Long Life Learning

Yale SOM Executive Education

Yale SOM Executive Education talks with top scholars and experts about how to adapt and thrive throughout your career and life.

  1. 4D AGO

    Allison Holzer on Transformational Coaching Informed by Emotional Intelligence

    This week, Kavitha is joined by Aha2Impact CEO Allison Holzer to talk about how her background with the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and as an educator prepared her for excellence as a master certified executive coach. Allison walks Kavitha through the exciting developments at the forefront of coaching today, including expanded opportunities for group and team coaching, internal organizational transformation, and individual entrepreneurship. They also touch upon the democratization of coaching, how Allison incorporates her background in the visual arts into sessions, and why it is imperative for coaches to not feel invested in their clients' success. They key? Coaches and clients alike need to avoid "performing" so that they can disrupt traditional power dynamics, honor the client's agency, and approach the coaching relationship with trust and authenticity.    Transcript   S3Ep4—Allison Holzer Transcript     Links and Resources   Information on YGELP and Yale SOM Executive Education:   Yale SOM Executive Education Homepage   Certificate in Professional Coaching Program Homepage  Sign up for program updates      Resources and Individuals Mentioned in Today's Episode:   Aha2Impact Insights  Dare to Inspire: Sustain the Fire of Inspiration in Work and Life by Allison Holzer  The Gift and Power of Unstructured Time – Allison's TED Talk  Ideas to Impact Newsletter Signup  Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering by Malcolm Gladwell  AI for the Authentic Leader: How to Communicate More Effectively Without Losing Your Humanity by Allison Shapira       About Today's Guest  Allison Aboud Holzer is a Master Certified Executive Coach, leadership and innovation advisor, author, and keynote speaker who helps leaders rethink how they lead in moments that matter most. She is the Founder and CEO of Aha2Impact, a women-owned leadership consulting firm that partners with organizations to align leadership, strategy, and culture in ways that drive meaningful and measurable impact.  With more than 25 years of experience, Allison has coached and advised over a thousand global leaders - including CEOs, presidents, provosts, and senior healthcare leaders - through growth, transformation, and high-stakes decision-making. Her work spans Fortune 500 companies, leading healthcare systems, and top-tier academic institutions, with a focus on helping leaders newly expanded roles and business challenges with clarity and purpose.  For over 15 years, she has served as a guest lecturer, executive coach, and master facilitator for executive education programs at Yale School of Management, Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business and Vanderbilt Owen's School of Business. Allison is also the co-author of Dare to Inspire and a 2x TEDx speaker whose work explores topics like emotional agility, storytelling, and the power of unstructured time.  At the heart of her work is a simple idea: when leaders harness insight, emotion, and intention, they unlock the potential to create lasting, positive change.

    41 min

  2. APR 27

    Shawna Samuel on the Feminist Coaching Mindset

    This week, Kavitha is joined by Shawna Samuel, founder of the Mental Offload Coaching and Advisory Practice, to discuss coaching that is responsive to lived experience of women leaders in today's workplace. Shawna came to coaching after years as a marketing expert across Europe helped her realize that her greatest potential for leadership came in the form of mentoring others to success and achievement. She shares with Kavitha how feminist coaching breaks down traditional coach-client hierarchies, explains what it means to be a "productivity nerd," and discusses how leaders can overcome "Cinderella Syndrome" and work more effectively toward achieving their professional ambitions.    Transcript   Long Life Learning S3Ep3 Transcript – Shawna Samuel    Links and Resources   Information on YGELP and Yale SOM Executive Education:   Yale SOM Executive Education Homepage   Certificate in Professional Coaching Program Homepage  Sign up for program updates      Resources Mentioned in Today's Episode:   The Mental Offload and Shawna's accompanying podcast  Likeable Badass by Alison Fragale   Influence is Your Superpower: How to Get What You Want Without Compromising Who You Are by Zoe Chance  The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo, by Tom Reiss       About Today's Guest   Shawna Samuel is an executive coach specializing in the needs of women balancing demanding leadership roles with busy family lives. She is the founder of a boutique coaching & advisory practice, The Mental Offload, and hosts The Mental Offload Podcast. She works with clients across sectors (corporate, academia, entrepreneurship) to help them achieve more in life and work, with less stress. She built her business to share the strategies she developed in her two decades of professional experience working across more than 20 global markets. In addition to her coaching work, she's also a passionate advocate and speaker on issues of women's leadership and gender equity in the workplace. Shawna holds an MBA from Yale School of Management in addition to several coaching certifications. She lives with her husband and 2 children in Paris.

