Michelle Pollack built a career most people would envy, from Broadway with the producers of Rent and Avenue Q to network television in Hollywood. Then she caught herself doing exactly what she swore she never would: giving up her integrity to climb the next rung. Today she is an executive leadership coach and the creator of compassionate command, a framework for leaders who feel successful and stuck at the same time. In this episode of Unpacked with Ron Harvey, Michelle and Ron talk about the ladder, the lies high achievers tell themselves, and how to lead with both clarity and care.

In this episode:

• The two lies high achievers believe: "I'll breathe when I get there" and "I have to blow it all up to change"
• Why most of Michelle's clients who come in ready to quit end up staying and making small shifts instead
• Slow down to speed up, and why busy leaders don't have time to skip the inner work
• Ron's pit stop analogy: why rest has to be a full stop, not a slowdown
• Treating change like a science experiment so one failed attempt doesn't make you abandon ship
• The Hollywood moment Michelle realized her integrity was five rungs below her on the ladder
• How fear and sunk cost keep leaders silent when they know something is off
• Why curiosity beats assumption in conflict and in leadership
• What a real coach does, and why the best athletes lean on their coaches more as they rise
• Compassionate command explained: why clear is kind, and why compassion is not the same as being nice
• How to give tough feedback and leave room for the other person to respond instead of react

Michelle Pollack is an executive leadership coach who works with high achievers one on one and inside corporations on leadership, clear communication, and healthy conflict. Before coaching, she worked on Broadway and spent years as a network television executive in Hollywood.

Learn more: michellepollock.com
Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn. She answers every DM.

Unpacked with Ron Harvey is produced by Global Core Strategies and Consulting, a leadership firm based in Columbia, South Carolina.

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Just Make A Difference: Leading Under Pressure by Ron Harvey

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Disclaimer:

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any organization or entity. The information provided in this podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional advice. Listeners should consult with their own professional advisors before implementing any suggestions or recommendations made in this podcast. The speakers and guests are not responsible for any actions taken by listeners based on the information presented in this podcast. The podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice or services. The speakers and guests make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the information, products, services, or related graphics contained in this podc...

Julien Godbarge was the CEO of a fast-growth company, stacking acquisitions and pulling every lever for value creation. Somewhere along the way he stopped taking care of himself and, in his words, ended up a broken man. His recovery became a book and a framework of ten blind spots that lead to burnout. In this episode of Unpacked with Ron Harvey, Julien joins Ron for an honest conversation about the warning signs leaders ignore, the pressure they put on themselves, and how to perform at a high level without running on empty.

In this episode:

• The first warning sign Julien couldn't ignore: waking up at 3 a.m. on the dot, night after night
• The Atlas syndrome: why leaders isolate themselves and carry every risk alone
• How the Stockdale paradox gives you the language to be honest with your team
• Why breaking burnout habits means changing how you see yourself
• Zooming out: why chasing daily balance fails and planning by the week, month, and quarter works
• How Julien runs his whole life on OKRs, from his marriage and kids to his fitness
• The big rocks principle for putting what matters on the calendar first
• The confidence pendulum: catching imposter syndrome and hubris before they cost you
• Why talking it out and journaling slow your thinking, and why sometimes you have to slow down to accelerate
• Building a personal dashboard, from heart rate variability to date nights
• Completing the stress cycle so your baseline stress stops climbing toward burnout

Julien Godbarge is the founder of GEM Consulting Solutions and a former CEO of a lower middle market company. He is the author of Crash, Burn, Learn: A Business Tale, which lays out the ten blind spots that lead to executive burnout. Originally from France, he now helps leaders accelerate their business without sacrificing their health.

Get the book on Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook. Learn more and book a free consultation: tenblindspots.com Connect with Julien Godbarge on LinkedIn.

Unpacked with Ron Harvey is produced by Global Core Strategies and Consulting, a leadership firm based in Columbia, South Carolina.

Connect with Ron
Just Make A Difference: Leading Under Pressure by Ron Harvey

Learn more about Global Core Strategies

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Disclaimer:

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any organization or entity. The information provided in this podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional advice. Listeners should consult with their own professional advisors before implementing any suggestions or recommendations made in this podcast. The speakers and guests are not responsible for any actions taken by listeners based on the information presented in this podcast. The podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice or services. The speakers and guests make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the information, products, services, or related graphics contained in this podc...

Celeste Warren spent almost four decades inside global corporations, including her last ten years as chief diversity and inclusion officer at Merck. Her take on leadership is refreshingly practical: most failures are not complicated. Leaders skip the basics, chase their own careers, and forget that people, not production lines, run the business. In this episode of Unpacked with Ron Harvey, Celeste and Ron talk belonging, trust, influence, and what equity looks like when you treat it as a leadership responsibility instead of a political debate.

In this episode:

• The one habit that builds belonging: regular one-on-ones that go deeper than status updates
• Why so many managers never learn to lead, and how ego and career climbing get in the way
• Equity in plain terms: meeting people where they are so they can perform at their best
• How to win over leaders who disagree with you using data, storytelling, and ideas from the people doing the work
• Why you should always bring two or three options, each with a timeline and pros and cons
• Building relationships up, down, and across your organization
• The fastest way for a new leader to earn trust: do what you say you are going to do
• Why vulnerability is not weakness, and why no leader is supposed to have all the answers
• The umbrella principle: shielding your team from executive noise when the pressure is on
• Moving company values off the wall and into hiring, promotion, and training so a third-shift supervisor knows what to do at 3 a.m.

Celeste Warren is a consultant, speaker, and author of The Truth About Equity: What It Really Is, What It Isn't, and Why Everyone Wins When We Get It Right. After retiring from corporate life, she launched her own firm to help organizations and universities build inclusive cultures, fair practices, and stronger leaders.

Get the book on Amazon or at Celeste's website: [URL TO CONFIRM]
Connect with Celeste Warren on LinkedIn.

Unpacked with Ron Harvey is produced by Global Core Strategies and Consulting, a leadership development firm based in Columbia, South Carolina. People always matter.

Connect with Ron
Just Make A Difference: Leading Under Pressure by Ron Harvey

Learn more about Global Core Strategies

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.
.
Disclaimer:

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any organization or entity. The information provided in this podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional advice. Listeners should consult with their own professional advisors before implementing any suggestions or recommendations made in this podcast. The speakers and guests are not responsible for any actions taken by listeners based on the information presented in this podcast. The podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice or services. The speakers and guests make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the information, products, services, or related graphics contained in this podc...