Explore every episode of the podcast Leader On The Rise
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What Leaders Actually Need From You (That No One Tells You) | 03 Jun 2026 | 00:19:33 | |
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
As careers progress, leaders begin evaluating something beyond performance. They ask:
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) | 03 Jun 2026 | 00:26:56 | |
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
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. | |||
| The 5 Conversations That Change Your Career Trajectory | 02 Jun 2026 | 00:17:55 | |
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
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. | |||
| Why High Performers Get Stuck (Even When They're Doing Everything Right) | 01 Jun 2026 | 00:22:34 | |
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
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:
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. | |||
| How to Influence Decisions When You're Not in the Room | 31 May 2026 | 00:28:18 | |
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
Featured Research & Insights
Why It Matters Careers are shaped not only by performance — but by trust traveling through networks. Inside organizations, influence spreads through:
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. | |||
| How to Position Your Work So Leadership Notices | 31 May 2026 | 00:27:21 | |
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
Featured Research & Insights
Why It Matters Senior leaders operate under enormous cognitive load. That means they are constantly filtering for:
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:
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| Why Some People Look Promotion-Ready Before Others | 28 May 2026 | 00:29:27 | |
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
Promotion decisions are rarely based on one dramatic moment. They are formed through accumulated impressions:
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. | |||
| Why Great Work Goes Unnoticed (And What Rising Leaders Do Differently) | 27 May 2026 | 00:24:58 | |
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
Organizations are overloaded systems. Leaders do not see every late night, every thoughtful analysis, or every strong contribution firsthand. Instead, advancement often depends on:
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. | |||
| The Invisible Criteria You're Being Judged By at the Next Level | 27 May 2026 | 00:21:19 | |
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
Many professionals continue optimizing for the wrong scorecard:
But leadership evaluation changes at higher levels. Leaders begin asking:
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. | |||
| The Real Scorecard For Promotions At Work | 27 May 2026 | 00:18:10 | |
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
Most professionals continue optimizing for the scorecard that created their early success:
But leadership evaluation changes. At the next level, people are evaluating:
Once you understand the real scorecard, career growth becomes far less mysterious. You stop trying to prove you're ready. And start showing up like someone who already is. | |||
| How to Influence Decisions When You're Not in the Room | 25 May 2026 | 00:14:41 | |
Episode Description What happens to your ideas when you're not in the room? In this episode of Leader on the Rise, Mim Abbey explores how influence actually works inside organizations — and why leadership influence depends far less on airtime than most professionals realize. This conversation breaks down the hidden mechanics of organizational influence: how ideas travel, how trust shapes decisions, and why senior leaders often influence outcomes long before formal meetings happen. You'll learn why good ideas alone are not enough, how credibility becomes a shortcut for leadership trust, and why leaders who influence effectively shape conversations before and after key decisions — not just during them. This episode also explores how trusted judgment becomes a form of scalable leadership, allowing your thinking to carry weight even when you are not physically present. If you want stronger influence, more strategic visibility, and greater leadership impact inside complex organizations, this episode will help you understand how real influence actually spreads. What You'll Learn
Many professionals believe that strong ideas naturally rise to the top. But inside organizations, ideas move through people, trust, relationships, and credibility. Senior leaders rarely evaluate every detail independently. Instead, they rely on people whose judgment reduces uncertainty and simplifies complexity. That means leadership influence is not just about having good ideas. It's about becoming someone whose thinking others trust enough to carry forward. When your influence no longer depends on being physically present everywhere, your leadership begins to scale. | |||
| Why Some New Leaders Earn Trust Quickly | 25 May 2026 | 00:19:42 | |
Episode Description When leaders step into new roles, most believe they need to prove themselves quickly. But the fastest way to build trust is not performance alone — it's clarity. In this episode of Leader on the Rise, Mim Abbey explores why trust trajectories are formed early in leadership transitions and how the first 90 days shape long-term perception, alignment, and confidence. This conversation breaks down the hidden leadership behaviors that either stabilize teams or create uncertainty — often without leaders realizing it. You'll learn why ambiguity erodes trust faster than lack of expertise, why predictability feels like competence to the nervous system, and how clear expectations, orientation, and visible follow-through create leadership trust quickly. This episode blends leadership psychology, organizational behavior research, and practical communication strategies to help leaders create steadiness and confidence in moments of transition. If you're stepping into a larger role, leading a new team, or trying to strengthen trust and credibility quickly, this episode will help you understand what people are truly looking for from leadership early on. What You'll Learn
