The Inspire Podcast

In this episode of The Inspire Podcast, Bart Egnal speaks with Breann Kelly, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel at Ewing Morris, about why a growth mindset is more important than ever.

Breann reflects on her career journey and the choices that shaped it, sharing how a consistent focus on learning and curiosity guided her path from law into the world of investment management. She discusses what it takes to navigate uncertainty, build confidence in new environments, and lead through moments of real pressure, including guiding the firm through the COVID era and helping evolve the business along the way.

A clear through line in the conversation is the power of a growth mindset. Breann shares how a willingness to step into new spaces and learn along the way has shaped her career, and why that mindset continues to matter in a world defined by AI and constant change. Her insights offer a clear lens on how to keep progressing, even when the path ahead is uncertain.

00:23 Standard show intro

01:00 Introducing Breann

01:37 What is Ewing Morris?

02:23 Bart’s disclaimer: I am a client and investor

03:13 Bart introduces the concept of “embracing the growth mindset”

03:47 How it all began for Breann

04:28 Specializing in the asset management space

05:08 BlackRock gig

05:46 Why did you leave the predictable legal profession path?

06:51 Legal profession — live to work rather than work to live

09:10 Moving from BlackRock to Ewing Morris

09:34 Natural ceiling at BlackRock Canada

13:24 Bart observes her ambition for advancement

13:51 What questions should people be asking of their current career path?

14:01 Through-line: passion for learning and growing

14:36 Challenge yourself: if you're not challenging yourself, you're not growing

15:45 The culture shock moving to EM

16:12 New mom + new job

17:21 Imposter syndrome challenge

17:42 You can't learn everyone’s jobs inside out as a manager

18:58 From big support team to team of one

19:04 The buck really stopped with me

19:26 The more you seek reassurance, the more it erodes confidence

21:05 Staying relevant in the age of AI?

21:51 Leading through the COVID era

23:58 The business impact of COVID on the markets

27:34 Fixed vs. growth mindset

28:07 The genesis of the SPV business

28:30 SPVs explained

31:21 Pivoting to wealth management

33:01 Aventine

34:18 Bart observes growth mindset at EM

35:04 Pale, male, and stale

35:41 How to have a growth mindset in turbulent/changing times

35:51 Advice: challenge yourself to always do hard things

36:03 Fostering a growth mindset with her kids

36:27 Always find something hard to do!

Public speaking sits at the heart of leadership, influence, and growth.

For Sebastian Uzcategui, founder of SpeakUp Express, it also became the turning point that shaped his career. What began as a way to promote his work in finance quickly evolved into a deeper focus on speaking, as he discovered a passion for being on stage, telling stories, and connecting with an audience.

In his conversation with Bart Egnal, Sebastian shares how developing his public speaking skills helped him grow his business, and how that momentum led him to expand into speaking full-time and support others in building their presence on stage. He also shares his tips on managing nerves, building an experience for your audience, using movement and delivery to create a stronger connection, and how these skills can help advance your broader business goals.

This is a must-listen for anyone looking to become a more confident, impactful speaker.

To learn more visit SpeakUP.Express

Show notes:

00:31 Show introduction

01:10 Introducing Sebastian

01:49 Why should people care about public speaking

02:54 How Sebastian got his start

03:18 Early days starting businesses in his teens

03:58 Church speaking opportunity

04:50 Speaking solves the 3 most expensive problems in business

05:16 Trust, authority, connection

06:23 People see 6000 to 10000 ads per day

06:45 Cold call rates below 1 percent

06:55 People trust individuals more than brands

07:07 Purpose over profit

07:41 How things moved from the church to speaking business

09:35 Epiphany moment on the speaking business

12:19 Organic growth is the hardest to replicate

13:25 Things that went wrong that made Sebastian better at speaking

14:37 Tune your audience to you and you to them

16:05 Advice for people who want to get into speaking

16:26 You have to believe your message

17:11 You have to believe your audience needs to hear it

17:27 Slow down

18:05 Believe you are the only one to give that message

18:39 Bart’s pharma executive thought experiment

19:58 What makes you a revolutionary speaker

20:12 Focus on impact over product

21:24 What defines an entrepreneur, speaker, and leader

23:20 Nerves, do they go away and how to deal with them

24:42 You will be crushed by nerves, it is normal

25:18 Just be loud!

