Arete Coach 1160 Les Whitney "Les is More: Exploring Cancers Gifts" artwork
Arete Coach: The Art & Science of Executive Coaching

Arete Coach 1160 Les Whitney "Les is More: Exploring Cancers Gifts"

  • S1E1160
  • 1:20:49
  • January 15th 2024

In the Arete Coach Podcast episode 1160 titled, "Les is More: Exploring Cancers Gifts," host Severin Sorensen interviews Les Whitney, an executive coach, Vistage Chair, Master Chair, and author of the book Cancer's Gift.

In this episode Les Whitney shares his profound insights on resilience and growth, detailing his journey from corporate leadership to coaching and his life-altering experience with stage 4 lung cancer. He discusses the transformative power of coaching and the lessons learned from his personal struggles. Whitney's story is a testament to finding purpose and joy in life's most challenging moments, offering inspiration to listeners facing their own adversities. The conversation delves into the importance of coaching and mentorship, facing life's challenges, including cancer, and finding joy and purpose in adversity. Les's story is one of perseverance, change, and the power of positive thinking, even in the most daunting circumstances.

Les Whitney is an accomplished Vistage Chair executive coach and author of "Cancer's Gift." With over 21 years in Vistage, he has been recognized with awards like Rookie of the Year and Chair Excellence. Les's corporate background includes CEO and COO roles in several companies. His life took a profound turn when diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, leading to his book and motivational speaking. His journey embodies resilience and a commitment to inspiring others in business and personal challenges.

10 Significant Topics Explored:

  1. The transformational power of coaching and mentorship.
  2. Overcoming personal and professional adversities.
  3. The journey from business leadership to executive coaching.
  4. Insights from leading Vistage groups and training coaches.
  5. Navigating a cancer diagnosis and treatment.
  6. Writing and the therapeutic power of storytelling.
  7. The impact of sharing personal struggles with a broader audience.
  8. Embracing life's perfect moments and staying present.
  9. The role of love and relationships in personal growth.
  10. The philosophy of living a full life despite serious illness.

10 Quotes by Les Whitney:

  1. "Once I realized I had left so much on the table, I knew I needed to become a coach."
  2. "I knew the direction I wanted to go in life was to help others achieve greatness within them."
  3. "Success came when I stopped caring about the result."
  4. "Asking questions that no one else would dare to ask was key in my coaching."
  5. "If I think it, I have to ask about it, to make visible what others aren't willing to."
  6. "I don't fear death, I just want to live joyfully and gracefully until the end."
  7. "Writing about my cancer journey changed my view on life."
  8. "Every challenge has thousands of answers and possibilities."
  9. "You get what you tolerate."
  10. "Helping others isn't about the right answer; it's about exploring possibilities."

The Arete Coach Podcast seeks to explore the art and science of executive coaching. You can find out more about this podcast at aretecoach.io.

This episode was produced on December 22, 2023.

Copyright © 2024 by Arete Coach™ LLC. All rights reserved.

Arete Coach: Exploring the Art and Science of Executive Coaching

“Arete Coach Podcast" Explores the "Art and Science" of Executive Coaching hosted by Severin Sorensen. The “Arete Coach Podcast" is for executive coaches and anyone considering becoming an executive coach. The podcast is especially valuable to executive coaches who are lifetime learners with deep curiosity about the "art and science" of coaching. In this podcast, the ‘art of coaching’ is explored through engaging interviews with leading executive coaches from diverse backgrounds sharing their individual coaching journeys, learnings, methods, best questions, and situational approaches to executive coaching. Beyond best practices, the podcast will regularly mine research on the ‘science of coaching’ and explores ongoing scientific discoveries and studies looking for what works and why, with an aim to improve the core body of knowledge for executive coaches and the industry. Severin Sorensen has provided over 7,500 hours of paid executive coaching sessions and he holds the following coaching certifications: ICF/ACSTH Certified Executive Coach (CEC), Certified Organizational Development Coach (CODC), Certified Life Coach (CLC); and the IAC: Coach Masteries Practioner. Severin Sorensen has an M.Phil in Economics at King's College, Cambridge University, and undergraduate degrees in Economics and Political Science from the University of Utah.

The Arete Coach Podcast is the copyright of Arete Coach LLC.

Severin Sorensen avatar
Severin Sorensen
Host, Arete Coach Podcast

Severin Sorensen is host of the Arete Coach Podcast, where he interviews executive coaches and researchers with the aims to celebrate and explore the art and science of executive coaching today.

Severin is a senior executive coach, serial entrepreneur and lifetime learner with a passionate curiosity about people and businesses. Severin is the CEO of ePraxis LLC, a premier level retained search firm that provides executive headhunting, talent selection, and executive coaching. (www.epraxis.com)

Severin is a certified coach with an IAC Masteries Practitioner designation and 800+ hours of ICF/ACSTH and other advanced training in Executive Coaching, Organizational Development, EOS, Life Coaching, Emotional Intelligence (EQ), and Positive Intelligence (PQ). Severin has over 7,500+ hours of paid executive coaching working with high performing executives, owners, and operators of public and private companies throughout North America.Severin's coaching clients include boards of directors, CEOs, Presidents, GMs, COO, CFO, CTO, VP Engineering, VP Talent, and many other positions.

Severin lives in Park City , Utah and his virtual coach practice includes clients throughout the Americas.

From 2010-2018 Severin was a Vistage Chair where he coached three CEO and Key executive groups. In 2011, Severin received the "Rookie of the Year Chair Award" from Vistage. Since 2013, Severin has added international speaking for Vistage, CEO conferences, executive peer groups, and corporations on the topic of identifying and hiring difference making top talent.

In terms of the types of clients coached, Severin has coached new CEOs (with less than 2 years experience), large company executives (e.g., Managing Director of Rio Tinto), numerous high-growth entrepreneurs operating INC 5000 businesses, multi-generational family owned businesses, and primary-equity business owners who are still actively managing their companies. Severin has experience coaching both private and public company executives and their executive teams.

Severin's own coaching practice is tool based, using diagnostics, surveys, and Socratic questioning to get to root issues. You can learn more about Severin at epraxis.com (insights), LinkedIn, Quora, and Twitter. If you think you might be a good fit for executive coaching with Severin, he is happy to give you a free test drive coaching session to see if this would be good for you and your team. You can book a free test-drive 30 min coaching huddle at: calendly.com/epraxis.