Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Work From The Inside Out
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
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| 294: Career Fulfillment at the Intersection of People, Technology and Information with David Charles | 15 avr. 2026 | 00:52:32 | |
In this episode of Work from the Inside Out, Tammy Gooler Loeb speaks with Dr. David Charles, educator, executive coach, and former industry leader whose career spans consulting, analytics, innovation, and academia. David shares how early influences in science and engineering led him into technology, and how a series of unexpected pivots shaped a career grounded in curiosity, learning, and growth. David reflects on key transitions, from consulting to corporate leadership roles at organizations like CVS Health and John Deere, and eventually into academia. Along the way, he explores how networking, continuous learning, and a willingness to step into the unknown opened doors he never anticipated. He also discusses the importance of understanding what you enjoy in your work, especially the value of seeing the real-world impact of your contributions. Today, as a faculty member and coach, David helps others navigate their own career journeys. He emphasizes the importance of staying curious, building meaningful connections, and being open to opportunities that may not initially seem like the obvious next step. His story is a powerful reminder that careers are rarely linear and that growth often comes from embracing what you do not yet know. In this week’s Work from the Inside Out podcast, learn more about:
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| 293: Redefining Potential: From Performance to Purpose with Kate Kayaian | 02 avr. 2026 | 00:45:42 | |
In this episode of Work from the Inside Out, Tammy Gooler Loeb speaks with Kate Kayaian, a former professional cellist turned career strategist, author, and coach. Kate shares her journey from performing on world-class stages to making the bold decision to step away from a successful music career in her forties. What makes her story especially powerful is that nothing was “wrong” on the outside. She had built a life many would aspire to, yet something no longer fit. Kate opens up about the internal shift that led her to question her path, including the realization that success as she had defined it no longer aligned with the life she wanted to live. Through the unexpected pause of the pandemic, she began experimenting with new ways of working, which led to coaching, creating programs, and ultimately discovering work that felt more meaningful and aligned. Her story challenges the belief that we must stay on a path simply because it has been successful. Together, Tammy and Kate explore what it means to redefine potential on your own terms, how to move past the stories that keep you stuck, and why it is never too late to pivot. Kate also shares a simple yet powerful mindset shift that can help you move from feeling blocked to seeing new possibilities. This conversation is an invitation to rethink what is possible for your next chapter. In this week’s Work from the Inside Out podcast, learn more about:
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| 292: The Emotional Demands of Leadership in Today’s Workplaces with Dina Denham Smith | 19 mars 2026 | 00:42:13 | |
What does leadership look like in a world where emotions are more present at work than ever before? In this episode, Tammy speaks with executive coach, strategic advisor, and author Dina Denham Smith about the increasing emotional demands placed on leaders today. Drawing on her background in organizational psychology, business, and executive leadership, Dina shares how workplaces have changed and why leaders are being charged with navigating situations that go well beyond traditional management practices. In her new book, Emotionally Charged: How to Lead in the New World of Work, she connects the dots between the complexities of intensified emotions in the workplace and the practical approaches needed to lead a trusting and engaged workforce. Dina reflects on her early life growing up on a boys boarding school campus and how that environment shaped her confidence, communication style, and comfort speaking up in male dominated settings. She also shares the path that led her from studying organizational psychology to earning an MBA, working in consulting and private equity, and eventually building a successful executive coaching practice. Tammy and Dina also explore the concept of emotional labor in leadership. Dina explains why the emotional expectations placed on leaders have intensified in recent years and offers practical insights for navigating difficult conversations, supporting teams through change, and leading effectively in an emotionally complex workplace. In this week’s Work from the Inside Out podcast, learn more about:
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| 291: Your Best Meeting Ever: Designing Collaboration That Actually Works with Rebecca Hinds | 04 mars 2026 | 00:41:04 | |
What if meetings didn’t have to feel like a drain, but instead became one of the most powerful tools for collaboration and career growth? In this episode, I’m joined by Rebecca Hinds, organizational behavior expert and author of Your Best Meeting Ever: Seven Principles for Designing Meetings That Get Things Done. Rebecca shares how her early years as a competitive swimmer shaped her understanding of teamwork and why putting the team first ultimately elevates individual success. We explore the science of collaboration, what most organizations get wrong about meetings, and why so many well-intentioned efforts, including AI rollouts, fail due to human resistance rather than technical limitations. Rebecca explains the “4D rule” for deciding whether a meeting should even exist, how network science can transform career advancement, and why cognitive wandering is essential for innovation. If you’ve ever felt frustrated by inefficient meetings, skeptical about AI at work, or unsure how to position yourself for what’s next in your career, this conversation offers both research-backed insights and practical ways to rethink how you show up for your team and for yourself. In this week’s Work from the Inside Out podcast, learn more about:
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| 290: Understand Yourself to Lead Others with Margaret Andrews | 18 févr. 2026 | 00:47:31 | |
In Episode 290 of Work from the Inside Out, Tammy Gooler Loeb speaks with Margaret Andrews, author of Manage Yourself to Lead Others: Why Great Leadership Begins with Self-Understanding. A seasoned executive leader, Harvard instructor, and founder of the MYLO Center, Margaret shares why leadership is not just a skillset, it’s a craft that begins within. From her early career in consulting to running MBA and executive programs at MIT and Harvard, Margaret’s journey has been guided by curiosity, risk-taking, and deep reflection. Margaret explains why self-awareness becomes increasingly important as we move into leadership roles. One of her most powerful insights? We judge ourselves by our intentions, but others judge us by our behaviors. That gap can undermine even the most well-meaning leaders. She shares how understanding our formative influences, values, and definitions of success allows us to close that gap and lead with greater clarity and impact. In a world reshaped by post-pandemic workplace shifts, hybrid culture debates, and rapid change, Margaret reminds us that there is no silver bullet in leadership, only thoughtful, intentional navigation. If you’re contemplating your next move, leading a team, or striving to grow into your next level, this conversation offers practical frameworks and reflective questions to help you truly work from the inside out. In this week’s Work from the Inside Out podcast, learn more about:
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| 289: Unlocking Potential at Every Stage of Life with Addie Swartz | 04 févr. 2026 | 00:54:58 | |
In this episode of Work From the Inside Out, Tammy Gooler Loeb sits down with entrepreneur and leadership innovator Addie Swartz, CEO of reacHIRE. Addie shares the remarkable throughline of her career, from selling apple pies at age 12 to founding multiple mission-driven companies, all rooted in a belief that talent, confidence, and potential exist everywhere, even when they’re overlooked. Throughout the conversation, Addie reflects on pivotal moments that shaped her path, including her time at Bain, Disney, and Lotus, and the personal experiences that inspired her to build businesses supporting women, girls, and professionals navigating career transitions. From creating positive role models for young girls through The Beacon Street Girls to helping experienced professionals return to meaningful work, Addie illustrates how life’s disruptions often reveal powerful opportunities. Addie also discusses the evolution of reacHIRE and its leadership platform, Aurora, which help individuals grow, re-enter, and advance within organizations by focusing on strengths, confidence, and intentional support. Her advice for anyone facing a transition is both reassuring and practical: lean into your potential, stay curious, and don’t go it alone. This episode is a powerful reminder that every stage of life holds the possibility for growth and reinvention. In this week’s Work from the Inside Out podcast, learn more about:
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| 288: From Pain to Purpose: Building Whole Health Wealth with Matt Paradise | 21 janv. 2026 | 01:01:34 | |
What happens when life strips away certainty—health, finances, identity—and asks you to rebuild from the inside out? In this powerful episode, Tammy Gooler Loeb sits down with Matt Paradise, financial wellness speaker, award-winning author, and living example of resilience. Matt shares his extraordinary journey from homelessness and addiction to a decades-long career in financial counseling and ultimately, to redefining what true wealth really means. Matt reflects on growing up between two vastly different worlds, grappling with addiction as a teenager, and becoming sober at 18. His story unfolds through mentorship, purpose, and a growing understanding that money is rarely just about math. It’s about identity, meaning, and hope. Along the way, Matt explains the critical difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, why comparison is the thief of joy, and how unaddressed inner struggles often show up in our financial lives. The conversation takes a profound turn when Matt shares his experience surviving a rare bile duct cancer diagnosis and liver transplant. Out of that pain emerged clarity—and his book, Financially Capable: A Friendly Guide to Building Whole-Health Wealth. This episode is an invitation to pause, reflect, and ask: What does “enough” really look like and how do we build lives that support our whole selves? In this week’s Work from the Inside Out podcast, learn more about:
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| 287: The Visibility Factor: Why Hard Work Alone Isn’t Enough with Susan Barber | 07 janv. 2026 | 00:44:01 | |
