Leadership Insights Episodes

After body cam footage emerged showing Mary O’Connor, the Police Chief of Tampa, Florida, trying to get out of a traffic violation by showing her badge and the internal affairs investigation that followed, she was ultimately forced to resign. This episode takes a look at this incident to see what can be learned from a PR perspective, and breaks down three easy choices in ethical leadership that can save your reputation. Hear the entire body cam clip and learn what guilt sounds like, how guilty ...

How a leader handles layoffs can have a major impact on the future success and reputation of their company. This episode takes a look at some of the recent layoffs that have made the news before breaking down five tips on how to handle layoffs during this time of year. It unpacks how Mark Zuckerberg handled the Meta layoffs differently from how Elon Musk handled the Twitter layoffs and what we can learn from both these situations. From managing expectations to supporting your employees, and ongo...

Please note this episode carries a trigger warning for sexual assault. After a long series of other troubling accusations, including one by a woman sexually assaulted by eight hockey players, and cover-ups, secrecy, and poor leadership, the reputation of Hockey Canada is severely tarnished. This week’s podcast breaks down the three reasons why the crisis has been so deadly for the brand and so devastating for the victims and the stakeholders. This episode sheds light on how long this crisis has...

Today, on the Indestructible PR podcast, we respond to a listener question about crisis leadership among incumbents and successors. A listener wants to know if there are any key distinctions in the guidance for crisis communication by leaders who swept in after an incident (where no individuals associated with the crisis are still involved) versus crisis communication that comes from the leadership responsible at the time of the crisis. Tuning in, you’ll hear a bit more information about how t...

In any crisis, the first 48 hours are make-or-break. Things can quickly spiral out of control if you don't have a solid plan in place. Police Chief Pedro Arredondo's failure to respond to the CNN crew when they stopped unannounced looked bad for the school district's chief of police. It was even worse when he dodged legitimate questions. The patterns that lead to a crisis are discussed this week on the podcast. Listen + Subscribe on Apple Podcasts Join Molly on Patreon for even deeper dives i...

It only takes a few moments for people to form an opinion about you when they see you speak in public. If you nail it, your reputation is boosted. Bungle it - your reputation is at stake. If you want to appear confident on stage, you have to actually be confident in yourself. A challenge for nervous speakers. However, there are some tricks to help. Speaking coach Kerri Garbis discusses three effortless methods for capturing confidence on stage. Mentioned on the podcast: Kerri Garbis from Ova...

From time to time, it is normal to be anxious when you are in front of a group of people. Whether it's in a group of people gathered at a work conference social hour or speaking alone on stage, being able to calm yourself in the moment is often easier said than done. If the body decides to show external signs of anxiety from being front to center, you need quick and simple tricks to calm it down. On the podcast, useful and actionable tips that you can test next time you need to calm down quic...

According to guest Jordan Berman, leadership is about cultivating and maintaining the trust of others. In this episode, exploring three winning leadership characteristics that are key-drivers in high-trust organizations. Berman calls it The Trust Trifecta: All hail authenticity Transparency lives here Consistency is critical Jordan Berman is a global corporate affairs executive and has worked with and trained hundreds of leaders, helping them lead with trust and impact. With expertise in reputa...

Have you ever had to work around an issue where your leadership did not want to own up to the truth? We all know that sometimes, the truth can be ugly. There are many business situations where privacy and confidential issues need to protect the truth. But how do you manage it when you are a communicator stuck in the middle juggling the press and an angry public? In this episode, we find out from Mike McGill how to get to the truth of the matter. Our backstory? The Flint Water Crisis. Mike Mc...

Mastering the on-camera presentation is a skill that can benefit anyone working in today's virtual environment. (Look no further than Governor Andrew Cuomo. He got an Emmy for it for crying out loud. First discussion point of the episode.) The need to convey trust and leadership via a computer screen isn't going away - ever. Brad Phillips is a master at understanding how to convey a message to the media, whether in person or a virtual interview. In this episode, he offers three objectives for...

The third part of a series on the best communication tactics during COVID-19, these are episodes I am replaying that are still relevant today as they were in the spring of 2020.* I have assembled a group of savvy professionals working in crisis and risk management, public relations, strategy & planning to offer their take on how to communicate for COVID-19, still! *Except for the mention of presidential candidate, Joe Biden. My contributors: 1. Mary Beth West of Fletcher Marketing PR Listen ...

The second part of a series on the best communication tactics during COVID-19, these are episodes I am replaying that are still relevant today as they were in March 2020. The focus is on leadership during the pandemic. Even months later, it's easy to spot the leaders who get how to lead in public, and the ones who are missing the mark. Here are seven different tactics leaders can use to build confidence and trust during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. (Original episode aired on March 24, 2020) ...

