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PODCAST

Grounded and Aligned™

Grounded and Aligned™ is a podcast for people in senior roles who carry real responsibility - budgets, teams, visibility, and pressure that doesn’t switch off at the end of the day. If your role has grown faster than your comfort zone… If you’re managing up, setting boundaries, delegating, and absorbing more than you used to… If you care about being effective and human (without being inauthentic or pushing yourself past your limits), this show is for you. I’m Karen Gombault. I’ve spent decades

business careers

All Episodes

16:17

67. You Don't Have to Choose Between Integrity and...

Grounded and Aligned™ ·

2026/04/02

Most senior leaders who avoid the informal conversations — the individual check-ins, the quiet conversations before a decision needs to be made— aren't doing it because they're lazy or disorganised.They're doing it because it doesn't feel right.It feels like politics. Like pre-managing the outcome. Like their work should be strong enough to stand on its own.And that instinct, as understandable as it is, is quietly costing them.In this episode, Karen looks at what happens when strong work meets an

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42:00

66. From Compliance to Commitment in Team...

Grounded and Aligned™ ·

2026/03/27

Organizations often respond to performance challenges by adding more accountability: additional metrics, more reporting, and closer monitoring. Yet in many cases, these efforts do not solve the underlying problem.In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen speaks with leadership researcher and author Patrick Veroneau about the difference between accountability and ownership in high-performing teams. Drawing on two decades of work with leaders and teams across industries, Patrick explains why

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16:33

65. Say The Actual Thing

Grounded and Aligned™ ·

2026/03/25

In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen examines something most senior leaders do but rarely admit: assuming the people around them already know what they need.Not because they're conflict-averse. Not because they're passive. But because at senior levels, asking can feel like a signal that something has gone wrong.The result is a pattern that quietly damages relationships in both directions — with the boss who doesn't know what support you need, and with the team working hard on the wrong

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43:34

64. Leading People Starts With Leading Yourself [2026...

Grounded and Aligned™ ·

2026/03/20

Leadership conversations often focus on strategy, growth, and organizational change. Yet the daily reality of leadership still comes down to something more fundamental: how effectively leaders manage people and themselves.In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen speaks with leadership coach Kris Plachy about what has — and has not — changed in leadership as we move into 2026. Drawing on three decades of work with female founders and CEOs, Kris argues that the fundamentals remain the same:

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17:25

63. Positioning Yourself for Promotion at Senior Levels

Grounded and Aligned™ ·

2026/03/18

In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen examines a recurring situation at senior levels: leaders who consistently deliver, operate at the next level, and still do not get promoted.The issue is not capability or performance. It is how promotion decisions are actually formed inside large organizations.If you are operating at Director, VP, or SVP level and relying on execution to carry you forward, this episode focuses on what sits outside your direct output: how decisions are shaped, who

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36:33

62. Strategy, AI, and the Modern CEO Mandate [2026...

Grounded and Aligned™ ·

2026/03/13

The operating environment for CEOs and senior leaders has shifted materially over the past five years. Artificial intelligence is accelerating, funding cycles are volatile, remote work is embedded, and expectations around leadership have changed.In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen speaks with Nick Herinckx, founder and CEO of Oxygen, about what is structurally different for CEOs in 2026. Drawing on his work coaching more than 100 CEOs, Nick outlines two persistent tensions: staying

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20:35

61. Powerful Work Relationships

Grounded and Aligned™ ·

2026/03/12

At senior levels, execution alone rarely determines results. Most decisions, promotions, and initiatives depend on how effectively you work with other people.In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen Gombault looks at a pattern that appears consistently in her work with senior leaders: when progress slows, a relationship dynamic is usually involved. It may be a new boss reshaping the organization, a promotion discussion influenced by several decision-makers, tension between senior peers, or

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35:18

60. Voice, Visibility, and Senior-Level Influence...

Grounded and Aligned™ ·

2026/03/06

In many organizations, performance is necessary but no longer sufficient for advancement. Senior roles now require visible authority, clarity under pressure, and the ability to influence across stakeholders who may not sit in your reporting line.In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen speaks with executive communication advisor Laurie-Ann Murabito about what she is hearing from corporate leaders following year-end reviews: feedback around conciseness, executive presence, and memorability.The

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14:51

59. On Being Right

Grounded and Aligned™ ·

2026/03/04

In senior roles, you are expected to have a point of view. You are promoted for judgment and decisiveness. But there is a structural risk that emerges at VP and SVP levels: the instinct to defend your position can reduce your ability to move work forward.In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen Gombault examines what happens when relational alignment at the top is not deliberately built. If you are operating with a broad scope and cross-functional accountability, execution depends less on

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12:33

58. Leadership Superpower #3: Leading with Focus Amid...

Grounded and Aligned™ ·

2026/02/25

In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen Gombault addresses a pressure most senior leaders recognize immediately: how to stay focused when the organization feels unsettled. A new CEO, a reorganization, acquisitions, limited communication, and leadership turnover can quickly create uncertainty. At the same time messages, meetings, and internal speculation compete for your attention. If you are operating with significant scope, your ability to decide what deserves your focus becomes central to

