Best Ales Balcar Podcasts (2024)

1
How to extend your healthspan with Paul Zak 54:01

11M ago54:01

54:01

What if there was a scientific formula that would make you and your team more engaged today and happier and healthier tomorrow? Neuroeconomist Paul Zack dedicated his career to finding it and putting it to practical use. In this episode he is sharing his insights and tips to boost not just your employee engagement and team effectiveness. Find me an…

1
How to tame an overwhelming task list with Leo Babauta 1:01:40

11M ago1:01:40

1:01:40

You have too much to do. New demands on your time multiply faster than your ability to cross them off. It is easy to feel overwhelmed at times. My guest Leo Babauta - author of Zen Habits, coach and father of six - is sharing his recipes to deal not only with task overload, but also with fear and other unpleasant feelings related to the sense of ov…

1
How to design an engaging event when you are on a budget 45:24

11M ago45:24

45:24

You have an event to organize: Workshop, conference, town hall... You need to make it impactful, engaging and memorable. And you have almost no money to spend and little time to prepare. Not a great start, but nowhere near hopeless. In this episode I am sharing event design tricks to maximize value per dollar and deliver a top notch user experience…

1
How not to suck at recruiting with Bill Brown 49:15

12M ago49:15

49:15

Recruitment experience is the very beginning of an employee experience. And it sucks way more often than we'd like to admit, often for no good reason. Bill Brown, author of the book "Don't Suck at Recruiting" explains the pitfalls of modern recruiting AND the ways you can overcome them as a talent acquisition professional. Because recruiting isn't …

1
How to use LEGO to navigate business challenges 16:39

12M ago16:39

16:39

LEGO is not just the best toy ever, but also a powerful tool for collective problem solving and decision making. LEGO Serious Play methodology allows introverts to have as strong voice as extroverts and it utilizes visual and tactile thinking, allowing for much faster ideation. I know what I am talking about, since I happen to be a certified LSP fa…

1
How to master virtual meetings 22:22

1y ago22:22

22:22

Virtual meetings are a different sport than face-to-face ones. "Meeting fatigue" becomes more serious issue, while ghosting, invisible multitasking and connection drops are challenges exclusive to virtual meetings. In this episode I am offering actionable tips to manage meeting participant (1) expectations, (2) participation and (3) attention to ma…

1
How to develop employee engagement into brand advocacy with Michael Lowenstein 48:07

1y ago48:07

48:07

People can do a much better job when they are engaged. But engagement itself does not guarantee customer value. Michal Lowenstein PhD. explains how to grow employee commitment into customer advocacy and brand advocacy, sharing best examples you can apply in your company. Find me and more of my content on LinkedIN. Become a co-creator of the next ep…

1
How to present like a pro when English is not your mother tongue with Janice Haywood 45:48

1y ago45:48

45:48

Non-native English speakers face extra challenges when presenting in English. I know it well, since I am one of them. Public speaking coach Janice Haywood specializes on non-natives English speakers. In this episode we talk about effective strategies to improve your skills. You will learn to adopt constructive mindset, accept reality and work with …

1
How to engineer your leadership skills with Khurram Shahzad 54:54

1y ago54:54

54:54

Hard skills and soft skills don't mix. Being a tech. wizard SME with IQ of 142 is not going to help one bit, when it comes to leading a team or engaging people.... At least that is how most of us tend to look at it. I am discussing this topic with Khurram Shahzad, country manager of RKB Bearing Industries, brilliant engineer, people leader and soft…

1
How to measure the ROI of your meetings and events 44:05

1y ago44:05

44:05

Meetings are an investment. It takes time and money to hold one. Yet for some reason we do not treat them as investments. Instead we schedule them routinely all over our day, because "that is how we do business". But does it actually make sense to run (so many) meetings? I am going to break down 3 key questions you should be asking before you plan …

1
How to fuel your team without depleting yourself with Monica Borrell 46:29

1y ago46:29

46:29

Do you sometimes feel that no matter how much you support team, it seems like its never enough? What used to be exciting is now overwhelming? Then this episode is for you. Executive coach Monica Borrell dealt with those challenges as an entrepreneur. Now she helps leaders to find their bearings and move towards a balanced life. Find me and more of …

1
How to show up with confidence and be heard - with Carmen Roman 1:06:31

1y ago1:06:31

1:06:31

Confidence is considered critical for success of any leader. But what is it actually and how can you get more of it? Is it about talent? Skill? Practice? Hypnosis? (no kidding). To find out, I am talking to Carmen Roman - a certified coach, NLP practitioner and hypnotherapist - to provide some quick tips and also deeper insights that will make you …

