A World of Difference cover art

A World of Difference

A World of Difference

By: Lori Adams-Brown
Listen for free

A World of Difference: Leadership, Culture & Travel Podcast Welcome to A World of Difference, a top 3% global podcast where authentic leadership meets cross-cultural wisdom. Host Lori Adams-Brown, a strategic transformation executive and multilingual global leader, brings you real conversations with bestselling authors, nonprofit changemakers, C-suite executives, and thought leaders who are redefining what it means to lead with purpose. This isn't surface-level leadership content. We dive deep into psychological safety in leadership, organizational culture transformation, differentiation strategies, global leadership development, and how cross-cultural communication shapes the future of work. Whether you're a CEO navigating organizational change, an HR leader building inclusive cultures, or a manager seeking authentic leadership skills, these conversations will challenge how you think and lead. From travel as cultural education to ethics in business to emotional intelligence for executives, each episode offers actionable insights for leaders who believe our differences make us stronger. If you're tired of cookie-cutter business podcasts and want meaningful conversations that bridge culture, society, and leadership, you're home. Pull up a seat at the table with us.© 2023 Lori Adams-Brown Art Economics Literary History & Criticism Social Sciences Travel Writing & Commentary
Episodes
  • Permission to Leave: Reading the Signs Before Burnout with Sally J. Clarke

    Permission to Leave: Reading the Signs Before Burnout with Sally J. Clarke
    Jun 24 2026
    Staying isn’t always strength, and walking away isn’t always failure. Sally J. Clarke, co-author of Walk Away: Step Out to Step Up, joins Lori Adams-Brown to unpack why high-performing leaders so often wait for a crisis before giving themselves permission to leave. Why a role can look right on paper, title, compensation, trajectory, while quietly stopping to fit, and how to tell a structural misalignment from a personal failure The story behind the research: 40+ interviews with women across finance, technology, and the arts, including a founder underestimated in the boardroom who went on to build her own global company culture Why walking away is rarely emotional and almost always strategic, and what that reframe offers women taught that leaving means failing How culture, from Singapore to Germany to the United States, shapes whether leaving feels like a free choice or a forced one What recent comments from prominent tech leaders reveal about shifting corporate culture, and one question every leader can ask themselves this week Sally J. Clarke is an award-winning author and global business leader based in Singapore. She spent over a decade leading global marketing and communications at FIS and Markit, has advised organisations including Mitsubishi, Accenture, and the Singapore Stock Exchange, and is the co-author of Walk Away: Step Out to Step Up and author of the bestselling novel Ringside Gamble, winner of the 2025 Ink Prize for Best Debut Novel. 00:00 — Welcome and introduction to Sally J. Clarke 00:38 — The origin story: questioning whether “staying the course” is always right 02:01 — Why Walk Away exists: the conversation in Singapore that started it 03:35 — Beyond Lean In: how the conversation around women and ambition has shifted 04:35 — When a role looks right on paper but has stopped fitting 06:52 — Dr. Meena Kaushik: underestimated in the boardroom, she built her own company culture 09:12 — Embracing fear and the “learning and earning” mindset 11:44 — Permission, structural misalignment, and the personal-failure trap 12:37 — Alice Chen: a near-death wake-up call and leading with empathy 15:29 — Maternity leave, human limits, and humane leadership 17:15 — The scorecard method and a mentor’s advice on vision 19:16 — Why career growth isn’t a straight line 21:34 — How culture shapes the choice to leave 23:26 — The zebra and the lion: knowing who you’re trying to be 24:51 — Integrity as the cross-cultural constant 25:55 — Recent comments from tech leaders and the “choiceless choice” some women face 32:54 — One question to ask yourself this week 34:56 — The artist’s check-in: knowing what you want to say to the world 36:43 — Where to find Sally and her book Join us for an exclusive bonus with Sally on Patreon Website: https://sjclarkeauthor.com LinkedIn Book: Walk Away: Step Out to Step Up Novel: Ringside Gamble Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode. Visit https://www.aworldofdifferencepodcast.com for more resources. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    42 mins
  • Rooted to Rise: How the Vineyard Teaches Sustainable Leadership with Susie Lipps

