The Black Belt in Leadership

Mission Matters Network

Welcome to The Black Belt in Leadership Podcast, hosted by Aslak de Silva. Tune in to discover how martial arts principles like discipline, resilience, and continuous learning can transform your leadership skills. Each episode will delve into real-life examples, practical advice, and inspirational stories to help you become a black belt in leadership. Join Aslak as he explores the path to peak performance and success in both personal and professional arenas.

  1. May 26

    How Leaders Build Learning Organizations with Ilkka Mäkitalo

    In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, Ilkka Mäkitalo, co-founder and Chief Evangelist of Howspace, joins the conversation to explore how people really learn, how organizations make sense of change, and why leaders need to rethink the way they communicate strategy, transformation and AI adoption. Ilkka brings a unique perspective from his background as a teacher, facilitator, consultant, entrepreneur and conductor. The discussion explores why meaningful learning often happens through dialogue, reflection and peer-to-peer conversations, not only through formal training sessions, presentations or traditional e-learning. The episode also looks at why leaders cannot assume that people have understood a strategy just because it has been presented to them. Real understanding requires sensemaking. People need the opportunity to connect strategic goals to their own daily work, their teams and their decisions. A key theme in the conversation is participation. Ilkka shares how organizations can involve people at scale, how digital tools and AI can support collective intelligence, and why the real challenge is often not technology, but leadership mindset and organizational culture. The discussion also goes deeper into learning in the age of AI. If companies want people to adopt new tools and new ways of working, learning cannot be treated as a one-off training session. It needs to become a continuous part of how the organization works. Toward the end of the episode, the conversation turns to music and conducting. Ilkka shares what leadership can learn from working with professional musicians, and how leaders can keep talented people motivated by creating meaningful challenges, fresh experiences and a stronger sense of purpose. This episode is for leaders who want to move beyond one-way communication and build organizations where people learn, adapt and perform together. About the Guest: Ilkka Mäkitalo is the co-founder and Chief Evangelist of Howspace, a company focused on helping organizations create more engaging, participatory and collaborative ways of working, learning and developing. His background combines education, facilitation, consulting, entrepreneurship and music, including his long experience as a teacher and conductor. Through his work, Ilkka has spent decades exploring how people learn, how organizations make sense of change, and how technology can support dialogue, participation and collective intelligence Connect with Ilkka Mäkitalo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilkkamakitalo/ Learn more about Howspace: https://howspace.com/ To learn more, visit:https://www.theblackbeltinleadership.com/ Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:https://missionmatters.com/author/aslak-de-silva/

  2. Apr 21

    How to Create Luck in Business: Resilience, Opportunity & Leadership with Stephanie Melodia

    Some people seem to get lucky. The right timing, the right connections, the right opportunities appearing at the right moment. But when you look closer, it rarely is just luck. There is usually something underneath it. A way of operating, a way of thinking, and a willingness to stay in the game long enough for those moments to happen. In this episode, I sit down with Stephanie Melodia to explore what luck really means in business, and how leaders can actively create the conditions for opportunity. Stephanie shares her thinking around “hacking luck,” combining mindset and action, and we go deeper into topics that are often overlooked. What actually separates those who create opportunities from those who wait for them? How much of success is within our control, and what happens when things don’t go our way? We also explore the role of resilience, the impact of mindset, and how subtle shifts in behavior and thinking can either open doors or quietly close them. This is a conversation about leadership beyond strategy. It is about how you show up, how you think, and how you operate when the outcome is not yet clear. More info on Stephania Melody: https://www.stephaniemelodia.com/ Podcasts: Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strategy-tragedy-ceo-stories-with-steph-melodia/id1711083280Instagram: @stephmelodiaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/ About the Guest Stephanie Melodia, a British entrepreneur, startup marketing strategist, and keynote speaker known for her work in growth marketing, brand building, and entrepreneurship. She’s the founder of the award-winning marketing agency Bloom, has been recognized as one of the Top 20 Most Influential Female Founders, and also hosts Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories, a UK Top 20 business podcast. To learn more, visit:https://www.theblackbeltinleadership.com/ Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:https://missionmatters.com/author/aslak-de-silva/

