What happens when the company you helped build disappears - and you’re left rebuilding your identity in real time?

Join me as I sit down with Michelle Skoor - former colleague, executive teammate, and one of the most grounded leaders I know. We worked side-by-side inside a fast-scaling, venture-backed social impact tech company that ultimately imploded. What followed wasn’t just professional transition - it was personal reckoning.

In this conversation, we unpack what it means to lead through uncertainty, to question your own judgment, and to sit with the uncomfortable space between who you were and who you’re becoming.

Michelle shares how their years as a competitive gymnast shaped their leadership style, why they've only applied for a traditional job twice in 25 years, and how intentionally building relationships over decades created the foundation for their next chapter.

We talk about identity, imposter syndrome, risk tolerance, burnout, menopause, parenting, privilege, privilege’s responsibility, and the courage it takes to get quiet before rebuilding.

This is an honest conversation about ambition, grief, resilience, and redefining legacy - not as titles or status, but as impact and love.

You’ll Learn:

⭐ How early life experiences shape your leadership muscle
⭐ Why building relationships over time matters more than “networking”
⭐ How to recover after a professional implosion
⭐ Why quiet seasons can be strategic
⭐ The difference between being good at something and wanting to do it
⭐ How to evaluate sustainability before saying yes

Key Insights:

Risk Tolerance Is Built Over Time:
Trying things - in sports, in startups, in life - creates the muscle to navigate uncertainty.

Identity Can Over-Attach to Work:
When roles disappear, you’re forced to separate your worth from your title.

Quiet Is Not Failure:
Taking space to reflect, heal, and reset can be the most strategic move you make.

Sustainability Matters:
Mission-driven work without a path to financial health is fragile - and leaders must ask harder questions.

Legacy Is Dual:
It’s the work you’re proud of and the love you cultivate at home.

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] – Introduction: Leading through uncertainty
[00:07:00] – Gymnastics, risk-taking, and leadership muscle
[00:18:00] – Early career, imposter syndrome, and building access
[00:25:00] – Intentional relationship-building vs. networking
[00:33:00] – Writing a personal manifesto
[00:42:00] – The implosion and identity reckoning
[00:50:00] – Asking harder questions about sustainability
[00:57:00] – The power of quiet seasons
[01:05:00] – Parenting, re-parenting, and legacy

Resources and Links:

Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at BeldenStrategies.com
Sign up for more conversations and insights at BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter

Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, follow the show, and leave a review. And if you’re navigating your own transition - whether by choice or by force - join my newsletter at BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter for more conversations about leadership, resilience, and building what’s next.

What would you do if the thing you built your identity around vanished overnight?

Join me as I sit down with Channelle Charest - a former executive at a rapidly scaling, venture-backed tech company that imploded almost overnight. What followed wasn’t just a career shift. It was an identity reckoning.

Channelle and I shared that experience from the inside. We were leaders. We were deeply invested. We believed in what we were building. And then suddenly, it was gone.

This conversation isn’t about scandal. It’s about what happens after the collapse - when titles disappear, roles dissolve, and you’re left asking: Who am I without this?

We talk about tying your identity to your work, the grief of losing something you loved, the pressure to rebuild quickly, and the uncomfortable (but necessary) process of reevaluating what actually matters.

This is an honest conversation about ambition, burnout, code-switching, discipline, self-talk, and what it means to evolve - especially when evolution isn’t your choice.

You’ll Learn:

⭐ Why high achievers struggle to slow down (even when they need to)
⭐ The cost of tying your worth to performance
⭐ How to rebuild after professional loss
⭐ Why discipline can be more powerful than hustle
⭐ What legacy really means beyond achievement

Key Insights:

Identity Can Get Over-Enmeshed with Work:
When your vocation becomes your entire identity, losing it can feel like losing yourself.

Success Isn’t the Same as Alignment:
You can have impact, money, community, and influence - and still need to reevaluate who you are within it.

Discipline > Overdrive:
Growth sometimes means restraining your natural strengths instead of overusing them.

Women Code-Switch More Than They Realize:
Many female leaders feel pressure to shift identities between work and home - something men are often culturally exempt from.

Legacy Isn’t Empire-Building:
It’s laying bricks that raise the baseline for someone else.

