Ep17 Jeff Bettinger, From Classroom to C-Suite: The Foundation of True Leadership: Leadership Development podcast

This leadership development podcast is brought to you by: Ovi Vasquez, Inspirational Leadership Keynote Speaker. Fatherless farm boy from rural Guatemala—Inspiring teams to peak performance. He challenges teams to embrace change and step into bold leadership through leadership culture. He grew up in a village off-the-grid, migrated to the U.S., learned English in two years, graduated from high school in three years, earned a B.A. in management, in two years.  Ovi has worked for Apple, Tesla, Salesforce, and Uber. He is a TEDx speaker, author, and a social entrepreneur.

GUEST BIO: Jeff Bettinger is a global CHRO & board-level advisor who partners with CEOs and investors to unlock growth through people, culture, and leadership. With 20+ years across Fortune 100/500, high-growth, and PE-backed companies, he’s led transformation through M&A, IPOs, and rapid scale. Jeff is a best-selling leadership author, board-certified executive coach, and trusted advisor at critical inflection points.

Find our guest at: https://JeffBettinger.com
Find our host at: https://www.ovinspires.com

Leadership Keywords: leadership development, transformational leadership, self-awareness, executive coaching, IPO leadership, organizational change, psychological safety, people strategy, values-based leadership, mentorship, talent development, resilience

Leadership Summary: Jeff Bettinger shares how teaching teenagers prepared him for leading mergers, IPOs, and global HR teams. He explains how emotional intelligence, trust, and failure-safe cultures build strong leadership pipelines. Whether you're growing future VPs or navigating rapid change, Jeff offers clear tools rooted in self-awareness, values, and human connection.

10 Takeaways on Leadership
✅ Make failure safe to build trust
✅ Self-awareness drives effective leadership
✅ Mentorship starts with responsibility
✅ Assign leadership roles early
✅ Learning agility matters more than experience
✅ Change management is people management
✅ Titles don’t grow people, opportunities do
✅ Corporate and school leadership share core needs
✅ Personal growth builds organizational strength
✅ Put your people first—in work and life

5 Titles for Leadership
✅ From Classroom to C-Suite: Jeff Bettinger’s Leadership Lessons
✅ Make Failure Safe: How to Build Trust Through Challenge
✅ Leadership Starts With Self-Awareness
✅ Give Responsibility, Grow Leaders
✅ Grit, Growth, and Grizzlies: Lessons From Nature

5 Sound Bites for Leadership
🗣 “Self-awareness is the foundation of great leadership.”
🗣 “Make failure safe. Then watch people grow.”
🗣 “Titles don’t lead. People do.”
🗣 “Every leader was once given a chance.”
🗣 “Leadership is people stuff.”

10 Chapters on Leadership
00:00 – Meet Jeff Bettinger
02:00 – From Teacher to Global HR Executive
04:00 – Relational Leadership and Classroom Lessons
07:00 – Educational Roots and Early Influence
09:00 – Leading Through Change
13:00 – Making Failure Safe
15:00 – IPOs, M&As, and Change Management
18:00 – Tools for Talent Growth
21:00 – Leadership Lessons From Nature
24:00 – Family Legacy and Final Thoughts

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