In this episode of the Work from the Inside Out podcast, I’m joined by executive coach and author of The Visibility Factor, Susan Barber. A former Fortune 500 IT Director, Susan helps business leaders who want to leverage their leadership strengths, increase their visibility, and elevate their impact in the workplace. Susan specializes in working with quiet, high-achieving leaders who want to step into the spotlight in authentic ways, so they can be seen, valued, and influential at work. Susan shares her journey working for 25 years in various leadership roles at Kraft Heinz to entrepreneurship, including the moment she received career-changing feedback that she “wasn’t visible enough.” That feedback, despite years of strong performance, forced her to confront imposter syndrome, perfectionism, and the subtle ways leaders unintentionally hold themselves back. We discuss what visibility really means, why it’s not about bragging or being the loudest voice in the room, and how leaders, especially introverts, can reframe visibility as service, clarity, and responsibility. Susan also shares insights from her recently published Your Journey to Visibility Workbook and offers practical guidance for people navigating career growth, and professional transitions. In this week’s Work from the Inside Out podcast, learn more about:
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| 286: Fear Intelligence: A Breakthrough Framework for Leaders with Jacqueline Wales | 17 déc. 2025 | 00:37:09 | |
This week, Tammy welcomes back author and executive coach Jacqueline Wales, whose new book Fear Intelligence: A Practical Framework for Leading Beyond Fear offers a powerful, compassionate roadmap for understanding how fears shape our lives and our leadership style. Drawing on her two plus decades of coaching executives, professionals, and creatives, Jacqueline explains how fear, often misunderstood or ignored, offers a deeply influential emotional signal that calls for our attention. In the conversation, Jacqueline shares the evolution of her work, beginning with her early books The Fearless Factor and The Fearless Factor at Work, and leading to her latest framework, a four-part acronym: Face It, Explore It, Act on It, Rise with It. She and Tammy discuss how fear shows up in our behaviors, especially as avoidance, perfectionism, people-pleasing, or over-functioning, and how intergenerational stories can quietly shape our sense of safety and self-worth. Jacqueline illustrates how fear often runs “in the background,” like a CPU, until we learn to pause, question, and explore what it’s actually signaling. Listeners will gain a fresh understanding of fear as data, not destiny. Jacqueline emphasizes that growth is not about becoming fearless, a myth she debunks. Becoming fear intelligent means choosing honesty over avoidance and conscious action over self-sabotage. Practical tools, reflective questions, and stories from her coaching practice illuminate how anyone can begin clearing the “old stories” that block their potential and open up space for the life they truly want. In this week’s Work from the Inside Out podcast, learn more about:
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| 285: Stroke Onward with Steve Zuckerman: Navigating Life, Work, and the Unexpected | 03 déc. 2025 | 00:59:25 | |
In this week’s episode of Work from the Inside Out, Tammy welcomes longtime friend and mission-driven leader Steve Zuckerman, whose multifaceted career spans private equity, economic justice work, and co-founding Stroke Onward, the nonprofit he founded with his wife, author and professor Debra Meyerson. Steve shares how his grounded upbringing, infused with values of service and perseverance, informed the choices he made throughout his professional and personal life. Steve walks us through his career journey, from his entry into consulting, to private equity, to becoming a stay-at-home dad during a major life shift, and eventually pivoting to non-profit leadership. He describes his ‘strategically opportunistic’ mindset which developed over time. Steve reflected on how this approach enabled him to see opportunities beyond conventional pathways and engage with both planned and unexpected situations. In 2010, the unexpected occurred when Steve’s wife, Deb experienced a life threatening stroke Debra, leaving her with a paralyzed right side and no speech at all. We discuss her continual recovery efforts, limitations imposed by her aphasia, and their collaborative mission to expand the conversation around identity loss and rebuilding after stroke. Steve shares how this experience reshaped his career priorities, leading to the founding of Stroke Onward and the second edition of Deb’s book Identity Theft: Rediscovering Ourselves After Stroke. Their goal: transform how the medical and rehabilitation systems support the long-term emotional journey of recovery. In this week’s Work from the Inside Out podcast, learn more about:
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| 284: From Turmoil to Purpose and Service with Ken Corigliano | 19 nov. 2025 | 01:08:03 | |
This week on Work From The Inside Out, I am joined by Lt. Col. (Ret.) Ken Corigliano, known widely as Air Force Ken. His story is one of extraordinary contrast: early years filled with love and community, followed by intense personal upheaval, homelessness, and loss. Ken’s path could easily have gone in a very different direction, but a pivotal encounter with a sharp-eyed recruiter and the devastating death of his sister sparked an internal shift that changed everything. What followed was a relentless commitment to service, personal responsibility, and rebuilding himself from the ground up. Ken went on to become an award-winning enlisted Airman, a commissioned officer, an intelligence leader supporting Air Force One, a triathlete striving for the Olympics, and ultimately a decorated lieutenant colonel. But his journey was far from linear. A catastrophic accident derailed his athletic aspirations and left him with an undiagnosed traumatic brain injury that he quietly navigated for seven years while still serving. His recovery, physical, cognitive, and emotional, unfolded slowly and unexpectedly, culminating in breakthrough results from peptide therapy through Transcend, the company he now serves as an executive. Today, Ken channels his life experience, scientific curiosity, and unmatchable resilience into helping others restore their health, energy, and quality of life. In this conversation, he opens up about trauma, service, rebuilding identity, the limitations of grit, and the importance of choosing the “hardest things” for the sake of becoming who we’re truly meant to be. His story is energizing, humbling, and an unforgettable reminder that transformation is always possible. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about:
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| 283: Discover Your Unique Genius to Build Meaningful Work with Casey Berman | 05 nov. 2025 | 00:40:36 | |
This week on Work From the Inside Out, I had the pleasure of speaking with Casey Berman, a strategic advisor, writer, and career transition expert. Casey is best known for his platform, Leave Law Behind, which has helped countless attorneys move beyond the legal field into roles that truly meet their interests. Today, he extends that mission more broadly through CaseyBerman.com, guiding professionals of various backgrounds to discover their “unique genius,” the blend of skills and talents that makes them valuable. Casey’s own story is one of persistence, pivots, and discovery. Though pushed into law school by well-meaning advice, he quickly realized the traditional path of practicing law wasn’t for him. After failing the bar exam once, and later passing, Casey’s career took an unexpected turn when he joined a startup during the dot-com era. There, he began to recognize and develop strengths he didn’t even know he had, communication, negotiating, and leadership. Casey saw how he could leverage those skills to shape a career beyond law. Now based in Maui, Casey helps people identify their invisible strengths, what he calls Casper the Friendly Ghost skills, and bring them to life in both meaningful and sustainable ways. From founding his own businesses to launching an AI-powered coaching tool, Casey models what it means to embrace risk, trust the process, and build a career that truly fits. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about:
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| 282. Finding Freedom in Systems: A Journey of Innovation with Doug Hall | 22 oct. 2025 | 00:52:58 | |
In this week’s episode of Work From The Inside Out, I had the pleasure of speaking with Doug Hall, author, inventor, and founder of Eureka Ranch and Brain Brew Distillery. Named one of America’s top innovation experts, Doug has spent his career turning big ideas into practical, reproducible systems for organizations worldwide. His journey began as a curious kid in Maine, supported by his family who encouraged his inventiveness, which set the stage for a lifetime of discovery and problem-solving. Doug shared how his father’s introduction to Dr. W. Edwards Deming’s systems thinking completely transformed his perspective on work. At Procter & Gamble, Doug applied these principles to bridge departments, optimize processes, and launch groundbreaking products. Eventually, he walked away from corporate life to found Eureka Ranch, where he pioneered approaches to innovation that were data-driven, scalable, and effective. Today, Doug is passionate about teaching organizations and individuals how to find joy in their work by eliminating waste, engaging employees, and encouraging curiosity. His latest book, Proactive Problem Solving, captures decades of experience and provides accessible tools for managers and frontline workers alike. Doug reminds us that growth, learning, and curiosity are the essential ingredients of meaningful work. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about:
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| 281: The Power of Pause: Reflections on Loss and Renewal | 15 oct. 2025 | 00:10:28 | |
I’m back! Though in many ways, I never really left. After taking a pause from Work from the Inside Out and my usual online presence, I wanted to share what this time away has taught me. The pause was prompted by the loss of my father, an experience that brought deep reflection, and ultimately, gratitude. In this solo episode, I talk about what it means to allow ourselves to pause and to stop pushing; and instead, allow life to unfold into its own rhythm. I’ve learned that stepping back doesn’t mean giving up; it’s an act of honoring what’s happening and trusting that healing and clarity can come in their own time. I also revisit the stories of past guests who have inspired me through their own transformative experiences; people like Michael O’Brien, Luis Velasquez, and Jenny Lisk. Each of them found new meaning after their lives changed in unexpected ways. Their stories and my own, remind me that when we allow life’s pauses to do their work, they often guide us toward growth and deeper purpose. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about:
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| 280: Bye Bye 9-to-5: The Power of Chronotypes with Camilla Kring | 20 août 2025 | 00:42:14 | |
On Work from the Inside Out, episode 280, I spoke with Camilla Kring, an engineer turned expert in work-life balance and circadian rhythms. With a PhD in work-life balance and decades of experience across the globe, Camilla has dedicated her career to helping individuals and organizations create flexible cultures that honor people’s natural rhythms. In our conversation, she explained how identifying your chronotype, whether you’re an early bird, night owl, or somewhere in between, can transform productivity, creativity, and overall well-being. She shared her journey of writing, researching, and working during her peak energy hours, even if they didn’t fit the traditional nine-to-five mold. Through her company, Super Navigators, and nonprofit, The B-Society, Camilla has led change in both workplaces and schools. Her mission is clear: to empower us to live in sync with our rhythms, embrace self-compassion, and design lives that are sustainable, healthy, and fulfilling. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about:
