

The Hard Skills
Dr. Mira Brancu
Welcome to “The Hard Skills” podcast, a practical and research-driven show that explores the core leadership skills needed to fuel leadership to activate real change, such as creating inclusive and healthy workplaces. Through expert interviews and live coaching calls, we challenge the notion of "soft skills," question long-held but inaccurate leadership development beliefs, and offer real, practical solutions for complex leadership challenges. Hosted by Dr. Mira Brancu, a clinical and organizational development psychologist with extensive leadership experience, we’ll delve into topics of leadership identity, leading with uncertainty, navigating workplace politics, and creating critical organizational change. This podcast will especially appeal to high-achieving leaders in healthcare, tech, and academic, industries. Whether you're seeking personal growth, looking to enhance your leadership abilities, or interested in Dr. Brancu's coaching services and membership community, join us as we unravel the complexities of leadership and inspire you to embrace the hard skills.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 28, 2024 • 1h
Where to Start: The Importance of Sequencing in Leadership Strategies
Listeners will learn what factors might get in the way of their leadership and business success related to having a poor strategy around where to start and why. We'll connect how Michelle Warner thinks about business development strategy with how Dr. Brancu thinks about leadership strategy when it comes to decision-making and actions for success. Do you ever feel like, “I don’t even know where to start!” Like you have so many different paths you can take, you’ve gotten so much advice, but now you are left feeling overwhelmed with which path is right? Well, this might be the right episode to help you gain some clarity around where to start. Leaders need to spend time develop the right strategy to navigate the complexities of internal and external personal factors required for leadership success. And our guest today will bring a different take - how business owners in particular can develop the right strategy to navigate the complexities of business development and growth. Together we'll explore the overlap between how she thinks about business development strategy with how I think about leadership strategy when it comes to decision-making and actions for success. Michelle Warner designs tiny companies that are built for the long run. With an MBA from one of the world’s top business schools and 15+ years growing small businesses, Michelle knows how to figure out what’s wrong and get it fixed when you hit a revenue plateau, and how to stabilize your business when you’re growing too fast and can’t keep up. She’s also the creator of Networking That Pays, the introvert-friendly, always awkward-free connection system that brings in reliable leads, consistent referrals and meaningful connections for your business in just one message a day. www.gotowerscope.com https://gotowerscope.com/towerscope-leadership-academyhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/warnermichelle/#SequenceOverStrategy #NetworkingThatPays #BusinessDevelopment #LeadershipDevelopment #Strategy #TheHardSkillsTune in for this empowering conversation at TalkRadio.nyc

May 21, 2024 • 1h
How to Address the Traumatic Experiences of Leadership
Listeners will learn a new way to think about traumatic experiences of leadership, as well as multiple approaches to identify and address these experiences. What do leaders do when the act of being a leader is traumatic? Leaders navigate enormously challenging situations, including moral dilemmas that force the leader to choose between the organization’s welfare and that of individual staff; poor behaviors such as sabotaging and gaslighting; no-win situations, and bias, discrimination, and exclusion. In this episode, Clinical Psychologist Jennifer Wisdom discusses the nature of distressing experiences leaders face in the workplace, the strategies they use to work through these distressing experiences, and recommendations for how to improve workspaces to decrease the likelihood of traumatic experiences occurring. She will emphasize the role of legacy institutional structures, interpersonal relationships, power dynamics, and betrayal of trust in contributing to leaders’ experiences of trauma. She will conclude with ways leaders can identify and address trauma. Jennifer Wisdom PhD MPH ABPP, is a licensed clinical psychologist and board-certified organizational psychologist. She is principal of Wisdom Consulting, Senior Organization Development Psychologist in the Veterans Health Administration National Center for Organization Development, and Affiliated Professor at the Oregon Health and Science University. She has published and taught extensively on leadership and public health, including authoring the Millennials’ Guides series. She has a PhD in Clinical Psychology and a Master's of Public Health in Biostatistics and Epidemiology.https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferpeltwisdom/ www.gotowerscope.com https://gotowerscope.com/towerscope-leadership-academy#leadershipchallenges #trauma #leadwithwisdom #TheHardSkillsTune in for this empowering conversation at TalkRadio.nyc

