Calling all quiet leaders! Calling all quiet leaders! You may have more executive presence than you thought. As it turns out, confidence is rooted in steadiness, not volume. So if anyone ever taught you that you’re too quiet to lead, maybe that person has it all wrong. In this episode, we debunk some common beliefs and I show you a little trick I learned from Daniel Pink on how to know who the real influencers in the room are.

I LOVE a good outline…especially if I’m going to be in a high stakes situation. When I wasn’t as established in my communication journey, I lived by them. Like…literally read off the script. That approach lead to distrust because people thought I was just checking a box and getting through important conversations. I never really felt comfortable with the script so I looked at the paper more than I looked at the person I was talking with. And what’s worse, I likely forgot the whole reason I put the script together in the first place…to create connection. In this episode, we explore how scripts can benefit you when you use them right.

We were all taught how to communicate by the experiences we went through the moment we were born. In this episode, I explore how these innate learnings show up in present day leadership and why most of us need to work to make some changes in how you lead. If you freeze when you’re challenged, replay conversations in your head or avoid feedback discussions, this episode is for you. Listening won’t get you on the path to communicating differently, but understanding why you communicate the way you do will give current behavior patterns less power.

Your team is looking for leadership. When you’re so nice you confuse your audience, your team doesn’t take you seriously and you don’t get results…you need to make some changes. In this episode, I give you a formula that I use when giving feedback that allows you to be direct, create trust, strengthen relationships and meet your goals.

If you shrink when you should be respectfully challenging someone or bite your tongue when something makes you upset, you aren’t necessarily being professional. You very well could be taking valid emotions and shoving them way down so you can keep the peace…and your job. Here, we explore some sentiments I grew up with that you likely did too and how you can express how you feel without compromising your character and credibility.

Have you ever noticed how “us” versus “them” investigations feel? It’s taken me many years to realize this but I don’t think it has to be that way. In fact, I would go so far to say that we might be setting employees up to fail just because they fear the consequence of being honest more than the chance their leader may support them, develop them and may make sweeping changes as a result of their honesty. What might happen if we tried a different approach to how we introduce an investigation? I suspect we gain a clear understanding of the what and the why quicker, develop trust between the leader and employee and maybe uncover bigger things that need to be addressed with the team down the road. In this episode, I give you an off the cuff script to how you might kick off your investigations differently for partnered success.

Communication has a cost. You pay for it if you speak up and you pay for it if you don’t. But the cost is always different. And sometimes, it’s hard to tell which will cost you more. Here we explore the cost of silence versus the cost of honesty, discuss how avoidance masquerades as silence and evaluate who we’re really protecting by not speaking up. Spoiler alert…we aren’t protecting someone else. In this episode, I invite you to take stock of your communication or lack thereof this year and encourage you to make changes for 2026. Because either way, there is a payoff for speaking up and staying quiet. One just serves you more than the other. Have a happy and blessed New Year.

I used to get so worked up when someone would message or call me about being unhappy with something I was a part of. Now, I handle things differently. In fact, when I even think someone might be unhappy, I seek them out. In this episode, I reverse engineer complaining like a pro and help you take and respond to complaints like a pro. The things I share help to cut down your anxiety, create trust with those you work with and move you in the right direction to solve the problem fast.

I grappled with this episode title because quite honestly, I hate complainers. But really, what I’m teaching is how to complain but be respectful, professional and move toward change. I help you with mindset and to construct the best “complaint” session so that you create a win not only with the situation but with the people you are collaborating with. And my favorite part is that you’ll do it while you strengthen your credibility AND generate better relationships.

If you haven’t watched Zootopia, you probably won’t understand this reference. The point of this podcast is to stop feeling like a failure when you can’t solve a problem because the information you get is poor. Stop letting these problems consume your day and your thoughts. The harsh reality is that the story you tell yourself or that you let others tell you, is getting in your way…and it’s a straight up lie. I’m going to expose this unrealistic standard for what it is and help you shift your mindset to tackle the problem in a realistic way that creates action and will at some point resolve the issue.