What if the best leaders aren’t the loudest in the room but the calmest?

Dr. Ashley Elgin-Barnes never chased a title. A lifelong introvert and clinician, she found herself repeatedly called into leadership, not because she asked for it, but because people trusted her presence.

In this deeply vulnerable episode of Inner Work, Ashley reveals how her early experiences shaped a leadership style rooted in empathy, calm in crisis, and an unshakable belief in resilience. From her work with abused children to transforming organizational culture at Lena Pope, this is leadership from the inside out.

Whether you're a CEO, founder, or someone quietly carrying the weight of others, this conversation will meet you where you are.

00:26  Welcome and Guest Introduction

01:11  What is Real Leadership?

02:05  From Reluctant Leader to CEO

04:04  Inner Skills That Fuel Outer Leadership

08:32   Saying Yes to the Call

12:26   A Life Built Around Service

17:04   From Doing to Being

21:14   Strategy, Agility, and Patience

24:05   The Weight of Leadership

29:07   Culture Shifts and Human-Centered Teams

37:56   Proof That We’re Built to Heal

40:05   Final Reflections and Encouragement

Dr. Ashley Elgin is the CEO of Lena Pope and a nationally recognized expert in childhood trauma and organizational leadership. With 35+ years of service, she blends clinical wisdom with business strategy to build resilient communities and cultures.

👉 Ready to explore your own evolution as a leader? Book a 1:1 coaching session with MaryAnn: https://collectivegrowthleadership.com/book-call

What if the feedback that stung the most… was exactly what made you a leader?

 In this episode of Inner Work, Brad Wallace, Partner at LKCM Headwater Investments, opens up about the emotional turning point that reshaped his life and leadership philosophy.

From college baseball to building a people-first private equity firm, Brad shares how self-regulation, real-time feedback, and long-game thinking shaped his approach to growing high-performing executive teams.

If you’ve ever battled imposter syndrome, emotional exhaustion, or the tension between competition and collaboration, this conversation is your mirror.

00:26 Welcome and Guest Introduction

01:07 Brad’s leadership roots

02:02 Sports, teams, and leadership DNA

04:38 Why team sports create different kinds of leaders

07:16 The moment everything changed

17:40 Bringing heart to private equity

28:33 Redefining success on your own terms

Brad Wallace, CFA, is a Partner at LKCM Headwater Investments. With roots in competitive sports and finance, he’s known for building values-driven companies and leadership cultures that scale.

👉 Craving more depth in your leadership? Book a 1:1 coaching call with MaryAnn: https://collectivegrowthleadership.com/book-call

#leadershipdevelopment #innerwork #executiveteams #consciousleadership #feedbackisagift

How do you go from burned-out solo agent to visionary CEO leading a multimillion-dollar real estate empire?

 In this episode of Inner Work, host MaryAnn Means-Dufrene sits down with Ashton Theiss, founder of The Ashton Agency,  to uncover the personal and professional transformation behind her explosive business growth.

Ashton shares the real, behind-the-scenes journey: how she learned to delegate, built a powerhouse team, navigated identity shifts, and kept her passion alive in a demanding, high-stakes industry.

In this conversation, we explore:
- How to shift from top producer to true leader
- How Ashton’s marketing savvy reshaped her brand and business
- What it takes to prevent burnout and create sustainable growth
- Why success is never just about numbers, but about mindset

Ashton Theiss is a Texas real estate broker, multimillion-dollar producer, and founder of The Ashton Agency. Known for her fresh, authentic leadership approach, Ashton has been featured on HGTV, named a 40 Under 40 honoree, and leads one of Texas’s most respected real estate teams.

👉 Ready to explore your own leadership journey? Book a 1:1 call: https://collectivegrowthleadership.com/book-call

What if your biggest leadership growth happens inside, not outside?

In this energizing episode of Inner Work, host MaryAnn Means-Dufrene introduces Karen Finney, a powerhouse HR executive, leadership coach, and trusted voice inside the Collective Growth team. Together, they pull back the curtain on what really shapes a leader: the personal pivots, burnout moments, mindset shifts, and hard-won insights no résumé can show.