1
How to focus your team on the right thing with Cliff Hazell 55:44

1y ago55:44

55:44

Does everything seem urgent? Can’t seem to get anything meaningful done? “Busyness” without real results is an epidemic. First symptoms are drop of your team’s productivity and engagement. Quitting (quiet or loud) of your best people soon follow. To address this issue, I have invited Cliff Hazell, who helps leaders and teams to get unstuck when the…

1
Why do we fail to engage 5/5: Banishing play from work 39:40

1y ago39:40

39:40

Bringing play into work boosts productivity, team cohesion and job satisfaction. Not just of the "creative professions" but across the board. Playing does not have to mean fooling around. There is much more to it AND you can leverage its power to boost your business. In this episode I talk about why some leaders are afraid of play at work, how play…

1
Why do we fail to engage 4/5: Missing practice opportunities 32:08

1y ago32:08

32:08

Another reason leaders fail to be engaging is not exploiting all the opportunities to practice. I am specifically recommending to initiate casual interactions with strangers and engage in "small talk". This allows you to practice in low stakes environment with short feedback loops - something rare in business environment where stakes are high and f…

1
Why do we fail to engage 3/5: False dilemma of short term v. long term engagement 29:19

1y ago29:19

29:19

So you are leading a team that is disengaged. You have to do something and it better be quick. But you are also wondering if short-term wins can truly drive long-term change. I find this short term / long term dilemma to be largely false (unless all you do is bribing your team with ice cream sandwiches :) In this episode I am covering 5 small chang…

1
The Price tag of authentic leadership: with leadership coach Andy Hite 56:30

1y ago56:30

56:30

As a leader you KNOW you SHOULD show up authentically. But you also KNOW that authenticity at work comes with significant risks. So how can you reap the benefits of authentic leadership despite the fear you may be feeling? To answer this burning question, I am bringing on stage an accomplished leadership coach Andy Hite who will help us unpack why …

1
Why do we fail to engage 2/5: Not showing up authentically 18:47

1y ago18:47

18:47

In this episode I continue exploring the key reasons why we fail to engage teams and audiences in general - the no. 2 on my list is "not showing up authentically". I will cover three major fears I have noticed leaders have when it comes to showing up for their teams during large scale meetings and events, I will review how people tend to react to s…

1
Why do we fail to engage 1/5: Treating people as means rather than ends 15:19

1+ y ago15:19

15:19

We all know engagement matters EVERYWHERE. Not just at work. And as human beings we know when we are engaged. We can feel it. Most of us also genuinely care about engaging others... and failing most of the time. In this episode I unpack the no. 1 reason why we fail to engage others and offer 3 distinct ways to do better. Find me and more of my cont…

1
Being overwhelmed 16:21

1+ y ago16:21

16:21

We all feel that way at times and its okay. When it becomes a persistent state of being, we may need to change a thing or two, starting with our outlook. This episode contains the attempt of talking myself into doing just that.By Ales

1
Starting over after a looong break 14:49

1+ y ago14:49

14:49

Picking up activities after prolonged break is hard - and the longer the hiatus, the harder it is. I am a champion in dropping things and starting from scratch over and over again... This episode contains the process of talking myself into starting again.By Ales

1
Ales and Raphael livestream 01: How to bring change to your life by jumping before you are ready 1:30:15

3y ago1:30:15

1:30:15

Recording of live-streamed talk between Raphael Bennett and Ales Balcar. Personal development and growth in the zone of "comfortable discomfort", (un)reasonable expectations and (in)significance of measuring progress.By Ales

1
Ales and Raphael livestream 02: What is "radical honesty" in real life? 1:00:39

3y ago1:00:39

1:00:39

Recording of a live-streamed talk with Raphael Bennett, this time around the topic of honesty: How to express our true selves, while staying polite and socially acceptable?By Ales

1
Ales and Raphael livestream 03: Living with your inner critic 58:55

3y ago58:55

58:55

Recording of a live-streamed talk with Raphael Bennett, this time about imposter syndrome and the inner critic in our head, who just would not shut up.By Ales

1
Interview with Suraj Shah about the unknown unknowns of coping with grief in our lives 1:07:03

3+ y ago1:07:03

1:07:03

Coach and grief management expert Suraj Shah (https://livewithloss.com/) talks about his work with people who experienced loss in their life and his own experience with grief.By Ales

