The Leadership Story Podcast

Lisa Jones
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Real Women, Real Leadership, Real Resilience! The Leadership Story is where real women share real leadership built on real resilience. Lisa Jones sits down with incredible women from every industry who have powerful stories about leadership. Through honest conversations with rising stars, seasoned executives, and the allies who champion women's success, this podcast helps you see your own experiences as the foundation for authentic leadership. leadershipstory.substack.com

  1. 3d ago

    The Leadership Story Live: Real Leadership in Real Time|EP25

    We’re celebrating one year of The Leadership Story with our first-ever live taping, recorded at DRJ Fall 2026 in Dallas. I sat down with Doniella McKoy, Sabeen Shamsi, and Emily Vizcaino, three resilience leaders I’ve worked alongside, for an honest conversation about leading when everything is on fire: what crisis leadership actually requires, what it costs to lead as yourself, and why the relationships you build before the crisis are the ones that carry you through it. The episode closes with the panel and the audience answering my signature question: what’s the one word that describes your leadership story, and why? Key Topics We Explored * Leading in a crisis: You don’t have to be Iron Man; curiosity, flexibility, and one priority at a time beat having every answer. * Relationships first: Build relationships on blue-sky days so you’re not trading business cards on gray-sky days. * BC has a marketing problem: Why BC is not DR, and why business continuity has a marketing problem. * The cost of leading as yourself: Finding your anchor and choosing the version of yourself that lets you sleep at night. * One word: Evolution, resilience, fellowship, and answers from the room. Join the Community! Work with Lisa: 1-on-1 strategy sessions (90 minutes) on leadership, and resilience. Book your session → https://cal.com/connectblackgirlcollc/strategy-session 🛒Shop the collection: Tools for The Story is live: https://black-girl-co.printify.me/ Year One sale: 30% off storewide through November 16, 2026, including The Story Tee and The Story Tumbler. Connect with Doniella, Sabeen, and Emily The Leadership Story Live resource page: https://leadershipstory.substack.com/p/drj-fall Continuity Coffee and Chat: first Thursday of the month at 8:15 a.m. and third Wednesday at 11 a.m. Eastern. Follow Doniella on LinkedIn for details. https://www.linkedin.com/events/continuitycoffee-chatatlanticno7520544023946661888/ Connect with Lisa · LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lisa-jones-mbcp-mbci-57872823 · Email: connect@leadershipstory.co Get full access to The Leadership Story at leadershipstory.substack.com/subscribe

    The Leadership Story Live: Real Leadership in Real Time|EP25

  2. Oct 19

    The New Rules of Career Resilience: Why Loyalty Isn't Enough Anymore | EP24

    After 13 and a half years at one company and more than 18 years in the chief of staff function, Jennifer Hanten learned the hard way that a great role at the wrong company comes with an expiration date. In this episode, Jenn shares what it was like to see a layoff coming, and then to hear “you’ve been impacted” on a call with half the organization. She explains why she now screens companies as carefully as they screen her, why “just network” falls apart once you’re on the outside, and why trust, not location, decides whether remote work succeeds. Her one word is empathy, and the alumni group she started after her layoff, now more than a thousand members strong, shows what that looks like in practice. Chapters 00:18 The Power of Leadership Stories 01:41 Introduction to Jennifer Hanten 02:27 Evaluating Organizations: Culture, Severance, and the Warning Signs of Change 12:18 The Challenge of Applying for Executive Roles 18:03 Building Relationships and Networking for Success 22:09 Networking, Sponsorship, and the Benefits of Remote Work 23:53 The Benefits of Remote Work 28:11 Leading Women Effectively in Remote Work Environments 34:40 Empathy as a Leadership Quality Join the Community! Work with Lisa: 1-on-1 strategy sessions (90 minutes) on leadership, and resilience. Book your session → https://cal.com/connectblackgirlcollc/strategy-session Shop the collection: The BCCo Collection: https://black-girl-co.printify.me/ Connect with Jennifer Hanten LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jennhanten0423 Hanten Woodworking: www.hantenwoodworking.com Connect with Lisa LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lisa-jones-mbcp-mbci-57872823 Email: connect@leadershipstory.co Get full access to The Leadership Story at leadershipstory.substack.com/subscribe