May 14, 2024 • 1h 2min
Client Q&A: When and How to Say No, Manage Up, Adjust Work Relationships, & Future-Proof Your Career
If you are a high-achieving, goal-oriented, socially conscious person who has found themselves spinning in some weird toxic waters at work, or simply wondering how to avoid getting sucked up into it, this might be the episode for you. In this episode Dr. Brancu answers four common questions about navigating these murky waters: when and how to (1) Say No, (2) Manage Up, (3) Adjust Work Relationships, & (4) Future-Proof Your Career.If you are a high-achieving, goal-oriented, socially conscious person who has found themselves spinning in some weird toxic waters at work, or simply wondering how to avoid getting sucked up into it, this might be the episode for you. I predominantly work with women in these situations since they are often excluded from the informal structures that reveal the power dynamics and rules below the surface that could help them. But this is for anyone who has also found themselves in that situation. In this episode Dr. Brancu answers some common recent questions she receives from clients and from the Towerscope Leadership Academy members: when and how to (1) Say No, (2) Manage Up, (3) Adjust Work Relationships, & (4) Future-Proof Your Career.Mira Brancu is a leadership consulting and coaching psychologist, founder of the Towerscope Leadership Academy, Associate Professor, Psychology Today columnist, author of the Millennials Guide to Workplace Politics, and had a leadership career before transitioning to helping teams and high-achieving women navigate their leadership complexities. #ClientQuestions #SayingNo #ManagingUp #WorkRelationships #CareerTransitions #LeadershipDevelopment #TheHardSkillsTune in for this empowering conversation at TalkRadio.nyc

May 7, 2024 • 1h
How to Develop a Compass to Navigate Complexity and Unknowns
Listeners will walk away with unique and creative insights on what it means to change, how understanding our limitations can become a strength, and fascinating research on learning, curiosity, and rewiring habits. Lisa will also share some of her frameworks for navigating change, including tools and guideposts that strengthen our ability to face change, important resources for expanding our sense of direction, and her ALIGN system of core values to establish sustainability in growth (and change).How do you navigate through uncertainty and unchartered territory toward change when the path is unclear and seems to be far from straight-forward? Lisa DeAngelis, a holistic change practitioner and author of Embracing the Unknown, will walk us through how to understand the barriers, develop a compass, and implement directions and guideposts that can help map pathways forward through her ALIGN system.Lisa DeAngelis is a holistic change practitioner, author of Embracing the Unknown, teacher, and speaker, and a skilled expert in the art of navigating sustainable change and guiding personal transformation. Lisa brings a warm, thoughtful, and creative approach to her work and is sought after for her ability to weave together ideas, coalescing and communicating information in meaningful ways. She is passionate about building meaningful relationships and helping others live authentically, and known for the wisdom and curiosity she brings to conversations on a variety of topics. Lisa is also the Chair of a nonprofit where her approach to leadership is strategic and visionary. Her personal goals include a commitment to "walking her talk" and helping re-envision how leaders can navigate change with more authenticity and intentionality to embrace the process of growth, learning to align with guiding principles and core values that support meaningful and impactful choices.#EmbracingTheUnknown #Change #ChoiceTune in for this empowering conversation at TalkRadio.nyc

Apr 30, 2024 • 58min
How to Cultivate Your Professional Identity to Strategically Map Your Career
Have you ever wondered how to go from one career to a very different one? Or how to integrate all of the interests you have into a professional career? This is the area of professional identity development and formation and Dr. Williams will lead us through how to do this. Listeners will gather information on how to start building the career they want by assessing themselves, understanding their unique skills and talents, and taking calculated risk with a supportive community. Have you ever wondered how to go from one career to a very different one? Or how to integrate all of the interests you have into a professional career? This is the area of professional identity development and formation and Dr. Williams will lead us through how to do this. Dr. Williams, Founder and CEO of Legacy Consulting & Research Group LLC, is a Licensed Clinical and Consulting psychologist who is an enthusiastic leader who has experience in assessment, consulting, research, and speaking on topics related to leadership development and culture. Dr. Williams works with clients, delivering executive coaching and consulting services. Dr. Williams is a member of the American Psychological Association, Division 13 Society of Consulting Psychology. In addition, Dr. Williams is an Infantry Officer who has served soldiers and families in the United States Army (active and reserves) for over 20 years.www.legacycrg.com www.formationpublishing.comCareer Development, Professional Identity, Career Exploration, #TheHardSkills, #leadershipdevelopment #leadershipidentityTune in for this empowering conversation at TalkRadio.nyc

