How a Mistake in Confronting Workplace Discrimination Shaped a Leadership Career – Karin Hurt on Speaking Up the Right Way

My guest for Episode #311 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Karin Hurt, CEO of Let’s Grow Leaders, a global leadership development firm. Karin is a former Verizon Wireless executive and the award-winning author of five books, including her latest, Powerful Phrases for Dealing with Workplace Conflict.

Episode page with video, transcript, and more

In this episode, she shares a deeply personal and professionally pivotal story from her corporate days—an impassioned confrontation over a discriminatory hiring decision that, while well-intentioned, caused serious damage to her career.

Karin unpacks how her emotional reaction—rooted in a strong sense of justice—ultimately undermined her goal. Despite advocating successfully for her team member, her public and heated delivery hurt her leadership reputation. She reflects on the importance of staying calm under pressure, choosing the right time and place to speak up, and communicating with both courage and strategy. These lessons became the foundation for the work she does today, helping leaders navigate difficult conversations with confidence and compassion.

Throughout the episode, we also discuss her transition from corporate executive to keynote speaker, author, and entrepreneur. Karin explains how she and her co-author (and husband), David Dye, help teams build cultures of “productive conflict,” where differences lead to innovation rather than division. From real-world mistakes to powerful communication tools, this episode is full of insight for leaders who want to lead with heart—and get results.

Questions and Topics:

• What’s your favorite mistake, and what did you learn from it?
• Do you think the hiring manager eventually saw the light, or was the outcome driven by HR?
• Did that incident influence your decision to leave the corporate world and start your own company?
• How did your background in HR and operations shape your leadership approach?
• When did you realize you had something valuable to share publicly through your blog?
• How did your speaking career take off, and what was the turning point?
• How do you stay calm in conflict now, compared to earlier in your career?
• What are the four dimensions of productive conflict?
• How often do leaders get in trouble for what they say versus staying silent?
• How do you advise someone to say “no” to their boss without hurting their reputation?
• What are the dynamics of working with your husband as a business partner?
• How can teams embrace conflict as a source of innovation, not dysfunction?
• What’s the danger of trying to fix systemic conflict at the interpersonal level?
• How do you handle conflict on hybrid or global teams where trust is harder to build?
• Is it easier to de-escalate conflict in person versus virtual or text-based communication?
• How do you balance encouraging courage with creating psychological safety?