Listen Now

I had the opportunity to sit down with Gary White, an inspiring problem-solver and innovator. With three degrees in civil and environmental engineering, Gary tells of his passion for social justice began in his 20s when he became aware of the alarming statistic that 1.5 billion people worldwide lacked access to water and even more lacked access to sanitation. As an engineer with a solution-seeking mindset, he was determined to find answers. In our conversation about his unique start, Gary shares how his seed of information was found during his early exposure to TED, a key source of inspiration. He felt like a "kid in a candy store," exposed to so many diverse ideas and perspectives that were outside the engineering domain. He continues, "To be able to sit for a few days and hear ideas and concepts from people who are doing nothing like you were doing, and yet all of those ideas could kind of be borrowed or kind of bent in your direction. I think that's where the concept of bending microfinance towards water and sanitation was. Here was this thing that was happening around the world with others, and it was completely divorced from what we were doing with water. Why does that have to be? Let's bring those things together."  Gary shares his experiences and insights on how he drew on this wealth of outside-the-box knowledge, bent it to become relevant to his work, and co-founded Water.org, a groundbreaking organization that helps finance water and sanitation solutions for individuals living in poverty.  Gary's work is a testament to the power of creativity and passion in solving complex social challenges. Quoting Thomas Edison, Gary shares, 'I feel like I've never done a day's work in my life because it's all been fun.' I am grateful to Gary for sharing his insights and inspiring us to think outside the box when faced with challenges. I invite leaders to listen to this episode and emerge with new determination and fresh ideas. To connect with: Water.org - https://water.org/ To connect with Gary White on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/waterpartners

This week’s Lessons From Leaders guest is Morgan Lance, CEO of OneSky. Her story and insights as the first CEO to transition into the position after the founder and leader of 24+ years are noteworthy simple truths.As the new CEO facing difficult decisions, Morgan shared:“When there's tough decisions to be made or moments of leadership that I know are going to be difficult for me, I always go back to that question: What is best for the kids that we serve? What is best for the children? What decision do I need to make now, or what do I need to do or embody in order to move the mission forward? And that's a really clear, really clear decision-maker for me. It makes things a lot easier.”“I learned the speed with which decisions need to be made at the CEO level is far quite different at other leadership levels within an organization….leaders are remembered for the pace at which they make decisions, not necessarily the outcome of those decisions.”Morgan’s message is timely as leaders refocus on the importance of an organization’s values and mission to revitalize in 2023.Thank you, Morgan, for sharing your transition story and the reminder to re-evaluate: what's our purpose?   We hope you enjoy this episode and look forward to hearing your comments.

This week, the Lessons from Leaders guest is Tessie San Martin the CEO of FHI 360. We are honored to have her as our leader in this episode.  While there are many gold nuggets in this episode,  for me there are two that are the most compelling.The first is when Tessie reminds me that "we can do hard things."  Just look at how successfully the INGO sector pivoted in 2020, she points out.The second nugget is when Tessie talks leaning into the new normal and what that means for INGOs. "We have to reimagine. We are creating what's next in our industry. The settings in which our organizations were designed, if very different than how we are forced to operate today. The question for us now becomes: How can we be effective and how can we deliver?"Tessie began her leadership journey with Amigos de las Americas.  This is something that she and I have in common.  In this program youth volunteers went to Latin America for 3 to 5 weeks to participate in vaccination programs.  From that experience, Tessie began to realize what she was capable of doing."At a young age, I came out of this experience [working with Amigos de Las Americas] thinking 'I can do anything.' I earned a sense of self confidence, I learned how to make decisions, communicate with others, and lead."While working in different countries, Tessie shares that what she learned most in addition to outreach, community help, and vaccinations, was about herself.After volunteering internationally with Amigos de Las Americas for her first time as a sophomore in high school, the following 2 years she decided to return to volunteer but this time as a part of the staff in a management role. She was responsible for running a vaccination program which in her words taught her one critical thing:"I have never wanted to do anything else. I was hooked on the idea of making a difference and working with others. The international development bug bit me, and never let go."Our conversation went into leading in today's environment.  Tessie shares her perspective that "INGOS are operating in settings where we are not created to operate.” (At the 10 minute mark if you want to jump right to it.)What she means in this and explains is that INGOS, some of which were created decades ago, were not structurally created to face a global pandemic, hybrid working, racial injustice, the list from the past 2 years goes on and on. Her encouragement to acknowledge the hard things we have all conquered is notable and refreshing. Her observation is that it's time to create, try new things, and not force what once worked to where an organization is now.And then, one of my favorite parts of our conversation: INGOs can do hard things... “Collectively the global development sector has been through a lot. By and large we are on the other side of it but we have adapted and adjusted to rethink how our businesses and organizations needed to run. We can do hard things.”She continues, “We have to continue to reimagine in 2023. We are not ‘back to normal’, we are creating a new normal.”Tessie shares her thoughts and plans on how to take the organization she leads, which has been around for over 50 years, into the future, through the trials of these past 2 years and out the other side. I highly suggest listening to this episode to be inspired and tactically supported.Thank you Tessie for sharing your leadership story, and for the much needed reminder; we can all do hard things.

