Burnout, Breast Cancer & Building Trust at Work: Hallmark VP of Change Management | Alison Stephen

Burnout, Breast Cancer & Building Trust at Work: Hallmark VP of Change Management | Alison Stephen

Burnout. Trust at work. A breast cancer diagnosis two days after a promotion. What happens when the leader responsible for 15,000 employees' experience has to navigate the hardest experience of her own life? Alison Stephen is the Vice President of Change Management at Hallmark, where she has spent seven years shaping culture and employee experience at one of America's most iconic companies. Her career started in retail leadership — big teams, constant relocation, working every holiday — until she asked herself what she wanted her kids to remember about how their mom showed up. In this episode, Ebrima Abraham Sisay and Alison Stephen get into what actually builds trust across an organization, why employees don't leave jobs, they leave managers, and why 79% of women in leadership experience burnout. Alison also shares her breast cancer story — diagnosed in 2022, two days after accepting a big new role — and what treatment taught her about delegation, transparency, and leading through the hardest season of her life. What we cover: — How trust gets built from the top of an organization to the frontline — Why employees don't leave jobs, they leave managers — The emotional weight women leaders carry and why burnout hits them harder — Getting promoted two days before a cancer diagnosis — How transparency created a culture where her team felt safe to open up — The sliding scale — a better model than work life balance Connect with Alison Stephen: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisonjstephen/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisonjstephen/] Sign up to the newsletter: https://nobrief.beehiiv.com/ [https://nobrief.beehiiv.com/] Watch more from You Gotta NO! — Leadership. Mental health. Real conversations: https://ygnpodcast.com [https://ygnpodcast.com]

People Analytics, AI & Identity: A Netflix & Former Google Data Leader's Honest Take | 🏴‍☠️ Bill Yost

People analytics. AI. Identity at work. Is data analytics actually dying or are people just scared? Bill Yost has been inside Google and Netflix long enough to know the difference. 🏴‍☠️ Bill Yost [https://www.linkedin.com/in/billyost/] is a People Analytics Partner at Netflix and former Google analyst with nearly eight years of experience using data to understand how people actually experience work. He is also a two-time thyroid cancer survivor, the founder of Cookies Worth Sharon, a family cookie business he started during cancer recovery and a LinkedIn Top Choice creator who built a massive following by doing the one thing most people overthink: just being real. In this episode, Ebrima Abraham Sisay and Bill Yost get into what people analytics actually reveals about organizational health, why coexisting with AI is the only viable path forward for data professionals, and what happens when you build so much of your identity around a career that it starts to break you down. They also talk about what surviving cancer twice does to your relationship with work and why Bill believes most people are not taking stock of their own worth the way they should. What we cover:— What people analytics reveals that most leaders are not acting on— Why being anti-AI right now means you are punching at air— The real cost of tying your identity to your job title or employer— How Bill survived cancer twice and what it shifted in how he works and lives— Why being a genuine human online is the only strategy that holds up long term— How to take stock of your self worth and go test what you are worth in the market Connect with Bill Yost:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billyost/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/billyost/]Cookies Worth Sharon: www.cookiesworthsharon.com [http://www.cookiesworthsharon.com] Sign up to the newsletter: https://nobrief.beehiiv.com/ [https://nobrief.beehiiv.com/]Watch more from You Gotta NO! — Leadership. Mental health. Real conversations: https://ygnpodcast.com [https://ygnpodcast.com] Topics: Leadership, Career Development, Mental Health ,People Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Personal Growth, Workplace Culture.