When leaders enter new roles, teams immediately begin looking for orientation. People want to know:
Without those answers, people create their own assumptions — and trust erodes quickly. The strongest leaders reduce uncertainty early. They create clarity, consistency, and visible follow-through that allows people to relax, align, and move forward confidently. Trust is not built through perfection. It's built through predictability. | |||
| Why Some People Feel Like Leaders Before They Have the Title | 25 May 2026 | 00:24:10 | |
Episode Description Some people walk into a room and immediately feel like a leader — even before they have the title, authority, or years of experience. Why? In this episode of Leader on the Rise, Mim Abbey explores the hidden signals that create senior-level presence early in a career. This conversation unpacks why leadership is experienced emotionally before it's recognized organizationally — and why maturity, steadiness, proportion, and perspective often matter more than tenure. You'll learn why some professionals are trusted quickly while others remain stuck being managed, overlooked, or excluded from higher-level conversations despite strong work. This episode explores the psychology of leadership perception, emotional regulation, credibility under pressure, and the communication patterns that make someone feel "senior" long before promotion. If you want to strengthen your executive presence, leadership maturity, and influence at work, this episode will help you understand the deeper signals people are responding to around you every day. What You'll Learn
Many professionals believe leadership begins after promotion. But in reality, people start deciding whether you feel leadership-ready long before that moment arrives. They evaluate how you react under pressure, how you communicate complexity, whether you create steadiness or stress, and whether your presence makes situations clearer or more chaotic. The professionals who rise fastest are often the ones who already think, communicate, and regulate themselves at the level above them. Seniority is not about age or tenure. It's about how safe, steady, and trustworthy people feel around you. | |||
| Masterclass Part 4: The Visibility Gap - Why Great Work Isn't Enough | 24 May 2026 | 00:28:54 | |
Episode Description You can be exceptional at your job and still feel overlooked. Not because you lack talent, drive, or results — but because your leadership is not being seen clearly. In this episode of Leader on the Rise, Mim Abbey explores "The Visibility Gap" — the hidden reason so many capable professionals struggle to gain recognition, influence, and advancement despite producing excellent work. This episode breaks down the invisible rulebook that shapes workplace perception and explains why visibility is not about ego, self-promotion, or office politics. It's about helping people understand your impact, your thinking, and your leadership potential. Drawing from psychology, leadership research, and real coaching examples, Mim shares practical strategies to help you become more visible, trusted, and top-of-mind — without becoming performative or inauthentic. You'll learn how leaders actually notice talent, why strong work often goes unseen, and how small communication habits can dramatically shift how people experience your leadership. This is Part 4 of the Leader on the Rise Masterclass Series. What You'll Learn
Many professionals believe that excellent work will naturally speak for itself. But organizations are fast-moving, overloaded systems. Leaders are not observing every contribution in detail. They rely on what is visible, memorable, strategically framed, and consistently communicated. That means visibility is not vanity. It is leadership communication. When you learn how to clearly communicate your impact, frame your thinking, and signal leadership consistently, people begin to experience you differently. They begin to trust you with larger opportunities, greater influence, and higher-level responsibility. Great work gets you into the room. Visible leadership moves you forward. | |||
| Masterclass Part 3: The Communication Gap - Why Talented People Still Get Overlooked | 24 May 2026 | 00:28:16 | |
Episode Description Communication is one of the most overlooked career accelerators in professional life — and one of the biggest reasons talented people get stuck. In this episode of Leader on the Rise, Mim Abbey explores "The Communication Gap" — the hidden disconnect between what professionals intend to communicate and how they are actually experienced by others. Some professionals speak too softly and become overlooked. Others dominate conversations and unintentionally erode trust. And many simply communicate in ways that are unclear, causing their ideas, intelligence, and leadership potential to get lost in translation. This episode breaks down the communication patterns that quietly limit influence, leadership presence, and career growth — and offers practical ways to become more clear, credible, confident, and effective in how you communicate. You'll learn how to strengthen your executive presence, communicate with greater clarity, calibrate your style for different situations, and become someone people naturally trust, remember, and want to follow. This is Part 3 of the Leader on the Rise Masterclass Series. What You'll Learn