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| 279: Goodbye Burnout! Exploring the Joyful Side of Exhaustion with Christina Guthier | 23 juil. 2025 | 00:44:06 | |
Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of suicide, which may be distressing for some listeners. Please take care while listening. In this episode of Work from the Inside Out, I’m so excited to bring you my dear friend and colleague, Dr. Christina Guthier. Christina is an occupational health psychologist who has studied burnout and exhaustion for over a decade. What makes her perspective unique is her discovery of something she calls joyful exhaustion—a state of being physically tired, yet emotionally fulfilled, because the work feels meaningful and worthwhile. In our conversation, Christina opens up about the personal experiences that shaped her research journey, including the contrasting ways her grandparents and father experienced work, and the tragic loss of her godfather, which left a deep impression on her understanding of burnout. She also shares how her academic path was shaped by both serendipity and deep reflection, leading to her award-winning research and upcoming book, Joyfully Exhausted. What I loved most about this interview is Christina’s grounded, compassionate take on what it means to live and work in sustainable, satisfying ways. If you’ve ever felt wiped out but fulfilled, or burned out and stuck, this episode will help you reflect on what truly makes your efforts feel worthwhile. And stay tuned for more when the English translation of her book launches in the U.S.! In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about:
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| 278: Sustainable Ambition: Shaping Life and Work on Your Terms with Kathy Oneto | 09 juil. 2025 | 00:37:57 | |
In this episode of Work from the Inside Out, I’m so excited to welcome back Kathy Oneto. Kathy is the founder of Sustainable Ambition, a coach, speaker, and now the author of Sustainable Ambition: How to Prioritize What Matters to Thrive in Life and Work. Her new book is a thoughtful and deeply practical guide for redefining what success and ambition can look like on your own terms. In our conversation, Kathy shares how the idea for the book was born out of years of reflection, coaching, and personal experience. We talk about what it means to honor your ambitions not just in work, but in all areas of life. One of the biggest takeaways for me was how Kathy differentiates between staying busy and being intentional. She reminds us that ambition isn’t only about professional goals, it’s also about creating a fulfilling life. From nurturing creativity to becoming a better sleeper, she offers a broader and more compassionate view of what it means to pursue something meaningful. Kathy walks us through her process of writing the book with sustainability in mind, and the power of pacing, spaciousness, and grace along the way. We also explored how so many people are operating on autopilot, rushing from one thing to the next without asking why. Kathy encourages us to pause, reflect, and claim the ambitions that genuinely matter to us right now. Her work is a refreshing reminder that slowing down isn’t a weakness. It’s a strategy. If you’re seeking clarity, realignment, or simply a more nourishing path forward, I know this conversation will speak to you. And don’t forget—her book launched last June 10th! In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about:
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| 277: You're the Boss: Own Your Strengths and Lead with Intention with Sabina Nawaz | 18 juin 2025 | 00:40:49 | |
In this episode of Work from the Inside Out, I spoke with Sabina Nawaz, executive coach and author of You're the Boss: Become the Manager You Want to Be and Others Need. She brings with her decades of wisdom gained from leading executive development at Microsoft and later coaching C-suite leaders around the globe. But it’s not just her impressive credentials that left an impact, it’s her honesty and clarity about what shapes us, both the difficult and the delightful. Sabina took us back to her early days in Calcutta, where adults trusted her with decisions at just eight years old, and where living in a home affected by domestic violence sharpened her intuitive grasp of human behavior. She attributes her extraordinary ability to read people to the influence of these childhood experiences, which now helps her support leaders facing the pressures of power and performance. Her journey from a successful software engineer to a sought-after leadership coach was anything but linear, and that's exactly what makes it so inspiring. We talked about how she made the leap from a corporate powerhouse role, including advising Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, to starting her own business while starting her family, in search of a life where she could be in charge of her own time. Sabina’s wisdom around power, pressure, and presence is powerful for anyone seeking fulfillment and navigating a path to leadership. If you’re wondering how to best identify your strengths, or how to show up as a leader without losing yourself, you’ll want to take in Sabina’s insights. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about:
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| 276: From Trials & Tribulations to an Intentional Future in Healthcare Leadership with Dr. Gian Varbaro | 04 juin 2025 | 00:58:58 | |
In this episode of Work from the Inside Out, Dr. Gian Varbaro, MD, MBA–Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Ambulatory Services at Bergen New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus, New Jersey–shares a deeply personal and inspiring story of how grit, curiosity, and a relentless drive for justice shaped his career in healthcare leadership. From humble beginnings working in construction alongside his immigrant father to earning his MD from NYU and an MBA from Yale, Gian’s story is a testament to the power of intention, adaptability, and standing up for what matters. Today, as Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Ambulatory Services at Bergen New Bridge Medical Center, he leads with empathy, insight, and a clear vision for health equity and organizational transformation. Gian opens up about his early resistance to following his father’s dream of him becoming a doctor, his disillusionment with medical education, and how unexpected opportunities, and even moments of failure, led him to forge a unique path as a changemaker in hospital medicine. He also reflects on the mentors who shaped his leadership, the importance of learning from both positive and ineffective examples, and the role of intentionality in making meaningful career decisions. Whether you're in healthcare or navigating a different career journey, this episode is filled with practical wisdom and heart. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about:
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| 275: Direction, Not Perfection: The Gap Between “I Want” and “I Do” with Irina Cozma | 21 mai 2025 | 00:57:39 | |
In this episode of Work From the Inside Out, I sit down with executive coach, organizational psychologist, and Harvard Business Review contributor Irina Cozma, PhD. From the volleyball courts of Romania to leadership roles in Fortune 500 companies, Irina has followed a powerful inner voice throughout her life: when she wants something, she takes action. No overthinking. No perfectionism. Just clear intention and bold movement. We talk about how this mindset helped her navigate international moves, earn multiple advanced degrees, a corporate career, and ultimately the launch of her coaching practice. Irina shares how overthinking and perfectionism are two of the biggest challenges she sees in her clients and how developing direction can change everything. Whether you’re exploring a major career shift or simply trying to get unstuck, Irina’s story offers a refreshing and practical reminder: clarity beats complexity, and action beats anxiety. Tune in to hear how she helps others close the gap between “I want” and “I do” and how you can do the same. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about:
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| 274: Justice, Love, and Organizational Transformations: Ora Grodsky’s Career Journey | 07 mai 2025 | 00:43:01 | |
On Work from the Inside Out, I had the pleasure of speaking with Ora Grodsky, co-founder of Just Works Consulting and author of Justice, Love, and Organizational Healing: A Guide to Transformational Consulting. Ora’s journey is one of deep purpose and profound transformation. From restaurant work and starting a food co-op to becoming an acupuncturist, and academic dean at her acupuncture school to co-founding a holistic AIDS clinic, Ora has always been guided by her commitment to healing. Today, she brings more than 25 years of experience in helping mission-driven organizations align their values with their work. Ora and I talked about how her roots in a social justice-focused family shaped her worldview and inspired a lifelong inquiry: How can we work toward a more just and sustainable world while honoring our own well-being? As she navigated her career choices, motherhood, and leadership development, Ora stayed true to her internal compass. Her journey exquisitely illustrates that meaningful careers don’t always follow a straight line and that listening inward can lead to powerful change and professional fulfillment. We also explored practical tools from Ora’s consulting work, like the POP framework (Purpose, Outcomes, Process), and discussed the importance of nervous system regulation in navigating leadership and organizational challenges. This conversation is full of wisdom for anyone starting something new, leading change, or searching for more purpose in their work. I hope you find it as inspiring and grounding as I did. What You'll Learn in This Episode:
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| 273: Listen to the Compass of Your Heart: Choosing a Life of Service with Dr. SD Shanti | 23 avr. 2025 | 00:46:05 | |
In this episode, I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Dr. SD Shanti, a remarkable woman whose journey is one of deep purpose, resilience, and heartfelt service. SD began her professional life in dentistry, and over time, she followed several inner callings that led her into the worlds of public health, psychology, and ultimately, into founding the World Love Forum—an initiative devoted to promoting emotional health and preventing violence and depression on a global scale. Throughout our conversation, SD shared how listening to the compass of her heart, even in the face of naysayers and uncertainty, guided her toward a truly integrated life—blending science, soul, and service. We talked about the discomfort of staying stuck versus the discomfort of change, and how stillness can be the most powerful space for clarity and direction. If you're wondering what’s next or feeling the tug to live a more fulfilling life, I think you’ll find SD’s story both grounding and inspiring. What You'll Learn in This Episode:
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| 272: Curiosity as a Career Compass with Jason Van Orden | 09 avr. 2025 | 00:43:45 | |
In this episode of Work from the Inside Out, I had the pleasure of speaking with Jason Van Orden, a business strategist and thought leadership expert who has built his career by following his curiosity. From an early foundation in engineering to becoming one of the first business podcasters, Jason’s professional path has been anything but linear. Each step was guided not by external expectations, but by an internal drive to explore, learn, and evolve. Jason shared how curiosity led him to make bold moves—geographically and professionally. Whether relocating from Alaska to Utah to Paris, or shifting from startup founder to mentor for purpose-driven entrepreneurs, he continually asked, “What’s next?” That openness allowed him to uncover work that felt aligned and energizing. His story is a powerful reminder that staying curious can unlock unexpected and deeply meaningful opportunities. Throughout our conversation, Jason offered thoughtful insights into how curiosity can fuel clarity, creativity, and connection in our work. He encourages listeners to embrace experimentation, listen to what genuinely lights them up, and trust that their most resonant ideas often come from within. If you’re in a moment of transition or simply seeking more purpose in your work, Jason’s story is a compelling example of how to move forward by following your inner questions. What You'll Learn in This Episode:
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| 271: Take Control of Your Career: The Power of Managing Up with Melody Wilding | 26 mars 2025 | 00:41:45 | |
In this episode, I had the pleasure of welcoming back Melody Wilding, executive coach and author of Managing Up: How to Get What You Need from the People in Charge. Melody is an executive coach, licensed social worker, and professor of human behavior at Hunter College. She has worked with professionals at companies like Google, Amazon, and JPMorgan and has been featured in The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Forbes. Melody and I had a fantastic conversation about how we can all take control of our work experience, build better relationships with managers, and navigate workplace dynamics with confidence. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about:
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| 270: Empowering Working Parents with Lori Mihalich-Levin | 12 mars 2025 | 00:44:21 | |
In this episode, I revisit my interview with Lori Mihalich-Levin in honor of National Working Moms Day. We explore Lori’s remarkable journey from a challenging upbringing to becoming a healthcare policy lawyer and founder of Mindful Return, an organization providing critical support to parents transitioning back to work after parental leave. Through programs like e-courses, employer initiatives, and international chapters, Mindful Return has made a significant impact on working parents worldwide. Lori shares her personal and professional experiences, emphasizing her passion for public policy, healthcare, and advocating for women’s leadership. She offers valuable advice on integrating personal passions into a career using consistent, incremental steps. From her work at Dentons US LLP and AAMC to her books and podcasts, Lori demonstrates a strong commitment to empowering working parents, fostering equality, and building meaningful connections. This episode offers inspiring insights for navigating the intersection of parenthood and career with purpose and mindfulness. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Lori’s journey:
Learn more and connect with Lori here:
Stay Connected:
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| 269: Ordinary Resilience: Rethinking How Effective Leaders Adapt and Thrive with Luis Velasquez | 26 févr. 2025 | 00:46:24 | |
Luis Velasquez coaches leaders worldwide, guiding them to turn challenges into opportunities. He is the author of the best-selling book “Ordinary Resilience: Rethinking How Effective Leaders Adapt and Thrive.” Luis shows how to unlock and strengthen innate resilience, preparing you to face whatever life throws your way. He’s helped hundreds of leaders thrive throughout change, and now he’s sharing his framework to help you do the same. With client accounts, personal anecdotes, and professional insight, Luis provides a roadmap you’ll return to in every challenge you face. His strategic thinking is regularly published by the Harvard Business Review and Fast Company. He has been spotlighted in Forbes and books: Dorie Clark’s "The Long Game." Tammy Gooler Loeb’s “Work from the Inside Out” and Ludmilla Praslova’s “The Canary Code.” Luis also facilitates professional development courses at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Luis is not only an advocate for resilience but a living testament to it. He was raised in poverty in Guatemala which was riddled by civil war at the time. When he came to the U.S. as a teenager to learn English. Later, after going back to Guatemala, he returned to the U.S. attended college and studied in earnest to get his Ph.D. in Botany. He became a tenure track college professor. Then, tragedy struck. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Showing unparalleled commitment, persistence, and optimism, Luis survived. Today, he’s an ultra-marathoner and Ironman triathlete, having tackled the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. Family lies at the heart of his drive. Together with his wife, they're raising two children whom they hope will become two kind, confident, and resilient humans, mirroring the principles he champions. Learn more and connect with Luis here:
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| 268: Challenge Your Imperfections to Embrace Your Authentic Journey with Michael Thompson | 12 févr. 2025 | 00:51:44 | |
Michael Thompson is a career coach, lecturer at EAE Business School in Barcelona, Spain, and strategic communication advisor to top business leaders worldwide. Growing up, Michael’s stutter and social anxiety kept him reserved and reluctant to pursue his goals. Over time he challenged his supposed weaknesses by putting himself out in the world and discovered the person he did not know he could become. Michael developed a system of principles to help people express themselves more confidently and build meaningful relationships without sacrificing their nature. He brings those principles to life in his book Shy by Design: 12 Timeless Principles to Quietly Stand Out. His writing has also appeared in numerous publications, including Fast Company, Insider, Forbes, INC, MSN, and Apple News. He recounts his professional evolution from a barback to a successful sales manager, his transformative experiences in teaching and coaching, and his eventual success as a writer and published author. Michael offers valuable insights on self-discovery, the importance of vulnerability, and the power of going slow and steady in one's career. As a kid, Michael allowed his shyness, severe stutter, and crippling social anxiety to dominate his internal dialog and undermine his hopes and dreams. He was mocked by his peers and even some teachers, reinforcing the self-limiting belief that he was better off tucked away in a corner, safe from harm's way. Yet, while some people focus on their strengths to win the life they want, Michael chose to pursue the opposite path and pushed himself, making a commitment to collect blisters instead of chasing bliss. He stepped into the person he didn’t even know he was capable of becoming. In Shy by Design, Michael shares his inspiring journey of moving from being riddled with self-doubt to becoming a sought-after career coach, university leadership lecturer, and strategic communication advisor for top global business executives and entrepreneurs. He chronicles his transformation from feeling left out to leading others, all the while staying true to his shy and quiet nature. Through numerous examples, from embracing our imperfections to questioning our "perceived" weaknesses, Michael offers strategies we can all use to cement our own principles that are authentic to who we each are and amplify your impact without sacrificing your shy nature. Packaged into 12 easy-to-grasp principles, Shy by Design will teach you to:
Michael’s story of navigating the often loud world of sales and communication – while staying true to his shy way of being – will inspire you to embrace your unique strengths and see your “perceived” weaknesses through a more empowered lens. Learn more and connect with Michael here:
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| 267: Give in to Your Curiosities and Experience All You Can With Optimism with Scot Safon | 29 janv. 2025 | 01:16:35 | |
Starting from his childhood fascination with media, Scot Safon shares his professional journey starting in the advertising agency world and moving to executive marketing roles in major media companies such as CNN, TNT, HLN, The Weather Channel, and more. He recounts anecdotes from his formative years, explains his career transitions, and outlines his current consulting practice. Scot grew up in a diverse, working-class neighborhood in Bay Shore, New York, a town on the south shore of Long Island. He is a long-time friend of Tammy’s going back to junior high school. Scot appreciated the variety of hardworking adult role models who demonstrated that family life was not superseded by one’s work. While he always enjoyed learning and his classes, he noted that his favorite activities went beyond classroom time. He was fascinated with all kinds of media. At a young age, he would go to sleep listening to news radio, he went to every movie he could (that didn’t have an R rating), and later took the train to New York City to see Broadway shows every chance he could. Through his school and university years, Scot was active in the drama club, an editor for his high school newspaper, a curator and promoter for a film festival, and he worked as a reporter for a regional NPR station near his college. Scot attended the University of Virginia, where he earned his BA and went on to Cornell University for his MBA. He then went to New York City to work in advertising on consumer product accounts. Scot set his sights on moving over to the media industry and was offered an opportunity to work on the CBS Network account. Then he moved to Atlanta to work for Turner Network Television, elevating to serve as Chief Marketing Officer or Head of Marketing for a number of major media brands across a 40-year career, including CNN, The Weather Channel, TNT, and MotorTrend. He also was the EVP/General Manager of CNN’s HLN network. Today Scot is a media marketing and branding consultant whose clients range from global blue-chip brands to not-for-profits. He advises C-suite decision-makers on strategic communications to launch products, address crises, and explain policies. His focus: helping clients "find the right words" to support their initiatives. His consulting clients have included Ford, HBO Max, Showtime, the Scripps Networks, The Grand Ole Opry, and New America. He is a consulting associate with agencies Civic Entertainment and Cultique. Emphasizing curiosity and adaptability, Scot offers valuable insights on navigating career advancements and leveraging the power of effective communication. His journey illustrates how passion, persistence, and a willingness to embrace new challenges can lead to a fulfilling career in media. Learn more and connect with Scot here: Stay Connected:
