The Made Leader – Details, episodes & analysis

The way we've been approaching workplace fairness might be fundamentally broken. After years of performative diversity initiatives and corporate virtue signaling, many organizations are abandoning DEI altogether—but that doesn't mean the work isn't still needed. The real challenge isn't whether fairness matters, it's how we actually create it.

Lily Zheng joins the Made Leader podcast to discuss their new book, Fixing Fairness: Four Tenets to Transform Diversity Backlash into Progress for All. complaining with people like you, and what early leaders can do to create change even without organizational power.

Lily breaks down the biggest misconceptions about equity work, reveals why post-2020 DEI initiatives were destined to fail, and provides practical strategies for removing barriers and creating workplaces where everyone can thrive.

Follow The Made Leader for more leadership insights and strategies.

For links mentioned, visit www.growthsignals.co

Connect with Lily: https://www.lilyzheng.co/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lilyzheng308/

Connect with Jen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenparnold/

In this conversation, Harper breaks down why some people thrive in collaborative environments while others resist—and it's not what you think. He explains the collaborative operating system he teaches, why ownership and alignment matter more than motivation, and how your emotional state as a leader impacts everyone around you. You'll learn practical techniques from the HeartMath Institute for regulating your emotions in real time, why resistance often shows up as disengagement, and how to create psychological safety through simple processes like council questions.

This episode goes beyond surface-level collaboration tips. Harper shares the science behind why depleting emotions like anger and frustration literally vibrate outward and create incoherence in your team—and what to do about it. Whether you're struggling to get buy-in from your team, feeling burnt out from carrying everyone's stress, or wondering why collaboration initiatives keep failing, this conversation will shift how you think about leadership entirely.

If you're ready to move beyond traditional leadership advice and tap into the energetic and emotional foundations that make teams work, this episode is for you. Harper reminds us that leadership starts with self-awareness—and that you're already doing your best, even when it doesn't feel like enough.

Think collaboration is just about communication? Harper Ray Wagner explains why individual coherence—the sync between your heart and brain—is the missing piece in building teams that actually work together. Learn the ownership-alignment framework that drives buy-in, HeartMath techniques to regulate emotions in real time, and why your emotional state as a leader is literally contagious.

Follow The Made Leader for more leadership insights and strategies.

Connect with Harper:

The Coherence Initiative: https://thecoherenceinitiative.com

Starting a new leadership role in a different company? Here's what nobody tells you: even when you're excited about the change, the grief will surprise you.

In this episode, Andrea Herron, Chief Human Resources Officer at AAA of Oregon and Idaho, gets real about her recent career transition. Six months ago, she jumped industries after eight years with her previous team, and what followed was a crash course in starting over as a leader.

You'll discover why the first 30 days are the hardest, how to build trust when you're the new person in the room, practical strategies for establishing team norms, and why following a beloved previous leader is actually a gift.

Whether you're about to make a career move or still figuring out your current role, this honest conversation will help you navigate transitions with less overwhelm and more confidence.

Follow The Made Leader for more leadership insights and strategies.

For links mentioned, visit www.growthsignals.co

During the pandemic nearly 2.5 million women left the workforce and 1 in 3 mothers were considering leaving or downshifting their career. Being a working mom comes with penalties and biases, many subtle and easy to present as "concern" for the woman.

With working moms making up 32% of all employed women in 2018, we need to take a closer look at the bias they experience in the workforce.

Podcast guest, Erica Ballard, Life Coach for Women Who Work, walks us through the horrific stats of the uphill battle working moms face, including motherhood penalties and biases.

Not only are working moms 100% less likely to be promoted but they earn $11,000 less than their childless peers and fathers.

Erica offers a strategy to tease out bias and provides ways to be your own advocate at work. She also reveals the mental shift she made and how she decided she's playing a different game where she writes the rules.

Key Highlights:

• 1 in 3 women are considering leaving or downshifting their career and 2 in 5 new moms will leave the workforce 
• Losing a mom within the first year of motherhood will cost a company $92,000.
• 75% of expectant mothers are excited to return to work but 43% of them end up leaving.
• Examples of "motherhood penalties" – 79% less likely to be hired, 100% less likely to be promoted, and make on average $11,000 less than their childless peers or fathers.
• Maternal wall bias: people believe you are less committed and as a result, less competent at work.
• Bias can be subtle such as assuming new mothers will check out when they come back to work or not offering them new projects (none of which is discussed directly with the woman).
• Maybe you don't want the promotion. What do you want your life to look like? 
• Ask for some reviews (even if it's off-cycle) to understand what your employer needs and/or expects from you. This can also help you understand where there is some bias.
• How women can be their own champions – determine what you want your like to look like, who do you have to be to be and show up as that person. You may have to switch jobs or careers (but do the internal work first).
• Do it your way and go have fun as you do it. Everything is made up. 