  3. Mar 31

    Leading Under Pressure: Calm, Chaos, and Leadership Presence with M.K. Palmore

    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 speaks with M.K. Palmore, former U.S. Marine Corps officer, former FBI leader, and founder of Apogee Global. The discussion focuses on how experienced leaders stay calm, make decisions, and guide teams when uncertainty is high. Drawing from more than 30 years in high stakes environments, M.K. shares how preparation, experience, and discipline shape the way leaders respond when the pressure is real. The conversation explores the difference between complexity and chaos, why leadership presence matters when teams feel anxious, and how resilience develops through experience rather than theory. Aslak also connects the discussion to lessons from martial arts and high pressure situations, highlighting how leaders can train their minds to respond calmly even when circumstances are unpredictable. This is a practical conversation about leadership judgment, communication, and responsibility. It also explores why the best leaders slow down and think clearly when everyone else begins to rush. In this episode we discuss: What pressure reveals about leaders The difference between complexity and chaos in leadershipHow leaders develop calm decision making under pressureWhy communication and briefings matter when stakes are highLeadership presence and owning the roomHow resilience is built through real experienceWhy leadership should be treated as a discipline that must be studied About the Guest M.K. Palmore is the Founder and Principal Advisor of Apogee Global. His career spans more than three decades of leadership experience across the U.S. Marine Corps, the FBI, and senior roles in the private sector. Today he advises executives and boards on leadership, risk, and organizational resilience, and regularly speaks on leadership and decision-making in complex environments. To learn more, visit:https://www.theblackbeltinleadership.com/ Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:https://missionmatters.com/author/aslak-de-silva/

  4. From Doubt to Clarity: The Real Leadership Journey with Marc A. Pitman

    Mar 17

    From Doubt to Clarity: The Real Leadership Journey with Marc A. Pitman

    Leadership is rarely something people are formally trained for.Most leaders grow into the role through performance, promotion, and responsibility only to discover that leadership becomes more complex over time, not easier.In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, host Aslak de Silva speaks with leadership coach, executive advisor, and author Marc A. Pitman about the hidden challenges leaders face as they progress in their careers.Drawing from more than two decades of coaching founders, executives, and mission-driven organizations, Marc shares why many high-performing leaders experience uncertainty, exhaustion, or loss of clarity — even when they appear successful from the outside.Together, they explore: Why leadership often feels harder after successThe reality of becoming a leader without formal trainingHow leaders move from imitation to authentic leadershipThe role of self-awareness and leadership assessmentsHow continuous reflection — and emerging AI-supported feedback — may change leadership developmentWhy burnout often comes from leading against your natural strengthsHow experienced leaders regain clarity, energy, and focusMarc introduces his Quadrant Leadership framework, explaining how leaders evolve through different stages of confidence, learning, and self-understanding — and why leadership growth is rarely linear.Throughout the conversation, Aslak connects leadership development with lessons from martial arts, showing how recovery, reflection, and disciplined pauses help leaders make better decisions under pressure.This episode is especially relevant for executives, founders, managers, and aspiring leaders navigating uncertainty, growth, and increasing responsibility.If leadership sometimes feels heavier than expected, you’re not alone — and you may be closer to leadership mastery than you think. About the Guest Marc A. Pitman is the founder of Concord Leadership Group and co-founder of EWTS Coaching. He has served as its CEO for 20 years leadership. He is a coach, executive advisor, and bestselling author. To learn more, visit:https://www.theblackbeltinleadership.com/ Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:https://missionmatters.com/author/aslak-de-silva/

    51 min
  5. Business as Unusual: Leading When Predictability Disappears with Dennis Akkerman

