When No One Tells the CEO the Truth

The Culture Heist: Small Acts of Rebellion That Change Everything

"Sometimes the only way to change a culture is to steal it back from the people protecting it." Marissa Green has been convicted of a culture heist. She served nine years. Susan Page was her accomplice. And in this episode of Brave Proximity, they are finally putting it on the record. After a season of naming the hardest things in organisational life, S1 E17 is about what you actually do. Not the dramatic stand that gets you heisted right out of the building. The small, daily, repeatable move. The meeting you stop attending. The proper channel you route around. The performance review you quietly turn into a real human conversation. The one slide you put up instead of forty, that makes the whole room lean in. Marissa and Susan cover the full spectrum of the culture heist — from the micro-moves anyone can make today, to the bigger integrity question of what it means to hold an organisation accountable to the values it says it believes in. They talk about the “difficult” label, the 25 people watching, the sweet vindication of having your heist stolen and implemented after you’ve left, and why the organisation you work inside is actually the practice ground for who you want to become in the world. Key Insights: * The Micro-Heist Menu:Four specific low-risk, high-impact heists you can execute this week — no coalition required. * The Proper Channels Problem:Why ‘go through the proper channel’ is often a polite system-level no, and how to call it out. * The Difficult Label:The precise irony of being called resistant when you’re trying to make things less difficult. * The 25 People Watching:For every person who rolls their eyes at your heist, 25 people are thinking: finally. * When the Heister Gets Heisted:What it means when the culture removes you — and why it is not the end of the story. * The Company as Practice Ground:How you choose to show up inside a broken system is training for how you show up in the world. * For System Architects:How to audit the system you run and create space for employee-owned culture change. Connect with Us: * [Marissa on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissa-green1/]] * [Susan on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanraderpage/]] * Brave Proximity on [Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/braveproximity/]] and [YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@BraveProximity]] * [www.braveproximity.com [http://www.braveproximity.com]] Disclaimer: This podcast reflects personal experiences and perspectives. It is not intended as legal, HR, or organizational policy advice.

When Telling the Truth at Work Comes with a Severance Package

"When did telling the truth at work come with a severance package?" You know the email. The subject line has the name of the loudest person in the building. The one who kept bringing forward the signal everyone else was afraid to name. The body says “has chosen to pursue other opportunities.” And you get quiet. Because you understood exactly what just happened. In this episode of Brave Proximity, Marissa Green and Susan Page go after the thing every person inside every organisation already knows is there: the systematic punishment of truth-tellers. They cover the real human cost of bravery — mortgages, health insurance, livelihood — and why drawing a line between right and wrong is genuinely hard when your job is on the other side of it. They name the false-start effect, the consultant as sword-carrier, the audio/video gap, and the revenue argument that no leader who cares about results can ignore. Key Insights: * The Signal Detector:Why the loudest voice in the room is the organisation’s most valuable and most punished early warning system. * The False Start Effect:What happens to hope inside an organisation every time a truth-teller is removed. * Why Am I So Disturbable?:Susan’s reframe for leaders: the question that separates self-protection from genuine accountability. * Taking the Sword:The consultant dynamic that reveals what organisations really do with hard truth. * The Audio/Video Gap:When the values on the wall stop matching the decisions being made in the room. * The Revenue Cost:Why silencing truth-tellers is not a soft cost — it is a measurable drop in discretionary effort and output. * The Permission Slip:You don’t get to ask for bravery in a system you haven’t made safe. And you don’t have to wait for a safe system to know who you are. Plus: Marissa teases what Brave Proximity is building next — tools to help leaders actually have these conversations, not just name that they need to happen. Connect with Us: * [Marissa on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissa-green1/]] * [Susan on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanraderpage/]] * Brave Proximity on [Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/braveproximity/]] and [YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@BraveProximity]] * [www.braveproximity.com [http://www.braveproximity.com]] Disclaimer: This podcast reflects personal experiences and perspectives. It is not intended as legal, HR, or organizational policy advice.

