The Black Belt in Leadership
Episodes
Leading Under Pressure: Calm, Chaos, and Leadership Presence with M.K. Palmore
31 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What happens to leadership when pressure rises and situations start to feel chaotic?In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, Aslak de Silva sp...
From Doubt to Clarity: The Real Leadership Journey with Marc A. Pitman
17 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Leadership is rarely something people are formally trained for.Most leaders grow into the role through performance, promotion, and responsibility only...
Business as Unusual: Leading When Predictability Disappears with Dennis Akkerman
03 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What happens to leadership when business is no longer predictable?In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, Aslak de Silva sits down with trans...
Leading After Failure with Michal Bardavid: Self-Worth, Humility, and Rising Stronger as a Leader
22 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Michal Bardavid is a psychological counselor and dance movement therapist with a master’s degree in industrial psychology. For more than fifteen yea...
Why Most Leaders Get Strategy Wrong: Charlie Curson on Strategic Thinking, Self-Awareness and Better Decisions
09 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What makes a leader truly strategic? And why do so many organisations confuse strategy with planning, tactics or endless PowerPoint decks?In this epis...
The Power of the Pause: Leadership, Resilience, and the Kairos Mindset with Josh Kosnick
25 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Josh Kosnick, entrepreneur, executive coach, and author of The Kairos CodeWhat does a true leader do when everything falls apart? In this episode of T...
The Courage to Be Seen with Shermain Melton: Authentic Leadership and the Power of Truth
11 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What does it take to live your truth and lead with authenticity?In this inspiring episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, Aslak de Silva speaks with ...
How microbreaks boost Leadership and team performance with Amel Gaily
28 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Can short breaks really make you a better leader?In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, Aslak de Silva talks with Amel Gaily, CEO and Partne...
Life Skills You Didn’t Know You Needed with Tim Staton
07 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership podcast, host Aslak de Silva interviews U.S. Army Officer, leadership expert, and author Tim Staton, w...
Resilience Beyond Bouncing Back – Lama Tantrapa on Leadership, Presence, and Spiritual Growth
16 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, Aslak de Silva sits down with Lama Somananda Tantrapa — Tibetan lama, 27th-generation lineage holde...
The PERFORM Framework: How Stoyan Yankov Helps Leaders Build High-Performing Teams
19 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Stoyan Yankov is a productivity and performance coach, bestselling author, podcast host, and keynote speaker who helps organizations build high-perfor...
From Olympic Dreams to AI Leadership: Stefan Gogoll on Discipline, Identity, and Building Teams That Last
05 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Stefan Gogoll is a German tech entrepreneur, visionary leader, and former professional athlete with over 25 years of experience driving software innov...
From Busy Bee to Focused Leader with Katie Stoddart
22 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership podcast, leadership coach and focus expert Katie Stoddart shares practical strategies for improving fo...
The Art of Focus and Leading Through Setbacks with Glenn Mathijssen
08 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, Aslak sits down with Glenn Mathijssen, CEO and co-founder of Alberts, the world’s first smoothie-ma...
Mastering Self-Leadership: From Martial Arts to the Boardroom with Lars Sudmann
03 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Lars Sundmann is an advisor, keynote speaker and executive trainer on leadership, strategy, innovation and communication for global corporations and t...
From Problem to Purpose: The Real Secret to Building Great Companies with Mikael da Costa
27 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if the secret to building great companies wasn’t about chasing unicorns, but solving your own problems first?Mikael da Costa, a serial entrepre...
The Science of Sustainable High Performance with Dr. James Hewitt
20 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. James Hewitt, Human Performance Scientist, speaker, and author.James combines first-hand experience as a full-time racing cyclist with ground-brea...
Scaling at the Speed of Stillness with Lars Johan Bjørkevoll
29 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if scaling a business at lightning speed didn’t require burnout, but balance?Lars Johan Bjørkevoll is a Nordic business leader who effectively...
The Visionary Leader: Leading Beyond the Finish Line with Dr. Oleg Konovalov
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Oleg Konovalov is a global thought leader, bestselling author, business educator, C-suite whisperer, and the world’s top expert on visionary lea...
The Power of Encounters & Training Future Leaders with Salla Seppä
04 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Salla Seppä, Chief Customer Experience Officer at Nordic Business ForumWhat does it take to create an unforgettable customer experience—and how do ...
Be Like Water: Natural Movement in Martial Arts & Leadership with Jori Pisilä
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jori Pisilä, Head of Sales at Bayer Consumer Healt in Finland, 4th degree black belt in Boreal Han Moo DoWhat do martial arts and leadership have in ...
Getting Things Done with Claus Raasted
21 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, host Aslak de Silva sits down with Claus Raasted—a creative powerhouse who has authored 46 books, o...
The Leadership Edge: Mastering AI with Edgar Perez
31 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, host Aslak de Silva and AI expert Edgar Perez delve into why artificial intelligence is reshaping the...
Resilient and Human-Centric Leadership with Gudrun Snorradottir
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, we sit down with Guðrún Snorradóttir, an executive coach with a background in applied positive psy...
From White Belt to Black Belt: Mastering the Stages of Leadership with Jason Shupp
05 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, host Aslak de Silva welcomes Jason Shupp, the experienced leader of Ferguson Roofing and host of the ...
Mastering Leadership with Anna Kuusela: The Coach’s Guide to Progress and Precision
22 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, Aslak de Silva is joined by Anna Kuusela (M.Sc. (Econ), ICF Executive Coach, Ex-Big4, and former ball...
Unleashing Inner Strength: Tapping into Sisu with Dr. Elisabet Lahti
08 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership podcast, host Aslak de Silva is joined by Dr. Elisabet Lahti, an expert in inner strength and the Finn...
Breaking Through the Block: Mastering Leaders Block with Ritu G. Mehrish
24 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership podcast, host Aslak de Silva sits down with executive coach and author Ritu G. Mehrish to dive deep in...
Feras Alhlou: Mastering Strategic Leadership with a Black Belt Mindset
10 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the Black Belt in Leadership podcast, host Aslak de Silva sits down with Feras Alhlou, a seasoned entrepreneur, business strategist...
Alf Rehn and the Yin-Yang and contradictions of Leadership
28 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of "The Black Belt in Leadership," we sit down with Alf Rehn, a professor of innovation, design, and management, to explore ...
4 Core Lessons from Martial Arts
23 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I will tell my own background and how did I get into martial arts. Sharing 4 core lessons I have learned and wrote about as a co-autho...