Lead Into It

Leadership isn't about having all the answers. It's about trusting yourself enough to make the decision anyway.

In this rewind episode, leadership coach and author Marisa Santoro returns to Lead Into It to talk about her book, Own Your Authority, and one of my favorite leadership topics: learning to trust your instincts.

So many leaders second-guess themselves. They wait for permission, hesitate to speak up, or question whether they'...

Some conversations are worth listening to more than once.

This is one of them.

In this rewind episode, I'm joined by leadership coach and former Wall Street tech executive Marisa Santoro to talk about something so many of us do without even realizing it: apologizing for taking up space.

Whether it's saying "I'm sorry" when you don't need to, hiding behind words like just, or softening your ideas before you've even shared them, th...

What does leadership really look like over time?

I almost didn't share this story.

I've been holding onto it for a while because I wasn't sure I was ready to tell it. It's easy to share the wins. It's a lot harder to talk about the burnout, the difficult leaders, the career pivots, and the moments where you have no idea what you're doing.

But those are the experiences that shaped me the most. And if I encourage others to lead with aut...

Okay, this one's a little spicy.

In this episode, Sara is dropping some hot takes — the kind that sound controversial until you actually think about them for two seconds. Inbox zero? Myth. Answering emails on vacation? Not the flex you think it is. Being "busy" all the time? Might just mean you're bad at saying no.

Sara gets into why the way we've all been taught to "do" work is kind of broken — and what it actually looks...

Unlock the secret to transforming your leadership with feedback that fuels growth and trust.

In this rewind episode, we revisit an impactful conversation with Kelly Waltman, founder and CEO of SLC Consulting and author of Elevate Connection: Cultivate an Engaged, Inspired, Productive and Profitable Team Culture. 

This converation is about the art of feedback — giving, receiving, and cultivating a feedback-friendly culture....

Most leaders don’t wake up trying to be a bad boss.

But sometimes the habits we build under pressure, stress, or good intentions can quietly create frustration, confusion, or burnout for the people around us.

In this solo episode of Lead Into It, I’m sharing seven signs that your leadership style might be getting in your team’s way and what to do instead. This isn’t about guilt or perfection. It’s about ...

What even is leadership coaching?

I get this question all the time because when I tell people I’m a leadership coach, the response is usually something like… “Oh, so kind of like a life coach?” which my answer is usually somewhere between: yes and no.

So, in this episode, I’m breaking down what leadership coaching actually is, what happens in a coaching relationship, and why so many people, from first-t...

In this episode, Sara sits down with a very special guest — her sister, Dr. Kate Nagel — for a conversation that’s equal parts reflective, funny, and honest. Together, they talk about what it was really like growing up in a military family, constantly moving, starting over, and learning how to adapt at a young age.

The sisters dive into how those experiences shaped the women they are today, from their careers and r...

In this rewind episode from 2021, Andre Young shares insightful leadership tools rooted in simplicity and practicality. Discover how to approach difficult conversations with empathy, foster work-life harmony, and unlock the potential in yourself and your team.

Key topics:

• The importance of personal leadership and evolving through hard experiences
• How to effectively give feedback by leading with others’ language
• The preface st...

Over my career, I’ve learned a lot about leadership. Some of it through great experiences and some (if not most) through doing things the hard way.

Many lessons weren’t things people sat me down and taught me. They were things I learned over time through leading teams, making mistakes, getting overwhelmed, building confidence, and figuring out what leadership actually looks like in real life.

In this solo episode,  I...

What does it actually mean to build your own leadership style?

In this episode of Lead Into It, Sara sits down with Navy Captain Lacey Vestal to explore the journey of becoming an authentic leader in environments that often reward conformity, hierarchy, and playing it safe. From attending the Naval Academy to leading in high pressure military environments, recruiting top talent, and finding her voice in senior leadership roles, Lace...

In this rewind episode from 2020 (yes, in the midst of the pandemic!), I sit down with Dr. Raj Raghunathan, an award-winning Professor of Marketing at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin, whose work focuses on the connection between our decisions, happiness, and fulfillment.

We talk about happiness in the workplace and why it matters far more than people often realize.

From burnout and belonging to lea...

In this episode, I sit down with Samantha Nicole Bell, a wellness coach and owner of Active & Attractive, and we dive deep into the essential connection between self-awareness, self-care, and leadership. Sammy shares powerful insights on how mastering your inner world can unlock better health, relationships, and professional success, emphasizing that true leadership begins from within and how cleaning your house might be the be...

No one teaches you how to give feedback—you’re just expected to know how to do it. In this Failure Files episode, I share a leadership moment I got completely wrong, what I learned, and how to approach difficult conversations better.

In this episode, I talk about:

•  What went wrong in a feedback conversation 
•  The pressure new leaders feel to perform and prove themselves 
•  Why avoiding difficult ...

This conversation with Natasha Skolny is one that makes you think about how you’re actually showing up as a leader.

Natasha, a leadership coach and founder of The Leadership Cabin, and I talk about redefining success, doing the work of self-discovery, and why vulnerability and trust aren’t optional if you want to lead well. She shares how aligning your personal values with your professional life changes everything and ho...

What if the hardest thing you’ve ever gone through became the very thing that shaped how you lead?

In this episode, Sara sits down with Hanna Bauer to talk about resilience in the most real, human way possible. Diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition as a child, Hanna shares how adversity, family support, and even her scars helped shape who she is today.

She also introduces her method for leadership: a values-based ap...

Branded merchandise is often treated as an afterthought—but it can be a powerful reflection of leadership, culture, and values.

In this episode of I’m joined by Amanda Hofman, founder of Go To>Market, to explore how print on demand is reshaping the way brands connect with their people. Amanda shares her journey from corporate burnout to building a values-driven business, and why authenticity matters in branding, leade...

The past year changed how I think about leadership...and in this episode, I’m sharing why.

In the Spring 2026 season opener of Lead Into It, I reflect on a year of growth, challenge, and transformation, shaped by my experiences in the military, coaching, and building community. We’ll explore what it really means to lead in alignment with your values, why human-centered leadership matters now more than ever, and how small...

What if the biggest leadership lessons of your year are already sitting in the stories you’ve lived and the conversations you’ve had?

For our final episode of 2025, we’re rewinding and revisiting some of the most impactful moments from this year’s twenty episodes of Lead Into It. You’ll hear insights on confidence, failure, self-awareness, communicating with intention, leading through challenge, and tak...