Executive Access

In this episode, Jamie speaks with Adam Curran, Founder of Curran Financial Partners , a wealth management firm based in Charleston, SC. Jamie respects those who lead with conviction and spoke to Adam about his unapologetic, authentic way of representing himself and his company. Adam calls himself a "God-fearing, flag waving conservative" and discusses why he decided to become so vocal about his b...

In this episode, Jamie speaks with Maggie Driscoll, Chief People and Culture Officer at Blackbaud, a large public technology company based in Charleston, SC.   Maggie spent her entire career in the human resources field, following her true passion for helping companies succeed and grow through building strong internal cultures and pathways for team members.   Maggie joined Blackbaud, moving to Cha...

In this short, 7-minute episode, Jamie gets real about how top performers often feel a quiet discontent while at work, impacting both them and the organizations they work with. Top performers are wired to hit the gas pedal, so busy achieving that they don't often take time to reflect on their dreams or acknowledge them.  Each of us is wonderfully and uniquely made with a God-given purpose.  When w...

In this episode, Jamie speaks with Melanie Stith, former healthcare executive and Founder/ CEO of Culture Wins Culture Wins, LLC | Transform Your Organizational Culture . From attorney, to HR executive, to government relations executive, Melanie wasn't afraid to "change lanes" in her career while building broad business experience.  She shares that she recently completed a year of personal reflect...

In this episode, Jamie speaks with President and CEO of Coastal Community Foundation, Darrin Goss, Sr.  He describes his work as connecting people with the impulse to do good with the ability to do good. Darrin's leadership style was shaped early as an officer in the Army.  His transition into civilian life taught him the importance of finding purpose and aligning your career to pursue that purpos...

In this episode, Jamie speaks with long-time senior technology executive David Weiss, Operating Partner at Thoma Bravo and Clearhaven Partners.  Jamie finished the interview, turned to her producer and said, "Now that is what excellence in leadership looks like!" David says that while many leaders have a gift of natural charisma, he relies on a very intentional approach to leadership that has turn...

Energy on any team is the difference between winning and losing, the difference between second place and first place, and the difference between seeing hard things through and throwing in the towel.  In other words, high energy teams deliver great results and are magnets for talent. At Microsoft, we were told as leaders to "generate energy." That's what great leaders do.  But how do you generate e...

What if your biggest strength is quietly sabotaging you? One of the realizations I had in my executive coaching practice is that our biggest strengths, when overdone, show up as our biggest weaknesses.  What if these overused strengths are showing up as your team's biggest problems? Please review my 7-minute short video for ideas for identifying these potential areas in your leadership and how to...

The most powerful thing you bring to leadership isn't your title, it's your true self.  I believe this so deeply that when I was asked by an emerging leader a few months ago,  "What advice would you give for leading authentically?" I was excited to answer.  But when I tried to articulate HOW I was able to make that transition from "imitating others" to "embracing my authentic way of leading", or h...

In this episode, Jamie speaks with Tim Solms , CEO Slingshot Aerospace. Tim talks about why culture is the #1 priority for a senior leader and how leaders need to watch out for inadvertently creating drama themselves.  He discusses the importance of "bright lines between clear roles and responsibilities" and how mastering this creates alignment throughout the organization. Tim's final reminder to...

In this episode, Jamie speaks with Nina Somerville , senior tech executive and current Senior Vice President at Sailpoint. Nina shares excellent advice on how to successfully transition into new leadership roles, including learning how to rely on others, asking questions, and taking time to share your intentions. Nina explains how important it is to lead authentically and how showing up as yoursel...

In this episode, Jamie speaks with Arlin Sorensen , multiple time company founder, entrepreneur, and current Vice President Ecosystem Evangelism at ConnectWise. Arlin was a farmer turned tech entrepreneur having founded 22 companies or business units. Arlin shares how bringing the "Go Giver" philosophy into his businesses helped him create deeper relationships with customers and employees. Arlin i...

