My guest this week is Matt Lesser. He was given his family’s oil business at just 22 years old. Things didn’t quite go to plan in the beginning, but …
Coaching
Ep #21: The Ripple Effect in Decision Making
This week, we’re talking about decision making. Are you aware of the ripple effect of being stuck in indecision? Whether it’s decisions in your family …
Ep #20: Early Engagement of the Next Generation of Family Philanthropists with Molly Stifler
I’m back with another conversation around engaging the next generation of adults in family philanthropy, this time with Molly Stiffler, the director …
Ep #19: The Yet Statement
Today, I’m talking about what I call the Yet Statement. This is one of those truly powerful ways of thinking that changes everything. So, this is a …
Ep #18: Preparing the Next Generation with Courtney Scott
Welcome back for the third installment of our series on engaging adults in family philanthropy, in partnership with The National Center for Family …
Ep #17: Engaging the Next Generation in Family Philanthropy with Tripp Frey
Welcome back to my three-part series on engaging adults in family philanthropy, based on work I’m doing with The National Center for Family …
Ep #16: Engaging New Board Members in Your Family Foundation with Theo Avery
It’s been a while, but I’m super excited to relaunch this podcast by bringing you at least a few episodes on the topic of engaging adults in …
Ep #15: Taking Back Control
So many of my clients feel lost and experience overwhelm when it comes to making decisions. And if this sounds familiar, I want you to listen in …
Ep #14: Learner’s Mindset
When I was a very young child, my family used to have game nights, and no matter what we were playing, I always wanted to win so I could tell myself I …
Ep #13: 2 Tools for Tough Conversations
Do you look forward to having those tough conversations in your family business? Very few of us do. We know they’re coming, but when we’re around the …
Ep #12: Banning the Badge of Busyness
Several years ago, I was experiencing a lot of busyness in my life, and anytime someone asked me how I was doing, I would automatically respond, “I’m …
Ep #11: Power Dynamics in Family Systems
If you’re encountering difficult and often uncomfortable power dynamics in your family systems, trust me, you are not alone. Power dynamics are at …
Ep #10: Getting Out of Other People’s Brains
I hear some variation of this from my clients on a regular basis. They’ll come to me upset and angry at somebody else, usually a family member or …
Ep #9: The Reality of Being an Entrepreneur Couple with Jake and Whit Roehl
I hear from people all the time who work with their family or significant other, that they want to be on the same page more and clash less. Well, …
Ep #8: The Truth About Confidence
Pretty much all of my clients come to me wanting more confidence. This is especially the case when they are stepping into a new role within the …
Ep #7: The Emotional Armoire
We’re talking today about one of my favorite topics: emotions. Specifically, I’m discussing processing emotions while you’re at work, which comes up …
Ep #4: Why Tracking and Celebrating Your Wins Matters
Today’s topic is one of the often-overlooked fundamentals when it comes to our growth as leaders, both in the culture we create around us and our …
BONUS Episode: The Real Work of Mindset Transformation with Neill Williams
I’m so excited to bring you a bonus episode. I don’t usually do things like this, but a client of mine Neill Williams, a productivity coach, has a …
Episode 081: Family Business with 2nd Gen Richard Seaman of Seaman Corp
The Family Business Story of Seaman Corporation with Richard N. Seaman, 2nd Generation Chairman In …
Episode 080: Delusional Altruism with Kris Putnam-Walkerly
Become Unstoppable. In This Episode: "Together the philosophy behind these strategies constitute a mind-set …
Get Your Productivity Score and Banish Burnout
Everywhere I look, I see leaders feeling overwhelmed, spending more and more time at work, and struggling with the stress and pressure of it …
Episode 074: Be Like The Best with Anthony Renna
In this episode, Ellie Frey Zagel speaks with Anthony Renna, entrepreneur, personal trainer, owner of Five Iron Fitness, host of the Strength Coach …
Don’t Wait. Start Now.
Money is taboo, but today it’s on my mind. My dad says, “Money has an enormous psychological component. It has a fantasized …
Are You Experiencing Burnout?
Most of us don’t recognize the signs of burnout. For me, it happened over ten years. I experienced years of becoming sick more and …
Episode 073: Power20—Now Is Not The Time To Give Up On Your Goals
The first of the year is a time of renewal and new beginnings. Many of us draw a line at the end of 2019 and start fresh with new goals and …
Best of 2019: 12 Steps to Achieving Your Goals This Year
We're continuing our look back at the top episodes of the Successful Generations Podcast from 2019. This one seems perfect for this week as we start a …
Can You Fix My Family Member?
