The podcast for professionals who are ready to lead—and rise.
Leadership today isn't just about managing others. It starts with you. Your mindset, your resilience, your ability to stay clear and steady when the pressure is on. Because if you can't lead yourself, you can't lead anyone else.
On Leader on the Rise, we explore the habits, communication skills, and leadership practices – both internal and external - that help you grow your presence, influence and confidence—so you can thrive at work and rise into your next level.
Whether you're stepping into leadership for the first time, leading a team through challenges, or preparing for greater responsibility, you'll find practical insights, real stories, and research-backed strategies to help you perform at your best—and bring out the best in others. This is where professional growth meets personal leadership.
If you're ready to lead with more clarity, confidence, and purpose—you're in the right place.
Let's rise.
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What Leaders Actually Need From You (That No One Tells You)
Wednesday, June 3, 2026 • Duration 19:33
Episode Description
Most professionals focus on meeting expectations.
But rising leaders learn something different: advancement often comes from understanding what leaders actually need from the people around them.
In this episode of Leader on the Rise, Mim Abbey explores the four things leaders consistently value most—yet rarely articulate clearly. These aren't technical skills or job descriptions. They're the qualities that make leaders trust you with greater responsibility, larger opportunities, and more complex challenges.
Drawing from leadership research, organizational psychology, and years of coaching leaders across industries, Mim explains why clarity, judgment, ownership, and calm under pressure are often more important than flawless execution.
You'll learn how leaders experience the people around them, what creates trust at higher levels, and how to become someone leaders increasingly rely on rather than manage.
What You'll Learn
The difference between meeting expectations and meeting leadership needs
Why leaders evaluate more than execution
How clarity reduces cognitive load
The role of judgment in leadership trust
Why ownership signals leadership readiness
How proactive thinking accelerates advancement
The importance of emotional regulation under pressure
How leaders decide who is ready for more responsibility
What makes leaders feel confident when you're involved
Practical ways to become a more trusted partner to leadership
Featured Research & Insights
Center for Creative Leadership research on leadership derailment and level transitions
Leadership Pipeline research on advancement and role shifts
Studies on cognitive load and decision-making
Research on emotional regulation and leadership effectiveness
Organizational psychology findings on trust and leadership readiness
Leadership perception research on judgment and ownership
Executive development studies on leadership transitions and advancement
Why It Matters
As careers progress, leaders begin evaluating something beyond performance.
They ask:
Can I trust this person's judgment?
Do they think ahead?
Do they reduce complexity?
Do they create clarity?
Do they remain steady when things get difficult?
The professionals who rise aren't simply the hardest workers.
They're the people who make leadership's job easier.
By consistently delivering clarity, judgment, ownership, and calm, you begin building the kind of trust that transforms careers—and positions you for the next level.
Why You Struggle to Advocate for Yourself at Work (Even When You Know You Should)
Wednesday, June 3, 2026 • Duration 26:56
Episode Description
You know what you want to say.
You know what you should ask for.
And yet somehow, in the moment, you hold back.
In this episode of Leader on the Rise, Mim Abbey explores why so many capable professionals struggle to advocate for themselves at work—even when they know exactly what needs to be said.
Drawing from neuroscience, leadership psychology, and executive coaching, Mim explains why self-advocacy is not simply a confidence issue. Instead, it is often a deeply learned response to perceived social risk, rejection, and conflict.
You'll learn why professionals soften their messages, over-explain, delay important conversations, and defer to others—and how those patterns quietly limit leadership presence and career growth.
Most importantly, you'll learn how to replace those patterns with direct, credible, leadership-oriented communication that allows your voice, ideas, and perspective to be heard.
What You'll Learn
Why self-advocacy is often misunderstood
The neuroscience behind speaking up and holding back
How social risk influences workplace behavior
Why professionals soften, delay, and over-explain
The difference between assertiveness and aggression
The "Goldilocks Zone" of effective self-advocacy
Why leadership requires clear self-representation
How to communicate recommendations more directly
The power of the One-Sentence Stand
Practical ways to strengthen leadership voice and presence
Featured Research & Insights
Naomi Eisenberger's UCLA research on social pain and social rejection
The Cyberball study and its implications for workplace behavior
Daniel Ames and Francis Flynn's Columbia Business School research on assertiveness and leadership effectiveness
Research on workplace self-advocacy and career advancement
Studies on leadership presence and communication credibility
Neuroscience research on threat perception and decision-making
Why It Matters
The 5 Conversations That Change Your Career Trajectory
Tuesday, June 2, 2026 • Duration 17:55
Episode Description
What actually shapes a career?