    The New Rules of Career Resilience: Why Loyalty Isn't Enough Anymore | EP24

  3. Oct 5

    The Cost of Capacity: Stop Goal Setting on Autopilot & Prevent Leader Burnout | EP23

    Autopilot makes high-achievers look productive while quietly draining their time, energy, and health. If you are heading into planning season feeling busy but not fully in control, Lisa Jones is asking the question most people skip: what did this year really cost you? Lisa breaks down how easy it is to confuse momentum with intention, especially when your calendar is packed with other people’s priorities, goals set to impress, and yeses you would never choose again. She shows why the real danger is not overworking alone, it is failing to count the hidden price of the wins. Key Topics We Explored * Autopilot Feels Like Productivity: Same meetings, same responses, same goals we can’t remember by March. * Every Yes Is Spent From Somewhere: The extra projects, committees, and quick favors we never planned for, and why no is a full sentence. * Goals Set to Impress: Why a goal you set for someone else’s approval is the easiest one to walk away from. * Burnout Lands Hardest on Women: What McKinsey & LeanIn.Org’s Women in the Workplace 2025 report and Gallup’s 2025 data show about burnout and responsibility. * 4 Questions to Close the Year: Count the costs, find where you went into debt, notice what you wouldn’t do again, and check the balance before you spend it. Chapters 01:11 Year-End Reflections and Goal Setting 05:58 The Cost of Saying Yes 10:40 Counting the Costs of Accomplishments Join the Community! Work with Lisa: 1-on-1 strategy sessions (90 minutes) on leadership, and resilience. Book your session → https://cal.com/connectblackgirlcollc/strategy-session • Shop the collection: Tools for The Story is live: https://black-girl-co.printify.me/ Connect with Lisa • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lisa-jones-mbcp-mbci-57872823 • Email: connect@leadershipstory.co Resources Companion article from Substack Before You Plan Next Year, Count What This One Cost You McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.Org, Women in the Workplace 2025, https://womenintheworkplace.com/ Gallup 2025 leader burnout data, https://www.gallup.com/workplace/702881/women-show-stronger-employee-engagement-amid-higher-burnout.aspx Get full access to The Leadership Story at leadershipstory.substack.com/subscribe

    The Cost of Capacity: Stop Goal Setting on Autopilot & Prevent Leader Burnout | EP23

  4. Sep 21

    90 Days: Why We Pivot Too Soon and Hold On Too Long | EP22

    The same number kept finding Lisa: 90 days. A women’s organization told members to wait 90 days before they pivot. Online ads promised a new life in 90 days. A pastor at a revival said the next 90 days is where it turns. Same number, opposite advice. In this solo episode, Lisa explains why both camps miss the point. Ninety days isn’t about speed. It’s how long it takes to get a real answer instead of a feeling. She walks through the two ways we get it wrong, leaving too early and staying too late, and why neither one looks at the evidence. She closes with one assignment: name one thing, give it 90 days, and decide how you’ll measure it. Key Topics We Explored * Two opposite rules: Why “transform in 90 days” and “wait 90 days” can’t both be the rule. * Pivoting too soon: Perfectionism, comparison, and releasing work before the data has time to arrive. * Discomfort isn’t data: How fear of rejection passes itself off as a strategy decision. * Staying too long: When holding on looks like commitment but is avoidance. * 90 days in organizations: How consulting work moves a company from “we want to be” to “we are.” * Your one thing: Naming it, measuring it, and giving it a real window. Chapters 00:00 The Power of 90 Days 01:19 Revealing Hidden Insights 01:50 Navigating the 90-Day Dilemma 09:30 The Power of 90 Days in Personal Growth 10:55 Unveiling What’s Hidden 11:22 The Power of 90 Days Commitment Join the Community! Subscribe to Substack: leadershipstory.substack.com · Follow on Instagram: @theleadershipstory Work with Lisa: 1-on-1 strategy sessions (90 minutes) on leadership, and resilience. Book your session → https://cal.com/connectblackgirlcollc/strategy-session Shop the Black Girl Co collection: https://black-girl-co.printify.me/ Connect with Lisa LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lisa-jones-mbcp-mbci-57872823 Email: connect@leadershipstory.co Get full access to The Leadership Story at leadershipstory.substack.com/subscribe

