Leadership with Traction: From Engineer to CHRO and the Power of Lifting Others

In this episode, Rhoda speaks with executive coach and former Chief Human Resources Officer Jada Reese about leadership growth, mentoring, and navigating executive leadership as a woman.

Jada shares lessons from her career journey that began in mechanical engineering and evolved into senior HR leadership roles at major organizations including Enterprise Bank and Schnucks.

After more than three decades leading people strategy, culture transformation, and executive teams, Jada now coaches senior leaders on building sustainable leadership impact.

Key Topics
 Transitioning from technical expert to strategic leader
 Lessons learned serving as CHRO in complex organizations
 Why mentoring is a responsibility of leadership
 Navigating leadership as an African American woman
 The importance of authentic leadership and voice
 Helping leaders lead with clarity and purpose

About Jada Reese
Jada Reese is an executive leadership coach and former Chief Human Resources Officer with over 30 years of experience leading people strategy across complex organizations. She has led major transformations, mergers, and culture initiatives while helping organizations build stronger talent pipelines and leadership capability.

Today she coaches senior leaders and emerging executives to amplify their leadership voice and lead with authenticity and courage.

Transcript

SPEAKER_05 0:08

Welcome to Breakthrough Conversations with Rhoda and Company. This is the podcast where we talk with leaders who've pushed past barriers, who built influence, and created impact that reaches far beyond their own success. And today's guest is someone whose career tells a very powerful leadership story. Jada Reese began her career as a mechanical engineer. And over the years, she's moved into human resource leadership and ultimately served as chief human resource officer for major organizations, including Enterprise, Bank, and Schnooks here in St. Louis. And across more than 20 years, she's led through culture change, talent transformation, and organizational growth. She has also mentored countless leaders and open doors for others along the way. That's not one person I say, do you know Jada Reese? Usually they know her or have heard of her. So today, Jada works as an executive leadership coach, helping senior leaders lead with clarity, courage, and authenticity. Powerful, good stuff, mission work. And in this conversation, we will explore her career journey and the lessons she learned moving from technical expert to strategic people leader and why mentoring and lifting others is one of the most powerful forms of leadership. The title of this episode is From Engineer to CHRO, The Leadership Journey of Lifting Others. Welcome, Jada. Well, thank you so much. I'm so glad to have you here. Jada, I was so surprised. I didn't know this about you. I had heard uh something about your journey and background being in engineering. So it's so fascinating to me, and I'm really curious to learn about you. Started your career as an engineer. What led you to move from engineering into human resource and people leadership?

SPEAKER_02 2:03

People want to know that one thing about me because it's an odd path, right? And I will say it came from it was birthed from a bad experience with a recruiter who was quite rude to me.

SPEAKER_03 2:17

Really?

SPEAKER_02 2:18

And I was inside the company, I had applied for a role, and I just kind of said, Hey, I called to say I hadn't heard anything. And he said something like, Well, if we were interested, we would have called you. And I thought, did he really just say that? So um that's where it kind of came from. But let me put a a few more, a little more meat on that bone. Um, you know, I was trained to diagnose systems. Right. You know, in engineering, we don't guess, right? We measure.

SPEAKER_03 2:53

Right.

SPEAKER_02 2:54

And in engineering, when something keeps breaking, you don't blame the part. You examine the design. That is so true. Right? You look at tolerances, stress points, points of failure. And at some point early in my career, this incident, I realized that the systems that needed the most design work were not mechanical. Right. They were those built around people.

SPEAKER_03 3:19

Right.

SPEAKER_02 3:20

And so I didn't leave engineering per se. I just started applying it differently. And so for me, when I look at an organization, I still see systems. Right. Incentives, communication patterns, pressure points, failure points. And I just traded machine design for leadership design. Right. And honestly, that human system is far more complex and far more consequential. Yes. Yes. So eventually I realized that my most impact could be on system design. Yes. More so than in a factory. And it was the leadership architecture of the organization itself.

SPEAKER_03 4:06

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 4:06

So that's how I got here, and that's what I do now. Right. With something I'm dubbing the rear seat. Yes. And um I'm diagnosing leadership systems the way an engineer diagnoses mechanical ones.

