About the Podcast The Step Up brings together experts who help leaders elevate their impact. Each 45-minute episode features conversations with thought leaders, practitioners, and innovators who are changing how we think about leadership development and helping leaders step up their game. Why This Podcast Exists Throughout my career—from my time at organizations like Korn Ferry, Cargill, General Mills, and Buffalo Wild Wings to my current work as an independent leadership consultant—I've witnessed firsthand how leaders struggle during moments of change and transition and when learning higher-level skills. Work never slows down, and leaders often find themselves trying to grow while in the thick of daily demands. The Step Up is designed to provide practical wisdom and actionable strategies that busy leaders can implement immediately to enhance their effectiveness. What to Expect Each episode follows a two-part format: Part One: Leadership Journeys We explore our guest's background, expertise, and unique perspective on leadership development. You'll hear authentic stories about their experiences supporting leaders and the insights they've gained along the way. Part Two: Actionable Strategies Our guests share three specific, practical tools or approaches that you can apply to your leadership right away. We dig into each one, discussing how to implement it effectively in your unique context. Your Host Kent Kniebel brings over 20 years of experience in leadership development, talent management, and DEI consulting to each conversation. Drawing on his background in corporate HR roles and external consulting work, Kent guides discussions that bridge theory and practice, focusing on what really works in today's leadership landscape. Connect with Kent Have questions about the podcast or want to continue the conversation? Connect with Kent on LinkedIn or visit Kniebel Leadership Advisory to learn more about his work supporting leaders during critical transitions.
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Episode #63
Magnetic Leadership Starts With Trust | Jennifer Gardner
Sep 29, 202643 min
Most leaders think charisma is something you're born with. Jennifer Gardner has spent 30 years in Los Angeles courtrooms proving otherwise, and she's built a career teaching lawyers and executives that trust, not polish, is what actually moves people. In this episode she walks through the senior partner who told her she'd never be "a legal genius," how she won cases anyway, and what she's learned about magnetic leadership from CEOs who never once tried to impress her. Guest: Jennifer Gardner is a trial attorney and communication strategist who consults with lawyers and executives on persuasive, trust-based communication in high-stakes situations. In this episode: 01:46 — Meet Jennifer Gardner, trial attorney turned communication strategist 05:26 — The boss who told her she'd never be a "legal genius," and how she won anyway 09:42 — From courtroom instinct to teaching persuasive communication 17:18 — Why charisma is a learnable skill, not a birthright 19:59 — The CEO at the Peninsula Hotel: what magnetic leadership looks like up close 27:59 — The "big nos": why over-preparing with data and logic backfires 34:37 — Self-regulation and "your vibe affects your tribe" 36:54 — Her advice for leaders navigating a new promotion Resources mentioned: "The fish smells from the head down" (German leadership proverb Jennifer references) Mirror neurons (the neuroscience behind why a leader's emotional state spreads through a team) Links for today's show: Jennifer Gardner on LinkedIn jenniferbgardner.com Kent Kniebel on LinkedIn The Promoted Leader Toolkit Music for this podcast comes from a live recording of the song Needle & Thread and is provided with permission by Pert' Near Sandstone. Check them out on pertnearsandstone.com and on all major streaming platforms. Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review wherever you listen, it helps more leaders find the show.
Newly promoted leaders keep their calendars private and their doors closed, then wonder why their team assumes they've stopped doing real work. Jennylynde Renteria-Packham spent two decades leading in long-term care and rehab hospitals before becoming an executive coach, and she joins Kent to talk about servant leadership, boundaries, and why transparency might be the most underused leadership tool there is. Guest: Jennylynde Renteria-Packham spent over two decades leading in long-term care and rehab hospital settings, from director of nursing to director of quality, before founding Courage Coaching, where she now coaches leaders at every level from new manager to CEO. In this episode: [00:50] — Meet Jennylynde: from nursing assistant to director of nursing, quality, and executive coach [07:49] — The mindset shift nobody warns you about when you're promoted off the front line [11:11] — Why healthcare leadership isn't as unique as it looks, and where it actually is [20:06] — The day two of her own staff called her in over an attendance policy [22:50] — Her working definition of servant leadership: humility, decisive ownership, and never throwing a team member under the bus in public [35:20] — "Make your calendar public": transparency, boundaries, and avoiding burnout [45:12] — Leader standard work: documenting your job so your successor doesn't inherit a mess [50:00] — Her advice for leaders chasing the next promotion, and leaders who just got one Resources mentioned: Radical Candor by Kim Scott Leader standard work (Toyota Production System concept) Transforming Health Care: Virginia Mason Medical Center's Pursuit of the Perfect Patient Experience by Charles Kenney Links for today's show: Jennylynde Renteria-Packham on LinkedIn https://couragecoaching.us/ Kent Kniebel on LinkedIn The Promoted Leader Toolkit Music for this podcast comes from a live recording of the song Needle & Thread and is provided with permission by Pert' Near Sandstone. Check them out on pertnearsandstone.com and on all major streaming platforms. Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review wherever you listen — it helps more leaders find the show.
