Lead Through It with Kim and Jada
If you're leading a team or an organization through something hard right now, you're in the right place.
Jada Willis and Kim Andrews are the co-hosts of Lead Through It. They’re here because leadership gets lonely, and they want to make it less so. Every week, they bring you stories about how other leaders are doing it, practical tips and tools you can use right away, and their signature wit and charm.
In an alternate universe, Jada and Kim are competitors. But they decided collaborating would be much more fun. Kim spent 15 years inside schools and nonprofits and now helps leaders build strong teams, make tough decisions, and get stuff done without burning out. Jada built a seven-figure HR firm from nothing, sold it, and now helps leaders turn chaos into clarity, fueled by a lot of faith and grit. They’ve had different paths but share the values that matter most.
If *it* is hitting the fan, we’ve got you. Let's lead through it together.
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Lead Through It with Kim and Jada
Ep. 24 - Danielle Pickens on Pioneering a New Kind of CEO Role
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What does it look like to step into the CEO seat…and refuse to do it the traditional way?
In this episode, Kim and Jada sit down with Danielle Pickens, a two-time CEO who is redefining what executive leadership can look like. After fifteen years as an independent consultant building her own company on flexibility and boundaries, Danielle stepped into the CEO role at Urban Schools Human Capital Academy. But she did not leave her independent work behind. Instead, she is pioneering something different: a fractional CEO model rooted in sustainability, clarity, and intentional leadership.
Danielle shares what it really feels like to move from doer to strategist, from contractor to accountable executive, and from setting clean scope boundaries to holding ultimate responsibility for everything. She opens up about the mental shift of carrying organizational weight, the sleep-stealing pressure of “everything is in scope,” and the systems she has had to build both professionally and personally to make this new season work.
You will hear:
• What a fractional CEO actually does and how it challenges traditional leadership expectations
• The four grounding questions Danielle returns to when urgency starts to take over
• How to clarify a true North Star and eliminate work that does not align
• Why not everything deserves an A effort and how a C+ can sometimes be exactly right
• The reality of renegotiating roles at home and at work when your leadership season changes
• How to lead former peers when you step into the top role
• The danger of overfunctioning and how to design systems that prevent it
• Why creating twenty minutes of reflective space each week can change your trajectory
This is a conversation about boundaries, identity, sustainability, and courage. It is about leading in a way that feels aligned with who you are, not just what the role has historically required. Danielle reminds us that leadership does not have to mean burnout, and that pioneering new models is uncomfortable but necessary.
If you are stepping into a bigger role, rethinking how you work, or trying to build something that lasts, this episode will challenge and encourage you.
Press play and ask yourself:
What kind of leader do I actually want to be?
If today’s conversation resonated, connect with us and be part of the community of leaders who refuse to lead alone.
JadaWillis.com | KimAndrewsCoaching.com | Hard Conversations AI Toolkit
Jada@jwillisconsulting.com | Kim@kimandrewscoaching.com