    90 Days: Why We Pivot Too Soon and Hold On Too Long | EP22

  5. Sep 8

    Midlife Career Change: Giving Yourself Permission | EP21

    Lisa Jones sits down with career coach, speaker, and learning and development facilitator Kay Kirkman to unpack why so many people feel stuck in careers that no longer fit, especially in midlife. Kay shares how her own nontraditional path, broadcast journalism background, and experience getting fired from her dream radio job shaped the way she now helps people reimagine work and reclaim the parts of themselves they set aside. Key Topics We Explored * Permission to Dream: Why giving yourself permission matters more than having a practical plan. * Identity Over Job Title: Why the real block in midlife is identity, not ability. * Reclaiming Dormant Selves: Reinvention as returning to the versions of you left in the basement. * Making Time with Intention: Finding the hour a week your dream needs, honestly. * Framing Your Vision: Kay’s first coaching step, getting quiet before getting a plan. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Leadership and Resilience 03:00 The Journey into Career Coaching 05:52 Permission to Dream 08:34 Breaking the Cycle of Career Expectations 11:40 The Birth of the Gen X Career Show 15:59 Relaunching the Podcast: A New Focus 20:57 Identity and Career Transitions 21:58 Reclaiming Our True Selves 28:14 Finding Time for Personal Growth 35:16 The Journey to Coaching 37:17 Defining Leadership Through Resilience 39:43 Reclaiming Your True Self Join the Community! Work with Lisa: 1-on-1 strategy sessions (90 minutes) on leadership, and resilience. Book your session → https://cal.com/connectblackgirlcollc/strategy-session Shop the collection: Tools for The Story is live: https://black-girl-co.printify.me/ Connect with Kay Podcast: The GenX Career Show https://pod.link/1530650736 Website: www.kirkmancommunications.com Midlife Reinvention roadmap: https://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/2514632/193188166691194183/share Email: kay@kaykirkman.com Connect with Lisa LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lisa-jones-mbcp-mbci-57872823 Email: connect@leadershipstory.co Get full access to The Leadership Story at leadershipstory.substack.com/subscribe

