Episode 106

Ep 106: Navigating Leader Career Twists with Pete Sparber

Careers paths are often never linear. Hear how guest Pete Sparber navigated his path in Leadership as compass for those spearheading there own.

Pete was originally educated in fine arts, earning an MFA from Cornell. After a complex career path, spanning a variety of fields, he began practicing human resources mid-career. He retired in 2022 after 20 years in HR leadership roles with Koch Industries. Throughout his HR career, Pete focused on working in the “servant leader” model and building ethics-centered human resources organizations. Roles included CHRO for Infor, a global, 17K employee, cloud-based ERP provider; as well as multi-year assignments in Tokyo and Shanghai as a division HR leader in electronics and chemical manufacturing subsidiaries. Pete is now devoting himself full time to development of the visual arts in Philadelphia and his personal pursuits as a painter.

MAIN TAKEAWAYS:

[00:02:08] New book release.

[00:04:26] Transitioning from intense work.

[00:10:22] Desire to contribute.

[00:13:39] Recombining in art and life.

[00:17:03] The importance of pattern recognition.

[00:21:28] Blinding ourselves to possibilities.

[00:26:11] The ultimate role, the CHR role.

[00:32:38] Immersion in different cultures.

[00:34:32] Profoundly changing a culture.

[00:39:45] Traveling and cultural immersion.

Purchase your copy of "Relationships that Work" on Amazon today at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CD2KJX17?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420

About the Podcast

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The Executive Appeal with Alex D. Tremble
For CEOs of $10M–$25M companies who want to stop being the bottleneck.

About your host

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Alex D. Tremble

Alex D. Tremble is the Founder and CEO of GPS Leadership Solutions, a bestselling author, and an award‑winning executive coach to CEOs of early eight‑figure, multi‑location companies. With a Master’s in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and over a decade of advising Fortune 500 executives, federal leaders, and high‑growth founders, Alex helps CEOs stop being the bottleneck in their own businesses.

Through his Executive 360 Snapshot and 90‑Day CEO Reset programs, Alex uses his TP3™ framework – Trust, Proactivity, Productivity, Profitability – to reveal how CEOs are truly experienced, pinpoint the behaviors that are slowing everything down, and install simple leadership operating systems so their companies can run fast without them in every decision.

He is the author of five leadership books, including "Leadership Sucks! (Sometimes)" and Unlocking the Executive Advantage, and hosts The Executive Appeal, where he interviews CEOs and senior leaders on the real work of leading companies that no longer depend on hero leadership.