Catalysts: The Leaders Shaping the Future of Learning and Growth

Speak the Language of Power: Ash Seddeek on Executive Presence and Strategic Influence

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In this episode of Catalysts, Jacob Ratliff sits down with Ash Seddeek, founder of Executive Greatness Institute, to talk about what it really takes to elevate your executive presence, master influence, and earn trust in the rooms where decisions get made.

Ash has coached senior leaders at Amazon, Salesforce, Cisco, and Capital One—and his message is clear: If you can’t communicate with clarity and power, you won’t move the business forward.

In this conversation, we dig into:

  • Why trust is the real currency of leadership—and how to earn it
  • The difference between executive visibility and self-promotion
  • What it means to speak the “language of power” without posturing
  • How to tailor your message to different stakeholders—including the C-suite
  • The 3 big communication mistakes even smart leaders make
  • Why being strategic isn’t about talking more—it’s about listening differently
  • How to break the “curse of knowledge” and communicate for impact, not information
  • What L&D leaders can do to coach executives through growth moments

Ash doesn’t just teach influence—he helps leaders embody it. Whether you’re coaching senior leaders or stepping into bigger visibility yourself, this episode is a masterclass in strategic communication that moves people—and businesses—forward.

🎧 Listen to the full episode on Catalysts: The Leaders Shaping the Future of Learning and Growth

