The Sage Sayers

My guest this week is Fernanda Noronha, a multi-cultural finance and strategy leader who's worked with international conglomerates across three countries and two continents for almost two decades. Currently, she helps lead finance at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), a Fortune number 38 leader in the nutrition industry. In our interview, we learn about Fernanda's journey from Brazil to Great...

Some of the best and the brightest fret about small talk lately and I think I know why. Some started their jobs as remote workers having completed their studies in remote ways. Others must now return to work in the office after years of working from home. Meanwhile, few trust their colleagues and worry they’ll say something that might threaten  their livelihood. Overwork breeds fatigue, anxiety, a...

Too many bright and gifted professionals worry about their age when it comes to their jobs, their stability, and any risks they’re willing to take in their last decades. I read about this feeling in the business media. I hear about it often when clients request my help with bios, resumes, and LinkedIn profiles. I’m going the other way, especially when it comes to “resume speak” and any narrative o...

My guest this week is one familiar to me and one I’m excited to introduce to you. His name is Dotun Ayeni. He’s an animal scientist by profession, a sound engineer by passion and works as a business development manager in an Australian lift Manufacturing company in Nigeria, his motherland. Dotun’s also my sound engineer. I’ve brought Dotun to my show this week because he’s an expert on the spoken...

My guest this week is Madhu Chawla. She's a manager of global implementation in global commercial services at American Express and is based out of Phoenix, Az. Madhu's an interesting story to tell about a communication challenge which, for some part of her life, got in her way of confidence and being the thriving professional she always wanted to be. Madhu developed a stutter as a girl w...

If leaders have prodded you to add story to otherwise dry and stodgy data and topics, you’re not alone! Many communicators I coach hear this feedback when doing dry-runs on high-stakes presentations and within performance reviews, too. But how do we tell story around numbers? This becomes our theme for this week’s Medium post, which you can find here , and which I read and add to in this week&apos...

My guest this week is Yasna Garcia da Rosa, an executive assistant and ICF-certified coach based in Uruguay who simply loves her job. This feeling becomes rare in today's turbulent economy where many feel despair vs. joy. Yasna works for a leading pharmaceutical firm and through a recent work trip to Africa felt reminded of her purpose, her passion, and her love for what she does. One of my f...

If you're finding you're more anxious than normal speaking in meetings and/or presenting to higher ups, you're not alone. Communicators all over feel the same and we know why: Many of us have fewer opportunities with our leaders than before; with that, more pressure to be brief, clear, and feel heard. Also, those same leaders we must update or persuade must decide (in many cases) wh...

My guest this week, Bhawna Sharma Puri, is a successful Fintech industry marketing leader and a council board member of California State university. She's also a first generation immigrant, a Silicon Valley philanthropist, an investor, and a Mum to two wonderful little children. I've brought Bhawna to the Sage Sayers to unpack how to share our  accomplishments in non-bragging, comfortabl...

My returning guest this week is Jenn Kho. She's the newly appointed Chicago Sun-Times executive editor, president of the Journalism and Women Symposium, and former managing editor of two global publications with millions of readers: the HuffPost and the Guardian US.  This week, Jenn's back to share what she's learning about herself and her industry through her latest career pivot fr...

My guest this week is Marie-Louise Pereira, a leadership and mental wellness coach based in France. Marie-Louise helps leaders replace stuck, unhappy feelings with a confidence that helps them achieve their dreams, find better balance, and with that, a more fulfilling career. Marie-Louise and I spoke in the New Year on a problem many of our clients shared: Switching off from work, especially on ma...

James Cameron's Avatar: the Way of Water is breaking box office records all over the world. The sci-fi epic just overtook Top Gun Maverick to become 2022's highest grossing international release and sailed past the $1.1 billion mark. Within this phenomena sits Isaac Te Reina, a filmmaker, actor, and writer from New Zealand who stars as the Sea Dragon First Mate in this Avatar epic. Isaac...

