Grow Strong Leaders Podcast
I’m fascinated by what it takes for leaders to live their values consistently, especially when it’s hard.
On the Grow Strong Leaders Podcast, I have candid conversations with senior executives who are working to sustain principled leadership at scale inside complex organizations. We talk about how values are reinforced through leadership capability, organizational systems, and the everyday decisions leaders make.
Our discussions also explore what gets tested when pressure rises—and the personal guardrails leaders rely on to stay aligned.
This podcast is for leaders who believe values should guide real decisions, not just appear on the wall.
Grow Strong Leaders Podcast
371: The Weight of Doing the Right Thing
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Pressure reveals who you really are as a leader. Brian Aquart, Vice President of Workforce and Community Education at Northwell Health, shares how a defining moment during the first wave of COVID reshaped his understanding of purpose, responsibility, and ethical leadership. Deploying staff into high-risk areas forced him to wrestle with the weight of decisions that could either expose people to harm or help save lives.
You’ll hear how Brian moved from chasing titles to chasing impact, why principles at the top prevent chaos across 100,000+ employees, and how values must be embedded—not just stated—to withstand pressure. From education initiatives that change life trajectories to his belief that compassion drifts first when guardrails disappear, this conversation will challenge you to examine how you show up when it matters most.
Brian Aquart is a healthcare executive, advisor, and storyteller whose work sits at the intersection of leadership, workforce development, and human transition. He currently serves as Vice President of Workforce & Community Education at Northwell Health, where he helps design and scale education-to-career pathways that strengthen communities and future-ready systems.
He is also the creator and host of Why I Left, a podcast exploring the pivotal moments when leaders choose to evolve, and the founder of Storyline by Kingswood, where he works with executives and organizations to develop narrative clarity, strengthen leadership presence, and align how they show up with the impact they want to make. Across all of his work, Brian is driven by a core belief: when leaders change how they show up, they change what’s possible for the people and systems they serve.
You’ll discover:
- How ethical leadership becomes clear when lives are on the line
- Why principles at the top determine culture at scale
- What happens inside an organization when values aren’t reinforced
- How showing up physically signals integrity and care
- Why purpose, not prestige, sustains leaders long term
Connect with Brian on Social Media
Why I Left
Website: https://whyileft.co/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@whyileft
Storyline by Kingswood
Website: https://www.kingswoodforestllc.com/storyline-by-kingswood/
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