Positive Leadership Academy – Inspires, Guides and Transforms

Felix Viloria and Javier Llerena
  • 3.9 (7)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

The Positive Leadership Academy podcast explores the power of positive leadership and its impact on individuals and organizations. Hosted by experts in leadership and organizational development, Javier and Felix, each episode offers practical tips and strategies for developing your leadership skills and inspiring stories of positive leadership in action.

  1. 4d ago

    The One Move On Stage That Quietly Destroys Your Credibility — with David Thomas

    Most leaders don't bomb on stage because they lack charisma. They bomb because they ignore the basics. In this episode, UK presentation coach David Thomas joins Javier Llerena to unpack exactly what separates a forgettable speaker from a rock star — and almost none of it is natural talent. It starts with a story Javier can't shake: a CEO he'd coached in Las Vegas who stepped off the stage mid-talk to do a "Wall Street" walk through the ballroom. David's verdict is blunt — never go beyond the front row. The moment people have to turn around to find you, the trust breaks and the expensive stage lighting stops doing its job. From there he lays out his real thesis: structure beats charisma every time. You have 60 seconds to grab attention, a 20-minute talk should live in two-minute chunks, and stories beat statistics. The conversation moves into authentic leadership, where David reframes a phrase most people get wrong. "Being yourself" doesn't mean showing up however you feel that day — it means finding your baseline and dialing it up about 20%, consistently, so your team always knows which version of you walks through the door. He's equally direct about senior leaders who deliver the wrong material: a chief exec should be a "walking mission statement," not the person reading the finance numbers that belong to the CFO. Then it gets personal. David opens up about a childhood with an alcoholic mother and an abusive stepfather, and the hard-edged philosophy he built from it — that there's a "sell-by date for blaming other people." He talks radical responsibility, low expectations of being rescued, and, at nearly 60, why every decision now has to count. He closes with the improbable arc that changed his life: from a school expulsion and a factory job at a pound an hour to placing at the World Memory Championships and setting a Guinness World Record for reciting pi to 22,500 digits. Chapters 00:00 — Welcome to the Positive Leadership Academy 00:11 — The Las Vegas "Wall Street walk" that ruined a CEO's talk 01:50 — Never step past the front row (and why structure beats charisma) 03:44 — Toastmasters, the red light, and respecting the clock 04:57 — Authentic leadership: your baseline, dialed up 20% 06:55 — Youth ministry and quieting the inner critic 09:27 — The #1 mistake senior leaders make: delivering the wrong material 11:19 — Presenting to a remote room (and the case against virtual backgrounds) 13:29 — You're not talking to 50 people — you're having 50 one-to-ones 15:55 — Everything to a 10: camera, lighting, and self-editing 18:34 — Backgrounds that are personal without being distracting (the clown story) 20:19 — A hard start in life, resilience, and radical responsibility 24:37 — Two choices with trauma — and why asking for help matters now 26:49 — From factory floor to a Guinness World Record for memory 29:03 — Where to find David 29:37 — Close Links Mentioned David Thomas on LinkedIn — "David Thomas Creating Presentation Rockstars" Website — www.creatingpresentationrockstars.com Connect with Javier Website: https://www.re-invent.consulting LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/javierllerena/ YouTube: (PodMatch): https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/positiveleadershipacademypodcast Want to be a guest on Positive Leadership Academy – Inspires, Guides and Transforms? Send Javier Llerena a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/positiveleadershipacademypodcast

