Let's Talk, People with Emily Frieze-Kemeny

What if the remote vs. in-office work debate was actually missing the point?

It’s easy to think that in-office work will solve our performance, connection, and culture problems. But the truth is those existed long before work from home entered the picture.

In this episode, Emily sits down with Allison Vendt, VP of People Operations and Head of Virtual First at Dropbox. Allison led the design of Dropbox’s Virtual First model, rethinking how work happens at scale. Together, Emily and Allison unpack what it really takes to design work that works for people, teams, and the bottom line.

They explore why treating the employee experience like a product changes everything, how structure (not proximity) drives performance, and why most return-to-office mandates fail to address the real issue. And they offer practical strategies to rethink your ways of working, from redefining meetings and async work to using in-person time intentionally for trust, decision-making, and speed.

Whether you’re leading a distributed team, navigating return-to-office pressure, or trying to rebuild engagement and trust, this conversation will help you move beyond the proximity debate and learn to lead your teams stronger than ever before.

Timestamps:

• [00:03:13] The Office Wasn’t Working Either – Emily and Allison challenge the assumption that pre-pandemic work was effective, unpacking why many organizations are trying to return to a system that never truly solved performance or connection.
• [00:09:06] Designing Work Like A Product – Allison shares how Dropbox approached Virtual First like a product. From identifying first principles to treating the employee experience as something to build, test, and iterate with user input and data along the way.
• [00:15:30] Structure Drives Performance, Not Proximity – The conversation turns to practical execution, from async-first communication to redefining meetings, showing how intentional structure enables focus, clarity, and better collaboration.
• [00:37:24] Make In-Person Time Earn Its Value – Emily and Allison explore how leaders can get leadership buy-in and demonstrate the ROI of time spent together.

Access the episode transcript.

Connect with Emily Frieze-Kemeny on LinkedIn and Instagram or explore her work through AROSE Group’s website.

If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Let’s Talk, People in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts. It helps others discover the show.

Thanks for listening to Let’s Talk, People!

Strong performance feels like it should be enough. But many leaders reach a point where doing great work no longer drives advancement, and suddenly the rules feel unclear. Visibility, stakeholder perception, and delivery start to matter more than performance alone.

In this episode, Emily Frieze-Kemeny sits down with May Busch, former Morgan Stanley COO, career coach, and author of VISIBLE. After a 24-year leadership career in investment banking, May now works with executives and managers to help them navigate the often unspoken dynamics that shape career progression.

Together, Emily and May explore what happens when performance stops being the differentiator and leadership becomes about influence and visibility. They unpack how to coach strong performers whose ideas aren’t getting noticed, how to give honest feedback about presence and perception, how leaders can help their teams understand the broader stakeholder landscape that impacts careers, and when advocating too hard for the wrong people becomes a credibility issue.

Whether you're developing future leaders, managing high performers, or navigating your own next step, this conversation offers practical ways to coach beyond performance, helping people build visibility without sacrificing authenticity.

Timestamps:

• [00:06:59] When Performance Stops Being Enough - Emily and May explore the moment many leaders hit where strong work alone no longer drives advancement. They discuss the shift toward visibility, stakeholder awareness, and why leaders must help their teams understand the broader decision-making landscape.
• [00:11:30] Coaching Delivery, Not Just Capability - May shares how talented contributors can be overlooked when their communication lacks clarity or conviction. Emily and May discuss coaching on presence, brevity, and helping strong performers translate expertise into influence.
• [00:21:00] Giving Honest Feedback About the System - Emily and May unpack how to speak truth about perception, politics, and readiness without demotivating someone. They explore contracting upfront, tying feedback to aspirations, and holding space for emotional reactions.
• [00:36:11] Advocating Without Losing Credibility - The conversation turns to stakeholder missteps, promotion decisions, and pacing frustrations. Emily and May discuss when to push for someone, when to step back, and how leaders balance support with honest guidance about timing.