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| 266: Always Bet on Yourself: Learn to Ask for What You Want with Jamie Lee | 15 janv. 2025 | 00:59:06 | |
Jamie Lee is an executive coach who helps smart folks who hate office politics get promoted and better paid without throwing anyone under the bus. In her practice, she blends the best of proven negotiation strategies with evidence-based neuroplasticity tools so her clients lead and advocate with confidence and ease. Jamie also hosts a podcast for professional women, Risky Conversations with Jamie Lee, covering topics often considered "too risky" at work -- salary negotiation, mental and reproductive health, office politics, social injustices, and unconventional ways smart women navigate their path forward despite inequitable and sexist cultures. A South Korean immigrant, Jamie first learned the value of self-advocacy from the example of her mother, who single-handedly raised three daughters while running a nail salon and speaking broken English in New Jersey. After attending Smith College to study East Asian Studies with a focus on Japanese, she built her career by capitalizing on her strengths, curiosity, and willingness to work in new industries. She worked as a buyer for a beauty products company, a junior analyst at a hedge fund trading firm, and in multiple roles within tech startups. Jamie described her experience with "Tiara Syndrome,” a term coined by negotiations expert, Carol Frohlinger in which one expects their achievements and hard work to be automatically recognized and rewarded rather than needing to ask for raises, promotions, and other benefits. She encountered hostile work environments, particularly at the hedge fund and throughout all of these experiences, learned the importance of self-advocacy and negotiation. Jamie developed and organized workshops to help women negotiate better within the organizations she was working for as she began her coaching studies. She also partnered with the "She Negotiates" organization to build her skills and eventually opened her own coaching practice. Over a decade, Jamie has trained professionals in effective self-advocacy and workplace negotiation at leading organizations, including Smith College, Executive Education, Citi, Unilever, Jeffries, and UC Berkeley School of Business, among others. She developed a leadership archetype quiz which is available through her website. Jamie’s current practice focuses on self-directed neuroplasticity tools and mental rehearsal techniques. She recently added hypno-coaching credentials to her offerings. Jamie’s best advice for professionals seeking their next career moves are:
Jamie's journey highlights the importance of networking, seizing opportunities, and continuous self-improvement in career development. Learn more and connect with Jamie here:
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| 265: Invest in Your Own Resilience and Stay Curious with Dr. Pelletier | 18 déc. 2024 | 00:58:12 | |
Dr. Marie Hélène Pelletier, aka MH, uniquely bridges business and psychology. With a Ph.D. in Psychology and an MBA, MH has had an extensive career as a leadership psychologist, executive coach, and senior leader in the corporate, insurance and governance sectors. Her award-winning book, The Resilience Plan: A Strategic Approach to Optimizing Your Work Performance and Mental Health, was named a “Top 5 Book to Read” by Inc. Magazine and Forbes. During our interview, MH discussed her formative years, her educational journey in Quebec, her diverse professional development experiences, and her evolution from psychology into management. We delved into the importance of resilience, flexibility, strategic planning, and the integration of psychology and business for leaders and professionals. As a child growing up in Quebec City, MH enjoyed family trips to outdoor locations beyond the city, where she had the chance to explore and experience a sense of adventure and taking risks. She related this concept of adventure to her early career experiences as a psychologist when she lived in a more remote area of Quebec where mental health services were not plentiful. Yet, the needs were great in various settings. MH prepared herself to work there by taking additional courses to expand her credentials, enabling her to work in the courts, schools, and hospitals. She had to be strategic in this way to make a living doing work she felt was most important. Within the year, however, her plans changed, and she moved across the country to British Columbia to pursue her Ph.D. That presented some challenges as the rules regulating her psychology credentials varied between the provinces, and she had to take a few extra steps to achieve her goal. While on that journey, MH was able to develop other work options by asserting herself and taking some risks. It all paid off. Today, MH combines her business and clinical expertise, translating research about health, performance, resilience, and overcoming challenges into strategies professionals, leaders, and their teams need to thrive. She is a Member of the Global Clinical Practice Network of the World Health Organization and a past Director on the boards of the Canadian Psychological Association and the International Association of Applied Psychology. She has presented and authored numerous industry and academic publications, and many academic and industry awards have recognized her work. MH is a highly rated instructor at the University of British Columbia, Sauder School of Business, Executive Education. She is a member of the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council, an opt-in research community of business professionals. Learn more and connect with Dr. Pelletier here:
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| 264: Niven Postma’s Bold Journey in Leadership and Life | 04 déc. 2024 | 01:09:17 | |
At 17, Niven Postma, was a new high school graduate and did not know what she wanted to do. Her mother reminded her that she had a dream to live on a kibbutz in Israel, so off she went. For the next four years, Niven traveled and worked in many countries. Then at 29, she held her first executive position in a career that has spanned multiple sectors and roles. Niven is a strategy, leadership, and culture consultant partnering with clients in diverse industries worldwide to (re)ignite the discretionary energy of people and teams, build an enabling culture, and develop meaningful strategies. She speaks on organizational politics, leadership, culture, and women’s leadership to audiences across multiple industries. Before her current consultancy and PhD studies in Organizational Behavior, Niven served as the CEO of the Businesswomen’s Association, Head of the South African Reserve Bank Academy, and Head of Leadership and Culture for the Standard Bank Group (the largest bank by assets in Africa). “The real failure is not even trying. This idea that we shouldn't be scared of failure, well, that's impossible. We're all going to be scared of failure. The only thing that jolts us out of the inaction that a fear of failure brings is if we are terrified of regret. That idea that we regret what we don't do, I think is important, that we didn't try.” Niven is the author of the book, If You Don't Do Politics, Politics Will Do You - A guide to navigating office politics ethically and successfully. She is also a Harvard Business Review and Inc. contributor, a part-time tutor at Cambridge University’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), and a guest lecturer at Stanford University. Niven serves as the Chairman of the Board of Cotlands, an NGO that for 87 years has done cutting-edge work in the Early Childhood Development sector in South Africa and beyond. Niven holds an Executive MBA in systems thinking, human capital development, knowledge management, leadership, and change. She also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Future Studies and a BA in English Political Science. Learn more and connect with Niven here:
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| 263: Thrive at Work & Love Mondays Again with Corinna Freitag | 20 nov. 2024 | 00:35:11 | |
Dr. Corinna Freitag coaches STEM professionals to overcome workplace challenges so that they look forward to Mondays again. She is an executive coach, advisor, and speaker with decades of experience in natural and human sciences through university, industry, and continuing education. Executives hire her to develop and retain their top talent. She holds a Ph.D. in chemistry, is a certified Executive Coach, and received her Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential through the International Coaching Federation (ICF). Corinna grew up struggling to succeed as a student and believing she wasn’t good with people, unlike her older sister, who earned top grades and was more extroverted. As a result of living in her sister’s shadow, Corinna told herself a story that she was ‘the different one.’ Fortunately, she had the support of her parents, who fostered her curiosity. Corinna persisted for ten years to earn her doctoral degree in chemistry, a program less frequently pursued at that time, which meant it had lower barriers to entry. Interestingly, Corinna was the first in her family to attend university. After a year-long postdoc position at a university in Toronto, Corinna landed her first role in Germany at a Fortune 500 company developing automotive products. That job enabled her to travel globally and work cross-functionally over 18 years. Eventually, she was training others in processes where she had expertise, affording her experience in coaching and mentoring. Corinna was acknowledged as her company's Global Operational Excellence Leader for over 5 years. At the same time, the company was going through a major reorganization, and Corinna was losing her enthusiasm for her job. Corinna hired a coach to help explore her career options. As part of the self-reflective processes her coach guided her through, she discovered that she was, in fact, good with people! She also realized that she wanted to pursue a coaching certification. In 2022, Corinna left her corporate role to offer coaching on a full-time basis. Learn more and connect with Corinna here:
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| 262: Stay in Control of Your Career Direction with Paula Caliguiri | 06 nov. 2024 | 00:38:45 | |
Paula Caligiuri, PhD is a D’Amore-McKim School of Business Distinguished Professor of International Business and Strategy at Northeastern University and a Co-Founder of Skiilify. She is a work psychologist dedicated to helping companies, teams, and individuals become effective in today’s diverse, multicultural environment. Raised by blue-collar parents who had immigrated to the US as children, Paula grew up in Buffalo, NY. She attended college intending to study abroad. Paula went to Italy, and soon after her arrival, the stock market crashed, impacting the affordability of her study abroad experience. She stayed and worked to support herself before returning home. Once she returned home, she felt a little lost. Fortunately, Paula had a small circle of supportive faculty members who were tuned into her, and they provided the guidance she needed to reconnect. From there, she decided to attend graduate school and earn her Ph.D. Paula has authored or co-authored several articles and books – including Live for a Living: How to Create Your Career Journey to Work Happier, Not Harder, Build Your Cultural Agility: The Nine Competencies of Successful Global Professionals, and Cultural Agility: Building a Pipeline of Successful Global Professionals, and others. She works extensively with leading organizations and universities on the development of individuals’ cultural agility. She has been a frequent expert guest on CNN and CNN International. She is an instructor for two LinkedIn Learning courses entitled "Managing Globally" and "Six Skills to Build Cultural Agility." In 2021 and 2023, Paula was named a semi-finalist for the Forbes “50 over 50” for co-founding a public benefit corporation, Skiilify, to help democratize the acquisition of critical soft skills. Paula holds a Ph.D. from Penn State University in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and is a Fellow in the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the Academy of International Business. Learn more and connect with Paula here:
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| 261: Chase Your Dreams Every Day. Don’t Ever Think You Are Too Old with Leo Rossi | 23 oct. 2024 | 00:58:06 | |
For more than two decades, Leo Rossi worked with bands and artists such as Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks, The Beach Boys, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, Billy Idol, and many more to create magical experiences for their audiences. Starting on music tour crews doing lighting installation and design, he became a trusted team member and built a solid career managing hundreds of high-profile tours worldwide. As a young Italian Catholic boy from the blue-collar Los Angeles port town of San Pedro, Leo Rossi tripped into an improbable dream when he was punished for taking off on his own from a school field trip. His penance was to work on the backstage crew for the school play, which turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to him. Leo Rossi shares his life story, reflects on the transformative experiences and values from his traditional upbringing, and balances the influence of faith with the rock-and-roll lifestyle. He discusses the technological advancements that allowed him to transition into management roles and highlights his involvement with Apple during the early years of the Macintosh. Now retired, Rossi focuses on the Knights of Rock initiative, which is dedicated to preserving the authentic stories of classic rock and supporting charitable causes. Through his talks and storytelling, Rossi emphasizes the importance of dreams, learning from history, and giving back, urging listeners to follow their dreams and share their stories. Learn more and connect with Leo here:
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| 260: Career Success: The Power of Mentorship at Every Stage with Ruth Gotian | 09 oct. 2024 | 00:38:11 | |
Dr. Ruth Gotian is the Chief Learning Officer and Associate Professor at Weill Cornell School of Medicine in New York City. She returns to the Work from the Inside Out podcast to discuss her new book, "Financial Times Guide to Mentoring," co-authored with Andy Lopata. They emphasize the importance of mentoring in professional development, highlighting that 61% of positive mentoring relationships are formed organically. Ruth stresses the need for diverse mentoring teams and shares insights on the benefits of mentoring, including higher salaries and reduced burnout, as well as the importance of engaging mentors outside one's organization. She has been hailed by the journal Nature and Columbia University as an expert in mentorship and leadership development. In 2021, she was selected by Thinkers50 as one of the eight people worldwide to be named an emerging management thinker. In addition to publishing in academic journals, she is a contributor to Forbes and Psychology Today, where she writes about ‘optimizing success’. Her research is about the mindset and skill set of peak performers, including Nobel laureates, astronauts, and Olympic champions. Her award-winning book, The Success Factor, came out in January 2022. Discussion on Mentoring and High Achievers
Learn more and connect with Ruth here:
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| 259: Whatever You Do, Do It Well with Harry Duran | 25 sept. 2024 | 00:53:09 | |
From an early age, Harry Duran displayed a natural affinity for technology, tinkering with computers and embracing the latest gadgets. After briefly attending Syracuse University, Harry got distracted and lost his focus. He says he jumped around, never completing his degree, and then applied for a job at Chase Bank as a teller. Harry thought wearing a suit to work meant that he ‘made it.’ He was a quick learner and adapted well, moving up the ranks in the banking world. In 1999, Harry's innate curiosity and entrepreneurial spirit compelled him to explore opportunities in the dotcom boom, a venture that ultimately fell short. Undeterred, he went into construction with his half-brother in Atlanta, only to return home to his parents, tail between his legs. Harry took some time to self-reflect and realized that many of his choices were heavily influenced by other people. He recognized the importance of finding his own voice and taking responsibility for his future. Harry was always interested in electronic music and grew up DJing. That was his first passion. He wanted to start a podcast interviewing DJs because he was fascinated with the culture. Harry also built a mobile app for electronic music. A turning point came in 2014 when Harry attended the New Media Expo in Las Vegas, where he realized the power of podcasting as a platform to share stories and connect with audiences. Inspired, he launched Podcast Junkies, a show that enabled him to hone his interviewing skills and develop a deep understanding of the podcasting landscape. Harry's entrepreneurial spirit soon took over, and he founded Fullcast, a full-service podcast production and marketing consultancy. Leveraging his corporate experience and newfound podcasting expertise, Harry has helped over 110 clients launch their own shows. But Harry's journey didn't stop there. In 2019, he identified a niche that ignited his passion – vertical farming. Recognizing the potential to educate and inform audiences about this emerging industry, Harry launched the Vertical Farming Podcast, a show that has since become a leading voice in the space, securing high-profile sponsorships and opening doors to international conferences. Throughout his winding path, Harry's unwavering commitment to finding his voice and creating his own stage has been the driving force behind his success. From the corporate world to entrepreneurial ventures, his story is a testament to the power of resilience, adaptability, and the pursuit of finding meaningful work from the inside out. Learn more and connect with Harry here: Stay Connected:
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| 258: Invest the Time You Need to Clarify Your Next Steps with Joe Sprangel | 11 sept. 2024 | 00:59:06 | |
Joe Sprangel is the founder and principal consultant at Emmanuel Strategic Sustainability LLC, which helps organizations develop a hybrid sustainability strategy that enhances their longevity, profitability, and impact. His expertise includes strategic and tactical planning, change leadership, and humanist manufacturing, a framework that addresses the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit, as developed in his book Humanist Manufacturing: A Humanitarian Approach to Excellence in High-Impact Plant Operations. Joe is the founding dean of the College of Business & Professional Studies at Mary Baldwin University. He leads the undergraduate departments of business, criminal justice, healthcare administration, and social work. He is also the architect of the Master of Business Administration degree there. He holds a Doctorate in Business Administration from Lawrence Technological University. Joe has over 45 years of experience in various industries, including manufacturing, education, and consulting. He started his career in high school, cleaning and repairing heavy farm equipment and, soon after, rebuilding machines that manufactured auto parts. With a natural ability to figure how things work and to solve a wide range of problems, he was promoted to an industrial engineer role, which took him out of the plant and into the office. It also allowed him to earn a degree in mechanical engineering. At 40, he earned his MBA and his doctorate by 50. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Joe’s journey:
Learn more and connect with Joe here:
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| 257: You Miss All The Shots You Don’t Take with Andre Laplume | 28 août 2024 | 00:47:55 | |
When my clients need information, advice or help, I emphasize the importance and methods needed to proactively get the answers to move their goals forward. Yet, too often people hesitate, filling their heads with fear or self doubt, hampering their progress. I usually point out that if they do not make an inquiry or seek more information, then the answer is always NO. Not only is their progress stunted, they feel disappointed in themselves for not following through. My podcast guest this week, Dr. André La Plume believes in going beyond the NO to uncover answers to his questions. In our interview, André shares his educational journey, from a French community high school in Winnipeg to earning a PhD in management. His post-PhD career began at Michigan Tech and was followed by his return to Canada as a result of political constraints in the US. André delves into his interests in strategy, mentorship, and research, leading to the publication of his book on spinout ventures, Spinout Ventures: Transitioning from Employees to Entrepreneurs. It covers the implications of spinout ventures, the academic and real-world perspectives on entrepreneurship, and the evolving regulatory landscape. Through personal anecdotes and professional insights, André emphasizes the importance of taking risks and continuous learning at any career stage. Today, as a Full Professor in Entrepreneurship and Strategy at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Ted Rogers School of Management, André studies and teaches entrepreneurship and strategy. He is interested in the competitive and institutional barriers preventing potential entrepreneurs from launching new ventures successfully. André has over a decade of experience working as a business and information technology consultant in corporate Canada. He has performed many roles, including business analyst, systems analyst, project manager, practice leader, and integration architect. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Andre’s journey:
Learn more and connect with Andre here:
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| 256: Don't Be Afraid to Try Something Different with Kelly K James | 21 août 2024 | 00:54:48 | |
