Yet this skill is problematic for many leaders. That skill deficit can undermine organizational performance and team morale. Improving communication skills requires intentional practice, self-awareness, and a repertoire of techniques that leaders can refine over time.

Before all of this she had another career as a leader in the fire service in Norfolk, Virginia. Dr. Rawles is the author of two books and a slew of other publications. Her books, Uncovering and Healing Your Woundedness and Sisters in the Fire, are both bestsellers on Amazon. If you haven’t read them, you need to order them today.

Even the most thoughtful people make communication mistakes — at home, at work, in relationships, and in public life. I’m going to address the 15 most common communication mistakes, why they happen, and potential fixes.

She intentionally built a business that met the mental health needs of the underserved in rural Virginia. She then made midcourse transformations. She's gone from Stanford University graduate to trailblazing firefighter (no pun intended) to psychologist to author to professor to business owner. And she's still evolving...

Today I want to spend time talking about empathetic leadership. I’m talking about being compassionate and recognizing that we are all human beings doing our best to have a good life, to get through trials, and have more laughter than tears. I'm talking about the compassion that begins with self and extends to others.

Whether in the private sector, government, or nonprofit space, if you’re going to lead, you have to be strategic, emotionally intelligent, and capable of making sound decisions under pressure.

This podcast is for anyone who is ready to take the plunge into leadership. I’m going to talk about traits, strategies, challenges, and ways to sustain growth. It's also a good refresher for seasoned leaders.

I recognize that lots of leaders and lots of employees not in leadership roles, are anxious about AI. There are concerns around job loss, ethical issues, and just the general fear of the unknown. In this episode we will explore ways to use AI to our advantages and to put rails on it so that it actually serves us.

The last time Ben and I talked we covered football, concussions, him singing with Sandi Patti, his lessons from Tony Dungy, and the firm foundation his Dad laid for success in life. Today we're focusing on his experiences transforming organizations. He's the Chief Culture Officer at True North Private Equity and he's fully committed to sustaining a company culture that is affirming, person-centric, and results driven.

Dr. Jen Douglas is with us again today. She has a passion for mental health and wellness. She’s also witty, insightful, and a pleasure to talk with! Today we’re going to tackle the dangers of comparison. With all of this social media it looks like everyone has the perfect home, perfect vacation, perfect spouse, perfect life. How real can that possibly be? We're going to tackle that now!

These people have referent power. That means people willingly follow them because they admire them and respect them, not because they have to follow them. That's what we're going to explore...

He was an Indianapolis Colt. who was with the team when they won the Super Bowl. He had a deep desire to sing and enjoyed a short career as a singer.

But neither of those endeavors were his endgame. He has a deep interest in organizational change through the power of belief. That’s how this book came to be. He will share insights drawn from multiple areas of his life.

Frustrated by the limited knowledge surrounding brain conditions and the lack of effective treatments for brain injuries and diseases, Matt launched the Picard Research Fund and established the Heads Together Gala. In 2024, Matt formally joined the board of the American Brain Foundation with hopes of driving strategic initiatives and expanding his efforts to advance brain health research.

She is a specialist in multiple sclerosis and neuroimmunology at Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health (CCLRCBH). She is also an Associate Professor of Neurology at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University (CWRU).

Frustrated by the limited knowledge surrounding brain conditions and the lack of effective treatments, Matt launched the Picard Research Fund and established the Heads Together Gala, an annual fundraiser in New York City that supports research into brain health and neurological diseases.

Matt's journey with brain health began during his high school years at Choate Rosemary Hall, where he suffered two serious hits in lacrosse and football that marked the start of a challenging path to recovery and the development of prolonged post-concussive syndrome. He shares his first-hand experience in an often confusing, sometimes frustrating journey to get the right treatment for his brain health.