My guest this week is Wisconsin-based executive coach Deb Skarda whose brother Rick was murdered  on Father’s Day here in the states. In Deb’s own words: “He was unjustly taken by the hand of another.” Deb’s convinced that her life destiny now must make sense of this tragedy.  Her touching post on LinkedIn and other social media asks her audiences to live by her Rick rules, all aligned with this i...

Three or so years ago I entered coaching school to train to become an International Coaching Federation certified coach. This move felt slightly bizarre given I’d never received coaching before nor knew much about the industry. But I had a hunch that my work as a professor of communications and journalism, as a reporter, and as a publicist might blend nicely with coaching, especially if I made com...

Most of us waste a sad amount of time worrying about what others think of us when we post to LinkedIn, the social media platform for professionals with  875 million members worldwide. So, how might we have fun and love playing on LinkedIn vs worry about torpedoing our careers? In this week’s Sage Sayers episode I’m sharing tips and techniques I’ve cultivated in this global social media space—and w...

I’m no expert on work-life balance; but I have found that applying the mental fitness tool of innovation, specifically to how I manage my time, has yielded blissful and surprising results. By innovating the flow of my day, i.e. the order in which I go about things, I’ve found more space for art, my writing, exercise—and with that, less stress. (I’ve even improved my blood pressure.)  In this week’...

Around 1.9 million high school players play highschool football in the U.S. Along with thousands of other Wisconsinites, I’m a proud supporter of the Muskego Warriors varsity football team, Wisconsin’s former state champion for three consecutive years. With only one loss so far this season, we’ve a reasonable chance to reclaim that throne.  This week’s Sage Sayers podcast shares a personal story o...

When England laid their dear queen to rest, they laid to rest a monarch who provided a staple, consistent leadership in my life as a citizen of New Zealand, one of the 54 countries within the coalition of the British commonwealth. This week’s episode shares my memories of my queen—from my young girlhood in rural South Canterbury through to my teens and early 20s before leaving overseas. Also, lead...

With the Gallup’s annual State of the Workplace report recording record numbers of disengaged, worried, miserable--even angry employees, no wonder many seek new jobs. But the job interview process can derail the best and the brightest, especially those vague, leading, and often loaded interview questions. In this week's episode, we unpack some of the top interview questions, apply some journa...

My guest this week is Caroline Lindsey who, after years working in advertising and media work, took her passion of cooking, blogging, and food to a whole new level by creating a successful blog, ultimately earning enough to leave her day job.  In our interview, Caroline, who’s based in South Carolina, shares what inspired Pinch Me, I’m Eating, how she generated enough readers and traffic to make c...

My guest this week is Ambra who (around six months ago, in her early 30s) entered a courageous quest to confirm what she'd long suspected: She has ADHD. In this touching interview, Ambra, an operation manager and journalist based in Germany, shares her story with navigating a complex system, receiving her diagnosis, and dealing with all of the negative and positive emotions coming up along th...

Over the past five years I've asked at least 3,000 business professionals what worries them the most about their careers. At least half report feeling that ineffective business writing's one of the biggest struggles they face. Now, the importance of the written word's resurging as hybrid and remote work demands super clear reporting and documenting of things to reduce ambiguity and...

Using Positive Intelligence mental fitness techniques to ground, this gentle meditation uses one sense at a time to build peace, calm, and confidence. 

Fielding Q&As from prospective clients, CEOS, or investors induces fear and stomach pain in the most confident presenters. For those working to build their courage, the fear of the unknown in these moments can paralyze. But in this week's podcast, we're offering phrases, come backs, and even tweaks to your mindset to help sail through that moment with ease. We also tackle  this week...

My guest this week is Canadian technologist and adult musician, Sam Chow, who taught himself jazz piano, at aged 33, for the joy—and to show himself: It’s never too late to learn. In our interview, we hear how COVID-19 inspired Chow along with the empowering metaphors that come from learning something as nuanced and tricky as jazz piano. Chow’s found he’s more nimble and less self critical. He kno...