Ep. 73: Leadership Can Be Learned

Have you ever looked at a "natural" leader and wondered why it seems so easy for them? In our latest episode of Raising The Bar on Leadership, I sat down with my close friend O’Brien McMahon (SVP at Lockton and host of People Business) to debunk the myth of the natural-born leader. O’Brien’s core philosophy is simple but transformative: Everything is a skill. From leadership and communication to psychological safety, these aren't things you're born with, they are things you build through consistent "reps".

Simon Curran, Chief Development and Culture Officer at Rokt, is a passionate and experienced leader dedicated to unlocking human potential. In this conversation, Simon shares models and deep insights to explain how to create high-performing teams in any environment, from elite sports to hyper-growth businesses. You Will Learn: The Three C's of Performance: What is the non-negotiable order (Connection, Clarity, Courage) for building a sustainable, high-growth team? The "5-Minute Rule": Why the first five minutes of every meeting should be dedicated to human connection, not business updates. The Performance Formula: How to stop chasing "potential" and start focusing on removing the "drag" that's limiting your team's output.

Annie Trombatore, Chief People Officer at Vox Media, discusses the evolving role of HR, the impact of AI on people operations, and the importance of effective internal communications. She emphasizes the need for HR to align closely with business goals, adopt an AI mindset, and empower managers to lead authentically. 

Oshrat Binyamin is a seasoned people executive with a passion for building and scaling businesses. With over 15 years of experience in organizational growth, she has played a pivotal role in helping companies scale, from her time at monday.com, where she helped grow the team from 650 to over 1,600 employees and navigated an IPO, to her current role as Head of HR at Connecteam. In this conversation, Oshrat shares invaluable insights into what it truly takes to build and scale teams effectively, how to navigate the growing pains of an expanding organization, and why leadership is not just about growth—but about building teams that thrive because they are adaptable, empowered, and future-ready.

Liat Nachmani is a seasoned leader and expert in scaling startups. She has a proven track record at companies like Zerto, Anobit, and Apple Israel. Passionate about growth, she specializes in overcoming leadership challenges, building empowered teams, and creating sustainable systems to thrive in high-growth environments. Her insights have helped organizations navigate the chaos of scaling with confidence and success. In this episode, she shares her playbook for successfully navigating and overcoming growth challenges.  

Bobby Powers is a passionate learning and development director, avid reader, and writer. Reading over 70 books per year, who better than Bobby can talk about influential and essential reading for business leaders and people professionals. (Plus, Bobby and Raising the Bar on Leadership host Aaron Levy love talking about books—this episode is peek into some of their favorites.

Mia Blom, a seasoned human resource director and strategic business partner with over 20 years of experience, shares her expertise in leadership and human potential. Mia joins Raising the Bar on Leadership host Aaron Levy and discusses the importance of active listening, building trust, and creating value in workplace relationships. 

Get to know a company’s products and services; dig into the culture and processes—then get to know the people. This is the insightful advice from Victoria Bethlehem, Chief People Officer at Jitjatjo. On this episode of Raising the Bar on Leadership, Victoria shares the lessons she’s learned from living in a country other than her country of origin—lessons that can be applied to professionals who work with teams in a global setting. 

People will give their best efforts when they work in a company where they feel valued, recognized, and seen. That’s the perspective of Marcela Pizzi, of Atlas Renewable Energy as shared on this episode of Raising the Bar on Leadership. With over 15 years’ experience leading global companies, Marcela has some clear advice about engaging employees in a way that truly matters—and gets results.  Marcela shares first-hand experience about working across different cultures and languages, and how to navigate that territory in a way that builds relationships and strong communication.

Can a culture of performance truly be cultivated? Alison Pickett, Chief People Officer at Kenect, believes it can. In her dynamic approach, Alison shares how she drives a high-performance culture in rapidly growing companies by using what she calls the 'triangle of accountability.'