Most people assume it's major projects, performance reviews, or big opportunities. And while those things matter, careers are often shaped by something much smaller—and much more frequent.
Conversations.
In this episode of Leader on the Rise, Mim Abbey explores the five conversations that consistently accelerate careers and strengthen leadership readiness. These are the conversations many professionals avoid because they feel uncomfortable, vulnerable, or risky. Yet they're often the very conversations that create clarity, visibility, trust, and advancement.
Drawing from workplace communication research, leadership psychology, and real coaching examples, Mim breaks down the five career-changing conversations every ambitious professional should be having—and provides practical language you can use to start them.
If you've been waiting to be noticed, hoping things will change on their own, or delaying conversations you know you need to have, this episode will help you take the initiative and create momentum.
What You'll Learn
Why avoided conversations often become career obstacles
The psychology behind communication avoidance
Why difficult conversations strengthen relationships more often than they damage them
The role of curiosity in high-stakes conversations
How conversations create clarity, trust, and opportunity
Featured Research & Insights
Crucial Learning research on high-stakes conversations and workplace avoidance
Research on manager-employee expectation alignment
Tasha Eurich's work on self-awareness and perception gaps
Studies on career advancement and proactive communication
Research on workplace trust and relationship-building
Why It Matters
Why High Performers Get Stuck (Even When They're Doing Everything Right)
Monday, June 1, 2026 • Duration 22:34
Episode Description
You work hard. You deliver results. You're reliable, capable, and committed.
So why does it sometimes feel like your career has stalled?
In this episode of Leader on the Rise, Mim Abbey explores one of the most frustrating realities in professional life: why high performers often get stuck despite doing many of the things that made them successful in the first place.
This episode challenges the common belief that hard work alone drives advancement and explores the hidden shifts that occur as careers progress. You'll learn why the behaviors that help professionals stand out early in their careers can eventually become the very things that limit growth.
Drawing from leadership psychology, organizational behavior, and executive coaching, Mim unpacks the patterns that keep talented professionals from reaching the next level—and what rising leaders do differently.
If you've ever felt overlooked, underutilized, or uncertain about what's holding you back, this episode will help you identify the invisible barriers that may be standing between you and your next opportunity.
What You'll Learn
Why hard work alone eventually stops driving advancement
The hidden difference between performance and leadership
Why high performers often become trapped in execution
How visibility influences career growth
The role of strategic thinking in advancement
Why leaders are evaluated differently than contributors
How identity can limit future growth
The importance of influence and relationship-building
Why leadership readiness is often misunderstood
Practical ways to break through career plateaus
Featured Research & Insights
The Peter Principle and its implications for advancement
Leadership Pipeline research on the transition from contributor to leader
Herminia Ibarra's work on leadership identity and career transitions
Center for Creative Leadership research on leadership derailment
Studies on visibility, influence, and organizational perception
Why It Matters
How to Influence Decisions When You're Not in the Room
Sunday, May 31, 2026 • Duration 28:18
Episode Description
Somewhere inside your organization, conversations are happening right now that will shape careers, promotions, opportunities, and leadership trajectories.
And you are not in the room.
In this episode of Leader on the Rise, Mim Abbey explores one of the most advanced — and least understood — leadership skills in organizations: how to influence decisions when you are not physically present.
This conversation breaks down the hidden architecture of organizational influence, including informal networks, trusted relationships, advocates, connectors, and the invisible conversations shaping leadership decisions behind the scenes.
You'll learn why influence is not about manipulation or politics, but about building trust widely, investing in relationships intentionally, and creating a reputation that travels through the organization even when you are absent.
Drawing from organizational network theory, leadership psychology, and real-world executive coaching, this episode explains how rising leaders build influence long before they need it.
If you want your leadership to scale beyond the rooms you enter personally, this episode will help you understand how influence truly moves through organizations.
