis, what does an inclusive leader look like, his perspective on coaching executives in organizations, and his most exciting projects for the future.Links from the episode: Michel’s LinkedIn profileMichel’s article What does an inclusive leader look likeVideo from Michel on Changing Career Paths to Leadership RolesOur INSEAD Knowledge article on DEI featuring Michel’s storyThanks for listening!Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.comIf you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Abel van Staveren is a location-independent portfolio careerist with a passion for helping others achieve their goals and live life to the fullest. As a CEO, Chartered Accountant, Non-Executive Director, and digital nomad, he has built a successful portfolio career spanning various industries, from the shipping sector to private equity and investment management. When he is not busy helping others chart their paths to success, you will find Abel indulging his love for sailing, teaching, and coaching.We talk with Abel about how his career unfolded, the lessons he learned along the way and how he applied those in the second half of his career, how he transitioned from corporate executive to portfolio careerist, his typical day-to-day life, the power of mentoring, his work as non-executive board member, his advice for early career professionals and how to design your life, and his most exciting projects for the future.Links from the episode: Article about Abel in INSEAD In the KnowAbel’s LinkedIn profileThanks for listening!Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.comIf you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Mpume is an internationally qualified corporate level coach based in Johannesburg, South Africa. She founded About Change Conversations following a corporate career in companies like Unilever, MTN, Ericsson and Multichoice. She is passionate about personal development and has gained a deep understanding of what is required to identify each individual’s unique talents and passion to ultimately benefit organisations while facilitating personal growth. She is the host of the Change Conversations podcast, and also a facilitator, speaker, and non-executive director.We talk with Mpume about how her career unfolded and what she has learned along the way during a period of deep change in South Africa, her shift from corporate executive to coach-entrepreneur and the challenges and joys of building her business, her advice for young professionals starting out with their career today, her views about work-life balance and how to optimize it, what she would like to change about the world of work, and her most exciting projects for the future. Links from the episode: Change Conversations homepageMpume’s Change Conversations PodcastMpume’s LinkedIn profile Thanks for listening!Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.comIf you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Tayo Rockson is a writer, speaker, consultant, podcaster, professor, co-founder and brand strategist at UYD Management, a strategic consulting firm. As the son of a diplomat, he grew up understanding the nuances of multicultural diversity while living on four continents. He is the host of the podcast As Told by Nomads, author of Use Your Difference To Make A Difference, a professor at the Imperial College Business School and has spoken at TEDx, the Chautauqua Institution, and the United Nations.We talk with Tayo about the pivots and changes in his extraordinary career and the lessons he learned along the way, how he manages his portfolio of activities, his advice to early career professionals, why he wrote Use Your Difference to Make a Difference and what are the main ideas from his book, his insights about why and how to make career pivots, examples of organizations that are progressing when it comes to talent and career management, what he would like to change about the world of work, and his most exciting projects for the future.  Links from the episode: Tayo’s personal homepageTayo’s consulting firm UYD ManagementTayo’s book Use Your Difference to Make a DifferenceAs Told By Nomads podcastTayo’s LinkedIn profileThanks for listening!Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.comIf you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Andrew Bartlow has 25 years of Human Resources and Talent experience at organizations across a wide variety of sizes, stages, and industries. He is the co-author of Scaling for Success: People Priorities for High Growth Organizations, has a masters degree in HR, and has been CECP, SPHR, Six Sigma, and executive coaching certified. Andrew leads Series B Consulting, which helps businesses to refine their people strategy and accelerate their growth, while navigating rapid change. He currently serves as both a private equity operating partner and venture advisor, and mentors high-growth HR leaders.We talk with Andrew about his own career journey and the lessons he learned along the way, how he transitioned from being corporate HR executive to becoming a consultant with a portfolio of activities, his advice to early career professionals, why he wrote Scaling for Success and what are the main ideas from his book, examples of best practices and what organizations could do better around career and talent management, and what he would like to change about the world of work. Links from the episode: People Leader Accelerator homepageSeries B consulting homepage  Andrew’s book Scaling for SuccessAndrew’s LinkedIn profileDownload a free copy of any one of Andrew’s People Leader Accelerator guides (normally $500) by using the discount code "Podcast" Thanks for listening!Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.comIf you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Patti and Jack Phillips are internationally recognized authors, consultants, and researchers. Together, they lead the ROI Institute, Inc., the leading source of Return on Investment (ROI) evaluation education, research and networking. Both former executives, they provide consulting services to major global organizations. Authors, co-authors and editors of more than 100 books and articles, they conduct workshops and present at conferences throughout the world.We talk with Patti and Jack about their own career journeys, how they apply the ROI methodology to career and talent management, what motivated them to write Show the Value of What You Do, the needs they are trying to address with this book and how it can help people who feel stuck in their career create and demonstrate value of their work, examples of companies that have implemented the approach of value and ROI particularly well, some of Jack and Patti’s recent publications on retention and inclusion, what they would like to change about the world of work, and their most exciting projects and initiatives for the future. Links from the episode: The ROI Institute’s homepagePatti and Jack’s book Show the Value of What You DoPatti’s LinkedIn profileJack’s LinkedIn profileThanks for listening!Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.comIf you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast

Drawing on his experience as a renowned portrait photographer, Jeffrey Shaw helps self-employed and small business owners gain control of their business. Jeffrey’s portraits have appeared on Oprah and CBS News, in People magazine and O, The Oprah Magazine. Jeffrey’s TEDx Lincoln Square talk is featured on TED.com. He’s the host of the podcast The Self-Employed Life, author of The Self-Employed Life and LINGO, a keynote speaker, a LinkedIn Learning instructor and contributing writer to Entrepreneur magazine.We talk with Jeffrey about his own career journey and the lessons he learned along the way, his advice to early career professionals, his motivation to write The Self-Employed Life, some of the imagery of his book such as “Tarzan swinging from vine to vine“ or what he calls “hug marketing”, the intersection of meaning and marketability, his conviction that the best way to get to know someone is to know what they value, what they support and what they prioritize, what he would like to change about the world of work, and his most exciting projects for the future. Links from the episode: Jeffrey’s personal homepageJeffrey’s book The Self-Employed LifeJeffrey’s LinkedIn profileThanks for listening!Visit our homepage at https://disrupt-your-career.comIf you like the podcast, please take a moment to rate it and leave a review in Apple Podcast