What happens when you've already built a company used by more than 100 million people, and suddenly the world changes again?

In this episode, Alisa Cohn sits down with Andrey Khusid, Founder and CEO of Miro, to explore one of the biggest leadership challenges founders face: reinventing a successful company while it's still growing.

As AI transforms the way teams work, Andrey shares how Miro evolved from a digital whiteboard into a collaborative platform where humans and AI agents create together. He explains why founders must embrace "day one thinking," how to build startup energy inside a 1,600-person organization, and why many leaders struggle when shifting between founder mode and CEO mode.

The conversation dives deep into innovation, company culture, organizational transformation, leadership chemistry, experimentation, and what it really takes to stay relevant when technology changes faster than ever.

If you're a founder, CEO, executive, or entrepreneur navigating growth, change, or AI disruption, this episode offers a masterclass in adapting without losing your mission.

You’ll learn:

• Why Andrey believes every company is now searching for product-market fit again
• How AI is changing the future of collaboration and teamwork
• What "day one thinking" means and why founders need it
• The difference between experimentation in scaling versus reinvention
• Why conviction matters more than consensus in zero-to-one innovation
• How founders can communicate vision when they can't fully articulate it yet
• The biggest mistake leaders make when trying to innovate inside large organizations
• Why founder mode and CEO mode are both essential leadership skills
• How AI is reshaping management, teams, and organizational design
• The surprising reason culture becomes weaker as companies scale
• Why entrepreneurial talent is becoming more valuable than specialized expertise
• How to create startup energy inside an established business
• The role of trust, feedback, and productive conflict in high-performing teams
• Why leadership chemistry matters more than most executives realize
• The mindset shift required to survive rapid technological disruption

We talk about:

00:00 How Miro evolved from a digital whiteboard to an AI-powered collaboration platform

04:00 Day One Thinking, AI disruption, and why every company must reinvent itself

06:00 Leading with conviction when the vision isn't fully formed yet

10:00 Finding product-market fit again inside a 1,600-person company

13:00 Founder Mode vs. CEO Mode and the leadership skills required for both

16:00 Learning faster, staying entrepreneurial, and adapting in the AI era

19:00 Culture Growth Trips, founder fit, and building a mission-driven company

24:00 Rebuilding startup energy, ownership, and accountability at scale

26:00 AI, organizational design, and the future of management

29:00 Leadership coaching, team chemistry, and creating a culture of trust

35:00 Why productive conflict beats politeness and how great teams challenge each other

42:00 The hardest lesson about company transformation and Andrey's advice for founders

Follow Andrey on

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khusid/
• Website: https://miro.com/ 

Connect with Alisa!

Follow Alisa Cohn on 

• Instagram: @alisacohn
• Twitter: @alisacohn
• Facebook: facebook.com/alisa.cohn
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisacohn/
• Website: http://www.alisacohn.com

Download her 5 scripts for delicate conversations (and 1 to make your life better) 

Grab a copy of From Start-Up to Grown-Up by Alisa Cohn from Amazon

What if the biggest threat to your company is not competition, but the systems everyone told you to trust?

In this episode, Alisa Cohn sits down with Eric Ries, creator of the Lean Startup methodology and bestselling author of The Lean Startup, The Startup Way, and Incorruptible, for a conversation about leadership, corporate governance, innovation, and why so many modern companies lose their way as they grow.

Eric unpacks the dangerous side of “best practices,” why shareholder primacy often destroys long-term value, and how financial pressure quietly reshapes company culture from the inside out. He also shares the untold story behind Costco’s governance model, why Anthropic’s structure matters in the AI race, and what founders misunderstand about speed, alignment, and leadership integrity.

You’ll learn:

• Why many “best practices” are actually value destroying
• What Eric Ries means by “financial gravity”
• How companies lose their mission after founders lose control
• Why Costco became one of the strongest governance models in business
• The hidden danger of shareholder primacy
• Why trustworthiness may be the most underrated asset in business
• How Lean Startup was misunderstood by most founders
• The real purpose behind MVPs and rapid experimentation
• Why principles create faster companies, not slower ones
• How aligned teams move faster with less management overhead
• What Anthropic is doing differently with AI governance
• Why constraints often create breakthrough innovation
• The leadership lesson Eric learned from nearly compromising his own principles
• How founders can build companies their grandchildren will be proud of

We talk about:

