Leading With Respect

In this episode of Leading with Respect, I had the privilege of reconnecting with a longtime friend and former client, Peter Morada. We first worked together during his time at AT&T, and since then, he’s led teams at Amazon and now at Premera Blue Cross, where he oversees Brand and Voice of the Customer.
Disclaimer: All perspectives expressed by my guests are their own and do not represent the organizations for which they work.
What struck me most in our conversation is how Peter has consistently been chosen not just for his technical expertise, but for his ability to unify diverse teams, listen deeply, and create trust across cultures.
Read the full article on LinkedIn.  Watch/listen to the full episode on YouTube.

I’m delighted to share my latest Leading With Respect conversation. In this episode, I spoke with Maryanne Battles, a fellow Microsoft alum, whose career journey has also taken her through Google, the Gates Foundation, and private equity firms.
Maryanne brings a rare perspective: she has seen respect or the lack of it play out across both the fast-moving tech industry and the philanthropic sector. Her lens on systems theory and talent strategy adds real depth to how we think about respect in times of disruption.
Read the full article on LinkedIn.  Watch/listen to the full episode on YouTube.

In this week’s Leading with Respect, I had the privilege of sitting down with Ruby Deol Chief Operating Officer at Alert Enterprise, a company that brings people, processes, data and technology together in true security convergence. Trust is at the center of everything they do. Ruby’s leadership spans continents, with a global perspective shaped by her roots in India and her work in the U.S., making her an ideal voice for exploring respect in the workplace.
Read the full article on LinkedIn.
Watch/listen to the full conversation here.
Respect as the Foundation of Culture
For Ruby, respect is not a “nice-to-have”—it’s the core foundation upon which healthy, high-performing company cultures are built.
“When you genuinely respect someone, you automatically listen to them, refrain from judgments or assumptions, and recognize their unique perspectives.”
She points out that values like teamwork, innovation, and integrity cannot be sustained without respect at their core. In both professional and personal relationships, respect is the glue that fosters trust, safety, and gratitude.

In this week’s episode of Leading with Respect, I had the pleasure of reconnecting with a longtime friend and fellow global citizen, Ian Kawetschanky, who is now the Chief of Staff at SupportNinja. Ian and I first crossed paths through the international student leadership organization, AIESEC. His journey from student leadership into nonprofit management and now executive operations is as inspiring as it is insightful.
Today, Ian wears many hats in his Chief of Staff role, supporting executive leadership, internal communications, and employee engagement across a global team. What stood out most in our conversation was his unwavering focus on building a respectful culture through humility, consistency, and intentionality.
Read the full article on LinkedIn.  Watch/listen to the full episode on YouTube.

“Respect begins with self-respect.” That simple but powerful idea came up early in my conversation with Tammy Snow, and it anchored everything we explored together. Tammy is a longtime friend from my Microsoft days and now serves as Vice President of Research, Analytics, and Design (RAD) at Workday. In our recent chat, we explored how respect shows up in leadership, culture, feedback, and design, and why it always starts from within.
Tammy leads a team focused on research, analytics, and design—fittingly known as RAD. And as she shared, that acronym is more than a label. It’s an ethos. A way of working. A call to be radical in how they approach human-centric change. For Tammy and her team, respect isn’t just about the end user. It’s about each other. It’s about how they show up, how they challenge one another, and how they commit to being accountable, dependable, and respectful at every level.
Read the full article on LinkedIn.  Watch/listen to the full episode on YouTube.

How do you build a thriving business grounded in respect?
Meet Ivan Fernandez, CISSP, the founder and CEO of SPN Networks, a 24-year-old IT and cybersecurity firm that Ivan launched straight out of high school, with no marketing plan, just grit, hustle, and a commitment to service. Today, his company employs 17 people across the U.S. and is quietly redefining what it means to lead with both heart and consistency.
Watch/listen to the entire conversation here.
Ivan and I met at a Microsoft networking event, and what struck me immediately was his humanity. Following him on LinkedIn only confirmed it—especially the way he integrates his family into his work life and leads with vulnerability.
In our conversation, Ivan offered powerful reflections on what respect looks like in action:
💬 “Respect is earned, not given. But it’s also the little things.”
"If an employee walks into my office, I turn away from my screen. I give them my full attention. That simple act tells them they matter."
Ivan reminds us that respect isn't always loud. It's often the quiet moments: eye contact, follow-through, owning mistakes, that build respect over time.
 
Read the full article on LinkedIn.  Watch/listen to the full episode on YouTube.

I’m honored to bring you a conversation with someone I’ve admired since our Microsoft days, Kati Quigley. Kati has built an extraordinary career in global marketing. She is the Vice President of Portfolio and Brand Marketing @ BMC Software. Kati is also a LinkedIn Top Leadership Voice. Beyond her business accomplishments, it’s how she leads that has always stayed with me. Watch/listen to our full conversation on here.
Kati models a rare blend of servant leadership, personal accountability, and deep curiosity. Her people-first mindset is not just about being kind—it’s about being clear, intentional, and creating space for others to thrive.
“Respect is having an open mind. It’s listening more than talking. It’s asking questions, seeking to understand, and putting yourself in someone else’s shoes.”That may sound simple, but when applied consistently, especially in high-stakes business environments, it becomes transformative.
 
Read the full article on LinkedIn.  Watch/listen to the full episode on YouTube.
 

In this episode of Conversations About Respect, I had the absolute joy of sitting down with Terri Maxwell, CEO of Shift/Co and a powerful force behind a movement of purpose-driven entrepreneurship. Though she’s relatively new to my world, Terri already feels like a kindred spirit. Her clarity, compassion, and fierce commitment to building human-centered businesses is something I deeply admire—and am learning from firsthand through Shift/Co.
Terri brings a rare blend of strategic leadership and soulful wisdom. She has helped take companies public, navigated crises from hostile takeovers to the dot-com bust, and now dedicates herself to scaling conscious businesses. She uplifts founders who want to grow businesses that do more than generate profit—they generate positive impact.
Read the LinkedIn article.  Watch/listen to the full conversation on YouTube.

In this fourth episode in the “Conversations About Respect” series, I had the deep honor of reconnecting with a dear friend, mentor, and former Microsoft colleague, Sheryl Tullis.
Sheryl’s career has been a masterclass in breaking barriers—beginning at West Point in the early years of its co-ed history, leading in global military tech, brand management at Procter & Gamble, marketing strategy at Microsoft, and then pivoting into award-winning creative campaigns and private equity. Most recently, she co-founded a mountain bike shop east of Seattle, built on respect, inclusion, and a reimagined customer experience.
Respect as Relational Power, Not Positional Authority. When asked how she defines respect, Sheryl shared:
“Respect is the ability to communicate and solve problems with colleagues—even when they disagree—while valuing what each person brings to the table.”
Read the article on LinkedIn.  Watch the full episode on YouTube.
 

“If I respect you, I am open-minded, I’m listening, and therefore, I’m learning.” — Pankaj RaiIn our increasingly polarized and fast-moving world, it’s tempting to rush past differences in search of quick alignment. What if we remember to start with curiosity?
In Episode 18 of Conversations About Respect (watch it here), I sat down with Pankaj Rai (He/Him/His), Group Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Aditya Birla Group, and a globally experienced leader with expertise in consulting, banking, and technology. Our conversation centers around one core idea: the relationship between respect and global cultures.
Pankaj offers a refreshingly human and deeply practical lens on what it means to lead with curiosity, especially across cultural, generational, and organizational divides.
Read the article on LinkedIn.  Watch the full episode on YouTube.