Wisetalk

 Sue Bethanis hosts Amy Leneker, a leadership consultant with over 25 years of leadership experience including a decade in the C-suite, who has helped over 100,000 leaders and teams through keynotes, coaching, and training. A first-generation college student, Amy earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees while working full-time and raising a family. She has studied leadership at Yale, neuroscience at the NeuroLeadership Institute, and stress resilience at Harvard Medical School. Amy's upcoming book, Cheers to Monday: The Surprisingly Simple Method to Lead and Live with Less Stress and More Joy (Wiley, March 24, 2026), shares a science-backed roadmap to break free from burnout.  Amy shares findings from her team's recent national study on stress and joy at work, explaining that while four of the five stress types have remained consistent since the 1970s, system stress (inequality, bullying, and unfair workplace cultures) has emerged as a significant modern stressor. She discusses how AI is creating bo

Sue Bethanis welcomes Ashley Herd, former Chief People Officer and General Counsel, leadership speaker, and podcast host who has trained over 250,000 managers through LinkedIn Learning and live corporate trainings. Ashley built Manager Method after leading HR and legal teams at McKinsey, Yum! Brands, and Modern Luxury. She is a top LinkedIn Learning instructor and co-host of the HR Besties podcast, a top 10 business podcast. Her book, The Manager Method: A Practical Framework to Lead, Support, and Get Results, was released February 10, 2026.Sue and Ashley discuss several topics relevant to managers and senior leaders: Why managers feel unprepared to lead, even after years in the workforce The "Pause-Consider-Act" framework for making decisions under pressure Performance feedback as the number one challenge managers face AI adoption as a change management issue and how to support teams through uncertainty The shift from "defending your team" to advocating for the organization as leaders advance Building cross-

Sue Bethanis hosts Merry-Carole Powers, a recognized expert in diversity, equity, and inclusion with over two decades of experience shaping global brands and corporate cultures. As the former Creative Director for Sustainability, Purpose, and DEI at Deloitte and founder of Unicorn Kreative, Powers brings a unique perspective on transcending societal labels to unlock human potential in business. Topics of Discussion: The evolution from traditional DEI approaches to individuality-based human development How to leverage personal “zones of genius” to create effective human-AI partnerships Practical strategies for leading without labels in organizational settings The difference between identity (surface-level categories) and individuality (deeper human traits) Essential skills for thriving in an AI-driven workplace: strategy, empathy, and discernment Breaking down divisive departmental labels (MQLs vs SQLs) that create organizational silos Addressing AI anxiety by helping employees discover and amplify their uniqu

Sue Bethanis hosts Dr. Joel Salinas, a Harvard-trained behavioral neurologist and Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Isaac Health, a telehealth platform focused on brain health and dementia care. Dr. Salinas serves as Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine and previously held faculty positions at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. He is a nationally recognized expert in brain health with over 40 academic publications and contributions to eight books in neurology. Sue and Joel discuss his latest book Conflict Resilience: Negotiating Disagreement Without Giving Up or Giving In, co-authored with Robert Bordone. Key topics include:  The neuroscience behind conflict and our brain’s default threat response patterns The three-step framework for developing conflict resilience: Name, Explore, and Commit How to build “conflict tolerance” through recognition and holding capacity Practical strategies for workplace conflicts, including han

Sue Bethanis hosts Matt Kohut, founding partner of KNP Communications, who has prepared CEOs, elected officials, entrepreneurs, ambassadors, scientists, and best-selling authors for events ranging from television appearances to board meetings to TED Talks. He is the author of Speaking Out: New Rules for Business Leadership Communication and co-author of The Smart Mission: NASA's Lessons for Managing Knowledge, People, and Projects and Compelling People: The Hidden Qualities that Make Us Influential.

Sue Bethanis hosts Matthew Dixon, a Founding Partner of DCM Insights and leading expert in business development and client experience. Matt is the co-author of the groundbreaking book The Activator Advantage: What Today's Rainmakers Do Differently, which reveals why traditional business development approaches are failing in professional services.  Sue and Matt explore: The dramatic shift in client loyalty within professional services The five distinct business development profiles Matt's research identified among nearly 3,000 partners: Experts, Confidants, Debaters, Realists, and Activators  The three pillars of the Activator approach and why this approach fosters longer-lasting, more engaged professional relationships, and shields them from unpredictable client-buying behaviors 

Sue Bethanis hosts Kathleen deLaski, Founder and Board Chair at the Education Design Lab, and author of the new book, Who Needs College Anymore? Imagining a Future Where Degrees Won’t Matter. Drawing from her groundbreaking research with 125+ colleges and major employers, Kathleen outlines ten design principles to build a new system for getting people the skills they need for the jobs they want. From white-collar internships, hybrid high-school/college degrees, and boot camps to industry credentialing programs and even self-starters learning from YouTube, the future of work exists outside of traditional higher ed, and it’s time to scale up and out. Sue and Kathleen discuss: The historical context of college degrees and how their perceived value is changing intoday’s economy. How we center the needs of New-Majority Learners—the low- and moderate-income individuals, people of color, first-generation college students, veterans, and others who are underserved by traditional higher ed. Ten design principles to red