Apr 23, 2024 • 60min
Strategically Designing A Career That Matters: A Lifetime Toolkit
Listeners will get a roadmap for how to face any career decision and make choices that support them and their stakeholders throughout the course of their lifetime. We’ll also cover practical tips for what to do when there are competing things that matter to you and your stakeholders, and how to resolve those conflicts in the best way possible.Have you faced a really difficult career decision and found it challenging to figure out which path to take? If so, this is the episode for you. Our guest, Dr. Sharon Hull, will offer a roadmap she has successfully used with hundreds of clients for how to think through what matters most and how to use that information to intentionally design your career. By focusing on what matters most to you in any given season of your life, you make room for the personal to come into harmony with the professional, and can maximize career satisfaction for that season. Being able to approach career decisions in a dynamic and personal-value-driven way allows flexibility and empowers people to make the best choices for them at any given moment. Sharon K. Hull MD, MPH, author of the upcoming book, Professional Careers by Design™: A Handbook for the Bespoke Life [Fall 2024], is a professional executive and leadership coach since 2011 has been a family physician for over 30 years and is dually board certified in both family medicine and in general preventive medicine and public health. Her clinical and academic medicine career spans roles in solo rural private practice, academic and organizational practice, and administrative leadership as a member of the Dean’s staff, an active teaching faculty member, a clinical division chief and a department chair. Sharon is also the founder of Metta Solutions, which offers professionals the tools they need to achieve a balanced life with authenticity, integrity and purpose. https://www.mettasolutions.com/ https://twitter.com/MettaSolutions https://www.linkedin.com/in/mettasolutions/ https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Careers-Design-Handbook-Bespoke/dp/B0CW94C7T4#mettasolutions #ProfessionalCareersbyDesign #careerdevelopment #professionaldevelopment Tune in for this empowering conversation at TalkRadio.nyc

Apr 16, 2024 • 1h 1min
How to Strategically Optimize Your Work Performance, Resilience and Mental Health
Can you be strategic in developing your resilience? Dr. Marie-Helene Pelletier, a business and clinical psychologist says yes and offers the audience a strategic framework of resilience, practical tips, and exercises for creating their own custom resilience plan, a new way to think about burnout, resilience, and your mental health as a leader.Dr. Marie-Helene Pelletier and Dr. Mira Brancu will discuss new ways to think about resilience. Mapping a strategy starts from within. Dr. Pelletier provides a new framework full of exercises to create your own customized, strategic resilience plan. Throughout her career in business management and psychology, Dr. Pelletier has spearheaded a dialogue on the crucial issues of leadership resilience and workplace health. Drawing on her extensive background in corporate, insurance, governance and public sectors, she brings national and international perspectives and expertise on mental health and resilience as a key pillar of overall health. She is a bilingual practicing psychologist with over 20 years of experience in clinical psychology and advisory workplace psychology and holds a Ph.D. and an MBA from the University of British Columbia. Marie-Helene is a Member of the Global Clinical Practice Network of the World Health Organization, and past Director on the boards of the Canadian Psychological Association and the International Association of Applied Psychology. She has presented, authored and co-authored a number of industry and academic publications and has won numerous academic and industry awards. In 2024, Dr. Pelletier published her first book, The Resilience Plan: A Strategic Approach to Optimizing Your Work Performance and Mental Health

Apr 9, 2024 • 1h 1min
At Your Core: How to Lead with Intention, Authenticity and Integrity
Are you walking the talk? Do people interpret your actions as you have intended? How do you know? Becoming the leader you aspire to be takes much more intentionality and practice than simply creating a strategic plan. In this episode, executive coach, Miki Feldman Simon will share her CORE 4 step process from her upcoming book to help listeners live and lead with intention, authenticity and integrity. Miki will provide practical tips that the audience can immediately implement. Are you walking the talk? Do people interpret your actions as you have intended? Becoming the leader you aspire to be takes much more intentionality and practice than simply creating a strategic plan. Using science and behavioral psychology Miki designed a 4 step process, the CORE framework that helps leaders stop getting in their own way, and lead themselves and others with intention, authenticity and integrity. CORE stands for Clarity, Operationalize, Reflect, Evaluate. Miki Feldman Simon is a certified Executive Coach, PCC, successful business leader, and dynamic public speaker. Miki coaches leaders seasoned in their executive positions to broaden their impact, as well as supports those recently promoted to succeed in their new role. Her clients become more self-aware, more aligned personally and professionally, and more deliberate and intentional in their leadership, elevating their ability to lead authentically and effectively. Miki’s work is informed by 25 years in business and entrepreneurship, working globally, in the United States, Israel and Australia, across a number of leadership roles and industries. Under her tenure in HR, marketing, and executive leadership, she has led multiple companies to successful exits and has gained deep understanding of the challenges executives face. Miki is certified in Stakeholder Centered Coaching, Red Team Coaching and has an M.S. in Organizational Behavior, a B.A. in Psychology and Educational Counseling, and SPHR./www.linkedin.com/in/mikifeldmansimon/ https://www.facebook.com/miki.feldmansimon/ https://www.instagram.com/MikiFeldmanSimon/ #executivecoaching #COREframework #BecomeTheLeaderYouAspireToBE #leadershipdevelopment #leadershipcoaching #TheHardSkillsTune in for this empowering conversation at TalkRadio.nyc

