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Corporate Leader to Thought Leader - an Interview with Sara Connell, Author, TEDx Speaker, Coach and Founder, Thought Leader Academy

imposter syndrome mindset resilience thought leadership May 13, 2025

In the latest Fearless Female Leadership interview, I had the true pleasure of speaking with Sara Connell, bestselling author, TEDx speaker, coach, and Founder of Thought Leader Academy, about the transformative journey from corporate leader to thought leader. Sara’s story is one of resilience, reinvention, and the power of claiming your voice — and using it to create meaningful, lasting impact.

Sara’s career began in the corporate world at a top advertising agency, where she quickly realized that while the training was invaluable, the culture was toxic. It took a mental and physical health crisis for Sara to finally make the leap out of corporate life — a leap inspired by a chance encounter with a life-changing book she discovered in an airport bookstore. That single book inspired her to commit to writing the stories and messages she wished had existed for her, and ultimately to empower other leaders to do the same.

Throughout our conversation, Sara spoke candidly about the mindset shif...

Podcast Episode #51: "Building Thought Leadership for Positive Change" - An Interview with Mel Abraham

change influence thought leadership Jun 18, 2020

Building Thought Leadership for Positive Change

Have you ever felt like you are being called for more or a different level of impact?

Imagine if we, and those on our team, became influential thought leaders in our area of passion and expertise to affect even more positive change…

Whether you think you are an influencer or not, you are. People are watching. Colleagues, friends, family, even strangers. Let’s take a few moments to learn from one of the best thought leadership experts on the planet, Mel Abraham. He is also passionate about helping people get started in the thought leadership space.

He’s been interviewed by Larry King, various other media outlets, so it was a real honor to sit down with Mel and receive these gems of wisdom.

Here are the main points from our interview:

Speak up, be heard, take action as a thought leader (even if just starting out!)
Don’t wait until you are ready, know more, more experience etc. Start NOW
Ask ‘How would I speak/act/show up if I were