Lead Through It with Kim and Jada

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What if leadership growth doesn’t start with being right, but with being a little less certain?

In this episode, Kim and Jada reflect on their recent conversation with Monty Robertson and dig deeper into the idea of perspective, ego, and self-leadership. They explore what it really means to lead people when you don’t have all the answers, how resilience is built through lived experience, and why letting go of control can sometimes be the strongest move a leader makes.

From quiet strength and humility to understanding that people are acting from contexts we can’t always see, this conversation challenges leaders to pause and ask a deceptively simple question: What if I’m 2% wrong? That small shift can open the door to better communication, stronger relationships, and more effective leadership both at work and at home.

If you lead people, work with people, or live alongside people, this episode is an invitation to soften your stance, expand your perspective, and lead through it with intention. 

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JadaWillis.com | KimAndrewsCoaching.com | Hard Conversations AI Toolkit

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In this episode of Lead Through IT, Jada and Kim sit down with Monty Robertson, Executive Director of the Alliance for Healthiest South Carolina, for an honest conversation about leadership, ego, and what it really takes to bring people together when the stakes are high.

Monty shares his unconventional leadership journey, from growing up in a small South Carolina town to leading statewide coalitions and navigating moments that demanded humility, adaptability, and resilience. Together, they explore why managing your ego isn’t about shrinking yourself, but about knowing when to step back, listen differently, and reframe the path forward so real progress can happen.

This episode dives into:

• Why lowering your ego can actually strengthen your leadership
• How reframing language and approach can unite people across divides
• The tension between having strong ideas and making space for others
• Leading through uncertainty, rapid change, and moments you’ve never been trained for
• How perspective, planning, and resilience carry leaders through their hardest seasons

Monty’s Lead Through It moment is a powerful reminder that leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about staying grounded, building trust, and continuing to move forward even when the path is unclear.

If you’re leading teams, organizations, or communities and finding yourself stuck between conviction and collaboration, this conversation will challenge and encourage you in all the right ways.

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If today’s conversation resonated, connect with us and be part of the community of leaders who refuse to lead alone. 

JadaWillis.com | KimAndrewsCoaching.com | Hard Conversations AI Toolkit

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In this laser-focused episode of Lead Through It, Jada and Kim reflect on what it truly means to lead with both humility and credibility. Using insights from their conversation with Maia Molina-Schaefer, they explore how effective leaders balance listening and learning with confidently sharing perspective and direction. The discussion dives into values-driven decision making, building strong relationships, creating a trusted “kitchen cabinet” of advisors, and asking better questions of your team. This episode is a practical, honest look at how leaders can earn trust, stay grounded, and lead with impact without losing who they are. 

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If today’s conversation resonated, connect with us and be part of the community of leaders who refuse to lead alone. 

JadaWillis.com | KimAndrewsCoaching.com | Hard Conversations AI Toolkit

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What do you do when the system was never designed for you to win?

In this powerful episode, we sit down with Maia Molina-Schaefer to talk about grit, identity, and leadership forged in the toughest environments imaginable. From growing up in a low-income immigrant household to becoming a Marine Corps and Army intelligence officer, military diplomat, and trailblazer for women in leadership, Maia’s story is a masterclass in leading through adversity.

Maia shares pivotal moments from her journey, including making history at the Naval Academy, leading in combat zones across Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa, and navigating one of the hardest leadership pivots of her career by switching military branches mid-career. Along the way, she reflects on identity, vulnerability, and the courage it takes to step into the arena even when the odds are stacked against you.

This conversation goes beyond titles and resumes. It’s about radical accountability, building trust, embracing nonlinear paths, and learning how to lead people through change by first being willing to walk through it yourself.

If you’ve ever questioned your place in a room, faced a major career pivot, or felt the pressure to prove yourself again and again, this episode will resonate deeply.

Check out her site: www.voiceinthearena.com

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If today’s conversation resonated, connect with us and be part of the community of leaders who refuse to lead alone. 