What You'll Learn
Why organizations operate through informal influence networks
The hidden structure behind leadership decisions
How trusted relationships shape advancement
The importance of connectors and advocates
Why influence depends on trust, not visibility alone
How to map organizational influence
The role of pre-wiring important conversations
Why strong advocates accelerate careers
How rising leaders build influence strategically
The relationship habits that create long-term career leverage
Featured Research & Insights
How to Position Your Work So Leadership Notices
Sunday, May 31, 2026 • Duration 27:21
Episode Description
You can do exceptional work — and still communicate it in a way that leadership barely notices.
In this episode of Leader on the Rise, Mim Abbey explores the hidden communication gap between professionals and senior leaders, and why the ability to position work strategically is one of the most important leadership skills in modern organizations.
This conversation breaks down how senior leaders actually process information, why most updates fail to land, and how rising leaders communicate in ways that create clarity, trust, and strategic visibility.
You'll learn practical frameworks for communicating with leadership more effectively, including how to lead with the headline, frame work in organizational terms, clarify decisions, and communicate trade-offs with maturity and credibility.
Drawing from cognitive psychology, executive communication research, and real-world leadership examples, this episode explains why communication quality often shapes advancement more than the work itself.
If you want your ideas, projects, and leadership thinking to carry more weight inside your organization, this episode will help you understand how senior leaders truly listen.
What You'll Learn
Why leadership communication differs from execution communication
How senior leaders process information under cognitive load
The importance of leading with the headline
Why concise communication signals authority
How to position work strategically
The role of organizational relevance in visibility
Why explicit decision framing matters
How to communicate trade-offs effectively
The communication habits of rising leaders
How to make leadership pay attention to your work
Featured Research & Insights
George Miller's "Magical Number Seven" cognitive load research
Why Some People Look Promotion-Ready Before Others
Thursday, May 28, 2026 • Duration 29:27
Episode Description
Why do some professionals seem promotion-ready long before others — even when their experience and performance appear similar on paper?
In this episode of Leader on the Rise, Mim Abbey explores the psychology behind promotion-readiness and the hidden perception mechanics shaping advancement inside organizations.
This conversation breaks down why readiness is not simply an objective milestone, but a perception formed through dozens of small moments: how someone communicates, responds under pressure, handles ambiguity, and carries themselves in leadership settings.
Drawing from leadership psychology, organizational behavior, and Nalini Ambady's groundbreaking "thin slices" research, this episode explains how people form durable impressions of leadership potential far faster than most professionals realize.
You'll learn why some professionals feel "senior" before they officially become senior — and how leadership perception compounds into opportunity over time.
What You'll Learn
Why promotion-readiness is largely perception-based
The psychology behind leadership impressions
How "thin slicing" shapes career advancement
Why some professionals feel more senior early
The role of emotional steadiness in leadership perception
How leaders evaluate ambiguity tolerance
Why visible thinking matters in leadership settings
The importance of external self-awareness
How reputation influences advancement
The leadership habits that signal readiness
Featured Research & Insights
Nalini Ambady's "thin slices" research on rapid impression formation
Center for Creative Leadership research on role anticipation
Tasha Eurich's research on external self-awareness
INSEAD leadership research on tolerance for ambiguity
Academy of Management Journal research on developmental feedback
Leadership psychology research on trust and perception
Why It Matters
Promotion decisions are rarely based on one dramatic moment.
Why Great Work Goes Unnoticed (And What Rising Leaders Do Differently)
Wednesday, May 27, 2026 • Duration 24:58
Episode Description
Why does exceptional work sometimes seem to disappear inside organizations?
In this episode of Leader on the Rise, Mim Abbey explores one of the most frustrating realities in professional life: why great work often goes unnoticed — and what rising leaders do differently to ensure their thinking, judgment, and impact become visible.
This conversation breaks down the hidden visibility dynamics shaping recognition, advancement, and influence inside organizations. You'll learn why strong contributors often remain invisible outside their immediate teams, how promotion conversations actually happen, and why visibility is not about ego or self-promotion — it's about leadership communication.
Drawing from organizational psychology, leadership research, and real-world coaching examples, this episode introduces four practical visibility practices that help professionals become known not just for execution, but for leadership potential.
If you want your work, ideas, and leadership to carry more weight, this episode will help you understand how visibility truly works.
