In this episode of What’s Possible, Ilene Schaffer sits down with Jonathan Stutz, co-author with Eddie Pate of Daily Practices of Inclusive Leaders, for a timely and practical conversation about what inclusive leadership really looks like inside organizations.

Jonathan shares how his early experiences with discrimination, his commitment to repairing the world, and his corporate diversity work at companies like Microsoft and Amazon shaped his path into inclusion and leadership. Ilene and Jonathan explore why diversity, equity, and inclusion cannot be treated as a one-time program or check-the-box training. Instead, inclusion has to be woven into the culture and practiced through everyday leadership behaviors.

They discuss practical ways leaders can create belonging across the employee experience, from recruiting and hiring, to one-on-one meetings, employee resource groups, executive listening sessions, allyship, and using data to uncover inequities. Jonathan also shares one simple but powerful practice anyone can use right away: hitting the pause button when something happens that interrupts trust, dignity, or inclusion in the room.

This episode is especially relevant for leaders, coaches, HR professionals, and anyone who wants to build teams where people feel valued, supported, connected, and able to do their best work.

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Learn more about Silicon Valley Change Website | LinkedIn | YouTube
Connect with Ilene Schaffer Website | Instagram | LinkedIn 

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.

How do leaders navigate change at work? This "In the Moment" episode of What's Possible kicks off a short series on just that. Up first, Ilene Schaffer introduces Prochaska’s Stages of Change Model, and explaining why it can be such a helpful tool for leaders guiding teams through uncertainty.

Originally developed to understand behavior change, Ilene applies the model to today’s workplace, where leaders are often rolling out new strategies, systems, and decisions in the middle of unfamiliar territory and rapid change.

Leaders may already be in action mode because they have had time to think, plan, and prepare behind the scenes. But their teams may still be at the very beginning of the change cycle, just starting to understand what is happening and what it means for them.

This short episode gives leaders a practical framework for meeting people where they are, slowing down with empathy, and helping teams move through change with more awareness, clarity, and trust.

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Learn more about Silicon Valley Change Website | LinkedIn | YouTube
Connect with Ilene Schaffer Website | Instagram | LinkedIn 

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.

What if failure is not the thing that holds your career back, but one of the things that helps you grow into a stronger leader? In this episode of What’s Possible, Ilene Schaffer talks with Stephen Scharf, a Chief Information Security Officer with more than 25 years of experience in cybersecurity, about failure, managerial courage, communication, and career growth.

Stephen shares candid stories from his own leadership journey, including early career mistakes, high-pressure decisions, and the moments that helped prepare him for the C-suite. He also explains why leaders need the courage to make decisions under pressure, adapt their communication style to different audiences, manage stress, and build relationships with people who can advocate for them when opportunity arises.

This conversation is full of practical insight for leaders, early-career professionals, recent graduates, and anyone trying to build a meaningful career without pretending the path is always perfect.

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Learn more about Silicon Valley Change Website | LinkedIn | YouTube
Connect with Ilene Schaffer Website | Instagram | LinkedIn 

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.

In this special bonus episode of What’s Possible, Ilene Schaffer is joined by OB-GYN and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Marni Carlyle and work happiness expert Stella Grizont for a candid, science-informed, and empowering conversation about menopause, work, leadership, and well-being.

They explore the symptoms many women experience during perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause, including brain fog, irritability, hot flashes, sleep disruption, and changes in energy. You’ll also learn why these experiences can have a real impact on leadership, performance, relationships, and daily life.

Dr. Carlyle brings a medical perspective on what is happening in the body and why women should feel empowered to talk openly with healthcare providers. Stella shares her personal experience with surgical menopause and offers a powerful lens on self-compassion, identity, and redefining success during this life stage.

This bonus conversation is especially relevant for women navigating midlife, senior leaders, coaches, and anyone who wants to better understand how to support women’s well-being at work. It is a reminder that menopause is not something to hide or simply push through. It can also become a meaningful pivot toward wisdom, confidence, self-advocacy, and a more compassionate way of living and leading.

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Learn more about Silicon Valley Change Website | LinkedIn | YouTube
Connect with Ilene Schaffer Website | Instagram | LinkedIn 

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.

What if success is not about getting more, but giving more value first? In this episode of What’s Possible, Ilene Schaffer talks with Bob Burg, co-author of the international bestseller The Go-Giver, about the five laws of stratospheric success and why they are still deeply relevant for leaders, entrepreneurs, coaches, and professionals today.

Bob shares how value, compensation, influence, authenticity, and receptivity can change the way we think about business, leadership, sales, and human connection. He also explains why providing more value than we take is generous and strategic, and why people still do business with those they know, like, and trust.

