In this episode, Heather speaks with longtime friend and human resources practitioner, D'Anthony Tillery, about leading with heart, evolving as a leader and what is takes to lead with compassion.

Key Takeaways:

• Leadership is about always learning
• Even though we want to empower and trust our people, we need to provide enough guidance that helps them make good decisions
• We don't have to be friends with our employees, but we must know what motivates them outside of work
• Leading can be from a place of compassion and understanding
• Leaders must rule from the heart

This is a juicy episode with a great story of leadership trials and success.

In this episode, Heather speaks with Robert Glazer, CEO of Accelerated Partners, an affiliate marketing firm. Robert shares his unique ideas around separating from employees, his leadership philosophy and ways to be clear about who you are.

Key takeaways:

• Leadership is not a summit, but it's a dance and the moves change
• In order to have integrity, we should be aligned in what we do, think about and say
• Fly your flag so that others know exactly who you are and choose to come towards you or not
• Make tough decisions fast
• If struggling in leadership, peel back the core to make sure it's aligned with where you want to go

Listen in on this informative and energizing talk as Robert shares some different wants to think about our purpose and about retaining superstars.

In this podcast episode, Heather speaks with John LaFemina, Director, Performance Management at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory about his leadership style, a time when he was not the best leader he could be and some great tips of being genuine and connecting with his team.

Key takeaways:

• Being a genuine leader gives permission for others to be the same
• Don't believe the myth of the perfect leader
• Embrace yourself and be ok with yourself
• Create more human work relationships
• Embrace failure
• Believe that you need other people to accomplish things.
• Apologize when you screw up
• Leaders cant accomplish anything without being authentic

John was a fantastic guest. As a seasoned leader, his thinks of himself as the mirror for this organization, helping them measure the success of projects and initiatives. Listen in to learn from him!

In this episode, Heather speaks with David Niu, Founder and CEO of TINYhr creator or TINYpulse and employee engagement technology platform. David shares an eye-opening story of a time when he was not the best leader he could be and what he does to stay in the best place he can be.

David talks about his leadership and entrepreneurial journey and why helping people learn and grow is his priority. Key takeaways:

• Everyone has their own version of the truth
• Transparent leadership builds trust
• Journaling is a great way to stay centered as a leader
• Sometimes it is necessary to slow down in order to speed up

This is a great podcast episode for entrepreneurs.

In this episode, Heather speaks with U.J. Jatar about his leadership style, the unique background that contributed to his leadership focus, challenges in leadership and a refreshed vision of human potential.

Key Takeaways:

• Our people have more potential than we give them credit for
• Human ingenuity is unlimited and leaders can unleash it
• We just need one person to believe in us
• Bring a vision forward that everyone believes in and accomplish more together
• Self care helps us be better leaders

This was a revealing episode and illustrates that even the most emotionally intelligent leaders fail to do everything right in the leadership space. It is a journey and may never be a destination.

In this podcast, Heather speaks with Mindy Flanigan, Chief Inspiration Officer at Inspiring HR. Mindy share her leadership philosophy, a story when she was challenge to be the shining leader she is today, tips for connecting with a fully remote team and an amazing pearl of wisdom.

Key takeaways:

• Leaders should create rallying cries that employees can grab onto
• Be purposeful and consistent with connectedness
• Leadership is often both nature and nurture
• It's perfectly acceptable to say that you "love" you employees

In this podcast episode, Heather speaks with Farouk Rajab about his leadership style, the secret to his leadership success, a time when he was not a shining leader and how he came out of it. You will love this one.

Key takeaways:

• Leaders must be good followers first
• Seek to learn first and teach others to do the same
• Give your team members a space to create and flourish
• Hire the best talent so they can do their best work
• Test your people before assuming their talents
• Make it ok not to be perfect
• Be tender and kind

This is a rich conversation that truly brings forth the Leadership with Heart foundation. Enjoy!

On this episode, Heather speaks with Mike Pritchard, CFO at the CU Foundation. Mike shares the things that drive him to lead, his desire to continually learn and where he might mess up along the way. Key takeaways: 1. Leaders must have a cadence of accountability for themselves and others 2. Leadership is about evolution. We never arrive at the place that's the end 3. Find a coach, whether formal or informal, who can help you become better 4. Don't do leadership alone; we are better together 5. We all need to have technical skill to do our job, but at a certain point, we must seek to develop emotional intelligence This is a great one that will give any leader looking for a boost a motivation just what they need. Enjoy!

In this podcast episode, Heather speaks with Mareo McCracken, about his leadership journey, the unexpected story that served as a catalyst for his current leadership mindset and shares a pearl of wisdom.

Key takeaways:

• New leaders often seek control when they are new to their role
• Real leaders help others see the vision, want to follow it and empower their people to do something about it
• Leadership is giving people courage to try something new
• Leaders need to be led as well
• Leaders must be more active in the lives of the people they lead
• Leaders need to be focused on others and not themselves.
• How well you lead is determined how good your conversations are with your people.
• Take time to get to know your people
• If you are thinking about yourself first, you are starting on the wrong foot

These are just some of the takeaways from this rich conversation. Listen in!

On this podcast episode, Heather welcomes Joe Kwon on the show to discuss his leadership style, a time when he was not the best version of himself and some of his key principles in life.

Key takeaways:

• While we can learn different body language or communication techniques, it is more important to connect with people deeply beforehand for those techniques to take hold
• Sometimes, in order to take the fight out of someone, don't fight back. Allow them to vent and be heard
• Often, once we allow people to voice concerns on one topic, their actual concerns reveal themselves.
• Ego can be good as a leader. The issue is whether the ego is focused just on "me" or on "we" as well
• Acknowledge your people in a sincere way without needing or wanting anything from them
• You can accomplish amazing things by changing yourself first.