What if the secret to better relationships, stronger teams, and more confident kids was as simple as If you want a friend, be a friend?

In this Eye of Power conversation, Tom sits down with go-to-market strategist and leadership mentor Esther Angell to explore how curiosity over judgment changes everything—at home, at work, and in the way we build our careers.

Esther shares wisdom passed down from her Queens-born mother and her unforgettable Aunt Lynn (Live Like Lynn), who made everyone around her feel seen, valued, and loved. From coaching her kids to ask great questions, to helping anxious young people step out of their own heads, she shows how genuine interest in others becomes a superpower in a lonely, distracted world.

You’ll hear Esther’s unusual journey:

• Growing up in rural Oklahoma with global experiences and missionary travel
• Working in a faith-based nonprofit with people in deep poverty—and what scarcity really does to the brain
• Surviving the boom-and-bust cycles of upstream oil and gas and the camaraderie that shared suffering creates
• Becoming a leader in manufacturing and software, building psychologically safe teams, and learning not to manage everyone like yourself
• Developing high emotional intelligence (EQ)—staying grounded, processing emotion, and not taking things personally

Now, as a consultant, Esther helps organizations clarify their go-to-market strategy, align marketing, sales, product, and customer success, and actually use the tech stacks and tools they already pay for. She’s especially passionate about supporting new managers as they discover who they are as leaders, and about creating positive influence in the immediate sphere around you instead of chasing abstract status.

If you care about leadership, mentoring, curiosity, authenticity, or raising grounded kids in an anxious age, this episode will give you both inspiration and practical lenses you can use right away—on your team, in your family, and in the way you show up in the world.