Apr 2, 2024 • 1h 3min
From Idea to Impact: Mapping Out Your Leadership Strategy
In this episode, listeners will learn how one young social entrepreneur transformed an idea into an implementable action plan, scaled it up to reach a broader audience and have a wider impact, and is now developing her leadership identity and vision for the future. In this episode, Aynsley Szczesniak and Dr. Mira Brancu will walk through the steps of taking an idea and turning it into reality. They will discuss tips for crafting a vision of the future, effective strategies for setting achievable and time-bound goals, and ways to get back on track when a challenge forces you off your envisioned path. This will also be a coaching episode where Aynsley will explore her own leadership strengths and next steps with Dr. Brancu. Ultimately, Aynsley's journey as a budding social entrepreneur and youth activist will inspire people of an age to know they can make a difference. Aynsley Szczesniak is the Founder and Executive Director of Speak Out Sisterhood, a global network empowering youth to eradicate barriers to equality for women in STEM. As a first year Honors Carolina scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Aynsley is also the Founder and State Lead of the North Carolina chapter of Million Women Mentors, the Student STEM Programs Chair of the Association for Women in Science - North Carolina, and a research assistant for the UNC School of Medicine PREPARE project. Aynsley is known for hosting engaging speaker panels, workshops, and webinars, as well as for her skillful networking abilities. As a budding social entrepreneur, she's eager to learn how to further her passion for empowering young people to develop leadership strengths, professional skills, and confidence through comprehensive and collaborative programming.SOS website: www.speakoutsisterhood.orgSOS Instagram: @speak_out_sisterhoodAynsley Instagram: @aynsleyszczesniakSOS LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/speak-out-sisterhood/Aynsley LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aynsley-szczesniak/ #steminism, #womeninstem, #speakoutsisterhood #youthleader #leadershipcoaching #leadershipconsultingTune in for this empowering conversation at TalkRadio.nyc

Mar 26, 2024 • 1h
Mastering the Expecting Parent Experience: Mapping a Strategy to Retain This Top Talent Demographic
In this episode, we'll map out strategies to support employee transitions into parenthood. What do they need? Are there generational differences in trends and expectations? How does this impact team culture, retention, and productivity? Sarah Olin will provide insights into the impact of making this a priority, how to do it gracefully and align it with company goals, and creative methods for maintaining team productivity during extended leaves.The collision between parenthood and career presents critical retention issues for companies. Becoming a parent leads to shifting priorities. This requires leaders to understand what their employees might need to help them feel good about staying at the company. Get the transition right? Top talent plants roots. Bungle it? Risk losing them for good. How can you lead confident conversations aligned to parent needs, maintain productivity, and ease their return to work? Sarah Olin offers a roadmap to provide an A+ experience for parents while increasing retention and engagement, and sustaining productivity for the company.In this episode we'll also delve into:1. Millennial and Gen Z talent trends and why supporting their transition into working parenthood is critical.2. How this connects to company culture and team impact.3. Creative strategies to maintain team productivity during extended leaves.Sarah Olin is the leading voice in coaching and transformation for working parents. With years of experience and understanding what parents need to thrive, Sarah co-founded LUMO to help progressive organizations support their employees with the transition to working parenthood. Trained by world-renowned leaders including Dr. Brené Brown, Sarah has coached leaders at the UN, NBA, Google, and Calvin Klein, among others. She was a featured keynote speaker at Amazon's first-ever International Working Moms’ Day.https://lumoleadership.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-bernier-olin-pcc-b558bb14/#LearnLeadLUMO #leadershipconsulting #womeninleadership #TheHardSkillsTune in for this empowering conversation at TalkRadio.nyc