The Bold Lounge

Send us Fan Mail Fear loves to sound like “I don’t have time.” If you’ve ever delayed something you deeply wanted, replayed a conversation for hours, or over-prepared just to feel safe, you’ll recognize yourself in this conversation. In this episode of The Bold Lounge , Leigh Burgess welcomes Neal Schore, founder and former CEO of Triton Digital, executive coach, and author of The 25th Hour: How t...

Send us Fan Mail Choosing yourself can begin with one small decision, believing your voice deserves to be heard. In this episode of The Bold Lounge , Alexian Wines joins Leigh Burgess for a conversation about quieting the inner critic, advocating for yourself, and leading with heart when the pressure rises. From a small-town childhood to a role in the White House, Alexian shares the experiences th...

Send us Fan Mail How many opportunities have you ruled out because you were afraid someone else would say no? In this episode of The Bold Lounge , entrepreneur, author, and creator of 100 Days of Rejection Therapy , Jia Jiang , joins us to explore how a BOLD mindset can change the way we approach rejection, confidence, and ambition. After an investor’s rejection left him questioning whether he was...

Send us Fan Mail Being bold begins with knowing what matters to you and bringing more of yourself to the work you do. In this episode of The Bold Lounge , neuroscience-based executive coach Bruna De Palo joins Leigh Burgess to explore how understanding your brain can help you make clearer career decisions, question limiting beliefs, and lead teams where people can do their best work. Bruna offers...

Send us Fan Mail About this Episode  Your dream job can still burn you out, and admitting that can feel like failure even when everything looks “successful” on paper. I sit down with DJ DiDonna to get real about what actually happens when you step away from work and why that choice can be one of the most authentic, bold decisions you ever make. We dig into the illusion of certainty that keeps so m...

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode What if the definition of success that got you here is not the one you want to carry forward? For decades, success has been measured by familiar markers: the title, the income, the recognition, the next achievement, the next level. But somewhere along the way, many accomplished people begin asking a different question: Is this still what success means to me? In...

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode What does it mean to be bold with your career and your money? Marcia Dawood, early-stage investor, venture capital partner at Mind Shift Capital, and member of the SEC’s Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee, shares lessons from her own career and breaks down angel investing in practical terms. Tune in to hear why more women investors matter, how b...

Send us Fan Mail About This Episode In this episode, leadership strategist and bestselling author Dan Pontefract explores why age may be the most overlooked diversity dimension in the workplace. Drawing from his new book, The Future of Work is Grey , Dan challenges the outdated belief that talent has an expiration date and shares what organizations lose when they fail to value multigenerational wi...

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...