318: The Power of Speaking Up: Turning Fear into Strength

318: The Power of Speaking Up: Turning Fear into Strength

318: The Power of Speaking Up: Turning Fear into Strength

 

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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317: Ethics As a Business Superpower

317: Ethics As a Business Superpower

317: Ethics As a Business Superpower

In this eye-opening episode, we’re joined by Erica Salmon Byrne, a leading expert in business ethics and compliance. Erica shares her fascinating journey from litigation attorney to becoming a key figure in shaping ethical business practices worldwide at Ethisphere. We dive deep into the upcoming announcement of the 2025 World’s Most Ethical Companies, exploring what sets these organizations apart and why ethical behavior is not just good for society, but also for the bottom line.

Whether you’re a small business owner or part of a large corporation, this episode offers practical advice on how to integrate ethics into your daily operations and long-term strategy. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from one of the foremost experts in the field and discover how your organization can join the ranks of the world’s most ethical companies.

Erica is Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Chair of Ethisphere. Previously serving as CEO, she’s now responsible for ensuring continuous and strong growth for the company while maintaining the key principle that good businesses do better. She’s also the Chair of their Business Ethics Leadership Alliance, which serves ethics and compliance practitioners around the globe.

You’ll discover:

  • The link between ethical practices and financial performance
  • Why effective leadership skills are crucial in maintaining a strong, compliant company culture
  • The importance of defining and communicating your organization’s “why” to all stakeholders
  • The criteria Ethisphere uses to select winners for the World’s Most Ethical Companies award
  • How to integrate ethics into your daily operations and long-term strategy

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Connect with Erica

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313: The Leadership Playbook: Access, Advocacy, and Action

313: The Leadership Playbook: Access, Advocacy, and Action

313: The Leadership Playbook: Access, Advocacy, and Action

Not everyone has equal access to mentoring and sponsorship opportunities. Ayana Carroll is on a mission to change that for Black mid-level managers. In her work with clients and in our conversation for this interview, Ayana shares valuable tips that can help those managers as well as those who make decisions around promotions.

Ayana is the Founder of ARC Consulting, and she’s dedicated to elevating Black mid-level professionals into transformative leaders. With over 25 years of HR leadership and DEI expertise, Ayana specializes in breaking down barriers to leadership, including limited access to high-visibility projects, mentorship gaps, and challenges in self-advocacy.

As the first Black professional to rise to the level of Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at Fluence, Ayana created and led the company’s first DEI department. This pioneering initiative established pathways for diverse hires, increased representation in leadership, and drove inclusion at all levels.

Ayana has extensive experience coaching C-suite leaders as well as mid-level managers, creating tailored learning paths to accelerate their development. She also volunteers with various homeless organizations to support individuals on their journey to stability and success.

You’ll discover:

  • Why Ayana focuses her work on mid-level managers
  • The current narrative around Black talent…and how Ayana is reshaping it
  • What mentors and sponsors can do
  • Why STAY interviews are vital to retaining talent
  • How Ayana helps managers create a plan for career development

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Connect with Ayana

  

Ayana’s Resources

Website

ARC Consulting

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312: Aligning the Dots to Accelerate Business Growth

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312: Aligning the Dots to Accelerate Business Growth

What causes companies to experience rapid top-line revenue growth? Philippe Bouissou, PhD, provides the answer in this impactful conversation. His framework is brilliantly simple. Identify the four possible areas of misalignment between the company and the customer, then make changes to create alignment.

Philippe outlines the four areas and provides concrete examples of each. He also describes one of the world’s most successful companies that excels in aligning all four.

Philippe has been in Silicon Valley for 33 years. He launched and scaled Apple’s eCommerce business from zero to $350 million, working closely with Steve Jobs. Since leaving Apple, he’s had success as a CEO, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist, and he’s served on the board of 23 companies. He is a growth expert, a TEDx speaker with over one million views, and the author of the bestseller book Aligning the Dots.

Today, Philippe is Managing Partner at Blue Dots Partners LLC, a Palo Alto-based advisory firm he founded. The firm is dedicated to solving one problem: helping companies grow faster.

If you’re responsible for any part of top-line revenue growth in your company, this episode is a must-listen. And you’ll want to pick up a copy of Aligning the Dots, too!

You’ll discover

  • Why Philippe said Steve Jobs was the best leader he ever worked with
  • Key lessons Philippe has learned in his leadership journey
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  • Why there’s a 5th axis that determines the execution of the other four

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311: Former Amazon VP on Character and Leadership

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311: Former Amazon VP on Character and Leadership

Over the course of his career, Ethan Evans reviewed 10,000+ resumes, conducted over 2,500 interviews, and made more than 1,000 hires. He knows a thing or two about finding, onboarding, AND developing the right people.

In this high-energy conversation, Ethan shares the qualities he looked for and the aspects of character he believes are most important for leaders. You’ll find great value in reflecting on the lessons he learned from a big mistake he made at Amazon that got him in trouble with CEO Jeff Bezos.

Ethan is a former Vice President at Amazon. During his 15 years there, he helped invent many of the offerings that we take for granted today, like Prime Video, Amazon Video, and the Amazon App Store. Prior to Amazon, Ethan spent 12 years at 3 startups.

In September of 2020, Ethan retired from Amazon and made the decision to pay it forward. He devotes time teaching leaders to become true executives through courses he offers and free content he provides on LinkedIn and his website.

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Connect with Ethan

  

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