Want a behind-the-scenes look at how real leaders make ethics practical on a day-to-day basis? In this conversation with Noreen Fierro at Principal Financial Group®, you’ll hear how, as Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, she builds trust by asking questions, owning mistakes, and keeping teams aligned to values, not just outcomes. You’ll also get an insider’s view of the rigorous Ethisphere “World’s Most Ethical Companies” application—what it takes, why cross-functional collaboration matters, and how to sustain momentum over months.

You’ll come away with fresh, usable ideas: pausing unsustainable busywork, watching for stress signals, and turning misses into shared learning instead of blame. Plus, you’ll discover a mentoring approach grounded in humility, self-awareness, and long-term relationships that helps people grow with confidence.

Noreen is Senior Vice President and Enterprise Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer at Principal Financial Group®. She joined Principal® in 2022. Her career spans 30 years in the financial services industry, both in-house in legal and compliance roles and as outside counsel. Prior to joining Principal in 2022, she was Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer at Guardian Life and before that held various senior-level positions at Prudential Financial. You’ll hear Noreen’s passion for strong leadership in our conversation, and she speaks often about it at industry events.

You’ll discover:

• How vulnerability (and “I don’t know yet”) elevates leadership.
• A practical playbook for complex, months-long ethics initiatives.
• What to do after a miss: learn, don’t blame.
• Ways to protect your team’s capacity and values in real time.
• A mentoring style that blends humility, curiosity, and care.

Watch the episode:

Connect with Noreen

Website

Learn more about Noreen Fierro’s employer, Principal Financial Group, here:  

PrincipalFinancial Group

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317: Ethics As a Business Superpower

Have you ever found yourself not speaking up, whether it’s in a 1:1 situation or in a group? For a variety of reasons, women often hold back instead of using their voice. Jennifer Wilkov, founder and CEO of Speak Up Women, learned to speak up in a powerful way herself and now teaches other women to do the same. Whether you’re looking to build confidence, advocate for yourself, or become a more effective leader, you’ll take away actionable strategies to amplify your own voice.

Jennifer shares her personal journey, from a successful career as a certified financial planner to an unexpected wrongful conviction that tested her resilience. Rather than staying silent, she turned her experience into a movement—empowering women to embrace their self-worth and use their voice with confidence.

Speak Up Women is a community that’s cultivating women’s self-expression and empowerment. Jennifer speaks to women through her inspiring personal message, “You have the right to remain fabulous! – regardless of any situation, circumstance or condition.” She is passionate about elevating the self-esteem of women everywhere and encouraging their self-worth.

You’ll discover:

• What a wrongful conviction taught Jennifer about speaking up
• Why women hesitate to speak up…and the situations where they often hold back
• What Speak Up Women is…and is not
• How you can speak up for others who don’t have a voice
• Jennifer’s work with interns to develop future leaders

Watch the episode:

Connect with Jennifer Wilkov

Jennifer Wilkov’s Resources

Websites

Jennifer S. Wilkov

Speak Up Women

Your Book Is Your Hook

TED Talk

I Survived Prison

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066: The Five Practices of Particularly Resilient People

Imagine how you’d feel if someone recognized your true potential—beyond what you thought was possible—and guided you to grow into it. That’s what Caroline Hughes does with each client she coaches. She meets them where they are, gets clarity about where they want to go, and that destination becomes her place to stand for them. You will be inspired as you listen to Caroline describe her process, and you’ll see how you can do this for each person on your team.

Caroline is the Founder and CEO of Conscious Leadership Development, based in Ireland. She became a global director at the age of 39 and held senior executive positions across a range of sectors, delivering large-scale transformation. Caroline now works with highly talented senior executives to create compelling visions for their teams and increase their impact and outcomes.

Caroline takes a powerful stand at the intersection of leadership and personal development. She believes that organizations are rich academies in which we learn all the skills and capabilities we need to be powerful leaders and human beings.