Kelly K. James (formerly Kelly James-Enger) has been writing for 20+ years as a full-time freelancer, and most recently, as a corporate content writer. In June 2024, she published her memoir, The Book That (Almost) Got Me Fired: How I (Barely) Survived a Year in Corporate America, an entertaining, honest account of what (and what not) to do when you make that corporate leap in midlife. As a kid, Kelly loved to read, write, and was an excellent student. In college, she majored in business because it was one of the more competitive programs. Day two of her sophomore year, Kelly had an anxiety attack and left school. She worked in a restaurant and returned to college the next term to study rhetoric, a writing major. A professor told her she would be a good lawyer. She took the LSAT exam, aced it, and went to law school. In 1997, Kelly “escaped from the law.” She practiced law for over five years, yet she knew it was not for her. Kelly began to write articles for major publications, later adding ghostwriting and authoring her own books. As a ghostwriter, Kelly has penned more than 30 books. She is also a novelist and author of writing-related books including Writer for Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success, Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer’s Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition, and Goodbye Byline Hello Big Bucks: Make Money Ghostwriting Books, Articles, Blogs, and More, Second Edition. In 2018, Kelly decided to go work for a small company. She was happily self-employed, yet she was also a single mom and worried about the cost of health insurance. In 2022, Kelly returned to the law to write legal content full-time for Miles Mediation & Arbitration. In addition, she writes independently about health, wellness, nutrition, and fitness subjects. Her work has appeared in 65+ online and print publications, including Huffington Post, The Girlfriend, NextTribe, Next Avenue, Chicago Health, Vibrant Life, and other markets. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Kelly’s journey:
Learn more and connect with Kelly here:
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| 255: Listen to Your Own Inner Voice with Rashmir Balasubramaniam | 31 juil. 2024 | 00:54:23 | |
When Rashmir Balasubramaniam was six years old, she asked her father, “Why am I here?” He laughed but did not answer her. She interpreted this as a message to stop asking questions. Deep down, Rashmir knew she had a purpose. It wasn't until she was 40 years old that she leaned into her true purpose. Rashmir grew up in a traditional Sri Lankan family in Africa and the UK, with high, prescribed expectations. Attending university, she intended to prepare for medical school (her mom is a physician) but realized it was not right for her. Instead, Rashmir studied math and computer science and earned her chartered accounting credential while in her first job at Ernst & Young. Next stop: investment banking. From there, Rashmir navigated a variety of career moves, always seeking to learn new things and to make a meaningful impact. These two threads have been essential foundations in guiding her professional decisions and the quest for her true calling. Rashmir took her work from the for-profit sector to explore several nonprofit sector roles, including a 5-year engagement with the Gates Foundation on a newly formed team dedicated to identifying new areas of giving which became their Global Development Program. Today, Rashmir coaches leaders who have bold visions for change that they want to bring to the world. She also offers team coaching, strategic consultations, speaking, and custom professional development programs. Throughout all of Rashmir’s strategic career moves, she has emphasized:
In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Rashmir’s journey:
Learn more and connect with Rashmir here:
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| 254: From Banking to Barista: A Relationship-Driven Career with Roman Eggenberger | 17 juil. 2024 | 00:54:38 | |
Roman Eggenberger, is a man living many lives, who is good with numbers and likes to talk. At 15, he entered the banking industry as an apprentice in his home country of Lichtenstein, where he was introduced to the world of work while completing his secondary education. Like many young people who completed apprenticeships and opted not to go to university immediately, Roman went abroad to improve his language skills. Unlike most of his friends who went to English-speaking countries, he went to France to study French for four months and returned to Lichtenstein to work in banking in Lausanne, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. (For those of us in the US, this would be comparable to living in New Jersey and working in New York… well, sort of, kind of!) Over the next several years, Roman worked in banking elevating his roles into the global markets and relocating to Hong Kong and Singapore. His travels also took him to New Haven, CT, Vancouver, Canada, and Nicaragua for different purposes, but you will need to listen to our interview to learn more about that part of his adventures. Roman has carved distinct paths wherever he has gone in his career, and the arenas he has worked in are pretty varied. Yet he has navigated his journey with an internal compass that many of us might not be able to comprehend. Along the way, he earned a university degree, took Seth Godin’s alt-MBA program, and attended a five-day fool’s workshop that was a personally and professionally transformative experience. After working in several large global banking institutions, Roman explored various other avenues, including the hemp business, bread baking, coffee farming, coffee and pastry service, oat milk business, agriculture, and many more entrepreneurial ventures. His takeaway message points to the importance of relationships, curiosity, and adaptability. Roman's story is a testament to the value of continuous learning and the impact of personal relationships on professional fulfillment. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Roman’s journey:
Learn more and connect with Roman here:
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| 253: Let Your Curiosity Be Your Guide with Robin Merle | 03 juil. 2024 | 00:35:52 | |
Robin Merle is an accomplished fundraising executive and the author of Involuntary Exit: A Woman's Guide to Thriving After Being Fired. A book aimed at helping unemployed professionals navigate the challenges of a sudden job loss, she shares her experiences working at the top of billion-dollar organizations, stories of accomplished women who were suddenly severed from their organizations, and how they navigated their way back to success. Robin examines the struggles of separating one’s identity from one's career and how one can rediscover and reconnect with one's value after job loss. Robin shared her journey from an early tough childhood in Philadelphia to a successful career in fundraising for institutions like NYU, Rutgers, and a leading New York hospital. She discusses the emotional and professional impact of job loss and the importance of maintaining one’s personal value and identity independent of one's career while offering insights on effective career reinvention. Robin provides practical strategies for anyone facing career transitions, emphasizing the importance of curiosity and continuous learning. She frequently speaks at national conferences on fundraising and women’s leadership. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Robin’s journey:
Learn more and connect with Robin here:
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| 252: Find Something You Care About with Chris Seeger | 19 juin 2024 | 00:51:10 | |
Odd fact: I was the sports editor on my high school newspaper for a time. One assignment I had was to interview and write an article about a classmate who was emerging as a top boxer, headed for the Junior Golden Gloves competition. Fast forward 45 years later, the subject of said article, Chris Seeger, tells me he almost skipped the interview because he felt unsure about doing it. I’ll admit that I felt intimidated because Chris seemed like a pretty tough guy and we hung out in very different crowds. The article won an honorable mention at the Columbia Scholastic Journalism Conference and it gave Chris a confidence boost in ways neither of us could ever have imagined. Gathering at our 45th high school reunion this past October, I learned that Chris was going to be installed in our hometown of Bay Shore, NY’s Hall of Fame for his achievements as a highly innovative and accomplished plaintiff attorney. After high school, Chris worked as a carpenter and continued to pursue boxing, but stopped competing in his early 20s. Working in New York City, he walked by Hunter College regularly. Chris decided to take a class, did well and decided to enroll as a degree granting student, discovering capabilities he never realized he had. Law school followed immediately afterward. Chris started his law career as a corporate defense attorney representing the interests of big business. Struck by the imbalance of power between corporations and the individuals harmed by them, he left to become a plaintiff attorney. A founding partner of Seeger Weiss, Chris is known for multidistrict mass torts and class actions involving drug injury, toxic injury and personal injury. His practice also handles product liability, property damage, antitrust, third-party payer litigation, and consumer, insurance, and securities fraud. Chris has led complex litigations in the U.S. representing plaintiffs and achieving landmark settlements in cases including the 3M Combat Arms Earplug Litigation, National Prescription Opiate Litigation, NFL Players’ Concussion Litigation, Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Litigation, Vioxx Litigation, and Syngenta AG MIR 162 Corn Litigation. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Chris’s journey:
Learn more and connect with Chris here:
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| 251: Tap Into Your Courage to Build Confidence with Ellen Taaffe | 05 juin 2024 | 00:53:49 | |
Ellen Taaffe is a Clinical Associate Professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. She teaches a course, Personal Leadership Insights, and serves as the Director of Kellogg’s Women's Leadership Program. Ellen is an independent board director on three company boards and runs her own leadership advisory consulting, speaking, and coaching business. Growing up as the fifth of six siblings, Ellen recalled dinner table conversations where her father engaged them in brainstorming about his entrepreneurial challenges. Ellen loved those discussions, saying they influenced her interest in business. Her parents always told her and her siblings that they could do anything with an education, hard work, and a vision. At the same time, Ellen witnessed and experienced the financial instability of her father’s business pursuits. This was not discussed openly, as her parents maintained a never-ever-quit philosophy. While Ellen cherished her parents’ positive belief in herself and her siblings, she recognized the value of bringing more transparency into the conversation with her own children. Ellen spent 25 years at Fortune 500 companies in top brand management posts within PepsiCo, Royal Caribbean, and Whirlpool Corporation. In her recent award-winning book, The Mirrored Door: Break Through the Hidden Barrier that Locks Successful Women in Place, Ellen offers her vast experience to help women understand and navigate internal and external obstacles to create the careers and lives they desire. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Ellen’s journey:
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| 250: Making Meaningful Connections Can Be Fun! with Gena Scurry | 22 mai 2024 | 00:55:11 | |
