Stepping Into your Leadership

What do great marketing and great leadership have in common? They both start with understanding people.

Christine Courtney sits down with Sally Mildren, founder and CEO of Commonwealth Marketing, to explore how neuroscience, human connection, and a little strategic courage can transform the way organizations communicate and lead.

From knowing when to let go of outdated strategies to making every marketing dollar count, Sally shares practical ways to create messages that actually connect. She also explains why small acts of recognition can have an enormous impact on employees—and how her own journey from brain injury rehabilitation therapist to executive leader and marketer shaped her people-first approach.

Together, Christine and Sally explore what it means to cut through the noise, build trust and belonging, and create meaningful impact by remembering the human being on the other side.

Leadership isn't just about managing the people who report to you. Some of the most challenging relationships at work are with the people you don't have authority over.

Christine Courtney welcomes back Greg Shamie to explore how to manage up and sideways—from adapting to a new boss's leadership style and navigating unclear expectations to collaborating with peers, handling difficult feedback, and advocating for yourself when you feel overlooked.

Christine and Greg share practical strategies for building trust, communicating with less friction, understanding different working styles, and taking ownership of the relationships around you. Because great leadership isn't only about how you lead your team—it's also about becoming the person everyone wants to work with.

What does it take to lead complex projects, navigate tough conversations, and build a successful career without losing sight of the people behind the work?

Christine Courtney sits down with Mariela Abreu, Partner at DBI Projects, to explore the experiences that shaped her approach to leadership—from growing up between New York and the Dominican Republic to managing her first team in her early twenties and becoming DBI's first female partner.

Mariela shares lessons on delivering difficult news with empathy, building relationships that last beyond any single project, celebrating small wins, working with different personalities, and balancing a demanding career with motherhood. Together, Christine and Mariela explore why great leadership isn't just about getting things done—it's about understanding people, acting with integrity, and leading with purpose.

What do you want?

It’s a simple question, but according to leadership strategist and business coach Julian Lighton, it may be one of the most important questions a leader can ask.

In this episode of Stepping Into Your Leadership, Christine Courtney sits down with Julian to explore how leaders and teams can navigate uncertainty, make better decisions, and move from simply working alongside one another to truly working together. Drawing from his experience in Silicon Valley, coaching, sports, and theater, Julian shares practical frameworks for understanding how teams develop, navigate conflict, and become more effective.

Christine and Julian explore what it takes to move from “I” to “we,” including creating psychological safety, encouraging productive disagreement, clarifying roles, and building shared purpose. Julian also shares his memorable “woolly mammoth” analogy, illustrating why some challenges simply cannot be solved alone—and why effective leadership means getting others invested in the goal.

Whether you’re leading a team or stepping into leadership for the first time, this conversation offers practical ways to think differently about collaboration, decision-making, and what it takes to turn a group of individuals into a team.

What happens when AI can write the perfect presentation — but you still have to walk into the room and deliver it?

Christine Courtney sits down with longtime collaborator Greg Shamie, a facilitator, coach, and leadership development expert who has spent decades helping leaders become more compelling communicators. Together, they dig into why AI may be leveling the playing field for written communication while making the human side of presenting even more important.

In this episode, Christine and Greg talk about the skills AI can't do for you: knowing your “so what,” making real eye contact, reading the room, pausing instead of filling every silence with an “um” or “you know,” and staying present when something inevitably goes sideways.

They share stories from classrooms, boardrooms, and stages about the moments presenters remember most — including what happens when a cell phone rings in the middle of a performance or you suddenly discover you’re not strong enough to tear a piece of paper.

Because the goal isn't to become a perfect presenter. It's to become someone who can connect, adapt, and make people feel something when you walk into the room.

If you're preparing for a big pitch, presentation, leadership moment, or simply want to become more confident on your feet, this conversation is for you.

As AI becomes increasingly capable of writing proposals, presentations, talking points, and executive summaries, a new question emerges: What happens when you’re the one who has to stand up and deliver it?

In this episode of Stepping Into Your Leadership, Christine Courtney welcomes back leadership development and communication expert Greg Shamie to explore the uniquely human skills that matter when AI can help create the content. They discuss why authenticity, connection, vulnerability, storytelling, and the ability to think on your feet can become the real differentiators in the room.

Greg shares practical strategies for stepping into the spotlight with greater confidence—from expanding beyond the limitations created by nervousness, to using visualization, finding a strong opening, making AI-generated language your own, and bringing personal stories into your presentations. Christine and Greg also explore how preparation and coaching can help presenters stay present, respond to unexpected questions, and connect with an audience rather than getting trapped in their own heads.

The message is simple: AI can help you build the presentation, but it can't be you. In an age where polished content is becoming easier for everyone to produce, learning how to bring your own voice, experiences, energy, and humanity into the room may be more important than ever.

Tune in for practical tips on finding your human edge—and making sure the person behind the presentation doesn't get lost behind the technology.

What does it look like when every career you've had was quietly preparing you for the one you're building now?

Joy Brown Kirst spent 23 years in executive search, earned an MBA from Rice, became a trained skincare formulator, and launched Modern Age Skin — a brand built for perimenopausal and menopausal skin that the industry wasn't serving. But the real thread running through all of it? People.