  2. Jun 22

    Winning Inside: How to Succeed Without Burning Out — with Dr. Angela Kerek

    What if the same drive that made you successful is quietly burning you out? Dr. Angela Kerek shows how to stop chasing trophies and start winning from the inside. She went from the professional tennis tour, to a big-law finance partnership, to executive coaching — and spent nearly five decades running on fear before she found a healthier way to perform. Inside this episode, Javier and Angela unpack the inner mental game behind sustainable high performance: how to tell the difference between fear-fueled drive and energy that actually expands you, why your nervous system keeps you stuck in survival mode, and the one simple sentence that helped Angela finally let go of "never enough." ABOUT DR. ANGELA KEREK Former WTA professional tennis player and finance partner turned executive coach, speaker, and author. She holds a PhD in constitutional law and an MBA from Kellogg/WHU, and is the co-author of WINNING INSIDE, a guide to transferring elite-athlete mental techniques into the business world. She coaches executives and high performers through major career transitions. WHAT WE COVER 00:00 — Welcome & introduction 00:51 — From the courtroom to coaching: the "tour guide" mindset 05:09 — Winning inside vs. winning outside 07:45 — Building your own scoreboard (the me-vs-me game) 11:45 — Anabolic vs. catabolic energy 17:43 — Why fear shuts down your creative brain 19:49 — The deli moment: catching your nervous system in the act 22:08 — "It is enough": the sentence that changed everything 26:23 — How your energy shapes your relationships 29:30 — Making It Happen 2026: a 3-week, one-goal system MEMORABLE QUOTES "The coach is like a tour guide in your own city." — Dr. Angela Kerek "If you run on fear and you don't achieve, you feel like nothing." — Dr. Angela Kerek "It is enough. You are enough." — Dr. Angela Kerek "Success feeds the next success." — Dr. Angela Kerek CONNECT WITH DR. ANGELA KEREK 🌐 angelakerek.com 📚 WINNING INSIDE — angelakerek.com/publications 💼 linkedin.com/in/angelakerek REFERENCES WINNING INSIDE (book) · Anabolic vs. catabolic energy · Energy Leadership Index (iPEC) · Making It Happen 2026 course CONNECT WITH JAVIER Host Javier Llerena helps leaders move from survival mode to sustainable, energized performance. Work with Javier or book a conversation: meetings.hubspot.com/llerena SUBSCRIBE & FOLLOW Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube — and follow Positive Leadership Academy so you never miss an episode. Want to be a guest on Positive Leadership Academy – Inspires, Guides and Transforms? Send Javier Llerena a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/positiveleadershipacademypodcast

  3. Jun 14

    Ageless Peak Performance: Using AI to Extend Your Prime by 40 Years — with Ted Yang

    What if the real AI divide isn't young versus old — but adopters versus spectators? In this episode, Javier sits down with Ted Yang, author of Ageless Peak Performance: The Playbook for AI-Powered Excellence, to challenge the idea that your sharpest years are behind you at 50. Ted makes the case that AI can act as cognitive leverage — offsetting what naturally slows with age (speed, recall, working memory) while amplifying what gets stronger (judgment, pattern recognition, strategic thinking). The result: a "prime" that can stretch from the usual 10–15 years to 50–60. Along the way they get into AI coaching and therapy, the "don't treat it like an oracle" principle, raising an AI-skeptical daughter, and why every powerful tool in history first arrived disguised as a threat. About the guest Ted Yang is the author of Ageless Peak Performance: The Playbook for AI-Powered Excellence. He's an MIT-trained engineer and entrepreneur, a former finance executive at firms including Bridgewater and Citadel, and the founder of 12+ companies. A worldwide TEDx speaker, he serves on Connecticut's Board of Regents for Higher Education and is also the author of the memoir Table for Five. Learn more at agelesspeakperformance.com. Key takeaways The divide that matters isn't age — it's whether you adopt AI or sit on the sidelines as a spectator.AI can compensate for what declines with age and amplify what experience makes stronger, extending your peak years dramatically.Treat AI like an intern, not an oracle — you stay in charge of judgment and quality.AI coaching or therapy is better than nothing, but it's a low-bandwidth, probabilistic tool — not a substitute for a real human expert.The biggest mistake is "using it like Google": turning off your brain and asking for answers instead of using a framework.Use AI to challenge your thinking (the "Devil's Advocate" move), not just to agree with you.Every transformative tool — writing, the internet, Wikipedia — first sparked fear that it would make us weaker. Used well, it did the opposite.Memorable quotes "The divide isn't young versus old. It's adopters versus spectators.""Don't treat AI like an oracle. Treat it like an intern.""You're not the player of all the instruments anymore — you're the conductor, making sure they're played well.""AI coaching is better than no coach. It's not better than a real coach.""Humans aren't going anywhere. AI isn't going anywhere. The work is learning to use it to make ourselves better."Timestamps 00:00 — Welcome (and why every conversation is about AI)01:07 — The real divide: adopters vs. spectators01:43 — Why turning 50 led to the book04:36 — Why your fifties can be your prime05:34 — Can AI actually coach you?07:00 — "Better than nothing," but not a real expert08:00 — The low-bandwidth problem (and why you can lie to AI)09:00 — Don't treat AI like an oracle — treat it like an intern10:04 — Same fears, new tool: the internet, Amazon, the Yellow Pages11:24 — Socrates, writing, and why every tool sparks panic13:15 — The one wrong way to use AI: turning off your brain14:50 — What experienced leaders should do first16:28 — Raising an AI-skeptical daughter17:25 — From doer to conductor19:24 — Using AI to write a book in your own voice20:53 — Where to find Ted22:00 — The closing truth about humans and AIConnect with Ted Yang Book & free "Devil's Advocate" giveaway: agelesspeakperformance.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tedsensei(Instagram handle pending your confirmation — see note at the end)Want to be a guest on Positive Leadership Academy – Inspires, Guides and Transforms? Send Javier Llerena a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/positiveleadershipacademypodcast