Sue Bethanis hosts Alan Stein, Founder, CEO & Chief Accelerator of Kadima Careers.Alan has dedicated himself to helping professionals, particularly those from underrepresented groups, build powerful networks and land transformative roles at the world's leading tech companies.Sue and Alan discuss: The power of networking and building your circle of influence  Strategies for maintaining authentic connections during career transitions How to leverage your network during industry shifts How to build influence in an increasingly digital world

Sue Bethanis hosts Andrew C. M. Cooper, influential executive leader and author of the book The Ethical Imperative: Leading with Conscience to Shape the Future of Business.  Andrew lays out a new, practical path for corporations to rethink harmful, outdated models and integrate themselves with the communities that they inevitably affect. Sue and Andrew discuss: Why Millennials and Gen Z are increasingly critical of corporations. How a conscientious executive can balance the demands of profitability with the need for ethical leadership. Ways the recent election will affect how business executives and managers approach leading with conscience. Five practical steps executives can take to “level up” their leadership skills.

Sue Bethanis hosts Charlotte Evans, Principal Solutions Consultant at Coursera. Charlotte advises North American companies on their upskilling and reskilling learning solutions. She worked in Asia for five years in student services, where she also pursued a fellowship through the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) Learners’ Voice program. Charlotte graduated from Harvard Graduate School of Education (Ed.M.) in 2019 and has continued her passion for international education access through her work at Coursera.Sue and Charlotte discuss the dual role of Gen AI in the world of Learning and Development and: The key elements of a skills-based learning and career development strategy How AI and automation help identify skills gaps and save time Actionable low-tech tools you can start using to foster real connections in your organization

Sue hosts Dr. Joel Pérez, an executive and leadership coach, speaker, and consultant passionate about helping leaders and organizations achieve their goals and develop a posture of cultural humility so they can have the impact and create the culture they desire.Joel is the owner of Apoyo Coaching and Consulting, LLC, and a Professional Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation (ICF). He specializes in identity-conscious leadership coaching and coaching professionals who want to develop their cultural humility. He has a certification in the MBTI, is a Qualified Administrator for the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), is a Gallup Strengths Certified Coach, and is a certified coach through the Academy of Creative Coaching. He has over 20 years of experience in higher education, serving in various key leadership roles.Joel earned his doctorate in higher education administration at Claremont Graduate University. He has been married for over 26 years and has four children. He enjoys cheering o

Sue hosts futurist and cyborg anthropologist MJ Petroni. MJ specializes in helping others understand the mental models necessary to navigate digital opportunities. As a cyborg anthropologist, MJ studied shows like Star Trek at university, but not (just) for fun. Their field of study addresses the complex relationships between humans and machines, exploring how we shape technology and how it is reshaping us. They help organizations increase their Digital Fluency in preparation for future technologies, attending not just to tools but also the thinking, skills, data, and business models that comprise new value creation.The author of Causeit’s digitalfluency.guide, MJ’s work focuses on raising the lowest common denominator of Digital Fluency for individuals, teams, and entire organizations. Since founding Causeit, Inc. in 2006, MJ has shifted thinking for hundreds of global enterprises, including NTT, Accenture, Volkswagen, the Gates Foundation, SWIFT, and several major financial and media companies, raising Digi

Sue Bethanis hosts Founder of Machine Learning Week, former Columbia professor, and bestselling author, Eric Siegel, Ph.D. Eric is a leading consultant and former Columbia University professor who helps companies deploy machine learning. He is the founder of the long-running Machine Learning Week conference series and its new sister, Generative AI World, the instructor of the acclaimed online course “Machine Learning Leadership and Practice – End-to-End Mastery,” executive editor of The Machine Learning Times, and a frequent keynote speaker. He wrote the bestselling Predictive Analytics: The Power to Predict Who Will Click, Buy, Lie, or Die, which has been used in courses at hundreds of universities, as well as his newest book, The AI Playbook: Mastering the Rare Art of Machine Learning Deployment.Eric’s interdisciplinary work bridges the stubborn technology/business gap. At Columbia, he won the Distinguished Faculty award when teaching graduate computer science courses in ML and AI. Later, he served as a bus

In this episode of WiseTalk, CEO and Executive Leadership Coach Sue Bethanis hosts New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Rich Horwath to discuss his new book, STRATEGIC: The Skill to Set Direction, Create Advantage, and Achieve Executive Excellence.Rich Horwath is the Founder and CEO of the Strategic Thinking Institute, where he serves leadership teams as a strategy workshop facilitator, executive coach, and strategic advisor. His work has been featured in publications including Fast Company, Forbes, and the Harvard Business Review. Chief Executive Magazine has introduced him as “the world’s foremost expert on strategic thinking.”As a former chief strategy officer and professor of strategy at the graduate level, he brings a practical, real-world approach based on strong foundational principles to help executives develop their strategic capabilities. Rich has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX TV to share his perspectives on current business strategy issues. In addition to his work facilita

