Grow Strong Leaders Podcast

Meredith Bell
  • 5.0 (49)
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I’m fascinated by what it takes for leaders to live their values consistently, especially when it’s hard.  On the Grow Strong Leaders Podcast, I have candid conversations with senior executives who are sustaining principled leadership inside complex organizations. We explore how leadership capability, organizational systems, and the everyday decisions reinforce values.   Our discussions also explore what gets tested when pressure rises—and the personal guardrails leaders rely on to stay aligned.    If you believe values should guide real decisions—not just appear on the wall—you'll feel right at home here. 

  1. 2d ago

    386: One Conversation Can Change a Life

    What if the most important leadership moment of your career lasts only five minutes?  Angela Burgess believes that meaningful change often begins with a single conversation. In this episode, she shares the story of a manager who saw potential in her when she was struggling, offered a different perspective, and changed the trajectory of her career. That experience shaped Angela's belief that leaders have an extraordinary opportunity to help people see possibilities in themselves that they cannot yet see on their own.   As Founder and CEO of Broad Oaks Consulting, Angela works with nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, and advisors who need to navigate conversations that many people avoid. Along the way, she has become a passionate advocate for curiosity, active listening, and encouragement. You'll hear why asking better questions matters, why listening is more than hearing words, and how small acts of genuine caring can leave a lasting impact long after we forget we ever made them.  You'll discover Why one conversation can alter a career How curiosity creates deeper connections What great listeners do differently Why encouragement matters more than you realize How to serve others through conversation Connect with Angela Burgess on Social Media LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelaburgesshtx Facebook https://www.facebook.com/broadoaksconsulting  YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlHvCYUSmc0 Resources Website  Angela Burgess https://angelaburgesshtx.com Broad Oaks Consulting https://broadoaksconsulting.com/  Book Are You On the Right Bus?: Navigating Change on the Road to Success  https://www.amazon.com/Are-You-Right-Bus-Navigating/dp/B0D2JG5D5K  Check out all the episodes Leave a review on Apple Podcasts Connect with Meredith on LinkedIn

    386: One Conversation Can Change a Life

  2. Jul 14

    385: The Behavior You're Willing to Tolerate

    What if your culture isn't defined by your values, but by the behavior you're willing to tolerate? Steve Harris has spent decades helping organizations create environments where employees feel safe speaking up, leaders model the right behaviors, and ethics become part of everyday decision-making. As Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer at Lincoln Financial, Steve shares practical examples of how organizations can build trust, strengthen accountability, and help managers create psychological safety within their teams.   You'll hear how Lincoln reframed speaking up from a compliance obligation to a business imperative, why frontline managers have such a powerful influence on culture, and how one difficult experience early in Steve's career shaped his view of the difference between what is legal and what is ethical. His stories offer valuable lessons for any leader who wants values to guide behavior when decisions become difficult.   In his role as Senior Vice President and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer at Lincoln Financial, Steve leads the company's enterprise compliance and sustainability programs and helps shape a culture of ethical decision-making across more than 11,000 employees. Under Steve’s leadership, Lincoln Financial has been recognized five times as one of Ethisphere's World's Most Ethical Companies. Before joining Lincoln, Steve spent more than a decade at The Hartford, another long-time Ethisphere honoree, and he’s built a reputation for helping organizations integrate ethics into business strategy, leadership, and culture. He's also a frequent speaker on ethics and compliance and serves on several industry and academic advisory boards.   You'll discover: Why speaking up drives business success How managers create psychological safety What trust looks like in practice Why listening builds stronger cultures The difference between law and ethicsConnect with Steve Harris on Social Media LinkedIn  Website  Lincoln Financial  Check out all the episodes Leave a review on Apple Podcasts Connect with Meredith on LinkedIn