27:17 Less is more, quality over quantity

27:46 Top speakers build an experience

28:39 You always create an experience when you speak

30:46 Making people care and remember

31:13 The speaking game

33:09 You master your speaking, everything falls into place

33:29 How to find Sebastian

34:40 Thank yous

34:55 Outro

In this episode of The Inspire Podcast, Bart Egnal speaks with award-winning journalist and producer Melanie Marshall about what it really takes to tell stories that resonate.

Drawing on more than 20 years with the BBC, reporting from conflict zones, covering global crises, and leading editorial teams, Melanie shares practical lessons for leaders who want their messages to truly connect.

They explore how to find the human element that brings any story to life, what it takes to stand out in an age of AI generated content, and how to build a clear narrative arc when you are competing for attention. Melanie also shares how leaders can help others develop their storytelling skills and why storytelling has become an essential leadership capability.

Through powerful real-world examples from her career, Melanie shows that storytelling is not just a communication technique, but a way to create meaning, build connection, and inspire action.

If you want to learn more about Melanie, visit her websites: www.melaniemarshall.com and

www.imramamedia.com

00:24 Show Intro

01:03 introducing Melanie

03:03 Her journey to BBC journalism

04:33 Falling in love with journalism

04:57 story of getting placed in Africa instead of entertainment journalism

06:10 Early experiences of going to Africa

06:16 The kindness of other people to teach you

07:46 Coming back to Canada and Tech boom

07:59 Foray into setting up a media company

08:29 Won a venture capital competition

09:03 When it all blew up - I took it hard

09:13 Ended up on "Venture"

09:43 When the venture failed - took it as a personal failure

09:56 Going back to BBC

10:29 Learning to tell stories...

10:49 Firefighting

11:40 Differentiating yourself (including from AI slop)

12:01 Integrity and authenticity on the ground

12:30 How to behave like a human being

12:47 Logging in Brazil story

13:15 Telling abstract stories that reach people

13:51 Finding the human element to bring a story to life

14:33 Really listen to what's happening on the ground

15:02 "bring people there

16:08 Audiences can sense "phoney"

16:34 Next phase of career - from conflict zones

16:52 Those times in life when you have to make a move

17:32 Learning to tell stories in different formats

17:55 Building a narrative arc when you are competing for attention

18:07 Tell the same story in a million ways

20:06 Afgan maternal mortality story + lesson learned

24:13 What is a powerful story?

24:52 3rd phase in her career - Leadership role

27:46 How to teach others to tell stories

27:58 Understand what they are good at

28:27 Journalist Tom's story

30:31 One of Tom Bateman's stories

32:45 What 3 pieces of advice would Melanie give

33:07 start with something you have in common

33:23 Look for details!

34:21 Give people somewhere to go - Hero's Journey

35:09 How to find out more about Melanie

35:42 Thank yous

36:04 Outro

Season 8 kicks off with a timely conversation on what it takes to lead in today’s high-pressure environment.

Bart sits down with Carolyn Lawrence, founder of ClearPath and former Global Head of DEI at Deloitte, and Jennifer Laidlaw, founder of Cre8 Coaching, to explore the growing pressure leaders are facing today, particularly those from diverse backgrounds. As expectations rise and roles continue to expand, many leaders are feeling the weight of increased responsibility and scrutiny, often without clear support on how to navigate it.

Carolyn shares what she’s learned from years of working inside organizations on how to embed inclusion into the way businesses actually operate, not just as programs, but as systems that drive performance. Jennifer brings the complementary perspective of the “inner game,” helping leaders understand how their state of mind shapes how they show up, make decisions, and sustain energy over time.