This week, we have Uma Viswanathan, the Executive Director at New Pluralists Collaborative as our guest on Lessons from Leaders.What do you know about trauma and leadership? How do you think trauma helps with transformation and leadership? That is one of the many meaty topics Uma and I talk about.This episode kicks off with Uma sharing her experience as a child of an immigrant family and how that organically led her to a deep curiosity of people, their motivations, and perspectives. It was from this place of curiosity that ultimately led Uma to her position in leadership with New Pluralists.It is in our conversation about her unique world views that Uma shares her insights towards personal trauma and its place in a work organization.Uma says: “Some leaders think we need to be completely healed from trauma before we can lead, when actually the process of leading and being challenged allows us to grow in our capacity to digest and learn. Healing then happens while leading.”Uma also mentions that her organization has chosen an emergent strategy over a deliberate strategy which leans into unplanned actions and initiatives, leaping with faith unsure of the outcome.“We have set a goal with an emergent approach that requires collaborative efforts. The truth is, our goal is so big we need help. It is too big for our organization, solely. We made it so big purposefully because it causes us to think differently and transformatively.”As Uma continues she says something I had to write down: “Some people set goals that are too realistic. This way, they do exactly what they've always done. Instead, we took a leap of faith into uncertainty because in history, those are the decisions that have moved us.”The boldness, vulnerability, and nobility of Uma and her leadership shines in this episode. It is one of our most unique conversations to date and I can’t wait to continue following Uma and New Pluralists on what I am sure will be more lessons learned on their pursuit of that big goal. Thank you Uma.

This week, the Lessons from Leaders guest is Tjada D’Oyen McKenna, the President and CEO of Mercy Corps. We are honored to have her as our guest so shortly after her recent trip to Somalia. One of my favorite moments from this episode is the deep conversation with Tjada talking about courage (at 27 minutes if you want to jump right to it.) When I asked her what courage has to do with being a leader, she said: "There is a personal courage all leaders have because they are willing to say 'Hold me accountable' when they take on the role of a leader." She continues, “Courage is taking risks. If no one is upset or ruffled by your decisions, then you might not really be making change. There is courage in moving the status quo. What got you to where you are now is not the thing that will take you to the next level." Tjada shares her personal definition of courage (which I loved so much I jotted it down as she spoke):  "Courage is a willingness to be wrong, a willingness to admit you make mistakes, and a willingness to ask for help." Thank you Tjada for sharing your leadership story, and for your candor on this episode. You are leading Mercy Corp with courage and honesty even in the face of conflict. 