🔗 Connect with Ash: LinkedIn | executivegreatness.com

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Hey there and welcome back to Catalysts, the leaders shaping the future of learning and growth. I'm your host, Jacob Ratliff, and this is the show where we spotlight the bold thinkers, builders, leaders who aren't just responding to change in our industry. They're actually the ones driving it. And today I'm thrilled to be joined by Ash Sedeek who is the founder of Movante and the chief excitement officer. at the Executive Greatness Institute. Ash is a strategic communications coach to leaders at companies like Cisco, Uber, Google, and he's on a mission to elevate communication from just being an overlooked soft skill to really a core driver of performance, innovation, and culture. His platform, Mevanti, is pioneering a new category altogether. Communication intelligence, which means bringing structure, clarity, and measurement to the conversations that shape how companies operate and grow. And selfishly, this is a conversation I'm super excited to have because I am a true believer that conversation is how business gets done. So in this episode, we're going to dive into what communication looks like when it's a strategic advantage. and how leaders can transform everyday messaging into enterprise-wide alignment, engagement, and results. Ash, I'm so excited to have you here today. Thank you so much for joining me. Thank you so much for having me, Jacob. I'm very excited about our conversation as well. Yes, so let's go ahead and dive right in. You know, I you've said that communication is the most underrated driver of business performance. So why do you think it's so often overlooked? It's interesting you say that because when I'm working with companies large as Cisco or Google or Uber, you realize how much when clarity does happen in communications, how much they actually come to you and say, I'm actually getting more responses to my messages. I'm getting more responses to my emails. And it was a very interesting comment to hear that clarity changes the dynamic completely. And to your point, it's underrated because, my God, just imagine the power, to your point, about if we see the value of how much clear communication creates in an organization, especially if it speeds up the pace of a project, or it clarifies a risk that is at hand, or it helps a decision get made sooner than later, then all of a sudden, we're really impacting real business results. So it's to your point, it's almost like something that's there but we don't see it. But once we pause and reflect on the clarity of our message and how effective it can be and the outcome we can get out of that, then it blows our mind that that is the power of the word that we are speaking and the fact that if we can make it just a tad clearer, just a tad more structured, life would be much better, not only for us, but for our audience. So I'm hearing there's two pieces here. There's communication, and then there's the measurable or the actual business result that we want to achieve as a result of it. And I know I've often seen this just complete disconnect between the two, right? Whether it's like an email that you're getting and there's not a clear ask in it. Or you have a one-to-one with your manager and, you're not really sure how to, like what you actually need to do. following that conversation. So how do you work with leaders to help them connect these two pieces of communication and clarity and the actual results? We definitely, one of the main tenants of the programs that I conduct at Cisco, for example, where we spend a lot of time thinking about mindsets. And one of the key mindsets that I try to bring to the table is the mindset of a management consultant. Because a lot of the time, and I know that as you mentioned your audience, there are several people who are sole operators who are listening to us, or perhaps even in... in professional services companies that provide L &D services, or even if you're working as an L &D professional within an organization, the mindset of a management consultant triggers an interesting set of behaviors. One of which is, if I'm going to go and show up, I need to show up really well. I need to be buttoned up. I need to have my agenda. To your point, what is my call to action? And if I'm sending an email, same thing applies. Is my email Carrying that clear call to action so that when people see it, they know exactly what I need from them so to your point this then will drive us to Have a much different level of preparation And that and that preparation routine once it shifts in that direction Then all of a sudden people feel like they are in the company of greatness, you know when Jacob shows up You know, we have an agenda. We know we will have an agenda. And 10 minutes before the meeting wraps up, Jacob is going to say, we're going to pause now. And we're going to talk more about what the next steps are. So being a management consultant, consulting mindset helps us elevate the game in a lot of ways, because you and I have seen so many of these meeting invites where there is no agenda to be seen. And you go in the meeting, the first five minutes are lost in. So what is it that we're meeting about? And what is it that we talked about last time? So that's really where a lot of the software that we're thinking about from Avanti is, is to help us because we know we, as human beings, we could use all the help we can get. And that's, think, where there's a lot of promise in AI in helping us, especially when it comes to those missing items that happen because so many of the organizations we are in. everybody has gotten into the flow of back-to-back meetings that we feel like there is no way for us to actually change that dynamic. But I want us and our listeners to really feel empowered to push back on this avalanche of meetings because it's the quality of those meetings that does. Precisely, and so, you know, we know that, you know, taking five or 10 minutes to think before you write an email is a good idea. We know that taking five to 10 minutes to prep for that one-to-one with your direct report is a good idea and that we should also be doing that. And with this avalanche of back-to-back meetings, of course, right, that's almost impossible. So tell us a little bit more about kind of how Movante can help. with this process of