Access the episode transcript.

Join the Conversation: This year we’re taking audience questions! Send in your toughest people management and leadership challenges, and we’ll anonymize them and tackle them in an upcoming episode. Email Abigail on our Let’s Talk, People team with your situation as a written note or voice memo to [email protected].

Connect with Emily Frieze-Kemeny on LinkedIn and Instagram or explore her work through AROSE Group’s website.

If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Let’s Talk, People in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts. It helps others discover the show.

Thanks for listening to Let’s Talk, People!

Stepping into a new leadership role should feel like progress. But for many leaders, the pressure to prove yourself, move fast, and make the right decisions quickly muddles how you show up when it matters most.

In this episode of Let’s Talk, People, Emily sits down with Oneeka Botu, Senior HR Leader for Retail Leadership & Team Development at Valentino, a globally recognized luxury brand with a retail footprint across North America and markets worldwide. With more than 20 years of experience across brands including Saks Fifth Avenue, Yves Saint Laurent, Bulgari, and La Perla, Oneeka brings deep expertise in helping leaders navigate transitions and accelerate impact.

Together, Emily and Oneeka unpack what it really takes to step into a new leadership role successfully. They explore how to shift out of old patterns and stop relying on what worked before, how early pressure to prove yourself can actually slow progress, and why relationships are the foundation for influence that leads to meaningful execution. They also discuss the signals behind common leadership traps like micromanaging and over-explaining, and what it means to intentionally reset when leading former peers.

Whether you’re stepping into a new role, navigating a promotion, or supporting leaders through transition, this conversation offers a new playbook to help you build trust faster, adapt with intention, and lead with greater clarity from day one.

Timestamps:

• [00:04:14] No Playbook Works the Same Twice – Emily and Oneeka challenge the idea that past success guarantees future results. They explore why every new role requires leaders to adapt to a different team, culture, and set of expectations, and how relying on what worked before can quietly limit impact.
• [00:12:06] Relationships Before Results – Oneeka shares why new leaders must prioritize connection before execution. Together, she and Emily unpack how building trust and co-creating early direction creates the foundation for influence and sustainable performance.
• [00:25:13] Redefining Relationships When You Become the Boss – Oneeka and Emily unpack the emotional complexity of managing former peers. They explore why avoiding the conversation creates more tension, and how clarity around expectations, feedback, and boundaries helps preserve trust while establishing leadership credibility.
• [00:36:48] It’s Time To Build A New Playbook – Emily and Oneeka explore the internal pressure many leaders feel to deliver immediately, and how that pressure often leads to pushing too hard, over-explaining, or micromanaging. They reframe these behaviors as common traps leaders fall into and identify how to slow down and notice the signals so that you can shift your mindset and behaviors before it’s too late.

Access the episode transcript.

Join the Conversation: This year we’re taking audience questions! Send in your toughest people management and leadership challenges, and we’ll anonymize them and tackle them in an upcoming episode. Email Abigail on our Let’s Talk, People team with your situation as a written note or voice memo to [email protected].

Connect with Emily Frieze-Kemeny on LinkedIn and Instagram or explore her work through AROSE Group’s website.

If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Let’s Talk, People in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts. It helps others discover the show.

Thanks for listening to Let’s Talk, People!

Influence is one of the most misunderstood skills in leadership. We often think it means pushing harder, building a stronger case, or winning the room. In reality, influence usually begins in a much quieter place… in the pause that helps you manage your own reaction.

In this episode of Let’s Talk, People, Emily Frieze-Kemeny sits down with Courtney Michener Miller, Head of Learning at AstraZeneca, a global biopharmaceutical organization with more than 94,000 employees worldwide. Courtney leads enterprise learning and development across sales, market access, and medical functions, bringing deep experience navigating influence within complex, global systems.

Together, Emily and Courtney unpack what influence really requires: pausing before you push, separating identity from ideas and outcomes, and respecting the broader context your leaders may be carrying. They explore how to influence up without escalating unnecessarily, why “less is more” in high-stakes forums, and how to lead with both data and solutions instead of conviction alone.