  4. Jun 8

    Empowering Anxiety: How One Habit Changes Everything in Leadership with Marta Simeonova

    SHOW NOTES Episode: Empowering Anxiety: How One Habit Changes Everything in Leadership Guest: Marta Simeonova, Leadership Coach & Global HR Leader What if anxiety isn't a weakness you need to fix—but a signal you need to understand? In this episode, Javier sits down with Marta Simeonova, a global HR leader turned full-time leadership coach, to explore how embracing anxiety actually makes you a better leader. Marta shares her personal journey of moving from managing 45 countries across multiple continents to coaching high-performing leaders one-on-one. And she reveals the one small habit that transformed how an entire team operates. If you've ever felt the pressure to have all the answers, struggled with delegation, or wondered how to actually empower people instead of rescuing them, this conversation is for you. Why anxiety is actually a form of empathetic accuracy—and how to harness itThe dangerous assumption every first-time manager makes (and how it limits your growth)One manager's breakthrough: saying "no" to just one thing that changed his entire teamHow to shift from being a subject-matter expert to creating systems that let your team thriveThe real work of building habits: clarifying impact first, then designing the behaviors that get you thereWhy accepting yourself—imperfections and all—gives your team permission to do the same2:19 — The contrast: rapid-fire operational leadership vs. the presence of coaching 4:04 — The 95% delegation breakthrough: one manager's story 5:48 — Reframing anxiety as courage and empathetic accuracy 9:26 — How social anxiety made Marta a better leader (and more attuned to her team) 11:05 — The power of vulnerability at work: giving permission to be imperfect 12:36 — The #1 assumption that derails new managers 13:59 — Stop trying to be an expert in everyone's job—build systems instead 15:02 — Why habits are the how, not the nice-to-have 16:52 — Where to connect with Marta Marta Simeonova is a global HR transformation leader and next-level leadership coach. Throughout her career, she has managed teams across 12+ countries, navigating the complexity of scaling people operations and driving organizational change. Today, she coaches high-growth company leaders to scale their skills, mindset, and leadership approaches to meet the demands of company growth. She's also the author of the leadership blog Manage to Soar and a Medium contributor on management and leadership. LinkedIn + 3 Manage to Soar (Blog): managetosoar.com SlideShareLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/marta-simeonova-64949417 LinkedInMedium: managetosoar.medium.com MediumUdemy Course: "First Steps in Management" LinkedInPeace with yourself precedes peace with others. When you accept who you are—anxiety, imperfections, flaws and all—you create psychological safety for your team. They see you being honest about what you don't know, what you struggle with, what you're learning. And suddenly, they have permission to be human too. That's when real leadership happens. Want to be a guest on Positive Leadership Academy – Inspires, Guides and Transforms? Send Javier Llerena a message on PodMatch: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/positiveleadershipacademypodcast EPISODE SUMMARYWHAT YOU'LL LEARNKEY MOMENTS (Approximate timestamps—pending final audio edit)GUEST BIORESOURCES & LINKSTAKE THIS WITH YOU

