Taking the Lead

In this episode of Taking the Lead, host Christina Brady sits down with Priyanka Sundhar from 4pm. They delve into the challenges and opportunities of remote work, mainly focusing on productivity. Priyanka emphasizes the importance of personalizing productivity, cautioning against broad, one-size-fits-all approaches. She suggests that productivity is a personal journey, unique to each individual, and should not be confined to traditional notions of early mornings and relentless hustle.The conversation then shifts to the role of daily habits in productivity. Priyanka advocates for the quick implementation of productive habits and the power of daily standups in remote teams. She underscores the importance of sales leaders holding their teams accountable for their daily activities, emphasizing the potential of each day.Lastly, Priyanka and Christina explore the intersection of productivity and AI. They discuss the potential of AI in enhancing productivity while acknowledging the need for the human touch in sales. Priyanka's insights provide a fresh perspective on productivity in the digital age, offering valuable strategies for sales success.

In this episode of Taking the Lead, host Christina Brady welcomes Kristina Jaramillo, President of Personal ABM. The conversation kicks off with a deep dive into Kristina's journey, revealing how she accidentally found her way into the marketing world and evolved into her current role. Next, Kristina shares her company's focus on the one-to-one portion of Account-Based Marketing (ABM), emphasizing the importance of interactions over scaling for securing higher-value deals.The discussion then shifts to the tactical aspects of ABM. Kristina highlights the importance of tailoring for relevance and teaching away from the status quo. She underscores the need for a hyper-focused approach that differentiates from competitors and the status quo, ultimately convincing prospects that doing nothing is more costly than implementing a new tool.The episode wraps up with a rapid reveal section, where Kristina shares her favorite board game, her irrational fear of sharks, and a piece of advice that everyone could benefit from: slowing down and being intentional. She encourages listeners to consider whether they are delivering the experience they want, both personally and professionally.

In this episode, host Christina Brady engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Jen Allen Knuth from Lavender. The discussion navigates the complex terrain of sales motivation and buyer engagement, shedding light on the need for a paradigm shift in approaching sales.Jen Allen Knuth draws on her rich experience in the sales industry to present a fresh perspective on sales strategies. She underscores the importance of tuning into buyer needs and rethinking how we view motivation. The conversation illuminates the transformation of sales from a seemingly daunting task to an empowering journey.In the concluding segment, Jen shares her inspirations and the powerful impact of a memorable Coldplay concert. She also discusses her role at Lavender, focusing on the essentiality of well-crafted written communication in sales. This episode is a treasure trove of insights for anyone seeking to enhance their sales strategies and buyer communication.

In this episode of Taking the Lead, Christina Brady hosts an enlightening conversation with Keli Frazier-Cox, Founder of Promote Leaders. The discussion delves into a challenging but crucial aspect of leadership — balancing business objectives with the humanity of a team.Keli shares her unique insights, emphasizing the importance of maintaining dignity during hardships, performance issues, and tough feedback conversations. She articulates how trust and loyalty are built in these challenging moments, leading to lasting success for both the individual and the organization.The conversation also explores the nuanced art of giving difficult feedback. Keli highlights how empathy and genuine interest in the team member's success can transform the feedback process, turning even tough performance conversations into opportunities for growth. This episode is a must-listen for leaders seeking to build a more empathetic, resilient, and successful team.

Honest communication is the foundation of good business relationships and team dynamics, and leading with transparency will ultimately impact your business in a positive way.However, as a middle manager, you have to balance transparency both up the chain and with your team.In this episode of Taking the Lead, Marissa Homere, the VP of Marketing at Irwin, gets into the importance of balance for middle management. Marissa and our host Christina Brady discuss the concept of discovery in managing up as an individual contributor (IC), how an IC can develop a relationship with their manager, and why being considerate is the highest form of influence.

Interpersonal communication is all about sharing emotions, thoughts, and ideas. When you think of communication, you instantly think of spoken language and the verbal exchange of information, but nonverbal communication is just as essential to get your point across.In this episode of the Taking the Lead podcast, our host Christina Brady welcomes Rachel Cossar, the CEO & co-founder of Virtual Sapiens. They talk about the importance of body language and nonverbal communication, why listening is as vital as talking, and the key traits of great communicators.

If you are satisfied with the company where you work, its culture, and the people around you, and you do not want to leave it but want something new, you can change your role and even move to a completely different sector within the same company. In addition, you can explore other opportunities based on what motivates you.But how do you identify what motivates you, and how do you identify the gaps you need to fill for your next role in order to be successful?In this episode of Taking the Lead, Samantha DeStefano, VPII of Enterprise at Upwork, explains how you can figure out how to identify what motivates you. In addition, she explains how to develop your career successfully. Samantha and our host Christina Brady discuss the importance of motivators in career development and combining external and internal networks if you’re looking to change careers, and how to prepare for your next role.

Everyone has a different experience when it comes to working in a company. And while it may be easy for some to get ahead, others fail even though they try their best. However, you have to learn to stand up for yourself and be able to communicate effectively and respectfully to advocate for yourself even though it is sometimes difficult.In this episode of Taking the Lead, Jenna Rogers, the founder of Career Civility, gets into civil communication and how you can use it in the workplace. Jenna and our host Christina Brady discuss the importance and power of effective communication, how to successfully stand up for yourself, and why people struggle with self-advocacy.

Open communication and transparency are the foundation of your company culture. But they can be double-edged swords, given that it's tricky to determine how far you should go with being transparent. According to our guest Marina Golemis, transparency is non-negotiable but still isn't a standard. Also, not all information brings value to your team, so it's critical to at least share the information that can affect their work, performance, results, etc. Marina is the SVP of North American Sales at ShipBob and has over 15 years of experience in sales. She joins our host Christina Brady to share what goes on behind-the-scenes of sales and CS, the difference between the two, and why they should work in tandem. She also explains how she uses past experiences to be successful in her current role and be a good leader. Marina and Christina discuss the importance of feedback, especially when employees give it to their superiors.

Although we live in a male-dominated world, women beat all odds and challenge the dominant structures everyday. Further, many women are in leadership positions; they are managers, directors, and even independent entrepreneurs and founders.But to be successful in business, women still have to work harder than men. They have to invest in themselves to learn, and considering that their mentors and bosses are mostly men, they lose the will to advance because it seems impossible for them to be in a higher position than men.In this episode of Taking the Lead, our host Christina Brady welcomes AmyK Hutchens, Founder and Intelligence Activist at AmyK International Inc. AmyK describes her journey from being a school teacher to entering sales and starting her own business. AmyK and Christina discuss leadership, how to lead your team successfully and how the She Gets It community helps women with self-development.