This is How We Lead

In this episode Cynthia speaks with Danielle Shoots, Founder and CEO of the Daily Boss Up, former CFO of Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and former VP of Finance and Business Operations for the West Division of Comcast. Danielle's unique life experience as an exceptionally young leader and a young mom has led her to a leadership style grounded in vulnerability, transparency, and authenticity. As Danielle ...

In this episode Cynthia talks with Dan Hill, emotions expert and facial coder who pioneered the use of facial coding in business. Dan shares a wealth of information regarding what is conveyed through facial expressions, and emphasizes the importance of leaders to both show their emotions and build skills at reading the emotions of others. Cynthia and Dan also talk at length about the role that emotion plays in decision making, and ...

In this episode Cynthia speaks with Tiffany Grunert, the President and CEO of Morris Animal Foundation. Tiffany's very intentional leadership style is focused on culture, teams, and empowerment. While empowerment is a term that can make some leaders shudder, Tiffany outlines the strengths of an intentional approach. As she explains, clear values, strong interdependence between teams, and the space to make mistakes can empower ...

In this episode Cynthia talks with Nicole Trick-Steinbach, Award-Winning International Bravery Coach for women in tech. Nicole shares the framework she uses with her clients to build their bravery and prepare them to step forward in powerful ways. She also talks about the unique challenges faced by women in tech, including the "glass cliff" phenomenon. As Nicole says, "You belong in that room, and if people aren&apos...

In this episode Cynthia has a conversation with fellow leadership expert and friend David Cambronne about giving and receiving feedback. In this timely episode, published to align with many companies' performance management processes, Cynthia and David discuss the importance of balancing truth with kindness when giving feedback, as well as the very real fight-flight-or-freeze reactions we have when receiving feedback, and some...

In this episode Cynthia speaks with Violette de Ayala, serial and social entrepreneur and founder of FemCity® women’s networking groups. Violette speaks about the challenges that women too frequently face in leadership and entrepreneurship: mentorship, mindset, and balance. Throughout the conversation she openly shares her own life experiences and how they have shaped her into the successful businesswoman and leader she is today.

In this episode Cynthia speaks with Jolene Clark, Founder and Chief People Whisperer at Redhead Momentum. Jolene has expertise in multiple areas of talent and leadership, and is an especially passionate thought leader in the field of team performance. Jolene shares a number of nuggets of wisdom for leaders looking to build high-performing teams, including:

• The two dysfunctions that impact the ability to get a team to high perfor...

In this episode Cynthia speaks with Tamra Ryan, the CEO of Women's Bean Project. The theme running through Tamra's leadership journey is one of humility. She talks about the concept of followship--enlisting people to come with you on the journey--and the leader's job of working every day to help other people shine. As she wisely states, leadership isn't a popularity contest, but IS about leaving your ego at the ...

In this episode Cynthia speaks with Kim Meninger, executive coach and consultant who specializes in working with women who are dealing with imposter syndrome. Kim's expertise in and passion for this field of work is clear as she discusses: 

• How imposter syndrome is often a fear response.
• The important role leaders have in recognizing and supporting others who are struggling with imposter syndrome.
• The false belief that you ha...

In this episode I speak with John Agostino, CFO at DaySmart Software LLC. John shares his leadership journey thus far, including his personal shifts to find a way to fold his authentic personality into how he leads. The result allows he and his teams to accomplish their goals while having fun. Along the way he's also learned the importance of having the courage of your convictions, how to moderate natural tendencies to let oth...

In this episode I speak with Jill Hauwiller, founder and principal consultant of Leadership Refinery. Jill shares her thought leadership on executive coaching, especially in her expertise area of emotional intelligence. 

Jill discusses:

• Maintaining authenticity through the EQ characteristic of independence.
• Both the strategic value of and risk of over-indexing on empathy.
• Recognizing and managing the physical manifestations of our ...

In this episode I speak with Mike Kenney, VP of Sales at ABILITY Network. Mike shares his leadership journey, which started with the direction to borrow his manager's style--a style that wasn't authentic to him. During a transformative development experience, Mike came to realize that he needed and wanted to shift to his natural style of servant leadership. Mike is supportive yet direct, balancing relationships and busine...

In this episode I speak with Aaron Zaslofsky, owner of Wheelhouse Communications. Aaron shares his thought leadership on building relationships and earning influence, and provides a number of tangible techniques to both build trust and assess the stage of your business relationships.

Referenced in this episode:

• Development of relationship stage measures by S-A Welch and Rebecca Rubin

 To learn more about and connect with Aaro...

In this episode I have the honor of speaking with Tish Bolger, CEO of Girls Scouts River Valleys. In this delightful conversation, Tish shares key moments of her leadership journey, including how she learned the skill of assertiveness, the valuable leadership skills that were role modeled for her by an early manager, and the important areas of self-awareness that she works on daily.

Referenced in this episode:

• Jorahi Window
• White ...

This episode starts Season 2 of This is How We Lead. In this solo episode, Cynthia explains the foundations of her Legacy Leaders model, and what it means to lead with a balance and blend of strategy, authenticity, pragmatism, and compassion. She shares a story from her own leadership journey, when she got some accurate but hard-to-hear feedback from her manager, Paul, whom she considers her first example and role model of what it ...

In this episode I speak with David, an HR leader and mindfulness practitioner, about how he is leading his team and himself--and how he is approaching leadership coaching--during the COVID-19 crisis. The focus of our conversation is on mindfulness, and how we can incorporate it into how we lead ourselves and others. David presents a number of thoughtful questions that he invites our listeners to reflect on, with an emphasis on exte...

In this episode I speak with Jessica Whitney, the co-owner of ZOē Productions, an experiential and event production company, about how she is leading her team and herself during the COVID-19 crisis. We talk about the value of vulnerability with employees and clients, keeping true to your organizational culture in times of crisis while keeping your team engaged, and the fine art of acceptance. Jessica's attitude and equanimity ...

In this episode I speak with Grace, a sales leader at a logistics company, about how she is leading her team and herself during the COVID-19 crisis. We talk about the value of being transparent with your employees about the cash flow and P&L of the business, especially in times of crisis, and how it to use that as a development opportunity. We discuss expressing gratitude to customers, and the importance of letting go of attach...

In this episode I speak with Dan, a sales leader at a technology company, about how he is leading his team and himself during the COVID-19 crisis. We talk about the importance of having a "service first" approach, empowering your team, and the servant leader mindset of working for your team instead of them working for you. And in regards to self-care, we talk about the practice of watching tape of old sporting events wher...