The Bold Lounge

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode In this episode, Heather Powers, keynote speaker, executive coach, and author of The Power Lane , talks about what it means to bet on yourself while carrying the very real responsibilities of work, family, caregiving, and life. Heather shares her journey from corporate leadership to building a mission focused on keeping working mothers in the workforce, along wi...

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode In this episode, Kerry Connor, a nationally recognized leader in voluntary benefits, partnerships, and human-centered employee experience, shares openly about joy, truth, and the quiet promises we make to ourselves. Kerry discusses the personal and professional turning points that led her to create The JoyCatchers, why seeking approval can quietly drain your joy...

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode A million-dollar prize may grab attention, but Scott Erdmann’s bigger vision is building a global home for competition barbecue. In this episode, Scott shares how he went from sports and entertainment partnerships to founding the Barbecue World Cup and Expo, why the BBQ market is bigger than most people realize, and what it takes to build something bold when the...

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode Eric Ries, creator of the Lean Startup method and author of Incorruptible explores what bold leadership looks like when certainty is impossible, pressure is high, and telling the truth may come at a cost. We talk about learning velocity, the danger of vanity metrics, why governance shapes destiny, and how organizations can build systems rooted in integrity, crea...

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode In this episode, global leadership strategist and author Caroline Stokes talks about what it takes to lead through AI acceleration, climate risk, and constant societal change. We explore psychological safety, neuroplasticity, AI experimentation, and why resistance is so costly for leaders and organizations. Caroline challenges outdated leadership models and offe...

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode In this episode, Leigh sits down with New York Times bestselling author and behavioral researcher Tom Rath to rethink purpose in a more grounded, actionable way. Tom explores why purpose is not one perfect calling or one perfect job, but a daily practice shaped by energy, alignment, contribution, and the small choices we make in the next 24 hours. Tom shares how...

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode Executive advisor, coach, and C-suite leader Amy Clark explores the hidden instincts that shape leadership under pressure and often limit growth, culture, and impact. Drawing from Amy’s work on unseen leadership, she unpacks how the need for certainty, control, expertise, and perfection can quietly drive decisions, especially in high-stakes environments. The con...

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode As the founder of a virtual paralegal consultancy, Ashley Cheung shares her personal and professional journey as an entrepreneur and how that has shaped her bold approach to life and leadership. In this conversation, we explore her three-part definition of bold, the mindset shifts that helped her build a specialized business, and the inner work required to trust...

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode In this episode, Jasmine Moseley Beal, an award-winning global learning and talent development leader and CEO of Virtue Key Consulting Group, talks about bold leadership in the real world: career pivots, motherhood, entrepreneurship, and building a career that aligns with your values. We also dive into talent strategy, leadership development, performance managem...

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode In this episode, we unpack how private foundations shape giving, influence public priorities, and often operate with limited accountability despite major tax advantages. Joined by foundation CEO and the author of Control: Why Big Giving Falls Short , Glen Galaich explores the 5% payout rule, donor control, “fake rules” in philanthropy, and why so much charitable...

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode In this honest and thought-provoking episode, Tom Hardin, known publicly as Tipper X, opens up about the choices, pressures, and personal struggles that led to his role in Wall Street’s biggest insider trading scandal. He shares how ambition, insecurity, and the quiet rationalizations that happen in high-pressure environments can slowly pull someone off course....

Send us Fan Mail  Content Warning: description of panic attack  About This Episode In this powerful conversation, award-winning social entrepreneur and women’s leadership expert Fiona Macaulay reframes failure as strategic data, not personal defeat. From leading a global network of 25,000 purpose-driven leaders to serving as the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Georgetown University, Fiona shares prac...

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode In this episode, we sit down with Jane Zimmer, founder of Z’Est, to explore how bold, intentional living transforms ordinary moments into meaningful rituals. Blending leadership, creativity, art, gathering, wellness, and everyday beauty, Jane shares a practical system for clarity, connection, and joy. From go-to hosting tips to the power of handwritten notes to...

