Small Brave Moves

Nicole M. Bianchi
  • 4.9 (17)
  • Management
  • Updated Weekly

Learn how to be braver in leadership and in life for exceptional results with Master Certified Executive Coach, Best Selling Author, and Certified Speaking Professional, Nicole M. Bianchi. Small Brave Moves is a podcast for mid-level to c-suite leaders who own their growth and development, know there is always room for improvement, and are ready to start making the Small Brave Moves to achieve their goals, unlock their full potential, and lead with confidence, clarity, and authenticity. 

  1. Aug 26

    Brave Leadership Can Backfire: Here's Why You Should Practice It Anyway

    Most leaders only talk about the brave moves that worked. The ones with clean endings, obvious lessons, and rooms full of people nodding.  In this episode of the Small Brave Moves Podcast keynote speaker and leadership expert Nicole Bianchi gets honest about a brave move she made that didn't go the way she hoped even when she thought she did everything right. And it cost her something real. Not because it was the wrong move. Because bravery was never a guarantee of a good outcome. It's a discipline. And disciplines don't promise results. They promise practice.  Nicole makes the case that bravery isn't a personality trait some people were handed at birth and the rest have to hope for. It's built one ordinary Tuesday at a time, when nothing is on fire and no one is watching, long before the big moment arrives.  She names the thing most bravery conversations leave out entirely: no matter how courageous you are, how thoroughly you prepare, or how good your intentions are, you cannot control how another person responds. The outcome was never yours to own. Which means the conquer yourself work doesn't end when the brave move is made. It begins again on the other side of it — in how you process what happened, what you do with what it cost you, and whether you stay with the practice anyway.  This episode is for every leader who made the move, paid the price, and is quietly wondering whether it was worth it. This episode answers three questions: What does bravery as a discipline actually look like in practice on the days it works and the days it doesn't? What are the three rules of the bravery practice that hold even when the outcome doesn't go the way you hoped?How do you Conquer Yourself on the other side of a brave move that cost you something real and keep building the practice anyway?The move you didn't make is always more expensive than the one you did — even when the one you made cost you something real. This episode is proof. Work with Nicole Bianchi⬇️ 🎤Book Nicole Bianchi as your next keynote speaker 🏅Hire Nicole Bianchi to coach you or your team 📖Check out Nicole Bianchi's books, Small Brave Moves and Five Tough Talks Find Nicole Bianchi👇 LinkedIn Small Brave Mondays Newsletter

  2. Aug 12

    You've Earned It, Now Ask For It: The Ask Every Leader Has Been Avoiding

    There is an ask sitting in your head right now that belongs in a room. You know exactly what it is. The only question is how much longer you're going to let the rehearsal replace the conversation. In this episode of the Small Brave Moves Podcast, Nicole Bianchi gets to the heart of why senior leaders sit on their most important asks for months — sometimes years — and why the problem is almost never about finding the right words. It's about confronting the internal voice that has been quietly convincing you that you haven't earned it yet, that a no would mean something about you, or that a yes would mean you actually have to become the person you've been rehearsing to be. The conversation you've been avoiding isn't primarily about the other person in the room. It's a self-leadership moment — and the hardest ask you'll ever make is the one you have to make to yourself first. You'll leave this episode knowing: The three reasons leaders keep their most important asks stuck in their heads — and how to identify which one is yoursWhy the ask you've been avoiding is a self-leadership problem before it's a communication oneHow to distill what you actually want into one clear sentence — and why that single step changes everythingThe ask doesn't get easier with more time. More time just makes the rehearsal more comfortable. Let Nicole know you're interested in attending a future Brave LeadHERship Retreat👇 Join the waitlist Work with Nicole Bianchi⬇️ 🎤Book Nicole Bianchi as your next keynote speaker 🏅Hire Nicole Bianchi to coach you or your team 📖Check out Nicole Bianchi's books, Small Brave Moves and Five Tough Talks Find Nicole Bianchi👇 LinkedIn Small Brave Mondays Newsletter

  3. Aug 5

    Nice vs. Kind: The Leadership Distinction That Changes Everything

    Being nice damages your leadership. Being kind strengthens it. There's a difference.  In this episode of the Small Brave Moves Podcast, Nicole Bianchi draws a line that most leaders have never been taught to see: the difference between being nice and being kind.  Nice is a performance. Kind is a stance. And the two feel similar enough from the inside that most leaders spend years — sometimes entire careers — confusing one for the other. Nicole gets honest about the real cost of softening feedback, delaying hard conversations, and telling yourself you're protecting people when you're actually just protecting your own comfort. She walks through the signs that a leader has crossed from kind into nice, why teams who are never told the truth end up blindsided at the worst possible moments, and what changes when leaders finally start asking the right question before every hard conversation. You'll leave this episode knowing how to: Recognize the signs you've been leading nice instead of kind — and why the difference is costing your team more than you realizeShift from the question that protects your comfort to the one that actually serves the person in front of youUnderstand why most leadership problems are self-leadership problems in disguiseTake one immediate step toward the conversation you've been rehearsing — and say what the person in front of you deserves to hearKind tells the truth. This episode shows you how. Let Nicole know you're interested in attending a future Brave LeadHERship Retreat👇 Join the waitlist Work with Nicole Bianchi⬇️ 🎤Book Nicole Bianchi as your next keynote speaker 🏅Hire Nicole Bianchi to coach you or your team 📖Check out Nicole Bianchi's books, Small Brave Moves and Five Tough Talks Find Nicole Bianchi👇 LinkedIn Small Brave Mondays Newsletter

