Challenge to Lead: Build Stronger Teams. Scale Smarter.

Hosted by Beka Shea

Business Management

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Episodes

445

Latest episode

Nov 2025

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About the show

You’ve built a strong business. Now your next challenge? Leading a team that can scale without you. Hosted by Beka Shea—former military officer, mechanical engineer, and executive advisor—Challenge to Lead is the weekly leadership podcast for growth-minded CEOs with 50–500 employees. Each short, tactical episode delivers a powerful idea or shift in thinking to help you build stronger leaders, create scalable systems, and reclaim your focus. No fluff. No jargon. Just the real stories and work of leading better.

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60 recent

November 7, 2025Episode 211 min

How to Hire Fast and Effectively

When a $36M manufacturing company lost its creative co-founder, the driving force behind branding and marketing, the CEO knew an important truth: he couldn’t fill that role himself. In this episode, Beka Shea unpacks how she helped the company rebuild its marketing leadership fast and right, using behavioral analytics, clarity of goals, and a strategic hiring process that delivered 12 qualified candidates in just two weeks.Through this story, Beka shares a behind-the-scenes look at what happens when leadership meets data-driven people strategy: how to avoid million-dollar hiring mistakes, how to pair the right talent with the right leader, and how mindset can flip a hiring challenge into a growth opportunity.Whether you’re scaling, replacing a partner, or simply trying to hire smarter, this episode will challenge how you think about leadership, process, and trust in your team.

November 4, 2025Episode 14 min

The Next Step

Beka shares her plans for the next part of her journey in the podcasting world.

September 11, 2025Episode 524 min

7 Truths CEOs Must Know About Behavioral Analytics in Business

In this solo episode, Beka Shea shares the seven most important truths she wishes every CEO and leader knew about behavioral analytics. Drawing from over a decade of experience as both a client and consultant, Beka explains how behavioral science unlocks what motivates people, how leaders can avoid common mistakes, and why people strategy can never be delegated—it’s the CEO’s job.From understanding the science behind assessments to navigating opposites on your team, Beka outlines how to turn data into better leadership decisions. She breaks down how CEOs can use tools like Culture Index and frameworks like EOS® to align vision, people, and processes for sustainable growth.If you lead a business with 50–500 employees and want to make smarter people decisions, avoid common pitfalls, and build a team capable of scaling, this episode is packed with clear, no-nonsense insights you can apply right away.

June 30, 2025Episode 412 min

Tiny Habits, Big Shifts: How Leaders Create Lasting Change

In this solo episode of Challenge to Lead, Beka Shea dives into the power of tiny habits and how they can transform your leadership style, team alignment, and business outcomes. Inspired by Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg and the ever-popular Atomic Habits by James Clear, Beka shares real-world examples of how CEOs unknowingly sabotage their own growth—and how small, consistent leadership habits can unlock the next level.Whether you struggle with over-controlling decisions, unclear communication, or abdicating leadership responsibility, this episode offers tangible strategies rooted in behavioral science and real client stories. You’ll learn how to identify your leadership blind spots, change your behavior through motivation, ability, and prompt, and build habits that actually stick—without adding more to your plate.If you’re a founder, executive, or team leader looking to scale your impact, this episode will help you reset your routines, reclaim your role, and lead with clarity and intention. Because in leadership, it’s not the big swings—it’s the small reps that drive the real change.

June 15, 2025Episode 39 min

The Shadow Tone: How One Person Can Disrupt Your Culture

What happens when a leader says they’re aligned with the team—but their behavior tells a different story behind closed doors? In this solo episode of Challenge to Lead, Beka Shea explores the concept of a “shadow tone”—the subtle, often unspoken emotional undercurrent that quietly shapes your culture and erodes team alignment.Using real-life examples and behavioral analytics insights, Beka unpacks how highly social, well-intentioned people can unknowingly create confusion or dissent by verbally processing their doubts in the wrong settings. You’ll learn how to recognize this hidden influence, how to redirect it for good, and when it’s time to have the courageous conversation that every CEO dreads—but every great leader must face.This episode is a must-listen for growth-minded executives, team leaders, and anyone serious about protecting the energy and integrity of their workplace culture.

March 12, 2025Episode 216 min

Stop Leading Like a Super-Doer

When you've built this baby from the ground up, it's incredibly hard to hand it over to the next generation of leaders. You can do it! Here are 3 practical tips.

January 2, 2025Episode 115 min

One Bite at a Time: Tackling Big Goals in Business

In this episode, Beka Shea dives into the art of breaking down overwhelming business goals into actionable steps, using the mantra: "You can do all the things, just not all at once." Reflecting on lessons from 2024, she emphasizes the importance of learning from the past, setting realistic financial targets, and ensuring the right people are in the right seats to drive success. Whether you're a CEO scaling your company or a leader refining operations, this episode offers practical strategies to tackle challenges with clarity and confidence, one bite at a time.

December 7, 20244 min

Learning to Lead Leaders

The number one complaint of small to mid size business CEOs is, "I can't seem to find good leadership." The catch? You have to grow into the leader that can lead a good executive team!

December 3, 202412 min

CEO Hot Takes for 2025

Tune in for behind the scene insights into what it takes to level up your leadership game in 2025!

August 9, 202414 min

Focus on Strengths

"Don’t try to fix the weaknesses. Don’t try to perfect each person. Instead do everything you can to help each person cultivate his talents. Help each person become more of who he already is.” ― Marcus Buckingham