    Midlife Career Change: Giving Yourself Permission | EP21

  6. Aug 17

    The Surplus Problem: What Burnout Is Really Costing High-Performing Women | EP20

    Burnout does not come from having too little. It comes from gathering more than the day requires. In this solo episode, Lisa Jones revisits the story of manna and surplus through a resilience lens links it to one word: capacity. She shares how a routine walk helped her identify her own burnout, clarifies the difference from stress, and explains why the surplus we keep carrying has a real cost. Supported by research on the invisible work women absorb, the hours lost to low-value tasks, and why women are taught to carry more in the first place, this episode gives you the next move after naming your depletion: figure out what today actually requires and stop gathering past it. Key Topics Explored * The manna principle: why the rule was not just gather daily, but do not store it up. * Stress versus burnout: stress is load, burnout is load beyond capacity, and rest is not the answer * Over-gathering as the hidden load: saying yes to everything you can do without asking whether you have room for it. * The single point of failure: why the thing you would flag in a client’s assessment is the thing you call reliability in your own life. * The supply you don’t count: how the small things that fill you are the source of the capacity you spend everywhere else. * “The No Club”: women spend roughly 200 more hours a year than men on work nobody gets promoted for. * What just enough is not: sufficiency as a higher standard, not a lower one. * Employee Assistance Programs: why a wellness program can’t fix a capacity problem. * The assignment: what does today actually require? Chapters 0:00 Manna: Not Scarcity, Surplus 2:20 When Burnout Finally Had a Name 4:05 Stress Is Not Burnout 9:48 Over-Gathering and the Cost of Being Reliable 13:30 The Supply You Don’t Count 18:00 The No Club: 200 Hours a Year 21:49 What Just Enough Actually Looks Like 25:10 If You Run a Team 27:21 Stockpiling Is Not Redundancy 28:22 The Assignment: What Does Today Require? 30:30 Work with Me: One-on-One Strategy Sessions Join the Community! Work with Lisa: 1-on-1 strategy sessions (90 minutes) on capacity, leadership, and resilience. Book your session → https://cal.com/connectblackgirlcollc/strategy-session Shop the collection: Tools for The Story is live: https://black-girl-co.printify.me/ Read the companion newsletter — Strategy, Unscripted: “You Can’t Scale Yourself on Empty“ Connect with Lisa: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lisa-jones-mbcp-mbci-57872823 Email: Connect@leadershipstory.com Sources: Read the companion newsletter — Strategy, Unscripted: “You Can’t Scale Yourself on Empty Babcock, Peyser, Vesterlund & Weingart, The No Club (research coverage, 2022) https://noclub.com McKinsey survey on recognition of collaborative work https://womenintheworkplace.com/2021 Eagle Hill Consulting employee survey, March 2025 https://www.eaglehillconsulting.com/news/workers-say-they-regularly-spend-time-on-low-value-inefficient-tasks/ Get full access to The Leadership Story at leadershipstory.substack.com/subscribe

    The Surplus Problem: What Burnout Is Really Costing High-Performing Women | EP20

  7. Aug 3

    Self-Care as Leadership: Boundaries and Reclaiming You | EP19

    Elethia S. Gay explains why self-care is a core strategic decision for high performance, focusing on setting boundaries and converting fear into courage. Originally released earlier this year, and back in the feed for a reason. Elethia makes an argument that reframes the whole conversation: your body is one member. It travels with you into every role, every goal, every promotion — which means health goals and career goals were never two separate lists. They are one vision for who you are becoming. This conversation sets up the new episode releasing August 17. Key Topics We Explored * Why self-care is strategy, not recovery and what it costs to treat it as the thing you get to afterward. * Your body is one member: why work-life balance splits something that was never actually separate. * Being in love with yourself; not selfishly, but strategically and how that changes what you bring into a role. * Why the oxygen mask metaphor breaks down when you have already waited too long to put it on. * Start with one thing, not seven resolutions, and how to find the one thing that is actually the roadblock. * Getting to the source rather than the symptom: if your feet hurt, the problem is not your discipline. * Rest, spirituality, and surrender as the practical foundation underneath sustainable leadership. * Roots to Wellness and Hiking for Hope: building community and self-expression out of hard seasons. * The signature question: the one word Elethia uses to define her leadership story. Chapters 00:00 - Why I Am Bringing This Episode Back 00:57 - Welcome: Self-Care Is Not Separate From Your Strategy 02:16 - Meet Elethia Gay 03:12 - How We Met: A Birthday Party and a Beyoncé Song 04:24 - The Leadership Journey: Training Manager to Wellness Coach 05:49 - Mom, Tony Little, and the Seed That Got Planted 08:29 - Walking Into the Room That Felt Like It Was For Everyone Else 09:24 - The Spin Class Moment: Why Not You? 13:05 - Roots to Wellness: Journaling as Self-Expression 16:03 - Hiking for Hope: Turning Loss Into a Mission 21:36 - The Shift: Why Health Goals and Career Goals Are the Same Goal 22:24 - Your Body Is One Member 24:19 - Be In Love With Yourself 25:09 - Why Women Put Themselves Last 26:12 - Getting Practical: Where to Actually Start 27:05 - Rest, Spirituality, and Surrender 31:16 - Choose One Thing, Not Seven Resolutions 33:31 - “I Do Not Have Time for Self-Care” 35:46 - The Signature Question: Be Unafraid 36:45 - Where to Find Elethia 38:15 - Closing Reflection Join the Community: Subscribe on Substack for exclusive content: leadershipstory.substack.com Now on YouTube: @LeadershipStoryPodcast Shop the collection: Tools for The Story is live: https://black-girl-co.printify.me/ Connect with Elethia: Follow on Instagram: @elethiagay Website: elethiagay.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/elethiagaycoach Hiking for Hope: hikes supporting domestic abuse survivors Book: Roots to Wellness — self-expression journal Connect with Lisa: Follow on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lisa-jones-mbcp-mbci-57872823 Email: connect@leadershipstory.co Get full access to The Leadership Story at leadershipstory.substack.com/subscribe

