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Every week we publish a new episode of truth telling, corporate real talk to help people-centered leaders find validation and support in navigating tricky corporate cultures.
S1 E9: DEATH BY POWERPOINT: Storytelling is the Next Great Leadership Capability
"Leaders who can’t tell a story cannot move people. Storytelling isn’t a charismatic 'add-on'; it’s a required leadership capability." S1 E9 of Brave Proximity unearths why our reliance on 80-page slide decks is killing inspiration and change initiatives. We’re moving from 'telling' to 'inspiring'—from bullet points to human connection.
S1 E8: Burnout is Not a Leadership Pipeline
If your best leadership pipeline is just the people too tired to say 'no,' you aren’t building a future; you’re just managing a 'wake of bodies.'”
In the season finale of Brave Proximity, Marissa and Susan unearth the dangerous fallacy of relying on burnout as a leadership strategy. We’re peeling back the layers of Professional Distance to understand why we treat exhausted high-performers as the logical succession plan—and how to stop the cycle of compliance before your 'Silent Heroes' burn out completely.
S1 E7: The Work No One Needs: The Real Reason We’re Drowning in Work That Doesn’t Matter
Are you busy, or are you just indifferent? We’re so caught up in the 'work about the work'—the decks, the updates, the performative spreadsheets—that we’ve lost proximity to the mission. In this episode, Susan and Marissa unearth the real reason we’re drowning in work that doesn't matter and why the most courageous thing a leader can do is delete the tasks that no longer serve a purpose.
S1 E6: When One Toxic Leader Destroys the Culture (And Still Gets Promoted)
Tired of corporate theater? If your measure of success for a promotion list is that nobody says ‘Are you kidding me?’—you’re already ahead of the game. In this episode, Susan and Marissa unearth the 'Secret Cycle of Promotion' that keeps toxic high-performers rising while the 'Silent Heroes' do the actual work of keeping the culture alive. It’s time to stop performing the compliance and start leading with real accountability.
S1 E5: Calling It Transformation Doesn’t Make It Humane: The Truth About Layoffs
Tired of corporate theater? If the only thing that changed is who is gone, it wasn't a 'transformation'—it was a layoff. In this episode, Susan and Marissa unearth the high cost of mislabeling mass layoffs and why 'corporate spin' is eroding the very trust leaders need to survive. It’s time to stop performing the restructuring and start leading the humans left behind.
S1 E4: The LinkedIn Anxiety Spiral: Performing on the world's biggest stage
Tired of performing corporate theater for likes? In this episode, Susan and Marissa unearth the unspoken 'loneliness tax' of LinkedIn visibility, breaking down why 'professional' perfect kills the trust, humanity, and proximity required to lead real change.
S1 E3: Loneliness Shouldn’t be the Price of Human-Centered Work
Proximity isn’t about where your chair is; it’s about the courage to stay close to people instead of managing impressions. In this episode, Susan and Marissa unpack the 'loneliness tax' of human-centered leadership and why physical proximity in the office is a poor substitute for genuine human connection.
S1 E2: Executive Presence is Broken: The Polished Pretender Problem
Executive presence is often just conformity dressed up in boardroom lighting. In this episode, Susan and Marissa unpack the 'polished pretender' problem and how managing impressions kills the authentic connection and humanity required to actually lead change.
S1 E1: Silence isn’t Neutral: Choosing to Show up in Turbulent Times
Silence isn’t a neutral act; it’s a leadership choice that erodes trust. In this episode, we unpack why 'keeping your head down' during turbulence is the fastest way to disconnect from your team and your mission.
