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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316: What Will Be Your Leadership Legacy?

316: What Will Be Your Leadership Legacy?

316: What Will Be Your Leadership Legacy?

What wisdom could you extract from someone who’s had over 40 years of experience as a leader? An amazing amount if that leader is Oakland McCulloch. You’ll hear practical ideas and stories that will inspire you to elevate your own leadership.

Better known as Oak, our guest’s 40-plus years of leadership experience includes 23 in the U.S. Army, followed by various civilian positions. While in the Army, he was deployed overseas multiple times. Oak’s last position in the Army was a three-year tour as Professor of Military Science at the University of South Alabama, where he led the training and commissioning of Lieutenants and tripled the size of the program.

Oak is the author of an excellent book, Your Leadership Legacy: Becoming the Leader You Were Meant to Be, and he’s now an internationally recognized keynote speaker on leadership and success. As you listen to this conversation, you’ll see that Oak is a true servant leader.

You’ll discover:

  • What two high school mentors taught Oak about leadership
  • How Oak defines leadership
  • What’s required to build a culture of trust
  • Why Oak says, “Becoming a micromanager is the #1 mistake a leader can make.”
  • The importance of preparing young people for leadership roles—and what to focus on

Watch the episode:

 

Connect with Oak

      

Oak’s Resources

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314: From Vision to Action: Embracing Change and Driving Success

314: From Vision to Action: Embracing Change and Driving Success

314: From Vision to Action: Embracing Change and Driving Success

Change can be daunting, no matter what size your organization is. Our guest Dr. Mary Lippitt sheds light on the common fears—fear of the future, fear of the process, and fear of unintended consequences—that often accompany new initiatives.

Mary shares how organizations can address complexity through holistic strategies that emphasize listening, collaboration, and adaptability. We also discuss the power of asking the right questions to surface hidden concerns and ensure buy-in from all levels of an organization.

Dr. Lippitt is a renowned thought leader in the field of organizational development. She’s an award-winning author, speaker, and consultant. As President and Founder of Enterprise Management, Mary has more than 30 years of experience implementing change, delivering results, and boosting strategic thinking. As a researcher, Mary has studied the strategic and critical thinking patterns of 6,000 leaders.

She is proud to be a second generation Organizational Development professional, following in the footsteps of her father Gordon and uncle Ron. Her new book Leadersheep: Saving the Herd offers a fable about successfully executing change along with the steps necessary to make change stick.

You’ll discover:

  • Why top-down approaches often fail and how leaders can stay engaged to create lasting change
  • How to achieve a clear and actionable vision by leveraging situational awareness and data-driven decision-making
  • What you can do to identify gaps, monitor progress, and make necessary course corrections when implementing change
  • The benefits of adopting a situational mindset to enhance leadership flexibility

Watch the episode:

 

Connect with Dr. Mary Lippitt

  

Dr. Mary Lippitt’s Resources

Website

Enterprise Management LTD

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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.

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  • The current narrative around Black talent…and how Ayana is reshaping it
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Connect with Ayana

  

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312: Aligning the Dots to Accelerate Business Growth

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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

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  • 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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Connect with Philippe

  

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