Whether you’re influencing up, sideways, or within your own team, this conversation will help you stay grounded in your sphere of agency, influence, and acceptance to lead with greater clarity, composure, and effectiveness.

Timestamps:

1. [00:06:12] Pause Before You Push – Emily and Courtney unpack how many influence moments start in emotional reaction- frustration, defensiveness, or feeling excluded. They explore why effective influence begins with pausing, gaining perspective, and identifying what’s actually within your control before deciding how to respond.
2. [00:12:28] Influence Up with Data, Solutions, and Respect – Courtney emphasizes the importance of leading with both data and solution, not just conviction. Together, she and Emily discuss doing a quick risk assessment, respecting the broader pressures your boss may be carrying, and bringing forward thoughtful recommendations rather than complaints.
3. [00:14:49] The Power of the “Meeting Before the Meeting” – Emily introduces the concept of setting context with your boss before escalating an issue, aligning on tone, goals, and expectations. She and Courtney explore when to bring a subject matter expert into the room, how to prepare them, and how this pre-alignment strengthens influence rather than creating resistance.
4. [00:21:59] Influence Isn’t Winning, It’s Leading Anyway – Emily and Courtney reflect on the idea that influence doesn’t always mean getting your way. Sometimes leadership chooses a different path, and your job shifts. They explore what it means to control the controllables and put on your “consultant hat” to add value without over-identifying with the outcome.

Access the episode transcript.

Join the Conversation: This year we’re taking audience questions! Send in your toughest people management and leadership challenges, and we’ll anonymize them and tackle them in an upcoming episode. Email Abigail on our Let’s Talk, People team with your situation as a written note or voice memo to [email protected].

Connect with Emily Frieze-Kemeny on LinkedIn and Instagram or explore her work through AROSE Group’s website.

If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Let’s Talk, People in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts. It helps others discover the show.

Thanks for listening to Let’s Talk, People!

Change is no longer an occasional disruption, it’s the constant backdrop of leadership today. And when change accelerates, leaders are often left holding the weight of uncertainty, pressure and unspoken anxiety across their teams.

In this episode of Let’s Talk, People, Emily Frieze-Kemeny sits down with Kiabi Carson, Head of Human Resources for North America at Turner & Townsend, a £1.4B global professional services company supporting large-scale construction and infrastructure programs across 60+ countries.

Together, they explore why silence during uncertainty creates more fear, how to communicate honestly when you don’t have all the answers, and what it really means to hold space for your team without amplifying anxiety.

Kiabi shares lessons from leading through large-scale mergers, organizational transformation, and unexpected role shifts, offering practical guidance on staying grounded, protecting business-as-usual, and helping teams focus on what they can control when everything feels unsettled.

Whether you’re leading through a merger, restructuring, or rapid change with limited clarity, this episode offers grounded strategies to help you communicate with confidence, build trust through uncertainty, and lead with steadiness when your team needs it most.

Timestamps:

1. [00:15:13] Leading Up in Times of Pressure – Emily and Kiabi explore how leaders can navigate decisions that are already made by bringing empathy, positivity, and impact-focused feedback (rather than complaints) when senior leaders are under intense pressure.
2. [00:21:01] Why Silence Creates Anxiety During Change – Emily and Kiabi unpack why going quiet when there’s no new information actually fuels fear and speculation, and how leaders can create a consistent communication rhythm that builds trust by sharing what’s known, what’s unknown and when you’ll share more.
3. [00:28:14] Protecting Business-as-Usual While Navigating Transformation – Emily and Kiabi discuss the importance of keeping business-as-usual and transformation work in separate lanes, making space for change conversations while still grounding teams in what they can execute today.
4. [00:30:53] Holding Space Without Carrying the Emotional Weight – The conversation dives into how leaders can acknowledge and normalize anxiety without amplifying it; by naming what’s unsettling, listening deeply, reflecting back what they’re hearing, and using personal support systems to process their own emotions so the team doesn’t have to.