Early in my leadership journey, I used to worry about being the leader with all the answers.  If I let on that there were things not quite figured out yet in the business, I worried that the team would get distracted, become frustrated, or (worse yet!) question my ability to lead.  Yet, I learned that people don't need perfection or to feel the illusion of perfection.  What they want is transparen...

In this episode, Jamie speaks with Christina Lock , Founder & CEO of Catch Talent, a technology services recruiting company. A two-time founder, Christina shares her personal growth journey in building and leading those organizations through different business stages.  She discusses what successful companies do when building talent strategies, including actively stewarding their culture around mis...

In this episode, Jamie speaks with Flore Saint Fleur , Vice President at Avanade. Born in Haiti, Flore moved to the US and joined the Army, serving in both active duty and the reserves. She discusses the leadership tension line between providing transparency and optimism, and how this relates to her leadership journey both in the service and as a civilian leader in tech. She offers phenomenal insi...

What makes a truly powerful leader? My answer is a bit counter-cultural. Two of the biggest qualities I consistently observe in the most powerful leaders are that they are Principled and they are Responsible.  Being principled starts with being extremely clear about your own personal values and modeling those values in all circumstances. Being responsible starts with seeking to understand first, s...

In this episode, Jamie speaks with Mark C. Fava , career aviation attorney and aviation manufacturing executive. Mark recently published his first best-selling book, Lessons from the Admiral , written for emerging leaders in all industries. Mark reflects on discipline and shares why it is so important to always be a team player. Mark discusses an interesting approach he has for balancing his work...

In this episode, Jamie speaks with Hayden Stafford , senior technology executive and current President and Chief Revenue Officer at Seismic. Hayden has led several go-to-market transformations at companies such as IBM, Microsoft, and Salesforce.com. He shares one of the keys to driving change successfully is to understand a company's metabolic rate, or the pace by which it can consume change. He d...

In this episode, Jamie speaks with Tony DiBenedetto , technology leader and company founder, current CEO of Appspace and CEO/ Founder of Think Big for Kids. Tony discusses his mindset for fixing problems and how continuing to do so over time becomes a reward unto itself, creating a drive towards more accomplishment. Tony co-founded Tribridge and grew the company to almost 1000 people; he shares ho...

In this episode, Jamie speaks with Dr. Brett Jacobsen , President of SAIS, long-time education industry leader, and futurist. Dr. Jacobsen highlights the importance of leaders making time to "scan for signals" externally as they plan their businesses. He discusses the increasingly important need to develop an "experience strategy" for customers and also team members inside the organization. Dr. Ja...

Successful leaders regularly make time for reflection and recovery. As a parent of three with a busy executive career, I've been asked hundreds of times, "How do you maintain a healthy work-life balance?" I believe it's time to flip the script. In this episode, I share why that question is often the wrong one to ask.  Instead, the right question each of us should be reflecting on is, "What have I...

I gauge the health of an organization's culture, in part, by how fast or slow bad news travels.  No one likes to hear it, but bad news that is ignored or hidden can be deadly to an organization. When bad news travels slowly, innovation is stifled, time and effort are wasted, and morale is generally very poor. Great leaders understand that driving positive results depends heavily on identifying iss...

Scaling a company through multiple growth stages is a challenging endeavor, and most founders I've met are dynamic and brave leaders. Jennifer Holmstrom, Platform Team Partner at Notable Capital , excels in partnering with founders to support them in successfully navigating these company growth stages. Jennifer and her team assist technology company founders with talent strategy, sales, marketing...

Giving constructive feedback is one of the best ways to help people grow and keep teams aligned. Yet, many people I work with struggle with giving constructive feedback effectively - including me earlier in my career! This short 7-minute video will explain a few reasons why leaders struggle and the unintended bad consequences that occur when they don't share feedback well. Also, learn a simple 3-s...

Have you ever met with someone and experienced an explosion of ideas, excitement, and encouragement? I call Sig Behrens "the Spark" because he ignites in people a spirit of possibility and empowers them to do more than they imagined. Sig is CEO of Permuta Technologies , tech industry veteran (former Microsoft, Blackboard), and entrepreneur founder of multiple businesses. My discussion with Sig exp...