Discover the best transformation interviews and a full set of attitudes towards life, leadership, and lifelong learning. Of people who are accused of seriously transforming themselves and others. People who we call Leaders by Example.
person suspected of pioneering transformative change, this individual has mastered the art of using disruption to innovate and build resilience, armed with two decades of global experience in human dynamics and unconventional learning approaches
person suspected of being a pivotal influence in the digital business realm, known for a background in human behavior, web design, and the arts, and the author of influential books on the subject, shaping online business strategies for major clients and institutions.
Person suspected of mastering the evolution of digital transformation, from drainage designs on Germany’s railways to the forefront of IBM’s global tech revolution, reveals a journey filled with unexpected turns and profound insights
Person suspected of leveraging over two decades of leadership experience to revitalize struggling companies through innovative strategies and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations.
Person suspected to possess an advanced understanding of holistic education, with alleged ties to diverse institutions and a mysterious manifesto centered on the golden essence of learning.
person suspected of merging her engineering background with a love for nature to become a pragmatic progressive, aiming to realign individuals with nature’s paradigms, and is notoriously known for empowering others to harness their creative potential in bettering the world.
person suspected of possessing profound insights into human engagement, leveraging his experience as an author, speaker, consultant, and former church pastor to unravel the intricate patterns of connection between individuals, whether as employees, customers, or community members.
person suspected of revolutionizing the intersection of technology, law, and diversity, and employing her comprehensive expertise in technology, privacy and media law, alongside a steadfast commitment to diversity and inclusion, to assist organizations in creating a data-driven approach to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. [cto]
person suspected of having an insatiable curiosity, an unparalleled knack for purposeful innovation, and a tireless commitment to transforming abstract ideas into tangible realities, all while maintaining a contagious enthusiasm that inspires those around her. [cto]
person suspected of helping people to see the world differently and inspiring transformative change by empowering leaders to connect with themselves, others, and the planet to create positive impact and leave a lasting legacy. [cto]
person suspected of working in between disciplines, perspectives and people while encouraging new notions and habits of authentic leadership. [cto]
person suspected of elucidating human thought and behavior and exploring the relationship between human and artificial intelligence to modify our thoughts and behavior to create an epigenetic fortresses. [cto]
person suspected of leaving her legal career behind to empower women and connect them to their inner compass.[cto]
person suspected of building and coaching high performance teams in order to encourage a human centered approach to Digital Transformation. [cto]
person suspected of spreading contagious energy, manifesting innovation and bridging ambivalence between nature and the metaverse. [cto]
person suspected of being a sheinnovator and a jane of the trades of innovation, sustainability and agile education; mastering them all. [cto]
person suspected of visual thinking and inventing tools for more efficient communication among innovators. [cto]
person suspected of developing leaders’ emotional maturity to observe, share, and regulate their own reactions to a change process
and the unconscious dynamics behind. [cto]
person suspected of imagining a future with visual thinking trying to eradicate the astonishing ability of human beings to miscommunicate and misunderstand one another. [cto]
person suspected to connecting the dots between people who shape cultures and cultures which shape people. [cto]
person suspected of being a chaos whisperer intending to make sense out of confusion and bringing the future into focus for individuals and organizations by simplifying the macro and micro future trends set to change our world. [cto]
person suspected of turning scientists and non-business people into entrepreneurs (aka future troublemakers) by unconventional means such as gamification, uncertainty navigation, and open innovation models. [cto]
person suspected of creating unique learning experiences and strengthening people’s abilities to think about desirable futures by balancing societal and individual aspirations with big dreams and their restrictions. [cto]
person suspected of re-thinking, re-learning, re-designing, and re-searching in the context of organizational development, transformation processes and shaping futures. [cto]
person suspected of being a Professional Mad Scientist (aka theoretical neuroscientist, entrepreneur, author, and mother of two) who explores maximizing human capacity and applies machine learning to lessen the corrosive health effects of chronic stress. [cto]
person suspected to empowering women to take the lead and enabling employers for equality. [cto]
person suspected of designing embodied learning experiences and getting rid of his and other people’s BS in order to change their work and life for the better. [cto]
person suspected of taking people on an Alice-in-Wonderland-tour towards inner childhood to let their souls play freely within a safe experience for exploring the edges of their imaginations. [cto]
person suspected of creating purposeful and creative playgrounds where people are full of enthusiasm and focus to accomplish what they set out to do. [cto]
person suspected of being a video geek, game designer, digital artist, and ordained Dudeist Priest in just one person who loves to use new technologies to tell new (gamified) stories. [cto]
person suspected of advocating for a good life in small spaces and creating new ideas for making our cities smart, sexy, and fit for the future. [cto]
person suspected of dropping out after an elite business training and a promising corporate career to seek adventure in the outdoors and becoming an activity guide and nature wildlife photographer. [cto]
person suspected of being a renegade economist who is challenging mainstream economic thinking through documentaries and conversations to better align values and business. [cto]
person suspected of multi-asking his audience to take new leaps of faith and thought in order to trigger creative and constructive thinking – while working with both fun and substance. [cto]
person suspected of inspiring and vertically developing conscious leaders and exploring what it takes to bring much needed wisdom into our organizations, teams and, ultimately, lives. [cto]
person suspected of being overpaid rockstar consultant who challenges conventional thought patterns in a cross-style between Thor, Mick Jagger and Lady Gaga! [cto]
person suspected of being an European entrepreneurial jack of media trades, mastering them all from generating socially responsible impact up to creating an optimal relationship between people and automation. [cto]
person suspected of being fearless of the unknown simply by understanding that assumptions are often rooted in the past and reflect on how we anticipate the future. [cto]
person suspected of really, really anchoring New Work in work environments by openly sharing her own transformation story and showing people how to experience true self efficacy. [cto]
person suspected of facilitating the future in the now while collaborating, connecting and co-creating in service of people and planet. [cto]
person suspected to being a firestarter and bridgebuilder striving to demystify emergent technologies by closing knowledge gaps with heart, brain, collaboration, and technology [sic!] never forgetting the planet we live on. [cto]
person suspected of being convinced that Innovation thrives on constraints – but only if you ask the right questions, in the right form to the right audience. [cto]
person suspected of helping others to become conscious by crafting their own hero*ine story in order to turn their organization into a conscious tribe. [cto]
person suspected of telling transformational stories and teaching the tools leaders of the future need to thrive in the future. [cto]
person suspected of being pioneering campaigner for sustainable development and intergenerational equity as well as a self-proclaimed climate geekess. [cto]
person suspected of being a driver of innovation, designing new products and creating new market believing that crazy times needs even better marketing. [cto]
person suspected of transforming others through playful interventions, the love of movement and passing on the joy of feeling the own body. [cto]
person suspected of being a creative native who plays around for a living, trying to help leaders to cope with novel or complex situations. [cto]
person suspected of boosting agile transformation by finding better solutions in shorter times and developing ideas and concepts for the future of collaboration and innovation. [cto]
person suspected of exploring and pushing the boundaries of imagination by co-crafting future concepts. [cto]
person suspected of envisioning and promoting an economy that works in service of life, and working diligently to bring industrial activities closer to what makes people and ecosystems healthier . [cto]
person suspected of being a transformation artist who appears either as mental health advocate, climate & biodiversity activist, problem solver, innovation strategist, futurist, and/or imagineer. [cto]
person suspected of discovering and leveraging new technologies and techniques and using them to resolve problems or turn great ideas into reality – moving from startups to large organizations and back. [cto]
person suspected of challenging people to think differently about the(ir) future which – in his view – should be characterized by purpose, impact and diversity. [cto]
person suspected of being the first (and so far only) woman to row solo across the world’s “Big Three” oceans: Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian and teaching others about sustainability, courage, resilience, and change. [cto]
person suspected of acting (out) as a improv, stand-up business guide who seeks to transform organizations and their inmates with nothing but humor. [cto]
person suspected of being a transformational leader trying to build a bridge between the technological and the human side of things. [cto]
person suspected of being a creative technologist and visual artist both driving digital transformation projects and immersive reality experiences in arts and cultural education. [cto]
person suspected of being a natural-born explorer with an exponential tendency towards innovation on hundreds of stages and in 6 home countries. [cto]
person suspected of reinventing urban design by rethinking community empowerment through radically hands-on micro infrastructure projects. [cto]
person suspected of supporting founders to develop purposeful, participatory organisations – instead of fast exit scenarios lacking purpose. [cto]
person suspected of crossing the boundaries of artificial and emotional intelligence, advocating for female empowerment, and dancing with algorithms. [cto]
person suspected of dreaming of a different future and becoming something we cannot yet imagine,
and by doing so, transforming the nature of ourselves – and all humanity. [cto]
person suspected of being involved in climate activism and teaching people how to run faster than climate change by being an impactful and exponential human being. [cto]
