Ep. 122 Human-to-Human Leadership: Building Trust in a Data-Driven World with Wayland Lum

Business Growth Spotlight

Show Notes:

In this episode of Business Growth Spotlight, host Heidi Schalk sits down with Wayland Lum, Founder and CEO of Copperbox Leadership Advisory, for a deep conversation on what it really means to lead with purpose in today’s fast-changing world.

Wayland shares how Copperbox helps leaders in middle-market private equity firms unlock their potential — not just to drive company performance, but to grow as individuals who impact their teams, families, and communities. From the Eight Principles of Modern Leadership to the evolving role of AI in leadership development, this episode explores the intersection between human growth, business performance, and purpose-driven leadership.

Listeners will walk away with a fresh perspective on how leadership evolves, why purpose drives profit, and how to balance growth, feedback, and integrity in the age of technology.

Bio*

Wayland works with leaders at all levels to fully develop their leadership potential and achieve profound transformational change. Wayland’s focus is elevating the performance of operating executives, both in Private Equity portfolio companies and non-PE backed lower middle market and middle market companies across a range of industries. His approach marries the science and art of leadership to take clients through bespoke development experiences that are designed to help them evolve into significantly stronger leaders.

Prior to founding Copperbox, Wayland was a core team member of Korn Ferry’s CFO and Executive Development practice. His work included leadership coaching and real-time executive assessment, as well as designing leadership development programs that expand executive thinking. He has worked with hundreds of leaders globally in CBs such as Abbvie, Scholastic, Nike, Deloitte, John Deere, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and State Farm. His experience living and working in China, the UK and Mexico has given him a nuanced perspective on how to lead effectively across different countries, regions and cultures. He has also led executive career development for top talent at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business’ Executive MBA Programs in North America and Europe.

He started his career in Human Resources, with a focus on talent acquisition, large-scale ERP implementation and other HR functions.

Education and Credentials

Wayland earned his MBA from Baruch College and his Masters of Science in Learning and Organizational Change at Northwestern University. Wayland is a certified professional coach through the Coaches Training Institute (CTI). He is also a certified Wilderness First Responder through the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). Wayland speaks fluent Spanish.

And Life...

When he is not doing the work he loves, you will likely find Wayland backpacking in a national or state park, running through Texas Hill Country, practicing archery with his recurve bow, cooking with family and friends, or practicing the Japanese ‘art’ of Tsundoku (buying books and letting them pile up unread).

To connect with our guest, click on the links below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wayland-k-lum/

Website: www.copperbox.co

Connect with me:

🎁Spotlight to Scale: Spotlight to Scale Blueprint

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidischalkcoaching/