Business
My podcast this week is with a former colleague and friend Luis Esteban (LinkedIn). Not often do I ask colleagues to be on the podcast, but after meeting Luis Esteban last year, we just hit it off and have so many things in common. Luis is now CEO of Initiative Spain, and I moved on too. His Twitter handle is @lesteban In wake of the Corona Virus, we actually recorded this episode only last week. It hangs over us, yet we are focusing on leadership in unprecedented times as well as his mantra, ‘be a warrior’. His bio reads like a dream profile of a successful entrepreneur and business person: Digital CEO with Entrepreneur Spirit, Loves Mobile, E-Commerce & Social Media. Now in the Performance and Direct Response world (Programatic, Search, SEO and Social PPC). He was awarded as Executive of the Year 2018 in the Bing Europe and APAC Awards amongst 700 agency contenders and he was twice (!) included in the 100 Most Influential Under40 in Spain by GQ. Luis latest challenge moves him into TV as well, which in Spain is still a huge media channel, and will be moving digital at some point. However, whilst we start off on digital marketing, I guess that’s where we met, for him it is all about having fun at work and being happy; balancing his life. His leadership is about enabling the right people around him, to make them successful, whether that is within his organisation or outside. This leads the conversation to different generations in the workplace, and what millennials want from the workplace versus the older generation. This ties in with the new regulations of working from home or working remotely due to the ongoing global crisis. Luis has been very successful in his career, and no doubt this will continue. However, he is very humble about it. So he boils it down to respect, being humble, and working with talented people. He is very positive and has a very forward looking, positive outlook on life which helped him to be successful. However, he warns to not confuse this with being naive but being pro-active or positive. My main take away from the conversation is that you should be in it for the long run. Of course you have to do your job, but be patient and persevere and you will reach the level you were meant to reach. It’s all about hard work and a long term view, having a long term career plan. Being able to coach millennials and staff in general seems to become more and more important. Luis quotes Microsoft’s CEO Nadella stating that the biggest influence on business is: empathy. It goes in line with my previous podcast on Compassionate Leadership. The use of EQ (emotional intelligence), compassion, and empathy in the workplace is key. Showing this in times of these, where we are separated by screens, and cannot socialise directly, it is something we should encourage in the ‘remote workplace’ situation. Luis has already had a virtual beer and lunch, why not? We are all in the same boat, and isolation can lead to mental health challenges. Let’s combat this now. At the end of the podcast we touch on WLB (work life balance) and how it is important to have the right people around him at home, similar to work. He praises his wife for her support and having his balanced family life with his three children. His advice is to leave all business at the doorstep and come into the house and focus on your family only. I guess another challenge in terms of working remotely. We touch on hobbies and making the most of the time you gain by not commuting, and keeping up the social spirit. #BeaWarrior This podcast is hosted by Volker Ballueder (Ballueder Partners), a trusted advisor, business consultant and mindfulness trainer. Volker wrote a book on productivity and life improvement #BeBetter. He launched his bestselling book Principles for Success, based on the interviews on this podcast, in 2019. If you are interested in working with Volker Ballueder as an advisor, coach or consultant, please reach out to him via email (volker@ballueder.com).