Most learning and development spend gets justified by completion rates and course counts, not by whether anyone actually changed how they lead. Nick Gonios, VP of Learning Transformation at TalentLMS, has spent 30 years building and scaling technology companies, and he thinks L&D has been solving the wrong problem for decades. He joins Kent to unpack what he calls the capability paradox, and why building capability, not dependency, has to be the goal. Guest: Nick Gonios is VP of Learning Transformation and company ambassador for TalentLMS (part of Epignosis), with more than 30 years building and scaling technology companies, including roles at Microsoft and Fujitsu, several startups, and a stint as public-facing CEO of a software company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. In this episode: [00:49] — Kent opens on why "building capability, not dependency" is today's topic [02:13] — Nick's path from Sydney to Athens: 30 years in tech, Microsoft, startups, and taking a software company public [05:16] — Nick's "lowercase L, uppercase T" theory of learning transformation [11:04] — Why HR "plant tours" miss the real problems, and what minimal viable learning looks like instead [19:04] — The Lou Gerstner and IBM story behind "people respect what's inspected of them" [20:28] — The capability paradox: how L&D metrics quietly optimized for the wrong things [27:49] — Why one-to-one coaching has always been too expensive, and what AI changes about that math [42:35] — Nick's advice for leaders in week one of a new role Resources mentioned: Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? Leading a Great Enterprise Through Dramatic Change by Louis V. Gerstner Jr. TalentLMS, TalentHR, and TalentCards Links for today's show: Nick Gonios on LinkedIn TalentLMS Kent Kniebel on LinkedIn The Promoted Leader Toolkit Music for this podcast comes from a live recording of the song Needle & Thread and is provided with permission by Pert' Near Sandstone. Check them out on pertnearsandstone.com and on all major streaming platforms. Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review wherever you listen, it helps more leaders find the show.
Presentation Skills That Build Trust | Bryan Flanagan
Sep 8, 202639 min
Most leaders think they need better slides or better wording. Bryan Flanagan, who spent 14 years at IBM before a chance meeting with Zig Ziglar turned into a 29-year career at the Zig Ziglar Corporation, says the real gap is almost never content, it's delivery. In this episode, Kent and Bryan dig into why "everybody's in sales" whether it says so on your business card or not, the three keys to a presentation that actually lands, and why the leaders who pause the most tend to be the ones people trust the most. Guest: Bryan Flanagan is CEO of Flanagan Training Group, a 14-year IBM veteran turned 29-year member of the Zig Ziglar Corporation, and a presentation skills coach who has spent decades teaching executives the difference between being comfortable in front of a room and being effective in one. In this episode: 01:50 — Bryan's path: 14 years at IBM, a chance meeting with Zig Ziglar, and a 29-year career that followed 04:01 — "Everybody makes a living selling something," even if it's not on your business card 07:51 — The three keys to presenting: visual, verbal, and validation 13:41 — PowerPoint as a support, not a crutch: the six-lines, six-words rule 18:28 — Padding and filler words: what Caroline Kennedy's Senate interview revealed 22:15 — The four real benefits of pausing instead of filling the silence 27:51 — Working the stage with intention, and the Tom Peters story that shows what happens when you don't 34:15 — Advice for leaders chasing a promotion, and for those who just landed one Resources mentioned: Silent Messages by Dr. Albert Mehrabian (source of the 7%/38%/55% communication study) Zig Ziglar and the Zig Ziglar Corporation (Bryan's 29-year career home) Links for today's show: Bryan Flanagan on LinkedIn Flanagan Training Group on LinkedIn Flanagan Training Group website Kent Kniebel on LinkedIn The Promoted Leader Toolkit
The Future of Learning Is Human: A Conversation on AI and Leadership Development
Sep 1, 202656 min
AI can compress weeks of instructional design into minutes, but John Pike, founder and CEO of Parisos Partners, argues that speed isn't the same thing as learning. In this conversation, John and Kent dig into what happens when we remove the friction that actually forms people, why cognitive offloading isn't the same as offloading your humanity, and what leadership development gets wrong when it chases efficiency over practice and accountability. Guest: John Pike is the founder and CEO of Parisos Partners, an executive assessment and development firm, with a background spanning finance, Gallup's strength psychology work, and Korn Ferry's assessment practice. In this episode: 02:01 — John's path from accounting to executive assessment and founding Parisos Partners 08:23 — Why human-to-human leadership is the work AI won't replace 09:01 — How AI has disintermediated instructional design, and why the ROI hasn't shown up yet 16:29 — The nephews story: what happens when you rescue people instead of letting them struggle 20:49 — What "friction that forms people" actually means for learning professionals 23:19 — The rise and fall of the LMS-everything era in leadership development 30:46 — Why group coaching and learning circles worked when eLearning alone didn't 36:21 — Cognitive offloading: what AI should take off your plate, and what it shouldn't 46:16 — Advice for leaders seeking their next promotion 48:04 — Advice for leaders in their first 90 days after a promotion Resources mentioned: Bob Pike Group's Creating Training Techniques Conference September 13 - 18, 2026 The 70:20:10 learning model TEDx Minneapolis Links for today's show: John Pike on LinkedIn Perissos Partners website Kent Kniebel on LinkedIn The Promoted Leader Toolkit Music for this podcast comes from a live recording of the song Needle & Thread and is provided with permission by Pert' Near Sandstone. Check them out on pertnearsandstone.com and on all major streaming platforms. Enjoyed the episode? Leave a rating and review wherever you listen, it helps more leaders find the show.
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