What AI Can't Replace & the Human Problem Behind Every Work Problem | Shelby Mathews

AI. Identity. The human problem behind every work problem. What if the biggest threat to your career is not a machine, it is not knowing what only you can do? Shelby Mathews is the SVP of Marketing at Native Digital and a BONDE member based in Kansas City. She has spent her career navigating marketing strategy, organizational growth, and what it means to lead authentically in an industry that moves fast and rewards performance over presence. In this episode, Ebrima Abraham Sisay and Shelby Mathews get into what is actually happening in the marketing world with AI, what can and should be commoditized versus what cannot, and the real question leaders need to ask themselves before the tools make it irrelevant. They also go deep on the cost of being someone who adapts to every room and what it means to realize you have been a reflection of the situation instead of figuring out who you are in it. What we cover: * What AI can and cannot replace in marketing and leadership * Why the fear around artificial intelligence is missing a historical lens * What it means to be someone who adapts to every room and the cost of that * The difference between being a chameleon and knowing who you actually are * Why there is no such thing as job security as your life security * The human problem that lives underneath every work problem Connect with Shelby Mathews: * Website: https://www.shelby-mathews.com/ [https://www.shelby-mathews.com/] * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelby-mathews-48b50074/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelby-mathews-48b50074/] * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shmathews/ [https://www.instagram.com/shmathews/] Sign up to the newsletter: https://nobrief.beehiiv.com/ [https://nobrief.beehiiv.com/] Watch more from You Gotta NO! — Leadership. Mental health. Real conversations: https://ygnpodcast.com [https://ygnpodcast.com]

Burnout, Identity & The Cost of Building for Everyone Else | Kasim Hardaway

Burnout. External validation. The cost of building a life that was never really yours. What happens when you spend a decade producing for everyone else — and then your body finally says no? Kasim Hardaway is a multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker based in Kansas City whose work is rooted in mental health and the human condition. After more than a decade in digital marketing as a strategic content consultant and social media influencer, burnout turned into depression — and therapy became the thing that pulled him back to himself. His debut film, The UNBecoming, is currently on the film festival circuit with official selections including Best Experimental Film at the Tokyo Film Awards 2025. In this episode, Ebrima Abraham Sisay and Kasim Hardaway get into what it actually costs to build a career on external validation, why so many leaders and creators never get out of the cycle of just building, and what unbecoming everything that was never meant for you actually looks like in practice. This is a conversation about identity, capacity, and what it means to finally give yourself permission to just exist. What we cover:— Why brands need to stop treating people like brands— How unresolved childhood wounds show up in your leadership and work— The connection between productivity, self worth and burnout— What it took to walk away from a decade-long career to start over— Why mental health is a journey, not a destination— The UNBecoming — Kasim's debut film and what it represents Connect with Kasim Hardaway:Website: https://www.kasimhardaway.com/ [https://www.kasimhardaway.com/]LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kasimjhardaway/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kasimjhardaway/]Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kasimjhardaway/ [https://www.instagram.com/kasimjhardaway/] Sign up to the newsletter: https://nobrief.beehiiv.com/ [https://nobrief.beehiiv.com/]Watch more from You Gotta NO! — Leadership. Mental health. Real conversations: https://ygnpodcast.com [https://ygnpodcast.com] Topics to keep: Leadership, Mental Health, BurnoutTopics to add if available: Identity, Personal Development, Creativity, Entrepreneurship

What Your Nervous System Has Been Trying to Tell You | Burnout & Leadership with Dr. Holly Battrum

Burnout. Emotional dysregulation. Nervous system health for leaders. Most leaders are running on empty — reactive, scattered, and pushing through, calling it leadership. Dr. Holly Battrum is a Doctor of Eastern Medicine and holistic health practitioner who works with leaders and organizations to reconnect with the one system nobody talks about: the nervous system. In this episode, Ebrima Abraham Sisay and Dr. Holly Battrum go deep on why emotional dysregulation is the quiet crisis underneath burnout, what your body has been trying to signal that you've stopped listening to, and what actually changes when leaders start paying attention. They also break down Holly's 30% rule — one of the simplest and most practical tools for stressed, overstimulated leaders who always feel behind. What we cover:— Why most leaders are sympathetically dominant and what that costs them— The real reason you're reactive before you even realize it— What emotional dysregulation actually looks like in high-performing leaders— Why well-being programs fail when leadership isn't on board first— The 30% rule and why it works when everything else hasn't Connect with Dr. Holly Battrum:Website: https://sjokort.com/ [https://sjokort.com/]LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-battrum/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-battrum/]Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holly_battrum/ [https://www.instagram.com/holly_battrum/] Listen to You Gotta NO! wherever you get your podcasts → ygnpodcast.com