Presales Podcast by Presales Collective Courageous Leadership: Making Tough Calls Under Pressure with Gretchen Fitzgibbons
Feb 2, 2026
Gretchen Fitzgibbons, Senior Manager of Strategic Solutions Consulting at Airtable with nearly two decades advising Fortune 500s, talks courageous, people-centered leadership. She recounts making hard calls to protect team fairness. Short takes cover preparing for leadership, clear-as-kind communication, removing emotion with data, and practical frameworks like 10-10-10 and journaling.
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Courage As Consistent Principle-Based Action
- Courage is making consistent choices that align with your principles even when uncomfortable or unpopular.
- Leadership is presence, consistency, and getting people to think bigger than themselves.
Standing Up For An Unfair Performance Rating
- Gretchen intervened when a high-performing colleague was unfairly labeled low-performing and risked being written off.
- She gathered evidence, triangulated support, and later hired that person onto her team where they excelled.
Prebrief And Rally Support Before Challenging Decisions
- Prepare evidence and pre-brief stakeholders before challenging a decision to reduce personal and organizational risk.
- Secure sponsorship from peers or managers so you have backing if the challenge escalates.