JadaWillis.com | KimAndrewsCoaching.com | Hard Conversations AI Toolkit

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In the first full week of 2026, Lead Through It opens with a message that is honest, challenging, and necessary.

This week, Jada goes solo to talk about the one thing that actually changes your business, your leadership, and your life: owning it. Not the surface-level version. The real one.

If you feel stuck, frustrated, or like you keep circling the same problems, this episode walks you through why that is happening and what it really takes to break the cycle. Jada unpacks radical accountability, the discomfort that comes with real growth, and why avoiding the truth only compounds the mess over time.

This is not a hype-you-up, feel-good kickoff to the year. It’s a grounded, practical conversation about facing what you’ve been avoiding, naming it, and trusting yourself enough to figure it out as you go.

If you’re ready to stop repeating the same year and start making real progress, this episode is for you.

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If today’s conversation resonated, connect with us and be part of the community of leaders who refuse to lead alone. 

JadaWillis.com | KimAndrewsCoaching.com | Hard Conversations AI Toolkit

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In this solo episode of Lead Through IT, Kim Andrews makes you an offer you might not want to refuse. It only costs you twenty minutes.

This conversation is about pressing pause with intention. Kim walks listeners through a simple but powerful exercise designed to help you step out of survival mode, get honest about where your time and energy are really going, and reconnect with what you actually want your life and work to look like.

No hustle talk. No complicated frameworks. Just a grounded reminder that clarity does not come from doing more. It comes from creating space to think, reflect, and choose on purpose.

If the year has felt loud, rushed, or reactive, this episode is your permission slip to slow down and reset. Consider this your gentle bribe to invest twenty minutes now so future you can breathe a little easier.

Referenced in this episode 
The 20-Minute Writing Exercise That Neuroscientists Say Can Solve Your Hardest Problems

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If today’s conversation resonated, connect with us and be part of the community of leaders who refuse to lead alone. 

JadaWillis.com | KimAndrewsCoaching.com | Hard Conversations AI Toolkit

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In this episode, Jada and Kim dive into one of the most frustrating parts of leadership and business growth: setting goals that actually work. After a week full of Disney conferences, AI discoveries, sick-kid snuggles, and plenty of pivoting, they sit down to talk honestly about why traditional goal setting often fails and what to do instead.

Kim introduces her fresh take on goal setting using her Four E Framework. Together, they break down how goals should be simple enough to maintain, exciting enough to spark action, visible enough to stay top of mind, and flexible enough to adapt when life inevitably shifts. They also get real about the challenges leaders face when goals feel too complex, too disconnected, or too irrelevant to the work that actually matters.

Whether you lead a team, run a business, or juggle a lot at once, this conversation will help you rethink how you set goals and how you support others in doing the same. It is clear, practical, and designed to help you approach the new year with focus and confidence.

If you want your goals to feel achievable, energizing, and aligned with the life you’re trying to build, this is the episode you need.

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If today’s conversation resonated, connect with us and be part of the community of leaders who refuse to lead alone. 

JadaWillis.com | KimAndrewsCoaching.com | Hard Conversations AI Toolkit

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In this bite-sized laser session, Jada and Kim break down one of the toughest parts of leadership: knowing what to share, how much to share, and when to share it. Inspired by their recent conversation with Sarah Kelley on leading through grief, this episode dives into the real tension leaders feel when navigating big, heavy moments like the loss of a teammate, ethical breaches, organizational uncertainty, or high-stakes personnel issues.

If you have ever wondered whether your transparency is helpful, overwhelming, or not enough, this episode gives you a simple framework to guide your communication: pause and ask, What is my goal in sharing this? What do I need?

Kim and Jada unpack why under-sharing can spark fear, why over-sharing can create unintended stress, and how leaders can walk that middle path with clarity and intention. They offer practical, usable questions you can take into your next conversation and encourage you to reflect for ten minutes after listening to apply this toolkit immediately.