    36 min

  3. APR 20

    Madjdy Kassem and Cameron Smoak on Deliberate and Purposeful Coaching

    This week, Kavitha is joined by two guests at the forefront of development in coaching excellence who are fresh off of a whirlwind global tour to train new coaches: Cameron Smoak and Madjdy Kassem, the dynamic co-founders of Educe. Madjdy and Cameron share how their years at McKinsey & Co. led to a passion for professional coaching, and how their work today strives to foster deliberate and purposeful relationships in order to shape a new generation of coaches who represent global society as a whole.   Cameron and Madjdy share with Kavitha why they're excited to have a hand in shaping instruction for the Certificate in Professional Coaching Program in alignment with ICF standards, and their plans to seek MCC certification. Along the way, Kavitha finds out what Madjdy thinks about clients with AI chatbots for coaches, how Cameron approaches the coaching of coaches, and what American ski instructors can learn from best practices in professional coaching.    Transcript   LLL S3Ep2 Madjdy Kassem & Cameron Smoak Transcript    Links and Resources   Information on YGELP and Yale SOM Executive Education:   Yale SOM Executive Education Homepage   Certificate in Professional Coaching Program Homepage  Sign up for program updates      Resources and Individuals Mentioned in Today's Episode:   Educe homepage  International Coaching Federation (ICF) homepage  Champions of the Golden Valley, directed by Ben Sturgulewski  The Inner Game of Tennis, by W. Timothy Gallwey  Love Is My Savior: The Arabic Poems of Rumi, translated by Nesreen Akhtarkhavari and Anthony A. Lee   The Courage to Be Disliked, by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga       About Today's Guests  Cameron Smoak and Madjdy Kassem are co-founders of Educe. Both came to coaching as alumni of McKinsey & Company, and today are ICF Professional Certified Coaches with twenty years of combined experience. They are also sought-after program designers and leadership development facilitators serving clients around the world. In addition, both are multilingual, with Cameron speaking English and Italian, and Madjdy speaking Arabic, English, and French. Madjdy and Cameron are collaborative partners with Yale SOM Exec Ed in the design and execution of the forthcoming Certificate in Professional Coaching program.

    46 min

  4. APR 13

    Heidi Brooks on the Power of the Professional Coaching Relationship

    To kick off Season 3, Kavitha sits down with longtime Yale SOM Executive Education faculty instructor, fellow podcaster, and faculty director to the forthcoming Certificate in Professional Coaching Program, Dr. Heidi Brooks. Heidi explains why her approach to coaching is grounded in the centrality of relationships, citing a long list of beloved mentors who have shaped the trajectory of her research and work. Together, Heidi and Kavitha unpack the behaviors and habits of skillful coaches, highlighting the importance of reflection, writing, and responsive dialogue that reinforces client agency. In preparing for this first cohort of Exec Ed's debut coaching-centered program, Heidi makes the case for why in-person interactions continue to be critical to human relationships, and how coaching empowers clients to move forward with confidence and courage in embracing everyday leadership.  Links and Resources   Information on the Certificate in Professional Coaching Program and Yale SOM Executive Education:   Yale SOM Executive Education Homepage   Certificate in Professional Coaching Program Homepage  Sign up for program updates      Resources Mentioned in Today's Episode:   Learning Through Experience Podcast  The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World by Ron Heifetz, Marty Linsky, and Alexander Grashow  Forbes' list of recent articles by Heidi Brooks  South by Southwest conference homepage  You and We by Jim Farrell  Leadership and Self-Deception, by the Arbinger Institute  "Utopia" by Wisława Szymborska       About Today's Guest  Heidi Brooks is a Senior Lecturer in Organizational Behavior at the Yale School of Management, where she teaches and advises on the subject of everyday leadership—the micro-moments of impact that shape human experience. She is particularly passionate about creating more courageous communities, especially within organizations. Dr. Brooks specializes in leadership effectiveness, group dynamics, and learning through interpersonal experience.  At Yale SOM, Dr. Brooks has taught Interpersonal Dynamics—one of the school's most in-demand MBA electives—for over 20 years. She also directs the Program for the Practice of Everyday Leadership (PPEL, pronounced "people") and hosts the Yale SOM podcast Learning Through Experience.  Dr. Brooks earned her doctorate in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and her bachelor's degree from Brown University. A lifelong experiential learner, she can often be found in classrooms ranging from improvisational theater to tennis to immersion language lessons.

