Podcasts & interviews
Real stories and practical thinking on how leaders build discipline, resilience and presence — through Aslak's own podcast and his guest appearances on other shows.
Oct 6, 2026
AI is changing what it means to be prepared. In this episode, I sit down with investment banker, negotiation expert and AI enthusiast Sami Miettinen to explore how artificial intelligence is changing the way leaders prep…
Sep 22, 2026
What happens when you improve your sleep, exercise, and eating habits but still feel exhausted by work? In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, I speak with Finnish entrepreneur and performance coach Mika Tikkal…
Sep 1, 2026
Most companies are investing in AI training, but knowing what AI can do is very different from being able to use it effectively in real work. So how should leaders build genuine AI capability across an organization? In t…
Aug 18, 2026
What does it really mean to build resilience before life puts you under pressure? In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, Aslak de Silva speaks with Eric “LG” Longoria, a United States Army veteran, two-time int…
Aug 4, 2026
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, Aslak de Silva speaks with Shashidhar Sharma, Country Head of AWA India, workplace strategist, change management expert, and author of Work and Workplace at the Edge of In…
Jul 21, 2026
How can leaders guide people through uncertainty without transferring their own anxiety to the team? Aslak de Silva speaks with executive coach Denley McIntosh, host of The Coach’s Corner, about leadership under pressure…
Jun 9, 2026
Melissa Rosenthal has helped build some of the most recognizable growth stories in modern business, from BuzzFeed and Cheddar to ClickUp and now Outlever. In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, we explore what …
May 26, 2026
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 lea…
Apr 21, 2026
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…
Mar 31, 2026
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 …
Mar 17, 2026
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 easi…
Mar 3, 2026
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 Akk…
Dec 22, 2025
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 emot…
Dec 9, 2025
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,…
Nov 25, 2025
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 Kosn…
Nov 11, 2025
What does it take to live your truth and lead with authenticity? In this inspiring episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, Aslak de Silva speaks with Shermain Melton, executive coach, international speaker, and host of …
Oct 28, 2025
Can short breaks really make you a better leader? In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, Aslak de Silva talks with Amel Gaily, CEO and Partner of Cuckoo, about how microbreaks, recovery, and well-being culture …
Oct 7, 2025
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership podcast, host Aslak de Silva interviews U.S. Army Officer, leadership expert, and author Tim Staton, who wrote the book Life Skills You Didn’t Know You Needed. Tim shares l…
Sep 16, 2025
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, Aslak de Silva sits down with Lama Somananda Tantrapa — Tibetan lama, 27th-generation lineage holder of Qi Dao (Tibetan Shamanic Qigong), founder of the Academy of Qi Dao,…
Aug 19, 2025
Stoyan Yankov is a productivity and performance coach, bestselling author, podcast host, and keynote speaker who helps organizations build high-performance cultures and boost productivity. With experience working with ov…
Aug 5, 2025
Stefan Gogoll is a German tech entrepreneur, visionary leader, and former professional athlete with over 25 years of experience driving software innovation and AI adoption. As the founder of andagon Holding and the creat…
Jul 22, 2025
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership podcast, leadership coach and focus expert Katie Stoddart shares practical strategies for improving focus, boosting productivity, and leading with clarity. As the founder o…
Jul 8, 2025
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, Aslak sits down with Glenn Mathijssen, CEO and co-founder of Alberts, the world’s first smoothie-making food robotics company. From building a wooden prototype to scaling …
Jun 3, 2025
Lars Sundmann is an advisor, keynote speaker and executive trainer on leadership, strategy, innovation and communication for global corporations and their leaders. He is the owner of Sudmann & Company, a consulting and m…
May 27, 2025
What if the secret to building great companies wasn’t about chasing unicorns, but solving your own problems first? Mikael da Costa, a serial entrepreneur, CEO of WPSEOAI, with a passion for building and scaling businesse…
May 20, 2025
Dr. James Hewitt, Human Performance Scientist, speaker, and author.James combines first-hand experience as a full-time racing cyclist with ground-breaking work and research, proven on Formula 1 tracks and with Fortune 50…
Apr 29, 2025
What if scaling a business at lightning speed didn’t require burnout, but balance? Lars Johan Bjørkevoll is a Nordic business leader who effectively balances scaling of businesses and organizational leadership with inner…
Apr 15, 2025
Dr. Oleg Konovalov is a global thought leader, bestselling author, business educator, C-suite whisperer, and the world’s top expert on visionary leadership. Named one of the Top 8 Global Leadership Experts by Thinkers50 …
Mar 4, 2025
Salla Seppä, Chief Customer Experience Officer at Nordic Business Forum What does it take to create an unforgettable customer experience—and how do you train future leaders to deliver it under pressure? In this episode o…
Feb 11, 2025
Jori Pisilä, Head of Sales at Bayer Consumer Healt in Finland, 4th degree black belt in Boreal Han Moo Do What do martial arts and leadership have in common? Effortlessness, adaptability, and precision. In this episode o…
Jan 21, 2025
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, host Aslak de Silva sits down with Claus Raasted—a creative powerhouse who has authored 46 books, organized over 1,000 events, and delivered 100 keynotes in just 100 days.…
Dec 31, 2024
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, host Aslak de Silva and AI expert Edgar Perez delve into why artificial intelligence is reshaping the business landscape, much like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu revolutionized MMA.…
Dec 17, 2024
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, we sit down with Guðrún Snorradóttir, an executive coach with a background in applied positive psychology and a passion for future-focused leadership. Drawing parallels be…
Nov 5, 2024
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, host Aslak de Silva welcomes Jason Shupp, the experienced leader of Ferguson Roofing and host of the From There to Here podcast, for a deep dive into the journey of leader…
Oct 22, 2024
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership, Aslak de Silva is joined by Anna Kuusela (M.Sc. (Econ), ICF Executive Coach, Ex-Big4, and former ballerina), the founder and CEO of EDGE Leadership. Anna specializes in tr…
Oct 8, 2024
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership podcast, host Aslak de Silva is joined by Dr. Elisabet Lahti, an expert in inner strength and the Finnish concept of sisu. They explore how sisu—a unique blend of determina…
Sep 24, 2024
In this episode of The Black Belt in Leadership podcast, host Aslak de Silva sits down with executive coach and author Ritu G. Mehrish to dive deep into the concept of Leaders Block—a phenomenon where even the most seaso…
Sep 10, 2024
In this episode of the Black Belt in Leadership podcast, host Aslak de Silva sits down with Feras Alhlou, a seasoned entrepreneur, business strategist, and co-founder of E-Nor, a leading digital analytics consultancy tha…
Aug 28, 2024
In this episode of "The Black Belt in Leadership," we sit down with Alf Rehn, a professor of innovation, design, and management, to explore the paradoxes and complexities of modern leadership. We delve into how leaders c…
Jul 23, 2024
In this episode I will tell my own background and how did I get into martial arts. Sharing 4 core lessons I have learned and wrote about as a co-authoer of the book Winner's Mindset: Peak Performance Strategies for Succe…