SPEAKER_05 4:20

That's pretty powerful, and it's so profoundly true. And I knew you were going to say that the human design is way more complicated than any system that could be built. Wow, that is so inspiring, Jada. When you look back, what skills from engineering, and you mentioned a little, a little bit of that, but what skills from engineering help you become an effective HR executive?

SPEAKER_02 4:44

That was a good one. Um, probably three things. First, uh analytical rigor. Um, engineers, like I said, we don't guess, we measure, right? And that discipline transferred over into human resources. Um, it's really how I approach workforce planning, um, compensation and retention analysis. I was that HR leader in the room who came with data, right? Not just feelings, right? And so, second, that systems thinking. You know, in engineering, you can't just alter one variable without impacting everything downstream. And human behavior is the same way. It is. And so when you are coaching a leader, when you are looking at what development needs that an individual has, it really starts with that behavior. Right. And you can't touch that without impacting the people that work for them, their peers, the whole ecosystem of culture. And so it's that ripple, right? And so I have learned through engineering that that ripple has to be accounted for before you make the change.

SPEAKER_03 5:51

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 5:51

And then lastly, the ability to sit with ambiguity. Um, too often people are uncomfortable with gray. And so engineers are comfortable in not yet knowing the answer. Uh you learn to hold ambiguity and that complex that complexity as you work through a problem.

SPEAKER_04 6:14

Right.

SPEAKER_02 6:14

And in HR, sometimes we want to move too fast. We want to get to the answer because somebody is pressuring us. Right.

SPEAKER_05 6:21

And so I found that the right answer just takes patience and time because you can misdiagnose. Yeah. And ultimately put the organization at risk. Correct. Wow. So I know you described what inspired you to take this path. And I know that somebody had to give you an opportunity and see, be able to visualize the skill set you had being very transferable. So I'm interested to know what are some early moments in your career when you realize leadership will become your path. But I'm also interested to know a little story about how you got your first job in HR and what it was.

SPEAKER_02 7:09

You can give me that one, but I can answer that too. You know, when I when I read that question initially, I think for me, it goes way back to middle school. I was on a trip with my science class, bicentennial year, and we went to DC, Philadelphia, and Washington. I mean, and um New York. And we were standing in the hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed.

SPEAKER_03 7:36

Wow. Right.

SPEAKER_02 7:37

And we read that whole thing, right? And I'm looking at that as a young girl thinking, and some of these founders were enslavers.

SPEAKER_04 7:46

Right.

SPEAKER_02 7:46

And so, how are all men created equal? And so I think, I mean, this sounds really kind of um zen, but even at that young age, I did what I call the math, and it didn't add up. And so that's when I went on this journey, I think. The seed was planted to question everything, to question mission statements and visions and company commitments, and really look at what they did, not just what they said. Right. And so for me, I've been checking those beautiful words ever since. And then trying to hold leadership around me accountable to walk in that walk. Yes. You know? So when I think about how I shifted from engineering, I was actually in a program called En-ROADS. That's how I got into engineering, and I was just probably the most model student because I became a lifelong learner. Right. And an opening occurred, and I got a call because I was an active alum. And I'm like, work for Emeralds, really? Okay. And you know, not for profit. I'm an engineer. So we got to think about what role this is so that the pay works, and um, it was for the what I call the lead position. Yes. And I said absolutely yes, and so that's really how I made the transition.

SPEAKER_05 9:16

Wow, you've impacted a lot of lives from the En-ROADS perspective, too, because somebody introduced somebody to me, and she don't even live in St. Louis, and we were talking, and somehow we got to how did she know, did she know you? Because she was originally from St. Louis, I think, and she mentioned En-ROADES. Okay. And she said, Jada Reese from En-Roads, I would love to connect with her. Could you ask her if I can have her number? And I reached out to you because you gave me permission to give her that number. So way back then you were impacting lives, even you know, then. So to the point you just mentioned, the seed was sewn early. You actually you just destined to be in this type of role. So you served as a CHRO for organizations like Enterprise Bank and Schnooks. What does the CHRO role actually require that many people outside of HR, they may not even understand that?