    40 min

  5. SEASON 3 TRAILER

    Introducing Long Life Learning Season 3

    Long Life Learning returns for a third season to showcase a brand-new program: the Certificate in Professional Coaching, which has been designed by Yale faculty and celebrated coaches in alignment with International Coaching Federation Standards. Starting in April 2026, join Kavitha every Monday for conversations with professionals at the forefront of this dynamic and rapidly evolving field as they delve into how coaching brings about culture change, enables organizational transformation, and shapes leadership in today's workplaces.

    3 min

  6. 06/23/2025

    Woon Shiu Lee and Mondo Mazwai on Leading with Intentionality and Building Teams for a Resilient Future

    For the final episode of Season 2, Kavitha is joined via Zoom by two extraordinary guests from the 7th YGELP cohort. Woon Shiu Lee, Managing Director and Group Head of the Wealth Planning Family Office and Insurance Solutions at DBS Private Bank, calls in from Singapore, along with Mondo Mazwai, Chairperson of the Competition Tribunal of South Africa. Together, Mondo and Woon Shiu walk Kavitha through their decision to engage in YGELP as a catalyst to further their commitment to social purpose as leaders in their respective fields. Mondo explains how growing up in apartheid-era South Africa drew her to law as an instrument for societal change. Her 25 years in legal leadership continue to shape her notions of democracy, justice, and how to build a resilient team prepared for an ever-changing future. Woon Shiu, meanwhile, was inspired by early professional experiences across Singapore, the UK, and the US to merge cross-cultural strategies which have allowed him to flourish in the world of banking and wealth management. Both guests emphasize the centrality of impact and social good in their work, with Woon Shiu citing his company's mission to be "the best bank for a better world," as a core pillar of what drives his mindset today.   What Mondo and Woon Shiu share in common is a fervent commitment to lifelong learning, even while thriving at the highest levels of leadership. They share with Kavitha stories not only of rich engagement with YGELP readings and instructional sessions, but also of a carefully cultivated network of peers and professors which continues to grow. The interview ends with each guest sharing their views on the role of spirituality in purposeful leadership, in a fitting close to a meaningful journey showcasing the unique and varied voices of the Yale Global Executive Leadership Program.     Transcript  S2E8—Woon Shiu Lee & Mondo Mazwai Transcript    Links and Resources  Information on YGELP and Yale SOM Executive Education:  Yale SOM Executive Education Homepage  What is the Yale Global Executive Leadership Program? (YGELP)  Applying to YGELP  Resources and Individuals Mentioned in Today's Episode:  The Carrot and the Stick by William Putsis  The Book of Joy, The 14th Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Douglas Abrams  "Research: Why Breathing is So Effective at Reducing Stress," by Emma Seppälä, Christina Bradley and Michael R. Goldstein  Dr. Matthew Croasmun, Yale Divinity School   Nicholas Pinchuk, CEO of Snap-On Incorporated  Stephanie Dunson, Yale SOM   Where to Find Mondo:   Competition Tribunal of South Africa  Africa Leadership Initiative  Aspen Institute     Where to Find Woon Shiu:   LinkedIn  DBS Bank   Nanyang Business School    About Today's Guests   Mondo Mazwai is the Chairperson of the Competition Tribunal ("Tribunal") of South Africa – an antitrust adjudicative body – where she adjudicates competition (antitrust) matters, involving mergers and acquisitions and prohibited practice (complaints concerning cartel conduct or abuse of dominance). The cases are referred to the Tribunal by the Competition Commission of South Africa (the investigative body), or by private third parties, for public hearing and decision by the Tribunal.   Mondo has over 25 years as an admitted attorney and has worked in the private sector (including as the National Head of the Competition Practice at a prominent law firm), and in the public sector at the Competition Commission of South Africa in various capacities (including Chief Legal Counsel and Acting Deputy Commissioner). Her experience spans all aspects of competition law. She has led a team of economists and lawyers, including in the precedent setting price gouging case at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.   After 16 years as a legal practitioner, Mondo took a one-year sabbatical (in 2011/2012) to travel. She returned to public service in 2013 as a part-time member of the Tribunal. She was appointed Chairperson of the Tribunal in 2019, a position she still holds. In addition to the adjudicative role, Mondo is responsible for the governance of the Tribunal, ensuring that it operates efficiently, is financially sound and effectively delivers on its legislative mandate.   Mondo is a Fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative, part of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. She is a Fellow of the Yale Global Leadership programme (the 7th Cohort).   She holds a B Juris degree from the University of the Western Cape and an LLB degree from the University of Kwazulu-Natal (Howard College). She was admitted as an attorney in 1997.   ---  Lee Woon Shiu is Managing Director and Group Head of Wealth Planning Family Office and Insurance Solutions in DBS Bank. He started his banking career with Merrill Lynch in 2000 after working as an attorney in Freshfields Drew & Napier and Coudert Brothers.  Woon Shiu has had a successful leadership track record in delivering transformational succession planning, philanthropy and insurance solutions to high net worth families globally for over two decades, winning accolades for Best Bank of Wealth Transfer/Succession Planning, Best Bank for Family Offices and Best Bank for Next Generation along the way. He has over 25 years of experience in advising numerous ultra-high networth families in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa in the strategic structuring of their estate and succession concerns, and also regularly engages multi-generations of such families on the establishment and implementation their family office, business governance and philanthropy strategies.  He is concurrently serving as Board Member of DBS Trustee Limited, DBS Foundation, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra and the Esplanade Co Ltd, and also as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore where he regularly lectures on wealth structuring and estate succession for private bankers, lawyers and trust practitioners. He has also lectured at universities in China such as Xiamen University and Tsinghua University, at the Hong Kong University, at the National Taiwan Chengchi University and at the ETH Zurich University in Switzerland, and his views as a leader are regularly featured in international media and at global conferences where he is a frequent speaker. In recognition of his continuous contribution to the Wealth Management Institute (WMI) established under the auspices of Temasek and GIC, Woon Shiu has received the WMI Ambassador Award, Distinguished Panel and Advisory Group Award and the Most Innovative Teaching Award and the Teacher of the Year Award.  Woon Shiu is an alumnus of Yale University and the National University of Singapore where he was a Law Society of Singapore Book Prize Winner. He is an Advocate & Solicitor of Singapore, a Solicitor of England & Wales and an accredited Trust & Estate Practitioner.