    Self-Care as Leadership: Boundaries and Reclaiming You | EP19

  8. Jul 20

    How to Lead, Mentor, and Manage Up |EP18

    Kate Lunger, Director of Workforce Initiatives at the Philadelphia Energy Authority, leads programs that expand equitable career pathways for adult learners, re-entry individuals, and marginalized youth in clean energy. In this conversation, she and Lisa talk about what it takes to lead a young team, providing structure without stifling growth, addressing conflict in real time instead of letting it linger, and teaching people the difference between something being personal and something just being the job. Kate also opens up about leading as a woman, and specifically as a Black woman, in spaces where her leadership has been questioned or under-valued and what it looks like to keep going anyway. She traces her own path through learning challenges, the sudden loss of someone she loved during undergrad, raising a son through grad school, and a stretch of unemployment, to the leadership style she brings to her team today: direction paired with motivation, real talk paired with real support. This is a conversation about perseverance that doesn’t sugarcoat the cost of it and about what it means to keep showing up for your people even when no one is asking what you need. Key Topics We Explored * Leadership as direction plus motivation: Kate’s approach centers on giving her team clear direction while actively motivating them toward growth, not just task completion. * Structure in nonprofit spaces: how Kate builds structure and accountability in an environment that can otherwise feel looser than corporate — without losing the flexibility that makes nonprofit work valuable. * Leading a young team through reactivity: teaching a generation that’s grown up reactive how to pause, document their feelings, and respond intentionally instead of firing off the first email. * Women leading differently: Kate’s take on how women lead with more compassion and nurture, and the added weight of being underestimated or intimidating as a woman — and a Black woman — in leadership. * Managing up: what it looks like to lead a team while also having to educate and humble the leadership above you. Chapters 01:16 Kate Lunger: Leadership and Mentorship 07:05 Women’s Leadership and Nonprofit Culture 15:22 Leading a Young Team with Structure 24:22 Helping a Team Grow and Thrive 28:37 Resilience, Confidence, and Adversity 38:47 Perseverance: Kate’s Leadership Story 43:52 Closing and How to Connect 44:51 The Journey of Perseverance 45:32 Leadership Through Adversity Join the Community! Subscribe on Substack for exclusive content: 🚨Now on YouTube: @LeadershipStoryPodcast🚨 Subscribe to Substack: leadershipstory.substack.com Follow on Instagram: @theleadershipstory Shop the collection: Tools for The Story is live: https://black-girl-co.printify.me/ Connect with Kate: Follow on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kate-lungerEmail: lungerkate@gmail.com Connect with Lisa Follow on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lisa-jones Email: connect@leadershipstory.co Get full access to The Leadership Story at leadershipstory.substack.com/subscribe

    How to Lead, Mentor, and Manage Up |EP18
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5
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Real Women, Real Leadership, Real Resilience! The Leadership Story is where real women share real leadership built on real resilience. Lisa Jones sits down with incredible women from every industry who have powerful stories about leadership. Through honest conversations with rising stars, seasoned executives, and the allies who champion women's success, this podcast helps you see your own experiences as the foundation for authentic leadership. leadershipstory.substack.com

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