    Mar 3

    Business as Unusual: Leading When Predictability Disappears with Dennis Akkerman

    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 transformational leadership expert, keynote speaker, and author Dennis Akkerman to explore what leadership looks like in a world where change is constant and traditional success models are quickly becoming outdated.Drawing from his book Business as UNusual, Dennis shares why many organizations still operate with leadership habits designed for a more stable past and why leaders today must shift from control toward resilience, awareness, and behavioral leadership.The conversation explores how leaders can navigate uncertainty without exhausting their teams, why purpose and direction matter more than ever, and how leadership ultimately becomes a mirror reflecting the leader’s own mindset and behavior.Together, Aslak and Dennis connect global leadership experience, business transformation, and lessons from martial arts to examine how leaders can remain effective when predictability disappears. About the Guest Dennis Akkerman is the Founder & Managing Director of Orbis Business School. He is one of the Top 25 Global Thought Leader in Transformational Leadership (Thinkers360) and a bestselling author. To learn more, visit:https://www.theblackbeltinleadership.com/ Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:https://missionmatters.com/author/aslak-de-silva/

    39 min
  6. Leading After Failure with Michal Bardavid: Self-Worth, Humility, and Rising Stronger as a Leader

    12/22/2025

    Leading After Failure with Michal Bardavid: Self-Worth, Humility, and Rising Stronger as a Leader

    Michal Bardavid is a psychological counselor and dance movement therapist with a master’s degree in industrial psychology. For more than fifteen years, she has taught the principles of movement, self-expression, and emotional resilience at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, helping students reconnect with their bodies and their sense of worth.She is also the founder of the #IamChild Project, which brought creative workshops to Syrian refugee children in Turkey and earned international recognition for its impact.Beyond her work in psychology, Michal spent over a decade as a journalist reporting across Turkey, Central Asia, Europe, and the Middle East — covering politics, economics, major global events, and producing human-interest documentaries from Kazakhstan to Myanmar and Cambodia.Her debut book, Becoming a Peacock, blends her personal journey with professional insight, creating a warm, bold, and often cheeky guide to rebuilding self-worth and resilience. Leadership is not tested when everything goes according to plan.It is tested when something breaks.In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, Aslak de Silva speaks with Michal Bardavid, a psychological counselor, dance movement therapist, former journalist, and author of Becoming a Peacock, about what leaders face after failure, rejection, and difficult decisions.Michal shares her personal story of building a dance studio she deeply believed in, investing her savings and identity into it, and watching it fail. Instead of letting that experience define her, she made a powerful realization. She would never consider another person a failure for trying. That shift opened the door to a new chapter, including bringing her Dance Therapy concept to television and eventually writing her debut book.Together, Aslak and Michal connect this journey to real leadership challenges, including: being fired or laid offhaving to lay off peoplemaking decisions that affect others’ livescarrying guilt, responsibility, and pressurerebuilding confidence after a mistakeThis conversation goes beyond surface-level self-help and into self-leadership under pressure, exploring: how leaders rebuild self-worth after setbackswhy humility and accountability strengthen leadershiphow to regulate emotions in high-stress momentshow leaders reflect without becoming self-criticalwhy failure is part of the leadership journey and not the end of itIf you are a leader navigating stress, uncertainty, or a professional setback, this episode offers a grounded and human perspective on how to rise stronger as a leader and as a person.Michal BardavidBook: Becoming a Peacock: Strut Your Way into Self-Lovewebsite: https://michalbardavid.com/ To learn more, visit:https://www.theblackbeltinleadership.com/ Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:https://missionmatters.com/author/aslak-de-silva/

    29 min
  7. Why Most Leaders Get Strategy Wrong: Charlie Curson on Strategic Thinking, Self-Awareness and Better Decisions

    12/09/2025

    Why Most Leaders Get Strategy Wrong: Charlie Curson on Strategic Thinking, Self-Awareness and Better Decisions