Together, they offer a practical and honest look at how to navigate these pressures, with clear ideas leaders can apply right away to better support themselves, their teams, and the systems they’re part of.

Show Notes

00:23 Show intro

01:01 Welcoming Carolyn and Jennifer

02:01 The idea for this episode

03:22 How Jennifer and Carolyn partnered

03:57 Carolyn’s passion for equity and inclusion

04:12 Women of Influence organization

04:47 Leading Deloitte’s DEI efforts

05:18 Systematizing DEI

05:48 Avoiding backlash

07:04 Jennifer’s background

07:35 The 30% Club in Canada

08:01 The inner game

08:49 How Carolyn and Jennifer work together

09:13 Combining the inner and systemic revolution

09:59 Responding to the shift away from DEI

10:45 Why many DEI programs faltered

12:15 Getting the tactics wrong

13:26 What leaders are experiencing today

17:14 The pressure of rising to the top

17:48 Example of an executive navigating these challenges

20:04 Addressing inclusion challenges in a constructive way

22:20 Advice for leaders feeling this pressure

23:23 Mindfulness

25:32 How mindfulness helps

26:24 Reality vs the stories we tell ourselves

26:57 Staying grounded in high-pressure environments

28:11 Returning to the present moment

29:47 Working on yourself vs the system

30:21 Three ways to improve organizational systems

31:13 Ask

31:54 Articulate

33:51 Accountability

34:11 Defining visible metrics

34:52 Measuring inclusion

37:22 What success looks like personally

38:09 Getting into flow

40:41 Final advice

42:23 Thank yous

42:42 Outro

In this episode of The Inspire Podcast, Bart speaks with Barry LaBov—CEO, founder, author, and former rock musician and producer—about his new book The Power of Differentiation. Barry explains why differentiation is critical for brands, businesses, and leaders, and how clarity around what makes you unique is essential in today’s crowded marketplace

He shares stories from his early days in the music industry and his unexpected transition into marketing, highlighting how great bands, great companies, and great leaders all know what makes them distinctively unique, and they double down on it. Barry also walks through his approach to finding and naming your differentiators, and why leaders must launch and celebrate them by engaging the people who bring them to life.

Whether you want your business to stand out or you’re looking to elevate your own leadership brand, Barry’s insights offer practical guidance for differentiating in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

Shote Notes:

00:22 Show intro

00:56 Introducing Barry

02:05 What is differentiation?

02:53 It's so important today to have authenticity

03:15 Harley Davidson's differentiation

03:58 Elon Musk

04:42 Bart talks about differentiating brands

04:59 Music and unique artists

06:07 Barry's early days in a band and as a producer

06:58 Wrote songs for famous performers

07:19 Band members were all doing something unique

07:47 From music to marketing

09:49 Someone asked him to take on a marketing role – and he declined! 

10:18 We trust YOU 

10:49 Writing a book

11:09 Why write the book on differentiation?

11:48 How the COVID great resignation changed his thinking

12:11 Hearts, minds and market share

12:46 How can people discover their unique proposition?

13:20 Talk to humans about the brand

14:21 Observing the biz to see what is unique

14:53 Example of a unique process in a business

15:50 Jam session with the client

16:07 Taking the differentiators and executing in marketing and business

16:21 The Launch

16:26 Launch to the most important people first 

16:58 You're often too close to your own work to see the differentiators

17:47 How to do this personally

19:08 These are things I do well — but it's not for everyone! 

20:14 Celebrating your differentiators

24:03 Morale slipping — leaders need to reframe

25:26 How to maintain enthusiasm for your core strengths

25:57 Don't wait for the holiday party — tell them every day 

26:28 Don't talk about profit unless you are sharing it

27:03 Cheerleading vs authentic celebration

28:41 Music acts that are unique today

30:53 Where can people get more

31:28 Thank-yous and outro

Exciting news: The Humphrey Group has been acquired by Humance!