    52 min

  7. 06/16/2025

    Josh Geballe on Learning from the Relationships You Build for the Future

    This week, Kavitha brings in Yale Ventures Managing Director Josh Geballe shortly after another successful annual gathering of Yale Innovation Summit leaders and entrepreneurs. Josh describes a career which has successfully navigated leadership in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. As former COO to Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut, CEO to Core Informatics while overseeing a successful acquisition by Thermo Fisher Scientific, and sitting board member on nonprofits grounded in tech and climate solutions, Josh brings a wealth of change management skills and experience in championing innovative solutions to some of today's biggest challenges.  Join us to hear Josh and Kavitha discuss how he leveraged his early career in management consulting into his first finance leadership role managing multinational partnerships for IBM, and how his initiative and drive while working in the Governor's office helped dramatically improve Connecticut residents' experience at the DMV! As a longtime YGELP panelist and instructor, Josh emphasizes the imperative for aspiring leaders to act on networking opportunities, citing the fact that invitations to pursue some of his most transformative roles—including the position in the governor's office and his current role at Yale—followed the nurturing and flourishing of relationships. Finally, Josh shares some of the developments on his radar that are shaping the future of tech and biotech, which span exciting innovations in quantum computing, medical therapy treatments, and AI-facilitated drug discovery.   Transcript  S2E7—Josh Geballe Transcript     Links and Resources  Information on YGELP and Yale SOM Executive Education:  Yale SOM Executive Education Homepage  What is the Yale Global Executive Leadership Program? (YGELP)  Applying to YGELP    Resources Mentioned in Today's Episode:  Yale Today newsletter  Yale Ventures newsletter  The Write to Roam, Ethan Malik's newsletter on AI  Invest Like the Best podcast with Patrick O'Shaughnessy  Acquired podcast with Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal  The Free Press podcast with Bari Weiss    Where to Find Josh:   Josh's Yale Ventures Profile  Josh Geballe on LinkedIn  Highlights and Winners from the 2025 Yale Innovation Summit    About Today's Guest  Josh Geballe is Senior Associate Provost for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Yale University and Managing Director of Yale Ventures.  He is responsible for a wide range of services and programs for students, faculty, and the broader New Haven community to launch new startups based on Yale research, provide training in entrepreneurship and innovation, expand external research partnerships, and foster the growth of the local innovation and entrepreneurship community. Prior to launching Yale Ventures in 2022 Josh served as Chief Operating Officer for the State of Connecticut under Governor Ned Lamont.  With responsibility for all executive branch agencies covering 30,000 employees, he led successful initiatives to modernize government operations and led the state's nationally recognized response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Prior to his three years in public service Josh spent his career in the technology industry, most recently as CEO of Core Informatics, a venture-backed scientific software company that was acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific where he went on to serve as Vice President and General Manager of Digital Science.  Previously he spent 11 years at IBM in a variety of international executive roles.  Josh serves on the boards of directors of several non-profit organizations, including ClimateHaven where he is the founding board chair, Connecticut Innovations, AdvanceCT, BioCT and the Mory's Association.  Josh holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management and a BA from Yale University.