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode This episode rethinks meetings from the ground up with organizational behavior expert Dr. Rebecca Hinds. Instead of accepting packed calendars as productive, the conversation reframes meetings as products that should be intentionally designed to create decisions, healthy debate, development, and real progress. Using product design principles, you’ll learn how to...

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode In this episode, Jessica Weiss, positive psychology expert, speaker, and author of Happiness Works: The Science of Thriving at Work , explores why real happiness at work is not a perk but a system you can design. From her first TEDx talk to reshaping Fortune 500 cultures, Jessica shares how bold leadership is rooted in authenticity, trust, and psychological safe...

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode The most powerful leadership breakthroughs often come from clarity, not new strategy. In this conversation with executive educator and author Margaret C. Andrews, we explore a grounded, human approach to leadership that begins with self-understanding and translates intention into visible, credible results. Margaret shares how pivotal feedback sparked a Harvard c...

Send us Fan Mail Content Warning: mention of miscarriage, adoption journey, mention of anxiety and panic attack About This Episode Founder Traci Channer shares how searching for elevated tween loungewear for her daughter sparked The Decided Collection and fulfilling a lifelong dream to start her own company. She opens up about leaving the corporate world, learning the fashion industry from scratch...

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode In this episode, we talk with Muriel Wilkins, CEO, C-suite advisor, executive coach, and author of Leadership Unblocked , about how unexamined beliefs can quietly limit leadership impact. Muriel shares the patterns she sees most often in senior leaders, reframes confidence as the willingness to step into uncertainty, and explains how intuition can complement dat...

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode Dr. Michelle Johnston, award-winning leadership expert and author of The Seismic Shift in Leadership and The Seismic Shift in You , explores how connection, not command, drives performance. Michelle shares her journey toward authentic leadership and unpacks what real connection at work looks like: people feeling seen, heard, valued, respected, and appreciated. S...

Send us Fan Mail Content Warning: description of stroke and recovery About This Episode At 28, Bessie Sturgis’s life took an unexpected turn when she suddenly found herself navigating a stroke diagnosis. In this episode, she shares the micro steps that carried her forward like getting up, writing things down, taking five-minute resets, breathing through the hard moments, and how faith reframed her...

Send us Fan Mail Content Warning: mention of childhood abuse, divorce About This Episode Steph Wagner, National Director of Women in Wealth at Northern Trust and author of Fly!: A Woman's Guide to Financial Freedom and Building a Life You Love , shares how telling the truth about your money story can become the first step toward confidence and financial freedom. She opens up about rebuilding...

Send us Fan Mail Content Warning: brain tumor, brain surgery  About This Episode In this inspiring episode, Dr. Andreea Vanacker, an entrepreneur, international speaker, and multi-time author, shares a science-backed path to cultivating steady joy, even in high-pressure seasons. Through her Trilogy of Joy framework built on love, confidence, and gratitude, Andreea offers three simple dials you can...

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode When archaeologist-turned-CEO Sarah Goffman stepped into leadership, she led by treating her company like a culture, studying norms, listening deeply, and aligning people and technology to identity. She shares the simple systems that can help turn overwhelm into progress, such as whiteboard priorities, a 1%-better mantra, and journaling outside when clarity slip...

Send us Fan Mail Content Warning: cancer treatment and journey About This Episode  Boldness doesn't have to be big and loud. It can also look like choosing to keep showing up, even when life feels uncertain. In this episode, keynote speaker and author Goldie Chan shares how she built a recognizable brand while navigating cancer treatment and creating an 800-day streak of original LinkedIn vid...

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode Janine Moreno, CIO Advisor at Zoom, tells us all about what happens when you stop waiting for permission and start owning the room. Janine shares how stepping into visibility transformed her leadership, leading to table talks and roundtables that blend authenticity and expertise. She discusses multi-generational collaboration, leading remote teams with clarity,...