SPEAKER_02 10:19

You know, it's um for me, it's more complex, right? So sometimes when you're in HR, people think the role is policies and compliance, right? All people outside the role think it's power, you know, that they have to be afraid of HR. Well, for me, that's just not the power piece, but the policies and compliance, that's the floor, right? That's not the house. And so for me, the real work is the balance between playing offense and defense simultaneously. And offense is that strategy work, you know, talent development, succession planning, those things that you can plan to happen in the future, and that sets the organization up for success, is building the pipeline of talent to determine who's gonna run the organization in five years. And then the defense is protecting the company from a compliance matter, mitigating risk, documentation discipline, making sure we stay out of the news and out of trouble. Right. But underneath that, for me, the the difference was what we don't say out loud is that that's a 5149 proposition. Right, right. The company and the people. But you give the company a little bit of a nudge because they pay. They they pay the bills, pay the salaries, so they get the edge. But the employees never leave the equation. Right. You know, we cannot, and sometimes our peers do forget that without the employees, nothing works.

SPEAKER_04 11:57

Right.

SPEAKER_02 11:57

Right? So for me, a CHRO who's worth his or her salt, they hold that tension and they hold it in parallel to the outcomes that the organization wants to attain. And so, from an HR perspective, what I've learned sitting in multiple seats in different organizations is that the leadership doesn't fail in that boardroom. It fails in the transition. Yes. And sometimes we fail to fill the gap between what we say a role is to do and that environment that the role operates in. Yes. And that's where that tension exists and how a really good HR person stops and analyzes more facts than what's being presented.

SPEAKER_03 12:48

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 12:49

And the people who are not in HR, the ones who are not truly embracing the role that we play, they miss that nuance. So for me, it's really about making sure the environment that people operate in optimizes them in their contributions.

SPEAKER_05 13:09

Yeah, it's like as when you were describing that 5149, I visualize it being a very delicate dance. And you can't go in all about the employee or all about the company. You really do have to balance it. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 13:27

And when there's a tie to be broken, it's the company, right?

SPEAKER_05 13:30

Right.

SPEAKER_02 13:31

But you don't get to that too often.

SPEAKER_05 13:33

Right. Yes. So you led through transformation and complex business environments. What leadership habits help you succeed at that level?

SPEAKER_02 13:44

Uh the first one is just really perfecting the pause. You know, pausing before you react. Um, when you're leading through complexity or through stressful times, the windshield can get pretty foggy.

SPEAKER_01 14:00

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 14:00

And everyone's moving fast. Um, the pressure's on, everybody wants an answer. And the temptation is to match their pace. But the best decisions I've ever made came from me slowing down, taking a moment, and just clearing my head so I can see more clearly. Um, the second is courage. This is one that I encourage anybody that I've mentored. It's naming what you see before anybody else realizes.

SPEAKER_03 14:31

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 14:32

You gotta name it, but you gotta have the courage to say it. And whether it's a leader who's derailing or a culture that's eroding or it's not walking the talk, somebody's gotta say it first. Right. And um, that's usually me. You know, and the third thing that I think is really important um is that you build your relationships before you need them. You know, by the time you're in a crisis, it's too late to build trust.

SPEAKER_03 15:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 15:04

And in order to, as an HR professional, help lead the organization through crisis, people have to know you, they have to trust you. So you have to like squirrel that away for a rainy day. And too often, HR sits in a tower.

SPEAKER_04 15:20

Right.

SPEAKER_02 15:21

And the best CHROs, in my opinion, they don't just manage the people in function, they make the people enabled to achieve the goals of the organization. And so it's it's really all about the people and the conditions in which the people work. Culture, right, leadership. I think every individual deserves a great leader.

SPEAKER_03 15:46

I do too.

SPEAKER_02 15:47

And that's where I've spent most of my time. Any place I've worked, I start with leadership.