00:00 Why Eric Ries says builders are “under siege”
02:00 The hidden problem with modern business “best practices”
05:00 Why shareholder primacy destroys long-term companies
08:00 The untold Costco and Sol Price story
12:00 How Costco built a governance fortress
16:00 Understanding “financial gravity” inside organizations
19:00 Why Costco shareholders defended leadership decisions
22:00 The problem with management entrenchment
24:00 Why corporations should function more like balanced systems
26:00 Anthropic’s governance structure and AI leadership
30:00 Why checks and balances do not kill innovation
32:00 The real philosophy behind Lean Startup
35:00 Why principles create speed inside organizations
38:00 The overlooked role of trust and alignment
40:00 Why great leaders intentionally make things harder
42:00 The danger of compromising on core values
44:00 Eric’s hardest leadership decision
46:00 What founders misunderstand about success and power
47:00 How to build companies designed to last generations

Follow Eric on

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eries/
• Website: https://theleanstartup.com/ 

Connect with Alisa!

Follow Alisa Cohn on 

• Instagram: @alisacohn
• Twitter: @alisacohn
• Facebook: facebook.com/alisa.cohn
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisacohn/
• Website: http://www.alisacohn.com

Download her 5 scripts for delicate conversations (and 1 to make your life better) 

Grab a copy of From Start-Up to Grown-Up by Alisa Cohn from Amazon

What if you have been hiring wrong this entire time?

In this episode, Josh Reeves, Co-Founder and CEO of Gusto, a $10B people platform serving over 300,000 businesses, joins Alisa Cohn for one of the most practical and deeply human conversations about building teams that actually work.

This is not a generic leadership talk. This is a masterclass in how to hire people who genuinely care, how to scale a values-driven culture without losing it, and how to lead through the kind of uncertainty that breaks most founders.

Josh shares the three-part alignment framework Gusto uses at every level of hiring, why the skills conversation gets too much attention, how he fires himself from jobs as fast as possible, and what the Platinum Rule taught him about giving feedback that actually lands.

You’ll learn:

• Why values and motivation alignment matter more than skills in the startup hiring process
• How to scale a hiring process so culture stays intact past 50, 150, and 2,500 employees
• What the Platinum Rule is and why it will transform how you give feedback
• The difference between a builder and a manager (and why it matters enormously in a startup)
• How to recognize when a leader is in over their head before it costs you too much
• Why great talent sometimes fails at the wrong stage company
• What Josh learned from a previous startup that shaped everything about how Gusto was built
• The one question to ask yourself before committing to any startup idea

We talk about:

• 00:00 Introduction to Josh Reeves and Gusto
• 02:00 The founding story and what problem Gusto was built to solve
• 08:00 The three-part hiring alignment framework: values, motivation, and skill
• 17:00 How Gusto scaled their hiring culture to 2,500 employees
• 19:00 How the CEO role evolved across 12 years
• 24:00 Symptoms of a leader who is outpacing their role vs. one who came from too large a company
• 29:00 The difference between builders and managers in a startup
• 33:00 Situational leadership and why directive leadership is not the opposite of empowerment
• 37:00 The Platinum Rule and how it changed the way Josh gives feedback
• 48:00 Highs, lows, and leading through uncertainty as a founder
• 59:00 The lesson from his previous startup that shaped everything about Gusto
• 01:03:00 Final advice for founders: imagine describing your company for the 10,000th time

Follow Josh on

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuareeves/
• Website: https://gusto.com/ 

Connect with Alisa!

Follow Alisa Cohn on 

• Instagram: @alisacohn
• Twitter: @alisacohn
• Facebook: facebook.com/alisa.cohn
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisacohn/
• Website: http://www.alisacohn.com

Download her 5 scripts for delicate conversations (and 1 to make your life better) 

Grab a copy of From Start-Up to Grown-Up by Alisa Cohn from Amazon

What happens after you “make it”… and realize money was never the point?

In this episode, Jyoti Bansal, Founder & CEO of Harness and founder of AppDynamics (sold for $3.7B), sits down with Alisa Cohn for a conversation that cuts deeper than typical startup playbooks.

This is not just about building companies. It’s about what happens when the finish line disappears… and you have to decide who you are without it.

Jyoti shares the unexpected identity crisis that hit after his exit, why he chose to build again anyway, and what most founders misunderstand about success, sales, and staying relevant in a world that’s changing faster than your roadmap can keep up.

From the brutal reality of startup milestones to the urgency of the AI transformation, this episode is a masterclass in how to think, move, and lead when the stakes are real.