You’ll discover:

• The evolution that Caroline has seen in the role of leaders over the past 20 years
• Ways that we lose our power and how to reclaim it
• What Caroline does to help clients discover for themselves the changes they need to make
• Why it’s important to meet others where they are and not where we think they “should” be
• How to be a stand for the possibility in others

Watch the episode:

Connect with Caroline

Caroline’s Website

Conscious Leaders

What do the best founders do when leading others to fulfill the company’s mission? You’ll find out in this valuable conversation with Raja Skogland, who’s based in Norway.

Raja is not only an entrepreneur herself, she has also invested in more than 70 start-ups and small businesses. She’s observed firsthand—and also practices herself—the leadership skills necessary for building a successful company.

Raja is the Founder and Chair of The Visionary Company & VC. She’s created an ecosystem of experts, board members, investors, and serial entrepreneurs. Their purpose is to help startups, scale-ups, and small- to medium-size businesses raise money and build profitable, scalable businesses. Raja is also a Board Member of NorBAN, the Norwegian Business Angel Network.

You’ll discover:

• How Raja’s experiences in the business world led her to the work she does today
• Why Raja works on her mindset on a continuous basis and encourages entrepreneurs to do the same
• The power of surrounding yourself with “friend clients”
• Key leadership skills needed to run a successful business or team
• How Raja applies these skills with her children and with her team

Watch the episode:

Connect with Raja

Raja’s Resources

Websites

Raja Skogland Blog

The Visionary VC

Many companies are struggling with how to structure work, and some are requiring everyone to return to the physical building. Yet remote and hybrid teams are here to stay. Kevin Eikenberry shares practical tips from his new book, The Long-Distance Team, on making these teams successful.

Kevin is an expert on this subject, not only because he’s written the book, but also because he’s been leading a long-distance team himself for more than 25 years. He explains how to consciously design teams, define and create culture, and nurture employee engagement, all from a distance.

Kevin is the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group.  He’s recognized by Inc.com as one of the top 100 Leadership and Management thinkers in the world. Kevin has spent nearly 30 years helping organizations around the world in the areas of leadership development, learning, teams and teamwork, and communication.

You’ll discover:

• Why getting involvement from everyone is important when designing your team
• A simple and clear definition of Culture
• Differences in creating culture in a new team vs. an existing team
• The 3 Cs that are the pillars for long-distance teams…and why they are essential
• The distinction between expectations and agreements for both individuals and teams

Watch the episode:

Connect with Kevin

Kevin’s Resources

Website

The Kevin Eikenberry Group

Books

The Long-Distance Team: Designing Your Team for Everyone’s Success

The Long-Distance Teammate: Stay Engaged and Connected While Working Anywhere

The Long-Distance Leader: Rules for Remarkable Remote Leadership

Did you know that only 23% of people think their leaders lead well? How did we get to the point that employees have such low confidence in their leaders?

Alain Hunkins understands what people are looking for, and why the approach of previous generations of leaders is not the answer. He talks in a compelling way about the three C’s that are required—Connection, Communication, and Collaboration. They form the basis of his excellent book, Cracking the Leadership Code.

Alain is CEO of Hunkins Leadership Group, where he helps high achieving people become high achieving leaders.  Over his twenty-year career, Alain has worked with thousands of groups of leaders in 25 countries. Clients include Wal-Mart, Pfizer, General Electric, IBM, and Microsoft.

You’ll discover:

• The impact on Alain of growing up with two Holocaust survivors (mother and grandmother)
• What younger workers are looking for—but not getting—from most leaders
• Why leading with empathy is essential…and the benefits of doing so
• What gets in the way of leaders communicating well
• How to identify and acknowledge peak moments to create a positive workplace

Watch the episode:

Connect with Alain

Alain’s Resources

Website

Alain Hunkins

Book

CRACKING THE LEADERSHIP CODE: Three Secrets to Building Strong Leaders