Leading With Respect

Greetings Friends, This week’s Leading With Respect conversation is a truly special one for me. I’m honored to feature, Howard Behar , former President of Starbucks, lifelong student of servant leadership, and someone I’ve had the privilege of knowing and learning from for many years. Howard is one of those rare leaders who doesn’t just talk about values—he lives them. And few people are as credib...

I’m thrilled to introduce this week’s guest: Jonathan Walker, RBLP-T , a leader I deeply admire and a peer in the leadership development space. Jon has spent his career serving others: from his roots in military training and psychology to his current role as a Senior Learning & Development Consultant at GE Appliances, where he works with employees across the full spectrum, from blue-collar man...

This week, I’m thrilled to share a conversation that has been a long time coming. My dear friend from the Seattle leadership community, Britt Provost, joined me for a powerful dialogue on respect, trust, and the courage it takes to lead in complex times. For more than a decade, Britt has served as Chief People Officer across multiple companies. She’s now teaching leadership and management at the U...

Welcome everyone. I’m thrilled to bring you this week’s conversation with someone whose work and presence radiate purpose and care. Today, I’m joined by Analiese Báez Brown, PHR the Chief People Officer at CampMinder, a technology company serving summer camps across the country. From the moment we began recording, I felt the depth of her passion for people, culture, and the employee experience. Sh...

Hello everyone, This week’s episode of Leading With Respect is a special one. I had the joy of sitting down with Megan Fanale , the COO of Abilitie , the global leadership development organization known for delivering world-class, team-based competitive business simulations and AI case studies. As many of you know, I’ve had the honor of serving as a certified Abilitie facilitator for years. Their...

Hello everyone — This week’s Leading with Respect conversation was one I’ll remember for a long time. My guest, Irada, is not only a fellow Microsoft alum but also a true thought leader in organizational development, blending technical depth and cultural wisdom. Originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, Irada began her career in academia before transitioning into corporate life. Over the past 20 yea...

This week’s Leading with Respect conversation brings us to SAP, where I had the pleasure of speaking with Laurel Schuler, Head of Learning Design & Development. Laurel leads a talented team of instructional and graphic designers focused on enablement and internal training across SAP. This role blends creativity, empathy, and a deep understanding of human learning.

I’m thrilled to share this week’s Leading with Respect conversation with Lacee Jacobs, a dear friend, respected peer, and someone whose work continues to shape how leaders think about dignity, respect, and humanity in the workplace. Lacee is the CEO and Founder of The Coaching Salon, a coaching and facilitation practice she has led since 2005 — and, as she puts it, “an absolute calling.” In our co...

Hello everyone, I’m thrilled to bring you this week’s Leading with Respect conversation with Jordan Tippett a leader I’ve admired since his time at Abilitie . Today, Jordan serves as Chief Operating Officer at Corinthian Foods , where he’s translating that same passion into daily leadership practice. Our conversation centered on a deceptively simple yet profound question: What does respect look li...

Hello everyone, I’m always excited about my guests, but this week’s conversation feels extra special. Arthur Woods is not only a longtime friend and former Googler, but also a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, co-founder of multiple HR tech ventures, and one of the most thoughtful voices on equity, inclusion, and purpose-driven leadership today. From the moment our conversation began, Arthur’s humility...

I’m excited to share my recent conversation with Serena Christianson a fellow professional in Learning & Development and Organizational Development. Serena is at Intel. She brings a unique blend of human-centered design, leadership insight, and even tap dance artistry into her approach to respect and growth in the workplace. Make sure to visit her Instagram page, where she shares her passion f...

In this week’s Leading With Respect conversation, I had the pleasure of speaking with Hardeep Kaur a seasoned pharma leader with 30 years of experience spanning manufacturing, transformation, and change leadership. Our discussion unpacked the interplay between respect, trust, and the adoption of change. Watch our full conversation on YouTube and/or listen to it on your favorite podcast platform. H...

This week, I’m excited to share a conversation with someone I’ve known and admired in the learning and development community for quite some time: Ben Sieke . Ben has spent his career helping organizations grow by investing in people. Most recently, he led the learning function at Delta Dental for six years, following leadership roles at Guitar Center and Weight Watchers. His reflections on respect...

