Leadership Strategies Episodes

What if your AI transformation isn't stalling because of the technology, but because of the culture, trust, and leadership behaviors you've built (or failed to build) around it? Shaara Roman has spent years inside global enterprises watching AI initiatives launch with fanfare and quietly fall apart, not because the software failed, but because the people strategy was missing.

In this episode:

Why AI should be treated as a team member, not just a tool

The six pillars of AI change management: s...

What does it cost to keep climbing when you're not sure the ladder is leaning against the right wall? Cynthia Lai spent two decades in multinational banking before a health warning sign forced her to ask that question, and to walk away from a role that looked successful from the outside.


In this conversation, Cynthia, a governance advisor, leadership educator, and ICF certified executive coach, joins Lori to talk about:



Why high achievers so often ignore the warning signs their bodies are...

The AI race is real. So is the hidden cost. Lori introduces the Speed Tax, the Culture Architecture Framework, and a free 5-question diagnostic for HR leaders. 6th anniversary solo episode.

What if the traits that get someone labeled difficult in one workplace are exactly what makes them extraordinary in another? Tara May, CEO of Aspiritech, a technology company where more than 90 percent of the team is autistic, joins us to talk about what she calls the ROI of kindness, and why building for neurodivergent talent makes every workplace better.

In this episode

Why Tara calls it “the ROI of kindness,” and what that means for the bottom line

The “spiky cognitive profile” reframe: wh...

AI is changing every part of how leaders communicate, and Allison Shapira has a warning worth hearing: don't outsource your voice to it. In this conversation, we get into her framework for using AI to amplify authentic leadership instead of replacing it, and why she insists the human isn't just in the loop, the human is the loop.

In this episode

Why “the human is the loop, not just in it” reframes how leaders should think about AI

The AI Authenticity Loop, Allison's framework for using AI wit...

Staying isn’t always strength, and walking away isn’t always failure. Sally J. Clarke, co-author of Walk Away: Step Out to Step Up, joins Lori Adams-Brown to unpack why high-performing leaders so often wait for a crisis before giving themselves permission to leave.

Why a role can look right on paper, title, compensation, trajectory, while quietly stopping to fit, and how to tell a structural misalignment from a personal failure

The story behind the research: 40+ interviews with women across fi...

What if the silence in your meetings has nothing to do with confidence and everything to do with culture? Organizational psychologist Neelu Kaur joins Lori Adams-Brown to decode the invisible operating systems shaping how professionals communicate, advocate for themselves, and lead across cultures and organizational hierarchies.

IN THIS EPISODE:
- What the "self-trust recession" is and why it matters for global leaders right now

- The paradox at the heart of corporate America: individualistic ...

What happens when you spend 18 years building a company to $5 million in revenue across 80 countries, finally sell it, and then wake up with no idea who you are without it? Fiona Macaulay knows that moment intimately, and what she built from it is changing how thousands of accomplished women think about what comes next.

In this episode, Lori Adams-Brown sits down with Fiona Macaulay, founder of The Wild Network, co-author of Aim High and Bounce Back, and creator of the Next Chapter Accelerator,...

What does it mean when the only HR professional in a room of 6,000 AI innovators refuses to stay silent? Anju Choudhary attended HumanX in San Francisco, looked around, and decided that was not a coincidence. It was a calling.

In this live conference conversation recorded at HumanX, Lori Adams-Brown sits down with Anju Choudhary, a seasoned Chief Human Resources Officer, to talk about what it really means to keep humans at the center of one of the most consequential shifts in how we work. Anju's message is clear: people leaders do not belong on the sidelines of the AI conversation. They belong at the head of the table.

In this episode, you'll hear:

Why Anju was the only HR professional among 6,000 attendees at a major AI conference, and what that signals for the profession
The mindset shift every people leader needs right now: from "human in the loop" to "human in the lead"
How building her first AI agent in under two minutes changed the way she talks about AI adoption
Wha…

What if the life you have been imagining could actually begin somewhere else?
At Move Abroad Con in San Diego, at the Hard Rock Hotel, Lori Adams-Brown stepped onto the conference floor to have three honest conversations with people living and breathing the conference about the expat life. Each one brought a different perspective. All three pointed to the same truth: the world is more open than most people think.



Why people from all walks of life, and all stages of life, are reconsidering wh...

What happens to your identity when the system that formed you was built to erase it? In this deeply personal and clear-eyed conversation, New York Times bestselling author Tia Levings returns to A World of Difference with her new book, a survivor's guide that meets you wherever you are on the road to recovery. Whether you were raised in high-control religion, are navigating the aftermath of leaving, or are simply trying to understand why you still silence yourself in rooms where it feels unsafe ...

What do you do when the title is gone, but the work isn't finished?
In this solo episode, Lori Adams-Brown pulls back the curtain on the past six months: the beach day that changed everything, the blank bio she couldn't write, and the Italian word that finally gave shape to what she was building. This is the origin story of Brava Global Advisory, and a masterclass in the kind of self-leadership most leaders never talk about out loud.

What you'll hear in this episode:

The moment at Santa Cruz t...

What does it look like to build a life from scratch, not once, but again and again? Nuray Krein Yilmaz has done it more times than most people ever will, and her story is one of the most quietly extraordinary ones we've shared on this podcast.

Nuray grew up in a small farming village in eastern Turkey, the eleventh of twelve siblings, in a community where girls' futures were largely pre-written. She lost both parents to cancer before she turned 13. She taught herself to dream inside boarding school libraries and across chess tournaments — and she never stopped.

In 2018, she moved to the United States through a cultural exchange program with limited English, no safety net, and an enormous amount of courage. Today she is a content analyst in tech, a published author, and the founder of What If You Can — a community for people navigating immigration, grief, career transitions, and the question of whether they belong.