Perfect for leaders who want quick clarity, grounded support, and a nudge toward more thoughtful communication.

Support the show

If today’s conversation resonated, connect with us and be part of the community of leaders who refuse to lead alone. 

JadaWillis.com | KimAndrewsCoaching.com | Hard Conversations AI Toolkit

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In this episode of Lead Through It, Jada and Kim sit down with Sarah Kelly, a steady, values-driven former COO of a statewide reproductive health nonprofit, to talk about two big things leaders don’t always get real about:

• navigating grief in the workplace, and
• making a major career and life pivot in your mid-30s.

After more than a decade at New Morning, Sarah made the kind of move many people quietly daydream about: she resigned, left the city she’d called home for 13 years, and moved closer to family with no next role locked in. She shares what actually goes into a decision like that – the planning, the money questions, the fear, and ultimately the choice to trust herself enough to create space for something new.

Sarah also walks us through a defining lead through it moment: losing a well-loved teammate unexpectedly and having to lead the rest of the team through shock, grief, and an upcoming major event. She talks candidly about trying to balance people’s very different needs, honor the person they lost, keep the work moving, and eventually make room for her own emotions too.

In this episode, we talk about:

• What it really means to “create space” for change instead of squeezing it in around the edges
• How Sarah decided it was time to step away from a long-time role and move closer to family
• The messy, human side of grief at work – and why there’s no perfect script
• Practical ways leaders can support a grieving team while still holding boundaries and expectations
• How vulnerability as a leader can deepen trust without turning into oversharing
• Why it’s normal to care what people think – and the line where that starts to erode your sense of self
• How shifting from fear to curiosity can change the way you move through hard seasons

If you’re leading people through a tough time, sitting with your own grief, or quietly wondering if it’s time to make a big change in your work or life, this conversation will give you language, perspective, and permission to not have it all figured out.

Connect with Sarah:
Want to share your own transition story or ask a question? You can connect with Sarah Kelly on LinkedIn or by email.

If today’s conversation resonated, connect with us and be part of the community of leaders who refuse to lead alone.

JadaWillis.com | KimAndrewsCoaching.com

[email protected] | [email protected]

Support the show

If today’s conversation resonated, connect with us and be part of the community of leaders who refuse to lead alone. 

JadaWillis.com | KimAndrewsCoaching.com | Hard Conversations AI Toolkit

[email protected] | [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

In this lightning-round episode, Jada and Kim break down their biggest takeaways from their recent interview with Dr. Jim Floyd—owner of Ascent Total Performance and a standout example of what modern leadership really looks like in action.

Jim’s story mirrors what so many leaders experience: you excel in your craft… and suddenly you’re leading people, running a business, and navigating challenges no certification ever prepared you for. In this fast-paced debrief, Jada and Kim unpack the real, raw truths Jim shared about:

• Learning as you go—even as a successful CEO
• Balancing “stepping back” with staying connected to your team
• Empowering people without accidentally taking over
• Why high achievers struggle with wanting all the answers
• How vulnerability, communication, and curiosity make stronger leaders

Jim’s honesty about wrestling with leadership decisions—even while running thriving locations and launching new programs—reminds all of us that growth never stops. You don’t become a great leader by knowing everything. You become one by showing up, stumbling forward, and learning in real time.

Whether you’re a seasoned leader or stepping into leadership for the first time, this episode is your permission slip: you do not have to have it all figured out. What matters is your willingness to try, adjust, and try again.

Tune in and let this conversation challenge how you think about leadership, vulnerability, and the lifelong practice of empowering your team.

Contact Dr. Jim Floyd: 
https://www.achieveatp.com/

Support the show

If today’s conversation resonated, connect with us and be part of the community of leaders who refuse to lead alone. 

JadaWillis.com | KimAndrewsCoaching.com | Hard Conversations AI Toolkit

[email protected] | [email protected]