Real Talk: Leadership Lessons from the Field

Audrey George Consulting
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Real Talk connects current and future leaders to learn key lessons from each other. Episodes bring together two perspectives: a seasoned leader who shares their experience and an aspiring leader seeking to grow and make their mark. Episodes are hosted and moderated by Audrey George who conceived of this platform to accomplish three goals: 1. Learning practical lessons from current leaders 2. Empowering future leaders 3. Enabling communication between generations

  1. Real Talk: Leadership Lessons from the Field Episode 12 Bill Forsyth and Bolu Johnson

    07/09/2025

    Real Talk: Leadership Lessons from the Field Episode 12 Bill Forsyth and Bolu Johnson

    How have you chosen who you want to work with? Whether you were starting out in your first job or establishing a new business partnership, what indicators did you use to select the team that you wanted to be a part of? Bill Forsyth and Bolu Johnson share their strategies formaking these decisions in the latest episode of Real Talk: Leadership Lessons from the Field. We discuss the importance of choosing the right people towork with and the value of a growth mindset to enable you to learn as much as possible from others. We also consider the balance needed between a leader's role in establishing the vision for an organization and the importance of remaining flexible and including knowledge and input from others on your path to reaching your goals. Take a listen to hear about these topics and more. Manythanks to Bill and Bolu for their thoughtful insights!

    46 min
  2. Real Talk: Leadership Lessons from the Field Episode 11 Kent Barnett and Chanita Jones

    06/24/2025

    Real Talk: Leadership Lessons from the Field Episode 11 Kent Barnett and Chanita Jones

    Have you ever wondered how leaders sift through the competing demands on their time and decide where to focus? Or how they make decisions, even when they don't have asmuch information as they would like? In the latest episode of Real Talk: Leadership Lessons fromthe Field, we cover these topics plus how to fail with grace, when leaders should trust their instincts (spoiler alert – the answer is always!), and more. Many thanks to Kent Barnett, CEO of Performativ and serial entrepreneur, and to Chanita Jones, who is a Teacher, Leader and new entrepreneur, for sharing their time and insights in this compelling conversation.

    33 min
  3. Real Talk: Leadership Lessons from the Field Episode 10 Taal Hasak-Lowy and Yadira Estrada

    06/03/2025

    Real Talk: Leadership Lessons from the Field Episode 10 Taal Hasak-Lowy and Yadira Estrada

    In this episode of Real Talk: Leadership Lessons from the Field, I am pleased to introduce cohost Yadira Estrada, a research fellow in the Psychology department at the University of Pittsburgh, and our special guest Taal Hasak-Lowy, the Executive Director of Friends of the Children.   Yadira is in the process of exploring her career path and choosing her next step, a critical point that so many of us have experienced. Our conversation explored various avenues for achieving her goals and how she can frame her options and consider her next step.   Yadira brought up her quest to balance confidence and humility, and Taal challenged her to be bold and openly share the unique skills she brings to her workplace without selling herself short.   We had a rich discussion about the value of providing honest feedback in the workplace and how to know if you are in a safe setting where counterpoints and new ideas can be shared. Taal and I shared strategies we have used to giveand receive feedback in ways that can enrich organizations.   Watch or listen to learn about the above topics plus Yadira's hopes for her career and Taal’s strategy for countering the negative voice in your head and enhancing the positive voice.

    44 min
  4. Real Talk: Leadership Lesson from the Field Episode 9 Dr. Kristine Lombardozzi and Jaime Barajas

    05/20/2025

    Real Talk: Leadership Lesson from the Field Episode 9 Dr. Kristine Lombardozzi and Jaime Barajas

    In today's episode of Real Talk: Leadership Lessons fromthe Field, I am thrilled to introduce Dr. Kristine Lombardozzi and Jaime Barajas to discuss transitioning into that first job out of college and looking ahead towards a future career. We talked about the importance of staying open-mindedearly in your career and trying as many new things as possible. As Kristine put it, “Go all in where you are and trust that you will find the right path.” We discussed the importance of identifying specificskills and competencies that you want to develop and seeking out opportunities expand your skill set and demonstrate a growth mindset. We also talked about takingnote of the things that you are not interested in and using those lessons to help hone your career path. Kristine and I could both relate to Jaime’s feeling ofbeing overwhelmed with all the options ahead of him and trying to figure out the right steps. We both remember being in our first jobs and wanting to have it all figured out but reassured Jaime that he has plenty of time to discernhis future. Many thanks to Jaime and Christine for this importantconversation!

    27 min
  5. Real Talk: Leadership Lesson from the Field Episode 8 Matt Kueker and Apurva Bhagali

    05/13/2025

    Real Talk: Leadership Lesson from the Field Episode 8 Matt Kueker and Apurva Bhagali

    In this episode of Real Talk: Leadership Lessons from theField, I am excited to introduce Matt Kueker, CEO of Kenway Consulting, and Apurva Bhagali, Program Manager at Microsoft. Matt and Apurva are both immersed in the technology field in different ways, which enabled a robust conversation about the various paths that rising leaders can take in their careers. Matt and Apurva have had very different career trajectories, demonstrating how each of us can find our own way and end up exactly where we're supposed to be. Beyond the discussion about working in the technology field,Matt and Apurva provided helpful insights into key strategies for rising leaders from any industry. They shared their approaches to networking with other leaders, their strategies for choosing how to focus their time, and the steps they take to develop themselves and others. We also discussed the benefits of working in small andmid-size versus large enterprise organizations. Each has different advantages that rising leaders should consider when determining the type of organization that is the best fit for them. Take a listen to hear about these topics and more, includingMatt's view on the importance of humility in leadership and Apurva’s thoughts on being authentic and on demonstrating your value. Many thanks to Matt and Apurva for sharing these valuablelessons!

    50 min
  6. Real Talk: Leadership Lessons from the Field Episode 7 Brenda Asare and Chanita Jones

    04/29/2025

    Real Talk: Leadership Lessons from the Field Episode 7 Brenda Asare and Chanita Jones

    In this episode, I am thrilled to introduce Brenda Asare, President and CEO of The Alford Group and Chanita Jones, who identifies as a Teacher, Speaker, Liberator, and new Entrepreneur. They both have unique stories and career trajectories that illustrate uncommon options that rising leaders should consider when exploring their own career paths.   Brenda spent 10 years working her way up at The Alford Group before ultimately buying the company from its previous owner. She brings a unique perspective to leadership development, and we had a candid conversation around practicalities of business ownership as well as differences between leading and owning a company. I have known Chanita as an exceptional special education leader and powerful public speaker, and I was thrilled to see her expand into owning her own business as well. She is leveraging her leadership in special education to push for changes that need to be made to best serve diverse learners. Both Brenda and Chanita are largely driven by their passion and commitment to making a difference in the community. They also share a love of learning and a growth mindset that have served them well in their careers. Take a listen to hear about these topics plus learning to recognize when leaders should let their teams operate without them and options for funding a company launch or purchase. Many thanks to Brenda and Chanita for sharing so many important insights!

    44 min

  7. 04/22/2025

    Real Talk: Leadership Lessons from the Field Episode 6: Kendall Mallette and Jamarius Jennings

    In this episode of real talk, I am happy to introduce ourspecial guest Kendall Mallette, who is an education leader, coach, and community leader along with my co-host Jamarius Jennings, a nonprofit professional, coach, and community leader in his own right. Our conversation focused on the idea of leadership as aform of service. Both Kendall and Jamarius are servant leaders, and their careers have both been mission focused. As Kendall put it, she believes it is imperative to tap into your passion and your purpose to be the most effectiveleader you can be. We also discussed the importance of understanding yourselfand the type of leader you are. Knowing yourself lets you build on passion and purpose to tap into your authenticity, which is where you can be the highest and most effective version of yourself. Watch or listen to hear about these topics as well as Kendall'sadvice on controlling what you can and creating your own peace, and the life mantra that's Jamarius lives by that he learned from his grandmother at a youngage.

    38 min

  8. 04/15/2025

    Real Talk: Episode 5 Mindy Rapp and Destiny Lara

    In this episode of Real Talk, I am happy to introduce Mindy Rapp, Chief Operating Officer of Standard Iron &Wire Works and Destiny Lara, a Civil Engineer at Burns and McDonnell. We had an insightful conversation about a number of topics including the importance of establishing trust, the value of feedback, and the lessons that we can learn from exposing ourselves to new challenges, like when Mindy moved to new places to learn different cultures and when Destiny elevated her work when day-to-day  tasks were getting easier and she started to get comfortable.  I was especially impressed with both Mindy and Destiny’s approach to feedback. Mindy sees feedback as agift to help others grow and believes deeply in providing those growth opportunities. She talked about the importance of building trust with her team and how she is mindful about how she delivers feedback, taking time to plan for those conversations in advance. Destiny shared her initial fear of feedback when she first started her career, which so many of us feel, but she learned quickly that when her managers and coworkers were giving her feedback it showed that they wanted her to grow. As a result of that understanding, she haslearned to be vulnerable and accept feedback in the spirit in which it is intended.   Take a listen to hear about these topics as well as the importance of mentoring and advocacy, Destiny’sthoughts on how to approach work in her twenties, and Mindy’s mantra, “There is more to life than…”.   Many thanks to Mindy and Destiny for their thoughtful input.

    38 min
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Real Talk connects current and future leaders to learn key lessons from each other. Episodes bring together two perspectives: a seasoned leader who shares their experience and an aspiring leader seeking to grow and make their mark. Episodes are hosted and moderated by Audrey George who conceived of this platform to accomplish three goals: 1. Learning practical lessons from current leaders 2. Empowering future leaders 3. Enabling communication between generations

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