Leadership training is a billion-dollar industry, yet organizations are filled with frustrated leaders and disengaged teams. Why? Because most leadership training creates more tension and resentment than growth. Jim Koetting is a leadership advisor, mentor, and consultant who challenges how we think about leadership development. Having built businesses and mentored leaders who raised millions and saved billions, he faced a hard truth: most leadership training doesn’t work—it creates tension and resentment. It fails to address the real issues holding leaders back.
With 40 years as a musician, Jim sees leadership like mastering an instrument—you can’t learn it in a weekend seminar. Authentic leadership is practiced daily, forged through adversity, and grounded in self-awareness. He draws on his journey—losing everything at 50, rebuilding from nothing, and 35 years of sobriety—to reveal the hidden struggles today’s leaders face: distraction, addiction, and mental fitness.
Through storytelling and hard-won wisdom, Jim helps leaders see what’s missing—and how to finally get it right. His mission? To liberate leaders from illusion and transform the way they lead. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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