developing effective communications, doing that kind of prep work. The exciting thing about the software that we're building is that it actually would leverage the fact that in your email box, have a... Usually if you think about any one of us, we have about maybe seven to 10 key stakeholders. And I remember from the days where I was getting my certification in coaching, and we focused on this idea of stakeholder centered coaching. The same idea is really impacting the... the thoughts that we're having for the software where we ask all of the key stakeholders that you work with to tell us what are their communication preferences. To your point, like as you mentioned, maybe somebody is more used to receiving an email message and the very top of that email message is the following words, my ask of you is. Can you just imagine? When you get a message like this, And you read that first line and the first line tells you exactly what's being asked of you. And if you are not the person who is supposed to respond, we of course love the fact that if we are in the CC field, we understand we are being informed. There's no action for us to take. So what the software will do is that it will actually take those key stakeholders who will actually ask them about their communication preferences. How would they like to be communicated to? So that when Jacob is just about to write an email to Michael, it will actually show up in the widget, by the way, Jacob, remember Michael is very analytical. He likes data a whole lot more. Don't send him any fluff because if you send him any fluff, you're just going to turn him off. So it will actually expose the communication preferences of everybody that's working with you in the organization, which from my experience going to Uber, for example, to do some communications coaching, And I would go around and interview a number of stakeholders. And it was interesting how each one of these stakeholders had a very peculiar way of how they wanted to receive information. Like some of them wanted to, like I remember one VP telling me, you know what, they sent me all these slides. I don't have time for any of them. In fact, I never opened any attachments. If you want to tell me something, make sure that you succinctly say it at the very top of the message, because that's all the time I have. I'm gonna glance at that screen and see what that top heading is that you're saying, and if there is a clear ask, I will read that. And I'm good to go. Then I'm off to a meeting with Dara, and we're talking about what we're gonna be doing about this. So the idea that this particular person did not have the time of day to open up any slide deck. is a very critical piece of information. Because if you spend days and you burn the midnight oil and you're creating this amazing deck for this VP, but that VP is never gonna open it. And you know what's fascinating? We rarely actually ask the question of the people that we're working with, how would you like to be communicated to? How would you like to receive information? If we can uncover that intelligence, amazing amount of time and effort will be saved. And that's what the software will do. It will ask everyone, please tell us how would you like to be communicated? And it will then create this library of those preferences. And then the AI engine would leverage those preferences to tell Jacob just before he hits send, wait a second, Jacob, you're just about to hit send. Remember this is Mike. He loves analytical messages. Make sure you include the top numbers at the top of the message. So that's a core component of the software because again, the reality is we cannot manage all of that fact that there are all of these variations that exist. And we're all shooting in the dark most of the time because of the fact that we don't know what those preferences are. So that's what's exciting about the software being able to use that kind of engine. Yeah, and it's really powerful because we tend to deliver information in the way that we would like to receive it. For example, don't send me a voice message because I will never listen to it. Right? And likewise, I would never send a voice message because I would never want to listen to one. So I'm curious, what is the cultural impact of everyone in an organization being communicated with in a way that they respond favorably to. How does that impact just an organization's entire culture? That's a great point because that's what's exciting about the impact is that everybody receiving, your point, a gift in the most delightful gift wrapping we can imagine. So to your point, it's crafted in a way that is so much more about the receiver than the sender, to your point. So I love what you said because if we tend to write based on what we like, the fact of the matter is... We actually have to think more about the audience. So if the audience now will get messages that are crafted with them in mind, the likelihood of them understanding it sooner than later is we can only imagine what the impact is to the velocity of action in the company and what that might mean to our timeline, go to market, time to benefit, all those metrics that we are thinking about. At the core of those metrics is the fact that I sent a message to Jacob. and I can tell he hasn't even seen it yet. Because Jacob glanced at it, he saw five textual paragraphs and Jacob said, you know what, I'm gonna get back to this maybe in a day or so. Whereas if I see, here's my ask of you and very clear message, Jacob saw it, he grasped what he has to do, he actually took action and responded. My goodness, that's a whole lot different dynamic and speed. of execution, then we would otherwise if the message is not clear or it's buried in a bunch of paragraphs. I love that and I can definitely see how that's going to drive that rate of action by virtue of creating that clarity. Circling back to one of the first things you mentioned. So I want to dive into this idea of clarity a little bit more. As we identified, it's pretty critical. What are the other key elements of communication that drive action? from your perspective. The other, yeah, that's another great question. I love how you're looking at the different angles. So the second angle is making sure that when we communicate, we're always remembering to tie it to the bigger why. So maybe it's a large project that we're working on. A lot of the