  5. May 28

    From Sales to Sponsorship: How Women Leaders Close the Gap

    In this episode, Javier sits down with Nicole Johnston, a former Chief of Sales at major corporations like P&G, Hershey, and Clark, to discuss her transformative journey from corporate leadership to executive coaching. Nicole shares the pivotal moment that changed everything—a near-fatal car accident that made her realize she'd rather face bodily harm than go to work—and how that wake-up call led her to leave corporate life to focus on developing people instead of hitting revenue targets. Nicole founded Innate Power to coach mid-career women who feel stuck in their careers, helping them achieve the roles they want. She also provides corporate leadership training and facilitation. Throughout the conversation, Javier and Nicole explore the unique challenges women face in male-dominated corporate environments, the critical difference between coaches, mentors, and sponsors, and why women are particularly poor at cultivating sponsorship relationships—despite needing them most. The episode also dives into a compelling topic: the impact of Title IX on women's athletics and how women athletes develop resilience and leadership skills that translate to professional success. Nicole shares alarming statistics showing that nearly 70% of female senior leaders are former athletes, yet the systemic barriers women face in sports directly impact their ability to pursue leadership in corporate America. Key Themes: The pivotal moment that sparked Nicole's career pivotWhy people development beats revenue metricsThe hidden toxicity of male-dominated sales culturesBuilding inclusive, diverse teams for better energy and performanceThe coach/mentor/sponsor framework and why it mattersWomen's sports, Title IX, and the scholarship gapWhy 70% of female senior leaders are former athletesThe confidence gap for women and how sports builds resilienceSponsorship as the missing link in women's career advancementKey Takeaways: Listen to your gut: When your body is telling you to avoid your job, it's time for change.Coach, Mentor, Sponsor—Know the Difference:Women need sponsors, not just mentors. Most women have many mentors but few sponsors—and that's the gap.Sports teaches resilience. Women need safe spaces to learn that failure and struggle are part of growth.Diversity isn't nice-to-have—it's essential. Diverse teams have better energy, culture, and performance.Timestamps: 00:01 – Introduction01:22 – Nicole's pivotal moment (the car accident)02:44 – Leaving corporate to focus on people development04:52 – Introducing Innate Power and her client base05:38 – Being a female sales leader in a male-dominated world21:46 – Title IX, women's sports, and the scholarship gap26:24 – Why sports is critical for girls' leadership development27:57 – Where to find Nicole29:12 – Final question: The conversation women in leadership need to haveResources & Links: Nicole's Website: www.innatpower.comInstagram: @Nicole Johnston Coach (look for the yellow jacket!)LinkedIn: Nicole Johnston (yellow jacket profile photo)Book: Nicole's published work on leadership and career developmentConnect with Nicole:Visit her website, follow her on social media, or reach out directly. Nicole works with mid-career women who feel stuck and want to advance their careers, as well as corporations seeking leadership training and facilitation. Want to be a guest on Positive Leadership Academy – Inspires, Guides and Transforms? Send Javier Llerena a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/positiveleadershipacademypodcast

