Inspirational Leadership for People Managers, Executives & HR Leaders

For this week’s Inspirational Leadership Podcast I spoke with Dr. Shahab Anari who helps audiences flourish and build high performance habits with his positive-psychology-based methodology. He's also the co-founder of North Star Success Inc, a world-class personal branding agency that helps business professionals build their brand, grow their business, and make more impact. He regularly speaks on topics of high performance and personal branding where he has shared the stage with legendary speakers such as Tony Robbins, Deepak Chopra, Brian Tracy, Jack Canfield, and Robert Kiyosaki. He's also the best-selling author of multiple books that have been widely read worldwide. In 2020, he was named a Top 25 Canadian Immigrant.

In this episode we discuss how to be totally engaged in a task without being attached to the outcome, developing a stronger relationship with your intuition, working through short-term discomfort in service of long-term prosperity and how to build positive psychology habits.

⇢ Get full show notes and more information here: https://bit.ly/DrShahabAnari

For this week’s Inspirational Leadership Podcast I spoke with Alexia Vernon, who's the Founder and President of Step into Your Moxie – a WBE and DOBE that shows business leaders, and the coaches and consultants who support them, how to find their voice and master using it.

Dubbed a “Moxie Maven” by President Obama’s White House Office of Public Engagement for her unique and effective approach to communication development, Alexia is a sought-after advisor to executives, corporate teams, and fellow entrepreneurs who want to speak with an unshakeable presence, sell their ideas, navigate daring conversations, advance their thought leadership, and elevate marginalized voices. Since winning the Miss Junior America competition, Alexia has delivered transformational communication programs for Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, nonprofits, government and educational institutions, professional associations, and the United Nations. She has contributed to media such as CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, Inc.com, European Business Review, and Women’s Health Magazine.

Alexia is the author of multiple books including Step into Your Moxie: Amplify Your Voice, Visibility, and Influence in the World. Alexia is also the creator of the Step into Your Moxie® Certification Program and The Legacy Fund which provides grants to early-stage female and non-binary entrepreneurs and nonprofit founders.

⇢ Get full show notes and more information here: https://bit.ly/AlexiaVernonPodcast

For this week’s Inspirational Leadership Podcast I spoke with Ofosu Jones-Quartey, who's a meditation coach and musician from the Washington DC area. He has been teaching mindfulness and meditation to young people and adults since 2004. He is currently the male voice on the Balance meditation app and he teaches meditation and mindfulness classes and retreats around the country. Ofosu has taught and led retreats at the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, The Insight Meditation Society, Spirit Rock, Brooklyn Zen Center, Cleveland Insight and more.  

Ofosu is also an accomplished hip hop and electronic musician, he recently released an album this year called “In This Moment”. His children’s book “You Are Enough” is currently available on Amazon. 

His philosophy is that everyone is deserving of their own love and compassion. All of the work he does in the world is meant to support this idea. Ofosu currently lives in Rockville, Maryland with his wife and their four children. 

“Meditation is a form of self care that can help us learn to be more kind to ourselves and to others.“

⇢ Get full show notes and more information here: https://bit.ly/OfosuJonesQuartey

For this week's Inspirational Leadership Podcast I spoke with MaryBeth Hyland. As the Founder and Chief Visionary of SparkVision, MaryBeth knows that extraordinary success is rooted in the vision, values, and culture crafted by purpose-driven leaders and their tribe. With over 12 years of experience, built on knowledge from a BA in Social Work and MS in Nonprofit Management, she’s known for her ability to create movements across generations.

She does that with the understanding that we all have a deep desire to know and return to our most authentic selves – at work, home and within. As a certified mediator, mindfulness instructor, and values expert she engages audiences and teams all over the world with her authentic style of facilitation, coaching and empowerment.

Her recent awards include, “Circle of Excellence”, “Innovator of the Year”, “Top 100 Women”, “Civic Engagement Leader” and “Leading Women”. Her personal life’s mission is to create spaces where voices are heard, stories are released, and purpose is ignited.

⇢ Get full show notes and more information here: https://bit.ly/MaryBethHyland

For this week's Inspirational Leadership Podcast I spoke with Michele Graglia. Michele left Italy for Miami in 2007 to expand the family business. Caught in a thunderstorm, he ducked into a Johnny Rockets, got scouted by a renowned agent, and walked out a professional model.

An elite modeling career brought expensive cars, penthouses, parties, and celebrities, but his accidental “American Dream” was never his own.

Feeling the emptiness of a shallow, dark lifestyle, Michele set out for adventure and fulfillment, finding it in the unlikeliest place—a book about ultramarathon running.

Within a few short years, his passion and dedication for ultrarunning placed him among the top endurance athletes in the world. Running hundreds of miles in the extremes of the frozen Yukon and the scorching heat of Death Valley, he pushed his body and mind beyond every limit imaginable. His new book, Ultra is not about winning. It’s not about running. It’s a means to return to nature and a journey to find your purpose, giving your all on the quest for your best self.