Whether you’re a founder, executive, or high-performing leader ready for your next evolution, this episode will help you rethink how you lead, starting from the inside out.

Karen Finney is a seasoned talent strategist and leadership coach with 20+ years of experience in strategic HR, talent management, and employee engagement. She specializes in helping leaders build people-centered strategies that drive retention, enhance leadership effectiveness, and create thriving workplace cultures. 

👉 Ready to explore your own leadership shift? Book a private 1:1 call with MaryAnn: https://collectivegrowthleadership.com/book-call 

Can you scale a company without losing your soul or your sanity?

In this episode of Inner Work, we dive into the real story behind a hospitality empire and the inner transformation that made it possible.

Paul Coury, founder and CEO of Coury Hospitality, went from persuading 20 nervous investors to launching one of the most acclaimed lifestyle hotel portfolios in the country. But the real story? It’s about resilience through economic collapse, rebuilding after COVID, and learning to let go without losing the heart of your business.

In this intimate conversation, Paul opens up about the stress no one sees, the wake-up call that changed his leadership style, and the relentless inner work behind sustainable success. If you're scaling a mission-driven business and want to do it without burnout or compromise, this one's for you.

00:57 Welcome and Guest Introduction

01:25 The Ambassador Hotel Tulsa: A Milestone

02:30 Pioneering the Boutique Hotel Concept

03:59 Challenges and Triumphs in the Hotel Industry

06:45 Handling Stress and Maintaining Focus

09:19 Balancing Risk and Reward

12:08 Maintaining Personal Touch in a Growing Business

14:29 Scaling Up: Leadership and Growth

17:07 Delegation and Leadership Evolution

18:11 Balancing Business Development and Daily Operations

18:48 Crossroads and Leadership Challenges

20:40 Empowering Teams and Shifting Mindsets

24:43 Accountability and Efficiency in Leadership

27:29 Maintaining Company Culture and Values

30:10 Advice for Aspiring Leaders

32:35 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Paul Coury is the founder and CEO of Coury Hospitality. Since transforming the Ambassador Hotel Tulsa in 1999, he’s led the growth of a multi-award-winning hotel brand defined by immersive design and personal connection. Paul is a visionary in the lifestyle hotel space and a grounded, human leader behind the scenes.

👉 Want to talk through your own leadership shift? Book a 1:1 with MaryAnn: https://collectivegrowthleadership.com/book-call 

#LeadershipDevelopment #InnerWork #ExecutiveTeams #HospitalityLeadership #FounderStories

Leadership can demand everything until your body demands a reckoning.

In this powerful episode, host MaryAnn Means-Dufrene sits down with Dr. Julie Kennedy, founder of Seed Wellness Co., to explore how chronic stress, illness, and achievement addiction can quietly erode even the strongest leaders.

Julie shares how her battle with autoimmune illness became the turning point that reshaped not only her health but her entire leadership philosophy. Together, they unpack what it really means to listen to your body, trust your intuition, and heal in order to lead from wholeness, not burnout.

If you’ve ever felt torn between professional ambition and personal well-being, this conversation is your permission slip to slow down and step into more sustainable leadership.

Dr. Julie Kennedy is a board-certified family nurse practitioner specializing in functional medicine and holistic health. She brings over 25 years of experience, blending traditional medical training with personal healing insights to help clients address root causes of illness and reclaim wellness.

👉 Ready to stop leading from burnout? Book a call with MaryAnn: https://collectivegrowthleadership.com/book-call

#InnerWork #LeadershipDevelopment #FounderStories #ExecutiveTeams #VulnerabilityInLeadership

In this solo premiere episode, MaryAnn Means-Dufrene opens up about founding Collective Growth, wrestling with self-doubt as a "reluctant entrepreneur," and what it means to lead from the inside out. She dives into how identity shifts, faith, and personal breakdowns shaped her leadership evolution and how these unseen moments build the foundation for lasting impact.

MaryAnn Means-Dufrene is the founder of Collective Growth, a leadership development and culture consultancy. She coaches executives and teams toward purpose-driven transformation.

👉 Book a leadership clarity call: https://collectivegrowthleadership.com/book-call