The Bold Lounge

Leigh Burgess

Everyone has a bold story, and every story is important. This podcast presents bold stories that will inspire and enable you to free your own boldness. There is a continuum of boldness where each of these stories belongs. From true vulnerability and service to making the tough choices and taking the big leap, each episode will feature an extraordinary journey of hope and perseverance. So tune in and take your seat at The Bold Lounge, the place where bold stories are freed. 

  1. 12/25/2025

    Muriel Wilkins: The Bold Belief Shift Every Leader Must Make

    Send us a text About This Episode In this episode, we talk with Muriel Wilkins, CEO, C-suite advisor, executive coach, and author of Leadership Unblocked, about how unexamined beliefs can quietly limit leadership impact. Muriel shares the patterns she sees most often in senior leaders, reframes confidence as the willingness to step into uncertainty, and explains how intuition can complement data in decision-making. We also explore vulnerability as clear seeing rather than oversharing, how to lead effectively in misaligned work cultures, and a simple first step to get unblocked by examining your role in the discomfort and choosing a more intentional path forward. If you’re a curious, ambitious leader ready to scale your impact without losing yourself, tune in for helpful reframes, relatable stories, and tools you can use right away.   About Muriel Wilkins Muriel M. Wilkins, founder and CEO of Paravis Partners, is a sought-after C-suite adviser and executive coach with a twenty-year track record of helping senior leaders take their performance to the next level. She is the author of Leadership Unblocked: Break Through the Beliefs That Limit Your Potential and coauthor of Own the Room: Discover Your Signature Voice to Master Your Leadership Presence. Muriel is the host of the Harvard Business Review podcast Coaching Real Leaders, consistently ranked as a top-ten podcast in Apple's Management category. She was recently shortlisted for the 2025 Thinkers50 Coaching and Mentoring Award.   Additional Resources Website: murielwilkins.com Instagram: @CoachMurielWilkins LinkedIn: @MurielWilkins  Support the show -------- Stay Connected www.leighburgess.com Watch the episodes on YouTube Follow Leigh on Instagram: @theleighaburgess Follow Leigh on LinkedIn: @LeighBurgess Sign up for Leigh’s bold newsletter

    41 min
  2. 12/19/2025

    Michelle Johnston: The Bold Shift Behind Better Results

    Send us a text About This Episode Dr. Michelle Johnston, award-winning leadership expert and author of The Seismic Shift in Leadership and The Seismic Shift in You, explores how connection, not command, drives performance. Michelle shares her journey toward authentic leadership and unpacks what real connection at work looks like: people feeling seen, heard, valued, respected, and appreciated. She outlines seven practical shifts leaders can implement now, from measuring success through relationships and protecting thinking time to reshaping one-to-ones, running meetings that create momentum, and bringing the right energy into every room. If burnout, low engagement, or turnover are on your radar, this conversation offers a clear, human-centered guide for strengthening culture while still delivering results.   About Michelle Johnston Dr. Michelle Johnston, named a Woman of the Year, Top Ten Executive Coach, and Top 500 Business Leader, is redefining leadership through the power of connection. An award-winning leadership expert and Clifton A. Morvant Distinguished Professor of Business at Loyola University New Orleans, she blends decades of strategic communication expertise with real-world insights to help leaders thrive. Her bestselling book The Seismic Shift in Leadership illustrates how connection-driven leadership builds stronger teams and better results, and her upcoming book, The Seismic Shift in You, offers a transformative approach to leadership that starts with the most crucial element—you. Michelle extends this work through her global executive coaching, keynote speaking, and her Top 10% podcast, The Seismic Shift, where she engages thought leaders and executives committed to creating cultures of authentic connection.   Additional Resources Website: michellekjohnston.com Instagram: @michellekjohnston LinkedIn: @MichelleJohnston Support the show -------- Stay Connected www.leighburgess.com Watch the episodes on YouTube Follow Leigh on Instagram: @theleighaburgess Follow Leigh on LinkedIn: @LeighBurgess Sign up for Leigh’s bold newsletter