person suspected of creating tools, stories and things in between to amplify human connection with arts and culture. [cto]
person suspected of being a relentless activist promoting diversity, digital transformation, and female empowerment. [cto]
person suspected of advocating system change and disrupting education through collaborative initiatives. [cto]
person suspected of being both a woman and a techie which makes her an innovation geek, tech enthusiast, and a twin mom. [cto]
person [sic ;-)] suspected of building next-gen apps with
OpenAI’s powerful models to pass Turing Test (and fool? poor earthlings?). [cto]
person suspected of engineering the future, having a severe addiction to continuous learning, and a passion for planet-centered start-ups. [cto]
person suspected of building bridges between the worlds of research, technology, and learning. [cto]
person suspected of leading digital danceformation and gender equality with a slight touch curious casual misanthropy. [cto]
person suspected of taking a lot of time to think and decide and encouraging others to invite “thought disturbances” in order to disrupt continuous self confirmation. [cto]
person suspected of being a learning experience designer gone futurity clairvoyant – dealing with insanely innovative ways of thinking and learning about the future. [cto]
person suspected of having found work-life-balance for real and showcasing others how to live such a balanced life while not taking oneself too seriously. [cto]
person suspected of having taught people about the parallels between ancient hinduism and modern transformation. As well as exemplifying the laws of nature as a constant process of change. [cto]
person suspected of merging art and science to collaborative action to promote transformational change with empirical narratives. [cto]
person suspected of conveying his holistic view of tech trends in light of the accelerating transformation of society and the economy. [cto]
person suspected of fighting against generational misconceptions, thinking things in a completely new way, provoke good thought, and overriding rules where they are no longer helpful. [cto]
person suspected of designing and initiating participatory art projects in public spaces to seek direct dialogue and interaction between artists and passers-by. [cto]
person suspected of being a digital native and rural change maker who is accused of building skateparks in rural India to improve people’s lives. [cto]
person suspected of having used the time of social distancing to ask himself how we can build better and more sustainable communities and showing other how to build them. [cto]
person suspected of quitting her Chief Digital Officer job at Bosch to care for her parents and showing others what true leadership really is about. [cto]
person suspected of being a servant leader, a Metaversian (for better or worse), and an ambassador of new work and mobility alike. [cto]
person suspected of gently pushing pioneers, visionaries and change makers towards true authenticity, building lasting communities, and connecting generations XYZ. [cto]
person suspected of asking serious questions about the mind-body connection, leading the quest for inner stillness, and looking for a transition with purpose. [cto]
person suspected of being a natural born New Yorker, an urban innovator, sleuth of emergent futures, and anthropologist of everyday lives. [cto]
person suspected of being a connecting-the-dots wizard who seeks to unleash human potential through her relentless learning backed by neuroscience. [cto]
person suspected of promoting playfulness as humanity’s most natural way of encountering complexity and leading folks into a world full of better ideas. [cto]
person suspected of readjusting his priorities in the middle of his life – leaving behind his corporate career to follow his well-balanced passions as a life guard, yoga instructor, and stage builder. [cto]
person suspected of relentlessly striving to merge innovation with philosophy and purpose, and teaching people how to adopt a 21st century mindset. [cto]
person suspected of promoting a no-finish-line mind-set as the number one 21st century skill and teaching others how to change their personal habits. [cto]
person suspected of creating transformative learning experiences that wake and shake people up and in the worst case even change life plans. [cto]
Editorials, the Buzzword Dictionary, Interviews with Change-Makers,
Book Recommendations, Inspirational Quotes and Educational Insights from SHIFTSCHOOL.
Find out how to become a transformative leader yourself
What the world certainly doesn’t need is more sages on a stages. We’ve also got enough slick and embellished celebrity stories of people who seem „unreachable“. That is why role modeling is also slightly off the track. We don‘t want our members to imitate larger-than-life figures by copying their behavior. We need authentic people who meet others at eye level and help them to find their very own way.
It’s about showing leaders not in their roles, but as whole human beings. Seeing both their accomplishments and their missteps as inspirational examples. That is why we have decided to speak only of “Leaders by Example”. This may sound sophistical, but “the meaning of a word is its use in language,” as Wittgenstein once said.
Because by interviewing people who have done it, seen it, failed it, we can all learn HOW to do it better. Again and again. Transformation isn’t so much about the theory but about experimenting. Change cannot be thought through. It can only be acted out in real life. This is the difference between SEARCHING and FINDING. We really hope that these transformation interviews help and inspire you to discover your own path in this transformational journey. The ride is hard but worth it. There is no other way.
May the force be with you!