1
Interview with Cedric Bertelli about the unknown unknowns behind our emotions 50:28

3+ y ago50:28

50:28

Cedric Bertelli (www.cedricbertelli.com), a specialist on "Emotional Resolution" explains how old traumas hinders our ability to be our best selves - and more importantly - what we can do about them. Warning for everyone: It is simple, but it is not easy.By Ales

1
Progress through experiments 11:34

3+ y ago11:34

11:34

Many of us crave a lasting change in our lives - to get healthier, wealthier, sexier, more productive, focused... you name it. But we also crave french fries, binge watching Netflix and all sorts of other things that stand in the way of our prospective bad-assedness. Committing to limited, time-bound discomfort experiments can bring respectable res…

1
How to use calendar efficiently 18:46

3+ y ago18:46

18:46

Simple principles you may know (with little tweaks you may not): 1) Plan work and private events together in one calendar, using time blocking. 2) Track how long things actually took, to offset planning fallacy. Try Pomodoro technique. 3) Review and adjust without feeling guilty about the past.By Ales

1
Interview with Sophie Chiche (Becurrenttoday.com) about the unknown unknowns of productivity systems 54:00

3+ y ago54:00

54:00

Sophie Chiche, a mind behind Becurrenttoday.com (and much more) talks about the hidden part of the iceberg called "productivity": Meaningful choices, joy, nutella, saying "No" to things and freedom.By Ales

1
Interview with Leo Babauta (Zenhabits.net) about the unknown unknowns of personal growth 59:33

3+ y ago59:33

59:33

Leo Babauta, creator and writer-in-chief of Zenhabits.net provides his insights on what is the meaning of "self-improvement" in different stages of your journey and why everything is ultimately okay.By Ales

1
How to make time for what really matters 9:41

3+ y ago9:41

9:41

So - you want to find your purpose, meaning, mission, whatever you were put on this Earth to do... but you do not have time to even carve out time to think about what it might be, because your day is packed to the brim with tasks? Look closely what are the things you can let go - at least temporarily - to win some of those precious minutes back. Yo…

1
The Why behind "Project February": Build enabling structures to make space for your meaningful work 9:55

3+ y ago9:55

9:55

Every extraordinary creation requires time and energy. However it is way to easy to waste those on trivial stuff, if you are not looking closely. February is the month when I will examine where my time and energy go and reinforce my routines, tools and ways I work so they are better aligned with my mission. Sounds a bit abstract? Well, listen in to…

1
How your brain prevents you from getting rid of stuff 11:50

3+ y ago11:50

11:50

Parting with possessions can be hard. If you ever wondered why it is sometimes difficult to let go of something that is - objectively speaking - worthless, it may bring you some comfort to learn that it is not your fault. It is your brain at work and its skewed perception of reality. Luckily, we have something called "behavioral science" to help us…

1
The How of "Project January": Comparing popular decluttering methods 23:45

3+ y ago23:45

23:45

How shall you start your own journey towards Minimalism? I offer my experience with several decluttering methods I have tried since 2013 to make it a little easier for you to pick the right approach.By Ales

1
The Why behind "Project January": How did I start my minimalism journey 21:17

3+ y ago21:17

21:17

What drawn me to the idea of "minimalism" back in 2013, what were the early challenges I was facing and - most importantly - what can you learn out of it to start your own journey successfully.By Ales

1
A Positive something is better than a negative nothing 16:18

3+ y ago16:18

16:18

New year is usually considered a fresh beginning. We want to renew ourselves and start with a clean slate. However usually desire two contradictory things at the same time: 1) We set goals to accomplish in the future (lose weight, get a raise, write a book) 2) We want to feel better "in the now" (be more relaxed, less stressed). Oftentimes we set o…

1
Interview with creators of YearCompass: A Simple, yet powerful tool for your December reflection 46:02

3+ y ago46:02

46:02

Laszlo Vad, member of "YearCompass" team explains the idea behind their creation: A neatly structured, downloadable booklet to help you structure your reflection of the ending year and intentions for the year ahead. https://yearcompass.comBy Ales

1
Time for reflection on 2020 7:16

3+ y ago7:16

7:16

Mid-December is the right time to start reflecting on how 2020 went for you and slowly form your vision of how would you like to show up in 2021. I am sharing why and how I am approaching it.By Ales

1
First 7:55

4y ago7:55

7:55

The very first, way overdue post, about nothing in particular. It is mostly for me, rather than for you (sorry about that, I know it is a bit selfish). Being the first I have ever recorded, it will always have a special place in my heart (at least till I forget it ever happened). Spoiler alert: It contains no major revelations that will transform y…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Ales Balcar Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

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