It’s that deep expertise that he has been sharing in our conversations about the evolving world of work. Today we'll talk about building internal talent pipelines, turnover, and the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Brian has unique insights on the trends that are gamechangers for the world of work. Today we'll talk about geographic shifts in the workforce, AI...it's pros and cons, and the concept of "upskilling" for leaders.

Know that I am sending Joy and wishing Blessing upon Blessing upon Blessing to each of you. Thank you for another glorious year of podcasts.

What does looking ahead entail? That's what we're going to explore in this episode.

When we think of affirmations we often think of the things we say to ourselves. The positive self-talk. The statement on the post-it on the mirror that we repeat regularly.

What we don’t realize is that we can affirm other people. We can affirm them in our heads, in our hearts, and with our words. And that's where we're headed in this episode...

That question made me think about what kind of vision I have for my life. I know I’m not living in darkness or denial. But I think it’s probably time for me to think about my vision for Joanne. In this short podcast I want to get you thinking about some of the questions I've been asking myself. They may be useful as you delve deeper into your vision for your life.

In this conversation Dr. Cudkowicz provides strategies for maintaining brain health. She also introduces ways to support research and researchers. She demystifies clinical trials and shares ways that just about anyone can partner in finding treatments and cures for brain diseases.

That’s Jeff Armstrong. He has been a tireless advocate for underserved communities throughout most of his career. He has a passion for homelessness. In his current role as Executive Director of Family Promise of the Midlands he's leading a team that is positively impacting the lives of families in their region. Listen and learn...

This podcast focuses on application. My first question is this: Which leadership styles, practices and principles are you applying? What are you being intentional about? Understanding what you're doing, why you're doing it, and how you're doing it are all essential in creating the kind of application that can be transformative.

Dr. Cudkowicz is my featured guest as we continue our exploration of Brain Matters.

This podcast is all about boundaries. My starting question is this: when is enough, enough? When do you know you’ve been pushed, pulled, guilted, or prodded too far?

1. We can be our best selves when we honor the humanity in everyone.

2. All of our futures are tied together so we are well-served to find common bonds.

3. We gain ground on the journey to civility when we seek to understand, listen with open hearts, and reflect on the good in each person.

The Association for Psychological Science reports on two studies that measure the impact of giving. Guess what they found? The happiness we experience after an event or activity diminishes each time we experience it. Except the happiness associated with giving! Yep! The happiness we feel when we give to others, no matter how often, simply does not decline. We maintain that feel-good feeling. And that's what we're going to focus on...

Here’s another thought-starter. This one is all about courage, internal opposition and the nuances of DEI. I'll read you the case and then I’ll review questions for consideration at the end.

Frankly, I don’t like the language “imposter syndrome.” It focuses on deficits and doesn’t address the real issue. And that issue is a lack of confidence. In this podcast we’re going to change the language and imagery that we use. We’re going to extricate imposter syndrome from our vocabulary and, most importantly, from our mindset. We’re going to talk about how we build confidence.

Mark has come full circle. He's going to share his insights on writing multiple chapters and returning to your roots.

While he’s familiar with nonprofits, he spent many years in academia. He was the Vice President of Community Engagement, Innovation & Communications at Saint Leo University. He served as a business professor and the executive director of the Hub for Innovation and Community Engaged Learning at Cardinal Stritch University. And now he's move across the country to take on a completely different role leading a large nonprofit. In the next three episodes we will hear his story.

Last week she gave an overview of her approach to the coaching process and shared insights on how people can ready themselves for coaching. This week we are going to explore her emphasis on thought creation. She is going to talk about how thoughts are stored but they can be recreated.

Dr. Campora is a certified life coach. She loves working with men and women who are highly committed to improving themselves on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels and becoming the most loving version of themselves. She helps people develop the ability to serve powerfully, love unconditionally and make a difference for good wherever they are.

In reality, there is a tremendous amount of compassion and kindness demonstrated by leaders everywhere. If you’re slipping into cynicism or apathy, pay close attention to this short podcast. I’m going to give 5 strategies to grow in compassionate leadership.