What You'll Learn
Why hard work alone doesn't guarantee advancement
The hidden visibility gap inside organizations
Why great work often goes unnoticed
How rising leaders communicate strategic thinking
Why cross-functional relationships matter
The difference between visibility and self-promotion
How to communicate impact professionally
Why leadership visibility shapes career growth
How reputation influences advancement opportunities
The visibility habits of rising leaders
Featured Research & Insights
Herminia Ibarra's research on outsider thinking and leadership visibility
Adam Grant's Give and Take research on workplace contribution and advancement
Journal of Applied Psychology research on "sensegiving"
Mark Granovetter's "strength of weak ties" research
LinkedIn Workforce Confidence research on cross-functional relationships
Jeffrey Pfeffer's Stanford research on visibility and advancement
Why It Matters
The Invisible Criteria You're Being Judged By at the Next Level
Wednesday, May 27, 2026 • Duration 21:19
Episode Description
Most professionals believe career advancement is driven primarily by performance — how hard they work, how much they produce, and how reliably they execute.
But at higher levels, leadership evaluates something very different.
In this episode of Leader on the Rise, Mim Abbey explores the invisible criteria leaders actually use when deciding who is ready for the next level. This conversation breaks down the hidden shift from being evaluated for execution to being evaluated for leadership readiness — including presence, strategic thinking, emotional regulation, communication clarity, and visibility of impact.
You'll learn why some high performers become indispensable but not promotable, how leaders unconsciously assess readiness, and what signals create trust at more senior levels.
Drawing from leadership psychology, executive coaching, and organizational research, this episode offers a clearer understanding of how advancement decisions are really made inside organizations.
What You'll Learn
Why performance eventually stops being enough
The hidden difference between execution and leadership readiness
Why leadership presence matters more than charisma
How strategic thinking changes advancement potential
Why emotional regulation shapes leadership trust
The role of communication clarity in perceived authority
Why visibility of impact matters inside organizations
How leaders evaluate readiness under pressure
Why some professionals plateau despite strong work
The leadership signals that accelerate promotions
Featured Research & Insights
The Peter Principle by Dr. Laurence Peter
The Leadership Pipeline research by Ram Charan and the Center for Creative Leadership
Amy Cuddy's research on warmth and competence
McKinsey leadership transition research on strategic thinking
Center for Creative Leadership research on leadership derailment
Harvard Business Review research on communication clarity and leadership perception
Why It Matters
The Real Scorecard For Promotions At Work
Wednesday, May 27, 2026 • Duration 18:10
Episode Description
You can be excellent at your job and still feel stuck.
Not because you lack talent, work ethic, or results — but because leadership is evaluating you on a completely different scorecard than the one that created your early success.
In this episode of Leader on the Rise, Mim Abbey breaks down the invisible criteria leaders use when deciding who is truly ready for the next level.
This conversation explores the shift from execution-based evaluation to leadership-based evaluation — where judgment, influence, steadiness, decision quality, and the experience people have around you become more important than output alone.
You'll learn why high performers often plateau, why leadership feedback feels vague, and how professionals can start operating on the real leadership scorecard before promotion happens.
This episode combines organizational psychology, leadership research, behavioral science, and practical leadership strategy to help you understand how advancement decisions are actually made inside organizations.
If you've ever wondered why doing more is no longer creating forward movement, this episode will help you understand the deeper leadership patterns that truly shape career growth.
What You'll Learn
Why performance eventually stops being enough
The hidden leadership scorecard used at senior levels
Why judgment matters more than execution at the next level
How leadership evaluation becomes experiential
Why some professionals become indispensable but not promotable
The difference between doing the work and elevating outcomes
Why calmness, clarity, and steadiness shape leadership trust
How leaders evaluate decision-making under uncertainty
The role of influence in leadership advancement
How to start operating at the next level before promotion
Featured Research & Insights
Leadership research consistently shows judgment under ambiguity predicts advancement more than technical expertise
Organizational psychology studies demonstrate that influence multiplies leadership impact more effectively than individual execution
Why It Matters
Organizational psychology findings on influence and leadership visibility
The cost of not advocating for yourself isn't simply missed opportunities.
It's misrepresentation.
People cannot value ideas they never hear.
Leaders cannot trust judgment that is never expressed.
Organizations cannot develop leadership potential they cannot see.
Learning to advocate for yourself isn't about becoming louder, more aggressive, or more self-promotional.
It's about representing reality clearly.
And the ability to do that—to communicate your perspective, needs, recommendations, and boundaries directly—is one of the most important leadership skills you can develop.
Leadership development findings on feedback-seeking behavior
Organizational psychology research on difficult conversations and professional growth
Many professionals spend years waiting for recognition, feedback, opportunities, or advancement conversations to find them.