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16:53

57. Leadership Superpower #2: Emotional Regulation

Grounded and Aligned™ ·

2026/02/18

In senior roles, pressure is constant. Decisions are visible. Stakeholders bring urgency, frustration, and competing priorities into the room. You cannot control those inputs but you can control your response. In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen Gombault examines emotional regulation as a core leadership skill. Emotional regulation is the ability to notice your reaction, pause, and choose how to respond rather than act on impulse. It is not suppression of emotion, but disciplined

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17:37

56. Leadership Superpower #1: Not Taking Things...

Grounded and Aligned™ ·

2026/02/12

At senior levels, challenge is constant, questions are direct, assumptions are tested in real time, and comments are brief and often ambiguous.In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen Gombault begins a series on leadership skills that materially affect effectiveness in expanded roles.The first: the ability to avoid turning routine business scrutiny into a "personal verdict", a.k.a. taking things personally.Many experienced leaders know they “shouldn’t” take things personally. Yet in

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12:13

55. Improving Daily Effectiveness in Senior Roles

Grounded and Aligned™ ·

2026/02/04

If you’re operating with sustained responsibility, constant decision flow, and expanding scope, overwhelm often shows up not because of poor time management, but because of how decisions, expectations, and work are structured. In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen Gombault addresses why senior leaders remain cognitively overloaded even when they are experienced, disciplined, and committed. She outlines three pragmatic strategies drawn from her personal experience as CEO and her work with

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18:18

54. Identity Shifts Required for Expanded Leadership...

Grounded and Aligned™ ·

2026/01/28

If you are stepping into a new role with broader scope, higher visibility, or C-suite level accountability, the pressure to perform often shows up as more effort, more involvement, and faster execution.This episode of Grounded and Aligned™, looks at why that approach breaks down at senior levels. Karen examines how success in expanded roles depends less on activity and more on how leaders see themselves, how they make decisions, and how that internal reference point shapes authority, boundaries, and

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10:25

53. Decision Speed, Authority and Organizational Impact

Grounded and Aligned™ ·

2026/01/21

In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen addresses a pattern that consistently undermines senior leaders taking on new roles: delaying decisions in the name of certainty.When you step into expanded scope with incomplete information, hesitation carries real organizational consequences. Drawing on client work and direct experience, she examines why waiting for clarity rarely produces better outcomes and how early decisions affect authority, momentum, and cognitive load.If you are operating with

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16:58

52. Stepping Into a Larger Mandate: Boundaries,...

Grounded and Aligned™ ·

2026/01/14

Taking on a broader mandate at VP or SVP level is rarely accompanied by clear operational boundaries. The remit expands, visibility increases, and expectations accumulate often faster than they are explicitly discussed.In the early phase, scope is shaped less by formal agreement and more by behavior.Leaders make themselves available.They absorb unresolved issues.They step into gaps to keep momentum and avoid disruption.Over time, those choices define the role as much as the job description does.In

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18:10

#51: Leadership Lessons You Can't Script

Grounded and Aligned™ ·

2026/01/07

In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen Gombault reflects on leadership through an unexpected but instructive lens: observing how people respond when authenticity, vulnerability, and respect are consistently present, without scripting or control.This is not a conversation about celebrity, though it is based on observations of Taylor Swift.It is an examination of why some leaders generate followership effortlessly, while others rely on position, polish, or performance.The episode uses real,

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19:25

#50: Looking Back and Looking Forward

Grounded and Aligned™ ·

2025/12/31

This episode was recorded on December 31, 2025. It’s a simple pause at the end of the year to look at what actually made a difference, personally and professionally. In this solo episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen Gombault walks through how she reviewed 2025: time with people she cares about, a full year living in the south of France, and a business that now feels settled and right-sized. There is no push for reinvention here. No pressure to optimize. Instead, this is about noticing what

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12:45

#49: When Stepping In Undermines Your Leadership

Grounded and Aligned™ ·

2025/12/24

The meeting is scheduled for the next day.A decision needs to be made. Teams are waiting for direction.As you review the materials one final time, you see it immediately:the analysis is incomplete. Key inputs are missing. Several assumptions haven’t been tested.This is not new.You’ve been clear about expectations before. And there is no time left to send it back without delaying the decision.So you make a choice.In this episode of Grounded & Aligned™, Karen Gombault examines a pattern common at

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16:23

#48: Evolution

Grounded and Aligned™ ·

2025/11/20

There’s a shift happening in leadership—and in this podcast.In this episode of Stepping Into the Arena, Karen announces powerful changes coming to the show, all rooted in what modern leaders truly need today: clarity, calm, and grounded strength. Drawing on 28 years in corporate leadership and three years coaching successful executives, Karen shares five critical trends she sees in the market and how they are shaping the future of effective leadership.If you're tired of reactive change,

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127 results

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