Leadership Lab is the leadership development podcast for female mid-level managers and emerging women leaders ready to trade self-doubt for confident, authentic self-leadership. Hosted by Jamie McKinney, a former C-Suite leader in male-dominated industries turned executive coach, each episode delivers warm, practical tools built around emotional intelligence, Positive Intelligence, and unshakeable confidence. Then practice and apply what you learn inside the community at jamiemckinney.com/lab.
Leadership Laboratory
Claim This Podcastby Jamie McKinney | Author, Executive Coach, & Women's Leadership Development Guide
5.0(14 reviews)
23 episodes
Updated Daily
Accepts GuestsHas Sponsors
Podcast Overview
Leadership Lab is the leadership development podcast for female mid-level managers and emerging women leaders ready to trade self-doubt for confident, authentic self-leadership. Hosted by Jamie McKinney, a former C-Suite leader in male-dominated industries turned executive coach, each episode delivers warm, practical tools built around emotional intelligence, Positive Intelligence, and unshakeable confidence. Then practice and apply what you learn inside the community at jamiemckinney.com/lab.
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
8/20/2025
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Recent Episodes
August 1, 2026
Why Female Athletes Make Resilient Business Leaders
<p>What do 94% of female C-suite executives have in common? They played sports. On Leadership Lab, host Jamie McKinney talks with Bonnie Bernstein, founder and CEO of Walk Swiftly Productions. Bonnie spent three decades as an Emmy Award-winning journalist covering the NFL, NBA, MLB, and college sports for ESPN, ABC, and CBS. She created ABC's The Champion's Edge, a series that follows women athletes turned business leaders across law, medicine, and the C-suite.</p><p>Bonnie tells Jamie about the moment the idea for the show hit her, 10 years before it aired. She talks about the years of “no” she heard while building a database of more than 250 women, and the two questions she asks herself every time a pitch falls flat.</p><p>The conversation turns personal too. Bonnie describes a health scare that landed her in a hospital bed alone, and what it taught her about burnout and self-care. She and Jamie talk through resilience, career confidence, and why so many women in leadership trace their instincts back to a locker room instead of a boardroom.</p><p>Press play to hear the weekly practice Bonnie uses to find her own North Star, and the sports lessons for career success she has picked up from hundreds of female athletes turned business leaders who made the same leap she did. New episodes of Leadership Lab drop every week.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Episode Breakdown:</strong></p><p>00:00 The 94% Statistic Behind Women Athletes and the C-Suite</p><p>03:58 Breaking Ground as Reno's First Female Sports Anchor</p><p>06:33 The 10 Year Origin Story Behind The Champion's Edge</p><p>08:19 Turning Rejection Into Fuel While Building a Platform</p><p>09:19 Reframing No as Another Opportunity</p><p>10:43 Why Relationships Drive Career Breakthroughs</p><p>11:32 Leadership Lessons for Women Who Never Played Sports</p><p>16:42 Leadership Shows Up Far Beyond the Boardroom</p><p>19:36 Why Failure Is Part of the Path to Success</p><p>21:38 Rejection as an Invitation to Reevaluate Your Circle</p><p>23:36 Staying Grounded While Breaking New Ground</p><p>24:43 When Ambition Turns Into Endurance Instead of Fun</p><p>27:49 A Health Scare That Changed How Bonnie Works</p><p>28:23 Learning to Say No Without Fear</p><p>30:54 Meditation as a Foundation for Resilience</p><p>33:23 Building Community Through The Athlete Effect</p><p>35:47 A Weekly Experiment to Reclaim Your Purpose</p><p>37:54 Why Coaches Matter for Women in Leadership</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Link:</strong><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/emotional-intelligence-the-leadership-skill-nobody/id1834448027?i=1000773503158" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"> Listen to the previous episode</a></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Connect with Bonnie Bernstein:</strong></p><p><a href="https://bonniebernstein.com/bio/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Know more about Bonnie</a> </p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bonnie-bernstein/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Connect with Bonnie on LinkedIn</a></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@championsedgetv" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Subscribe to The Champion’s Edge's Youtube