time, once we are inside the project, we forget that maybe the person who we're sending them the message, there is so much noise in the world that there are several projects. And it it's a good idea from time to time to say, you remember, the reason why we're working on this initiative is because we're really trying to improve the patient experience once they arrive to our clinic. Therefore, here's what we need to do next. So remembering to connect to the why is a very magical step to do because most of the time, I think a lot of the people listening to us, if they go and do an audit, a lot of the messages in that outbox, and that's what I usually do with a lot of my clients, I basically say, before we do anything, let's go to the hour box, see those sent messages and see how many times did we start with the what. 99 % of these emails are starting with the what. And then we basically say, okay, now we're going to change the dynamic. Every time we send an email, we're gonna basically say, remember because we are trying to accomplish the following things, here's what I need from you. Once we give people the reason why, we see a higher level of response. because now they understand the why behind what we're asking them to do. It's a slight shift, but boy, it does make a big difference. I love it. I want to, I want to complicate this a little bit. So with any given initiative, different stakeholders, different business units, they're going to see the why differently. Right? So we, if we have this initiative to improve patient experience, well, the CFO probably has a different why behind that than, you know, the chief medical officer. How do you navigate that situation? That's exactly why when we reflect on the audience and We're just about to write the why I love what you said because then I have to remember that the communication preferences and my own understanding of the differences between the audiences I have to craft the benefit statement based on who that audience is And to your point Jacob, I think you're really touching on a very important nugget here, which is Most of the time people are in the speed of the moment, not pausing and thinking about who the audience is. So to your point, think if everybody listening to us takes another 30 seconds to say, given the position this person is in, their focus, what would be the benefit statement and the reason why they should care about this? And then we come to customize the why in a way that resonates with them. Again, we're trying to increase the chances that number one, they will actually read our message. Number two, they will respond to it because that's how we'll get momentum across the organization. I love that we're starting to of connect some of these dots and tie these pieces together. So we've got clarity and we've got starting with the why, right? That driver. What are the other kind of key elements that you really kind of highlight or centralize when it comes to this type of communication? Without a doubt, of the other element that we will have to bring into the picture of how we are communicating is understanding where the audience is at. Are they well informed of the initiative? Have they been working with us on this initiative for a long time? Because a lot of the time, again, what happens, we assume... we assume that they know. So when I work as a fractional change management advisor, the first thing I remind everybody is, have you actually done a fair amount of work just raising awareness? And if you have raised awareness, have you also developed a level of desire so that again, by the time the baby comes home, did we get everything in the house ready? uh A lot of the time, we assume that there is awareness, we assume that there is desire. And a lot of the time we haven't really covered those two things. So we need to work on that. And it can lead us to really shoot ourselves in the foot because organizations have politics, right? People have strong feelings about initiatives. Maybe it's because they are aware of the initiative. Maybe it's because they're not. They're not as informed as they could be. And so it's not even just, only where they are in relation to it, but what are those political dynamics that we might just assume how someone views an initiative? Exactly. And then we come in and we ask questions. We basically have to ask the question, what else is going on? Because that's also an indication that we are coming with a much wiser point of view. To your point, there's usually other things going uh on. Our baby is not the only baby in town. They have other things going on. And just coming across with that wisdom, gets the other person to feel that you're very strategic, you understand that there are a lot of other things happening, and that you understand in order to get one initiative to move forward, we need to be conscious of how much of an impact that's going to impact everybody else. And then we work together to see, there a way for us to cascade these things out in a way that will create more acceptance and an opportunity for us to create adoption. And what I love about what you're describing here is in the way we're communicating, you mentioned, you know, showing up as a management consultant. The phrase I would use is as a strategic business partner. I really see that kind of in what you're describing and correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you've developed a framework called the seven skills of highly effective strategic leaders. Am I right with that? You're absolutely right, yes. glad I did my homework. Can you walk us through some of what those skills are that we might not have already touched on? Absolutely. one that, which is the very first one, makes a big difference is the practice of taking time to reflect. And just to help the audience remember, we basically tell them three steps, free up, think up, and speak up. And we say this especially to leaders and everyone listening to us, I'd love for them to see themselves as leaders. even if they are not in a position where by definition of the title they are looked at as one. So the reason why we basically say the very first and most important practice of highly effective strategic leaders is to take time to reflect and it's time of reflection and planning ahead. And we highly recommend it happening let's say on a Friday afternoon where you have what we call