SPEAKER_05 15:53

I feel so strongly about that, uh, Jada. Two things that you said, everything you said is highly filled with wisdom. Um, when you said the pause, what's been coming to me at this season in my life, as you know, I am looking for my next opportunity. And what came to me was there's power in the pause. Yes. And this is a pause like that applies in anything in life, what you just described about pause. We make our a better decision when we pause. And often our best thought is our third or fourth one, anyway. Correct, correct.

SPEAKER_02 16:30

Iterations, yes, right.

SPEAKER_05 16:32

And then um, when you just spoke about the importance of leadership, I uh aspire to educate individuals and help them understand the influence that they have and the responsibility that comes with being a people leader. It's more than what people think it is, they think it's power play and all these things. More money. You can literally break a person's spirit as a leader. They, if if you're a great leader, they're looking forward to working with you. They will follow you to job to job to job. And life is hard enough without having to deal with a bad leader. So when you are not a good leader and you're not intentional and you're not human-centric and not kind, you have the ability to cause anxiety and pain, and people are mentally unstable, and they're they can't be their best selves. So, to the point you made, everyone deserves a good leader. And I I would love to have transform people that want to be that and want to leave a more positive leadership shadow and leadership legacy. Um, so spot on, we are aligned there.

SPEAKER_02 17:52

You know, and if I may add, just to kind of piggyback off of that, sometimes HR and leaders of leaders have to have the courage to fix that broken rung and the leadership ladder. And it's not easy. I've sat around and we've, you know, we've just pondered and pondered and pondered while people suffer.

SPEAKER_05 18:18

They do. Yeah. And they suffering and they're like, but they make money. Right. They make money for the company. And that's it's the precedent you're setting. At the root of every issue that can be investigated in corporate America, it really boils down to poor leadership.

SPEAKER_02 18:37

I will say amen to that. You get no argument with me. Yes.

SPEAKER_05 18:41

So, Jada, what was one moment in your executive career that really tested your leadership the most?

SPEAKER_02 18:48

Oh, I I had so many. You know, especially when you think about being a female in corporate America, um, a female in engineering, um, being a black executive. And yet the one I I wanted to bring forth as the most difficult for me was more personally tied. And it was recent. Um, you know, I lost my mom in November, and concurrently, I'm building a business. Yes. Um, my mom was in hospice for 31 beautiful days at Evelyn's house. I'll put in a plug there. Um, and it was just the most bittersweet time for me because I was building a practice, my mom was inactive dying, managing my father, uh, his health on in a memory center uh as his power of attorney. My daughter, hundreds of miles away, was having real major housing issues, her apartment flooded, it's just just a lot. And all that was happening at the same time, and there was no convenient order. I couldn't prioritize, right? Because life doesn't schedule grief. No, it just, you know, it I and I didn't pause. And I look back on that four or five months later. It's not that I'm some superwoman because I am not. Um but because the women I come from don't have the luxury to pause. My grandmother's never paused, my mother never paused. You grieve and you beal simultaneously.

SPEAKER_03 20:40

At the same time.

SPEAKER_02 20:42

And um I learned something from that, that um the system doesn't stop for your pain.

SPEAKER_03 20:49

It doesn't.

SPEAKER_02 20:51

And um, but you get to decide. You get to decide if you if that pain makes you bitter or if it makes you clear. Yes. You know, and for me, I chose clear.

SPEAKER_05 21:02

That's so true. I remember when um my mom passed, and I remember going into a store and everybody was going about their business, and I remember wanting to just stop and tell somebody, my mom passed, right? Because it hurt so deeply. And even now I'm going through that, my grandmother's on hospice. Um, I'm not uh I'm sad to see her go, but I know she's lived a full life at the age of 92. But someone I uh attended's mastermind, a friend of mine has a mastermind group, and we meet every three weeks or so, and today was our meeting, and she wanted an update from me for the group. Right. And she said, So, Rhoda, I know you're exploring, looking for your next opportunity, but what else you got going on? And I started saying everything I was involved in, and she was like, Whoa, you got a lot going on. I said, Well, you know what? And I didn't even tell them apart about my grandmother. Um, but I decided. To no matter what happens in life, I'm gonna show up and I'm gonna take up space and a tip to get through all that we have to get through because we don't always get the pause. I it came to me one day is to just move through the moments. And I just moved through them. And next thing you know, you look back, look at all what you have accomplished and moved through. Oh, that's so powerful. Yeah. I'm so sorry about your grandmother. Yes. She'll be with the Lord to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So you've mentored Jada, and I've kind of like adopted you. Like I knew you through my good friend, and I just reached out to you one day and said, Hey, will you do a presentation with me? In a women's conference. Yes. And ever since then, you know, I've just been there. Like I've Jada is somebody who I admire and somebody I want to be connected with. And so you've mentored and supported many professionals throughout your career. Why is mentoring such an important responsibility for leaders?

SPEAKER_02 23:03

Well, you know, I can reflect for me because someone opened a door for me. You know, En-ROADS, um, my sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. Other leaders who saw something in me before I saw it in myself.

SPEAKER_03 23:21

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 23:21

And you don't know it at the time, but none of us get here on our own. There is always someone helping. I mean, nobody. I don't care who it is. But for me, mentoring is not just paying it forward, right? Because you feel like if somebody gives you something you need to give, and but for me, it's not just that. It is the highest form of leadership development. Yes. Because when you mentor someone, you have to articulate what you know.

SPEAKER_03 23:55

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 23:56

You have to challenge your own assumptions, you have to admit what's worked and what didn't work. Because as you're imparting that experience, you don't want to sugarcoat. You want to give them all of it so they don't have to reinvent that pain. That's true.

SPEAKER_03 24:12

That's so true.

SPEAKER_02 24:13

And so what I found that was a pleasant surprise or a silver lining is that mentoring sharpened me as much as it developed out. Yes. It gave my voice more clarity. And so the legacy for me is not what you build.

SPEAKER_03 24:31

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 24:32

It's who you build.

SPEAKER_03 24:33

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 24:34

And I used to put on my resume how many people got promoted from under me. Yes. Until I got to the point where you're like, you know, that's just supposed to happen. Right, right, right. You're in a position that should just happen. But the organizations will restructure, titles will change, people will retire, turnover will occur. But the people you poured into, they carry your leadership forward.

SPEAKER_03 25:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 25:04

Long after you've left the line.

SPEAKER_03 25:06

That's so true.

SPEAKER_02 25:06

And for me, it's really about the who, not the what.

SPEAKER_05 25:11

That's so powerful and inspirational and so very true. Yes. I remember when I worked at a large healthcare organization here, it was an epic implementation, and I was over the training. So it was a lot of turnover. You know, you're hiring and people leaving the training department to go to the build side because they can make more money, get certified, et cetera. I was like, hey, what I need to do to get you there. Right. I'm willing to do that. That's right. So one of the executives in the system stopped me one day at a meeting and she said, I heard you're running people off over there. And I said, No, actually, I'm hiring people, pouring into them, developing them, and seeding the organization with some really good talent. And I counted one time, and I I used to put that on my resume too. I promoted 33 people over five-year period as a result of that. And I've opened a lot of doors for people from having that opportunity. And to your point, they're paying it forward. And so I don't want to be the one that they're taking bad practices and going forward with those. I want it to be healthy, positive things.

SPEAKER_02 26:23

So it's so good because when people know that you care, then they work hard. Yes. You know, and they want to then care for others. That's right.

SPEAKER_05 26:34

That's right. So, Jetty, you mentioned, you know, being an African-American executive, female, and as an African-American woman in senior leadership, what lessons did you learn about navigating leadership spaces that were not always built for you?

SPEAKER_02 26:52

Yeah, those spaces were never built for me, right? Um, the playbook was not written for me. Um the assumptions about what leadership looked like, sounded like, moved like. None of that was designed with me and mine. Right. And um, but here's what I learned. That was not a disadvantage.

SPEAKER_03 27:13

Right.

SPEAKER_02 27:15

That was a superpower because when you've spent your career navigating systems that may not always be designed for your success or may not always see you.

SPEAKER_04 27:26

Right.

SPEAKER_02 27:27

You develop a kind of sight that people who fit naturally don't have.

SPEAKER_04 27:32

Right.

SPEAKER_02 27:33

You see the architecture, you see who's included, who's invisible.

SPEAKER_04 27:39

Right.

SPEAKER_02 27:40

And the higher you climb, you see the gap between the values on the wall and the decisions being made in the room.

SPEAKER_03 27:47

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 27:48

And once you see it, you cannot unsee it. Um that scene, that's what I bring to any engagement. And that's what I did inside the house and what I plan to do outside the house, right? In my own business, is helping organizations develop that sort of sight. Yes, not because they're failing, but because they don't have that advantage of seeing it through that lens. And um they have blind spots because they've never had to. That's right. And I have that site that I'm so I think that is um that's how I've navigated those spaces so well.

SPEAKER_05 28:30

I love the reframe. I love it. It's a superpower. Yes, so true. What advice do you give women who want to grow their leadership voice without losing their authenticity?

SPEAKER_02 28:43

Um you know, it's pretty simplistic because I I thought when I read that question, I thought it should be more complex than that. It should be more powerfully wise. But I would say stop. Stop performing belonging. Yes. Just stop that. Because you can't lead with authenticity from a place where you're constantly translating yourself for other people's comfort. I used to say at 4'11 and three-quarters, I can't shrink anymore. Right, right. You know, I have to be able to stand all nearly five feet tall. And it's exhausting when you're trying to morph yourself, uh, just so others can feel comfortable. Yes, true. And when you are performing, they don't trust you. Even if it's a good performance, you just don't trust it. So the voice some women may be looking for, it's not a new voice.

SPEAKER_05 29:44

Right. It's the voice they were born with.

SPEAKER_02 29:46

It's the voice they've always had.

SPEAKER_05 29:48

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 29:49

It's the one they've been suppressing because someone said it's too loud, it's too much, it's too direct, it's too something.

SPEAKER_03 29:57

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 29:57

Right? And so I would encourage that the leadership voice that you have is your authentic voice, and it was there before you start filtering it to satisfy somebody else. That is so so just go back to that. Yes, just lead from who you actually are, not from where you think people want to see you lead from. Because the leaders I've worked with, you know, if if you watch the space and you watch who is included, they don't have those hang ups.

SPEAKER_03 30:30

They don't.

SPEAKER_02 30:31

They say what's on their mind and they say it with confidence, and there's no apology.

SPEAKER_03 30:36

None.

SPEAKER_02 30:36

And when we all get to lead from that place, it's free. That's the value we have. It's unique.

SPEAKER_05 30:43

It is. I always say that when you are not being your authentic self, you are not only depriving yourself, but you're depriving the world of the gift of you. Yes. We were uniquely created with the DNA we have, with the personalities we have, for a reason. And to suppress that, and we've all been in that position where you may have been tempted to or felt the need to. And I struggle with not being able to suppress who I am. Um, and I'm glad for that. And I tell people all the time, look, I'm not for everyone. And there is an organization that needs a rote of banks. Not every organization wants or sees the value of it, but that one that does, they'll be grateful for it. So I I don't think that the advice has to be overly complicated. That is real. Just be who you are. That's be who you are.

SPEAKER_01 31:44

And you're right, you'll find your tribe.

SPEAKER_05 31:46

Yeah, you'll find your people. Yes. Yep. So after serving as a CHRO in multiple large organizations, you move into executive coaching at this season of your life.

SPEAKER_02 31:57

What inspired that transition? You know, I'm gonna get to that. Uh, you know, I've made a pivot and just made it this week, actually. And so I'm not necessarily calling it executive coaching anymore as much as I'm calling it advisory.

SPEAKER_04 32:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 32:16

And the reason being is that what I did inside organizations so well is I stepped into critical people moments, you know, and I diagnosed what was working, right, what was getting in the way, and I want to help organizations do that because interview processes and consultants who've never sat in the seats, right? They can't get there. They can't. And I can. So I created this rare seat, which is uh diagnostic. And it's really the work I've been doing for over 20 years that I'm now saying there's a market for this. And um, you know, it can lend itself to just being an engagement, or it can lend itself to some fractional work, or it can lend itself to some coaching or advisory work of the person who fills the seat, or it can quite frankly help accelerate a not ready yet internal candidate. So I'm excited about that space.

SPEAKER_05 33:20

That sounds exciting.

SPEAKER_02 33:22

Um, but to answer that question about why now and what led to the transition, the transition happened because for the pivot of the work is because I know that's not being done. But in January of 2025, I made my exit out of corporate America and I wasn't alone. Over 300,000 black women left the workforce that same month. Yes. Um, some by choice, yes, some not. Um, I'm fortunate I turned mine into simply Jada. Simply Jada.

SPEAKER_05 34:00

I love it. I love it, Jada. So you talked about performing. Many leaders perform leadership rather than truly living it.

SPEAKER_03 34:10

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 34:10

What does authentic leadership look like in practice? You know, you spoke about it from the space lens of voice, but what does it look like?

SPEAKER_02 34:20

I I swear you and I are so in sync because this has been part of a platform I've been operating off of for a long time. And you heard me say earlier, just stop performing. Yes. Right? And so in this space, I've seen leaders that are beloved, like yourself, because I've heard a lot of great things about your leadership. I want to turn that back to you. And there's some that um are effective, and the rare ones are both, right? They figure out how to be both. The difference is leaders who perform leadership, they are managing perceptions, right? They're curating how they're seeing.

SPEAKER_03 35:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 35:04

Leaders who live it are managing impact.

SPEAKER_03 35:07

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 35:09

And they focus on what their leadership does or creates around them. Yes. What's the impact to the people around them? And so authentic leadership in practice looks like consistency.

SPEAKER_03 35:24

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 35:24

And it's the leader whose team says the same thing about them, whether they're in the room or not. It's that leader who, when they go to the company picnic and they meet that teammate's family, it's that leader where the family says, Oh, you're Rhoda in a happy voice, right? Because they know their loved one who works for you comes home filled. Yes. And not that example you gave earlier, defeated and deflated because of your leadership style. And so it's that leader who still has to make hard calls but explains why.

SPEAKER_04 36:03

Right.

SPEAKER_02 36:04

They care enough to tell the why. And it's that leader who says, I don't know, without a ripple of lack of confidence in the room. People figure that leader is gonna figure it out and I'm still with him or her.

SPEAKER_03 36:19

Right.

SPEAKER_02 36:20

And so it's the leader who understands that it doesn't matter what their intent is if the impact doesn't net them what they want. Yes. And so being authentic means you care about all of that, and that your people know you care about this. And you still get the work done.

SPEAKER_03 36:41

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 36:41

You get the outcomes or you exceed those goals. That's that's what it is for me.

SPEAKER_05 36:46

Oh I mean, whatever company or whichever companies employ you for advancement, they're getting a jam. And I'm just saying this to those that are listening or will be listening to this podcast, Simply Jada. Jada, what's your website if they want to reach you?

SPEAKER_02 37:04

Simplyjada.com. Thank you for that. Let's keep it. That's shameless plug. Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_05 37:11

So when leaders feel pressure, what is the first mindset shift they need to make to lead more effectively?

SPEAKER_02 37:19

Um, again, it's it's not just the pause, but it's stop. Yes. You know, before anything else, just stop. Because you don't have to stop for a day or even an hour, but just take a few minutes to pause, just long enough to clear that windshield. I mean, that's my focus is always forward. And um, when leaders are under pressure, the windshield gets foggy and everything feels urgent, every decision feels hard, right? Like it's high stakes, and too often um the instinct is to go faster.

SPEAKER_03 37:59

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 38:00

And I just have this natural ability to just pause. Right. Because if the windshield's already foggy and you're going too fast, you're gonna crash.

SPEAKER_04 38:10

Right.

SPEAKER_02 38:10

And in a room of confusion, if you look around, I'm Zen. I am Zen because that's where I get clarity. So the first mindset shift is to go from reaction to reflection.

SPEAKER_03 38:22

Yes, from reaction to reflection.

SPEAKER_02 38:26

Right? Like what's unclear, what's already working, right? And what could work even better.

SPEAKER_03 38:33

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 38:33

And I think just getting yourself settled on that will give the shift that one needs for clarity in just five minutes. Right. And so pressure doesn't create uh bad leadership, it reveals patterns. Yes. And I've seen people who just shocked me because they did some things under pressure that I'm like, whoa, you had never seen that, right? And so if I'm if I'm 40 years prior and I had to give myself advice, it would be to shift that and to pause because sometimes when leaders are misbehaving or behaving badly, it may be the environment.

SPEAKER_04 39:17

Right.

SPEAKER_02 39:18

And what do we need to do to make sure we're not putting leaders in bad places where they're feeling this pressure to behave in a rash and rush way.

SPEAKER_03 39:28

Right.

SPEAKER_02 39:29

Um, so I like to diagnose the condition too, which is when I pause and I go, okay, what's really happening?

SPEAKER_04 39:36

Right.

SPEAKER_02 39:36

And I think we would all be served better if we took a moment to do an assessment before we act.

SPEAKER_05 39:44

Yes, I love that. Yeah, taking that pause, embracing that, and shifting from reacting to reflecting. Wow. So, Jada, I'm gonna shift.

SPEAKER_06 39:56

Speaking of shift, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 39:57

Oh, I'm shifting to rapid fire questions. I have three. All right. The first one is what is one leadership habit every executive should practice daily?

SPEAKER_02 40:07

For me, it is the pause, right? So pause before you react. The windshield is always foggier when you're moving too fast.

SPEAKER_05 40:17

Okay. What is the best career advice a mentor ever gave you?

SPEAKER_02 40:22

Oh. Um, okay. So you're not in the room to be comfortable. You're not at that table for comfort. You're in the room to change what happens when you leave.

SPEAKER_03 40:34

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 40:35

That was said to me.

SPEAKER_05 40:37

Wow. That's amazing. And what is one leadership mistake you see talented professionals make too often? I see this a lot.

SPEAKER_02 40:46

Confusing proximity to power with having power.

SPEAKER_03 40:50

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 40:51

Sitting at the table doesn't mean that your voice carries the same weight. Agency is not the same as access.

SPEAKER_05 41:00

Yes. That is so profound. I'm glad we're recording it, so we'll always have it. Yeah. I do have one closing question, and that is what leadership legacy do you hope the people you mentor will carry forward?

SPEAKER_02 41:16

I have to say this was my favorite question because at this stage in my life, I get to look back and see a lot of the kids who are now some presidents of organizations. And you know, I I do feel profoundly um I feel deep about the obligations we have to one another. And I hope that the people I've poured into carry forward one thing, and that is that they have the courage to see clearly and the grace to act on what they see. Not out of rage, not to rescue, um, but to resolve. And um I want to look, I want them to look at the systems they're leading in, the beautiful words, the mission statements, the promises.

SPEAKER_03 42:13

Right.

SPEAKER_02 42:13

And I want them to have the courage to do the math and to ask, does this add up?

SPEAKER_03 42:18

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 42:19

And when it doesn't, to have the grace and grit to close the gap.

SPEAKER_03 42:23

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 42:23

I mean, that's the only way things change, um, is if we have the courage to change them. So do it with clarity, do it with purpose, and most importantly, do it with love. And that's the legacy. Again, it's not what I built in school.

SPEAKER_05 42:41

It's who. Oh my God, I love it. Jada, I could talk to you forever. Thank you so much for sharing your journey and your wisdom. I really appreciate it. Yeah, your story reminds us that leadership is not about a title.

SPEAKER_06 42:56

No.

SPEAKER_05 42:56

Uh, it is about the impact we have on others and the doors we open along the way. So, from engineering to CHRO to advising organizations, individuals, leaders, whomever, your career shows what happens when leaders combine expertise with purpose and integrity. And to our listeners, if today's conversation resonated with you, and I can't see how it doesn't, share this episode with someone who is building their leadership journey. And remember this real leadership is not measured by how far you climb, it is measured by how many people rise because you chose to lead. This is Breakthrough Conversations for Rhoda and Company. Until next time, thank you for listening.

SPEAKER_00 43:49

It could be model multi-tasking how you got it up. Hey, what's your story? Oh yeah, you do it uh