Saving You a Seat

Empathy isn’t something you’re either born with or not. Empathy is something that can be discovered, nourished, and really learned.

As leaders, it is crucial that we hone this skill because the rising generations are making it clear that workplace priorities are shifting. And what is important to them? Empathy.

This week on Saving You a Seat, we talk to Danielle Lisenbey, a CEO of MedRisk, who knows how to be an empathetic leader, while still achieving extraordinary results. She shares her story of loss and how this drastic life change was a catalyst for her own growth.

When we exhibit empathy, listen deeply, and navigate chaos comfortably, we become a leader that inspires accountability, connection, and engagement.

In this week’s episode, Danielle reminds us of the importance of connecting back to ourselves in order to become more connected leaders both at work and at home.

She’s doing it and she’s doing it big. An engineer by training, Danielle has been celebrated in various media outlets and has received many awards for her outstanding leadership.

It is a joy to have Danielle on our episode this week. We hope you join us at the table.

Here’s what we connect on:

• Empathetic leadership: How demonstrating empathy in the workplace can inspire our people to perform at their best (3:09)
• The key to empathy: Learning how to be more compassionate toward ourselves first (7:25)
• Navigating generational changes in the workplace and how leaders can operate differently to really value people’s input and perspective (10:05)
• Listening deeply: How we can take a step back and listen to ourselves so we can listen deeply to others (13:22 )
• Danielle’s story of loss that was a catalyst to her growth (16:22)
• Navigating chaos comfortably and how to be okay with not knowing everything (21:06)

Thank you for saving a seat at the table, please rate this podcast and subscribe so you don’t miss out on the next conversation!

To connect with Danielle, find her on LinkedIn, Danielle Lisenbey.

To connect with Karen, follow her on social media: @karenjhardwick and visit connectedleaderbook.com to order The Connected Leader today.

We are all just in human school learning how to become better humans. And there are ways we can connect more with others so that we can create a more meaningful journey for ourselves. Through embracing and sharing your story and all the pain, struggle, and heartbreak that comes with it, you can create a deeper and more vulnerable connection with the people around you.

This week, we are joined by Emily Wingfield, an Enneagram expert, who reminds us how to connect deeply to ourselves, even when we have dark nights of our soul. Doing so invites us to grow as human beings and as leaders both at work and at home.

In this episode, Emily Wingfield tells us her story in a way that is raw, real, and inviting. She shares her internal struggles with depression, anxiety, and postpartum depression. And she teaches us how to share our own story from our healed scars and how to really embrace the dark valleys we face with resiliency, strength, and courage.

“When you go through that dark valley, don’t just go empty-handed, go carrying a basket.” “You can then pick up nuggets of truth, wisdom, and courage as you make it through to the other side.” - Emily Wingfield

Here’s what we connect on:

• The importance of connecting deeply to who we truly are as human beings and leaders (4:20)
• How, when, and with whom to share your story (11:50)
• How to have compassion and empathy in healthy ways while embracing who we are (14:55)

Thank you for grabbing a seat at the table, please rate this podcast and subscribe so you don’t miss out on the next conversation!

To find more on Emily, visit her website enneagramwithemily.com or on Instagram @enneagramwithemily.

To connect with Karen, follow her on social media: @karenjhardwick and visit connectedleaderbook.com to order The Connected Leader today.

We all come from a story. The question is, what do you do with it?

Many of us are caught in a small story, the wrong story, or no story at all. And sometimes, as humans, we can get stuck in the part of our story that is painful, which makes it hard to connect, restore, or progress forward.

As leaders, it’s important to own our story and tell it in a way so it is a tale of vulnerability and rising up. Both the struggle and the redemption is key so that when we invite our employees into a larger story, they can see how what they do and their true self impacts the larger organization.

When you self-connect and reflect, you can embrace your story, transform your story, and tell your story, so that you’re able to reconnect with yourself and, in turn, inspire and lead others well.

In this week’s episode, we chat with Jonathan McCoy, self-acclaimed “question asker” and “pattern noticer”,who helps us understand that we are part of a larger story and each person’s story has the power to impact others.

Jonathan, founder of Faith & Valor, tells us how we can build connection, unpack our stories, and do good work… well. He’s worked for many other consulting firms, including Accenture, and knows how to help leaders and organizations unlock clarity, unravel complexity, and elevate their impact.