In this episode, Christine and Joy dig into the leadership lessons that don't show up on a résumé — like how reading candidates across decades of executive search sharpens your ability to read any room. How moving from a global corporation to a two-person startup teaches you to drop your ego fast. And how the confidence to stand up for yourself in a low-stakes moment early in your career becomes the muscle you'll need for every hard conversation that follows.

Joy also shares her take on why listening is still the most underused leadership skill, how to build credibility in a field where nobody knows you yet, and why she tells her kids the same thing every time: God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason.

If you're navigating a career pivot, sitting inside a big company wondering what's next, or just trying to figure out which skills are actually yours to keep — this one's for you.

What if the reason your AI adoption — or any major transformation — is stalling has nothing to do with the technology?

Betsy Kauffman has spent 25 years leading large-scale tech transformations across Fortune 500 companies. And time after time, the same thing happened: the teams got it. The technology worked. But without aligned leaders at the top, everything eventually hit a wall.

Now as founder and CEO of Crossed Impact Coaching and a TED speaker with over 1.6 million views, Betsy helps mid-market CEOs and senior leadership teams close the gap between strategy and execution — by fixing the human system first.

In this conversation, Christine and Betsy explore:

• Why every technology transformation is really a leadership alignment problem
• The moment her clients started saying "Stop helping the teams — go help our leaders"
• What burnout looks like when you're a Swiss Army knife consultant doing everything for everyone
• The warning signs that a client relationship isn't working (and how to say no anyway)
• Her Leadership Operating System — and the one-hour, one-decision exercise any team can try this week
• The four tips for honest conversations from her viral TED Talk
• Why delivery might be the most underrated skill in leadership communication
• How growing up playing team sports shaped everything she does today

Whether you're leading a team of one or running a company through its next big change, this episode will challenge you to look at the top before you look anywhere else.

Connect with Betsy:

🌐 crossimpact.co — free leadership alignment survey

📘 The Fix — her upcoming book (coming soon to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Spotify Audiobooks)

🔗 LinkedIn: Betsy Kauffman

In a world obsessed with data, metrics, and AI-generated everything, Elizabeth Rosenberg is making the case for something radical: trusting yourself.

Elizabeth is a serial entrepreneur, PR strategist, intuitive medium, and founder of two platforms — The Good Advice Company, a C-suite personal branding and communications consultancy, and Chief Spiritual Officer, a leadership development movement helping executives harness intuitive intelligence as a competitive edge in an AI-driven world. She also leads a global executive women's collective, because apparently she doesn't sleep.

In this episode, Christine and Elizabeth dive into what intuitive leadership actually means in practice — and why the instincts we've spent years overriding might be the most important skill we're not developing. Elizabeth shares the story behind her own burnout, including a scary episode that landed her in the ER and later went viral on Business Insider, and what she wishes she had listened to before it got that far.

They also get into the messy, human work of building an authentic personal brand — why the story you think no one wants to hear is usually the most compelling one, why being a great people person doesn't automatically make you a great manager, and what leaders at every level can do this week to start building real visibility and credibility.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• What intuitive leadership is and why it matters more than ever right now
• The difference between being a great people person and being a good manager
• What burnout actually looks like — and the early signs most people ignore
• Why your most embarrassing or vulnerable story is probably your best brand story
• A simple LinkedIn strategy for leaders who don't want to become influencers
• How to lead by example when it comes to team boundaries and emotional wellbeing
• Why Elizabeth cold-contacted Kevin Costner in 8th grade — and what that tells you about brand-building

Connect with Elizabeth: Website: thegoodadvicecompany.com LinkedIn + Substack linked from her site

What happens when a founder with Wonder and Invention leads a growing team — and finally names what's actually going on? Christine sits down with Beth Ward (Founder & CEO) and Marjolein Westerbeek (COO) of Beth Ward Studios to talk about how Working Genius transformed their leadership dynamic, their hiring process, and the way their whole team communicates.

What does it look like when a real company actually puts Working Genius into practice — not just once, but across multiple cycles, with their full team?

In this episode, Christine sits down with two powerhouse leaders from Beth Ward Studios — a women-run jewelry design and private label consultancy based in New York City — to talk about how Working Genius changed the way they lead, hire, communicate, and grow.

Beth Ward, Founder and CEO, brings Wonder and Invention to everything she touches. Marjolein Westerbeek, COO, leads with Wonder and Discernment. Together, they've built something rare: a leadership partnership grounded in self-awareness, mutual trust, and a shared commitment to creating space for the people around them.

In this conversation, you'll hear:

• Why Beth and Marjolein came back to Working Genius after their first cycle during COVID — and what made this round more impactful
• How naming Beth's Wonder + Invention genius took the pressure off her team (and off Beth herself)
• What Marjolein's Discernment brings to the partnership — and why "slower" doesn't mean wrong
• How Beth Ward Studios now uses Working Genius in hiring, performance reviews, and day-to-day team decisions
• What it looks like when a company full of Enablers tries to have harder conversations — and why "clarity is kindness"
• Why burnout isn't always about hating your job — it's about how your day is built

This episode is for leaders who want to stop doing it all, build teams that complement each other, and create a workplace where people feel genuinely seen.

Resources Mentioned:

• The Six Types of Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni
• Beth Ward Studios: bwstudios.com
• Evry Jewels: evry.com
• The 9/11 Memorial Serenity Sky Collection (in partnership with Anne-Marie Principe)