Communication is not a "soft skill." It is a leadership skill. Your ability to communicate shapes how people experience your confidence, clarity, judgment, credibility, and leadership potential. It influences whether people trust you, advocate for you, invite you into opportunities, and believe in your ability to lead. Many professionals spend years developing technical expertise while dramatically underestimating the impact of how they communicate. But careers accelerate through influence — and influence is built through communication. The good news is that communication is not fixed. It's learnable. Small shifts in clarity, structure, presence, listening, and delivery can fundamentally change how others experience you — and how far your leadership can go. | |||
| Masterclass Part 2: What Is Executive Presence — And How Do You Develop It (Without Becoming Someone You're Not)? | 12 Feb 2026 | 00:34:49 | |
Episode Description Executive presence is one of the most talked-about — and least clearly defined — concepts in leadership development. You're told you need more of it. That you don't quite "come across as senior." But what does that actually mean? And more importantly, what can you do about it? In this episode of Leader on the Rise, Mim Abbey demystifies executive presence and reframes it as something deeply practical, observable, and trainable. This is not about charisma, personality, or becoming louder. It's about cultivating gravitas, credible communication, and leadership credibility — the signals that shape how others perceive your readiness for leadership. Blending leadership research, psychology, and neuroscience, this episode reveals why executive presence influences trust, competence, and promotion potential — often before you even speak. What You'll LearnWhy executive presence accounts for a significant portion of promotion readiness Center for Talent Innovation: Executive presence drives a substantial percentage of promotion decisions Your skills may earn respect. Executive presence shapes how people interpret your judgment, leadership maturity, and readiness for greater responsibility. It influences whether you are trusted with complexity, invited into high-level decisions, and seen as someone who steadies the room under pressure. Leadership is not just what you know.
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| Masterclass Part 1: How To Drive Confidence for Career Growth | 14 Nov 2025 | 00:30:52 | |
Confidence drives careers — yet over 70% of professionals experience imposter syndrome at some point in their journey. In this first episode of the Leader on the Rise Masterclass Series, host Mim Abbey reveals why confidence, more than competence, determines who rises — and how to build it from the inside out. This episode blends psychology, neuroscience, and leadership strategy to help you overcome self-doubt, strengthen your executive presence, and move forward with clarity and conviction. What You'll Learn
Your competence got you in the room. | |||
| Wired To Rise | 19 Oct 2025 | 00:21:01 | |
Why do some professionals rise while others stay stuck — even when they're equally talented? And what's the difference between working hard and truly moving forward? In this kickoff to the Leader on the Rise Masterclass Series, host Mim Abbey unpacks a powerful truth: we are wired to rise — and leadership is the key. Through research, personal story, and practical insights, you'll discover why rising isn't just ambition — it's biology, psychology, and purpose coming together. What You'll Learn in This Episode
Why It Matters Research shows that:
Translation? Hard work alone won't get you there. Leadership — of yourself, others, and the world around you — is the multiplier. Episode Highlights Mim shares her own journey of rising: taking leadership roles in her 20s, feeling like an imposter, and the game-changing shift that happened when she began to lead from the inside out. You'll also hear how science, psychology, and practice all point to the same conclusion: rising is part of being human. Why You'll Want to Listen This isn't another career podcast about tips and tricks. Leader on the Rise is about becoming the kind of leader others want to follow — starting with yourself. If you've ever felt stuck, overlooked, or like you're capable of more but don't know how to get there, this series will show you the path.
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| Trailer | 22 Sep 2025 | 00:02:19 | |
Welcome to Leader on the Rise—the podcast for growth-oriented professionals and leaders who are ready to elevate their presence, own their voice, and rise with purpose. The reality? 60% of professionals say they're not satisfied with their career progress, even as the personal development industry has exploded into a $42B market. Translation: people are trying to rise, but too many are stuck—working hard, playing by the rules, yet still overlooked, underutilized, or off track. I'm your host, Mim Abbey. Over the years, I've coached executives in London through disruption, helped sales teams in Hong Kong surpass high-stakes targets, and worked with professionals from Jacksonville to Johannesburg to step into the roles—and lives—they were meant for. Every week, you'll get the stories, strategies, and science-backed mindset shifts that help you rise with clarity, confidence, and impact. You'll learn how to:
Because leadership isn't just about a title. It's how you rise. What's Next | |||