In this special episode of The Inspire Podcast, Bart Egnal speaks with Bernard Letendre, Managing Partner, Ontario and Western Canada at Humance, about the story behind this decision and the journey that led him there.

Bernard shares his remarkable career path from practicing law to leading major divisions in Canada’s financial services industry, to joining Humance and becoming the architect behind its acquisition of The Humphrey Group. Along the way, he reflects on lessons learned about taking risks, creating opportunities rather than waiting for them, and pursuing growth with purpose.

He also draws powerful parallels between leadership and his lifelong practice of judo, where discipline, humility, and mutual benefit are essential to success.

Bart and Bernard close with an inside look at how the merger came to be after a year of conversation and a shared vision for growth, and how it will set both organizations up to continue serving their clients in existing and new ways.

Whether you’re navigating your own career transitions or leading through change, this conversation offers powerful insights on creating your own opportunities, embracing non-linear growth, and finding strength in partnership.

Show Notes:

00:14 Show intro

00:48 Welcoming Bernard

01:14 Special announcement

02:05 "Humance" meaning

02:29 Judo and its importance

04:40 How Bernard began his career

05:01 Law and the law of electronic surveillance

05:34 Wife: "law made you less fun to be around"

06:47 Joined IG

07:06 Taking a 100% commission job

07:53 Making cold-calls to the bar phonebook

08:35 Finding opportunities in the new job

08:40 Officer training in the military

09:05 Good at management

10:19 Changing career paths regularly

10:36 Switching to Standard Life

11:21 Standard life

12:05 2009 Financial crisis - lost job

12:14 Landing at Manulife

12:36 Should you take a step down in your career?

13:01 Building a biz plan for private wealth at Manulife

13:44 Manulife tapped him to run his business plan

14:54 Advice for people who are ambitious with their careers

15:08 Don't wait for opportunity, come up with ways of creating value

15:36 Congrats, you have employment now figure out your job

16:50 How the Pandemic transformed his life

17:53 cert in organizational coaching

20:59 Why he made the leap to Humance

22:38 Long-term thinking

22:45 Doing is big "act" before it was too late

24:16 Advice: A career does not have to be linear

25:13 Not having a rigid mind

25:36 The final act: Humance

27:05 His Biz plan for expanding Humance outside the Quebec market

28:48 How Bernard reached out to Bart

31:17 Mutual benefit in Judo

33:41 Thank yous and wrap up

34:02 Outro

What does it really take to build great leaders? In this episode of the Inspire Podcast, Bart Egnal sits down with Rob Buckingham, Executive VP at Quest Window Systems Inc and retired Canadian Forces Captain, to unpack how leadership is intentionally developed in both the military and business.

Rob shares powerful lessons from his time in uniform when he was first exposed to foundational leadership and how the Canadian Forces empowers junior leaders to step up from day one. He explains how that experience taught him the value of feedback, the importance of resilience under pressure, and why empowering people early creates lasting strength in any organization.

He then reveals how those same principles shaped his corporate career and what he learned as a management consultant and, more recently, in his current role as Executive VP of a global manufacturing company. He closes by sharing perspectives from his work with Treble Victor, an organization that matches veterans with civilian organizations, and shows why companies that tap into military leadership talent gain a powerful edge.

If you’ve ever wondered what foundational leadership looks like in practice and how you can cultivate it in your own organization, this conversation is for you.

 

Show Notes

00:15 Show intro

00:52 Introducing Robert Buckingham

03:12 What is foundational leadership and why is it important?

03:18 Fostering a leadership culture 

03:42 Empower junior leaders

04:07 What orgs get right and wrong about leadership development

04:53 Military officers have responsibility right away

06:12 Give junior leaders tools to lead early on 

07:00 Why did you enlist in the army

09:42 What is Mission-command

10:28 Military gets planning and execution of tasks

12:57 Forecast Plan Control Review

13:29 Resilience

13:33 Key values: loyalty, integrity, mission first

13:49 Can you teach these leadership traits or are they innate?

