EEC 432: How to Develop Entrepreneurs as Kids, with Leah Ellis
Excellent Executive Coaching: Growing Your Business and Enhancing Your Craft.
Release Date: 05/12/2026
EEC 432: How to Develop Entrepreneurs as Kids, with Leah Ellis
Excellent Executive Coaching: Growing Your Business and Enhancing Your Craft.
Leah Ellis is the founder of the Society of Child Entrepreneurs, a nonprofit dedicated to helping children build real businesses and practice leadership in the real world. Why do we underestimate children’s ability to lead, and what happens when we change that belief? What does it actually look like for a child to run a real business? How can parents and educators build confidence without over-helping? What skills do children gain from entrepreneurship that traditional education often misses? How can communities create environments where children are trusted to contribute in meaningful...
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EEC 431: What Are the Conditions to Heighten Our Creativity, with Andre Walton
Excellent Executive Coaching: Growing Your Business and Enhancing Your Craft.
Dr. André Walton is a social psychologist, best-selling author, keynote and 2x TEDx speaker, and certified, accredited coach. How do you define creative thinking for leaders who don’t see themselves as “creative”? What happens to creativity under sustained pressure? What conditions must exist for creativity and innovation to thrive in organizations? How is AI affecting one’s creativity and critical thinking? How is working remotely affecting our creativity? What do you mean by Spherical Thinking? Andre Walton Dr. André Walton is a social psychologist, best-selling author, keynote...
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EEC 430: Train the Pause, with Michael Pellegrino
Excellent Executive Coaching: Growing Your Business and Enhancing Your Craft.
Michael Pellegrino is the Founder of Resilient Minds On The Front Lines, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building resiliency and mental wellness across first responders, schools, and corporate communities nationwide. You spent 25 years in law enforcement—what experiences led you to create Resilient Minds On Front Lines? You often say, “When you change your mind, you change your life.” What does that really mean in moments of stress or crisis? Can you explain “Mental CPR: Catch, Pause, Reframe” and how someone can actually use it in real time? You’ve worked with first...
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EEC 429: Why 2.2 Billion Potential Employees, Stakeholders and Clients Can't Understand You, with Myke Wilder
Excellent Executive Coaching: Growing Your Business and Enhancing Your Craft.
Myke Wilder has lived his life between two languages, French and English. During a 28-year career in corporate communications, Myke worked in Employee Relations, SAP Change Management, and R&D Reporting; always in both languages. What is the biggest problem that faces managers who are leading teams of workers who speak English as a second language? How can that problem be solved? Why is this a problem? What is the fallout for businesses? What is the biggest roadblock managers face when attempting to improve communications with L2 English speakers? How has working with a hearing...
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EEC 428: From Purpose to Profit - Building a Life and Business That Matters, with Reed Nyffeler
Excellent Executive Coaching: Growing Your Business and Enhancing Your Craft.
Reed Nyffeler is a lifelong entrepreneur and founder of multiple successful companies, including Signal, a leading security services franchisor. Over the past 17 years, he has helped more than 500 individuals achieve business ownership and has generated over $330 million in revenue. How can someone discover their true purpose in business and life? What are the first steps to becoming a successful business owner? How do you develop leadership skills that actually drive results? What separates those who succeed in entrepreneurship from those who don’t? How can young entrepreneurs create...
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EEC 427: How Using Your Whole Brain Drives Organizational Performance, with Stephanie Bacon
Excellent Executive Coaching: Growing Your Business and Enhancing Your Craft.
Stephanie Bacon, PhD, is an organizational consultant, speaker, and researcher specializing in adult social and emotional competence, nervous system regulation, and human-centered leadership. She works with leaders who care deeply about performance, culture, and impact—and who recognize that strategy alone does not create alignment. You talk about “human capacity” as the missing piece in organizational performance. What do you mean by that? You describe your work as “Embodied SEL.” How is that different from traditional emotional intelligence or leadership training? What are the...
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EEC 426: What You Need to Know about Brilliant Jerks Part 2, with Dr. Katrina Burrus
Excellent Executive Coaching: Growing Your Business and Enhancing Your Craft.