With the rising demand for transparency from the public, organizations and their leaders are learning the importance of interacting openly and honestly with their stakeholders. The leaders and organizations who interact openly and honestly with the media and the public, will be rewarded with trust and credibility. Similarly, those who try to mislead and deceive will find themselves in a hole filled with negative press and public opinion, from which they will find it difficult to emerge unscathed...

For leaders, it's not always an easy task to figure out their employees' needs, wants, or struggles in their job, especially if there is a significant age gap. The risk of losing employees who don't feel connected to the leadership at a company is far greater if an effective line of communication is not in place. On the podcast this week, how to bridge the gap between leaders who feel out of touch with younger employees. Molly speaks with change management expert Colleen McFarland on ways that c...

“Like, what Chrissy Teigen has done is so crazy to me.” That statement, in part, was one of the reasons why food writer and New York Times cooking columnist, Alison Roman, faced a severe backlash and a place in the Twitter Hall of Shaming after she attacked the business strategies of the face of the Cravings brand along with Marie Kondo - the best-selling author devoted to helping people declutter their homes and live by keeping the items that "find joy." On the podcast this week, a recipe for...

In a time of crisis, most of us look to our leaders for both guidance and inspiration. In the turbulence of the current COVID-19 crisis, it helps to tap into the minds of former leaders. With over 36 years serving in the U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral (Ret.) Timothy Sullivan is an emergency management expert who knows his way around a crisis. On the podcast, bridging the leadership lessons from past incidents of significance to today. [4:13] Ways that the COVID crisis compares to past crises Adm...

Molly McPherson, the creator of the COVID-19 Communication Response Kit, speaks with public relations expert Julia Angelen Joy from Z Group PR, about the best leadership values for CEOs to possess during the coronavirus crisis. Mentioned on the podcast CEOs Will Lead Way Through Coronavirus, co-authored with Jocelyn Brandeis. Join Molly on Patreon for even deeper dives into celebrity PR strategies and exclusive live sessions! Follow Molly for daily updates and more PR insights: TikTok: @moll...

You can’t make it very far in March 2020 without seeing some kind of news article or social media post regarding COVID-19. This also makes it very easy to identify the leaders who get it, and the ones who are missing the mark. Whether a leader is doing an admirable job by pivoting their message as needed, or a poor job due to lagging communications, people are taking notice. In this episode, I’m going to discuss seven different tactics that leaders can implement right now to inspire confidence...

Executive Presence is a term you may hear a lot, but do you know what it means? Simply put, having it means you own a room the second you stand in front of it. It's a mix of confidence and savvy communications that inspire your peers, subordinates and leaders. Lauren Sergy, an expert on all things communications, walks us through the steps for building your executive presence in the workplace. Hear why your pitch, tone, physical stature and gender play a part. Mentioned In This Episode Your ...

Someone at your organization was accused of sexual harassment. Perhaps the harassment was in the form of an inappropriate remark, behavior, incident or outburst. You work in leadership and have to respond. Or you may even be that person accused of harassment. Now what? This episode looks at recent news stories of how organizations dealt with a sexual harassment issue when it became public. Discussing what should happen from a public messaging perspective. What do you say about the incident as a...

Leaders in business juggle communication challenges from all angles--their teams, the media and even their families. On the plus side, if we’re open and communicating, we’re able to choose the message that others hear. Unfortunately, that’s not always what happens in the real world. As this week’s guest, Scott Harvey, tells us, too many people aren’t good at actively listening. And in some cases for organizations, they don’t always communicate openly with the press -- much to their detriment. ...

Leaders want to be heard, but often leaving that message up to the news media bring stress and unease. In his new book, Gary Schneeberger hopes to reduce the acrimony toward news reporters and teach the secrets to being in control of the interview. We talk about this and more in this week’s episode of the Confident Communications Podcast. In the digital age, the news cycle has gone from 24 hours to 24 seconds (thank you, Twitter) and it’s bound to change even more as we move forward. We no longe...

We hear about authenticity all the time, but what does it mean and how can you use it as a leader? Actions speak louder than words and as a leader, you have people who look to you for information and guidance. Good leaders are authentic in their communication--what they say, how they say it and what they do. But that doesn’t mean that everyone likes them. In fact, often their authenticity repels others--and that can be a good thing when you’re trying to find the right team members or gain visibi...

No matter your profession, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to be on camera (whether you welcome the idea or not). But like speaking in front of a crowd, not everyone is a natural at it. You worry about looking frumpy, saying the wrong thing, sweating through your suit jacket or stuttering through your remarks. These are all common concerns, but with some practice and the tips on this episode of the Confident Communications Podcast, you’ll be a natural. I’m sharing how to deal with on-camera ...