This week, I had the honor of sitting down with Jigar Thakkar a fellow Microsoft alum whose journey embodies both innovation and leadership at scale. Jigar spent nearly two decades at Microsoft, playing pivotal roles across products from Dynamics CRM to Windows Phone, Bing, and MSN. Most notably, he served as a founding engineering leader for Microsoft Teams, helping bring one of the world’s most...

This week's episode of Leading With Respect features a conversation with Jess Almlie a former Vice President of Learning and a dynamic leader in the learning and development field. She is passionate about empowering L&D professionals to increase our impact by evolving from order takers to strategic business partners. With three decades of experience and a proven track record of driving strateg...

In this episode of Leading with Respect, I had the privilege of reconnecting with a longtime friend and former client, Peter Morada. We first worked together during his time at AT&T, and since then, he’s led teams at Amazon and now at Premera Blue Cross, where he oversees Brand and Voice of the Customer. Disclaimer: All perspectives expressed by my guests are their own and do not represent the...

I’m delighted to share my latest Leading With Respect conversation. In this episode, I spoke with Maryanne Battles, a fellow Microsoft alum, whose career journey has also taken her through Google, the Gates Foundation, and private equity firms. Maryanne brings a rare perspective: she has seen respect or the lack of it play out across both the fast-moving tech industry and the philanthropic sector....

In this week’s Leading with Respect, I had the privilege of sitting down with Ruby Deol Chief Operating Officer at Alert Enterprise, a company that brings people, processes, data and technology together in true security convergence. Trust is at the center of everything they do. Ruby’s leadership spans continents, with a global perspective shaped by her roots in India and her work in the U.S., maki...

In this week’s episode of Leading with Respect, I had the pleasure of reconnecting with a longtime friend and fellow global citizen, Ian Kawetschanky, who is now the Chief of Staff at SupportNinja. Ian and I first crossed paths through the international student leadership organization, AIESEC. His journey from student leadership into nonprofit management and now executive operations is as inspirin...

“Respect begins with self-respect.” That simple but powerful idea came up early in my conversation with Tammy Snow, and it anchored everything we explored together. Tammy is a longtime friend from my Microsoft days and now serves as Vice President of Research, Analytics, and Design (RAD) at Workday. In our recent chat, we explored how respect shows up in leadership, culture, feedback, and design,...

How do you build a thriving business grounded in respect? Meet Ivan Fernandez, CISSP , the founder and CEO of SPN Networks, a 24-year-old IT and cybersecurity firm that Ivan launched straight out of high school, with no marketing plan, just grit, hustle, and a commitment to service. Today, his company employs 17 people across the U.S. and is quietly redefining what it means to lead with both heart...

I’m honored to bring you a conversation with someone I’ve admired since our Microsoft days, Kati Quigley. Kati has built an extraordinary career in global marketing. She is the Vice President of Portfolio and Brand Marketing @ BMC Software. Kati is also a LinkedIn Top Leadership Voice. Beyond her business accomplishments, it’s how she leads that has always stayed with me. Watch/listen to our full...

In this episode of Conversations About Respect, I had the absolute joy of sitting down with Terri Maxwell, CEO of Shift/Co and a powerful force behind a movement of purpose-driven entrepreneurship. Though she’s relatively new to my world, Terri already feels like a kindred spirit. Her clarity, compassion, and fierce commitment to building human-centered businesses is something I deeply admire—and...

In this fourth episode in the “Conversations About Respect” series, I had the deep honor of reconnecting with a dear friend, mentor, and former Microsoft colleague, Sheryl Tullis. Sheryl’s career has been a masterclass in breaking barriers—beginning at West Point in the early years of its co-ed history, leading in global military tech, brand management at Procter & Gamble, marketing strategy a...

“If I respect you, I am open-minded, I’m listening, and therefore, I’m learning.” — Pankaj Rai In our increasingly polarized and fast-moving world, it’s tempting to rush past differences in search of quick alignment. What if we remember to start with curiosity? In Episode 18 of Conversations About Respect (watch it here), I sat down with Pankaj Rai (He/Him/His), Group Chief Data and Analytics Offi...