For show notes and links mentioned, visit: https://bit.ly/GTIPodcastNotes

To sign up for 2 Tip Tuesday, visit: https://bit.ly/2TipTuesday

2 Tip Tuesday is a weekly email that break down podcast episodes into practical resilience tips you can put into action straight away.

These Friday episodes are dedicated to casual conversations about real life. Your host, Jen Arnold, aims to share what she does to get through hard times but also wants to put podcast guests' advice into practice.

In this real talk episode, Jen pulls out a helpful strategy from this week's podcast interview and shares a way she reframes challenging situations.

When we think of abusive relationships, our minds often jump to physical violence. But a more subtle form of abuse that's harder to recognize is emotional abuse.

Emotional abuse occurs in toxic relationships and includes non-physical behaviors that are meant to control, isolate, or frighten you. This type of abuse may not get recognized at the start of a relationship and can leave you feeling confused, frustrated, or even like you're in the wrong.

Toxic relationships, whether it's with a partner, parent, friend, or co-worker, can be tricky to identify. How do you know if you are in a toxic relationship?

Podcast guest, Stephanie Sarkis is a psychotherapist specializing in anxiety, gaslighting, narcissistic abuse, and ADHD, who helps us sort out this question and much more. 

In this episode, Stephanie walks us through the different stages of toxic behavior, where it originates, and who's most vulnerable. She offers red flags of toxic workplaces, actions toxic people take to manipulate others, and how to deal with them.

Finally, Stephanie gives advice on how to handle the holidays with toxic family members.

To sign up for 2 Tip Tuesday, visit: https://bit.ly/2TipTuesday

Exhaustion is one of the leading causes of performance decline and eventual burnout among people today. Most people don't realize how many facets of rest they're missing out on and it's keeping them depleted.

Podcast guest, Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, says that rest is not about the cessation of activity, but about doing restorative activities – things that help fill you up and make you able to do your best work.

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith is a physician, speaker, and author of her book Sacred Rest. She is an international resource on wellness expertise and has been featured in media outlets such as MSNBC, Prevention, and the Dr. Oz Show to name a few.

In this episode, Saundra shares her personal experience with burnout and what made her start researching the 7 stages of rest. She explores each type in depth, and shares ideas of how to restore them. 

Lastly, Saundra discusses how important boundaries are in staying rested and the necessity of getting comfortable saying no.

These Friday episodes are dedicated to casual conversations about real life. Your host, Jen Arnold, aims to share what she does to get through hard times but also wants to put podcast guests' advice into practice.

In this real talk episode, Jen talks about her own relationship with alcohol and the steps she's taken to get more mindful when she does partake.

When things get stressful, painful, or just hard, it's easy to lean on alcohol to get us through. Recent statistics revealed that 25% of US adults increased their drinking during COVID.

So, how do you know what's an acceptable level of drinking versus a problem? That's what guest, Dr. George Koob, Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) is here to discuss. 

In our conversation, George walks us through what happens in the brain when we numb emotional pain with alcohol, both the immediate benefits and the many downsides. He defines what's acceptable vs. problematic drinking and how you can evaluate your relationship with alcohol.

George offers steps on how to cut back on drinking and ways to still fit in socially without a drink in your hand. Finally, he shares the story of his mother's alcohol use disorder and offers ways to help those you love who may struggle with alcohol. 

For show notes and links mentioned, visit: https://bit.ly/GTIPodcastNotes

To sign up for 2 Tip Tuesday, visit: https://bit.ly/2TipTuesday

2 Tip Tuesday is a weekly email that break down podcast episodes into practical resilience tips you can put into action straight away.

These Friday episodes are dedicated to casual conversations about real life. Your host, Jen Arnold, aims to share what she does to get through hard times but also wants to put podcast guests' advice into practice.

In this real talk episode, Jen walks through five things to consider when you are dealing with a boss that doesn't quite live up to your expectations.