Join Kevin Grayling, Susanna Hooper and me as we talk about leading through this very different year and some of the best lessons we’ve learned in our careers. Kevin is the Chief Information Officer for Florida Crystals (they make sugar), and Susanna is a leadership and life coach.

I’ve known Kevin and Susanna for many years. Susanna and I worked together at a consulting firm; we met Kevin when he was at Kraft and the 3 of us led a project together. Life has taken us in different directions, we’ve stayed friends and catch up every couple months – this time, we’re catching up on the podcast.

Join us as we talk about managing our energy, caring for relationships, designing behaviors that didn’t exist before, the interdependence of idea development and having fun.

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Join Lisa Haflett, Aimee Adams and me as we talk about our experiences of being a woman and being a leader in each of our 25+ year careers. Lisa and Aimee are two of my best friends from high school and we had a lot of fun with these topics which we’ve never really talked about before.

Lisa is an Executive Director at a large biopharm company, and Aimee is a Director of Creative & Media at a boutique marketing agency, so each woman brings a unique perspective. Join us as we talk about having confidence, mentoring, paying your dues, people-pleasing, leading a team in our new virtual environment, becoming aware of subtle dynamics, and finding your voice. 

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In this episode, I interview my long-time friend and former work colleague, Jon Greenawalt, the Chief Performance Officer for 15Five. We talk about the competitive strength of purpose-led organizations, and how giving regular and empowering feedback fosters an engaged and growth-focused organization.  

Can't listen? Here's the transcript: 

Today’s podcast is about the importance of being centered as a leader… in other words, trusting yourself, having confidence, peace of mind, and focus. I’m going to share with you why this is so critical to effective leadership, along with some common pitfalls (and one of my own that I’ve been working on) an a few tips to get centered when you’re not.

But first, this is the podcast episode – I’ve been tinkering with the thought of starting a podcast for a couple years... and I’m quite introverted by nature so the thought of doing this has been intimidating… but then a few months ago I decided to go ahead anyway. I mean, how many times in life do you just have to say WTF and do it anyway? …so here we are!

And then the pandemic hit so I’ve gone back and forth in my mind if I should focus on what it’s going to take to lead through this, or if I should stick to the...

My youngest daughter is in first grade. Throughout kindergarten and until last week, she had the best school bus driver. Last Friday was his last day driving our route. I found out the night before and I cried. 

I feel foolish admitting that. What grown woman cries when her kid’s school bus driver moves on to a different route? Clearly, I do. But why did I cry? Rationally, it makes no sense. 

The trite answer is that Mr. Jim is kind and kindness matters. But it’s more than that. I study and coach people’s impact on others for a living so my emotional reaction made me curious. Plus, I’ve known countless kind people who have moved on to different things and I didn’t cry about it. 

There seems to be a select few people who have a unique and special impact. They touch the heart – usually in simple and unsuspecting ways. You know the people I’m talking about… the boss, colleague, friend, family member, neighbor. It can be...