You’ll learn:

• Why a worse product can still beat you (and how to prevent it)
• The hidden identity crisis founders face after a big exit
• How to think of entrepreneurship as a craft, not a one-time event
• Why startup growth is about milestones, not perfection
• The real reason most companies fall behind during major tech shifts
• How to operate in “founder mode” when speed is everything
• The difference between product differentiation and go-to-market dominance
• How to build a scalable sales machine (not just hire “charismatic closers”)
• The hiring framework Jyoti uses to spot elite sales talent
• How to align a company fast during high-pressure transformation
• The “startup within a startup” model that creates ownership at scale
• Why transparency in numbers builds accountability across the entire org

We talk about:

• 00:00 The uncomfortable truth after a billion-dollar exit
• 02:00 Why Jyoti came back to build again
• 05:00 The founder identity crisis no one prepares you for
• 08:00 Entrepreneurship as a craft, not a single shot
• 11:00 The milestone framework for building successful companies
• 15:00 The AI transformation and why most companies will lose
• 18:00 Founder mode, speed, and making decisions in real time
• 22:00 Aligning teams when everything is changing fast
• 26:00 Why revenue is the only truth in business
• 29:00 Sales as a competitive advantage 
• 32:00 The myth of “relationship-based” selling
• 35:00 Building a scalable, structured go-to-market machine
• 38:00 How to hire great sales leaders (and avoid getting sold in the interview)
• 41:00 The onboarding mistake most founders make
• 44:00 Transparency, numbers, and company-wide accountability
• 47:00 The “startup within a startup” model explained
• 52:00 Ownership, incentives, and building multiple winning products

Follow Jyoti on

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jyotibansal
• Website:  ​https://www.harness.io/

Connect with Alisa!

Follow Alisa Cohn on 

• Instagram: @alisacohn
• Twitter: @alisacohn
• Facebook: facebook.com/alisa.cohn
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisacohn/
• Website: http://www.alisacohn.com

Download her 5 scripts for delicate conversations (and 1 to make your life better) 

Grab a copy of From Start-Up to Grown-Up by Alisa Cohn from Amazon

What if the thing you’ve been told to build… isn’t the thing that actually creates results?

In this encore episode, Gina Bianchini joins Alisa Cohn to break down why community, not content, not audience size, not algorithms, is the real driver of transformation, retention, and long-term business growth.

This conversation goes far beyond theory. It’s a masterclass in how communities actually work, why most founders get it wrong, and what it really takes to build something people don’t just follow… but belong to.

Gina shares the exact frameworks behind thriving communities, the psychology of engagement, and the structure that turns passive consumers into active participants.

This is also a raw look at entrepreneurship behind the scenes, from navigating dark moments and doubt, to leading with mission instead of ego, to building something that feels inevitable before it’s proven.

If you’re building a brand, a business, or a movement, this episode will change how you think about growth.

You’ll learn:

• Why community is the most powerful driver of transformation and results
• The difference between an audience and a true community (and why it matters)
• The simple framework behind high-engagement communities that actually last
• How to structure your community for consistency, growth, and retention
• Why giving advice kills engagement and what to do instead
• The role of purpose in attracting and sustaining members
• How founders can navigate doubt, feedback, and uncertainty
• Why entrepreneurship is irrational, and how to stay grounded anyway
• The real skill CEOs need to master, and it’s not what you think
• How to manage energy, not just time, to lead effectively

We talk about:

• 00:00 Why community is the foundation of transformation
• 02:30 The founding vision behind Mighty Networks
• 05:00 Growing up in community and why it shaped everything
• 12:30 Founder mental health and why it’s not for everyone
• 14:00 Using mission to move through doubt and dark moments
• 16:00 When investors don’t believe in your vision
• 18:30 How to process feedback without losing your direction
• 22:30 The core elements of building a powerful community
• 29:30 The biggest mistake that kills community engagement
• 31:00 Simple rituals that create deeper connection
• 33:00 Why energy management matters more than time management
• 36:00 The hidden cost of poor leadership energy
• 38:00 Morning routines and protecting creative thinking time
• 44:00 Agreements vs policies inside a company
• 47:00 Building a human system, not a mechanical one
• 50:00 What great leadership actually looks like in practice
• 58:00 Advice for founders building something meaningful

Follow Gina on

• https://www.instagram.com/gbianchini/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginabianchini/
• https://www.mightynetworks.com/

Connect with Alisa!