    385: The Behavior You're Willing to Tolerate

  3. Jul 7

    384: Helping Isn’t Always Helping

    What if your desire to help is actually getting in someone else's way? You may think you're supporting, protecting, or guiding others, but sometimes your good intentions can unintentionally limit their growth, confidence, and sense of purpose.  Drawing from a deeply personal experience with my father, I explore how helping can cross the line into rescuing, controlling, or satisfying our own need to be right. You'll discover why this lesson matters not only in your personal relationships but also in your role as a leader, where the urge to solve problems can prevent others from developing their own capabilities and strengths.  I’m the co-founder and president of Grow Strong Leaders. We provide assessment and development systems that help leaders strengthen their character and communication skills so they can consistently live their values and sustain strong, high-trust cultures—especially under pressure.  You'll discover: Why helping can sometimes feel controlling How rescuing prevents growth and confidence What your need to be right costs Why leaders should ask more questions The difference between support and interferenceConnect with Meredith on Social Media LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredithmbell Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/MeredithMBell Twitter  https://x.com/meredithmbell  Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/meredithmbell/ Website  Grow Strong Leaders  https://growstrongleaders.com/  Books Connect with Your Team: Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills: https://amzn.to/3jL0pEI   Grow Strong Character  https://tinyurl.com/3zwcanxa  Check out all the episodes Leave a review on Apple Podcasts Connect with Meredith on LinkedIn

    384: Helping Isn’t Always Helping

  4. Jun 30

    383: How JLL Practices Integrity Every Day

    How do you sustain an ethical culture across 113,000 employees in more than 80 countries with a team of just four ethics professionals? Kendall Mills shares how JLL has built one of the world's most enduring ethics programs, earning recognition from Ethisphere 19 times as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies. She explains how ethics becomes more than a policy or annual training requirement when leaders consistently reinforce trust, transparency, accountability, and speaking up.  Kendall also shares a defining moment early in her career when she was pressured to alter an investigation report, and the decision she made that shaped her approach to leadership. Throughout our conversation, she reveals how organizations can operationalize integrity, create psychological safety, build trust at scale, and help employees make the right decisions even when nobody is watching.  Kendall is a licensed attorney and Certified Information Privacy Professional. She started her career at a Fortune 100 insurance company where she led more than 250 internal investigations, including matters involving C-suite executives. Today, she serves as Executive Director of Ethics & Compliance for the Americas at JLL, a Fortune 200 commercial real estate firm, where she also has global oversight for the ethics program spanning the Americas, EMEA, and APAC.    Kendall is known for translating complex regulatory issues into practical guidance, implementing compliance programs that work in the real world, and partnering with leadership to strengthen cultures of integrity and accountability. Her team develops the investigation trends and risk insights that go directly to JLL's Board, giving senior leadership clear visibility into where the risks are and what's being done about them. A Fellow of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, Kendall is passionate about elevating compliance as a strategic function and developing a high-performing, globally aligned team.  You’ll discover:  How JLL scales ethics across 80+ countriesWhy integrity starts with small decisions What builds trust in speaking-up culturesHow leaders create psychological safetyWhy accountability strengthens organizational trustConnect with Kendall on Social Media LinkedIn   Resources JLL Ethics Everywhere Annual Report  Check out all the episodes Leave a review on Apple Podcasts Connect with Meredith on LinkedIn

    383: How JLL Practices Integrity Every Day

  5. Jun 17

    382: Leading with a Viewpoint and Grace

    Do you need to know more than everyone else to be an effective leader? Chris Ware believes the answer is no. Throughout his career, he has repeatedly stepped into leadership roles where others had deeper expertise, yet he learned how to build trust, credibility, and engagement without relying on authority or having all the answers.  As Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary at Itron, Chris shares lessons from his experiences as a federal prosecutor, business leader, and legal executive. You'll hear memorable stories about learning from failure, making ethical decisions under pressure, understanding the "why" behind people's actions, and creating cultures where communication, trust, and speaking up are part of everyday leadership.  You’ll discover:  Why leaders need a viewpoint earlyHow grace strengthens trust and credibilityWhat failure taught Chris about listeningWhy ethical decisions rarely require speedHow simple habits build strong culturesConnect with Chris Ware on Social Media LinkedIn Website  Chris’s employer Itron Check out all the episodes Leave a review on Apple Podcasts Connect with Meredith on LinkedIn