Access the episode transcript.

Join the Conversation: This year we’re taking audience questions! Send in your toughest people management and leadership challenges, and we’ll anonymize them and tackle them in an upcoming episode. Email Abigail on our Let’s Talk, People team with your situation as a written note or voice memo to [email protected].

Connect with Emily Frieze-Kemeny on LinkedIn and Instagram or explore her work through AROSE Group’s website.

If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Let’s Talk, People in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts. It helps others discover the show.

Thanks for listening to Let’s Talk, People!

When leaders don’t define decision guardrails early, decisions drift upward, risk feels unsafe, and teams stop building the muscle to decide for themselves.

In this episode of Let’s Talk, People, Emily sits down with Olesya Govorun, who leads organizational development and culture transformation at Pfizer, to unpack why ineffective decision-making is one of the most costly (and fixable) leadership challenges today.

Drawing on her work at Pfizer, including efforts to empower expert-level decision-making during the rapid development and launch of the COVID-19 vaccine, Olesya shares what it actually takes to move decisions closer to the work without sacrificing alignment or trust.

Together, they explore why decision rights often remain unclear, how over-involving leaders slows momentum, and what leaders can do to shift from being the final approver to building confident, capable decision-makers across their teams.

Whether you’re leading in a complex organization, navigating high-stakes change, or trying to speed up execution without losing rigor, this episode offers practical frameworks and mindset shifts to help you redesign how decisions get made and unlock better outcomes at every level.

Timestamps:

1. [00:16:40] Establishing Decision Guardrails Early – Olesya introduces the principle of Decision Guardrails - clarifying and agreeing upon which decisions can be fully owned, who gets to decide, and when a decision needs feedback or approval.
2. [00:19:34] Decision-Making as a Learnable Skill – Emily and Olesya explore how leaders can reduce the fear and risk tied to decision-making by adopting a learner’s mindset and providing the right supports like coaching, training, hands-on experience, and real-time feedback.
3. [00:22:31] Making It Safe for People to Make Decisions – Emily and Olesya unpack how psychologically safe teams create norms around risk-taking, having disagreement, and challenging ideas (not people) to make better decisions faster.
4. [00:26:11] Shifting the Role of the Leader from Decision Makers to Decision Builders – Olesya articulates that one of the most critical roles of leadership today is building others’ confidence and capability to decide.

Access the episode transcript.

Join the Conversation: This year we’re taking audience questions! Send in your toughest people management and leadership challenges, and we’ll anonymize them and tackle them in an upcoming episode. Email Abigail on our Let’s Talk, People team with your situation as a written note or voice memo to [email protected].

Connect with Emily Frieze-Kemeny on LinkedIn and Instagram or explore her work through AROSE Group’s website.

If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Let’s Talk, People in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts. It helps others discover the show.

Thanks for listening to Let’s Talk, People!

Every leader faces it… the moment you realize someone on your team just isn’t cutting it..

Too often, leaders hold onto struggling employees out of compassion, hope, or fear of being “too harsh.” But avoiding hard decisions can quietly drain energy, stall team performance, and create bigger problems down the line.

In this episode of Let’s Talk, People, Emily sits down with Mary Beech, Chief Growth Officer at Thorne, to explore one of leadership’s toughest balancing acts: managing performance with clarity and care and knowing when it’s time to call it. Together, they unpack how to recognize when coaching isn’t enough, how to make confident calls under pressure, and how to support your high performers. Mary shares personal lessons she learned the hard way, from holding on too long, to learning that accountability is an act of empathy.

Whether you’re a new manager navigating difficult conversations or a seasoned leader looking to sharpen your performance management skills, this episode offers practical tools and mindset shifts to help you lead with clarity, fairness, and heart.