"Can you fix my brother?" If only I had a dollar for every time I've been asked some form of this question. It also comes out like this: "I …
Feeling Thankful For My Clients & Their Wins
I am so incredibly proud and thankful for each of my clients—I don’t know if I tell them enough. The work we do is literally life-changing, but …
The Problem With Wanting People to Like You
"I want people to like me." This was me. This was my thought. I used to spend a lot of energy trying to get people to like me. A lot. People …
Do I Deserve This Position?
“I’m still trying to determine whether or not I deserve this position.” A family enterprise client recently said to me, “I’m still …
Let’s Replace Judgement With Curiosity
Are You Above The Line or Below The Line? I recently led an exercise with a group of 50 people at a national philanthropy conference. I asked them to …
Curiosity And Coaching
“The bar is low for entry but high for success” —Stacey Boehman on Coaching One of my friends recently shared with me a story. She was …
Celebrate Your Wins: 3 Steps to Start Today
One of the topics I consistently teach my clients is how to recognize and celebrate their wins. Yes, I TEACH them to celebrate. It might sound …
Ready For Your BYE? Let’s Do This!
A few years ago, I decided to leave my amazing position leading a family business center serving Michigan to live my dream of serving next-generation …
Want to Up Your Game? Stop Being a Lone Wolf.
Do you ever find yourself thinking, ‘It’s time to get serious. I need to up my game’? If so, what happens next? Does anything …
Do The Things That Terrify You
I often have my clients do something that terrifies them. In the end, they always love me for it. I know that if they can do something that truly …
Leaving Behind Compare & Despair
I’m currently coaching several leaders on the frequent human tendency to compare and despair. Not familiar with this term? Compare and despair are …
I Said No To My Dream Job
I just said "no" to the top spot in my family’s business. The position I am referring to is working for my family as the Board Chair of our family’s …
“You Can Wear My Hat…I Don’t Need It”
Have you ever lost touch with a song that you loved only to rediscover it years or maybe even decades later and fall in love with it all over again? I …
What if Everything Matters?
A coaching colleague of mine asked her clients, “What if everything matters?” This simple question got me thinking. Our brains are trained to …
What’s The Value of Having a Coach?
“Really, is there all that much value to having a coach?” I hear this question from time to time, and most recently, it got me thinking about …
The Curse of Competence And The Badge of Busyness
Someone I greatly respect once said to me, “Ellie, you have what I call the ‘curse of competence.’” This resonated with me. “Yes, that’s it,” I …
Going All In
I am learning how to be “all in.” My coach calls it burning the boats. I call it terrifying. Burning the boats means you figuratively sail to …
Are You Making Things Harder For Yourself?
I like a challenge, and I never take the easy way. Present me two paths to the top of the mountain, and without fail, I will always choose the one …
Ready to Level Up? Let’s Lead Strong!
If you follow Successful Generations, you likely know that I recently launched a new 1:1 coaching program called Lead Strong. I am incredibly …
Bonus Episode: 6 Things to Help You Lead Strong!
In this bonus episode, I’m introducing six things to help you lead strong. If you follow my podcast or blog, you know that I coach family business …
Being a Leader is Hard…And That’s Okay
So many of my clients tell me that what they’re doing is challenging. “Why is this so hard?” is a question I hear all the time. In asking, they seem …
How to Live By Your Priorities
“How do you live by your priorities?” A client asked me this question the other day after she had listened to my podcast episode, Setting your …
Episode 059: 4 Steps to Setting Your Priorities
As you likely know, I coach leaders in family business. Depending what leads someone to seek coaching, often one of my first questions is to ask my …
Episode 055: Entitlement? No, thank you with Dr. John Townsend
In this episode, Ellie is joined by Dr. John Townsend, a psychologist, leadership expert, speaker, and New York Times Best Selling Author. Dr. …
Episode 054: 12 Steps to Achieving Your Goals in 2019
At a conference last year dedicated to goal getting, Michael Hyatt said that of 200 million Americans who make New Year’s resolutions, fewer than 50% …
New Year. New Goals. New You.
Goals setting for 2019 Are you working on your personal and business goals for 2019? Did you achieve everything you set out to in 2018? Many …