    382: Leading with a Viewpoint and Grace

  6. Jun 16

    381: Why Marvell Employees Actually Speak Up

    What makes employees feel safe enough to speak up when something feels wrong? Eva Lehman shares how ethical cultures are built through leadership behaviors, trust, consistency, and systems that reinforce integrity every day. As Vice President and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer at Marvell Technology, Eva offers a behind-the-scenes look at how their culture shapes employee behavior far beyond policies and compliance training.  You’ll hear how Marvell’s leadership team reinforces ethical decision-making across a global organization, why middle managers are critical to sustaining trust, and how employees are empowered to raise concerns without fear. Eva also shares personal reflections about the difficult moments leaders face when values are tested, and why courage, empathy, and support from leadership matter so much in those situations.  You’ll discover:  Why employees hesitate to speak upHow leaders reinforce ethical culture dailyWhat builds trust across global organizationsWhy managers are the ones shaping workplace microculturesHow Marvell approaches responsible AI governance Connect with Eva Lehman on Social Media LinkedIn  Website  Eva’s employer, Marvell Technology   Check out all the episodes Leave a review on Apple Podcasts Connect with Meredith on LinkedIn

    381: Why Marvell Employees Actually Speak Up

  7. Jun 9

    380: Who’s Developing Human Judgment?

    AI can accelerate answers. But what happens when it weakens the development of judgment, critical thinking, and human connection? Jennifer May explores the growing pressure facing middle managers, the risks organizations face when relationship-building and professional development fall away, and why ethical culture depends on much more than policies and compliance training. Drawing on nearly 30 years in ethics and compliance leadership, Jennifer shares why she believes compliance is fundamentally a relationship business and how organizations can move from being the “office of no” to becoming strategic partners in building a healthy culture.  Jennifer also shares a powerful story from her university compliance work that shaped her “yes and” philosophy, revealing how trust, collaboration, and creative problem-solving can help organizations navigate difficult tensions without losing sight of innovation or integrity. This conversation is a timely exploration of leadership, accountability, AI, and the human skills organizations cannot afford to lose.  Jennifer founded May Solutions Group to help companies make ethics practical, human, and actionable. She helps organizations build systems that people actually trust by replacing complexity with clarity and making ethical decision-making easier in day-to-day work.  You’ll discover: Why AI may weaken judgment development The growing squeeze on middle managers Why compliance is a relationship business How ethical cultures are strengthened over time The “yes and” mindset that builds trustConnect with on Social Media LinkedIn  Website  May Consulting Group Check out all the episodes Leave a review on Apple Podcasts Connect with Meredith on LinkedIn

    380: Who’s Developing Human Judgment?

  8. Jun 2

    379: When Performance Replaces People

    What happens when organizations become so focused on speed, efficiency, and AI that they slowly lose sight of people? In this thought-provoking conversation, Dr. Kelly Monahan shares insights from her years studying the future of work inside organizations like Deloitte, Accenture, Meta, and Upwork. Drawing from her upcoming book, Reclaim the Plot, Kelly explains how leaders and organizations gradually “drift” away from the human purpose of work, often without realizing it.  We explore the pressures leaders face today, including complexity, investor expectations, technological disruption, burnout, and the temptation to prioritize performance over people. Kelly also shares a deeply personal story about recognizing her own leadership drift during the pandemic and the intentional steps she took to reconnect with her team. This conversation offers both a warning and a hopeful vision for leaders who want to strengthen human judgment, curiosity, wisdom, and principled leadership in an AI-driven world.  You’ll discover: Why leadership drift happens slowly and invisibly inside organizationsHow pressure, complexity, and exhaustion can cause leaders to lose empathy and perspectiveThe difference between using AI to augment people versus replace themPractical ways leaders can rebuild trust, psychological safety, and human connectionWhy curiosity and feedback are essential for avoiding leadership driftConnect with Kelly Monahan on Social Media LinkedIn Instagram Websites  Dr. Kelly Monahan Beyond the Desk  Book Reclaim the Plot – (release date September 2026) Check out all the episodes Leave a review on Apple Podcasts Connect with Meredith on LinkedIn

    379: When Performance Replaces People
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About

I’m fascinated by what it takes for leaders to live their values consistently, especially when it’s hard.  On the Grow Strong Leaders Podcast, I have candid conversations with senior executives who are sustaining principled leadership inside complex organizations. We explore how leadership capability, organizational systems, and the everyday decisions reinforce values.   Our discussions also explore what gets tested when pressure rises—and the personal guardrails leaders rely on to stay aligned.    If you believe values should guide real decisions—not just appear on the wall—you'll feel right at home here. 

Information

  • Creator
    Meredith Bell
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    386
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Grow Strong Leaders Podcast
  • Show Website
    Grow Strong Leaders Podcast