But careers rarely move forward through hope.
They move forward through clarity.
The professionals who rise learn how to initiate conversations that create alignment, surface opportunities, close perception gaps, and make their ambitions visible.
Because your manager cannot read your mind.
Leadership cannot support goals you've never expressed.
And opportunities often begin with a conversation someone was willing to start.
Research on strategic thinking and executive advancement
Organizational psychology findings on leadership readiness and promotion decisions
Many professionals assume that if they continue producing excellent work, advancement will naturally follow.
But as careers progress, the criteria change.
Leaders begin looking for different signals:
strategic thinking
judgment
influence
visibility
leadership presence
the ability to elevate outcomes through others
The challenge is that most people never receive direct feedback about this shift.
Instead, they continue optimizing for the behaviors that made them successful in the past.
Understanding what changes at higher levels can help you stop working harder and start growing differently.
Because the next level rarely requires more effort.
It often requires a different way of thinking, communicating, and leading.
Stanley Milgram's "small world" and six degrees research
Organizational network analysis research from IBM's Institute for Business Value
Adam Grant's research on "otherish" givers and organizational influence
Harvard Business School research from Michael Roberto on pre-wiring and decision quality
Herminia Ibarra and Mark Hunter's research on diverse advocate networks
Organizational psychology research on trust, reputation, and informal influence
Why It Matters
Careers are shaped not only by performance — but by trust traveling through networks.
Inside organizations, influence spreads through:
relationships
advocates
connectors
trusted voices
informal conversations
The professionals who rise consistently understand that leadership is not confined to formal authority.
It is built through credibility, generosity, relationship depth, and the ability to create trust across multiple parts of the organization.
Influence is not a personality trait.
It is a leadership practice.
And it compounds over time.
Executive communication studies from the University of Southern California
Wharton School research on relevance framing and executive communication
Daniel Kahneman's research on decision framing
William McGuire's persuasion and credibility research on two-sided arguments
Leadership communication research on concise messaging and executive perception
Why It Matters
Senior leaders operate under enormous cognitive load.
That means they are constantly filtering for:
clarity
relevance
implications
decisions
risk
The professionals who rise are not always the ones doing the best work.
They are often the ones who communicate their work in ways leadership can process quickly and confidently.
Positioning your work is not about spin.
It's about helping leadership understand:
what matters
what changed
what decision exists
and why your thinking can be trusted
They are formed through accumulated impressions:
how you communicate
how you respond to uncertainty
whether people feel steadier around you
how visible your thinking becomes
whether leadership already experiences you as operating at the next level
The professionals who look ready earliest are often the ones who have already mentally stepped into the role above them.
Because readiness is not discovered.
It is perceived.
And perception compounds over time.
Linda Hill's Harvard Business School research on leadership identity shifts
Organizations are overloaded systems.
Leaders do not see every late night, every thoughtful analysis, or every strong contribution firsthand.
Instead, advancement often depends on:
visibility
reputation
strategic communication
trusted relationships
understood impact
The professionals who rise are not simply producing strong work.
They are making their thinking, judgment, and contribution visible in ways leadership can recognize and trust.
Visibility is not vanity.
It is leadership communication.
MIT Sloan research on organizational visibility and perception
Many professionals continue optimizing for the wrong scorecard:
more effort
more output
more responsiveness
more reliability
But leadership evaluation changes at higher levels.
Leaders begin asking:
Does this person create clarity?
Do people trust their judgment?
Can they think strategically?
Do they make situations steadier or more chaotic?
Understanding those invisible criteria changes how you operate, communicate, and position yourself for advancement.
Because promotions are not based solely on how well you perform your current role.
They are based on whether leadership trusts you at the next level.
Trust research shows consistency, clarity, and emotional steadiness strongly shape leadership credibility
Behavioral science research suggests people evaluate leaders experientially, not just analytically
Leadership perception studies show that emotional regulation and communication style significantly influence advancement decisions
Most professionals continue optimizing for the scorecard that created their early success:
more effort
more output
more responsiveness
more availability
But leadership evaluation changes.
At the next level, people are evaluating:
how you think
how you make decisions
whether you create clarity or confusion
whether people feel steadier or more stressed around you
whether outcomes improve because of your involvement
Once you understand the real scorecard, career growth becomes far less mysterious.