Jonathan says, “The challenges in organizations happen when there is no connection or the connection can’t flow freely” and Karen agrees in saying, “When I see leaders moving the needle in their organizations (in sustainable and healthy ways), it’s flowing from the leaders doing the hard work on themselves first.” (25:40)

Here’s what we connect on:

• Defining connection and discussing how good leadership is an inside job (5:30)
• Why our story is so important and how we can connect more honestly to it (8:10)
  • Jonathan shares his story with us (12:40)
• How connecting consciously, navigating chaos calmly, and embracing our life helps us to become more whole human beings (15:15)
• The Great Resignation and why people are leaving for a better story (17:10)
• How to connect organizations and what they do to who they are as people so they can find their truest story (22:50)
• Using the gift of reflection to maintain perspective in the different seasons and downturns of life (28:40)

Thank you for grabbing a seat at the table, please rate this podcast and subscribe so you don’t miss out on the next conversation!

To find more on Jonathan, visit his website faithandvalor.com or on LinkedIn, Faith & Valor.

To connect with Karen, follow her on social media: @karenjhardwick and visit connectedleaderbook.com to order The Connected Leader today.

We can’t stop people from leaving their jobs. But, as leaders, we can ensure that our people love working for us, are engaged in doing their best work, and that we are consistently contributing to their growth.

When you stop asking, “What do I need from my employees?” and instead start asking, “What can I do for my employees?” you will begin to help create well-being in your people. This ultimately produces better results for your business.

In this week’s episode, Travis Dommert, talent and people expert, joins us at the table to help us understand how important it is for leaders to create psychologically and emotionally safe places for their people.

“We are not wired like robots,” Travis tells us. Instead, as Karen says, “we are all wired to connect.”

We are so fortunate to have Travis, Senior Vice President of Talent for One Digital, tell us how he focuses on aligning the demands of the business with the needs of over 2,500 employees. He is in charge of overall training, development, and most importantly, inspiring employees to step into their gifts.

Travis has received numerous accolades for workplace culture at his previous companies including: “Best Place to Work for Women,”and “Best Place to Work for Millennials” by Fortune Magazine. He also claimed the titles for “The Number One Best Place to Work” and “The Healthiest Employer Award” by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

Travis reveals his secret to us on how he can both focus on driving business forward and add meaning and purpose to the lives of those he serves.

Here’s what we connect on:

• Ways that talent leaders can think differently and can create inspiring “people-first” relationships with their CEO or business leader (3:58)
• When you connect to yourself first, you can then successfully integrate safety, trust, and connection into your workplace culture (13:30)
• Owning our problems (and how we handle them) and consistently pouring back into our people is how to create sustained connection in the workplace (24:50)
• Success vs. Purpose: Always return to your WHY (31:18)

Thank you for joining us, please rate this podcast and subscribe so you don’t miss out on the next conversation!

To find more on Travis, visit his website www.travisdommert.com or follow his business on social media @weareonedigital.

To connect with Karen, follow her on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn @karenjhardwick and visit connectedleaderbook.com to order your copy of The Connected Leader.

Addiction is a problem that weaves its sticky web throughout many of our lives. We are all recovering from something and for many of us, addiction is a battle we face and fight one day at a time.

On this week’s episode of Saving You a Seat, we save Adam McLean a seat and he takes us on his hero's journey into addiction and deepens our understanding of trauma, triggers, recovery, and the journey through to the other side of it all.

Adam helps us to understand how to pursue joy (instead of pleasure) and thrive as we get ourselves unstuck from all the things that hold us back.

You don’t want to miss this episode as Adam, a clinical psychologist and the Director of Business Development for The Guest House in Ocala, Florida, tells his story about what it’s like to be in a long-term recovery process. His education and experience has allowed him to help hundreds of individuals and families begin and maintain their recovery from substance abuse disorder.

Join us as we talk about addiction. Karen calls it, “an overwhelmingly complex dynamic that people want to simplify” and Adam defines it as a “maladaptive coping mechanism for a deeper wound.”

Adam McLean is real, knows what he is doing, and brings deep healing and hope to those that work with him.

We hope you join us this week on Saving You a Seat.