    37 min
  3. 12/11/2025

    Bessie Sturgis: The Bold Rebuild- How Small Steps Change Everything

    Send us a text Content Warning: description of stroke and recovery About This Episode At 28, Bessie Sturgis’s life took an unexpected turn when she suddenly found herself navigating a stroke diagnosis. In this episode, she shares the micro steps that carried her forward like getting up, writing things down, taking five-minute resets, breathing through the hard moments, and how faith reframed her purpose. We talk about caring for two young children while healing, setting bold boundaries, protecting her energy, and reclaiming her voice, including earning a commercial driver’s license after being told she could not. If you need a reset, this story reminds you that small, consistent actions can change everything.   About Bessie Sturgis Bessie Sturgis’s journey is defined by faith, perseverance, and purpose. After a life-threatening health crisis when her youngest son was eight months old, she fought her way back through rehabilitation, medication, and prayer, vowing never to let fear or doubt hold her back. Since then, she has embraced life boldly: returning to school for engineering, raising her sons with resilience, and giving back to her community. She is living proof that grace restores, healing is possible, and even after the hardest seasons, you can rise, rebuild, and thrive.   Additional Resources Instagram: @Blessed_is_bess LinkedIn: @BessieSturgis Support the show -------- Stay Connected www.leighburgess.com Watch the episodes on YouTube Follow Leigh on Instagram: @theleighaburgess Follow Leigh on LinkedIn: @LeighBurgess Sign up for Leigh’s bold newsletter

    30 min
  4. 11/27/2025

    Steph Wagner: The Bold Wealth Reset- When Money Gets Personal

    Send us a text Content Warning: mention of childhood abuse, divorce About This Episode Steph Wagner, National Director of Women in Wealth at Northern Trust and author of Fly!: A Woman's Guide to Financial Freedom and Building a Life You Love, shares how telling the truth about your money story can become the first step toward confidence and financial freedom. She opens up about rebuilding her life after a blindsiding divorce and offers practical tools women can use right now, from identifying your money personality to using her 45-20-35 framework to align spending with your values. We explore how to turn fear into growth, build transparency with partners, and create simple systems that support long-term wealth. If you are ready to rewrite your money story with honesty, clarity, and agency, this episode offers the mindset and next steps to begin.   About Steph Wagner Steph Wagner is a nationally recognized thought leader in women’s wealth and financial empowerment. Her passion for this work is deeply personal. Her own journey—from private equity executive to stay-at-home mom, to single mother facing financial uncertainty, to successful businesswoman—fuels her mission to help women take control of their wealth and build lives they love. Today, she serves as National Director of Women & Wealth at Northern Trust, where she leads the firm’s advisory practice for women and its Elevating Women platform—a national program focused on building financial confidence and helping women use their wealth to create meaningful impact in their families, businesses, and communities. Prior to joining Northern Trust, Steph spent years advising high-net-worth women navigating major life transitions such as divorce and widowhood. She also built a national consulting practice for wealth management firms seeking to better serve female clients and founded WomenWealthyWise, a platform dedicated to advancing financial literacy and empowerment for women. Earlier in her career, she was Vice President at Gemini Investors, a Boston-based private equity firm. A frequent media contributor, Steph’s insights have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Entrepreneur, Barron’s, Bloomberg, MarketWatch, Kiplinger, Yahoo Finance, and more. Steph lives just outside of Austin, Texas, and is the proud mom of three grown sons. When she’s not working or writing, you’ll likely find her cycling, hiking, on her yoga mat, or chasing after her beloved dogs.   Additional Resources Instagram: @steph_l_wagner LinkedIn: @StephLWagner Support the show -------- Stay Connected www.leighburgess.com Watch the episodes on YouTube Follow Leigh on Instagram: @theleighaburgess Follow Leigh on LinkedIn: @LeighBurgess Sign up for Leigh’s bold newsletter