”If people aren’t failing, then I think that possibly they are actually not pushing beyond the envelope. They are not innovating, or not going for that hard thing and stretching. That's why it is important to recognize and celebrate failure.” Michele Laird This week I sat down with Michele Laird, the Senior VP for Programs at Pact. I love Michele’s take on failure and the importance to try and be willing to fail, even sharing that when her family is sitting around the table for dinner she asks them, "What did you fail at today?" Michele talks about normalizing failure and encouraging looking at what may not have gone "correctly" and learn from what happened. She also shared a blurb from Janet Finch, the author of White Oleander, who says, “The Phoenix must burn to emerge.” Michele says that a big ‘burning failure' may not be the goal, but that the lessons learned from failure are ones she encourages all entrepreneurs, CEO's, and leaders, to use to further evolve. Evolution, innovation, reflection, and impact are all words Michele used to define values in her organization. Also discussing leading from love, Michele notes how leading from love can be a calming force to reaction in the face of mistakes, unexpected turmoil, or failures. "Having conversations from your heart is really important and people will feel that, hear that, and understand they are safe. They will understand they can try new things and if it doesn't go as planned, that's okay.... it helps us to react and lead better." Michele wisdom on her core values and principles in this episode is palpable.  Thank you to Pact for sharing another organization member with us this week, we are so grateful! To connect with Pact:  Home To connect with Michele Laird on Twitter:  Michele_Laird To connect with Michele Laird on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelelaird/?viewAsMember=true

This week I sat down with Janti Soeripto, the President and CEO of Save The Children US. Janti's story of leadership is diverse and unique in her experience. With 20 years in the consumer sector, selling tissues, diapers, and -- as she mentions -- even frozen peas, she shares the similarities and the differences in her leadership upbringing to where she is now. This episode is not just a must listen because of Janti's story to leadership, but because of our conversation regarding her story of her current leadership. When we started talking about what it is like to lead in this climate of the ever changing workforce, social injustice, a pandemic, and much more, here is what Janti started with: "You have to be constantly adaptive... The process of planning, thinking of the worst thing that could happen, and thinking of the best thing that could happen, while that is valuable, but do not put too much emphasis on what the outcome could be months from now, because who could have predicted what was going to happen [in the last 2 years]. Let it go. Stay curious about what we don't know."Janti is a seeker of knowledge, innovation, and wisdom, it is something I deeply admire and loved to glean from in this episode. I am excited to share this with you and look forward to your takeaways. Thank you Janti for sharing your time, your story, and your insights.

This week I sat down with Mishelle Rudzinski, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of SPOON.  Mishelle's story of leadership and co-founding an organization is one like many leaders: She saw a need and decided to fill it. Her leadership story began at a deeply personal level with the adoption of her daughter. A journey which included an incorrect diagnosis, and severe malnourishment.  It was her own daughter's experience with malnutrition that led to the research of children everywhere who have been living outside of families in what is termed as residential care. "We couldn't find any solid answers, and we couldn't find any organizations that were addressing this. We thought we would go volunteer somewhere but we couldn't find an organization. This led to us reaching out to the right people, networking with them, and saying together: 'Let's solve the problem.' That led to the beginning of SPOON." Mishelle's questioning and her curiosity around finding a need and taking it step by step, without getting stopped by the 'how', is just the beginning of her inspirational journey in leadership.  I am excited to share this episode with you and look forward to your takeaways.  Thank you Mishelle for sharing your story and your organization not just with us, but with the world.  https://youtu.be/cjuxqeJjtyY

Lucia Nasser, President for Vital Voices in Honduras joins us in the leader’s chair to share about Vital Voices, coming back to in person post pandemic, and a personal story about the deep dive into personal growth and what that has to do with leadership. “When we think of leadership, we usually think of a leader's skills. We focus on the 'what', the 'where', the 'how' and the 'why'. In my personal journey, I have found that the 'who' is very important. Who is that leader? Who is the one coming up with these ideas?” Lucia tells us in this episode.  The take away I would encourage all leaders to pull from this episode is practicing a pause in your day, to identify those important questions Lucia describes: What do you want to accomplish? Where will you focus? And who do you want to be? It is easy to get caught up in tasks lists and responsibilities, thinking of what a ‘normal leader’ does or should do, but as Lucia mentions, “This [questioning and thinking] has allowed me to see things differently, to see things with more liberty. Now, my leadership is full of freedom and openness, where before I was more rigid and full of preconceived notions that things had to be a certain way.” This is a great episode for every leader needing a reset on their passion and purpose. Thank you Lucia for being courageous and joining me in this episode.