  4. Jul 29

    Own Your Authority as a Leader Without Losing Your Humanity with Christina Pilarski

    She built an agency on her name, her reputation, her expertise, and convinced herself that controlling every project was leadership. She called it standards. Her team called it a bottleneck.  In this episode of the Small Brave Moves Podcast, Nicole Bianchi sits down with Christina Pilarski — CEO and co-founder of CIPR Communications — for a conversation about the control that quietly becomes the ceiling in every high-achieving leader's career. Helping brands build their authority is Christina's life's work. Claiming that authority for herself turned out to be the hardest leadership work she's ever done.  Christina opens up about why she couldn't bring herself to put CEO on a business card for years, the moment she admitted to her team she was at a crossroads, and how that vulnerability created more confidence in her leadership than any polished performance ever had.  You'll leave this episode knowing how to: Recognize where control is quietly slowing your business downClaim your authority before you feel ready for it Understand why vulnerability doesn't weaken your leadership credibility — it strengthens itMake the daily brave choice to delegate, release, and lead from flow instead of fearBecause the leader your team truly needs isn't the one who puts their fingerprint on everything. It's the one who's brave enough to trust the people and systems they built.  Let Nicole know you're interested in attending a future Brave LeadHERship Retreat👇 Join the waitlist Follow along with Christina's journey👇 www.ciprcommunications.com LinkedIn Instagram Work with Nicole Bianchi⬇️ 🎤Book Nicole Bianchi as your next keynote speaker 🏅Hire Nicole Bianchi to coach you or your team 📖Check out Nicole Bianchi's books, Small Brave Moves and Five Tough Talks Find Nicole Bianchi👇 LinkedIn Small Brave Mondays Newsletter

  5. Jul 22

    What It Really Means to Leave a Leadership Legacy After 30 Years as CHRO with Denice Biocca

    Most leaders spend their careers building something. Few stop to ask what they're actually leaving behind. In this episode of the Small Brave Moves Podcast, Nicole Bianchi sits down with Denice Biocca — former CHRO of GE Vernova — on her very last day after 32 years with the company. Not just to celebrate what she built. To get honest about what it actually means to leave it behind. Denise spent three decades being the steady partner they called when the stakes were highest and the truth was hardest to hear. In this conversation, she gets candid about the side of legacy nobody talks about — the identity you have to release, the control you have to surrender, and the quiet fear that lives underneath every high achiever's need to stay in the middle of things: that the team might be wildly successful without you. She and Nicole explore why real legacy isn't just what you build — it's what you are brave enough to let go of. And why the leaders who leave the deepest mark are the ones who created space for others to climb mountains they never could have imagined. You'll leave this episode knowing how to: Reframe what legacy actually means — and why letting go is the final, most important act of great leadershipRecognize the hidden fear driving your need for control, and what it's quietly costing the people you leadNavigate a major identity transition with honesty and grace instead of tying your worth to a title that won't last foreverStart building your full life and your lasting legacy now — not on the other side of a transition that never feels like the right timeShe gave 32 years. This conversation is what she wants every leader to know before they do the same. Work with Nicole Bianchi⬇️ 🎤Book Nicole Bianchi as your next keynote speaker 🏅Hire Nicole Bianchi to coach you or your team 📖Check out Nicole Bianchi's books, Small Brave Moves and Five Tough Talks Find Nicole Bianchi👇 LinkedIn Small Brave Mondays Newsletter

  6. Jul 15

    The Inner Leadership Work Even a CEO Title Can't Prepare You For with Patricia Kearns

