Lead Through It with Kim and Jada
If you're leading a team or an organization through something hard right now, you're in the right place. Jada Willis and Kim Andrews are the co-hosts of Lead Through It. They’re here because leadership gets lonely, and they want to make it less so. Every week, they bring you stories about how other leaders are doing it, practical tips and tools you can use right away, and their signature wit and charm. In an alternate universe, Jada and Kim are competitors. But they decided collaborating would be much more fun. Kim spent 15 years inside schools and nonprofits and now helps leaders build strong teams, make tough decisions, and get stuff done without burning out. Jada built a seven-figure HR firm from nothing, sold it, and now helps leaders turn chaos into clarity, fueled by a lot of faith and grit. They’ve had different paths but share the values that matter most. If *it* is hitting the fan, we’ve got you. Let's lead through it together. Interested in being a guest on the Lead Through It podcast? We'd love to hear your story and learn more about your leadership journey. Click here to apply!
Episodes
In this episode of Lead Through It, Kim Andrews and Jada Willis sit down with Georgia Woodard, founder of Peche Skin Co., to talk about career pivots, entrepreneurship, self-care, and redefining what it means to feel good in your own skin.
From making a major career change during COVID to building her own business, Georgia shares her journey of taking risks, embracing unexpected strengths, asking for help, and learni...
In this episode of Lead Through It, Kim Andrews and Jada Willis kick off a new mini-series focused on a challenge many high-performing leaders face: over-functioning.
What does it look like when a leader is carrying too much, taking on too much responsibility, solving every problem, and becoming the place where every decision stops? Kim and Jada unpack why over-functioning is so common among leaders, and how it can l...
In this episode of Lead Through It, Kim Andrews and Jada Willis sit down with Dr. Ardra Davis-Tolbert, a respected OB/GYN serving the Lowcountry, to discuss why prioritizing your health is one of the most important leadership decisions you can make.
From navigating perimenopause and menopause in the workplace to embracing unexpected opportunities and leading with authenticity, Dr. Tolbert shares practical wisdom and ...
In this special pre-brief episode of Lead Through It, Jada Willis and Kim Andrews have an honest conversation about something every leader experiences but few openly discuss: navigating personal challenges while continuing to lead others.
Before welcoming Dr. Ardra Davis-Tolbert to the podcast, Jada shares her own upcoming health journey and the experience of preparing for major surgery while balancing the demands of...
In this debrief episode of Lead Through It, Jada Willis and Kim Andrews reflect on their conversation with executive coach Muriel Wilkins and unpack the leadership lessons that have continued to stay with them long after the interview ended.
Together, they explore what it means to practice self-compassion in the midst of difficult seasons, why witnessing our own struggles can be just as important as solving them, and...
In this episode of Lead Through It, Jada Willis and Kim Andrews reflect on a powerful conversation with leadership consultant Rachel Cooke and unpack what it really means to lead in seasons of uncertainty, overwhelm, and constant motion.
Together, they explore the tension between planning and presence, and why letting go of rigid expectations can actually create more clarity, energy, and forward movement. From Steve ...
What if the answer to burnout isn’t doing less, but designing work differently?
In this episode, Kim and Jada sit down with Rachel Cooke, founder of Lead Above Noise, host of the Modern Mentor podcast, and a leading voice on creating healthier, more sustainable ways of working.
After leaving a successful corporate HR career, Rachel set out to challenge the belief that exhaustion is simply the cost of success. Wh...
In this episode of Lead Through It, Jada and Kim sit down with executive coach, author, and Coaching Real Leaders host Muriel Wilkins for a conversation that is equal parts leadership wisdom, personal reflection, and deep exhale.
Muriel shares the heart behind her work: helping leaders stop making leadership harder than it has to be. Together, they explore the mindset patterns that often keep high-performing leaders ...