In this episode, Ashok Regmi, Executive Director of Street Law, Inc. shares his leadership path with us. Originally from Nepal, his leadership trajectory started when he worked to establish the first FM channel to use the power of radio to engage and develop a concept to bring education to his community. He came to the US for schooling, but it was outside of the classroom that he learned real life strategies of leadership sharing. “Development works well when people closest to the problems are put into leadership and they own the solutions. This was the philosophy for how I worked through my career. I would ask, ‘How do we get the people on the local level, and put them in the decision making platforms and spaces?’” Today, Ashok works with Street Law, Inc. to leverage the power of education to empower people for justice. I learned a lot from Ashok in our conversation and took quite a few notes for my own journey. I hope you do the same. Thank you Ashok for sitting down with me and sharing your journey, it was a pleasure!

Kate Moynihan is with us this week. I have known Kate for years and have always admired her leadership savvy. Kate is the Executive Director of Seva Foundation, a foundation working in over 20 countries to increase the capacity of local hospitals, and develop sustainable eye care programs. Kate, like nearly all leaders, has seen a drastic change in leadership over the course of the pandemic. She talks about her role as an executive for a non-profit organization during a time of such discord and how she leaned into purpose first. Prioritizing "the why" in what she was doing allowed her to stick to her instincts to realign and reaffirm within the organization. You will also hear Kate discuss the importance of setting personal boundaries and figuring out how to create a balance between work and personal life. She shares her ideas on how to disconnect from work. We could all use a boost in that. Thank you, Kate!

I am here with Polly Dunford, the President and CEO of IntraHealth International. Polly has been someone we have been trying to get on our podcast for a long time - since she took this role at IntraHealth in March of 2020. “It was a crazy time to take over an organization. I started on March 16th, the exact day that the world went virtual…” In this episode, Polly shares what it felt like to meet staff virtually. She shares about her role, not as the CEO, but as the self identified CPO – Chief People Officer - focusing on supporting her team members during a challenging time period. How does she think about doing everything remotely?  “The virtual workspace has been an opportunity to even the playing field…” Listen to hear about what an even playing field looks like in her organization and how the virtual workspace led to unexpected relationship building. What I appreciate so much about Polly and her entry into leadership at IntraHealth it is her flexibility - letting go of her own plan and shifting her focus from big thinking and thought leadership to helping staff find childcare, support for eldercare, and the deeply personal needs outside of the office space. In addition to leading through the beginning of COVID-19 and the pandemic, Polly talks about leading through the tragic murder of George Floyd and how it rocked her organization to focus even more on equity, inclusivity, and actively participating in social justice efforts. I can’t begin to write and acknowledge all of the lessons Polly shares with us in under 20 minutes. There is vital information in this episode for leaders and organizations everywhere. Stories to relate to, lessons to learn from, and struggles that have been very real for so many. Thank you Polly for sitting down with me and for being an admirable leader through and through!

This week is a special episode as we have a Lessons from Leaders Alumni, William (Bill) Abrams, and the successor to his position at Trickle Up, Nathalie Laidler Kylander.  This episode is unique in that we are able to walk through their experience of transitioning from one CEO to another, including what the overlap time looked like, how they walked it with grace and respect for one another, and how their leadership “trickled down” through the entire organization.Both are self-proclaimed non-traditional CEO’s, and have much to share about leading right now. I appreciated hearing from Nathalie about her expectations coming into Trickle Up, her perceptions of Bill’s transition out, and how she prepared to take over this organization.From Bill, we hear a different perspective about what it feels and looks like to transition out of an organization, what he looked for in a successor, and how he prepared physically, emotionally, and mentally.The New York Times suggested 'Transition' as the word of the year in 2021, and there was no shortage of that at Trickle Up and many organizations across the globe. I am honored to sit down with two incredible leaders who can now shine the light on their journey last year, the learnings, the wins, the trials, and also, where the future is headed.Thank you Nathalie and Bill! 