Dot and I talked about it she said some important things. She said that when we’ve had the opportunity to grow and flourish, we should treasure the growth and protect it. She said that if we make the decision to return to the environment that thwarted growth it’s very likely that we’ll be cut down. This podcast explores ways to address toxic people, situations, and environments.

Recognizing that we’re all going to have some stress or another. I want to give a few tips for living joyfully with the realities of stress.

It doesn’t pay to keep our head or our hearts in the past. That just creates a cycle of negative emotions that keep us from leveraging our learnings. As hard as it can be, we can’t keep our heads in the past because that robs us of the wondrous future that lies ahead.

Once you’ve done the work to identify your core values, you’ll have the basic data that you need to create the blend that will have the most meaning for you. Your blend shouldn’t be based on what other people do, say or think. This is your one and only life. You are duty-bound to treasure it and to honor yourself and your values.

At first that sounded really good and I was nodding in agreement. And I kept repeating it to myself. I was pumping myself up with a new mantra. But then, a few days later I started thinking about it. I mean really thinking about it. Let’s take it apart together…

I’m going to briefly review 12 practices that I think are critical. I think that they’re best practices. This is not to say that I’m giving you an exhaustive list of best practices. I want to provide you with a few things to think about as you’re working on your DEI efforts.

We can strengthen collaborative efforts by identifying the obstacles. Once obstacles are identified, the work can start to remove them. Organizations that are unwilling to address their unique obstacles cannot move forward.

I’m going to share some of the competencies that I think are important for anyone who is leading collaborative efforts. These competencies are especially important if you’re leading change. In the next podcast I’ll talk about obstacles.

Or, you’re in a position to add new leaders to your team. You look around and see a few talented people. You know that they don’t have leadership skills but you need to fill the slot and want to fill it internally. So, you promote them and cross your fingers. You think they can learn to lead while they’re doing it.

In both cases we’re faced with the Promoted Not Prepared Syndrome. In both cases we have a person in a role that they may or may not be suited for. In both cases we’re facing a leadership skill deficit that can be detrimental to the team and the larger organization.

Remember this, you have agency, or power, to live fully at each and every stage of your journey. What that looks like is entirely up to you. All of your experience to date has prepared for living more, living insightfully and living large. Because you’re not dead yet! Our ideas about aging and adulthood are socially created. That means you can recreate those images for yourself.

Let’s think about how to find the potential in the problem. Of course, that requires a reframe. It requires that we be willing to look deeply at the problem and to look at it from different angles.

That’s the best mantra for self-advocacy! And a strong mantra for building your brand.

Marley is telling us to stand up for ourselves, to stand up and be counted. So, what gets in the way of doing that? Sometimes we’re afraid. Sometimes we’ve been acculturated to acquiesce. Sometimes we just don’t want to exert the energy.

I want to introduce to some and review for others the four components of Transformational Leadership.

He’s the reason for this podcast... “look good, feel good, play good.”

Getting connected is an important element of learning to lead more effectively. It’s how you get information, resources and, of course, access to other people. Remember that making connections, expanding your network, starts with you. Don’t wait for other people to open doors…start turning handles yourself.

Let’s spend a little time reviewing potential styles and approaches to networking.

In this short podcast we’re going to talk about the foundations of commitment. Once you get that and can get beyond the surface ideas, you’ll be better able to address commitment and engagement in your organization.

Those five critical responsibilities still have utility. They’re grounded in adaptive leadership. I'll review them, provide my editorial comments and offer six more responsibilities that are must-do’s for leadership now. My thought is that if you put their five together with my six you’ll have a sound foundation for leading with maximum impact, positive impact

But people are typically looking for more than that as a response. They’re looking for ways to measure their own Emotional Intelligence. My goal in this podcast is to review definitions of Daniel Goleman’s five original components of Emotional Intelligence and then to give you the hallmarks or indicators to reflect on. As you reflect, you’ll be able to think about results that you’re getting in your life and in your leadership.

