Stepping Into your Leadership

What does it look like when every career you've had was quietly preparing you for the one you're building now? Joy Brown Kirst spent 23 years in executive search, earned an MBA from Rice, became a trained skincare formulator, and launched Modern Age Skin — a brand built for perimenopausal and menopausal skin that the industry wasn't serving. But the real thread running through all of it? People. I...

What if the reason your AI adoption — or any major transformation — is stalling has nothing to do with the technology? Betsy Kauffman has spent 25 years leading large-scale tech transformations across Fortune 500 companies. And time after time, the same thing happened: the teams got it. The technology worked. But without aligned leaders at the top, everything eventually hit a wall. Now as founder...

In a world obsessed with data, metrics, and AI-generated everything, Elizabeth Rosenberg is making the case for something radical: trusting yourself. Elizabeth is a serial entrepreneur, PR strategist, intuitive medium, and founder of two platforms — The Good Advice Company, a C-suite personal branding and communications consultancy, and Chief Spiritual Officer, a leadership development movement he...

What happens when a founder with Wonder and Invention leads a growing team — and finally names what's actually going on? Christine sits down with Beth Ward (Founder & CEO) and Marjolein Westerbeek (COO) of Beth Ward Studios to talk about how Working Genius transformed their leadership dynamic, their hiring process, and the way their whole team communicates. What does it look like when a real c...

Meetings before meetings. Meetings that run over. Meetings where no one knows why they’re there. Sound familiar? Christine Courtney and Tom Armstrong take on one of the biggest frustrations in today’s workplace—ineffective meetings—and begin a practical, no-nonsense series on how to change them. Together, they explore what’s actually going wrong, from lack of clarity and leadership to overstuffed...

What happens when efficiency goes up… but connection starts to slip? In this episode, Christine sits down with Erica Petrelli-Bayh4 to explore one of the biggest tensions leaders are navigating right now: how to embrace AI and remote work without losing the human connection that actually drives trust, engagement, and performance. They unpack what great leaders are doing differently in hybrid and A...

Most leaders spend hours perfecting their slides… and almost no time practicing how they show up. In this episode, Christine sits down with Greg Shamie, communications expert and Senior Director of People Development at Leadership Development Partners, to unpack what actually makes someone compelling in front of a room. Because here’s the truth: You can have the best content in the world and still...

What does it take to stand out as a leader when everyone has access to the same tools, the same information, and now, the same AI? In this episode, Christine sits down with Scott Goodson, founder and chairman of Strawberry Frog, to explore how leaders build momentum, challenge average thinking, and create real differentiation inside organizations. Scott shares the story behind his work in movement...

When you hear “team building,” do you immediately picture trust falls and ropes courses, then quietly try to escape the calendar invite? In this episode, Christine is joined by her longtime facilitation partner Greg Shamie to break down what actually builds a strong team quickly, especially when you don’t have months to bond and “figure it out.” Whether you’re a new manager, a seasoned leader inhe...

What makes a person, company, or idea truly unforgettable? In this episode, Christine sits down with Mark DiMassimo, founder and creative director of DiMassimo Goldstein, to explore how everyday leaders can build legendary brands by standing out with purpose, personality, and courage. Drawing on decades of experience in positive behavior change marketing, Mark shares stories from his own journey,...

What really happens when a team understands how each person works best? In this episode, Christine sits down with the three co-founders of The Menopause Monologues , Carrie Vanhouten, Lisa Anne Morrison, and Lulu Braunstein, for a live and very real conversation about collaboration, creative tension, and the invisible patterns that shape how teams function. Using the Six Types of Working Genius, C...

In this episode of Stepping Into Your Leadership , Christine sits down with Toni Clayton-Hine, Chief Marketing Officer for EY Americas, to talk about what it really takes to lead at a high level in fast-moving, high-stakes environments. Toni shares how she balances creativity with data, why curiosity is one of the most valuable traits a leader can have, and how great ideas get stronger when more v...