    31 min

  8. 06/09/2025

    Saad Omer on How Medical Leaders Can Communicate with Frequency, Clarity, and Humility

    This week, Kavitha is joined by Dr. Saad Omer, a globally recognized leading voice in cutting-edge research on immunization and vaccination. Today he is the Founding Dean of the School of Public Health at UT–Southwestern, and formerly served as inaugural director of the Yale Institute for Global Health. In this prior role, he oversaw not only the university's response to the Covid-19 pandemic, but also managed some of the innovative research which enabled experts to better predict impending outbreaks. His life's work has involved collaboration in studies everywhere from the US, Guatemala, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and South Africa, to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Australia.  Kavitha and Saad explore the ways in which business and medical experience can prepare leaders to flourish at top levels of higher education. Saad discusses the strategies he employs to communicate with transparency and compassion to his team and the public at large, as well as the ways in which he continues to anticipate and prepare his response to future adversity. Together, he and Kavitha unpack how management consulting prepares leaders for change management in times of crisis, how humility plays a central role in Saad's approach to his work, and why he enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to learn from leaders outside of the medical field in his time as a YGELP participant. Saad points to encouraging signs for the future of vaccine research, and shares a fascinating ambition for a second act career move which reveals a hidden passion for art.  Transcript  S2E6—Saad Omer Transcript    Links and Resources    Information on YGELP and Yale SOM Executive Education:  Yale SOM Executive Education Homepage  What is the Yale Global Executive Leadership Program? (YGELP)  Applying to YGELP    Resources Mentioned in Today's Episode:  Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman  Nudge by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein  Collected Works by Ernest Hemingway    Where to Find Saad:   Saad Omer on LinkedIn  Omer Research Group  Gavi Board Member Profile  O'Donnell School of Public Health Welcome    About Today's Guest  Saad B. Omer, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.B.B.S.  Founding Dean and Professor, Peter O'Donnell Jr. School of Public Health  Dr. Saad B. Omer is a globally recognized epidemiologist, public health leader, and vaccine policy expert. As the founding Dean of the Peter O'Donnell Jr. School of Public Health at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dr. Omer has dedicated his career to advancing high-impact science that informs vaccine policy and clinical recommendations worldwide.  Dr. Omer's research has shaped public health strategies on vaccine hesitancy, maternal immunization, and infectious disease epidemiology. His work has influenced national and international vaccination policies, including those of the World Health Organization (WHO), Gavi, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). His studies on vaccine acceptance, immunization coverage, and infectious disease prevention have been cited in major global policy recommendations.  His research portfolio includes clinical trials on maternal and infant immunization for diseases such as pertussis, polio, measles, and pneumococcal infections, as well as studies on respiratory viruses like influenza, RSV, and COVID-19. His landmark studies on maternal influenza immunization demonstrated its effectiveness in reducing severe illness in pregnant women and newborns, directly influencing vaccine recommendations in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and beyond.  Dr. Omer has authored numerous publications in leading journals, including The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, The Lancet, Science, and Nature. His expertise has been featured in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and BBC. He has advised global health organizations and served on advisory boards, including the WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Vaccines and the National Vaccine Advisory Committee.  A dedicated mentor and educator, Dr. Omer has trained and advised the next generation of public health leaders. He earned his Ph.D. in Global Disease Epidemiology and Control and his M.P.H. from Johns Hopkins University, following his medical degree from The Aga Khan University.

    37 min
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About

Yale SOM Executive Education talks with top scholars and experts about how to adapt and thrive throughout your career and life.

Information

  • Creator
    Yale SOM Executive Education
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    21
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2024
  • Show Website
    Long Life Learning

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