  6. May 27

    Cross-Boarding: The Onboarding Reset Every Leader Needs — with Rohit Bassi

    What if "onboarding" is the wrong word entirely? This week, Javier sits down with Rohit Bassi — founder of People Quotient (PQ), private equity veteran, Wharton MBA, McKinsey alum, and author of The People Priority: The CEO's Blueprint for Winning Talent Acquisition. Inside this episode, Rohit unpacks a third quotient most leaders have never named — and reframes a process every company thinks it does well: onboarding. ABOUT ROHIT BASSI Rohit Bassi is the founder and CEO of People Quotient (PQ), a tech-enabled organizational excellence firm partnering with CEOs, founders, business owners, and private equity firms to build high-performing teams. A Wharton MBA and former McKinsey consultant who began his career in the firm's private equity practice, Rohit has operated, advised, and sold businesses ranging from lean startups to several hundred million dollars in revenue across seven countries. He is the author of The People Priority and host of the People Quotient Podcast. WHAT WE COVER 0:00 — Welcome 0:49 — Military upbringing in India and the move to New Zealand 4:32 — The onboarding-only environment that erased identity 8:36 — The PQ framework: leadership, organizational design, talent operations 13:54 — Career paths and growing people (instead of "retaining" them) 15:21 — Why B+ paired with B+ beats one A+ 17:22 — The retention trap: good retention vs bad retention 24:05 — Self-reflection and getting out of your own way as a CEO 28:35 — Writing The People Priority at 5am as a new dad 32:00 — What a one-year-old teaches you about leadership presence 34:23 — Where to find Rohit and the People Quotient Podcast MEMORABLE QUOTES "It does come down to the person managing the business." — Rohit Bassi "Great talent needs great talent around them." — Rohit Bassi "Building that muscle you didn't know you were building." — Rohit Bassi "Reflect on what you're really good at and where you should stop." — Rohit Bassi CONNECT WITH ROHIT 🌐 rohit-bassi.com 📚 The People Priority (Fast Company Press) — rohit-bassi.com and on Amazon 💼 linkedin.com/in/rohit-bassi 🎙️ People Quotient Podcast — Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube REFERENCES The People Priority · People Quotient (PQ) · Fast Company Press · Wharton School · McKinsey & Company · Daniel Goleman (EQ) CONNECT WITH JAVIER Javier Llerena, Host, Positive Leadership Academy Podcast, Re-Invent Consulting Book a conversation: meetings.hubspot.com/llerena Subscribe & Follow the Positive Leadership Academy Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Want to be a guest on Positive Leadership Academy – Inspires, Guides and Transforms? Send Javier Llerena a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/positiveleadershipacademypodcast

  7. May 23

    The Game of Ten® with Steve Barton — Why Radical Self-Acceptance is the Cure of Everything

    What if you're already a 10 — and everything you've been trying to "fix" was never broken? Javier sits down with Steve Barton — coach, entrepreneur, and creator of The Game of Ten®, a registered framework now used by therapists, coaches, and wellness professionals worldwide. Steve took over his family's flower business at 22 after his father had a major stroke. Over 30+ years, he grew it past $2M and quietly built a framework presented at Harvard, taught alongside Marianne Williamson, and co-authored into a book with his son Spencer. His premise: you're either at 10 — flow, alignment, authentic self — or you're playing "the game often played": fear, self-doubt, guilt, shame. There is no middle ground. Inside: the radical separation between who you ARE and what you do, 33 years of A Course in Miracles, working with Marianne Williamson, and why radical self-acceptance is "the cure of everything." ABOUT STEVE Founder of Over the Looking Glass Coaching, creator of The Game of Ten®, GISC-certified coach with 40+ years of business leadership, graduate of Marianne Williamson's Miracle Minded Coaching, and a 33+ year student of A Course in Miracles. Co-author of The Father, the Son, and the Aha Moment with his son Spencer. WHAT WE COVER (00:21) The origin of The Game of Ten® and the two games we're all playing (02:33) Why high-performers rate themselves 7s, 8s, 9s (05:29) Why "less than 10" is its own form of arrogance (06:55) Separating who you ARE from what you HAVE or DO (08:32) Taking over the family business at 22 after his father's stroke (11:22) Why family businesses struggle with healthy boundaries (15:48) Presenting The Game of Ten® to a Harvard case team (17:44) "Don't do b******t. Do THE b******t." (18:07) Co-writing a book with his 18-year-old son (18:47) 33 years of A Course in Miracles and meeting Marianne Williamson (25:11) Licensing The Game of Ten® to coaches and therapists (28:11) Why radical self-acceptance is "the cure of everything" (30:11) Stay curious — every belief is a limiting belief MEMORABLE QUOTES "Ten is flow." "You have thoughts. You are not your thoughts. These are tools — what are you using them for?" "You can always improve what you do. But who you are is a constant." "Radical self-acceptance is the cure of everything." CONNECT WITH STEVE 🌐 OverTheLookingGlass.com 🔟 thegameof10.com (free digital book) 📚 Amazon: The Father, the Son, and the Aha Moment REFERENCES The Game of Ten® · A Course in Miracles · Marianne Williamson · Difference Press · Gestalt International Study Center · iPEC Energy Leadership Index CONNECT WITH JAVIER 🎙️ Javier Llerena — Host, Positive Leadership Academy Podcast | Re-Invent Consulting 📅 meetings.hubspot.com/llerena 🎧 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & YouTube 🔗 Follow on LinkedIn & Instagram If this episode resonated, please rate and review — it helps more leaders find the show. Want to be a guest on Positive Leadership Academy – Inspires, Guides and Transforms? Send Javier Llerena a message on PodMatch: podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/positiveleadershipacademypodcast