This week, we have Paige Alexander, CEO of The Carter Center, as our guest on Lessons from Leaders.As I have long been watching the work of The Carter Center, it is a pleasure to sit down with Paige.We jump right into the conversation:What is it like to lead right now?How has communication changed?What are you hearing from your organization?Transparency, authenticity, and togetherness, are all qualities that Paige demonstrates.  She admits that it took her time and effort to find the balance of the right amount of communication within her team and organization. The lesson she has learned and shares with us around organizational communication is a vital one.“There is so much noise out there. People say there is no such thing as over-communication [referring to meaningful communication] but I think since we spend so much time at our screens  - and keeping up with our inboxes - that we, in fact,  may be over-communicating.” - Paige AlexanderThank you, Paige,  for your time, lessons, and for your baking tips (you have to listen in for that.)  In this episode, Paige quotes former President Jimmy Carter, and I would like to echo her in leaving you with this:“We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles.” - Jimmy Carter—About PaigePaige Alexander joined The Carter Center as chief executive officer in June 2020. Paige has had a distinguished global development career with over two decades of experience spanning the government and nonprofit sectors. She has held senior leadership positions at two regional bureaus of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), covering missions and development programs in 25 countries.

This week I sit down with Indira Kaur Ahluwalia, whose work I was initially drawn to  due to all she has been doing for racial and ethnic equity. Indira has built her career on enabling equality systemically on the strength of individual differences initially establishing Development and Training Services (dTS) in 2002 to build gender equality and social inclusion.   I like to say she comes to this seat with 3 hats which gives her viewpoint of leadership a dynamic lens. CEO, author, strategic advisor, she is leading the charge on calling out racial inequity. “We need to understand and recognize that we have to start at the core of building racial and ethnic equity.”  How do you make an impact and difference in racial inequity globally? “We have to get out own houses in order.” I love that statement.  Indira shares with us who the leaders are and who they are not; meaning where diversity lives and where is lacks. There is a way to take action and get involved as you will hear in this episode through the pledge. Check out our links below to get connected.   This episode is already a favorite in the Lessons from Leaders office and we are eager for you to listen, and get active on this important issue.   Connect with Indira: Read her book: Fast Forward to Hope –   You Tube Indiegogo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BsczvNyuEE  Website: https://www.fastforwardtohope.com  You will hear CREED mentioned a few times in this interview.  The website is live here:  www.CREEDinAction.org As well as social media account here:  Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.  Direct Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/indira-ahluwalia/ KAUR Strategies: Overview | LinkedIn  Twitter: https://twitter.com/IndiraKaurA https://twitter.com/KaurStrategies  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/indirakaur.ahluwalia/   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indiraahluwalia/

This week I sit with John Stephens who is the CEO of The BOMA Project. John brings a unique leadership lens to his position with BOMA because he has served as a board member, a position for an organization that was funding BOMA, and then interim CEO. From each role, John was able to grow his view of how to best service the organization.  “It helped me launch, having those close relationships with board members. I knew what was important to them. I knew how the board functioned. I think often times, new CEO’s get overly focused on the organization and programs. They tend to not think about the board as a vital organ of the organization, giving it the attention it deserves.” What is quite eye opening in this episode is John’s ability to merge his three lenses to give insight, advice, and feedback that, used properly, can strengthen an organization, their board, and their staff’s relationships.  Thank you John for giving our listeners a new perspective and helpful action steps to build bonds and strengthen teams.  https://youtu.be/jyZcbUU3Iq8

