Kelli Arena spent her career at CNN telling the public what powerful people would rather keep quiet. She covered the Justice Department, won an Emmy, and reported the Moussaoui trial, the only 9/11 case tried in an American civilian courtroom.

After Kelli left journalism, she went into another form of public service, serving as Chief of Communications for the National Security Agency, spending eight years helping the Agency find its voice.

Kelli has remade herself across four worlds: journalism, academia, government, and now the nonprofit sector, where she just became President and CEO of the National Cryptologic Foundation.

A few things she gets into, worth your time even if you never press play:

She took six months of maternity leave, three separate times, as an on-air correspondent. Everyone said it would end her career. It didn't. Younger women in the newsroom started thanking her, because she'd quietly given them permission.

She earned back America's trust at the NSA the boring way: Through Consistency. Relationships. A rule that every reporter got a callback within 30 minutes, even when the answer was "no comment."

And her advice for anyone starting over: "Listen more than you speak. Every single time I have listened to others before making a decision, it has been a better decision."

0:00:00 The Stumble that nearly ended my career

0:01:33 Meet Kelli Arena

0:02:52 A new chapter: President and CEO of the National Cryptologic Foundation

0:03:25 What cryptology is, and 500,000 open cyber jobs

0:05:30 AI's impact “can't be overstated”

0:07:30 Who gets displaced, and how we reskill them

0:08:40 Getting cyber smart as citizens

0:10:05 Becoming CNN's justice correspondent, then 9/11

0:12:05 Six months of leave, and the warnings that proved false

0:15:00 A day in the life: news as the ultimate team sport

0:18:10 Inside the Moussaoui trial

0:21:45 “I am Al Qaeda”: chaos in the courtroom

0:23:35 Why the jury chose life over death

0:25:16 Laid off: the 2009 budget cuts

0:27:25 Reinvention: teaching journalists to hold power accountable

0:30:15 The women who risked everything just to drive

0:32:50 Advice to young reporters in a hostile climate

0:35:20 A story Jonathan had never told on air

0:38:05 Inside the NSA: secrecy meets a journalist

0:42:00 Taking “no such agency” public

0:43:45 Re-earning America's trust after Snowden

0:48:00 Knowing when it's time to leave

0:49:30 What she's most proud of

0:51:30 Myron Kandel and the bag of work clothes

0:55:10 The reinvention lesson: listen more than you speak

New here? Follow Stumbling Blocks so you don't miss what's next. A quick review is the best way to help other leaders find the show.

Shalene Gupta, staff editor for Fast Company's Work Life and Leadership section, interviewed 35 middle managers at some of the biggest companies in the world for her piece "The Middle Manager's AI Survival Guide." What she found is that the contradictory headlines about AI at work aren't actually contradictory. There are two different worlds, and which one you're working in makes a world of difference.

One idea sits under all of it, and it matches what I find in my own work. People will walk through almost any change, AI included, when they trust that their leader has their back.

In this episode:

0:00:00 The question every manager is asking

0:01:20 The one-line takeaway from the AI Survival Guide

0:02:30 Two universes: the AI race vs. where most of us work

0:04:53 Ethan at Meta: "If you think they'll replace you, they probably will"

0:06:07 The math: a person vs. $200 to $500 a month in tokens

0:07:36 ClickUp's "100x more productive" memo

0:08:40 Are we weighing the human cost? (Dimon at Davos)

0:09:49 What it feels like to be a middle manager today

0:11:48 What the excited managers had in common (and a Georgia-Pacific surprise)

0:14:10 Advice for leaders taking teams through AI

0:16:26 Advice for the rest of us

0:17:07 My takeaway, and a look at next week

Links:

"The Middle Manager's AI Survival Guide" (Fast Company): https://www.fastcompany.com/91531056/the-middle-managers-ai-survival-guide

The Power of Trust, by Sandra Sucher and Shalene Gupta: https://amzn.to/4xdcxUK

The Cycle, by Shalene Gupta: https://www.amazon.com/Cycle-Confronting-Pain-Periods-PMDD/dp/1250882893

Shalene Gupta: https://shalenegupta.com

Shalene Gupta is the staff editor for Fast Company's Work Life and Leadership section, co-author of The Power of Trust with Harvard's Sandra Sucher, and author of The Cycle.

Stumbling Blocks: How Great Leaders Are Made is hosted by
Jonathan Block, founder of Block Leadership Group, recorded in the Treehouse Studio in Georgia.

If this was worth your time, follow the show and leave a review. It's the best way to help other leaders find it.

Next week: Retired Vice Admiral Mark Harnitchek, who led the Defense Logistics Agency, on loss, grief, and leadership as a mirror. I'll see you then on The Stumble.

Dana Perino's new book is called Purple State. It's a political romance novel set in a gerrymandered Wisconsin district, about three young women who discover that love and friendship don't stop at party lines.

Coming from the 26th White House Press Secretary and co-host of The Five on Fox News (the most-watched show on cable news!), it's a book worth paying attention to. Especially as we find ourselves more divided than any time in recent history.

Dana talks about the personal story behind the book: The time a dear friend said, "Do not pass up the chance to be loved." She almost didn't listen.

Dana tells the story of sitting in the Oval Office with President Bush just before walking out to face a press corps hungry over a tell-all memoir from her predecessor. She was furious on his behalf. He told her something about forgiveness that changed her.

Purple State is out now. Pick it up today here:* https://amzn.to/4tRzGcZ

CHAPTER MARKERS

0:00:00 Welcome to the Treehouse Studio

0:01:13 The 2007 Phone Call

0:02:35 Life After the White House

0:04:58 Purple State: The Book

0:06:59 Why I Wrote a Novel

0:10:42 Wearing Your Politics Lightly

0:12:57 The Oval Office and the Forgiveness Lesson

0:15:52 68% of Young People Won't Date Across Party Lines

0:17:29 Do Not Pass Up the Chance to Be Loved

0:19:00 Peter, the Proposal, and the Open-Ended Ticket

0:20:05 Dinner With the Queen's Staff

0:21:46 There Is Freedom in Being Disciplined

0:23:41 Closing Thoughts on Purple State

0:24:49 Outro

KEYWORDS / TAGS

Dana Perino, Purple State, leadership, Fox News, The Five, White House Press Secretary, forgiveness, discipline, political fiction, women in leadership, Minute Mentoring, President Bush, Jonathan Block, Stumbling Blocks, career resilience, love, faith

*Amazon affiliates receive a small commission from Amazon for purchases made through this link. Commissions do not impact editorial decisions.