This episode is sponsored by Xavier University's Executive MBA Program. To learn more, visit: https://unconventionalpodcast.com/emba
Season 4, Episode 253
How This Woman Broke Into the C-Suite — And Refused to Stay Silent (feat. Teresa Tanner & Mike Sipple Jr.)
Teresa Tanner spent 30 years making the toughest calls in rooms most leaders never enter — from a heroic boss who carried her through her daughter's cancer diagnosis, to leaving the C-suite at the top of her game to build something no one had built before. In this conversation, she and Mike Sipple Jr. unpack how to find your voice at work, why a culture of integrity is impossible without healthy conflict, and how leading from your values (not your fear of loss) changes everything. They dig into the people-first strategy that cut new-parent attrition by 25%, why every applicant is a potential customer, the rhythms of reflection that keep leaders healthy, and the trail Teresa blazed with Reserve Squad to keep great talent connected instead of walking out the door.
Timecodes:
00:00 - "Don't silence your voice"
01:05 - Meet Teresa Tanner: 30 years in rooms few people enter
02:44 - When her daughter Kayla was diagnosed with leukemia
05:00 - The boss who said "now it's our turn"
07:10 - Leading from your values when fear takes over
09:10 - The entrepreneur bug and falling into HR
10:01 - Why she pursued an Executive MBA at Xavier
13:38 - The "People P&L": invest in people, make more money
18:04 - Why chase the C-suite as a woman in business
19:40 - "You won't run me off in 19 months"
23:36 - Courageous leadership: never be afraid to be fired
26:00 - Why there's no culture of integrity without conflict
29:05 - How to find your voice (and not be a jerk)
31:13 - The maternity concierge program born in a town hall
35:49 - Every applicant is a possible customer
38:21 - Walking away from the C-suite at the top
42:08 - Retreats, rhythms, and reflection
43:18 - A cancer diagnosis 90 days after leaving
46:06 - "You're not too busy for a mammogram"
48:18 - Launching Reserve Squad: a terrifying leap
51:10 - Watching great talent walk out the door
54:05 - Building a new lane on the employment highway
59:27 - Starting a nonprofit: Web & Activated
1:01:33 - Working alongside her daughter Kayla
1:03:07 - What drives her to blaze new trails
1:04:34 - What unconventional leadership means to her
🔗 Links and Resources:
- Connect with Teresa Tanner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresa-tanner
- *Episode Sponsor* Xavier University Executive MBA Program: https://unconventionalpodcast.com/emba
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Connect with the Mike Sipple, Jr!
LinkTree: ➡ https://www.linktr.ee/mikesipplejr
LinkedIn: ➡ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikesipplejr
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