What do you do when the doors you’ve worked for keep closing because of factors you can’t control? In this episode, Rebeca Lopez Valerio shares how she turned “no” into fuel, built opportunities from scratch, and learned to lead with coraje, heart-forward courage rooted in identity, resilience, and values.

Rebeca’s story is powerful and deeply human. Born in Mexico with Indigenous roots from the Oaxaca/Puebla region, she immigrated to the U.S. at age four and navigated life as a first-generation student, while also carrying the realities of being undocumented during key years of her education and career journey. Together, we talk about what it really takes to keep showing up when the stakes are high, and how community can be the difference between feeling stuck and finding your way forward.

Some conversations stay with us because they name what we’ve been living but haven’t had words for yet. This episode is one of those moments, a reminder that gratitude does not require us to deny our pain, and authenticity does not demand perfection.

As we revisit this Thanksgiving message, one of the most downloaded and shared episodes of the year, Lori reflects on what it means to hold multiple truths at the same time. In a year marked by layoffs, uncertainty, grief, and global upheaval, this...

Ever started a new job and realized the “real work” isn’t just the work. It’s learning the culture, the decision-making rhythm, and what success actually looks like? In this re-released best-of conversation, Dr. Shweta Miglani breaks down the small, practical moves that help you ramp faster, build credibility, and grow your career without burning out.

Dr. Miglani shares how her journey began in journalism, pivoted through learning science and instructional design, and expanded into global talent management and organizational development—supporting leaders across industries and countries. Together, we talk about what separates professionals who thrive quickly from those who stay stuck: proactive communication, stakeholder mapping, clear expectations, and learning how to lead with both strategy and humanity.

You’ll hear actionable guidance for your first 90 days, how to make your one-on-ones count, and why emotional intelligence and cultural intelligence matter even more as AI tra…

As 2025 comes to a close, this episode is a love letter to difference makers everywhere—those navigating change, courage, career pivots, and complex workplaces. Lori Adams-Brown reflects on the books that shaped her thinking this year and deeply resonated with listeners across the globe.

From leadership in the age of AI to psychological safety, toxic workplaces, courage, presence, and recovery after trauma, these books don’t just inform—they invite you to live and lead differently. Many of the ...

Are you feeling the tension between staying authentic and using AI tools in your leadership? You're not alone. Many executives are grappling with this exact challenge, and the stakes have never been higher.

What happens when the biggest threat to authentic leadership isn't AI itself, but how we choose to use it? Communication expert Allison Shapira has spent years helping executives find their voice in moments that matter most. Now she's tackling the question keeping leaders up at night: How do...

If you're feeling stuck in the same old thought patterns, journaling your heart out only to end up reliving the same pain, or you keep trying new workshops and self-help tricks but still feel disconnected from your creativity and sense of wonder, then you are not alone! If you’ve signed up for writing classes hoping for transformation but walk away feeling more self-critical instead, or you’re longing for a breakthrough but just keep hitting that emotional wall, then you are not alone! If you keep scrolling through inspirational posts and books, looking for that spark to reignite your resilience but end up feeling even more isolated, then you are not alone! If you find yourself craving deeper connection and authenticity but every attempt leaves you feeling misunderstood or too vulnerable, then you are not alone!

Ever heard these myths floating around about leadership and work-life balance? Myth #1: True leaders have to hustle nonstop to be successful. Myth #2: Burnout just means you’re not cut out for the job. Myth #3: Neuroplasticity is only for scientists—not something leaders can actually use. I’m about to spill the truth on how to flip these old stories on their head—so you can actually lead with clarity, energy, and a life that feels good. Ready for a totally different take? Stick around!

In this ...

Are you ready to finally escape the soul-crushing grip of toxic bosses and workplaces for good? Imagine waking up on Monday actually excited for work, feeling confident you can spot the red flags before you ever get trapped again, and knowing exactly how to protect your peace (and your career) no matter who’s in charge. I’m breaking down the real-life strategies, warning signs, and support systems you need to get there—so you can stop surviving and start thriving, even if you’re not ready to quit just yet.

Join us for an inspiring conversation with Dr. Pamela Donnelly, founder of the American Access Institute, as she shares her mission to support vulnerable teens, including those aging out of foster care. Discover how the Catapult platform is transforming lives through trauma-informed care, AI mentorship, and innovative partnerships.

Key Highlights:

Dr. Donnelly's journey from college admissions professional to ed-tech innovator. The impact of the Catapult platform on justice-involved youth and ...

. If you're feeling exhausted from trying to process your third culture kid or MK experience—maybe you've already read memoirs, joined support groups, or tried to explain the complexity of evangelical politics to your friends, but still end up feeling misunderstood, unmoored, or even invisible, then you are not alone! If you've spent hours wrestling with the tension between your parents' good work and the darker sides of white evangelicalism, but instead of clarity, you get more tangled up in guilt or frustration, then you are not alone! If you've tried to fit your global perspective into conversations about Christian nationalism and end up hitting a wall of resistance, silence, or even shaming from your own community, then you are not alone! And if you've hoped that being resilient would be enough to heal the grief of never truly belonging anywhere, but find that the pain lingers no matter how many times you reinvent yourself, then you are not alone!

Does this sound familiar? You’ve been told to just keep grinding it out in your current job until the “right” opportunity magically appears, but all that’s gotten you is more stress, second-guessing, and the nagging feeling you’re wasting your potential. It sucks watching your energy drain away while your values get sidelined and you wonder if you’ll ever feel truly fulfilled at work. You deserve a career that’s actually aligned with who you are and the impact you want to make. Let’s talk about ...