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] – Introduction: When the thing you built disappears
[00:04:00] – Working together in a high-growth tech company
[00:08:00] – Identity, performance, and authenticity
[00:17:00] – The implosion and the grief that followed
[00:22:00] – Survival mode vs. reflection mode
[00:27:00] – Rebuilding your identity from scratch
[00:30:00] – Choosing values over prestige
[00:36:00] – Discipline, overdrive, and self-awareness
[00:44:00] – Inflection points and evolution
[01:04:00] – Redefining legacy

Resources and Links:

Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at BeldenStrategies.com
Sign up for more conversations and insights at BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter

Connect with Channelle Charest on LinkedIn

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, follow the show, and leave a review. And if you’re navigating a season of professional transition or identity shift, join my newsletter at BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter for more conversations about leadership, reinvention, and building what’s next.

What if the pressure to “have a plan” is the very thing keeping you stuck?

Join me as I sit down with Celeste Gutierrez - a recent graduate who thought she had her path mapped out, until she realized (just one month before finishing) that it no longer fit.

Instead of forcing clarity, she chose exploration.

What makes this conversation powerful isn’t just her age - it’s her approach. Celeste is navigating uncertainty with curiosity, courage, and a willingness to try things before she feels fully ready.

And that’s something many of us (at any stage) forget we’re allowed to do.

We talk about pivots (and whether they’re even pivots at all), anxiety around making the “wrong” choice, the noise of social media comparison, the pressure of hustle culture, and what it really means to build resilience in real time.

This is a conversation about being in-between. About the tension between possibility and fear. About reaching out before you feel qualified. About trying everything - not because you’re lost, but because you’re paying attention.

If you’re in a season of transition - questioning your next move, rethinking your identity, or resisting the pressure to have it all figured out - this one will resonate.

You’ll Learn:

⭐ Why there may be no such thing as a wrong decision
⭐ How to reframe “pivots” as clarity unfolding
⭐ What social media comparison is actually revealing about you
⭐ Why networking is really relationship-building
⭐ How resilience is built through small, uncomfortable risks
⭐ How to stay connected to what you love - even as your career evolves

Key Insights:

Clarity Comes From Movement:
You don’t think your way into the right path - you experiment your way there.

Comparison Can Be Information:
Jealousy often reveals desire. Pay attention to what pulls you.

Relationships Create Opportunity:
Bold outreach and real conversations open doors that credentials alone can’t.

Resilience Isn’t Flippant - It’s Earned:
Confidence grows through trying, adjusting, and surviving small failures.

You Can Hold Ambition and Uncertainty at the Same Time:
Possibility and fear coexist. That tension doesn’t mean you’re behind - it means you’re growing.

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] – Introduction: The pressure to have it figured out
[00:04:00] – Changing direction at the last minute
[00:08:00] – Pivot or growth?
[00:12:00] – The anxiety of making the “wrong” decision
[00:14:00] – Social media: comparison vs. connection
[00:18:00] – Reframing jealousy
[00:23:00] – AI, the job market, and uncertainty
[00:26:00] – Networking boldly
[00:32:00] – Hustle culture vs. exploration
[00:38:00] – Trying everything
[00:40:00] – Building resilience
[00:44:00] – What kind of legacy do you want to leave?

Resources and Links:

Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at BeldenStrategies.com
Sign up for more conversations and insights at BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter

Connect with Celeste on LinkedIn
Follow Celeste on Instagram: @Celeste.Mariaa

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, follow the show, and leave a review. And if you’re navigating your own inflection point, join my newsletter at BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter for more conversations about leadership, identity, and building what’s next.

What if collaboration - not competition - is the key to building systems that actually work?

Join me as I sit down with Tiffany Loeffler, Executive Director of The Alliance, a nonprofit network working to support vulnerable children and families through collaboration across healthcare, social services, and community organizations.

After years of working inside systems meant to help families, Tiffany saw firsthand how siloed efforts, scarcity mindsets, and burnout limit real impact - even when people care deeply and are doing their best. As she so eloquently puts it: "organizations don’t collaborate - people do".

We talk about trust, leadership without hierarchy, building relationships across systems, and how tools like Working Genius can help teams collaborate more effectively and avoid burnout.