Timestamps: 

• [00:01:15] Acting with Empathy and Accountability in Tough Decisions –Underperformance isn’t a relationship issue. It’s a team issue. As leaders, our job is to protect the business and the team, not just preserve one relationship. Mary describes how delaying difficult performance decisions can quietly erode trust, credibility, and team morale.
• [00:07:32] The Sprint vs. Marathon of Managing Performance – Be very intentional about which people you spend your time on. Treat your coaching and attention like a portfolio. Emily and Mary unpack when it’s appropriate for leaders to overinvest time with  certain team members, and how leaders can leverage strategies to balance time between both high and low performers.
• [00:13:09]: Evolving Roles from Generalists to Specialists – As your business evolves, not everyone will still fit the needs. What worked in an early, generalist-heavy stage may not work in a more specialized, scaled environment. Emily and Mary discuss how sometimes the most caring choice is to clarify the new expectations and support someone to shift roles or move on.
• [00:22:22] Feedback as a Lifelong Skill – Giving clear and timely feedback gives you credibility and reinforces you as the leader. Mary reflects on why feedback isn’t a box to check but a practice to keep refining, even for experienced executives. They discuss real-time coaching and how ongoing conversations strengthen your credibility, align the broader leadership team, and give the individual a real chance to adjust.

Access the episode transcript.

Join the Conversation: This year we’re taking audience questions! Send in your toughest people management and leadership challenges, and we’ll anonymize them and tackle them in an upcoming episode. Email Abigail on our Let’s Talk, People team with your situation as a written note or voice memo to [email protected].

Connect with Emily Frieze-Kemeny on LinkedIn and Instagram or explore her work through AROSE Group’s website.

If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Let’s Talk, People in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts. It helps others discover the show.

Thanks for listening to Let’s Talk, People!

What if the key to high performance isn’t pushing harder, but knowing when to pause?

In leadership, the line between ambition and burnout is thinner than we think. True performance isn’t about doing more; it’s about creating the boundaries that protect your energy, wellbeing, and focus.

In this episode of Let’s Talk, People, Emily sits down with Janet N. Ahn, PhD, behavioral science expert and experimental social psychologist, and Founder of Perilla & Co., to explore how leaders can balance performance and wellbeing in fast-paced, high-pressure environments. Together, they unpack how prioritizing wellness can transform the way we work and help us lead from a place of wholeness rather than depletion.

Whether you’re a high performer on the edge of burnout or a leader trying to build healthier team dynamics, this conversation will help you reimagine what balance and wellbeing really look like in modern leadership, and how to lead without losing yourself.

Timestamps: 

• [00:03:49] Redefining Success for High Performers – Janet opens up about the pressure to constantly achieve and why redefining what “success” looks like is essential for balancing performance and wellbeing in fast-paced roles.
• [00:10:41] When Effort Doesn’t Equal Impact – Emily and Janet discuss how leaders often confuse activity with progress and how focusing on meaningful outcomes, instead of endless action, helps teams stay energized and effective.
• [00:16:04] Boundaries as Leadership Signals – Emily and Janet unpack the subtle signals that tell you a boundary has been crossed (like resentment, exhaustion, tension within the team), and how leaders can reset expectations without losing compassion.
• [00:21:59] The Power of Choice – Janet challenges the “I have to” mindset so many high performers fall into, reminding leaders that reclaiming choice is the key to sustainable energy and self-trust.

Access the episode transcript.

Join the Conversation: This year we’re taking audience questions! Send in your toughest people management and leadership challenges, and we’ll anonymize them and tackle them in an upcoming episode. Email Abigail on our Let’s Talk, People team with your situation as a written note or voice memo to [email protected].

Connect with Emily Frieze-Kemeny on LinkedIn and Instagram or explore her work through AROSE Group’s website.

If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Let’s Talk, People in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts. It helps others discover the show.

Thanks for listening to Let’s Talk, People!