⇢ Get full show notes and more information here: https://bit.ly/MicheleGraglia

For this week’s Inspirational Leadership Podcast I spoke with Mark LeBusque, who’s universally known as the “Human Manager” and his proven techniques for elevating leaders and energizing employees make him an internationally sought after speaker, facilitator, mentor and coach. His books BEING HUMAN and the little book of HUMAN have challenged the way Managers and Organizations view the value of the 100- year old Management system and has sparked a more Human approach across the globe.

He has an innate ability to both speak and seek the truth, provoke humans to step into their own reality and skillfully combines practicality and simplicity with textbook theory.

Mark is Harvard Business School Trained and an accredited Practitioner in Adaptive Leadership and Instincts at Work. With experience across a wide range of areas from the floor to the boardroom in operations, customer service, sales, human resources, general management and education he believes that starting with Human Being creates better Human Doing, and Humannovation drives Innovation.

⇢ Get full show notes and more information here: https://bit.ly/MarkLeBusque

For this week's Inspirational Leadership Podcast I spoke with Julie Turney who's a People Experience professional with over 15 years in the Human Resources (HR) profession. Her experience spans various companies from startups to Fortune 500’s, where she has worked in cross-functional teams to support purposeful work and meaningful cultures.

Julie is the Founder and CEO of HR@Heart Consulting Inc., a company birthed out of her second bout of HR burnout which caused her to make a conscious decision to heal and help others in her profession to do the same. Her firm focuses on coaching HR professionals to build their resilience agility and find their HR voice.

Julie is the Lead Organizer of DisruptHR Caribbean, a chapter of DisruptHR LLC based in the US. Disrupt is a speaker event series designed to impact the future of work. She is also the author of the book: Confessions of an HR Pro: Stories of Defeat & Triumph.

In this episode we discuss what prevents HR from getting support and asking for help, recognizing that you are more than your job, becoming an Impact Architect by igniting positive change in the workplace and how to advocate for yourself with more confidence.

⇢ Get full show notes and more information here: https://bit.ly/JulieTurney

For this week’s Inspirational Leadership Podcast I changed things up and instead of bringing on a guest, I was interviewed by my dear friend Pam Ross. I created this podcast to have meaningful conversations with CEOs, HR professionals and leadership experts from around the globe and I wanted to give you a chance to get to know me on a deeper level and why this work means so much.

We talked about what it means to raise consciousness both individually and collectively, how to cultivate more self-awareness and lead with head and heart, why the people who trigger you the most are your best teachers, how I coped when my husband was diagnosed with cancer and MUCH more.

⇢ Get full show notes and more information here: https://bit.ly/KristenHarcourt

For this week's Inspirational Leadership Podcast I spoke with Tony Martignetti, who's a trusted advisor, entrepreneur, idea generator, and people connector. He brings together practical experience, formal training, and extreme curiosity, to elevate leaders and equip them with the tools to navigate through change and unlock their true potential.

He loves guiding people to find clarity in their lives so they are energized, fully present, and unstoppable. When leaders unlock their potential and lead from a place of inspired purpose, they impact and inspire everyone around them. He has dedicated himself to helping people live an inspired life.

Before becoming a leadership development advisor, he was a finance and strategy executive with experience working with some of the world's leading life sciences companies. Along his journey, he also managed small businesses and ran a financial consulting company. Tony is the host of The Virtual Campfire podcast and the author of "Climbing the Right Mountain: Navigating the Journey to An Inspired Life."

⇢ Get full show notes and more information here: https://bit.ly/TonyMartignettiPodcast

Today I'm taking a moment to pause and celebrate the 50th episode of Inspirational Leadership! Thank you for being a loyal listener and for investing your time and energy to learn and grow as a leader!

This week I spoke with Heather R. Younger, who's an experienced keynote speaker, two-time author, and the CEO and Founder of Employee Fanatix, a leading employee engagement, leadership development, and DEI consulting firm, where she is on a mission to help leaders understand the power they possess to ensure people feel valued at work.

Heather’s personal Why emerged as she sought to find meaning from her difficult experience growing up in the 1970s. As the only child of an interfaith and interracial marriage, both Heather and her Black father were shunned and excluded by extended family because of the color of their skin. While the sting of exclusion left Heather with a lot of questions growing up, it also led her to develop a high level of resilience and a deeply inspired commitment to advocate for anyone who has ever felt devalued.

Today, she credits her capacity to navigate complex social dynamics and discuss identity in the workplace to those early experiences, and is dedicated to creating opportunities for organizational leaders, teams, and individuals to learn strategies for reframing adversity while empowering leaders to change their workplaces for the better.

⇢ Get full show notes and more information here: https://bit.ly/HeatherRYounger