Leadership & Business Coach | Author| Speaker | And Other Crazy Stuff

The official take:

Leadership and business consultant.  Leadership coach. Advocate of mastering the power of expectations. Author (The EXP Factor). Speaker. Think-tank facilitator.

The other side of the story:

There is always more to a person than what is viewed as their primary vocation. What I do, the experiences and knowledge that I want to share, goes far beyond my “daily job.” Who we truly are, and what gives us all the ability to add value into the lives of those around us, is not the conditioned state of the nine-to-five activities we perform.

It is the sum of all the other interwoven stories, battle scars, victories, vulnerabilities, courage, failures, getting up after a knock, love, trust, expectations and …. well, life in general, that truly shapes and defines who we are and what we are. So … this is the greater part of my story.

I am a restless soul and a very low threshold for boredom fuels my appetite to constantly seek out new and challenging things. When combined with my DNA to become passionately involved and immersed in what interests me, it has afforded me a very colourful life and some wild opportunities to pursue.

Along the way some ventures have had successes while others have failed miserably, but each has added to my experience base and become a springboard for every new chapter of life. It is what has shaped my life and in particular my passion for making a positive meaningful impact in the lives of those around me. I love to share, coach, inspire and help others to become greater than whatever limitations are holding them back.

A career in engineering and technology development afforded me wonderful opportunities to manage major projects, consult to multi-national organisations, reside on the board of numerous companies, and establish and manage businesses. This is the rich tapestry of business and commerce that I have been able to experience and enjoy over the years.

But that is the “job”. Away from the pursuits of what I do professionally I have indulged my passion for motorsport, been an extreme sport competitor, motorsport champion, television commentator and done many television voice overs and narrations. Along the way I have engaged with some of the most colourful, insightful and often, the weirdest but super fun human beings.

My public speaking engagements over the years have been experiences that I will never exchange. The people whose lives I have sown into have equally sown back into my life, and for these moments I am eternally grateful. This rich and mixed tapestry has equipped me with a little something to share, and energised me to continue striving for a purpose by far greater than myself.

Join me on a journey that will help you re-think many of the things you hold onto, challenge the norm you have embraced, and perhaps just find that breakthrough for the expectations you once had that have been put in a stuffy old box in the attic of your life.

The EXP Factor

Something personal for you: Expect!

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The EXP Factor

Life is filled with expectations and is the driving force behind what we are capable of achieving, and what we give up on. It is a powerful force that can work for you, but also against you.

My life’s journey and work on the powerful forces of expectations has brought me to a point in time where the EXP Factor is something I want to share with you.

It has been more than ten years of observing, studying and applying the principles associated with expectations that have revealed something very powerful. Something that when you are aware of it and understand its span of influence, has the power to influence the direction of your life, your professional or business domain. It has the power to change individuals, groups, organisations and even shift entire nations.

The power of expectations is something that will change how you look at the things around you, how you engage with your world, and it will profoundly change the way you approach life, relationships, work or business. It will change the results you expect to achieve,  and will shape how you go about getting there.

What I have developed and written about is not merely a theoretical discourse. I have lived it. I have applied the philosophy, developed and used the methodologies and tools, and used them to move through the fatigue, the emotions, the perceptions and reactions of each event.

I sincerely want to share these with you so that you too can move from where you are, to where you want to be. And if you believe that your future can be better than the present – I want to help you embrace it, and equip you with the power to make it so.

Visit the
EXP Factor

A Leadership Evolution

As a management consultant, I get to interact with many organisations and thousands of individuals.

This is where I witness the lack of leadership, the presence of poor management masquerading as leadership, and the damage it causes to individuals and whole enterprises.

I continually see good potential in people go wasted or destroyed as they are thrown headlong into a space that requires leadership, but find themselves overwhelmed and under-prepared for the responsibility they have been given. The end-result is burn out. My question has always been, “what if they had a blueprint or playbook to work from?” How much more of a opportunity would that potential have of being realised if these people were properly equipped.

It is my opinion that the current space of management methods being masqueraded as leadership is failing many future leaders and breeding managers.

The current digital age and impact that Industry 4 is beginning to have, along with the change in generations within the workplace fascinates me. It also concerns me that individual and organisations are not ready for the changes this will have on the workforce and how solid leadership is essential to lead people into this new age.

My passion for leadership and the drive to evolve the current shortfall stems from these experiences. The time spent working on the EXP Factor and the power of expectations has revealed how expectations are intertwined throughout good leadership and how it is absent in traditional management.

This is the reason why I have the drive is to equip people at all levels to lead themselves and others. Where my energy is focused on awakening a new age of leadership where it permeates organisations and becomes part of its DNA and culture. Its time for a leadership evolution.

Visit the
Berkley
Institute

Steve’s impact as a leader and a coach

A personal mission to drive an evolution in leadership

Leaders inspire others, attract and align different or conflicting expectations, then synchronise thinking, behaviour and efforts on a common focused end-objective or goal. Leaders galvanise people. But here is the problem with leadership. Much of what we want to classify as leadership is not leadership. In most cases, it is management masquerading as leadership. It has some semblance of direction, order and movement, but it is not leadership.

“My quest, my mission is to change the landscape where everyone can lead in any situation. I am driven to remove the damaging management approach and fill the space with leaders. I believe that when we have capable, competent, confident and empowered leaders at all levels, not only senior positions, then we will begin to see the positive changes we are not yet seeing in workplaces, organisations, within individuals and societies.”

Leadership DNA

Steve has already changed the lives of many people by empowering them through a self-leadershipapproach. Organisations and teams have seen positive changes in how they now approach everything once they embrace and instil a leadership culture and DNA.

Finding answers to leadership challenges in the new AI age

The Berkley Institute was founded by Steve to focus on leadership that is centred around the philosophy of the power of expectations. The institute embraces the mandate to constantly research the latest trends, adapt the leadership realm, and to create a shift towards excellence in leadership. With strategic alliances, Berkley is researching the changes, challenges and opportunities presented by the Industry 4. Special focus is on the face of leadership in the age of Industry 4 and in particular the effects of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Internet of Things and Data Analytics.

The question that needs to be answered is “what does the new future look like, what will leadership look like, and how must it respond to the new disruption and opportunities?”

The EXP Factor

Address:

Sandton, South Africa

Address:

Sydney, Australia

READY TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE?

Let’s work together

Email:

steve@stevevanstraaten.com
Contact me