meeting with self. that this is a meeting just for Jacob to sit by himself and think about the upcoming week or weeks and think ahead about those moments where there will be a few critical meetings that matter more than others. That basically means I'm going to have to prepare differently. Your point about agendas, your point about call to action, all of that stuff is going to come in and be very clear as you sit and think about all those upcoming meetings. So when you spend some time thinking, and of course, in order to spend that time, you have to free up that time and not be in the cycle of back-to-back meetings that everybody is in. So we definitely encourage everybody to really take the reins and maybe push back on some of those meetings, get selective, use collaboration technologies more than you might be. And then once you do that time to reflex and you think of some ideas, maybe there are areas in the business where You could make some adjustments and improve things. And then once you have a good idea, then the next step is to say, I need to go and talk to Jacob. I need to go and talk to Sandy about this because I want to make sure that we co-create some of these ideas together. And then the third step would be to speak up. Maybe you have to go into staff meetings, big all hands meetings where you communicate that point of view, communicate that aspiration. then all of a sudden we call upon your ability to speak clearly and communicate in public what those initiatives are, then all of a sudden now you have the ability to actually hopefully inspire these audiences to join in those efforts with you. So without taking time to reflect, highly likely you're just going to be from one thing to another. You're not getting your head above the water. You're not thinking strategically. That's why we basically say that first one is very key. And part of what I'm hearing is that when it comes to communicating and sharing your ideas, that speaking up part is only a small portion of it. And it's what comes at the very end, right? There are these two other big pieces you've got to do first if you want to do the third effectively. Without a doubt, without a doubt. Definitely taking time to think about where the company is, what's the overall strategy, how do we fit into that big picture, what else is going on in the company, and having that time to your point to digest all of that, then it gets to inform your steps and you're going to come across a whole lot more strategic than you would otherwise. So let's zoom out a little bit in her last few minutes together, which is, I'm curious, as we look to the future of leadership and organizational growth as a whole, what trends or shifts in communication are you seeing that you're most excited about? I think with the fact that a lot of organizations are starting to leverage AI a lot and they're looking for opportunities to adopt AI in different ways, it will hopefully create an opportunity of time and space for us to be more human actually. Because a lot of the time in the rush of things, we are more or less communicating with others using maybe 1 % of who we really are. And I think the availability of hopefully a bit more energy, a bit more time, hopefully it's going to allow us to remember more that we need to be more open and trusting with the rest of the team that we're working with and really investing time to find out how things are going for them. Because I think a lot of the time we have been moving so fast. We all feel we don't have the time. So I do believe that hopefully with the use of AI, we will have more of an opportunity to hopefully take a deeper breath and connect with each other more. Because I think now the pace is more or less making the workplace very much devoid of that human connection. And for business leaders who want to bring more communication intelligence into their organizations, what's a great first step that they can take towards that? I would cycle back to what we said in the very beginning that management consultant mindset is key because it's going to get you thinking, I have to go and meet with each one of these stakeholders. And the meeting that I'm having with them is more of a client engagement meeting where I am going to meet with Jacob and ask him how would he like to be communicated to, how would he like to receive deliverables from us, what is the frequency? how often should we get together and do a debrief on how things are taking place, where we might be able to make some improvements. So this idea of a management consultant mindset will get you thinking, I need to have these client relationship check-ins where the sole purpose is not to talk about the project, is not to talk about the deliverable, but really to talk more about the relationship and how we're doing what we're doing, and maybe there are ways for us to improve it. That idea of a meeting is very rare and we want to inject it more into our routine and make sure that that's part of how we maintain relationships. Absolutely, and thank you so much. And I have one last question for you today, which is for people who want to stay connected and maybe even explore working with you, where should they go? Where can they find you? The best would be to go to a website. The URL for the website is communicatewithclarity.co, and they'll be able to see the number of programs that we offer and a way to reach out to me as well. And of course, LinkedIn is a good starting point as well. Excellent, I'll certainly throw those links down in the show notes as well for anyone who wants to look at those further. Ash, thank you so much for joining me today and really for sharing so generously your insight, energy, and vision, I would say, for the future of communication and leadership. It's been such a good conversation. Really enjoyed it, Jacob. Thank you so much for having me. Certainly. you know, truthfully, these are the exact kinds of conversations I started this show to spotlight, really leaders who are shaping what's next. And so if you're listening and you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe and connect with me on LinkedIn. I'll throw that link in the show notes as well. Thank you so much for joining me here today on Catalysts, and I'll see you next time.

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Jacob Ratliff

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