Founder’s Guide to Executive Skills
21 Jul 2025Being a founder requires many skills. As your company grows these skills overlap with those of an executive. To this end I’ve really enjoyed and learned a lot from the following episodes of Tom Henschel’s executive coaching podcast The Look and Sound of Leadership among others.
Last updated July 2025
Relationship Building and Rapport
Must listen: Your Goodwill Bank Account — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Creating Devoted Followers — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Personal Connections — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Dynamic One-on-ones — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Intimacy in Business: Setting Boundaries — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Conflict Resolution and Difficult Conversations
Building Consensus – Savvy or Sin? — The Look & Sound of Leadership
How to Disarm a Trigger — The Look & Sound of Leadership
The Conflict Resolution Wheel — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Taming the Defensiveness Dragon — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Team Management & Development
How To Coach Your People — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Psychological Safety — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Your Team’s Best Interests - Part One — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Your Team’s Best Interests - Part Two — The Look & Sound of Leadership
How to Respond When You Don’t Have Resources — Coaching for Leaders
If you’re struggling with a new hire: Managing Disruptive Executives — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Meetings
Taming Meetings — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Communication (tactical)
Very good structure: Sorting and Labeling — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Communicating with Clarity — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Inviting Dialogue — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Communication (general)
Being Concise — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Assertion Versus Aggression — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Showing Teeth — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Leading Teams — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Leadership Styles & Approaches
The Flexible Leader — The Look & Sound of Leadership
The Generous Executive — The Look & Sound of Leadership
The Honorable Executive — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Personal Development and Well-being
The Well-Balanced Executive — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Stop Giving Away Your Secrets — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Self-Awareness & Self-Management — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Unlocking Executive Presence through Emotional Intelligence — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Mastering Anxiety — The Look & Sound of Leadership
(If you have imposter syndrome) Managing Former Peers — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Executive Presence and Influence
Usually useful for founders, useful for your team
Influence — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Status — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Gravitas — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Smiling—The Look of Leadership — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Have been told this one is very useful!
Women as Powerful Communicators — The Look & Sound of Leadership
Let me know if you other materials worth sharing!
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