  8. May 17

    Healing Is Not Linear: The Aloha Reboot Framework with 2x Cancer Survivor Savio P. Clemente

    In this episode of the Positive Leadership Academy Podcast, Javier sits down with Savio P. Clemente — TEDx and keynote speaker, board-certified wellness coach, healthcare leadership strategist, bestselling author, journalist with over 2,000 interviews under his belt, and a two-time cancer survivor. Most leaders believe the battle is won during the crisis. Savio's research — and his lived experience — say the opposite: performance is won (or lost) AFTER the crisis, in what he calls the "post-disruption window." When you don't debrief, examine, or recalibrate, performance doesn't stop. It drifts. And drift creates gaps you can't recover from. Javier and Savio go deep on: 🔴 Why the "just move on" mentality — taught by parents, reinforced in corporate America — is silently breaking leaders 🔴 The Aloha Reboot framework: a 7-minute practice for clarity and recalibration (Acknowledge, Listen, Open, Harness, Act) 🔴 Psychological distancing: "Who is the Savio that's suffering — and who's watching?" 🔴 The 29 days Savio spent in a quarantine hospital room for a 2024 stem cell transplant — and what it taught him about leading teams 🔴 Why metacognition beats both IQ and EQ as the #1 leadership trait 🔴 Adaptive resilience vs. just "bouncing back" 🔴 Reframing chemotherapy as "elixir, mana from the universe" — and what that has to do with how leaders lead 🔴 The traffic light visualization (red → yellow → green): why you can't skip the yellow 🔴 The elevator shaft: head (floor 5) → heart (floor 2) → gut (floor 1) 🔴 The $935 billion problem hiding inside U.S. healthcare leadership 🔴 Following nature: how seeds, rivers, and stillness teach us about leading through pressure Savio's truth bomb: "Healing is not linear. If healing was linear, everybody would be healed." Whether you're leading a healthcare team, a family, or yourself through a season of disruption — this episode gives you a framework and a permission slip to actually pause, name what happened, and rebuild stronger. 📌 Where to find Savio: 🌐 Website: https://www.saviopclemente.com 📬 Substack (The Human Resolve, every Wednesday): https://newsletter.thehumanresolve.com 📱 Social media: @thehumanresolve on every platform 🎤 TEDx Talk: "7 Minutes to Wellness: How to Love Your Inner Stranger" (57,000+ views) Want to be a guest on Positive Leadership Academy – Inspires, Guides and Transforms? Send Javier Llerena a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/positiveleadershipacademypodcast

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The Positive Leadership Academy podcast explores the power of positive leadership and its impact on individuals and organizations. Hosted by experts in leadership and organizational development, Javier and Felix, each episode offers practical tips and strategies for developing your leadership skills and inspiring stories of positive leadership in action.

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