    She spent 24 years building one of the country's most respected rehabilitation organizations, earned the CEO title, then walked away from it — only to discover that the hardest leadership work of her career had nothing to do with running a company. It was learning to lead herself. In this episode of the Small Brave Moves Podcast, Nicole Bianchi sits down with Pat Kearns — former President and CEO of QLI and current COO at Immanuel — for a conversation about what happens when a high-achieving leader steps out of the role that defined them and into the uncomfortable, necessary work of starting over.  Pat gets honest about the grip of control, the identity wrapped up in having all the answers, and what it actually feels like to be the newcomer in the room after decades at the top. She and Nicole dig into the real cost of controlling outcomes, why avoiding tough conversations early always costs more later, and the one mindset shift that has carried Pat through every major leadership transition of her career — choosing to see uncertainty as opportunity instead of threat. You'll leave this episode knowing how to: Recognize when control is quietly becoming the ceiling on your team's growth — and what to do before it costs you your best peopleNavigate a major leadership transition with patience and intention instead of defaulting back to old habitsUnderstand why preparation — not just courage — is what makes a tough conversation actually workWhatever transition you're navigating right now — a new role, a new chapter, or just a newer version of yourself — this conversation is your permission to lead through it without having it all figured out first. Let Nicole know you're interested in attending a future Brave LeadHERship Retreat👇 Join the waitlist Follow along with Pat's journey👇 Linkedln Work with Nicole Bianchi⬇️ 🎤Book Nicole Bianchi as your next keynote speaker 🏅Hire Nicole Bianchi to coach you or your team 📖Check out Nicole Bianchi's books, Small Brave Moves and Five Tough Talks Find Nicole Bianchi👇 LinkedIn Small Brave Mondays Newsletter

  7. Jul 8

    Why Rescuing Your Team Is Not the Same as Leading Them with Amy Birkel

    She built a career caring for others — and somewhere along the way forgot to care for herself. For Amy Birkel, COO of Heritage Communities, rescuing her team wasn't just a habit. It was an identity. Learning the difference between rescuing and leading turned out to be the hardest leadership lesson of her career. In this episode of the Small Brave Moves Podcast, Nicole Bianchi is joined by Amy Birkel — COO of Heritage Communities for a conversation that goes far deeper operational leadership. Amy gets honest about what it cost her to be the person who always had the answer, why letting go of control felt like losing herself, and what finally shifted when she gave herself permission to stop carrying what everyone assumed she was strong enough to handle. She and Nicole talk about the loneliness of leadership at the top, the guilt of working motherhood, and why the best servant leaders aren't the ones who give the most — they're the ones who know how to fill their own cup first.  You'll leave this episode understanding why it's important to: Recognize the difference between rescuing and leading — and why high achievers are most at risk of confusing the twoRelease the identity tied to always having the answer, and find a new source of fulfillment in empowering others to leadExtend real grace to yourself as a working parent, a leader under pressure, and a human being who doesn't always get it rightThis is a conversation for every high-achieving leader who has ever confused over-functioning with excellence. Let Nicole know you're interested in attending a future Brave LeadHERship Retreat👇 Join the waitlist Follow along with Amy's journey👇 Linkedln Work with Nicole Bianchi⬇️ 🎤Book Nicole Bianchi as your next keynote speaker 🏅Hire Nicole Bianchi to coach you or your team 📖Check out Nicole Bianchi's books, Small Brave Moves and Five Tough Talks Find Nicole Bianchi👇 LinkedIn Small Brave Mondays Newsletter

  8. Jul 1

    What to do When the Bottleneck to Your Team's Growth is You with Cara Skowronski

    What if the bottleneck isn't your people, your process, or your plan? You've built a great team. You've got the strategy. And somehow, things still aren't moving the way they should. In this episode of the Small Brave Moves Podcast, Nicole Bianchi sits down with Cara Skowronski — professional EOS implementer and former CEO and COO — for an honest conversation about the leadership blind spot most executives never see coming: themselves.  Their conversation goes deep on the inner battles that quietly keep leaders stuck: the need for external approval, the fear of trusting your team, and the moment you realize the biggest bottleneck in your organization is you. Cara shares the pivotal moment from when she attended Nicole's Brave LeadHERship Retreat that changed how she shows up in business and in life.  You'll leave this episode knowing how to: Recognize where control is quietly becoming the ceiling on your team's growth — and what to do about itUnderstand the difference between honesty and openness, and why openness is the harder, more critical leadership skill most leaders never fully developTake one Small Brave Move toward the thing you've been most afraid to let go of — because that's exactly where your team's breakthrough is waitingThe biggest unlock for your team's performance isn't a new strategy or a better process. It's you deciding to lead differently. Let Nicole know you're interested in attending a future Brave LeadHERship Retreat👇 Join the waitlist Follow along with Cara's journey👇 cara.skowronski@eosworldwide.com Linkedln Work with Nicole Bianchi⬇️ 🎤Book Nicole Bianchi as your next keynote speaker 🏅Hire Nicole Bianchi to coach you or your team 📖Check out Nicole Bianchi's books, Small Brave Moves and Five Tough Talks Find Nicole Bianchi👇 LinkedIn Small Brave Mondays Newsletter

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4.9
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About

Learn how to be braver in leadership and in life for exceptional results with Master Certified Executive Coach, Best Selling Author, and Certified Speaking Professional, Nicole M. Bianchi. Small Brave Moves is a podcast for mid-level to c-suite leaders who own their growth and development, know there is always room for improvement, and are ready to start making the Small Brave Moves to achieve their goals, unlock their full potential, and lead with confidence, clarity, and authenticity. 

Information

  • Creator
    Nicole M. Bianchi
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    90
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Small Brave Moves
  • Show Website
    Small Brave Moves

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