As Featured In.
Nasdaq Trade Talks: Harnessing AI for a Competitive Advantage
I joined Nasdaq TradeTalks, hosted by Jill Malandrino, to discuss what AI is really revealing inside organizations.
Alongside Sean Callagy, Maria Gorskikh, and Garyn Angel, Karen focused on the human side of AI adoption—leadership, fear, and the cost of silence.
Key takeaways:
AI doesn’t replace leadership—it exposes it. When leaders avoid the conversation, fear fills the gap. When they engage it, trust follows.This moment made one thing clear: AI isn’t just a technology shift. It’s a leadership test.
FEATURED INTERVIEW:
Building Trust When It Matters Most
STUDIO 17
Key Takeaways:
Strong leaders communicate early and often during uncertainty. Visibility, presence, and connection calm teams and create forward momentum when things feel unstable.
The biggest leadership mistake in a crisis is going silent. When leaders retreat inward, teams are left guessing. Uncertainty spreads faster than facts.
Authenticity outperforms control. Leaders who show humility and empathy — even without all the answers — build trust and solve problems faster than those who pretend everything is fine.
Resilient teams are built before the crisis hits. Trust grows when leaders consistently empower their people, encourage learning, and recognize progress, long before pressure arrives
I joined Studio 17 to discuss how effective leaders transform uncertainty into confidence through clarity and connection. Here’s the truth: silence in a crisis sends its own message. Teams don’t expect perfection — they want direction.
When leaders show up with honesty and empathy, they create calm even in the storm.
FEATURED INTERVIEW:
Rethinking Employee Culture on
Living Local
Key Takeaways:
Check your engagement levels. How you show up to work each day is a choice—and awareness is the first step to change..
Do a “mental inventory” throughout your day. Notice when you’re energized vs. checked out. Your patterns reveal your priorities.
Play to your strengths. Stop gap-filling and start designing roles that align with people’s natural talents.
Leaders set the tone. Before asking your team to be inspired, make sure you’re leading in a way others want to follow..
On Living Local, we talk about how leaders can reignite engagement and rethink what a healthy, connected workplace really looks like and how The Three Bucket Leader framework helps teams rediscover purpose, play to their strengths, and lead with clarity.
FEATURED INTERVIEW:
Why Engagement Breaks Down
Good Business San Diego
Key Takeaways:
Employee engagement isn’t a “check-the-box” exercise. Real engagement comes from connection, purpose, and leadership presence — not pizza parties or surveys.
Silent workplaces are often the most chaotic. When fear replaces trust, employees disengage, ideas disappear, and burnout quietly takes hold.
Burnout begins where dialogue stops. Leaders who open honest conversations and listen to what’s really happening create momentum and restore energy.
On Good Business San Diego, I challenge the idea that engagement can be manufactured. Disengagement doesn’t usually look like chaos — it shows up as silence, fear, and burnout. Trust begins when leaders are willing to listen, connect, and bring people into the story. The message is simple: when leaders prioritize conversation and purpose, engagement follows.
Trust is built through everyday connection. Whether remote or in-office, leadership visibility and consistent communication are the foundation for alignment and performance.
Media Insights
We All Have A Story To Tell.
A sought-after voice in the media on purpose-driven leadership, time mastery, and the human side of business. Known for the ability to cut through noise and get to what really matters, I bring clarity, energy, and truth to every conversation—whether behind the mic on Make Minutes Matter or featured in national publications.
If you have leadership strategies and tools that can help others — we want to hear from you!
In the Spotlight
Align power. Purpose. Ignite Your Team.
Ready to Transform Your Leadership?
Download the first chapter of The Three Bucket Leader.
This isn’t just another leadership pep talk. “The Three Bucket Leader” helps you identify where your time is really going — and shows you how to reclaim focus and impact.
This book is for:
Leaders feel stretched thin but craving clarity
Your best achievers navigating burnout or disengagement
Managers stuck wondering, “What’s next?” or “Is this all there is?”
Anyone ready to trade doing more for doing what matters most