Dr. Katrina Burrus is a catalyst in transforming brilliant but abrasive leaders into executives whom people actually want to follow. She also helps leaders to fast-track high-potential talents to the C-Suite and coaches CEOs of multinationals through their most high-stakes moments of change. Do Brilliant Jerks have high EQ? What are their reasons for reacting in a destructive way with others? Do you find Brilliant Jerks in families? Can you see clues that a child might become a Brilliant Jerk? In your TEDxMakati, you said that Brilliant Jerks aren't villains but have a damaged framework of...
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EEC 425: What You Need to Know about Brilliant Jerks Part 1, with Dr. Katrina Burrus
Excellent Executive Coaching: Growing Your Business and Enhancing Your Craft.
Dr. Katrina Burrus is a catalyst in transforming brilliant but abrasive leaders into executives whom people actually want to follow. She also helps leaders to fast-track high-potential talents to the C-Suite and coaches CEOs of multinationals through their most high-stakes moments of change. How do you define a Brilliant Jerk or a toxic leader? What are the consequences of having a Brilliant Jerk in a company? How common do we find Brilliant Jerks in companies? What is the cost to the company of having a Brilliant Jerk leading a company? How do Brilliant Jerks behave? Do you behave as a...
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EEC 424: Why Employee Connection Is Becoming a Leadership Imperative, with Jonathan Thorp
Excellent Executive Coaching: Growing Your Business and Enhancing Your Craft.
As the visionary leader of Quantum Connections, Jonathan spearheads Quantum Connections’ strategy to support its mission to bring the power of dialogue to workplaces and individuals while expanding the organization’s global influence. What are performance metrics missing? What is most important to retain employees today in a environment where 70% if employees are disengaged from the company they work for? What is missing when you only use compensation, perks, or flexibility as retention tools? How can you scale and strengthen relationships? What role does connection play in periods of...
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EEC 423: Life After Loss: The Energy of Now, with Pamela Steele
Excellent Executive Coaching: Growing Your Business and Enhancing Your Craft.
Pamela Steele, PhD, is an educational psychologist, certified mediator, and conflict resolution trainer who helps people communicate effectively and define practical, realistic ways to meet challenges head-on. How did you get from where you started professionally to where you are today? What inspired you to write your book? What personality characteristics do you believe have supported your growth and survival, given all the losses you've experienced? What do you hope people will take away from reading your book or hearing this interview? Pamela Steele Pamela Steele, PhD, is an educational...
info_outlineLeah Ellis is the founder of the Society of Child Entrepreneurs, a nonprofit dedicated to helping children build real businesses and practice leadership in the real world.
- Why do we underestimate children’s ability to lead, and what happens when we change that belief?
- What does it actually look like for a child to run a real business?
- How can parents and educators build confidence without over-helping?
- What skills do children gain from entrepreneurship that traditional education often misses?
- How can communities create environments where children are trusted to contribute in meaningful ways?
Leah Ellis
Leah Ellis is the founder of the Society of Child Entrepreneurs, a nonprofit dedicated to helping children build real businesses and practice leadership in the real world. Through hands-on programs, workshops, and business fairs, she equips kids with the confidence, financial literacy, and problem-solving skills they need to take action now, not someday.
As a speaker and educator, Leah challenges the belief that leadership is something we grow into later and instead shows how children rise when given real responsibility. Her work has been featured across media and community partnerships throughout Kansas, impacting families, schools, and young leaders alike.
Excellent Executive Coaching Podcast
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The EEC podcasts are sponsored by MKB Excellent Executive Coaching, which helps you get from where you are to where you want to be with customized leadership and coaching development programs. MKB Excellent Executive Coaching offers leadership development programs to generate action, learning, and change that is aligned with your authentic self and values. Transform your dreams into reality and invest in yourself by scheduling a discovery session with Dr. Katrina Burrus, MCC, to reach your goals.
Your host is Dr. Katrina Burrus, MCC, founder and general manager of Excellent Executive Coaching, a company that specializes in leadership development.