What do you do when you notice the same old pattern in a meeting, the interruptions, the credit-swapping, the quiet expertise getting skipped? In this episode, Christine sits down with Ali Mercier for a grounded conversation about leadership as active advocacy. Not big speeches. Not perfect language. Real moments where you decide to step in, use your voice, and shift the room. Together, they unpac...

What can leaders learn from great bars? A lot, actually. In this episode, Christine sits down with Julie Reiner and Susan Fedroff to explore how welcoming spaces, strong culture, long-term team loyalty, and creative experimentation all shape an unforgettable experience. They talk about building neighborhood institutions in a big city, leading through change, adapting during the pandemic, and creat...

This one is a celebration and a toolkit. Episode 100 of Stepping Into Your Leadership was our first live episode, and we made it an awards show. We revisited the best leadership tips from the first 100 episodes, welcomed finalists back into the studio, and let the audience vote on the winners. If you’ve ever wanted the highlight reel version of the show, this is it. Watch the replay: [LINK]

Christine Courtney welcomes Jacob Tourjeman,  Chief of Staff and Head of Operations at Invert, company transforming how life scientists work by unifying bioprocessing data and using analytics and AI to help teams experiment faster, optimize more accurately, and scale more reliably. Christine and Jacob get into what it actually takes to lead at the frontier, where science changes daily, experiments...

Christine Courtney sits down with veteran journalist, longtime anchor, and journalism professor Monica Malpass for a lively conversation on what leaders can learn from life in the spotlight. Monica shares how she built a specialty by asking for opportunities, how she prepared for high-stakes interviews [including a memorable one-on-one with President Obama], and what it really takes to stay steady...

New role. New pressure. Now what? In this conversation, Christine sits down with senior leader and coach Tom Armstrong to get practical about the first season of management—where emotional intelligence meets everyday execution. They unpack why your ability to hold “baseline” under stress changes the room, how weekly one-on-ones quietly prevent big problems, and what effective delegation actually l...

In this episode, we sit down with a mother–daughter leadership team whose story captures what this show is all about, how leaders grow, evolve, and hand forward a legacy with intention. Susan White Morrissey founded White & Warren nearly 30 years ago with a simple idea, make beautiful, lasting knitwear that women could live in. Today, her daughter, Catherine, leads the company through its next...

What separates the leaders who keep climbing from the ones who plateau? Discipline, structure, and the ability to show up when motivation fades. In this episode, Christine sits down with Dre Baldwin, former pro basketball player turned entrepreneur, author, and founder of Work On Your Game University. Dre breaks down what “work on your game” really means beyond sports, why power presence matters m...

What do new managers actually need to learn first, before the meetings, the metrics, the awkward feedback conversations, and the pressure to “prove” they belong in the role? In this episode, Christine is joined by crowd favorite Erica Petrelli-Bayh for a back-to-basics conversation on the fundamentals of managing humans, not just tasks. They revisit the core lessons from the Management 101 course...

We’re back for 2026 with a new focus: leaders must stop debating return-to-office like it’s a policy issue and start treating it like an experience issue. Christine shares why culture is built in moments, not perks, why the next generation needs more intentional connection, and one bold action to take today, cut every meeting and rebuild only what matters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo...

n this special episode of our Storytelling Summer Series, Christine Courtney unpacks one of the most underestimated leadership tools: the power of story. From a high-stakes Department of Education pitch to team-building icebreakers that actually work, Christine shares why storytelling isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a strategic skill every leader should master. You’ll learn: Why storytelling is 22x...

Planning a retreat or offsite? This episode kicks off our special series on how to design experiences that actually shift your team’s energy, connection, and clarity. Christine is joined by Greg Shamie to unpack the real ROI of offsites—what works, what doesn’t, and how to make the time (and money) worth it. 🔗 Want more? We’ve bundled the full retreat series—including companion articles from Chri...

Culture by Design, Not Default: Leadership Lessons with Delise Simmons 📄 Episode Show Notes: What if your culture isn’t just an HR buzzword—but your organization’s most powerful performance lever? In this conversation, I sit down with Delise Simmons—keynote speaker, culture strategist, and founder of Culture Think Tank—for a candid, energizing talk about the real drivers of great culture. From he...