In this episode, Jada and Kim sit down with Shannon Ivey for a powerful, funny, and deeply grounded conversation about voice, identity, self-advocacy, and what it means to take up space without apologizing for it. Shannon shares the journey that led her from theater professor to storyteller, coach, author, TEDx speaker, and founder of the Speak Like You Mean It method, including the moments that forced her to claim ...
In Part 2 of this conversation, Kim and Jada pick up the “cliffhanger” from the previous episode and reveal the leadership tool hiding in plain sight: one-on-one check-ins. But this is not a conversation about adding more meetings to your calendar. It is about making better use of the time you already have.
They unpack why recurring check-ins should not become another manager-driven update meeting, and ho...
In this episode of Lead Through It, Jada and Kim pull back the curtain on the kinds of conversations showing up in real coaching sessions right now. From overwhelmed leaders and overextended managers to team members who need clearer expectations, they unpack why so many leadership challenges start with the same root issue: the leader carrying too much.
Together, they talk about burnout, boundaries, self-leadership, a...
When everything feels like too much, it can be hard to know where to even begin. In this solo episode, Kim gets real about the overwhelm so many leaders, parents, and professionals are carrying right now.
She shares what she is personally trying to get back on top of the mental load, from going back to pen and paper to experimenting with new boundaries around work and rest. Kim also talks about what she is seeing wit...
In this episode, Jada and Kim sit down with Jace Woodrum, a South Carolina native, longtime advocate, and the first transgender executive director in the 100-year history of the nationwide American Civil Liberties Union. Jace has spent his career fighting for LGBTQ rights, healthcare access, and civil liberties, and now leads the ACLU of South Carolina at a time when many South Carolinians feel overwhelmed, exhauste...
What do you do when your team feels off, culture feels heavy, and “fixing it” feels overwhelming?
In this episode, we’re coming off a powerful conversation about what great culture looks like and bringing it back down to reality. Because most leaders aren’t starting from scratch… they’re stepping into something messy, unclear, or already strained.
So where do you begin?
We break it ...
What does it actually take to build a culture people don’t want to leave?
In this episode, we sit down with Cheryl Holland, Founder of Abacus Planning Group, to unpack what exceptional culture looks like in practice, not theory.
This is not about perks or pizza parties. It is about the intentional, daily work of valuing people, building trust, and creating systems that support both performance and humanity.
Chery...
Most leaders treat LinkedIn like an afterthought. Something they’ll “get to eventually.” But the truth is, whether you’re active or not, you already have a presence there. And it’s either working for you or against you.
In this episode, we break down why LinkedIn is no longer optional for leaders. It’s one of the most powerful tools you have to build credibility, attract opportunit...
What are you really promising the people you serve?
In this quick-fire debrief, we unpack a powerful idea from our conversation with Melanie Huggins: your brand promise means nothing if it is not reflected in your everyday behaviors.
It is easy to talk about culture at a high level. Most organizations have values on the wall, in the handbook, or in a strategic plan. But what actually matters is how those values show u...
If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, “Why won’t my team just take initiative?” you’re not alone. It’s one of the most common frustrations leaders face.
In this episode of Lead Through IT, Jada and Kim tackle the leadership question that sits underneath that frustration. Why do capable, smart people sometimes wait to be told what to do? And what can leaders do to create an envir...
In this powerful episode of Lead Through It, Jada and Kim are joined by Lyndsay Dowd, a top-tier sales leader, coach, and the author of Top-Down Culture. With 23 years of experience at IBM and a family legacy in the corporate world, Lyndsay shares the raw, transformative story of an unexpected career turning point at age 50 and how that moment became the push that led her to build a thriving coaching business.
...
In this episode of Lead Through It, hosts Jada and Kim sit down with Caroline Pennington, a powerhouse in the world of executive recruitment and personal branding. Caroline shares her journey from placing entry-level temporary employees to working with Fortune 500 boards and C-suite executives.
Throughout the conversation, the trio explores:
- The LinkedIn "Secret Sauce": How Caroline grew her following from zero to...
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