Chief Change Officer
#89 Wayland Lum: From Corporate Comfort to Purposeful Leadership
Fri, 6 Dec 2024
In this episode, Wayland Lum, CEO of Copperbox Leadership Advisory and former leader at Chicago Booth, Korn Ferry, and Nvidia, shares his journey from art supplies to boardrooms. Blending creativity with business psychology, Wayland redefines what it means to be a modern leader. With a passion for helping leaders reach their full potential, he explains how betting on oneself can lead to transformational change—not just in business, but in life. From navigating the balance of fear and courage to embracing core purpose, Wayland reveals the power of leadership grounded in authenticity and impact. His insights extend far beyond corporate walls, showing how intentional leadership can create a ripple effect that positively shapes the world. If you’ve ever considered stepping out of your comfort zone and betting on your own vision, this episode will leave you inspired—and maybe a little bit braver. Key Highlights of Our Interview: Breaking Free from Prestige “Leaving prestigious organizations for my own leadership practice wasn’t easy. Many stick to the comfort of a stable paycheck and a corporate name—but I felt called to something more.” Why Modern Leadership Matters “In a world of constant flux, leadership grounded in systemic and timeless principles offers the resilience and clarity needed to navigate both societal and business challenges.” The Private Equity Sprint “Private equity moves fast. Our work helps leaders in portfolio companies close leadership gaps quickly, aligning their capabilities with quarter-by-quarter business demands.” Inspiration Starts Within “To inspire others, you must first be inspired. Your energy, your spark, comes from operating with purpose—and trust me, people can tell if it’s there or not.” The Wisdom of Acceptance “Modern leadership is about accepting the full spectrum of emotions—joy, fear, grief, and love—and leading with a wisdom that reflects this understanding of human nature.” _________________________ Connect with us: Host: Vince Chan | Guest: Wayland Lum Chief Change Officer: Make Change Ambitiously. Experiential Human Intelligence for Growth Progressives Global Top 3% Podcast on Listen Notes World's #1 Career Podcast on Apple Top 1: US, CA, MX, IE, HU, AT, CH, FI, JP 2.5 Millions+ Downloads 50+ Countries --Chief Change Officer--Change Ambitiously. Outgrow Yourself.Open a World of Expansive Human Intelligencefor Transformation Gurus, Black Sheep,Unsung Visionaries & Bold Hearts.EdTech Leadership Awards 2025 Finalist.18 Million+ All-Time Downloads.80+ Countries Reached Daily.Global Top 1.5% Podcast.Top 10 US Business.Top 1 US Careers.>>>170,000+ are outgrowing. Act Today.<<<
Chapter 1: What inspired Wayland Lum to leave corporate life?
Hi, everyone. Welcome to our show, Chief Change Officer. I'm Vince Chen, your ambitious human host. Our show is a modernist humility for change progressives in organizational and human transformation from around the world. Today's guest is from Austin, Texas, in the United States. Wayland Blum. His career in HR has nothing short of remarkable.
Back in college, he studied industrial and organizational psychology. Then after graduation, he worked at some of the biggest and most influential institutions in the world, including the highest valued company of the present day, Nvidia. and a global organizational consulting firm, CoinFerry.
He also spent eight years in Chicago and London at Chicago Booth School of Business, helping MBA students shape their career futures. Now he's in Texas running his own leadership practice. On this show, we'll explore three areas of interest. First, his career evolution from big corporations to consulting to business school and private practice.
Second, the eight principles of modern leadership he creates for his leadership clients. Third, his vision for human and AI coaching partnerships. Let's get started. Wayland, welcome to our show. Finally, I got you on the call with me.
Yeah, no, it's great. Thanks for having me, Vince. I'm looking forward to our conversation.
If my memory serves me right, last time we met in person, it was in London. And last time we went to Texas, it was before COVID for South by Southwest. Time flies, yet I'm happy that we've kept in contact, we've reunited at some point. And now you come to my show to share your wisdom and insights with the audience. Thank you so much. How are you doing?
I'm doing well, Vince. Yeah, it's another balmy day in Austin, Texas. And I'm looking forward to the summer as we chatted about before. So yeah, and also excited to be with you and have a great conversation.
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Chapter 2: How did Wayland's education shape his career?
Chapter 3: What are the eight principles of modern leadership?
Second, the eight principles of modern leadership he creates for his leadership clients. Third, his vision for human and AI coaching partnerships. Let's get started. Wayland, welcome to our show. Finally, I got you on the call with me.
Yeah, no, it's great. Thanks for having me, Vince. I'm looking forward to our conversation.
If my memory serves me right, last time we met in person, it was in London. And last time we went to Texas, it was before COVID for South by Southwest. Time flies, yet I'm happy that we've kept in contact, we've reunited at some point. And now you come to my show to share your wisdom and insights with the audience. Thank you so much. How are you doing?
I'm doing well, Vince. Yeah, it's another balmy day in Austin, Texas. And I'm looking forward to the summer as we chatted about before. So yeah, and also excited to be with you and have a great conversation.
Wei-Lan, let's start with your history. Your career in HR has been nothing short of remarkable. Back in college, you studied industrial and organizational psychology. Then after graduation, you've worked at some of the biggest and most influential institutions in the world, including the highest value company of the present day, NVIDIA. a global organizational consulting firm, CoinFerry.