Here’s what we connect about:

• Defining addiction (6:10)
• How our addictions can disguise themselves as our deepest love (13:15)
• The importance of doing our trauma work so others don’t have to carry it (19:40)
• The emotional, relational, and spiritual journey out of feeling stuck (26:58)

Additional Ways to Connect:

• The Guest House: www.theguesthouseocala.com
• Book: The Journey of the Heroic Parent: Your Child's Struggle & The Road Home: https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Heroic-Parent-Childs-Struggle/dp/1682450023
• Book: Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence https://www.amazon.com/Dopamine-Nation-Finding-Balance-Indulgence/dp/152474672X
• Find a local ACoA meeting here: https://adultchildren.org/meeting-search/

Please rate this podcast and subscribe so you don’t miss out on the next conversation!

To learn more about Adam, visit here: https://www.theguesthouseocala.com/staff/marketing-and-admissions/#adam-mclean.

To connect with Karen, follow her on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn @karenjhardwick and visit connectedleaderbook.com to order your copy of Karen’s book, The Connected Leader.

Our men are not okay. Men today are dying at a suicide rate that is seven times greater than that of women. Suicide is the seventh leading cause of death for males, and has been on the rise since 2020. And to add fuel to the fire, twenty percent of all men have a mental health issue or are suffering from substance abuse.

It’s safe to say that our men need help and the empathy towards men in our culture today is mostly absent. In a time where men are struggling to shine their light from their own dark places, how are we, collectively, helping to lift them up?

This week, Quentin Hafner, therapist and coach, gives us insight on how men can discover their best selves. His book, Black Belt Husband, gives men a roadmap to help them gain clarity on how to become a more successful husband… and not just any husband, a badass husband with humility and a humble heart.

If you are a man, love a man, or are raising boys to be good men, you don’t want to miss this episode. We dive deep into all things men and more, holding the question: How can we lean into these issues instead of turning away from them?

In this week’s episode, you will listen to the wisdom of  Quentin Hafner, a man with a therapist's heart and a results-driven mind. He combines his expertise in clinical psychology and relationship dynamics with real world applications to help us discover how we can move from feeling frustrated, confused, and distracted by the challenges of life to reclaiming our own sense of wellbeing and peace of mind.

Join us as we uncover the way of wisdom: discovering sustainable solutions to whatever life throws at us.

Here’s what we talk about:

• Toxic masculinity (6:09)
• Why men need to protect their family from the biggest threat… themselves (14:55)
• How we can become more conscious (16:50)
• Why humility is a cornerstone for a successful life (21:15)
• How small superhero moments can plant seeds for a lifetime (25:44)

More ways to connect:

• Black Belt Marriage by Quentin Hafner

Thank you for joining us, please rate this podcast and subscribe so you don’t miss out on the next conversation!

To find more on Quentin, visit his website quentinhafner.com or on social media @quentinhafner.

To connect with Karen, follow her on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn @karenjhardwick and visit connectedleaderbook.com to order your copy of The Connected Leader.

Many of us have been faced with the difficult transition of having to let go of someone we love. It isn’t easy. And letting go of your child is possibly one of the hardest things a mother ever has to face.

This week, Sarah Sentilles, author of Stranger Care: A Memoir of Loving What Isn’t Ours, brings us to our knees as she tells us her story of love and loss that centers around a tiny baby girl named Coco.

Whether you’re a parent or not, be prepared for Sarah’s story to break your heart wide open and lift you into a deeper sense of connection to yourself and the others around you. It is only in our capacity to accept and let go that we find the love- lessons we are meant to learn and share with the world.

In this week’s episode, Karen speaks with Sarah Sentilles, a writer, teacher, scholar of religion, and author who holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Yale and Masters and Doctoral degrees from Harvard University.

Sarah has appeared in the New York Times, the New Yorker, Oprah Magazine, and many other prominent publications. And this week we discuss Sarah’s most recent gift to the world: her newest book about her journey through finding the beautiful gifts amongst the searing pain of being a parent to her daughter, Coco, for only two hundred and eighty-six days before Coco had to be returned to her biological mother.

Sarah gives her compassionate and insightful perspective on how love brings us both monumental blessings and deep heartache all at the intersection of powerlessness and grief. If you are looking to connect deeper to yourself, my conversation with Sarah is an invitation and love letter to remind you to keep your heart open and the light on. We’ve saved you a seat and hope you can join us.