Sue Bethanis hosts consultant, coach, personal development expert, and author Ashish Kothari to discuss his new book, Hardwired for Happiness: 9 Proven Practices to Overcome Stress and Live Your Best Life.Ashish Kothari is the Founder of Happiness Squad, a company focused on helping individuals and organizations unleash the power of happiness to achieve their full potential. As a partner in McKinsey’s Leadership Practice, Ashish served as the Co-Dean for the Centered Leadership and Adaptability & Resilience programs. He combines over two decades of consulting experience with formal training as an Ontological Coach and has helped thousands of leaders and their organizations succeed by developing new mindsets and capabilities. His transformational approach is interdisciplinary and integrates wisdom from the worlds of science and spirituality.A lifelong student of human thriving, Ashish has read over 450 books and studied the teachings of world-renowned experts in the fields of spirituality, philosophy, psyc

Sue Bethanis hosts consumer and marketplace product and technology executive, and author, Yue Zhao.Yue was the first product manager and Head of Professionals at Thumbtack Inc. for 5 years, where she worked alongside the founders to build and scale a technology leader valued at $3.2B in 2021 with investment from Sequoia, Tiger Global, Capital G, QIA, and more. Then, at Fuzzy Pet Health, she was the Chief Product & Technology officer, helping the team find PMF for its telehealth offering and reach EBITDA positive within 6 months. Previously, she co-founded a wine e-commerce startup called FirstCrush. She spent 4 years at Meta working on Instagram Feed and Profile, Messenger Web and Desktop, and SMB Advertising.Yue is currently a Venture Partner at LifeX Ventures, a $100M fund actively deploying capital in healthtech, climatech, and the AI space. Her network in the product space, in particular, adds a new dimension to LifeX’s team of ex-founders and operators.As a seasoned executive career coach and advisor

Sue Bethanis hosts productivity expert, automation enthusiast, and bestselling author Aytekin Tank to discuss his new book, Automate Your Busywork: Do Less, Achieve More, and Save Your Brain for the Big Stuff.Aytekin’s entrepreneurial passion and firm belief in creating tools to make organizations more productive led him to build Jotform, a bootstrapped global SaaS company that provides powerful online forms to tens of millions of users.In addition to serving as the CEO of Jotform since 2006, Aytekin frequently contributes to Fast Company and Entrepreneur. A developer by trade but a storyteller by heart, he writes about his journey as an entrepreneur, shares advice for other startups, and provides insights on leadership, productivity, and using SaaS technology within workflows.Sue and Aytekin discuss: Why the future of business is no-code, and how you can use an automation-first mindset to unlock your productivity potential How to move from busywork to less work and finally have the time you need to accomplis

In this episode of WiseTalk, CEO and Executive Leadership Coach Sue Bethanis hosts the world’s leading expert in the rapidly growing field of trust repair, Dr. Peter H. Kim.Dr. Kim is a Professor of Management and Organization at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business. He received his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. His research concerns the dynamics of social misperception, with a particular focus on the violation and repair of trust. This research has been published in the world’s leading scientific journals across management and psychology. It has received ten national/international awards from organizations, including the American Psychological Association, the Academy of Management, and the International Association for Conflict Management. This work has also been supported by multiple funding sources, including the National Science Foundation, the State Farm Foundation, and the Kellogg Dispute Resolution

Sue Bethanis, CEO of Mariposa Leadership, hosts Emily Field, co-author of Power to the Middle: Why Managers Hold the Keys to the Future of Work and a partner at McKinsey’s Seattle office. Emily partners with leaders to shape data-driven organizational strategies designed to achieve business objectives, establish talent management as a distinctive advantage, and secure the human resources function as a driver of business value.Since joining McKinsey in 2017, Emily has worked with companies across industries, leading initiatives to transform the way organizations work. She puts particular emphasis on helping to establish a talent-first approach, instilling a high-performance culture, and adopting effective people-analytics approaches. Emily prepares leaders to manage the workforce of the future.Passionate about helping others achieve their full potential, Emily volunteers as a mentor to veterans and low-income students through her work with Capital Partners for Education and American Corporate Partners. She hol

In this episode of WiseTalk, CEO and Executive Leadership Coach Sue Bethanis hosts best-selling author and workplace mental health expert Morra Aarons-Mele. Morra hosts The Anxious Achiever podcast for LinkedIn Presents, which won the 2023 Media Award from Mental Health America, was a 2020 Webby Awards Honoree, 2022 “Best Commute Podcast” Signal Award winner, and is frequently a top 10 management podcast and top 50 business podcast. She’s passionate about helping people rethink the relationship between their mental health and their success. Morra speaks to and consults frequently with Fortune 500 companies, startups, and U.S Government agencies. She is a LinkedIn “Top 10 Voice” in mental health.Morra is an entrepreneur and communications executive. In addition to her work in workplace mental health, Aarons-Mele founded the award-winning social impact agency Women Online and created its database of female influencers, the Mission List, which she sold in 2021. Morra was named 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year at th