15:09 High fallout rate in the military

18:35 Continuous training

19:41 Instantaneous coaching feedback

20:06 Growing a culture of feedback

20:18 What's the toughest feedback you got in your career?

21:19 Like sports team culture

21:35 The worst thing is complacency

24:04 One of my proudest achievements in the military

24:43 Transitioning from military to the corporate world, was it a shock?

25:59 Translating to civilian speak

28:01 What maps and what doesn't?

29:11 Put things in place, succeeded!

30:47 Span of control

32:35 Corporate environment never plan

33:29 50 50 leadership vs tasks

34:00 Joined Quest

35:01 Set your team up with a structure where information flows up and down

36:15 How to know how an org is doing with leadership?

36:49 Does the front line mission line up with the org's mission?

38:18 The Back Brief 

39:55 Treble Victor

45:38 Thank yous

46:00 Outro

In this episode, Bart sits down with Janet Drysdale, Interim Chief Commercial Officer at CN, to explore her career journey through progressively senior roles and how communication has been the key differentiator at every level. Janet reflects on the different skills required at each step of a career, and how even today, in a new senior role, it’s critical that she continues to hone her ability to influence, listen, and inspire.

She shares how the demands of communication shift as your career grows. Early in your career, you need the courage to share your opinion, as you advance, you need to learn to say “no” quickly and decisively. At more senior levels, it becomes essential to translate complexity into clarity, become an exceptional listener, and empower others to speak up and share their voice.

Whether you’re just starting out or leading at the highest level, this conversation weaves together Janet's insights and experiences to reveal the communication skills that matter most and how they can fuel your success.

Show Notes:

00:12 Show intro

00:47 Introducing Janet

02:14 Why communication has been important for Janet's career

03:11 Communication is the single most important skill

03:54 Communication in the early years of Janet's career

05:01 Early career very FACT-focused

05:23 But what do you think about the facts

06:39 Was there a moment when she had to step up and lead

06:49 Nobody could argue with facts but suggesting solutions was scary

07:57 The beginning of real conversation is when you put yourself out there and get feedback

08:51 Investor relations role

10:59 Communication helps build relationships

12:54 Influencing the C-suite level

13:03 The way you communicate matters

13:48 Tailoring communication to the room

14:41 Bart recalls a time when they worked together

16:51 Sometimes you need the facts not the story from people

19:31 Understanding the why and how they're telling the story

20:16 Helping others find their communication styles

21:22 Bart asks her for a story of helping a team member

22:44 People in the room who want to talk but are too shy

23:56 Reinforce the behavior

24:18 The importance of listening

26:42 The finance team also needs to learn to communicate

27:33 It doesn't matter what your role is communication is key

27:56 The downside of a "maybe"

28:24 If you're going to have to say "no" don't string it out with "maybe"

29:48 Communication is also to build trust and respect

30:24 What skills is Janet still working on

31:27 Thank Yous

31:58 Show outro

In this episode, Bart speaks with Dave Garrison, Founder and Chief Navigating Officer of Garrison Growth, about his new book The Buy-In Advantage. They explore why employee engagement is at a decade low, the forces driving disengagement, and why it’s critical for leaders to overcome these challenges to build a fully committed workforce. Dave shares practical, no-cost strategies leaders can use to foster authentic buy-in—shifting from “telling” to “asking,” recognizing employees as human beings (not just human doings), and connecting people’s work to purpose and growth. A timely and valuable conversation for leaders at all levels, offering concrete tools to inspire and engage teams in an era when it matters more than ever.

Get your copy of The Buy-In Advantage here: https://buyinbook.com/

00:37 Show intro

01:14 Welcoming Dave Garrison

01:51 What is a Chief Navigating Officer?