Wild Network has been a strong, and foundational support of the Lessons from Leaders podcast over the last 3 years so to have Fiona here with me today is amazing! I like to call our first interaction a meeting of two sisters from different mothers, it was instant connection and friendship.  In this episode, we start by discussing vision. Fiona has such a gift of seeing where things can grow and be made stronger sharing, “When I have conviction about something that needs to be done, I believe I can be a catalyst for that change. I believe other people will care too.” The WILD Network is the Women Innovators and Leaders Network. “Right now there is focus on women’s leadership. Supporting great leaders at all stages of their career to be even greater, and supporting strong organizations to be even stronger." (Fiona Macaulay)  This episode is one of our most empowering yet. I adore Fiona’s ability to manifest and vision cast. Her belief is contagious. Here are some things you can expect to hear:  What is social innovation  Overcoming Fears  Asking and Accepting Help  The power of belief  Setting up small, actionable steps  The virtual 2022 Women in Global Development Leadership Forum - taking place May 16-19 -  supports the development of strong and inclusive leaders from across the global development sector. Learn more about WILD Forum to 2022 Women in Global development Leadership Forum here:  www.WILDleadershipForum.org  

Welcome back, leaders. We hope that this new year brings innovation and reaching new limits. It is so exciting to start off the new year with leader Brigit Helms, who is the Executive Director at Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University. Brigit's impact has reached corners of the world from Africa, to Asia, to Costa Rica, Latin America, and beyond. In her travels and experience, it is 'safe' to say nothing quite prepared her for entering a new role at a new organization just 6 months into a global pandemic.  Meeting the new team, ecosystem players, and staff all had to happen, as she says, in 2 dimensions, on Zoom. "I have a deep connection on how to build excellent teams. It is grounded on a deep sense of trust... That is very difficult to build when you don't know people and haven't seen them in person."  Just like so many leaders, Brigit had to pivot what she knew to adjust to the pandemic's standards. As a self proclaimed student of organization transformation and leadership, she learned about  The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni. This became her secret weapon and playbook. It was a pleasure to sit in the chair with Brigit, learn step by step how she took her team from strangers to a trusted bond, and how she continues to do so.  As we enter our third year of the pandemic world, it is our goal here to continue bringing you the tools, tips, and sometimes tricks, of those who have experienced 'success' in leading virtually.  Thank you, Brigit, for your optimism and ideas! 

Our last episode of the new year has arrived and we are thrilled to be in the chair with Caroline Anstey.  As we wrap 2021, it feels right to be with Caroline, the CEO of Pact who began her role just 2 days after the national lock down.  It is safe to say the leaders 5 years ago would have never imagined virtually leading organizations. At the beginning of the pandemic there was large concern over losing touch, not getting to know or connect with teams, and hearing Caroline’s experience is not just hopeful and relatable, but something I want other organizations to hear and try themselves.  “We are communicating through Zoom. No one is getting to meet anyone else. There is not standing around in a coffee bar…. I get to know them in a way I would have never gotten to if we were in an office.”  Think of the last time you zoomed with your team, did a dog bark? Do you know that dog’s name? Would you have known their name if you had been exclusively working in an office? Has a spouse or partner walked behind the screen during a call? Do you know anything about the person? Zoom has taken the world virtual but allowed room for personal conversation, connection, and growth.  Caroline, thank you for the reminder that even though we are still “mostly” online, there is so much to be learned when we show up and listen. 

"How do we start healing so we can see each other?"  On this day, in late November, the month of gratitude, I sat in pure amazement listening to Vivian Anderson speak on her journey, experience, and passions. What began as watching a viral video led to years of dedicated, door-knocking, on the ground work.  "I can't watch another child being harmed," Vivian shares. Which is what drove her from New York, down to the deep south where Pandora's box as she called it was opened. Trauma. Deep rooted racism.  On a platform like Lessons from Leaders, we are fortunate to hear leaders tell their stories in an open, authentic format. Vivian, thank you for being a guest and taking us with you on the incredible work you do.  We are encouraging all of our guests to follow, comment, like, and share the mission of EveryBlackGirl Inc.  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everyblackgirl/?hl=en Funding, Website and More: https://linktr.ee/EveryBlackGirl