What if we reframed our dislike of office politics and saw it instead as a way to help our teams get the recognition they deserve?

In complex organizations, politics and strategic networking aren’t distractions. They’re often the hidden drivers of influence, credibility, and career growth.

In this episode of Let’s Talk, People, Emily sits down with Audrey Greenberg Venture Partner and Chair of Business Development at Mayo Clinic, to explore how leaders can navigate politics with integrity, build meaningful networks, and advocate for themselves and their teams.

Together, they unpack why sponsorship outpaces mentorship, how to “pre-wire the room” before decisions, and what it takes to balance transparency with influence when the stakes are high.

Whether you’re aiming for a promotion, championing a rising star, or working to break silos, this episode will reshape how you view politics at work and reveal why relationships may be your most powerful leadership tool.

Timestamps: 

• [00:08:03] Sponsors, mentors, and visibility – Audrey and Emily unpack why career growth requires mentors (guidance), sponsors (advocacy when you’re not in the room), and intentionally created visible moments so your work isn’t left to chance.
• [00:19:29] Negotiating from abundance, not scarcity – Practical negotiation guidance: lead with gratitude, present evidence/benchmarks, ask for shared-success outcomes, and consider levers beyond immediate cash (equity, review cadence, bonus).
• [00:23:05] Beyond salary: creative levers of recognition – A focused discussion on alternatives to immediate pay increases: equity, title changes, flexibility, PTO, and other levers that can retain and recognize people (and often cost less than cash).
• [00:31:07] You can be both human and high-performing – Audrey challenges the myth that you have to choose between being human or high-performing, showing how presence and performance actually fuel each other.

Access the episode transcript.

Join the Conversation: This year we’re taking audience questions! Send in your toughest people management and leadership challenges, and we’ll anonymize them and tackle them in an upcoming episode. Email Abigail on our Let’s Talk, People team with your situation as a written note or voice memo to [email protected].

Connect with Emily Frieze-Kemeny on LinkedIn and Instagram or explore her work through AROSE Group’s website.

If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Let’s Talk, People in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts. It helps others discover the show.

Thanks for listening to Let’s Talk, People!

What if your credibility as a leader had more to do with curiosity than confidence?

In fast-moving industries, learning isn’t optional, it’s your edge.

In this episode of Let’s Talk, People, Emily sits down with Karen Giberson, President & CEO of the Accessories Council, a nonprofit that represents the hundred-billion-dollar accessories industry, to explore how a thirst for learning keeps leaders relevant, connected, and credible in fast-moving industries.

They unpack what learning actually looks like at the executive level, from staying close to trends and team culture, to rolling up your sleeves and showing up side-by-side with your people.

Whether you’re leading a creative team, steering through industry change, or just trying to stay sharp while managing it all, this episode is a reminder that staying curious is your most strategic move.

Timestamps: 

• [00:03:22] Learning never stops at the top – Emily and Karen discuss why great leaders never “graduate”, and how staying in learning mode builds trust, credibility, and relevance.
• [00:07:20] The power of proximity: learning with your team – Karen shares stories about showing up on the ground, staying close to the work, and why it matters for connection and leadership effectiveness.
• [00:10:24] Mentorship as mutual learning – They explore why the best mentoring relationships are two-way, and how teaching can sharpen your own thinking.
• [00:20:07] Adapting with curiosity, not fear – Karen reflects on how curiosity helps leaders respond to change with openness instead of resistance, and why being a learner keeps your edge.

Access the episode transcript.

Join the Conversation: This year we’re taking audience questions! Send in your toughest people management and leadership challenges, and we’ll anonymize them and tackle them in an upcoming episode. Email Abigail on our Let’s Talk, People team with your situation as a written note or voice memo to [email protected].

Connect with Emily Frieze-Kemeny on LinkedIn and Instagram or explore her work through AROSE Group’s website.

If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to Let’s Talk, People in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts. It helps others discover the show.

Thanks for listening to Let’s Talk, People!