Follow Alisa Cohn on 

• Instagram: @alisacohn
• Twitter: @alisacohn
• Facebook: facebook.com/alisa.cohn
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisacohn/
• Website: http://www.alisacohn.com

Download her 5 scripts for delicate conversations (and 1 to make your life better) 

Grab a copy of From Start-Up to Grown-Up by Alisa Cohn from Amazon

What does it actually take to lead when the stakes are real, the decisions are heavy, and people are counting on you?

In this episode of From Start-Up to Grown-Up, Alisa Cohn sits down with Tanay Kothari, Co-Founder and CEO of Wispr Flow, one of the most talked-about AI companies right now, to explore what it means to build, lead, and grow at a level most founders never reach.

Tanay may be a young founder, but the way he thinks about leadership, people, and decision-making is anything but early-stage. This conversation goes deep into the realities of building a company, not just the strategy, but the responsibility, the trade-offs, and the emotional weight that comes with it.

They unpack what founders often get wrong about vision versus execution, why the hardest decisions are usually the right ones, and how to lead teams through uncertainty without losing trust.

Tanay also shares his approach to managing people more experienced than him, why understanding how each individual wants to be led changes everything, and how aligning on beliefs, not just decisions, can transform how teams operate.

This is a conversation about leadership under pressure, building with intention, and becoming the kind of founder your company actually needs.

You’ll learn:

• What founders get wrong about vision vs. execution, and how to separate the two
• How to navigate difficult decisions, including layoffs, without losing your integrity
• How to lead and influence people who are more experienced than you
• The power of aligning on beliefs instead of debating decisions
• How to build faster, more effective teams through shared frameworks
• What it really means to take responsibility as a founder
• The trade-offs required to build a company, and how to choose them consciously
• How emotional maturity becomes a leadership advantage
• Why great leaders focus on how they show up, not just what they build

We talk about:

• 00:00 Building from a young age and what drives Tanay
• 03:00 Early product thinking and what makes great products work
• 06:00 The difference between vision and execution in startups
• 09:00 Making hard decisions and leading through uncertainty
• 12:00 The emotional reality of layoffs and responsibility as a founder
• 16:00 The weight of leadership and the trade-offs of building a company
• 23:00 Managing and leading people more experienced than you
• 26:00 Why personalization matters in leadership (“love languages” for teams)
• 29:00 Aligning on beliefs vs relying on authority
• 35:00 Building decision-making frameworks that scale with your team
• 41:00 How small systems unlock massive team productivity
• 46:00 Why entry-level roles are disappearing and what replaces them
• 49:00 Advice for young professionals in an AI-first world
• 55:00 Creating fast feedback loops to build better products
• 58:00 Why most companies build too many products too soon
• 01:01:00 Imposter syndrome and the hidden pressure of leadership
• 01:04:30 Final lessons on leadership, people, and building something that lasts

Follow Tanay on

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tankots/
• Website: https://wisprflow.ai/

Connect with Alisa!

Follow Alisa Cohn on 

• Instagram: @alisacohn
• Twitter: @alisacohn
• Facebook: facebook.com/alisa.cohn
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisacohn/
• Website: http://www.alisacohn.com

Download her 5 scripts for delicate conversations (and 1 to make your life better) 

Grab a copy of From Start-Up to Grown-Up by Alisa Cohn from Amazon

What does it actually mean to care about someone at work?

In this encore episode, Alisa Cohn sits down with Kim Scott, former Apple and Google executive and bestselling author of Radical Candor and Radical Respect, to explore the real cost of silence, bias, and avoidance inside teams.

This episode is not theoretical. It is deeply practical. From how to solicit feedback effectively, to how to “disrupt bias without disrupting the meeting,” to how to move through shame and defensiveness, Kim offers a roadmap for leaders who want high standards without losing humanity.

If you care about building strong teams, giving better feedback, or creating a culture where people can actually do their best work, this conversation will challenge you in the best way.