What to do when managing up becomes a full-time job

MANAGING UP: THE QUIET SABOTAGE OF LEADERSHIP This is not about learning to flatter or perform. It’s about recognizing how often the system pushes us to act against our better judgment, feeding egos instead of fueling growth. Sometimes managing up becomes a mask for fear, control, or avoidance. This episode cuts through the noise and names what’s real in those interactions and how they undermine us all. KEY INSIGHTS: * Managing up is often misunderstood as ego stroking, not strategic partnering. * The emotional maturity that counters this begins with self-awareness and honesty about how control is masking fear. * Leaders who micromanage or undermine trust waste more energy than they realize, and they’re usually protecting their own sense of worth. * Psychological safety isn’t just a cute phrase; it’s the foundation for genuine feedback, innovation, and resilience. * Systems sustain the scarcity mindset: fear of not being enough, fear of losing control, fear of being seen as weak. * True leadership is about creating space for others to operate with confidence, not walking a tightrope of ego. * Self-auditing—regularly questioning your role, your motives, your limits is the most effective form of leadership development. CONNECT WITH BRAVE PROXIMITY: * Marissa's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissa-green1/] * Susan's LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanraderpage/] * Join the Brave Proximity Newsletter [https://www.braveproximity.com/newsletter-subscription] ----------------------------------------

The Career Ladder Never Really Existed Anyway: How to Prepare for the Future of Development

RETHINKING CAREER PATHING: THE FUTURE OF DEVELOPMENT IN ORGANIZATIONS What if the idea of a career ladder is just a mirage? As organizations fast-forward into the future of work, traditional development systems are no longer enough — they're part of the problem. This conversation cuts through the noise, exposing the illusion of linear progress and framing development as agility, project work, and personal ownership. This isn’t about tweaking the system. It’s about dismantling old assumptions and designing new pathways for growth that match the speed and complexity of today’s world. The answer isn’t in more promises, but in real experimentation and brave structural shifts. The future of development requires a different approach—one built on trust, agility, and shared outcomes. KEY INSIGHTS: * The concept of a linear "career path" is largely a myth. * Organizations often create empty promises around development, masking retention tactics. * The existing system is broken, biased, and increasingly disconnected from reality. * Moving from job descriptions to project-based work: outcomes as the new organizing principle. * Leadership development should be project-focused, not role-focused. * Employees must own their development — organizations should enable, not dictate. * Pilot new approaches early; scale quickly without waiting for perfection. * The importance of agility and experimentation in HR systems. * External moves and reputation matter more than loyalty. * Design a future where career mobility is a fluid, multi-directional jungle gym. CONNECT WITH MARISSA AND SUSAN: * Brave Proximity Mailing List [https://www.braveproximity.com/newsletter-subscription] https://riverside.com/editor/bf386035-1dcd-46fd-87a3-47f5d7673f6f/6a1d8b5383b06b7df6e11eb5# * Leave us a Voicemail on VOXER [https://voxer.app.link/profile?username=bpelephants] * Marissa Green - LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissagreen/] * Susan Page - LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanpage/]

Embracing Your Own Purgatory with Geoff Curtis

“We’re always expected to be experts whenever we walk into a room... but we’re never experts of ourselves.” What happens when the work goes away? In this special, raw, live-recorded episode of Brave Proximity, Marissa and Susan welcome author Geoff Curtis to pull back the curtain on executive transitions. Many of us have spent decades climbing the ladder, unknowingly using the non-stop demands of our careers as a high-end safety net for emotional avoidance. When that structure is abruptly removed, the resulting emptiness can be devastating. Geoff shares his personal battle with depression after exiting his corporate role, the painful process of unmasking his identity from his job description, and what it actually takes to sit in the discomfort of transition instead of sprinting to the next venture. Key Insights: * The Friday-to-Monday Reflex: Why sprinting into a new role or consulting practice is often a defense mechanism against self-awareness. * The Corporate Validation Train: How modern corporate environments capitalize on our internal need to "prove ourselves". * The Expiration Date on Relevance: Confronting the explicit psychological terror of losing your industry footprint. * Intention Over Time: How even breadwinners without financial flexibility can leverage choice and micro-moments of pause. * Redefining Success: Shifting your metrics from Amazon best-seller campaigns to meaningful, organic community alignment. Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions expressed on this show are our own and should not be taken as formal human resources or legal guidance. 👉 DOWNLOAD THE PURGATORY WORKSHEET Are you currently in transition, or desperate to pause? Don't run straight into an unvetted next move. Visit our website to download the free S1 E13 Practice Guide to audit your triggers, process your patterns, and bring real intention back to your life. Website: www.braveproximity.com [http://www.braveproximity.com] Marissa's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissa-green1/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissa-green1/] Susan's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanraderpage/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanraderpage/] Geoff Curtis' LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffreycurtis/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffreycurtis/]