Leadership isn’t rocket science, we just overcomplicate it. This podcast delivers real talk on building trust, tackling brilliant jerks, and developing leaders who coach and develop others with integrity, with practical insights for people in the talent and HR leaders as well as external coaches and consultants. It’s ALSO for everyday people in the workforce dealing with challenging work environments, bosses, or teammates…because we really hope your boss is not a jerk!
Send us Fan Mail Succession planning may look orderly on paper, but leadership transitions rarely are. In this episode of No Jerks Allowed: Real Talk on Leadership, Stephanie Licata talks with executive coach TD Smyers about what organizations often underestimate when leadership changes, from culture and trust to internal succession, executive readiness, and the realities of stepping into a role that may be far more complicated than it appears. Drawing on TD’s experience as a seasoned chief e...
1 Sept 2026
Beyond the Vibes: Hiring for Long-Term Success
Send us Fan Mail Hiring quickly may solve an immediate problem, but the wrong hire can shape your culture long after the role is filled. In this episode of No Jerks Allowed: Real Talk on Leadership, Stephanie Licata talks with Sharifa Atkins, JD, founder of Everest Advising, about why leaders need to slow down, look beyond chemistry and credentials, and get clear about the behaviors they are actually hiring for. For founders, CEOs, talent leaders, external talent consultants, executive coache...
11 Aug 2026
Promoted Too Soon: How Insecurity Breeds Toxic Leadership
Send us Fan Mail What happens when a high performer is promoted into leadership before they are truly ready? In this episode of No Jerks Allowed: Real Talk on Leadership, Stephanie Licata talks with Ashley Johnson, founder of Brightwell Leadership, about how insecurity can show up as micromanagement, avoidance, defensiveness, and other behaviors that affect a team. They explore why strong performance does not always equal leadership readiness, what organizations can do before and after promot...
21 Jul 2026
Fertile Ground: How Organizations Grow Toxic Leaders
Send us Fan Mail Toxic behavior rarely happens in a vacuum, so why do we keep playing corporate whack-a-mole with "bad apples"? In Episode 9 of No Jerks Allowed, host Stephanie Licata sits down with former tech COO and organizational strategist Suzan Bond to uncover the hidden "organizational debt" silently eroding team culture. Together, they explore why results-only scoreboards fail, how "artificial politeness" masks deep dysfunction, and how leaders can diagnose the environment instead of ...
30 Jun 2026
Building Trust in a Toxic Environment
Send us Fan Mail In this raw and personal episode, Stephanie sits down with former colleagues Kristin Ginter and Kurt Wuerfele to talk about what it takes to build trust inside an unhealthy system. Together, they explore protective leadership, ethical tension, managing up, client advocacy, and the real cost of holding a team together when the larger culture is misaligned. This conversation is for HR and Talent leaders, middle managers, external coaches and consultants, and anyone who has ever...
9 Jun 2026
Containing Leadership Risk At The Top
Send us Fan Mail What do you do when a toxic or ineffective leader is causing harm, but cannot be removed immediately? In this episode of No Jerks Allowed: Real Talk on Leadership, Stephanie Licata is joined by Ellie Holbert, founder and principal advisor of Empact Advisory Services, to explore how organizations can contain leadership risk at the top. We discuss why damaging leaders often stay in place, the difference between an underdeveloped leader and a power-protective leader, and why coa...
18 May 2026
Standing Up for Values Without Burning Out
Send us Fan Mail What do you do when your values no longer align with the culture around you, but speaking up comes with a cost? In this episode of No Jerks Allowed: Real Talk on Leadership, Stephanie Licata talks with Shweta Kelkar, CEO and Founder of the Work360 Foundation, about moral courage, toxic work environments, values-based leadership, and the fine line between standing up for what matters and burning yourself out. They explore how to pause before reacting, choose the right mo...
28 Apr 2026
A Wicked Mess: A Guide To Leading Through Chaos
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of No Jerks Allowed: Real Talk on Leadership, Stephanie Licata talks with leadership advisor and organizational designer Chelsea Lewis about how leaders can navigate “wicked messes,” complex challenges with no clear definition, easy answer, or clean finish line. Together, they explore why traditional top-down leadership often falls short in chaos, how capable leaders can become the unofficial 911 department, and why real communication requires more than email....
6 Apr 2026
Trauma-Informed Leadership: What It Is (and What It Isn’t)
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of No Jerks Allowed: Real Talk on Leadership, Stephanie Licata talks with Stephanie Lemek, Founder and CEO of The Wounded Workforce, about what trauma-informed leadership really looks like in practice. They explore how leaders can build trust, avoid harm, support accountability, and respond more effectively to stress behaviors at work, without stepping into therapy territory. A grounded conversation for leaders who want to create safer, healthier, higher-funct...
10 Mar 2026
Brilliant Jerks & The Power of Organizational Courage
Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Stephanie Licata is joined by Angela Cheng-Cimini for a candid conversation about toxic leadership, the “brilliant jerk” problem, and the organizational courage it takes to address bad behavior at work. Together, they explore why high-performing but harmful leaders are so often tolerated, how fear and power dynamics keep people silent, and what HR, executives, and employees can do to build healthier cultures. Angela, CHRO of The Chronicle of Philanthropy and ...
20 Feb 2026
Why Leadership & Team Development Doesn't Stick
Send us Fan Mail You’ve invested in training. People left energized. And then… nothing changes. In this episode of No Jerks Allowed—Why Leadership and Team Development Doesn’t Stick—Stephanie Licata and guests Kristin Chase, and Blake Cason (more on the host & guests below!) unpack why even great programs fade fast when development is treated like a one-time event instead of a reinforced system. They cover the impact of burnout, unclear expectations, lack of leader modeling, and missing f...
21 Jan 2026
Leadership Isn’t Complicated — We Just Overthink It
Send us Fan Mail What do people actually remember about great leaders? Hint: it’s not tools, titles, or technical brilliance. In this first episode of No Jerks Allowed: Real Talk on Leadership, Stephanie Licata, M.A., A.C.C. breaks down why leadership is so often over-engineered, and why behavior matters more than frameworks. Drawing from years of training middle managers and emerging leaders, she explores what truly defines great leadership, why coaching skills stick, and how org...
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5 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
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