Rebecca Braitling and Sue Covelli-Buntley interview John O’Grady, who has had a career as a Division 1 Athlete, a leader in the army, and now a leadership coach. They discuss his leadership journey, effective decision-making tools, and how to cultivate workplace inclusion.

[00:30] Introducing John

[02:09] John’s Leadership Journey

[07:31] Tips for Struggling Leaders

[13:20] The Importance of Knowing Yourself

[21:22] Leading with Courageous Civility & Cultivating Inclusion

[31:21] Loving Your Future Self

[37:45] Lighting Round: A Series of Quick Questions

Rebecca Braitling of UpSpiral Leadership interviews the board of the Women in Industry, Science and Engineering at Regeneron (WISER) employee interest group. Regeneron is a pharmaceutical company in Tarrytown, New York. The board of the WISER group is composed of Rachel Kumar, Cindy Chen, Jennifer Liang and Belinda Tang. They discuss what WISER does, the impact of the challenges that they face as the board of this women’s employee interest group, and how building a community has contributed to their own growth and the growth of others.

[01:20] Introducing the Guests

[05:16] Why WISER is Important to Each Guest

[11:04] What WISER Does

[13:04] The Impact of WISER

[16:40] Challenges Faced in Building WISER

[23:29] Staying Motivated

[29:54] Lessons Learned

[34:08] Lighting Round: A Series of Quick Questions

All four board members have a history of involvement in diversity groups or groups for women in STEM in high school and/or college. Coming into Regeneron, they craved a community where like-minded women could learn together and support one another. WISER’s official mission is “to provide an inclusive platform for networking & mentorship at Regeneron while supporting women through professional development, well-being and community outreach activities.” The group provides programming, networking and education such as International Women’s Day, an online platform for community discussions, mentorship events, and service activities such as leading girl scouts troops.

The board members share how organizing events such as these has helped each of them to develop their confidence, to be more willing to ask for help, to build stronger relationships, and to be more intentional in the way that they organize their time. When asked how they stay motivated to keep working on the WISER group, they cite the pleasure of witnessing their events make employees feel seen, happier and more equipped to excel professionally.

For more information on becoming an UpSpiral leader, please visit the UpSpiral Leadership website (www.upspiralleadership.com), and do remember to tune into the next episode!

Rebecca Braitling, Poyee Chiu and Sue Covelli-Buntley of UpSpiral Leadership interview Joe Makston, Director of Learning and Talent Development at Early Warning Services. Joe is also the author of a children’s book Tummy Tales: Questions with My Dad and a TEDx speaker. UpSpiral has partnered with Joe to design a progressive leadership development program at Early Warning. They discuss the vulnerability and authenticity that is at the core of Joe’s leadership philosophy.

[01:43] Introducing Joe Makston

[03:49] Joe’s Passion for Creating Change

[07:09] Authentic Leadership

[11:23] Leadership Struggles

[19:56] Influencing Other Leaders to Be Vulnerable

[25:07] Lessons Learnt

[28:00] The Impact of Joe’s Efforts

[32:30] Lighting Round: A Series of Quick Questions for Joe

As a member of middle management, Joe recalls talking to an executive at the bank where he worked. The leader’s main piece of advice was simply “don’t lose who you are.” Since then, Joe has embodied this philosophy, and in turn encouraged his subordinates to be vulnerable and authentic. This helps to create a work environment that has a good balance between prioritizing people and profit. Instead of churning people to work longer hours or admonishing them for not meeting KPIs, Joe nurtures relationships, community, collaboration and collective success. Leadership does not have to be lonely.

Joe’s approach to leadership is met with varying degrees of interest, enthusiasm and naysayers. To deal with this, Joe prioritizes compassion and respect towards those who disagree. Instead of trying to defend his approach, he influences people by his actions and by acknowledging these people’s value and contributions. Joe applies humility and a commitment to continuous improvement. He describes himself as a tree adding rings, as opposed to someone climbing a ladder where there is a clear end to progress.

Have you been inspired to become a more authentic, vulnerable and compassionate leader? To do this you might want to read Simon Sinek’s Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action or visit the UpSpiral Leadership website (www.upspiralleadership.com).

UpSpiral Leadership: Think bigger, act bolder, collaborate better.