    What makes a leader truly strategic? And why do so many organisations confuse strategy with planning, tactics or endless PowerPoint decks?In this episode of the Black Belt in Leadership, Aslak sits down with strategist, coach and facilitator Charlie Curson, whose new book Be More Strategic breaks down strategic thinking into practical, human skills.Charlie has worked with leaders across more than thirty industries, including Microsoft, Unilever, Volkswagen Group, Experian and Barclays. Together we explore what great strategists actually do differently and how leaders at any level can build stronger strategic habits.You will learn: The real difference between strategy, planning and tacticsWhy self-awareness is the foundation of strategic thinkingHow to “see around corners” by reading signals and widening your perspectiveHow assumptions quietly sabotage decision-makingWhy creativity is essential for modern strategyHow to make bold decisions without perfect informationSimple daily practices to become more strategic in work and lifeCharlie also shares practical tools like pre-mortems, scenario thinking and decision rules that help leaders stay calm, focused and adaptive in uncertainty. Aslak brings lessons from martial arts on preparation, presence and clarity to show how strategy becomes a mindset.If you want strategy to be clear, human and actionable, this episode is for you.LinksBe More Strategic (book): https://www.teammandarin.com/be-more-strategic-bookTeam Mandarin (Charlie’s company): https://www.teammandarin.comThe Black Belt in Leadership: https://theblackbeltinleadership.com Charlie Curson, Strategic Advisor, Leadership Coach, Author of Be More StrategicCharlie Curson is a globally experienced strategist, advisor and accredited leadership coach with more than twenty-five years of experience helping leaders, teams and organisations think and act more strategically. He has worked with over 250 organisations across more than thirty industries, including Microsoft, Unilever, L’Oréal, Volkswagen Group, Experian and Barclays.Charlie specialises in making strategy practical, human and accessible. His work blends cutting-edge theory with real-world application, helping leaders develop strategic clarity, challenge assumptions, improve decision-making and build long-term impact. He is known for his ability to simplify complex problems, facilitate high-stakes conversations and guide leaders toward more intentional, future-focused thinking.His new book, Be More Strategic, breaks the mystery of strategy into twelve essential practices and introduces a powerful development framework that anyone can learn. It teaches leaders how to deepen self-awareness, cultivate open-mindedness, develop strategic capabilities and scale their impact at work and in life.Charlie is the founder of Team Mandarin, where he advises global organisations, facilitates leadership development programmes and coaches executives to become more conscious, creative and effective strategic thinkers. To learn more, visit:https://www.theblackbeltinleadership.com/ Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:https://missionmatters.com/author/aslak-de-silva/

    50 min
  8. The Power of the Pause: Leadership, Resilience, and the Kairos Mindset with Josh Kosnick

    11/25/2025

    The Power of the Pause: Leadership, Resilience, and the Kairos Mindset with Josh Kosnick

    Josh Kosnick, entrepreneur, executive coach, and author of The Kairos Code What does a true leader do when everything falls apart? In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, host Aslak de Silva talks with Josh Kosnick, entrepreneur, executive coach, and author of The Kairos Code, about transforming adversity into purpose-driven leadership.Josh shares how losing his company became the foundation for a more meaningful life. He explains how to lead with humility, build resilient cultures, and live in Kairos time—a state of presence where purpose and clarity replace stress and constant urgency.You will learn: How slowing down can accelerate your growth as a leaderThe difference between chronos and kairos time and why it matters for successThe five bridges that define lasting fulfillment and balanced leadershipHow to rebuild trust, culture, and focus after professional lossWhy your daily actions define your legacy more than any title ever willAt the end of the episode, Josh introduces his free Life Quotient Assessment, a practical tool to measure balance and fulfillment across five key areas of life.Take the assessment here: www.joshkosnick.comA must-listen for leaders, entrepreneurs, and anyone seeking greater resilience, clarity, and purpose in life and business. To learn more, visit:https://www.theblackbeltinleadership.com/ Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:https://missionmatters.com/author/aslak-de-silva/

    46 min
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Ratings & Reviews

3.7
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Welcome to The Black Belt in Leadership Podcast, hosted by Aslak de Silva. Tune in to discover how martial arts principles like discipline, resilience, and continuous learning can transform your leadership skills. Each episode will delve into real-life examples, practical advice, and inspirational stories to help you become a black belt in leadership. Join Aslak as he explores the path to peak performance and success in both personal and professional arenas.

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