03:14 Dave's career background

04:27 The story of seeing a shaman

05:54 Removing artificial constraints

06:48 Walking out of the corporate world into CNO

07:22 What it was like to leave the job he had

07:53 The business was funded on credit card debt

08:18 How the venture has evolved in the last 10 years

09:27 About his new book

10:59 Creating engagement

11:06 Game-changing orgs always have 3 elements

11:38 How do leaders build an environment for engagement?

12:52 What is the buy-in crisis? And where does it come from?

13:49 Gen Z values – money less important, impact with like-minded people

14:59 What's driving the buy-in crisis

16:17 Two-thirds don’t care about the company

16:32 The costs of lack of engagement

16:53 Churn is a waste of time and resources

17:49 Are companies just grinning and bearing it with turnover?

19:01 How do great leaders foster buy-in

19:27 Give up on the bully or bribe approach

20:15 Why can’t people be as enthusiastic about jobs as they are about sports?

20:50 The way the boss sees things is only one way

21:02 Collective genius

21:22 Human beings, not human doings

22:10 Sense of purpose

22:34 Challenges and opportunities to learn and grow

22:57 Bart summarizes main points so far

23:35 Warning signs that buy-in is not occurring

26:21 What lets you know this is a great idea?

26:48 Don’t share your idea — share the problem

27:36 Example of Jeff Edison’s leadership

30:16 Ask questions instead of providing answers

32:08 Example of older leaders stuck in ‘answer mode’

34:05 Teachers with right answers

34:52 Where are we with workforce engagement?

35:21 We’re at a decade-low in engagement

36:23 Where to find The Buy-In Advantage

37:15 Thank Yous

37:28 Outro

In this episode, Bart speaks with longtime THG consultant and Professor of Voice, Acting, and Performance Research at Concordia University, Noah Drew, about the deep connection between presence, performance, and leadership. Noah shares how his journey through theatre and voice work shaped his understanding of what presence really means, and why it matters for both actors and leaders.

Bridging his work in theatre and leadership development, Noah introduces the Presence Triangle. He breaks down the three points of the triangle: the inner experience of the speaker, the outer awareness of the audience, and the material at hand, and explains why great communicators stay attuned to all three. Along the way, he offers practical ways to assess your own presence, strengthen it, and show up more fully and authentically in the moments that matter.

Whether you're preparing for a high-stakes presentation or simply want to be more intentional in everyday interactions, this conversation will help you lead with greater clarity, connection, and presence.

For those who want to explore the ideas Noah mentions in more depth, you can read writings from the Fitzmaurice Institute here: https://www.fitzmauriceinstitute.org/writings

00:32 Show Intro

01:12 Introducing Noah Drew

02:26 Why should people in the government and corps care about theatre training?

02:44 Theatre is an artform that is about commanding people's attention

03:47 What theatre experiences stood out to you?

03:59 Joining a youth theatre company

05:30 Did you know that you wanted to pursue theatre?

06:57 Professional clowning?

07:51 Bart asks: what is "presence"?

08:21 Presence has 2 sides

09:10 Defining presence

10:03 What does it mean to inspire others?

10:24 That's what great leaders do

12:25 Stagecraft makes people want to pay attention

14:26 How do actors learn to develop presence? The Presence Triangle

17:34 Continuous electric dance of attention

21:02 "What you resist, persists"

21:34 Bart brings it back to the realities of leaders and managers

22:45 If you're not in the habit, the pressure will make it even harder

25:11 The pressure that comes from the attention of others

25:28 Advice to people to be ready when the attention is on them

26:12 Bart gets an assessment and coaching!

28:34 How can people self-assess their Presence Triangle?

30:58 How to develop your weakest point of the Presence Triangle

31:21 How to develop inner awareness

33:44 Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone

35:51 Early childhood experiences often shape these challenges

36:34 Belief in the material

37:21 The time spent to shape your material is worth it

38:32 Bart shares his experiences as a speechwriter

40:24 It's a "practice" of presence

42:11 How can people follow up on these ideas?

42:28 Fitzmaurice Institute

42:54 Saul Kotzubei

43:29 Thank Yous

43:50 Show Outro