Most leaders can explain the plan. Far fewer can help people feel safe enough to move with it. Hearts Before Charts is our take on why the “people side” of leadership is not soft, it is the difference between reluctant compliance and real commitment.

We dig into what strong leadership communication looks like when change is coming: anticipatory transparency (tell people early, with the why), values anchoring (connect the message to what employees already care about), and empathic communication (name the emotion, then take action). We also share a hard truth we have both seen play out: empathy without action is just shared discomfort. Empathy with action is leadership.

You’ll hear two concrete stories. One company abruptly cut tuition reimbursement and triggered an uproar, not because everyone used the benefit, but because people valued what it represented: growth and development. Then we look at Satya Nadella’s culture reset at Microsoft, where listening more, reducing internal competition, and elevating empathy helped rebuild trust and performance at scale. We wrap up with a simple five-step playbook you can use to lead change, address unspoken fears, build psychological safety, and keep communicating after the announcement.

If you’ve ever had to deliver tough news or roll out a new system, this one is for you. Subscribe, share with a leader on your team, and leave a review with the best tip you’ve learned about leading change with empathy.

People side of leadership info

peoplesideofleadership@gmail.com

https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-people-side-of-leadership-with-ann-julie/

Follow Ann

http://www.annwrightsolutions.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-marie-wright/

Follow Julie

https://www.hrhotlineassociates.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-caspar-688a1bb/

Most leaders wake up planning to be authentic, yet plenty of us still show up wearing a mask. We talk about what “leading without a mask” really means and why the pressure to look confident, unbothered, and perfect can quietly sabotage the very thing great leadership depends on: trust.

We unpack the most common leadership masks, including the “I have all the answers” persona, the “nothing bothers me” front, and the trap of thinking you have to do it all yourself. Julie shares what masking looked like when she transitioned from employment into entrepreneurship, where credibility, clients, and big promises can push you to project certainty even when you’re navigating brand-new waters. We also explore why authenticity isn’t the same as dumping every fear, thought, or opinion on your team. Sometimes composure is a gift, especially in tough moments, but certainty about something you don’t know is not.

From there, we connect authentic leadership to outcomes that leaders care about, like employee engagement and performance. We talk about why owning mistakes builds credibility, how constructive feedback can change the way you lead, and what happens when “transparency” turns into venting that divides people. We close with a simple framework you can use right away: MASK, move beyond perfection, admit you don’t know everything, show your humanity and humility, and keep learning.

If this resonates, subscribe, share the episode with a colleague, and leave a review so more leaders can find the show. What’s one mask you’ve caught yourself wearing lately?

People side of leadership info

peoplesideofleadership@gmail.com

https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-people-side-of-leadership-with-ann-julie/

Follow Ann

http://www.annwrightsolutions.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-marie-wright/

Follow Julie

https://www.hrhotlineassociates.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-caspar-688a1bb/

You can feel it the moment your role changes: the work that used to prove your value now pulls you away from the work that actually is your value. We sit down with Megan Sweere, program director of Iowa State’s CyStarters accelerator program, to get honest about the leadership shift from doer to driver and what it really takes to lead through other people without burning out or gripping control even tighter.

Megan shares her path from corporate buying analyst to founder, what she learned from building a business, and how that experience shaped her as a leader when she was suddenly handed the reins of a fast-moving summer program. We talk about risk aversion, why changing direction is not the same as quitting, and how to build confidence after something doesn’t go the way you planned. If you’re an emerging leader, new manager, supervisor, or entrepreneur, you’ll hear yourself in this conversation.

We also get highly practical about leadership skills that create momentum: accountability that helps instead of nags, celebrating small wins when no one else is handing out gold stars, and delegation that develops people, rather than just offloading tasks. Megan explains how to lead teams with wildly different experience levels, why asking better questions beats pretending you have all the answers, and how vulnerability makes you more credible, not less.

If you want to grow as a people-first leader, listen now, then subscribe, share this with a colleague who’s making the jump to leadership, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.

About Megan

Megan is an Entrepreneurship program director and small business founder passionate about helping people and their new ideas grow. At Iowa State University, Megan manages the CYstarters summer accelerator, mentoring student founders from ideation to launch. She also own and operates Rosie Days Flower Farm in Ankeny, Iowa—so when she's not coaching startups, you can usually find her growing fresh, seasonal cut flowers for the local community.

www.rosiedaysflowerfarm.com

People side of leadership info

peoplesideofleadership@gmail.com

https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-people-side-of-leadership-with-ann-julie/

Follow Ann

http://www.annwrightsolutions.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-marie-wright/

Follow Julie

https://www.hrhotlineassociates.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-caspar-688a1bb/