You’ll learn:

• Why Radical Candor works and how leaders often misapply it
• The hidden damage caused by ruinous empathy
• Why silence at work is more costly than discomfort
• How to solicit feedback without triggering defensiveness
• The difference between bias, prejudice, and bullying
• How to “disrupt bias without disrupting the meeting”
• How leaders can build psychological safety through vulnerability
• Why upstanders matter and how to be one

We talk about:

• 00:00 The painful story behind Radical Candor and why silence cost more than honesty
• 03:00 The Radical Candor framework explained: care personally + challenge directly
• 08:00 Ruinous empathy and the real consequences of avoiding feedback
• 12:00 Why soliciting feedback is the first leadership move
• 18:00 How to ask for feedback without getting fake reassurance
• 24:00 From Radical Candor to Radical Respect: what prompted the new book
• 28:00 The two definitions of respect and why they matter
• 31:00 Bias, prejudice, and bullying, simple definitions leaders can use
• 35:00 How to disrupt bias without disrupting the meeting
• 44:00 Managing shame and defensiveness when your bias is flagged
• 51:00 The cost of silence and the power of being an upstander
• 57:00 Why discomfort is the price of real collaboration

Follow Kim on

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/radicalcandorofficial
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimm4/
• Medium: https://kimmalonescott.medium.com/ 
• Website: https://kimmalonescott.com/ 

Connect with Alisa!

Follow Alisa Cohn on 

• Instagram: @alisacohn
• Twitter: @alisacohn
• Facebook: facebook.com/alisa.cohn
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisacohn/
• Website: http://www.alisacohn.com

Download her 5 scripts for delicate conversations (and 1 to make your life better) 

Grab a copy of From Start-Up to Grown-Up by Alisa Cohn from Amazon

What does it really take to evolve from first-time founder to public company CEO without losing conviction, culture, or clarity?

In this episode of From Start-Up to Grown-Up, Alisa Cohn sits down with Matt Oppenheimer, Co-Founder and CEO of Remitly, the global financial services company serving customers in more than 170 countries.

Matt shares the leadership evolution behind building Remitly from an early-stage startup into a publicly traded company. From spotting the broken experience of international money transfers while living in Kenya, to navigating executive transitions, IPO readiness, board dynamics, and imposter syndrome, Matt reflects on the real work of founder to CEO leadership growth.

This conversation explores how conviction differs from stubbornness, why great founders fall in love with the problem rather than the solution, and how culture must evolve alongside strategy. If you are building, scaling, or leading a growth-stage company, this episode offers a practical and deeply human roadmap.

You’ll learn:

• Why founders must apply grit to the problem, not the solution
• How to balance curiosity with decisiveness as a leader
• The difference between startup execution and public company leadership
• How to design culture intentionally and evolve it over time
• Why executive transitions are about stage-fit, not loyalty
• What IPO readiness really requires behind the scenes
• How to manage imposter syndrome and board pressure
• Why psychological safety with investors matters
• How “towering strengths” create leadership shadows
• What it means to grow into the CEO your company needs

We talk about:

• 00:00 The origin of Remitly and identifying a global problem
• 03:00 Grit, flexibility, and falling in love with the problem
• 06:00 Growth mindset, curiosity, and listening to feedback
• 10:00 Global perspective and customer centricity
• 14:00 Designing culture from day one
• 18:00 Evolving values as strategy evolves
• 23:00 Hiring executives for stage, not sentiment
• 28:00 Managing leadership transitions thoughtfully
• 33:00 Founder development plans and 360 reviews
• 36:00 Moving from “doing” to leading at scale
• 42:00 IPO preparation and avoiding IPO as the sole goal
• 46:00 Becoming a public company CEO
• 49:00 Imposter syndrome and board dynamics
• 53:00 Advice for founders scaling their leadership

Follow Matt on

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattoppenheimer/
• Website: https://www.remitly.com/

Connect with Alisa!

Follow Alisa Cohn on 

• Instagram: @alisacohn
• Twitter: @alisacohn
• Facebook: facebook.com/alisa.cohn
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisacohn/
• Website: http://www.alisacohn.com

Download her 5 scripts for delicate conversations (and 1 to make your life better) 

Grab a copy of From Start-Up to Grown-Up by Alisa Cohn from Amazon

What actually drives long-term growth, in business, leadership, and life?

In this replay episode, Alisa Cohn sits down with Sal Di Stefano, co-founder of Mind Pump Media, to explore what it really takes to build something that lasts. From turning a podcast into a multi-revenue media company to navigating cofounder relationships, conflict, and personal growth, Sal shares hard-earned lessons from nearly a decade of building Mind Pump without venture capital or shortcuts.

This conversation goes beyond tactics. Sal breaks down why authenticity creates trust at scale, how to know you’ve chosen the right cofounders, and why being “right” is far less important than staying aligned. He also shares how prioritizing physical health and personal boundaries made him a stronger leader, not a weaker one.

If you’re a founder, creator, or leader who wants sustainable growth without burnout, this episode offers a grounded, honest look at what actually works.

