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Training Future Leaders with Steve Krull – Insights from our Community

This guest blog post comes from Steve Krull, CEO of Be Found Online and a member of Conscious Capitalism’s Senior Leader Network.

How Do You Prepare the Next Generation of Conscious Leaders?

Firstly, you’re limiting your team if you’re only teaching your existing managers about leadership. There’s a real opportunity to expand leadership education throughout the entire organization. So, we offer management leadership training on an optional basis, not a forced compliance. We want people who are there to learn, who want to explore leadership ideas and techniques.

What Has BFO Done to Encourage the Team to Participate in Managerial Training?

Availability is key, but word-of-mouth helps, as well. Also, as I consider myself to be an ever-learning student of the management game, I don’t run the training myself. We instead bring in an expert and let them work directly with the team. When it comes to management training, I’m not really the manager or CEO. I’m trying to learn how to hone my management skills and learn new ones just like everyone else.

What Does the Availability of This Training Signal to the Team From a Managerial/Organizational Standpoint?

It signals that you are willing to make an investment in everybody on the team. You can always ask somebody to take another analytics class or learn a new platform… but what are you doing to help them become better managers and leaders while improving their emotional intelligence? How can you help cultivate more compassionate leaders? These are questions I ask myself constantly. When you learn each other’s traits and characteristics and grow together from a leadership perspective, that is what makes us a better team.

Are There Any Leadership Training Topics That Resonated Well with the Team?

Honestly, they’ve all been good. This year specifically, we’ve been focused on “leading self” because when you think about emotional intelligence and leadership, the first tenet is “leadership of self.” I won’t call it “self-improvement,” but just “self-leadership.” Getting out of bed, getting dressed, making coffee, etc. In its simplest terms, that’s all leadership. We’re leading ourselves every day. That has really resonated with people who buy into the fact they can create their own professional destiny.

Do You Foresee This Program Continuing to Be Found Online?

I would love to continue this program into the future at BFO! People have expressed appreciation for making the investment in them and the team. We just need to have a conversation about how to best move forward to be sure it continues to have that positive impact.

What Is Something You Hope the Team Takes Away From the Training?

My hope is people see the value in the training and each topic as sort of a puzzle piece and how different pieces fit together in terms of their operating style, if you will. But ultimately, I hope they find that BFO values their personal growth and development, and we understand how fostering our internal people makes us a better company.


As CEO/Co-Founder of BFO, Steve excels in what he calls ‘unleadership.’ Steve believes in collaboration and leading by example, remaining vulnerable and open to new ideas, accepting feedback…and doing good things.

Steve is a fun loving, optimistic guy who cares a lot about the BFO family and relishes in all of the staff’s opinions and can easily articulate and execute any of these visions. He enjoys reading spy novels, rooting for the Cubs, and having fun with his family including chasing his kids around the house.