This is an honest conversation about leadership, collaboration, and what it takes to build social impact work that is both effective and sustainable.

You’ll Learn:

⭐ Why collaboration matters more than competition in social impact work
⭐ Why relationships are the foundation of effective systems of care
⭐ How nonprofit leaders can prevent burnout and compassion fatigue
⭐ What it means to build a legacy rooted in connection and shared responsibility

Key Insights:

Organizations Don’t Collaborate - People Do:
True collaboration happens through trust, vulnerability, and relationships.

Scarcity Undermines Impact:
When organizations operate from fear and competition, everyone loses - especially the people systems are meant to serve.

Trauma Requires Coordination:
Supporting children and families impacted by trauma requires aligned, cross-sector collaboration, not isolated interventions.

Sustainability Is a Leadership Skill:
Leaders must learn to set boundaries, delegate, and build complementary teams to stay effective for the long term.

Legacy Is Collective:
Lasting impact isn’t built alone - it’s created through systems and relationships that can grow beyond any one leader.

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] – Introduction: Why collaboration matters
[00:03:00] – Tiffany’s path from healthcare to nonprofit leadership
[00:07:00] – Adoption, trauma, and seeing gaps in the system
[00:12:00] – Scarcity mindset in nonprofit work
[00:18:00] – Building trust across organizations
[00:25:00] – Responding to crisis through collective action
[00:32:00] – Compassion fatigue, burnout, and boundaries
[00:38:00] – Leadership, delegation, and knowing your strengths
[00:44:00] – Opportunity cost, saying no, and sustainability
[00:46:00] – Legacy, collaboration, and long-term impact

Resources and Links:

Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at BeldenStrategies.com
Sign up for more conversations and insights at BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter

Connect with Tiffany Loeffler
Learn more about The Alliance and their collaborative work supporting children and families

Frameworks & Tools Mentioned in This Episode:
• The Working Genius - a strengths-based framework for understanding how people contribute, collaborate, and avoid burnout

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, follow the show, and leave a review. And if you’re interested in more conversations about leadership, join my newsletter at BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter.

What if hating your job isn’t inevitable — and the problem isn’t you? A conversation about work, leadership, and why people leave managers, not jobs.

Join me as I sit down with Jill Parish, a leadership facilitator and organizational development expert who has spent her career helping people rethink what work is supposed to feel like.

Jill’s path spans HR, healthcare, higher education, and executive leadership development — including years designing and leading programs for physicians and senior leaders. Today, she runs her own firm focused on helping organizations build healthier workplaces through better leadership, communication, and self-awareness.

Our conversation explores why so many people feel disengaged at work, how leadership and management are often misunderstood, and why relationships — not titles or org charts — are the real drivers of job satisfaction.

This is an honest, grounded conversation about work, leadership, and how we might build careers — and cultures — that don’t require constant burnout or resignation.

You’ll Learn:

⭐ The difference between leadership and management (and why it matters)
⭐ Why influence and relationships matter more than hierarchy
⭐ How self-awareness changes the way teams function
⭐ What actually makes people stay, grow, and feel fulfilled at work

Key Insights:

Leadership Isn’t About Titles:
You don’t need direct reports to be a leader. Leadership shows up in how you communicate, build trust, and influence the people around you — in work and in life.

Why People Leave Managers, Not Jobs:
Most workplace dissatisfaction isn’t about the work itself. It’s about feeling unseen, unsupported, or unclear — and better leadership can change that.

Work Is Relational:
Job satisfaction has far more to do with relationships, clarity, and culture than the technical work someone is hired to do.

Self-Awareness Changes Everything:
Understanding your strengths and how you show up helps reduce conflict, improve communication, and build stronger teams.