Gena Scurry has dedicated her career to fostering human connection. She is a self-proclaimed introvert, and while she loves people, her alone time sustains her. Gena says she is quirky, and it takes a lot of effort to be social and be herself. Gena’s formative years differed from most of the other kids in her Texas neighborhood. Crossing the border daily from her home, she attended a Montessori school in Mexico. Later, her thirst for adventure led her to take a year off from college and travel the world, camping and rock climbing. Gena loved rock climbing and traveling and was not sure what else she wanted to do with her life, so she worked hard outside of her classes to save money to support her trips. After completing her degree in Spanish, Gena embarked on her entrepreneurial journey with just $5 and a bicycle, teaching adults to speak Spanish. It started with one person asking her to teach them the language, and her business grew over the next 17 years, with a team of employees and contracts with large companies, which gave her steady revenue. Yet she felt terrified about income most of the time. Gena also got married and started a family during those years. Nine years ago, Gena went through a major life transition, a divorce. She began meditating and focused on the question, “What’s next in my life?” The answer: “Build a game.” It felt right to her. Eventually, Gena created Over Coffee, a card deck-based game designed to create deeper connections between people. The game challenges players to ask deeper questions on a variety of topics, integrating random verbs to enhance listening skills. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Gena’s journey:
Learn more and connect with Gena here:
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| 249: Designing Neurodiverse Inclusive Organizations with Ludmila Praslova | 08 mai 2024 | 00:53:15 | |
Ludmila N. Praslova, Ph.D., SHRM-SCP, is the author of The Canary Code: A Guide to Neurodiversity, Dignity, and Intersectional Belonging at Work. She is a Professor of Psychology and the founding Director of Graduate Programs in Industrial-Organizational Psychology at Vanguard University of Southern California. Born in Moscow, Ludmila grew up in a blue collar area where textile mills and farming were predominant, yet, she shared, there was a strange mix of high culture blended in with visits to museums and trips to the theater. She enjoyed reading college text books as a child and writing poetry. Her parents pressed her to use her hands to sew, garden, and play a musical instrument, all of which felt impossible to her. Ludmila graduated from the Russian State University of Humanities with a 5-year specialist degree in organizational management processes and human resources. She chose this focus because it was a compromise between something she enjoyed studying and a path that could lead to stable employment. Ludmila was still figuring out her career and did not plan to work in education—she was focused on organizational practice. She went on to build and lead successful intercultural relations programs in global organizations. Ludmila’s areas of expertise include organizational culture assessment and change, workplace justice and civility, productivity and well-being, and training and training evaluation. She is the editor of the book Evidence-Based Organizational Practices for Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging and Equity. Her current consulting focuses on supporting organizations in creating systemic inclusion informed by an understanding of neurodiversity. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Ludmila’s journey:
Learn more and connect with Ludmila here:
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| 248: Curiosity is Your Superpower with Ehab Bandar | 24 avr. 2024 | 00:46:04 | |
Ehab Bandar is a sought-after product design consultant for startups and fintech. What's amazing about his career is that he's managed to do it while being both an outsider and an insider in remarkably distinct ways. Ehab attributes credit to his early life as an immigrant to the US from Lebanon at the age of six. His family moved yearly until he was in seventh grade. Ehab was a shy kid with a stutter, yet he was also a natural observer and listener, taking in different cultural norms and personalities. He recalls endearing himself to fit in with new people by throwing a joke into random conversations, noting how fortunate he was to be warmly received as he started the year at each new school. Ehab describes these characteristics as shy self-reliance while being quietly engaged. Ehab had to invent his own career to become a design leader himself. Educated as a city planner, Ehab started his career as one of the youngest technology managers at Wells Fargo. He then left corporate and went on his own to advise and lead design at fast-growing startups in Silicon Valley, digital agencies, and corporate giants. Ehab uses city planning tools and curiosity to hone his craft in the tech world. He explains how a quarterly print newsletter he started in grad school out of boredom led him to work in the dot-com boom and how being an outsider as an immigrant from Lebanon made the act of observation and discovery a daily habit. Today, he's the founder of big table.co, an experience-led design agency that partners with product teams to build human-centered designs at scale. They merge hands-on product knowledge, customer insights, and experience strategy to transform ideas into a tangible product vision. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Ehab’s journey:
Learn more and connect with Ehab here:
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| 247: Don't Just Talk About Doing It. Do It. with Chris Fenning | 10 avr. 2024 | 00:52:35 | |
Chris Fenning makes it easier for us to communicate at work. He helps experts talk to non-experts, teams talk to executives, and much more. Chris's practical methods are used in organizations like Google and NATO and have appeared in the Harvard Business Review. Helping people retain and apply what he teaches led Chris to write the book 39-ways to Make Training Stick: What to Do After Trainees Leave the Room. He has also authored multiple books on communication and training that have been translated into 15 languages. Chris grew up in what he describes as a traditional nuclear family in the UK. As our podcast interview unfolded, he shared that his parents worked hard to provide sufficient food for their family. As a child, Chris was unaware of how careful they were to ensure there was enough food. He thought all parents put dates on their canned beans. At age 7, he was awarded a scholarship to attend a private school. Chris saw the distinction between his life and that of his classmates. Adding to his experience of differences, he was elevated two grade levels to a class with students who were 9-years-old. Chris always did well in school without much effort. Then his perspective changed. At 15, he was struck by a car, sustaining serious injuries. After that, he took nothing for granted. Attending university, he majored in aeronautical engineering, and worked 2 to 3 jobs to support himself. Throughout his engineering career, Chris leveraged his problem solving skills by applying them to challenges wherever he saw a need. He was especially drawn towards translating communication between technical and business teams. Chris’s ability to translate and communicate is the common thread in his work today. When he left full-time employment to start his own business, Chris moved into communication, bridging the gap between technical and business teams and between experts and non-experts. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Chris’s journey:
Learn more and connect with Chris here:
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| 246: Be Ready to Say Yes & Try It with Erika Wasserman | 27 mars 2024 | 00:44:58 | |
Erika Wasserman was always good at math. As a teenager, she and her Dad would sit in front of the family computer (then, households had one computer), dial up AOL (America Online), and check out the latest stock market figures. Dad, an optometrist, was keenly interested in the markets and enjoyed bonding with Erika over all things involving numbers. Erika studied finance and international economics in college, and following graduation, she took a finance role at IBM. Early on, she discovered the advantages of being in a large company where opportunities for mobility were readily available. Erika moved to the consulting side of the business, serving clients, becoming a project manager in a variety of functional areas, and developing her leadership chops. Interspersed within that time, she married, lived in Asia, had her first child, and moved nine times in ten years. Needless to say, Erika’s personal and professional journey was not a linear one. For her, there were many changes: growing up in a household where money was an exciting dinner topic, getting married, having three children, getting divorced, living abroad, moving nine times for a job, and losing a parent. Erika found herself at a crossroads. After a successful decade at IBM, Erika left her corporate role to work on emerging organic food brands, transforming them from innovative products to household names while raising her growing family. Along the way, Erika noticed a gap in how people all over the world talked — or didn’t talk — about money, both within family structures, relationships, and workplaces. Erika then discovered the field of Financial Therapy and decided to pursue her graduate Certificate in Financial Therapy from Kansas State University. Today, she works with individuals, couples, families, teams, and corporate wellness programs to improve communication and relationships regarding money. Partnering with her clients, Erika helps them transform their mindsets and beliefs about money, paving the way to clearer choices and new options. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Erika’s journey:
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| 245: Trust Your Instincts and Follow Your Curiosity with Catie Harris | 13 mars 2024 | 00:38:38 | |
Catie Harris is a nurse practitioner who believes nurses are uniquely qualified to be entrepreneurs. As the CEO and owner of NursePreneurs, a mentorship program that empowers nurses to monetize their knowledge and develop business skills, Catie inspires them to change how healthcare is perceived and delivered. Through individual coaching, live events, and signature group programs, thousands of nurses have been empowered with the knowledge and skills they need to build profitable businesses of their own. As a child, Catie was quite introverted and didn’t socialize easily. Her family moved multiple times, which meant going to new schools, and she found this to be consistently difficult. At 16, Catie had a vivid dream in which she saw herself working as a nurse, and from then on, it was clear she would go to nursing school. Catie never questioned that decision to this day. What she had not anticipated was the level of interpersonal interactions she would need to engage in as a nursing student. The adjustment throughout her rotations in different clinical areas was painful, yet Catie persevered and eventually discovered the strength of her introverted personality. As is typical of most introverted people, Catie was not a small-talk type of person. She was much better at listening. So when there were families in the hospital who were identified as difficult or temperamental, Catie was assigned to meet with them because she would go in, and just listen to them. By the time they were done venting, they would express thanks for how helpful Catie had been. Catie found that it helped her too. Catie continued with her training to get her nurse practitioner's degree. Always curious, her nursing experience included work in multiple clinical areas. Eventually, she focused on her own business to teach and support nurses who wanted to become entrepreneurs. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Catie’s journey:
Learn more and connect with Catie here:
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