Here’s what we talk about:

• The idea that all children belong to us and are entrusted to our care (5:25)
• Sarah’ story with Coco and how she made it through to the other side (7:11)
• How connection can bloom even through our hardships, grief, pain and loss (28:12)

To further connect:

• Find Sarah’s Book, Stranger Care: A Memoir of Loving What Isn’t Ours, here: https://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Care-Memoir-Loving-What/dp/0593230035
• Sarah’s book, Breaking Up with God: A Love Story, here: https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Up-God-Love-Story/dp/0061946869
• Poet, Ada Limón: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ada-limon
• Song, Leave the Light On: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqnkBdExjws

Thank you for joining us, please rate this podcast and subscribe so you don’t miss out on the next conversation!

To find more on Sarah, visit her website sarahsentilles.com or on social media @sarahsentilles.

To connect with Karen, follow her on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn @karenjhardwick and visit connectedleaderbook.com to order your copy of Karen’s book, The Connected Leader.

Tune in this week as Karen chats with Paul Snyder, Executive Vice President at Tillamook. Paul shares how he works intentionally, serves people in meaningful ways, and values the power of Connection. Throughout this season of uncertainty, Paul dives into how he has taken care of those in his care at Tillamook (and in life) through his powerful vulnerability.

Both witnesses to the brutal journey of having a family member with Alzheimer’s, Karen and Paul discuss the effects of the disease on their lives. It is by walking such a journey that connection to self, a spiritual presence, and others becomes even more important. It also reminds us about the important role gratitude plays in our lives.

In this episode, you will learn:

• About the Connection Pillars: Navigating Chaos Comfortably and Connecting Consciously
• How granting permission, modeling the right way,  and embracing little changes can positively influence those around you
• How relationship boundaries help us to form healthy, meaningful Connections

For more on Paul, visit him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulsnyder/ where he shares a real perspective on working at Tillamook.

To connect with Karen, follow her on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn @karenjhardwick and visit connectedleaderbook.com to order your copy of Karen’s book, The Connected Leader.

This week, Karen is joined by Veronica Valli, author of Soberful, recovery coach, therapist and creator of the Soberful Life community. Veronica has over 20 years of sobriety and is passionate about helping people “return to themselves”. As members of the recovery community, the pair wastes no time diving into the real costs of substance abuse both physically, relationally, emotionally. And, how beautiful and courageous a life of recovery is.

Listen in as Karen and Veronica talk about how many of us feel the need to numb our pain when our need for authenticity is compromised. And how addictions can take root as a result. While substance use disorder is a neurobiological disease, trauma of some kind is the gateway drug. No stranger to this process themselves, they dive into how raw, vulnerable Connection to self is the first step to deep, meaningful healing from the inside out.  You won’t want to miss this conversation since we are all recovering from something, we live in an “alcohol-promoting” culture, and addiction is on the uptick.

In this episode, you will learn:

• About the Connection pillars: Connects Consciously & Demonstrates Accountability
• The importance of authenticity in terms of enhancing our mental, emotional, and relational health
• How discernment rides shotgun with vulnerability and how to be on high alert regarding the “disclosure porn” taking over our social media feeds

For more on Veronica, visit her at veronicavalli.com, on social media @veronicavalli and in the Soberful Living community.

To connect with Karen, follow her on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn @karenjhardwick and visit connectedleaderbook.com to order your copy of Karen’s book, The Connected Leader.

This week on Saving You A Seat, Karen sits down with Hillary McCaskey, a certified Enneagram life coach, YouTuber and the creator of Enneagram and Life. As a Type 2 and Type 9 respectively, Karen and Hillary share how their “types” affect their mental and spiritual state and their strategies for overcoming roadblocks on the more challenging days.

As they share real stories of betrayal and recovery, they chat about how to accept and hold emotions lightly and honestly.  The two uncover how finding treasure in hurtful situations has brought them closer to God and enhanced their wisdom.

In this episode, you will learn:

• About the Connection pillars: Listening Deeply & Navigating Chaos Comfortably
• How the Enneagram can transform your relationships at work and at home
• How God invites us to open our hearts and minds

To find more on Hillary, visit her on Instagram @hillary_mccaskey and @enneagramandcoaching, on YouTube @enneagramandcoaching and at enneagramandcoaching.com.

To connect more with Karen, follow her on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn @karenjhardwick and visit connectedleaderbook.com to order your copy of Karen’s book, The Connected Leader.