    41 min
  5. 11/22/2025

    Andreea Vanacker: The Bold Pursuit of Joy- Neuroscience-Backed Strategies for Resilience

    Send us a text Content Warning: brain tumor, brain surgery  About This Episode In this inspiring episode, Dr. Andreea Vanacker, an entrepreneur, international speaker, and multi-time author, shares a science-backed path to cultivating steady joy, even in high-pressure seasons. Through her Trilogy of Joy framework built on love, confidence, and gratitude, Andreea offers three simple dials you can turn when you feel anxious, low, or stuck. She opens up about her own life-changing diagnosis, the purpose that followed, and what her global research across 48 countries reveals about fulfillment and resilience. With practical tools for protecting your energy, caring for your mind and body, and connecting your strengths to meaningful purpose, this conversation offers a clear, encouraging map for transforming small daily choices into powerful life change.   About Andreea Vanacker Dr. Andreea Vanacker is an entrepreneur, international speaker, and 4x author. She is a resilient visionary who turned a life-altering nine-hour brain surgery into a global movement for joy. Her TEDx talk introduced the world to her groundbreaking Trilogy of Joy model. As an accomplished global speaker with business experience in over 50 countries, Andreea intertwines her powerful personal narrative with over a decade of research in neuroscience and positive psychology. Andreea has a Ph.D. in Economics, and her insights have been featured in various publications from Forbes, Fast Company to Business Insider. She is the founder and CEO of One Million Years Of Joy, a media company that comprises a podcast, a global study on joy, an annual Leadership Luminary award and a future documentary of joy.   Additional Resources Website: andreeavanacker.com LinkedIn: @AndreeaVanacker  Support the show -------- Stay Connected www.leighburgess.com Watch the episodes on YouTube Follow Leigh on Instagram: @theleighaburgess Follow Leigh on LinkedIn: @LeighBurgess Sign up for Leigh’s bold newsletter

    36 min
  6. 11/06/2025

    Sarah Goffman: The Bold Habit of Daily Progress

    Send us a text About This Episode When archaeologist-turned-CEO Sarah Goffman stepped into leadership, she led by treating her company like a culture, studying norms, listening deeply, and aligning people and technology to identity. She shares the simple systems that can help turn overwhelm into progress, such as whiteboard priorities, a 1%-better mantra, and journaling outside when clarity slips. We also dive into how real culture is built in everyday conversations, how customer listening fuels her company’s 40-year success, and the leadership toolbox Sarah relies on: clear goals, written values, mentors, and a trusted circle. If you’re stepping into something new, this conversation will help you define where you are, where you’re going, and the habits to get you there.   About Sarah Goffman Sarah Goffman is the CEO of TCE Company, a telecom and IT firm she boldly took the reins of seven years ago following the passing of her father. She has since led the company into its 40th year in business, honoring its legacy while driving innovation and growth. Sarah holds degrees in anthropology with a focus on archaeology from the University of Delaware and the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, a foundation that shaped her global perspective and analytical mindset. She's a proud member of InfraGard, a volunteer partnership with the FBI focused on critical infrastructure protection, and the Bold Leaders Collective, a network of visionary leaders, and a member of the GTIA Trustmark Working Group. Her journey is a testament to resilience, transformation, and leading with purpose in high-stakes industries.   Additional Resources  LinkedIn: @SarahGoffman Support the show -------- Stay Connected www.leighburgess.com Watch the episodes on YouTube Follow Leigh on Instagram: @theleighaburgess Follow Leigh on LinkedIn: @LeighBurgess Sign up for Leigh’s bold newsletter