My question for you is this: Do you most often listen as an Ally or as an Adversary?

Appreciative Inquiry gives us a totally different way of dealing with our issues, dilemmas and situations. It offers what’s called a constructionist-based approach to change. And I’m talking about change in our homes, our families, our jobs…change in every sphere of our lives.

It’s an approach, that once we learn it, we can use it to redirect our energy. This podcast focuses on using Appreciative Inquiry at the individual level, a way to create positive change in our lives.

Develop a plan with methods for on-going evaluation and measurement. The planning process itself should be collaborative, concise, actionable and outcome oriented. Ultimately, the outcomes should strengthen the strategic position of the organization. This podcast is all about using a dynamic, positive approach to designing, implementing and evaluating strategy.

I was sure that he’d bumped his head! While I am a woman of faith, I am not a scripture quoter. In Bible study it always takes me twice as long as everyone else to find the books and chapters. I’m admittedly remedial in that and so many other religious arenas. So, you can see why I was surprised that Rev. Hammett would want me to address the women of his congregation.

Fast forward to this podcast…

I thought that the points I raised in my Women’s Day speech were valuable, really valuable to anyone. My concern was about whether I wanted to share my faith, really and completely share it, in my business life. I thought, oh dear what if I lose subscribers? I asked myself if I really wanted overlap between my deeply held personal beliefs as a Christian and my work world.

Then it dawned on me, I already have overlap, as well I should! My faith is who I am. It guides all of my values which guide my actions. It guides how I engage with clients and how I engage with the larger world. If I don’t have overlap then I’m in real trouble!

Years ago I was introduced to something called LUTIE. I can’t tell you who created it, but it wasn’t me. I love LUTIE because it’s easy to remember. It’s also a practical framework for focusing on our never-ending development. It’s a way to handle our personal continuous quality improvement.

Lots of innovators just need a framework for moving forward. That’s what I’m here for…to give you a way to plan. I’m going to introduce a plan with eight elements. Eight elements that can help you move from thought to deed, from idea to action.

First things first, do you remember Snow White? Don’t confuse her with Cinderella and her lost shoe, or Little Red Riding Hood with the wolf chasing her or that Rapunzel chick with the long hair… Snow is the chick all single girls admire. She had seven men following her around.

You may not believe this, but I actually got a letter from Snow White. Delivered registered mail early one Wednesday morning. I had to sign for it and everything!

I’m going to share that private correspondence with you now.

This podcast provides several statements for you to consider about your own ability to be an innovator, your team’s ability to innovate, and the same for your organization. Think of it as a thought-starter for moving the needle on creativity and innovation in your life, on your team and in your organization.

Full disclosure, this episode came about because I’ve been thinking a lot about my career trajectory, even my life trajectory. I’ve been thinking about how in the world I got to the point of podcasting, offering virtual leadership learning, responding to my call to serve in my community, and just living a fulfilling life. Expect some wandering thoughts and reflections...

Like the process, your plan is very unique to your organization. That means that I’m not giving you a boilerplate structure for a plan. I’m not giving you a cookie cutter because they don’t work. I will give you elements of a sound plan.

This is a two-part series. We’re going to begin by briefly reviewing some of the terminology that’s foundational in strategic planning. Some of the definitions seem obvious but I still think that they’re worth stating. We will be able to start with a shared understanding.

Whether we’re leaders or not, we’re all tasked with keeping ourselves and others connected. It’s both a survival and a self-care mechanism. Distancing that leads to isolation is so unhealthy, so painful and so dangerous to our long-term psychological well-being.

The seven Rules of Engagement we’re focusing on in this podcast link your team’s work to the larger organization’s strategic intent. Each of the rules require you, as the leader, to be willing to take a few risks and maybe step out of your comfort zone. Trust me, it’ll be worth it!