You've even spent eight years in Chicago and London, shaping the careers of MBA students at the top one business school, Chicago Booth. Now you're in Texas running your own leadership practice. Can you walk us through your career evolution?
Yeah, absolutely. Thanks, Vince. So I think early on, going back to undergrad, I knew early on that I had a desire to meld the disciplines of psychology and business. And so it was a very easy choice for me to study industrial organizational psychology. I did that at San Jose State, go Spartans.
And from that experience, launched my career into HR, which got me close to talent, organizational talent, first in Silicon Valley and high tech, and then more broadly across to New York and then other parts of the country as well. And I would say, Vince, the thing that has been a prevailing theme in my career is how to work with and provide value to the best talent in the world.
And so if you look at my career trajectory, it's really been a journey and a sort of
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Chapter 4: What does it mean to bet on yourself in leadership?
Was there a specific experience that made you think, this is it. I just need to do this. And once you made that decision, how did the transition actually play out?
Yeah. So the decision was really many years in the making. And it really started then as I coach a lot of the leaders that I work with and understand more about them, it really does start with early formative experiences, right? Growing up when I was thinking about career and stuff, I actually thought I was going to be an artist. My dad, he was a graphic artist.
I enjoyed oil painting, using Prismacolor drawing, et cetera. And that creativity has always stayed with me. And then when I moved into business psychology, industrial organizational psychology, that creativity and wanting to innovate really manifested itself in now this new area of interest for me that became my career. And so I always had that. And when I was at these larger organizations,
I felt that I wasn't fully able to express that sort of creativity and maybe perhaps fully work with leaders in the way that I wanted, which would be much deeper, more transformational, and really wanting them to make significant changes in terms of who they were, and then in turn, make changes in who they were as leaders. One thing that I often coach my clients on
And indeed, as coaches and consultants, particularly as coaches and leaders, we've got to walk our talk. And so we cannot simply be coaching other leaders on what they may need to do and how they need to change. But we also need to step into our own change ourselves and be held accountable for that.
And so I'd often coach my leaders to be bold, courageous in their decision-making, to really go with their intuition, follow their heart, and really step out into the directions in which they believe they need to go. And when it came down to the fundamental question I asked myself is, are you going to stay within a large organization, rely on the reputation of this firm, the resources?
The beautiful steel and glass building that you walk into every day and with all the nice facilities and the office environment that you have privilege of having access to. Or are you going to go step out and bet on yourself? And when I framed the question like that, Vince, the answer became very clear.
I had to go step out and bet on myself as I would have coached and encouraged my leaders that I work with to do. And I can say that I have not regretted a single moment. It's been absolutely amazing.
I am 200% agreeable with your choice in walking the walk and talking the talk. In a world where a lot of people just talk, a lot of times they will talk very, very loud without much substance at all. Walking the walk and talking the talk becomes very precious and courageous. Unfortunately, it is also something that is silenced by the noise in the world. But that's what makes a true leader.
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Chapter 5: How has being coached influenced Wayland's approach?
Yes, your eight principles of modern leadership. I read them all before our call today. I'm so impressed. For example, one of those is nature as majestic teacher. You're right. Nature serves as a timeless source of wisdom. Wisdom is both ancient and modern. Here's another one. Embrace life's stages and seasons. Every person is born, lives, and dies. We have seasons in life.
Spring, summer, fall and winter. On this show, unfortunately, we can't go through all of those principles in details. But could we explore those a bit? Maybe you could share some real-world examples or stories that illustrate them that you use to help your clients become a modern leader to face, to embrace, and to master the biggest challenges.
Yeah, absolutely, Vince. So the eight principles are our perspective, our copper box, our ethos, if you will, about how we think about modern leadership. So at the end of the day, you must help business leaders achieve their outcomes. And so that is first and foremost. And that being said... Working with them is an opportunity to go for transformational change for the leader.
And we know that when they achieve transformational change, when they become stronger leaders, not only in work, but also in different aspects of their life, there is a much more powerful cascading benefit and impact that is much more far-reaching. And that's what we want to help them achieve.
And so when we think about the eight principles, we have that in mind, that it's not simply about business outcomes, but we are confident that when we help leaders to become more modern, to achieve transformation, inevitably, that is going to have great impact on the businesses that they lead and they run.
So when we think about the principles, first, it really it does start with getting grounded in core purpose. And there's a lot of talk about purpose. There's a lot of talk about finding your purpose or finding your why. And in essence, it is where everything starts.
Core purpose is understanding both your deeply held values, how you move in the world, what's important to you, what you'll put a stake in the ground for. It's also about the values and gifts that you bring to the world and that you want to use. We call them your superpowers. And the combination of your values and your gifts are very powerful.
And when you are able to combine both of those and then channel that into your purpose, you really do become unstoppable. So I've seen that in my own life, being able to have the renewed energy to really drive my business and to have the impact on leaders. But I also see that in the lives of others, both my team members and also our clients.
And the last thing I'll say about getting grounded in core purpose is that we talk a lot about inspiration and leadership, but really to be inspirational, you yourself have to be inspired. And so what is it in the world that inspires you, that gets you up in the morning and how you're able to bring that energy, which by the way, other people can see very quickly whether you have it or not.
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