Leading in a Lonely World

Meet Jason Marsili. Jason is a dynamic leader and successful employee and union side attorney in LA and now neutral (mediator/arbitrator). Jason always knew he wanted  a career in Conflict Dispute Resolution. Join us as we discuss the roots of his passion for dispute resolution, beginning in high school where he emerged as a leader in addressing racial tensions among his peers. He describes  how his leadership style has evolved over the years from an initial vocal participant when he was striving as a diverse individual to be granted a seat at  the table and be heard. And now that he has earned his seat through his dedication, experience and skill, he can lead with quieter confidence, flexing his Emotional Intelligence skills and listening before jumping in with his ideas.  

We have a spirited discussion on the lack of diversity in our nation’s judiciary and in the alternate dispute arena. We also offer up some suggestions for moving the needle forward to more balanced equitable opportunities for mediators and arbitrators. Lastly, Jason, a law professor in dispute resolution, offers some advice for emerging leaders that is both funny and on point.

This is a must listen for individuals wanting to learn more about leadership and creating opportunities for diversity.

DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

During this episode, listeners are in for a treat, as well-known leadership expert and business guru to the Fortune 500, Steven Gaffney, shares his vision on creating highly performing teams and organization.  You will enjoy his insights on why executive committee members should not be constrained to addressing only their siloed area of expertise, but rather, encouraged to take ownership of the organization/team as a whole and share perspectives.  One key component to highly functioning teams is to create a place of “emotional” safety and trust by utilizing the Vegas Rule: what happens in the team discussion, stays in the team discussion. In this way, team members develop trust and feel empowered to share authentically and honestly. Honesty does not equal brutality and Steven shares effective ways to tackle challenging (toxic) personalities and address performance issues.  

Get ready with a pen and paper for this episode. You will want to take notes for actionable steps to creating more effective teams.

As a bonus for listeners of Clark Hill’s Leading in a Lonely World: Conversations with Transformative Leaders, Steven is offering a free toolkit on conducting honest conversations.  Just send an email to Steven, [email protected], and mention you listened to our podcast. 

On this episode, Vanessa Kelly speaks with Gabrielle Dolan of Gabrielle Dolan Consulting, based in Melbourne Australia. Gabrielle has written 7 books on leadership, the most recent of which is, “Magnetic Stories: Connect with customers and engage employees with brand storytelling.” Gabrielle shares the science behind storytelling and how storytelling in a business setting, if done right, can be one of the most effective methods of communication. The story must relate to the business message and be authentic. When done correctly, storytelling taps into the listener’s emotions and helps listeners to better retain the information being contained. As a leadership trainer, Gabrielle helps business leaders connect more authentically with their stakeholders, boards, employees, customers, business partners, and the like. As humans, we are all storytellers to a degree; listen in to this episode to learn more about using storytelling to communicate and create lasting impressions. 

Just in time for mother’s day, I got to sit down with my colleague Kimberly Reisman, a Business Development Manager for Clark Hill, and her dear friends, Barbara and Nichelle Robinson. Barbara and Nichelle are a power team in Los Angeles real estate. They refer to each other as best friends and thoroughly enjoy working together. Barbara’s husband and Nichelle’s dad was Frank Robinson, MLB great, Hall of Famer,  first black manager, and medal of freedom winner. Mother and daughter reflect on moving around the country for Frank’s career, encountering discrimination in housing and segregation. Through it all, Barbara made every new house a home, which has shaped Nichelle’s later career to connect buyers with a home that will resonate with them. They reflect on meeting the Queen, and more.  Frank, through all his fame, remained a humble centered individual who enjoyed making pathways to others. This trait, coupled with both of her parent’s work ethic and compassion made an indelible impression on Nichelle.

On leadership, I asked each to describe the other. According to Barbara, Nichelle s decisive and not afraid to make decisions. Where Nichelle says Barbara is warm, engaging and a genius at making people feel comfortable. Words of wisdom for those starting out, go to a company that will teach and find what works for you.  

I think you will enjoy this episode that gives a glimpse of life-long friendship formed between mother and child, triumph during troubled times, and humility and grace even through the fame.

DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

On this episode of Leading in Lonely World: Conversations with Transformative Leaders, we meet Ruvin Levavi and Bobby Kaslander of Power Forward Group, who provide financial advisor and estate solutions services. Ruvin, as a self-proclaimed reformed attorney, founded Power Forward with intention of pairing collaborative teams with clients to attain creative solutions and the best possible client results. 

During our chat, we learn from Bobby the lessons he learned from his father, which he still practices today, about the importance of goals and planning for your success with a positive mindset. From Ruvin we learn about the ingrained notion of mentorship and learning from those he mentors. We also talk about teams – pairing skill sets that complement and augment the others on the team. 

DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

In this episode we meet Dr. Tara Chalakani, who holds a doctorate in Behavioral Health Leadership. As a practicing counselor and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Preferred Behavioral Health Group,  she has extensive knowledge of the behavioral health issues we face today. She describes herself as having a “Not for Profit Heart” and a “For Profit Brain” melding the best of both worlds to serve her organization, employees, clients and community. Having to pivot to tele-medicine, Dr. Chalakani describes that Preferred Behavioral Health held over 100,000 tele-health appointments. They were one the swiftest adopters of virtual medicine so that mental health services were uninterrupted. We talk a bit about the importance of getting help and dispel the myth of  “high functioning depression” or “high functioning alcoholism.”  “We need to normalize that mental health needs are important” and remove the stigma around care. As a leader with good boundaries, she sees herself as the head of a family who sets structure, a sense of security, providing opportunities for employees to grow. 

DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

This episode is a great listen as we honor Black History Month.  Vanessa speaks to Edward C. Hopkins, Jr., Esq., a renowned privacy and cyber security attorney. As an Air Force Academy graduate and air force veteran, Ed talks about the Tuskegee Experience and the first African American combat pilots. He discusses the importance of the Tuskegee Airmen to Black Air Force Academy cadets, and described their importance to history as an early step in the civil rights movement. 

Ed also shares with us a piece of African American culture: the belief that individuals are deeply connected to their ancestors, to the present generation and to generations to come.  As a proponent of "stoic leadership," Ed believes deeply that leaders should first focus on themselves, striving to be the best version they can be. Next, leaders should remove barriers to excellence – clear paths so that individuals can grow, develop and succeed.  Lastly, leaders should "hold up their end of the bargain," provide opportunities and real mentorship, and treat everyone with dignity. Listeners will enjoy getting to know this very thoughtful and dedicated man. 

DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

On this episode of Leading in a Lonely World: Conversations with Transformative Leaders, we meet James (Jim) L. Banks,  Jr., General Counsel of SHRM. Jim takes us through his path to leadership beginning with his career as an Airborne Army Ranger to his current position as the chief legal counsel for the largest HR organization in the world. He is adventurous and not content to rest on his laurels, and is always looking for ways to grow and improve.  He definitely enjoys a challenge. 

Following a long family history of military service, Jim naturally followed this course as a path to college and military service. The lessons learned in the military serve him well today, including the recognition of learning from those you lead and serve with – practicing empathy and genuine listening. He talks about enjoying the mission of the 82nd Airborne where he served “to respond to crisis contingencies anywhere in the world within 18 hours.”  This thorough preparedness enabled his team to have the crucial skills needed to be successful and survive. This is how he sees his role as true servant leader. 

We talk about how his style of leadership or rather the route and mechanism that leadership is applied in a more distanced working environment.  He has had to adapt from “leadership from walking around” to connecting via technology. The pandemic has caused him to be more thoughtful and purposeful about leadership.  Both employers and employees need to figure out how to navigate the remote/hybrid model and, as a reminder to new employees, that ultimately the individual is responsible for their own career and progression.  

“Find a way to express yourself.”  Jim discusses his view on mentorship and how the best mentor/mentee relationships happen organically. His advice to newer attorneys and employees is to be open to many people that may be  in a position to mentor you someday. Allow the connections to grow. 

DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

On this episode of Leading in a Lonely World: Conversations with Transformative Leaders, we meet Reginald (Reggie) Turner, an attorney with Clark Hill PLC in its Detroit, Michigan office and current President of the American Bar Association. Reggie has a storied resume of key leadership positions within Clark Hill. He is a member of the firm's Executive Committee and is actively engaged in national and state bar associations. He served as a White House Fellow under President Clinton, and has worked for other administrations. 

Reflecting on his long-history of leadership, Reggie says he is well-suited to lead simply because he cares. You will hear Reggie talk about the challenges he faced during his leadership terms, including serving on his firm’s executive committee and as the President of the largest voluntary bar association in the U.S. during a global pandemic. Reggie’s leadership style brings quiet to the chaos – in other words, bringing order through a dignified, humble, steady commitment paired with inclusive collaboration to resolve problems. Listeners, I know you will enjoy Reggie’s interview and join me in celebrating his leadership as a person who cares deeply.

DISCLAIMER – No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.

Join us for an inspiring conversation with Maryanne Spatola, NYU professor and consultant, who thrives at helping employers align talent and strategy to create business optimization. She began her consulting practice after achieving the top position in HR, Chief HR Officer, in order to help more employers achieve their best. Her practice focuses on HR strategy, leadership development and individual coaching around topics such as: the future of work and what it takes to lead in the modern world. In talking about the “Great Resignation,” she often asks her clients: “What reason did you give your employees to stay?” Where clients fumble through this question, Maryanne helps them align with strategies to meet this challenge.  Maryanne has long been a leader in promoting women to top leadership positions and keeping them there. She is part of Chief, one of the fastest growing start-ups in the market aimed at empowering women to claim their superpowers and step into positions of power. I know you will enjoy Maryanne’s brand of empathy, analytics, and reality based pragmatism on our latest episode of “Leading in a Lonely World: Conversations with Transformative Leaders.”

DISCLAIMER – The views and opinions expressed in the podcast represent the view of the host and guest(s) and not necessarily the official view of Clark Hill PLC. No information contained in this Podcast or on this Website shall constitute financial, investment, legal and/or other professional advice and that no professional relationship of any kind is created between you and podcast host, the guests or Clark Hill PLC. You are urged to speak with your financial, investment, or legal advisors before making any investment or legal decisions.