channel</a> </p><p><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/033etu1oS9tH3GSpWdtPQE" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Listen to the The Athlete Effect on Spotify</a> </p><p><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-athlete-effect-with-bonnie-bernstein/id1896566998" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Listen to the The Athlete Effect on Apple Podcast</a> </p><p><a href="https://www.audible.com/podcast/The-Athlete-Effect-with-Bonnie-Bernstein/B0D6WSF1J4?srsltid=AfmBOorTNTqkv0ahLgW_OVW_mouH650wf15JyS_M-85vMQOy4nRFqH8x" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Listen to the The Athlete Effect on Audible</a></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Connect with Jamie McKinney:</strong></p><p><a href="http://jamiemckinney.com/lab" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">jamiemckinney.com/lab</a> </p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>Podcast production and show notes provided by <a href="http://hivecast.fm" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><strong>HiveCast.fm</strong></a><br></p>
July 25, 2026
Executive Presence Tips to Speak With Authority in Any Room
<p>You do not need the deepest voice or the tallest frame to own a room. Executive presence is a skill that can be learned at any stage of your career. Jamie McKinney's guest this week has spent more than a decade teaching it to Fortune 10 leaders, yet he developed those same skills himself as a self-described shy kid who once wanted to disappear.</p><p>Jeff Davenport, an executive communication coach at Davenport Communications, joins the Leadership Lab to share how to build confidence in public speaking without faking a thing. He breaks down the opening framework he uses to earn an audience’s trust from the first sentence. It is a step many speakers skip when they begin with a topic instead of giving people a reason to listen.</p><p>Jeff and Jamie also cover how to sound confident at work when your body wants to shrink instead of stand tall. He explains a simple physical reset borrowed from research on power poses, one that shifts your voice and posture in seconds, and shares a four-step approach to what to say when you don't know the answer, one that builds trust instead of exposing a gap.</p><p>For anyone who wants to command a room without changing who they are, this conversation offers practical language and physical cues you can use in your very next meeting.Press play and start practicing before your next high-stakes moment.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Episode Breakdown:</strong></p><p>00:00 Why Executive Presence Has Nothing to Do With Height or Volume</p><p>03:07 The Shy Kid Who Became an Executive Communication Coach</p><p>04:49 Why Imitating Great Speakers Builds Your Own Voice Faster</p><p>07:31 The Top Button Rule for Opening Any Talk</p><p>09:52 Empathy Authority Agenda for Audiences Who Do Not Speak Your Language</p><p>12:32 The One Question That Should Drive Every Presentation</p><p>15:07 How to Build Confidence in Public Speaking Before You Walk In</p><p>17:00 Becoming the Subject Matter Expert in the Room</p><p>18:02 A Four Step Script for What to Say When You Don't Know the Answer</p><p>21:07 The Body Brain Feedback Loop for Instant Confidence</p><p>24:00 How to Stop Mumbling With Your Hands and Take Up Space</p><p>28:25 How to Stop Nervous Tells Like Shaking Knees</p><p>30:46 The Three Ways People Show Up in a Room and Which One Wins</p><p>33:21 What to Do the Moment You Make a Mistake</p><p>39:11 Why Raising the Stakes in Your Head Makes You Worse Not Better</p><p>42:21 Teaching the Next Generation of Women to Speak With Authority</p><p>45:13 One Experiment to Practice Executive Presence This Week</p><p><br></p><p><strong>About Jeff Davenport</strong></p><p>Jeff Davenport has more than a decade of experience as an executive communication coach, acclaimed speechwriter, and keynote speaker. During a long stint at the legendary leadership communication agency Duarte and now at Davenport Communications, Jeff has worked with Fortune 10 C-suite executives, engineers, and sales teams, improving their communication skills. Whether he’s doing 1:1 coaching or leading dynamic workshops, Jeff helps diverse professionals enhance their communicative impact.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Connect with Jeff Davenport:</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.davenportcommunications.com/ccc"><u>Visit the Davenport Communications website</u></a></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Connect with Jamie McKinney:</strong></p><p><a href="http://jamiemckinney.com/lab">jamiemckinney.com/lab</a> </p><p><br></p><p>Podcast production and show notes provided by <a href="http://hivecast.fm"><strong>HiveCast.fm</strong></a><br></p>
