Why Alex Simmons Left Microsoft to Help People Out of Pain

Human-Centered Leadership in the AI Era | Hector Villasenor

Ever feel like technology is taking over but forgetting the human touch? Here’s why we must prioritize empathy in leadership! I speak with Hector Villasenor. He shares insights on the intersection of AI and human-centered leadership. While tech evolves fast, remember: - We’re working with people who have emotions, backgrounds, and stories. - A simple "How are you today?" can foster a safe workplace. - Leaders must understand AI but not let it dictate how they lead. It’s time to blend technology with compassion. What’s your experience with this balance? Enjoy! #HumanCenteredLeadership #EmpathyInTech #LeadershipInsights #AIAndPeople #TechWithHeart Connect with Hector Villasenor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hvillasenor/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/hvillasenor/]

When Confidence Works Against You

Meet Jakson, the newest member of the Integrity Over Scale Podcast. Confidence is essential for leadership, but unchecked confidence can quietly become ego, blind spots, and relational damage. This episode slows down the moment where confidence tips from asset to liability and invites leaders to examine where that might be happening in their own behavior. Our sincere apologies for the sound echoing here and there. It was our first time recording in person and we will improve this in the next podcasts together.

Performing Leadership vs. Actually Leading: Why Your Polished Self Is Costing You

Welcome to Integrity Over Scale, the podcast where leadership coach Dr. Leili Sadaghiani gets honest about what leadership actually costs, and what it gives back when you do it right. You walk into the meeting and before you say a word, something in you starts adjusting. Your voice changes. Your face changes. You reach for certainty faster than you actually feel it. You're not lying. You're performing the version of leadership you were taught gets rewarded. In this solo episode, Leili unpacks the gap between the leader you've learned to perform and the leader you actually know how to be. Drawing on her doctoral research on executive hubris, her own years leading from anxiety in corporate environments, and real client stories (including the executive repeatedly asked to take notes in her own meetings), she breaks down where the performance comes from, what it quietly costs you and your team, and the practical shift that closes the gap. You'll learn: * Why "confidence" is often compliance with a cultural script, and how to tell the difference * How performative leadership breaks trust through repetition, not one big failure * Power over vs. power with, and why one of them leaves your whole team exhausted * The question to ask instead of "Do I look like a leader right now?" This one gets personal. Leili names the double standards that make authenticity harder for some leaders than others, and why this conversation has to hold both the system and the self. Choose conscious over ego. Humanity over power. Connect with Leili at www.invivoleadershipstrategies.com [http://www.invivoleadershipstrategies.com] #PerformativeLeadership #AuthenticLeadership #LeadershipCoaching #ExecutivePresence #IntegrityOverScale

Authentic Leadership: Being Real Without Being a Jerk

Authentic Leadership: Being Real Without Being a Jerk explores what it truly means to “be yourself” as a leader without using authenticity as an excuse for bluntness, rigidity, or ego. In this episode, Dr. Leili Sadaghiani unpacks the core elements of authentic leadership—self-awareness, relational transparency, balanced processing, and a grounded moral compass—and shows how each one plays out in real organizational life. Drawing on research and lived leadership tensions, she breaks down the “authenticity paradox”: why clinging to a fixed idea of “this is just who I am” can block growth, damage relationships, and quietly erode trust. Through concrete examples of leaders who are “too nice” to give feedback and leaders who hide harshness behind “brutal honesty,” Leili illustrates how good values (like connection, candor, or excellence) can turn into harm when they’re left unbalanced. This conversation invites listeners to see authenticity not as unfiltered self-expression, but as alignment between values, behavior, and impact. You’ll walk away with language and frameworks to examine your own core values, spot where they can tip into their shadow side, and design a more honest, humble, and human way of leading. In short, this episode is for any leader who wants to be real and responsible—anchored in who they are, while still kind, open, and willing to grow. #AuthenticLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #ConsciousLeadership #EmotionalIntelligence #HumanCenteredLeadership #LeadershipPodcast #IntegrityOverScale #WomenInLeadership #WorkplaceCulture #LeadWithHumility #ValuesBasedLeadership

Servant Leadership at 18: What a Founder Is Learning About Letting Go

What does it take to build a company at a young age? In this episode, Dr. Leili Sadaghiani sits down with Jacob Labagh, an 18-year-old aerospace engineering student at Embry-Riddle and the founder of EX3D, a 3D printing network that connects makers, designers, and customers across the country. Jacob and Leili met through Moonshot, where EX3D took third place. In this conversation, he walks through the real version of starting a business, not the polished one. He talks about the Etsy store that sparked the idea, the five business models his team cycled through before finding direction, and the months they spent stuck trying to figure out what they were actually selling. He also shares how he used AI tools like Base44 and Claude to build the website and connect the systems his team could not code on their own, and why he sees AI as a time multiplier rather than something to fear. They get into the harder parts too. Jacob opens up about a 3D printing journalist who publicly doubted the business would ever scale, and how he learned to set that aside, keep building, and make peace with the possibility of failure. From there the conversation turns to leadership. Jacob describes catching his own control freak tendencies, then stepping back to give his team real ownership, and why servant leadership turned out to be the right fit for a company sitting between two different audiences. If you are thinking about starting something of your own, Jacob's advice is worth the listen: do not start a company to make money. Start by finding a real problem and asking whether you are the right person to solve it. Where to find Jacob: Website: https://ex3dprints.com/ [https://ex3dprints.com/] LinkedIn: Jacob Labagh TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ex3dprints [https://www.tiktok.com/@ex3dprints] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ex3dprints/ [https://www.instagram.com/ex3dprints/] YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/@EX3DPrints/shorts [https://m.youtube.com/@EX3DPrints/shorts] Live your life InVivo. ---------------------------------------- #InVivoLeadership #LeadershipPodcast #ServantLeadership #Entrepreneurship #YoungEntrepreneur #StartupJourney #3DPrinting #EX3D #EmbryRiddle #Aerospace #SmallBusiness #AIforBusiness #TrialAndError #FoundersStory #PrescottAZ #SpaceTech #BusinessPodcast #LeadershipDevelopment