Welcome to One Thousand Ways To Lead, a podcast that celebrates the diverse paths to leadership and success. Hosted by the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University, this show brings you inspiring conversations between our current students and accomplished alumni who are making their mark in the world.
Every episode of One Thousand Ways To Lead offers a unique opportunity to explore the multifaceted nature of leadership. Our student interviewers sit down with alumni from various fields, uncovering the stories, insights, and wisdom that have shaped their leadership journeys.
This podcast is designed to showcase the myriad ways our alumni have embraced leadership in their careers and lives, providing valuable perspectives for listeners at any stage of their own leadership development.
In each episode, you’ll hear firsthand accounts of how our guests have navigated challenges, seized opportunities, and grown into the leaders they are today. From recent graduates making waves in start-ups, to mid-level managers driving organizational change and fostering team growth, all the way to seasoned executives steering global corporations, our diverse lineup of guests offers something for everyone.
One Thousand Ways To Lead is more than just a collection of success stories – it’s a platform for sharing practical advice, innovative ideas, and the kind of real-world insights that you won’t find in textbooks, and the lessons and experiences shared are universal, applicable to leaders and aspiring leaders from all walks of life.
Join us as we explore the qualities, experiences, and decisions that transform individuals into impactful leaders.
Passing the Torch for the New Season of One Thousand Ways to Lead
New year, new hosts.
Being a good leader is being a good listener. That’s what Maree Smith (MBA ‘26), Taiwo Olawehinmi (MBA ‘26), and Melissa Ortiz Bortkiewicz (MBA ‘26) discovered last season during their stint as “One Thousand Ways to Lead” podcast hosts. In this first episode of this new season, the three chat with the pod’s incoming hosts about the lessons they learned over the course of their run and how it helped shape their understanding of great leadership.
For the first half of this episode, Smith, Olawehinmi, and Ortiz Bortkiewicz discuss their favorite guests and moments from the season, what they wish they had known on their first day, and what the incoming hosts should expect. Across the board, all three said that their biggest takeaway is to always be an active listener, and to be prepared but flexible.
The second half of the episode serves as an introduction to OTWTL’s new lineup of hosts—Nick Cavin (MBA ‘27), Jessica Ding (MBA ‘27), and Rowan Baird (MBA ‘27). They each open up about their favorite places to eat in Nashville, what it was that drew them to hosting the podcast, and who would be their No. 1 choice for a coffee chat.
Apart from finding out whether Jack Brown’s really is the best burger in Nashville, this is a great chance to get to know OTWTL’s newest batch of hosts for the 2026-27 season. Listen in!
Remember to subscribe now so you never miss an episode.
Learn more about us: https://business.vanderbilt.edu/
10 Jun 2026
Failure is the Fastest Way to Learn: Building a Team That Moves Fast, Fails Well, and Comes Back Stronger with Startup Founder, Jon Sockell
It’s better to ask forgiveness than permission.
Entrepreneurial leadership requires a frame of mind that embraces failure. Because failure is the fastest way to learn.
Jon Sockell (MBA ‘12) isn’t afraid of failing, and that’s maybe the key component to his success. His leadership philosophy boils down to asking forgiveness rather than permission, a philosophy shaped by a career spent inside fast-moving companies, where planning is important, but action is essential. In this episode with Taiwo Olawehinmi, Jon delves into the leadership lessons he’s learned on trust, avoiding bottlenecks at the top, and leaving people free to swim in their own lane.
Willingness to fail is key, but it’s also about finding your passion. Because when you follow your own interests, everything is more likely to work out in the end. These are ideas that Jon formed after years in the startup trenches, where he also learned that feedback is a gift, and that it’s essential to think deeply about your customer.
If you’re wondering how to build and foster a startup culture that moves forward without fear, and that leads by action rather than academics, this episode is a must listen. Jon offers insight on not only how to embrace failure, but also on how to find a good work-life balance, and why being the first company in any new space is something he’d rather avoid.
This is leadership with intention, reflection, and heart. Listen in!Remember to subscribe now so you never miss an episode.
Learn more about us: https://business.vanderbilt.edu/
13 May 2026
What It Really Takes to Lead Global Teams: Gianna DelliCarpini, Chief People Officer at WeWork
What does a decade of authentic leadership inside one of the most publicly scrutinized companies in the world actually teach you about keeping global teams steady when the ground keeps shifting?
In this episode, host Melissa sits down with Gianna Dellicarpini, Chief People Officer at WeWork, to discuss what it really means to lead people operations through some of the most public corporate chapters in recent business history.
Gianna shares how the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy reshaped her early career decisions and set her on a path of career pivots she never planned for. She opens up about how those years in human capital consulting built the foundation for her leadership philosophy and the kind of HR leadership she practices today, one that centers on trust, advocacy, and showing up consistently for the people she leads even when the organization around her is making headlines.
We also get into what global leadership looks like in practice, how Gianna structures her team across time zones and cultures without defaulting to a US-centric model, and what she has learned about staying connected without overstepping. She talks honestly about building high-trust teams through organizational transformation, and what it actually took to earn that trust, not just maintain it.
You will also hear the specific advice she wishes someone had given her earlier, and what she tells anyone navigating their leadership development inside complex, fast-moving organizations.
If you have ever led people through uncertainty and wondered whether you were doing it right, this conversation will stay with you.
This is leadership with intention, reflection, and heart. Listen in!Remember to subscribe now so you never miss an episode.
Learn more about us: https://business.vanderbilt.edu/
Who has been a guest on One Thousand Ways To Lead
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Kitty Elshot
Kris Douglas
Ryan Lein
Beth Torres
Russ Phillips
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5.0 / 5
7 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 22 / 100
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