    Rooted to Rise: How the Vineyard Teaches Sustainable Leadership with Susie Lipps
    Jun 17 2026
    What if the most sophisticated leadership framework you've ever encountered was grown in a vineyard? In this episode, Lori sits down with her longtime friend Susie Lipps, founder of Conversations in the Vineyard, for a conversation that is equal parts practical wisdom and personal depth. Susie spent decades leading in international organizations before settling in Sonoma County, California, where the rhythms of the vineyard became her lens for rethinking what it means to flourish. The result is a framework as grounded as it is timely. In this episode, you will hear: Why sustainable flourishing requires going 30 feet deep, not just wide How the seasonal rhythms of a vineyard map onto leadership lifecycles What third culture kids understand about rootedness that others often miss The difference between being productive and being fruitful How to lead purpose-driven teams through transformational offsights and retreats Susie Lipps grew up between worlds, spending her childhood in a mud hut in Honduras and a boarding school in Guatemala City. That TCK experience of never fully belonging anywhere became the foundation for a life's work centered on meaning, rootedness, and human flourishing. She is the creator and facilitator of Conversations in the Vineyard, where she hosts transformational offsights for purpose-focused teams. TIMESTAMPS [00:00] Introduction and Welcome [02:30] Susie's origin story: from Honduras to Sonoma [06:00] What the vineyard teaches about deep roots [12:00] Sustainable flourishing vs. high performance [18:00] Seasons in leadership: dormancy, pruning, harvest [24:00] Leading purpose-driven teams through change [30:00] TCK identity and the search for home [36:00] How to find Susie and work with her Check out our exclusive bonus episode with Susie on Patreon Find Susie Lipps at: Conversations in the Vineyard Subscribe, leave a review , and share this episode. Visit https://www.aworldofdifferencepodcast.com for more resources. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    51 mins
  • Community Is Capacity: Leading Through Constant Change with Hyatt's Carlee Wolfe

    Community Is Capacity: Leading Through Constant Change with Hyatt's Carlee Wolfe
    Jun 10 2026
    What happens when an organization says all the right things about culture, puts the values on the wall, launches the initiative, and nothing actually moves? Carlee Wolfe has spent more than two decades inside that gap, and her answers will challenge how you lead. Carlee Wolfe is Associate Vice President of Leader Development and Organizational Effectiveness at Hyatt Hotels, where her work sits at the intersection of global leadership, talent strategy, and culture. Her perspective is shaped not only by the boardroom but by two decades of coaching volleyball and volunteering with the Olympic and Paralympic movement, including adaptive sports. In this episode, we explore: Why the moments before and after a big transformation matter more than the launch itself, and how leaders ride the wave ahead of their teams What organizations consistently get wrong about high performance, and why doing your job well makes you a great performer, not an underperformer Why belonging does not mean comfort, and what happens when belonging becomes a brand promise with no actions, policies, or behaviors behind it How community functions as real organizational capacity, from shared learning in the age of AI to carrying the weight together Why burnout never wins for anyone, and how to lead for sustainable output instead of endless hours Timestamps (estimates, confirm against final edit) 00:00 Cold open: when culture initiatives do not move culture 01:10 Welcome and what this show is about 01:52 Meet Carlee Wolfe 03:05 Carlee joins the conversation 03:55 The arc of transformation: leading the before and after of big moments 07:00 What organizations misunderstand about high performance 10:55 Doing your job well makes you a great performer 11:05 Silicon Valley, global work cultures, and the overwork trap 12:40 Output over hours: burnout, capacity, and decision quality 16:30 Belonging does not mean comfort 20:50 Trust is built when actions match the words on the wall 21:30 Community as capacity: carrying the weight together 24:55 The bar you can raise alone versus the bar you can raise with others 27:55 Where to find Carlee 28:25 Join the Difference Makers on Patreon Connect with Carlee Find Carlee Wolfe at: LinkedIn (search Carlee Wolfe) and https://www.aceandarrowconsulting.com Connect with us Subscribe, leave a review at https://www.aworldofdifferencepodcast.com/reviews/new/, and share this episode. Visit https://www.aworldofdifferencepodcast.com for more resources. Join the Difference Makers community for the exclusive conversation with Carlee: patreon.com/aworldofdifference Connect with Lori: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loriadamsbrown and https://loriadamsbrown.substack.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    33 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet