Ace of Pentacles

Sara Mirza
  • 5.0 (8)
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  • Updated Weekly

A career strategy and workplace wellness podcast. This is Ace of Pentacles, your career strategy and workplace wellness podcast. Join me, your host Sara, every week as we investigate 🕵🏻‍♀️ how people design 📐 and discover 🧭 their way to a fulfilling career. Together, we'll: 👩🏻‍🔬 explore the science of wellbeing at work 💡and discover tools and strategies ✨ to help us be well 🧠 and do well 🚀.

  1. Ep. 35 | Beyond Psychological Safety with Dr. Claire Green-Forde

    May 31

    Ep. 35 | Beyond Psychological Safety with Dr. Claire Green-Forde

    In this conversation with Dr. Claire Green-Ford, we explore what psychological safety requires, why safety is experienced differently across identity and role, and how leaders can create cultures that honor people's humanity, boundaries, contributions, and well-being. Dr. Claire Green-Forde, LCSW—The Culture & Well-Being Architect™—is a mental health executive, leadership strategist, transformational speaker, and Founder & CEO of Dr. Claire SPEAKS!™. Her strategic advisory and thought leadership firm partners with senior leaders and executives across high-impact organizations, including healthcare systems and social impact institutions. With more than 20 years of experience across behavioral health, healthcare, government, and mission-driven systems, Dr. Claire works at the intersection of leadership, organizational culture, and well-being. She helps leaders address the root causes of workplace harm by examining leadership behaviors, power dynamics, and how culture and policy are operationalized day to day. Through keynotes, leadership development workshops, and short-term strategic advisement, she blends neuroscience, research, human behavior insight, and systems-level strategy to help leaders build trust, strengthen teams, improve retention, reduce organizational risk, and drive innovation and profitability. Guided by her proprietary L.E.A.D. with C.A.R.E.™ framework and the belief that Work Shouldn't Hurt™, her mission is to help leaders build workplaces worthy of the people inside of them™. Company Website: www.drclairespeaks.com LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-claire-green-forde/ IG: @dr.clairespeaks

    47 min
  2. Ep. 34 | The Leadership Rehearsal Room with Donnacadh O'Briain

    May 11

    Ep. 34 | The Leadership Rehearsal Room with Donnacadh O'Briain

    Many people talk about leadership theoretically. We also tend to teach it as if it were a theory. But leadership is a practice and a hard one to master. In this episode, I chat with someone who is helping people learn leadership as a practice, not just ideas, step-by-step guides, and frameworks. Donnacadh O'Briain is an Olivier and Offie Award-winning Director and creative leader working all across the Experience Economy, with a 20-year habit of delivering exceptional results. An expert in story and narrative, he works extensively as a creative director & strategist as well as a writer, narrative designer and experience designer. His career has seen me leading on everything from musicals and West End Comedy, to large scale attractions for families, to creating innovative learning projects for major companies and educational institutions. With a diverse list of partners and clients that runs across several industries and includes the likes of The Royal Shakespeare Company, Asahi, Wells Fargo and Hasbro. You can connect with Donnacadh on LinkedIn.

    50 min
  3. Comparison Culture

    May 4 ·  Bonus

    Comparison Culture

    As we grow up, we intentionally leave behind traditions that don't suit us. We might reject holidays, rituals, belief systems, and even language that we grew up with.  But we carry something with us our whole lives that our parents unknowingly gift us: the habit of comparison. And we'll abandon the rituals that seem outdated, but we won't abandon the outdated comparison scripts.  So we move through our lives measuring ourselves against others, weighing our joy, our success, our worth against someone else's story. In this episode I share a story of something I observed at a park that got me thinking about when and why we start comparing ourselves and our lives to those around us.

    5 min
  4. Ep. 33 | Designing a Magical Life, One Move at a Time with Leon Simmonds

    Apr 14

    Ep. 33 | Designing a Magical Life, One Move at a Time with Leon Simmonds

    In this episode, we explore what it means to approach life and career with a sense of play, creativity, and intention. Joined by a magician and board game designer, we dive into the idea of life as a game - one that can be redesigned to create more joy, meaning, and "magical moments" in everyday experiences. We talk about how creativity naturally ebbs and flows, practical ways to reconnect with creativity when it feels out of reach, and how small shifts in perspective can transform the way you work, live, and create. This conversation is an invitation to stop simply going through the motions and start actively designing a life that feels engaging, expansive, and fun. Visit questinyboardgame.com to join the adventure!

    41 min
  5. Lemons

    Mar 28 ·  Bonus

    Lemons

    In this episode, I share the story of an unexpected career move I made—hesitantly—during a challenging season of life. What I thought was a temporary thing ended up being the most beneficial move of my career. In this short bonus episode, I share the mindset and perspective that got me through it and propelled my career for the next decade to places I could not have ever imagined. If there's one thing I hope to inspire people to do more of, it's this: Lean into the uncomfortable, surprising, even disorienting life moments. Know that everything that is happening to you is actually happening for you.

    12 min
  6. Ep. 32 | The Spirit Dance & The Survival Dance with Dave Doetsch

    Mar 22

    Ep. 32 | The Spirit Dance & The Survival Dance with Dave Doetsch

    Dave Doetsch is a partner with the Wizard of Ads; also C.O.O. of Mid-West Family of Companies. One of my podcast invitations landed in Dave's hands via Jeff Nixa - a Shamanic Practitioner we met on episode 7. In this episode, Dave talks about a frame through which he's learned to see life and work - the survival dance and the spirit dance. We talk about what each of these are, what it means to trade one for the other, and how Dave has found a way to balance both. He gives us practical tools and strategies to deepen our connection to the spirit dance and find the right balance to support both our inner world and our outer world. Connect with Dave: LinkedIn: in/david-doetsch-a860091 Instagram: @shark0423 Website: https://wizardofads.org/partner/dave-doetsch/

    44 min
  7. Life Design & the Power of Imagination

    Mar 17 ·  Bonus

    Life Design & the Power of Imagination

    In this episode, I share a practice that gives you a sense of some of the work I do with clients that weaves together energetic practices with practical tools we use to design our lives. I ask you to hold this question as you listen to this short bonus episode: What if there's a version of you designing your life looking back? Through this activity, we play in our imaginations using our creativity to rethink not only possibilities for the future but the path that led us to this very moment. I hope you enjoy it! ❤️ Sara

    14 min
  8. Ep. 31 | From Fear to Creative Freedom with Devon Montgomery Pasha

    Mar 10

    Ep. 31 | From Fear to Creative Freedom with Devon Montgomery Pasha

    Devon M. Pasha, CMP, CED, is an Experience Engineer, event emcee, storyteller, and adjunct professor whose work sits at the intersection of creativity, confidence, and connection. After a transformative experience at the College of Extraordinary Experiences in Poland, Devon stepped into her calling — helping people feel seen, energized, and inspired through the power of story and intentional experience design. A Certified Event Designer and recognized Eventex Top 100 Influential Leader, Devon has become known as the "Lady in Red," bringing presence, warmth, and strategic insight to stages across the industry. She is the creator of the SPARK Method, a transformative approach that empowers audiences to harness storytelling, presence, and resonance in their own lives and organizations. Devon teaches Event Design and Strategic Thinking at UTRGV and runs DMP Creative, where she designs experiences that spark change and create lasting impact.  In this conversation, we talk about: - Transformative experiences that led Devon to finding her own voice - Reframing fear - The importance of mentorship - Building a career rooted in joy and authenticity - Parenting and role modeling career wellbeing for children You can learn more about Devon and her work at:  https://www.dmpcreative.llc/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/devon-montgomery-pasha-cmp-ced/  Instagram: @dmpcreativellc

    57 min
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5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

A career strategy and workplace wellness podcast. This is Ace of Pentacles, your career strategy and workplace wellness podcast. Join me, your host Sara, every week as we investigate 🕵🏻‍♀️ how people design 📐 and discover 🧭 their way to a fulfilling career. Together, we'll: 👩🏻‍🔬 explore the science of wellbeing at work 💡and discover tools and strategies ✨ to help us be well 🧠 and do well 🚀.

Information

  • Creator
    Sara Mirza
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    48
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2024
  • Show Website
    Ace of Pentacles