July 11, 2026
Assertive vs. Aggressive: A Female CEO's Playbook for Being Direct
<p>Women are often told to be clear, confident, and decisive, then questioned the moment they are. Cyre Mercedes Quiñones knows that tension well, and she has built her leadership around proving that direct does not mean aggressive.</p><p>The CEO of iMasons joins Jamie McKinney on Leadership Lab to unpack assertive vs. aggressive communication, the line so many ambitious women feel they're constantly walking, and how getting it right changed the way she leads. Cyre opens up about growing up in the Bronx with two parents struggling with addiction, the shame she carried for years, and the mentor who told her that trust is built through authenticity, not polish.That single piece of advice reshaped how she leads.</p><p>The episode covers courage vs. confidence in leadership, the real difference between bluntness and directness, and why imposter syndrome showed up even on the path to the CEO seat, and how she moved through it anyway. Cyre shares the phrase that changed how she shows up in every hard conversation, and why authentic leadership for women looks nothing like the loud, armored version so many of us were taught to perform. She also breaks down the difference between directness and bluntness, the distinction so many women mislabel as assertive vs. aggressive.</p><p>If you have ever wondered whether being fully yourself and being taken seriously can coexist at the executive level, this episode is your answer.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Episode Breakdown:</strong></p><p>00:00 Meet Cyre Mercedes Quiñones, CEO of iMasons</p><p>03:19 Navigating Shame Without a Roadmap</p><p>05:43 Choosing Authenticity Over a Corporate Performance</p><p>09:39 How Vulnerability Helped Cyre Build Trust at Work</p><p>12:02 Assertive vs. Aggressive, The Difference Between Directness and Bluntness</p><p>15:44 Redefining Executive Presence Beyond Loud and Hard</p><p>33:06 Coach vs. Mentor, Building Your Support Network</p><p>34:39 Why Courage Comes Before Confidence</p><p>38:10 Leading Through Divorce and Personal Tests</p><p>41:11 Rehearse Till It's Verse, Beating Imposter Syndrome</p><p>43:11 The Vision for iMasons and What Comes Next</p><p><br></p><p><strong>About Cyre Mercedes Quiñones:</strong></p><p>Cyre Mercedes Quiñones is the Chief Executive Officer of Infrastructure Masons (iMasons), a leading global nonprofit professional association dedicated to advancing digital infrastructure for the benefit of people and the planet. With more than 15 years of experience spanning technology, business strategy, and digital infrastructure, Cyre has built a reputation as a transformational leader who brings together industry, government, and communities to solve some of the sector's most pressing challenges. Her leadership has been recognized globally, including being named the inaugural recipient of Data Center Dynamics' (DCD) Data Center Woman of the Year in 2023 and one of HITEC's Top 100 Hispanics in Technology. Cyre is passionate about building digital infrastructure responsibly—championing sustainability, community partnership, workforce development, and inclusive leadership. As CEO, she is positioning iMasons as the industry's trusted neutral convening authority and bringing together leaders across the digital infrastructure ecosystem to accelerate collaboration and deliver measurable, lasting impact for responsible infrastructure advancement around the world.</p><p><strong>Links:</strong></p><p><a href="https://imasons.org/publications/state-of-the-digital-infrastructure-industry-annual-report-2025/"><u>iMasons State of the Digital Infrastructure Industry - Annual Report 2025</u></a></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Connect with Jamie McKinney:</strong></p><p><a href="http://jamiemckinney.com/lab">jamiemckinney.com/lab</a> </p><p><a href="https://www.jamiemckinney.com/freebies"><u>How to Have a Difficult Conversation FREE Resource</u></a></p><p><a href="http://www.jamiemckinney.com/lab"><u>Join the Leadership Laboratory Community</u></a></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>Podcast production and show notes provided by <a href="http://hivecast.fm"><strong>HiveCast.fm</strong></a></p><p><br></p>
23 total episodes available
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- What is Leadership Laboratory?
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This podcast updates daily.
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This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
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Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.
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