    29 min
  7. 10/30/2025

    Goldie Chan: When Being Yourself is the Boldest Move

    Send us a text Content Warning: cancer treatment and journey About This Episode  Boldness doesn't have to be big and loud. It can also look like choosing to keep showing up, even when life feels uncertain. In this episode, keynote speaker and author Goldie Chan shares how she built a recognizable brand while navigating cancer treatment and creating an 800-day streak of original LinkedIn videos rooted in cadence, craft, and credibility. She unpacks her Five Cs of personal branding (Community, Confidence, Competency, Consistency, and Clarity) plus a sixth: Conversation. Through small, steady actions and intentional engagement, Goldie shows how to grow trust, energy, and visibility without burnout. You will leave with practical steps to invest just one hour a week to build your presence, connect with purpose, and remember that even 10 percent on a hard day still counts and grows into your next bold move.   About Goldie Chan Goldie Chan is a creative, keynote speaker, author, and cancer survivor. She was named the “Oprah of LinkedIn” by Huffington Post and her creative video channel won LinkedIn Top Voice for Social Media. Goldie founded Warm Robots in 2018, an award-winning social media strategy and creative agency based in Los Angeles with global clients. Previously, she wrote an internationally recognized column for Forbes, which received nearly 10M views, and was named Journalist of the Year in 2024. Goldie writes for Archie Comics and has been featured as a fresh voice in The New York Times, CNN, Fast Company, and many other outlets. Goldie is based in sunny Los Angeles.   Additional Resources Website: goldiechan.com Instagram: @goldiecylon LinkedIn: @GoldieChan Support the show -------- Stay Connected www.leighburgess.com Watch the episodes on YouTube Follow Leigh on Instagram: @theleighaburgess Follow Leigh on LinkedIn: @LeighBurgess Sign up for Leigh’s bold newsletter

    38 min
  8. 10/24/2025

    Janine Moreno: Boldly Claim Your Seat at the Table

    Send us a text About This Episode Janine Moreno, CIO Advisor at Zoom, tells us all about what happens when you stop waiting for permission and start owning the room. Janine shares how stepping into visibility transformed her leadership, leading to table talks and roundtables that blend authenticity and expertise. She discusses multi-generational collaboration, leading remote teams with clarity, and overcoming perfectionism to lead without a title. This episode is a wonderful guide for anyone ready to trade hesitation for action and claim the seat they have earned.   About Janine Moreno Janine Moreno is a CIO Advisor with Zoom Video Communications and a former Executive Director for J.P. Morgan’s Asset & Wealth Management division. She leads Zoom’s CIO, CX, and Women in Leadership Virtual Table Talks, fostering thought leadership and creating spaces for executives to share insights, collaborate, and discuss the latest technology trends, challenges, and innovative solutions. As Chairperson of Zoom’s Cross Industry, she drives initiatives to enhance customer experiences across sectors.   Previously, Janine was Head of Strategy for J.P. Morgan’s Business Technology Optimization group and led AWM’s Technology Training and Communications teams. She has also consulted with Bank of America and served as Sr. Director at Broadridge Financial Solutions, focusing on IS Governance and Compliance. With 19 years at Citigroup, Janine held roles including Head of Front Office Sales Operations & Compliance and Chief of Staff. Her career is defined by visionary leadership and a passion for innovation, shaping the future of virtual and hybrid workspaces.   Additional Resources LinkedIn: @JanineMoreno Support the show -------- Stay Connected www.leighburgess.com Watch the episodes on YouTube Follow Leigh on Instagram: @theleighaburgess Follow Leigh on LinkedIn: @LeighBurgess Sign up for Leigh’s bold newsletter

    32 min
5
out of 5
22 Ratings

About

Everyone has a bold story, and every story is important. This podcast presents bold stories that will inspire and enable you to free your own boldness. There is a continuum of boldness where each of these stories belongs. From true vulnerability and service to making the tough choices and taking the big leap, each episode will feature an extraordinary journey of hope and perseverance. So tune in and take your seat at The Bold Lounge, the place where bold stories are freed.