You’ll learn:

• Why authenticity is a growth strategy, not a branding tactic
• How to recognize cofounder alignment before problems surface
• Why being right can hurt teams and trust
• How physical health supports better leadership decisions
• What Mind Pump did differently to build loyalty and longevity

We talk about:

• 00:00 Leadership responsibility, health, and personal accountability
• 01:00 Introducing Sal Di Stefano and Mind Pump Media
• 03:00 Why long-form podcasting enabled real connection and trust
• 05:10 Turning Mind Pump into a multi-revenue media business
• 09:10 Building trust before monetizing and letting the audience lead
• 13:45 Early revenue growth and turning down misaligned sponsors
• 18:30 Finding the right cofounders and values alignment
• 22:15 Conflict, disagreement, and committing as a team
• 30:45 Navigating growth, the pandemic, and unexpected momentum
• 36:10 Authenticity, vulnerability, and being recognized in public
• 40:20 Boundaries, family, and redefining success as a leader
• 45:00 Focus, leverage, and choosing what actually moves growth
• 49:20 Serving existing customers before chasing new ones
• 53:40 Why great leaders and coaches must be great communicators
• 57:40 Final reflections on leadership, health, and the long game

Follow Sal on

• X: https://x.com/mindpumpsal
• Podcast: https://mindpumppodcast.com/ 
• Website: www.mindpumpmedia.com

Connect with Alisa!

Follow Alisa Cohn on 

• Instagram: @alisacohn
• Twitter: @alisacohn
• Facebook: facebook.com/alisa.cohn
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisacohn/
• Website: http://www.alisacohn.com

Download her 5 scripts for delicate conversations (and 1 to make your life better) 

Grab a copy of From Start-Up to Grown-Up by Alisa Cohn from Amazon

What does it actually mean to lead with authority and empathy, without burning out, people-pleasing, or losing yourself in the process?

In this episode, Alisa Cohn sits down with clinical psychologist, parenting expert, and bestselling author Dr. Becky Kennedy to explore why the skills that make great parents also create the strongest leaders.

Dr. Becky introduces the concept of sturdy leadership, a grounded approach that rejects both authoritarian control and emotional over-accommodation. Instead, it teaches leaders how to hold boundaries, stay regulated during conflict, and repair relationships when things go sideways.

This conversation unpacks why leadership is not about managing everyone’s feelings, how guilt often disguises emotional over-responsibility, and why repair after rupture is more powerful than perfection. You’ll learn how to handle defensiveness, set boundaries without shame, navigate imposter syndrome, and build trust through consistency and self-leadership.

You’ll learn:

• What “sturdy leadership” really means and why authority without aggression builds trust
• Why setting boundaries often triggers guilt and how to tell guilt apart from emotional over-responsibility
• How repair strengthens relationships more than getting it right the first time
• How to handle defensiveness, emotional reactions, and resistance at work
• Why scripts and practice reps are essential leadership skills, not crutches
• How predictable conflict shows up at work and how to lead through it calmly
• Why imposter syndrome never fully disappears and how to lead anyway

We talk about:

• 00:00 Why parenting is leadership training and why leadership is human work
• 03:45 What sturdy leadership is and why extremes fail
• 06:20 The “sturdy pilot” metaphor and how leaders create safety in turbulence
• 10:30 Authority vs empathy, and why feelings should not dictate decisions
• 14:40 Boundaries, guilt, and emotional over-responsibility at work
• 18:50 Why empathy doesn’t mean absorbing other people’s emotions
• 22:30 Handling defensiveness and emotional reactions in professional settings
• 31:45 Predictable conflict, patterns, and solving the real issue
• 36:10 Repair after rupture and why it builds trust faster than perfection
• 42:30 How unrepaired moments erode connection and performance
• 45:20 Imposter syndrome, self-leadership, and staying in the driver’s seat
• 49:00 What Dr. Becky wishes she had known earlier about growth and leadership

Follow Dr. Becky on

• Instagram
• YouTube
• TikTok
• Facebook
• Website

Connect with Alisa!

Follow Alisa Cohn on 

• Instagram: @alisacohn
• Twitter: @alisacohn
• Facebook: facebook.com/alisa.cohn
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisacohn/
• Website: http://www.alisacohn.com

Download her 5 scripts for delicate conversations (and 1 to make your life better) 

Grab a copy of From Start-Up to Grown-Up by Alisa Cohn from Amazon