You Gotta NO!

At 44, everything changed.

In this episode, we sit down with a leader who experienced a stroke at the height of their career. What looked like success on the outside was hiding years of pressure, stress, and burnout.

This is a conversation about what leadership really costs and what happens when your body forces you to stop.

We talk about:

• The reality of stress in leadership
• Burnout and the warning signs most people ignore
• Life after...

In this roundtable conversation from the You Gotta NO! live event, we brought leaders together to talk about what doesn’t usually get said on stage:

What leadership actually feels like.

• Not the highlight reel
• Not the LinkedIn version
• Not the performance metrics

But the weight, expectations ,pressure to hold culture together.
The invisible emotional labor, The constant demand to say yes — even when capacity is low.

This conversati...

This season marks a rebrand, not because the mission changed, but because it became clearer.

You Gotta NO! is no longer just a podcast.
It’s a leadership ecosystem built around one core idea:

Sustainable leadership requires knowing what to say no to.

Season 2 reflects that shift.

We’re expanding beyond conversations and into a deeper framework, one that connects the Podcast, the Next Level Series, and the YGN Workplace Summit under a si...

Heliona Live RSVP: Heliona.eventbrite.com

Leadership isn’t just about filling roles, it’s about developing people. In this episode of Heliona Insight, I sit down with Paul Kempinski, former President & CEO of Children’s Mercy and now Founder and President of Kempinski Consulting, LLC.

Paul shares the lessons he learned about building executive teams, why developing both current and emerging leaders is essential, and how investing...

RSVP Today for Heliona Live: ⁠Workplace Unfiltered: A Heliona Experience

Retention isn’t just about paychecks or perks—it’s about creating cultures where people feel supported, inspired, and connected to purpose.

In this episode of Heliona Insight, I sit down with Tarnu Mulbah, founder of Dwell Real Estate, seasoned sales leader, and passionate advocate for “making purpose popular.” With over 14 years of experience driving growth, me...

RSVP Today for Heliona Live: ⁠Workplace Unfiltered: A Heliona Experience

In this candid conversation, entrepreneur and operator Chris Jones breaks down the real work of scaling: set a clear vision, communicate it relentlessly, and build capacity at every step.

We dig into the “stair‑step” model of growth, hiring and letting go in fast-moving seasons, and why retention depends less on perks and more on three disciplines: clarity, com...

RSVP Today for Heliona Live: Workplace Unfiltered: A Heliona Experience

Scott Havens, Partner at HUB International, brings a unique vantage point from decades of working with companies of 100+ employees on their healthcare benefits, technology integration, and executive strategy.

As someone who runs nine executive peer groups, sits on multiple boards, and works directly with CEOs, CFOs, and HR leaders, Scott has seen firsthand what ...

What if the real cause of quiet quitting isn’t disengaged employees but disconnected leadership?

In this episode of Heliona Insight, I sit down with Dr. Leigh Anne Taylor Knight, a respected executive leader, education advocate, and culture strategist, to unpack the ripple effects of leadership behavior on workplace culture.

We explore how employee disengagement often mirrors the clarity, care, and consistency (or lack thereof) model...

In this episode of Heliona Insight, I sit down with Amber Miller Manning, CEO of The Miller Group, to talk about what it really takes to retain great people in one of the hardest industries: insurance.

Amber shares how she and her team have built a culture that holds a remarkable 90% employee retention rate—by centering communication, care, and consistency at every level of leadership.

We talk about the emotional reality of leading d...

In the final episode of our special series, The Manager Crisis, I sit down with Ashley Kera, a workplace strategist, leadership coach, and former manager of 100+ early-career professionals to unpack what the data misses and what real managers are facing on the ground.

With a background in clinical psychology and a decade leading talent operations, Ashley brings clarity to the messy middle: the tension between performance expectation...

How do you put people first when you’re responsible for the bottom line? 

In this episode of Heliona Insight, we sat down with Ryan Martin, CFO and senior executive, to tackle the uncomfortable truth many C-suite leaders face: managers are burning out at record rates and that burnout is quietly costing companies more than they realize. 

Ryan shares his perspective on why people strategy and financial strategy are more connected than ...

If managers are the bridge between strategy and execution, what happens when the bridge starts to crumble? 

In this special second episode with returning guest Dr. Katie Gaebel, we kick off a new 3-part Heliona Insight series called The Manager Crisis. Katie, researcher, speaker, and culture strategist, joins me to unpack Gallup’s 2025 State of the Global Workplace report, with a focused lens on the manager crisis outlined between p...

How do you build a workplace people don’t want to leave?

In this episode of Heliona Insight, we sat down with Jon Hile, Executive Director of the Kansas City Public Schools Education Foundation, to explore what mission-driven organizations can teach the private sector about engagement, retention, and trust.

With a background spanning public education, social impact, and systems leadership, Jon shares how values-based decision-making,...

If we’re going to build healthier workplaces, we have to treat culture as more than just a buzzword.

In this episode of Heliona Insight, I sit down with Dr. Katie Gaebel, Vice President of People & Culture & Co-founder at Iconoclast Advisors, and a leadership strategist with deep roots in higher ed, executive development, and organizational transformation.

Katie brings clarity to what workplace culture really is: a human scie...

What does it take to lead with purpose after life throws its biggest curveballs?

In this episode of Heliona Insight, we sit down with James Estes, a military veteran and former corporate leader who once managed a team of 750 at Verizon. Now the owner of a successful franchise with The Brothers That Just Do Gutters, James opens up about his journey—from military service to surviving a heart attack and PTSD, and becoming a foster pare...

What does it take to rise through the ranks and lead with purpose?

In this episode of Heliona Insight, host Ebrima "Abraham" Sisay sits down with Matt Linski, Kansas City Market President for Bank of America, to unpack his journey from intern to executive. With over 21 years at the company, Matt shares how internal growth, talent development, and authentic leadership have shaped not only his own trajectory but the culture of one of ...

Massage therapy isn’t just about relaxation, it’s about healing, trust, and human connection. But what if I told you that the same principles that make a great massage therapist also make a great leader?

My guest today, Celeste Aguirre, has built a thriving career in massage therapy over the last 17 years, working in spas, franchises, and chiropractic offices before launching My Massage Studios, a business designed not just to serve...

In this powerful return to Heliona Insight, Dr. Michael Maclin—Superintendent of the Special School District of St. Louis County—joins us once again to dive deeper into the conversation that started it all: Inclusion.

Last time, Dr. Maclin left us with a message that resonated across industries: “DEI is not a department; it’s a mindset.” In this follow-up conversation, we explore what that mindset looks like in action—especially now...

Burnout isn’t just about feeling tired, it’s about feeling empty. And yet, in workplaces everywhere, we continue to push ourselves past our limits, treating exhaustion as a badge of honor.

In this special episode of Heliona Insight, I’m doing something different. I’m sharing a short clip from a documentary I produced about burnout in the workplace and diving into what it really means, why it happens, and what we can do to stop it.

If...