In a world increasingly shaped by AI, digital noise, and transactional interactions, this conversation is a timely reminder that genuine service, authenticity, and relationship-building remain powerful drivers of success.

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Learn more about Silicon Valley Change Website | LinkedIn | YouTube
Connect with Ilene Schaffer Website | Instagram | LinkedIn 

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.

In this episode of What’s Possible: In the Moment, Ilene Schaffer continues her conversation with Kami Sip about the hidden costs of indecision, and what leaders can do when a decision cannot be made right away.

Kami explains that indecision is still a decision, and when leaders delay without clarity, they often distribute ambiguity, risk, and stress to the people around them. Building on part one, she revisits three common blocks to decision-making and offers practical ways leaders can manage those blocks more intentionally.

This short conversation is a practical reminder that, sometimes, leadership is about managing uncertainty clearly enough that others can keep thinking, working, and moving forward.

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Learn more about Silicon Valley Change Website | LinkedIn | YouTube
Connect with Ilene Schaffer Website | Instagram | LinkedIn 

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.

In this episode of What’s Possible, Ilene Schaffer sits down with Michael Park, Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships and Channels at ServiceNow, for a conversation about leadership, AI, and how to navigate a world of work that is changing faster than ever.

Michael has spent the last five years with AI at the center of his work, including serving as ServiceNow’s CMO and leading the company’s first dedicated AI go-to-market function. In this conversation, he shares what he is learning from the front lines of transformation. Including why leaders need to take action before they have complete certainty, build AI fluency, strengthen domain expertise, and stay deeply connected to human relationships.

Together, Ilene and Michael explore what it takes to lead through ambiguity, why gratitude and patience are essential leadership practices, and how organizations can prepare people for AI in ways that are practical, human, and grounded in trust.

This episode is especially relevant for leaders, teams, and anyone working in an organization where AI is becoming a larger part of how work gets done, which increasingly means all of us.

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Learn more about Silicon Valley Change Website | LinkedIn | YouTube
Connect with Ilene Schaffer Website | Instagram | LinkedIn 

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.

In this episode of What’s Possible: In the Moment, Ilene Schaffer sits down with Kamila Sip to explore why indecision is not a neutral act, especially for leaders.

Kami explains how stalled decisions at the top can create cognitive, emotional, and performance costs across an entire team. When leaders delay, teams are often left to operate in ambiguity, make fragmented assumptions, and carry the stress of uncertainty. Ilene and Kami unpack why this matters so much for leaders stepping into bigger roles, where quick, data-informed decisions are often expected.

This short conversation introduces three common blocks that get in the way of effective decision-making: data anxiety, loss aversion, and accountability avoidance. It offers a practical reminder that understanding why we hesitate is often the first step toward making clearer, faster, and more confident decisions.

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Learn more about Silicon Valley Change Website | LinkedIn | YouTube
Connect with Ilene Schaffer Website | Instagram | LinkedIn 

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.

What are the communication mistakes that quietly hold leaders back? In this episode of What’s Possible, Ilene Schaffer sits down with executive communication coach, TEDx speaker, and author Dr. Laura Sicola to unpack five common communication blunders that can quietly stall a career, and what leaders can do instead.

Drawing on more than two decades of experience coaching Fortune 500 executives, nonprofit leaders, and government agencies, Laura explains how even highly capable professionals can lose influence when they get stuck in the expert’s curse, stay silent in meetings, let their nervous system take over, confuse authenticity with rigidity, or listen only to respond instead of listening to lead.

Ilene and Laura explore what it really takes to build authentic authority, executive presence, and stronger communication in high-stakes conversations. This episode is especially relevant for leaders, managers, and ambitious professionals who want to communicate with more clarity, confidence, and impact in a world moving faster than ever.

Learn more about how to elevate your leadership here: sicola.info

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Learn more about Silicon Valley Change Website | LinkedIn | YouTube
Connect with Ilene Schaffer Website | Instagram | LinkedIn 

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.

In this episode of What’s Possible: In the Moment, Ilene Schaffer continues her conversation with Jeff Jacobs, exploring what his work in prisons revealed about diversity, belonging, and leadership.

Jeff reflects on a striking moment of racial separation among inmates and the unexpected insight that followed: people often gravitate toward what feels familiar, not always out of hostility, but out of habit and comfort. From there, he and Ilene dig into what that means for the workplace, where diverse teams often outperform homogeneous ones, but require more intentionality, vulnerability, and trust to truly thrive.

This short conversation is a thoughtful look at how leaders can build safer, more honest environments where people feel able to share feedback, challenge assumptions, and belong without creating exclusion.

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Learn more about Silicon Valley Change Website | LinkedIn | YouTube
Connect with Ilene Schaffer Website | Instagram | LinkedIn 

This show is produced and edited by the team at Palm Tree Pod Co.