Speak Up: Develop Your Executive Presence & Leadership Communication Style

491: Why Many High Performers Fail In Leadership And Executive Presence —And How To Avoid Being One Of Them

Nov 26, 2025

In this engaging discussion, Mara Dorn, a billion-dollar health insurance sales leader, shares her journey managing over 500 agents. She delves into the critical transition from leading producers to leading leaders, highlighting the importance of influence and shared mission. Mara explains why top performers often stumble in leadership roles and offers practical tips on maintaining team culture during scaling. Additionally, she emphasizes the need for clear communication and accountability, equipping listeners with essential insights for executive success.

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INSIGHT

Influence Through A Core Leadership Layer

Scaling leadership focuses on influencing the leaders closest to the front line rather than directly managing everyone below you.
Mara Dorn emphasizes working with a core group of leaders who then relay and reinforce your message to the wider team.

INSIGHT

Cohesion Beats Total Agreement

Leading leaders requires buy-in and cohesion among the leadership team more than top-down control.
Shared core values, mission, and accountability make scaled leadership possible even without full agreement on every detail.

ADVICE

Use Public Metrics And Private Coaching

Do run transparent group meetings to show performance and create shared accountability.
Then coach privately to diagnose issues and implement improvement with one-on-one follow-through.

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To see if Laura’s Executive Presence Mastery System 90-day coaching intensive is right for you, set up a strategy call here.

Are you crushing it as a high performer but unsure how to step into a senior leadership role without burning out or losing control?

In this powerful conversation, host Laura interviews Mara Dorne, a billion-dollar sales leader managing over 500 agents. Together, they unpack the real challenges of scaling leadership—especially when shifting from leading doers to leading other leaders. If you're eyeing a VP or Senior Director role, but unsure if you're truly ready or equipped, this episode is your roadmap.

By the end of this episode you’ll know:

🚀The critical difference between managing people and leading them through influence.

🧩Why many high performers fail in leadership—and how to avoid being one of them.

🔥Practical insight into maintaining team culture and motivation at scale.

If you would like FREE coaching for our episode #500 coming out December 17 send me your question, your first name, role and company to hello@speakupwithlaura.com.

Press play to learn how to scale your leadership the smart way—so your next move up isn’t your last.

So look, if you find yourself stepping into a new leadership role — maybe you’ve just been promoted or you're managing multiple teams for the first time — and it's making you second guess whether you have the executive presence to lead other leaders… but you really want to walk into any room and be seen as the one to follow — that’s exactly why we created the Executive Presence Scorecard.

It’s designed to help you quickly pinpoint the communication gaps and credibility leaks that might be holding you back — so you can scale your influence without being overlooked or second-guessed.

To get access simply email me at hello@speakupwithlaura.com and put “score” in the subject line.

To learn more visit www.speakupwithlaura.com. New Speak Up podcast episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday early in the morning.

In Speak Up communication and executive presence coaching, high performing leaders and executives learn to enhance their influence and confidence, refining their communication style to increase visibility and effectiveness in promotion opportunities.

By honing communication skills and fostering a trusted advisor mindset, aspiring executives cultivate mastery in public speaking and beat imposter syndrome. Your leadership becomes more strategic and inspiring.