Optimal Leadership Podcast
Host Wilf Blackburn, a global serial CEO, talks with business school professors and leadership thinkers about whether academic theories hold up in real boardroom situations. The show offers practical insights, sharp debates, and tools for leaders dealing with complexity, growth, and culture. New episodes arrive monthly and are available on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube.
Episodes
Why Great CEOs Listen First
In this episode of The Optimal Leadership Podcast, our host Wilf Blackburn speaks with Professor Vladimir Pucik, Visiting Emeritus Professor of International Business at Aalto School of Business, Helsinki, Finland.Together, they explore the leadership capabilities that matter most in a complex global world: listening, humility, critical thinking, and human connection. This conversation goes beyond
Why Most Organisations Fail to Execute Ideas, and How Leaders Fix It
Most organisations don’t suffer from a lack of ideas, they suffer from a failure to execute them.In this conversation, Wilf Blackburn sits down with Dr. Dean M. Schroeder to explore one of the most overlooked truths in leadership: innovation doesn’t come from the top, it comes from the frontline. Yet in many organisations, the very structures designed to manage performance are the ones blocking pr
Ready, Fire, Aim: Rethinking How Leaders Make Decisions Today
Most leadership advice tells us to slow down, analyse, and act with certainty. But in today’s environment, that sequence is increasingly unrealistic.In this episode of The Optimal Leadership Podcast, our host Wilf Blackburn speaks with Professor Stephen Wyatt, Professor of Leadership & Strategy, University of Bath (UK), to challenge how leaders think about decision-making.At the centre of the
Leading Through Complexity: Advice for Today’s Business Leaders with professor Maury Peiperl
Explore how leaders can better understand and leverage purpose, behaviors, and context to foster effective organizations. This episode offers deep insights into leadership evolution, cultural change, and ethical decision-making in turbulent times.Summary:In this episode of The Optimal Leadership Podcast, Serial CEO Wilf Blackburn is joined by Professor Maury Peiperl to explore what leadership real
The Power of Humility in Leadership: Navigating Leadership with Humility and Luck
SummaryIn this episode of the Optimal Leadership podcast, host Wilf engages with Dr. Franziska Frank, author of The Power of Humility in Leadership, to explore the intricate relationship between humility, luck, and circumstance in leadership. They discuss how leaders often struggle with the concept of humility, particularly in attributing their successes to external factors like luck rather than s
Eastern Wisdom, Western Leadership: How Humility, Virtue, and Culture Shape Effective Global Leaders
What can modern business leaders learn when Eastern philosophy meets Western executive practice?In this episode of The Optimal Leadership Podcast, global Serial CEO Wilf Blackburn is joined by Professor Zuo, professor of Management and author of Chinese Wisdom and Modern Management, for a deep and reflective conversation on leadership across cultures.Drawing on decades of scholarship and real-worl
Recommended
Nick Ferrari - The Whole Show
World Questions
InsideAIR
Off Court With Greg Rusedski
IELTS, OET and UKMLA PLAB 2 Made Easy Podcast For Medical Professionals
The Systemic Way
Trauma Bonding to Secure Relationship
Golden's Oldies
Lucy & Sam's Perfect Brains
The ADHD Adults Podcast
RHISE: Real History in Simple English (B2-C1, British)
Swingers