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] – Introduction and why work doesn’t have to feel miserable
[00:02:00] – Meeting through leadership development and facilitated learning
[00:04:00] – Jill’s path from HR to leadership and organizational development
[00:07:00] – Discovering leadership development as a career
[00:12:00] – Why people don’t leave jobs — they leave managers
[00:15:00] – Leadership vs. management: different skill sets
[00:18:00] – Why clarity is one of the most overlooked leadership tools
[00:20:00] – Leadership beyond hierarchy and org charts
[00:24:00] – Launching her own firm and redefining success
[00:30:00] – Self-awareness, strengths, and workplace relationships
[00:35:00] – What fulfillment at work actually looks like
[00:48:00] – Building a legacy through better leadership and culture

Resources and Links:

Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at BeldenStrategies.com
Sign up for more insights and conversations at BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter

Connect with Jill Parish on LinkedIn
Find out more about her leadership facilitation and organizational development work: ThinkDev

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, follow the show, and leave a review. And if you’re interested in more conversations about work, leadership, and building careers that don’t burn you out, join my newsletter at BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter.

What if you stopped waiting for opportunities to find you and started creating your own?

Join me as I sit down with Tam Smith, founder of Studio 349 and host of Sales for Service podcast. Born from a global pandemic, family health crisis, and a hospital room Google search for "how to make money working from home," Tam's entrepreneurial journey is anything but conventional.

Our conversation explores what it means to say yes to yourself, separate your self-worth from your work, and embrace sales as a tool for creating the opportunities you actually want - not just being grateful for what comes your way.

You'll Learn:

⭐ The importance of going after what you want (not just waiting for what finds you)

⭐ How to separate self-worth from work

⭐ The power of raising your hand and asking for help sooner

⭐ Why building a business is "cheaper than therapy"

⭐ How to throw your own dinner party (aka: be intentional about your business)

Key Insights:

From Crisis to Clarity: Sometimes it takes a global pandemic and family health crisis to push you into entrepreneurship - and that's okay. Your path doesn't have to be perfect.

The Dinner Party Principle: You don't throw a dinner party by opening your front door and saying "everybody come in." Be intentional about who you invite and the experience you want to create.

Sales Isn't Sleazy: The negative feelings around sales often come from how we've been sold to - but proactive client acquisition doesn't have to feel icky when done right.

Ask for Help Sooner: The one thing Tam would do differently? Raise her hand and ask for help earlier in the journey. Working with a business coach was a game-changer.

Say Yes to Yourself: Women are great at taking care of everyone and everything - except ourselves. For Tam, building a legacy means enabling as many women as possible to say yes to themselves first.

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] - Introduction and the power of LinkedIn connections

[00:02:00] - Meeting through Réland Logan and building community

[00:03:00] - Introducing Studio 349 and Tam's entrepreneurial journey

[00:04:00] - Named after her father (born September 1934)

[00:05:00] - The hospital room Google search that started it all

[00:06:00] - From virtual assistant to digital marketing during COVID

[00:07:00] - The business coach conversation that changed everything

[00:39:00] - Why she started the Sales for Service podcast

[00:40:00] - Leading by example: the importance of consistent digital presence

[00:41:00] - Separating self-worth from work to avoid sales sabotage

[00:42:00] - Sales as exposure therapy: getting comfortable being uncomfortable

[00:44:00] - The special community of women cheering each other on

[00:45:00] - Building a legacy: enabling women to say yes to themselves

Resources and Links:

Find host Kirstin Belden on LinkedIn or at Beldenstrategies.com

Sign up to receive more insights and inspiration at Beldenstrategies.com/newsletter

Connect with Tam

• Studio Three 49

• Sales As Service Podcast

• Find Tam on LinkedIn

Mentioned in episode:

• Réland Logan (previous guest)

• Book: The Gap and the Gain

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What if every system you engage with is just a story someone told - and it's up to you to decide if you want to build a new one?

Join me as I sit down with Genevieve Anderson, a filmmaker and social entrepreneur whose work lives at the intersection of creativity and social impact.

Genevieve has spent her career asking deeper questions about how we tell stories, who gets left out of the systems we build, and what it means to keep creating and caring over the long haul.

Our conversation explores storytelling as an act of creation, how creativity shows up in unexpected forms, and what it takes to stay human and hopeful without burning yourself out.

You'll Learn:

⭐ Why storytelling is literally creation - not just something you do for children

⭐ How to synchronize head and heart in your work

⭐ The power of narrative change in shifting systems

⭐ What it means to build something that can grow beyond you

⭐ Why slowing down in January isn't weakness - it's wisdom

Key Insights:

Stories Create Systems: Every system we engage with - marriage, money, social services - is a story somebody told. If we only look at what's already there, we're not engaged in storytelling.

Head and Heart Synchronization: Working only from your head in "go, go, go" mode means you're not meeting the moment in your fullness. Real impact requires both.

From Actor to Activist: Genevieve's journey from theater arts to directing plays with people experiencing mental illness shows how creativity can be a tool for social change.

Social Enterprise as Solution: Private sector partnerships with social enterprises create win-win scenarios - corporations need impact, and social enterprises need scale.

Legacy as Kernel: Building a legacy means creating something that can continue to operate and grow without you—a kernel that feeds humanity in ways you might not even imagine.

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] - Introduction: Conversations that invite you to slow down

[00:01:00] - Welcoming in the new year with ease and grace

[00:03:00] - The shift from "go, go, go" to synchronizing head and heart

[00:05:00] - How Kristin and Genevieve met through LEAP Academy

[00:07:00] - Early career: From acting and theater to social impact

[00:08:00] - Working with people experiencing mental illness in LA

[00:47:00] - Why private sector needs social enterprise

[00:48:00] - Harnessing the power of storytelling for narrative change

[00:50:00] - Storytelling as creation—bringing new realities into being

[00:52:00] - Building a legacy: Creating systems that can grow beyond you

Resources and Links:

Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at Beldenstrategies.com

Sign up for Kristin's newsletter at Beldenstrategies.com/newsletter

Connect with Genevieve Anderson on LinkedIn

Find Genevieve's work at Genevieveanderson.com

Check out Wunz and MakeitworkLA

LEAP Academy (coaching program mentioned in episode)

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review! And if you're interested in more stories and tools for women leaders, sign up for my newsletter at Beldenstrategies.com/newsletter.

What if the secret to 17 years of success is in staying nimble, and widening the table instead of protecting your seat?

Join me as I sit down with Meghan Phillips, founder of Honey and one of the most respected leaders I know.

Over nearly two decades, Meghan has built a thriving creative business while launching initiatives shaping how our region thinks about food and impact. Our conversation explores what it means to lead with humanity first, build cultures people actually want to be part of, and navigate the tension between ambition and contentment.

You'll Learn:

⭐ Why continuity in storytelling matters (and how it built Honey)

⭐ How to hold ambition and contentment at the same time

⭐ What it takes to build a team that stays for 10+ years

⭐ Why mentoring others became her greatest joy

⭐ The power of "widening the table" instead of protecting your seat

Key Insights:

Human-First Leadership: Creating work cultures where people can show up as their whole selves isn't just good ethics - it's good business.

The Infinity Symbol Strategy: True impact comes from connecting visual design with marketing storytelling - making something beautiful AND telling people how to use it.

Living in the Tension: Ambition and contentment don't have to be opposing forces - both can coexist without constantly swiveling between extremes.

From Self to Others: The shift from thinking about your own career to investing in others' careers is where true fulfillment lives.

Connection as Legacy: Real legacy isn't about big monuments - it's about fostering human connection, breaking bread, and remembering what it means to be human.

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] - Introduction

[00:02:00] - How Kristin and Meghan met over a decade ago

[00:04:00] - Meghan's reputation as a human-first leader

[00:05:00] - Starting Honey while pregnant (17-18 years ago)

[00:06:00] - The missing continuity in storytelling and why Honey started

[00:07:00] - The power of Sacramento's food and beverage community

[00:48:00] - Living in the tension between ambition and contentment

[00:49:00] - Both things can be true: perfection isn't required

[00:50:00] - What younger Meghan would find surprising: loving mentorship

[00:51:00] - Team longevity: 10-11 years with key team members

[00:53:00] - Building a legacy through human connection

Resources and Links:

• Find host Kirstin Belden on LinkedIn or at BeldenStrategies.com
• Sign up for Kristin's newsletter at BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter
• Connect with Meghan Phillips and her businesses
  • Meghan on LinkedIn
  • Honey Agency
  • Food Frontier
  • Simple Summers
• Rancho Cordova Community Food Hub
• Center for Land-Based Learning
• Soil Born Farms
• Oobli
• Visit Sacramento
• Terra Madre

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review! And if you're interested in more stories and tools for women leaders, sign up for my newsletter at Beldenstrategies.com/newsletter.