Exciting news for 2026: A 10-part miniseries titled 'Lessons in Leadership' will be launched, featuring interviews with experienced individuals discussing best and worst leadership practices. The series promises to share best practices, funny stories, and valuable wisdom for current leaders. Join these deep conversations on leadership in the new year.

Join host Robert Hossary and guests Diana White, Siebe Vanderzee, and Codie Comeau in a special end-of-season episode of '10 Lessons Learned.' Discover valuable life lessons on gratitude, understanding, choosing battles, authenticity in leadership, and speaking out against injustice. Plus, a surprise appearance by Santa Claus, sharing a lesson in spreading the spirit of giving. Subscribe and hit the notification bell to stay updated on our new special series and regular episodes.

Episode Notes

• 00:00 Christmas Special Episode 2025
• 01:54 Robert's Lesson
• 04:52 Siebe's Lesson
• 08:31 Codie's Lesson
• 12:03 Diana's Lesson
• 20:28 Santa's Lesson

About Leela Aheer

Hon. Leela Sharon Aheer was first elected as a Member of Alberta's Legislative Assembly for the Chestermere-Rocky View constituency on May 5, 2015. She was re-elected on April 16, 2019, as the MLA for the newly formed riding of Chestermere-Strathmore.

Born in Edmonton and raised in Chestermere, where she raised her family, Aheer is a proud wife and mother of two amazing young men. She is also a professional singer, vocal coach, and music teacher, instructing singing in seven languages. Her passion for music led her to own and operate a successful music studio for twenty-four years in Chestermere and Calgary, where she was heavily involved in arts, volunteerism, and community service.

As Minister of Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women (2019 - 2021), Hon. Aheer made significant strides in promoting multiculturalism and women's status. Her proclamation of Women's Entrepreneurship Day in February 2019 was a historic moment for Canada. She was the first Minister of Multiculturalism in the last twenty-five years and the first Deputy Leader of the United Conservative Party. A key priority of the new government was to provide more protections for women through initiatives like Clare's Law.

Hon. Aheer has worked tirelessly to affirm her position as an ally within the Alberta Legislature for those seeking shelter from gender-based violence, racism, and female genital mutilation. In May of 2022, her work on this matter came to fruition when The Health Professions (Protecting Women and Girls) Amendment Act, 2022, a Bill she championed in the Legislature, earned Royal Assent. This significant achievement is a testament to her commitment to social justice.

MLA Aheer is renowned in her community and among her peers for her strategic insights and ability to build meaningful partnerships.

Hon Aheer was appointed Senior Director of Strategy and Partnerships with BioAro Inc., a precision health and longevity medicine leader, in July 2024. She was also appointed the BioSport Chief Growth Officer.

Her visionary approach and commitment to the public are invaluable in navigating the

complexities of global health markets.

Episode Notes

00:00 Introduction

12:31 Lesson 1: Love Boldly, Even When It's Tough

15:59 Lesson 2: Silence Speaks Volumes that Connects

19:08 Lesson 3: You Are Not What Happened To You

23:49 Lesson 4: Courage Isn't Always Loud

28:11 Lesson 5: Stay Open to Unexpected Turns

29:39 Affiliate Break

30:04 Lesson 6: Children Teach Us More Than Books

35:28 Lesson 7: Forgive to Free Yourself

39:10 Lesson 8: Purpose is Built, Not Found

41:37 Lesson 9: Speak Up, or Be Defined by Others

47:10 Lesson 10: Gratitude is a Game Changer

About Julia Snedkova

Julia Snedkova is a career strategist and executive coach for high-achieving women navigating leadership in the AI era. With 16+ years in senior roles across Fortune 500 companies in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia, and an INSEAD MBA, with a focus on Leadership & Organizational Behaviour, she brings a rare blend of boardroom fluency and deep coaching expertise.

Julia is an ICF-certified coach trained by iPEC and a Certified Energy Leadership™ Index master practitioner. Her work focuses on helping ambitious corporate women future-proof their careers, break systemic barriers, and step into executive roles on their own terms.

Known for her strategic clarity and sharp insight, Julia operates at the intersection of executive development, gender equity, and AI-driven career design. She has worked across 30+ markets and lived in Russia, France, Switzerland, and Singapore. Outside of coaching, she's a certified Hatha Yoga teacher and passionate about reading, travel, and self-renewal.

Follow Julia on LinkedIn or subscribe to her career newsletter, Private Career Memo, already trusted by 10,000+ professionals across LinkedIn and email, for actionable insights on leading, growing, and staying indispensable in the future of work.

Episode Notes

11:42 Lesson 1: Know what you want

15:52 Lesson 2: Know why you want it

20:56 Affiliate Break

21:44 Lesson 3: Plan to get there

30:19 Lesson 4: Ask for it

About Adriana Williamson

Adriana is a passionate immigrant who came to the United States over 28 years ago. Adriana was born and raised in Mexico. When Adriana arrived at this country, she had neither finished her high school education nor spoke English. At the age of 19, Adriana became a proud mother of a special needs child, who at the age of two, was diagnosed with severe autism.

With dedication, perseverance, discipline, faith, and resilience, Adriana obtained a bachelor’s degree in international business in 2006. In 2013, Adriana also obtained a master’s degree in information management systems at WP Carey at ASU.

Today, Adriana is a Director of Data & Analytics at Feeding America. Adriana has been leading high-performance teams which has become her passion. When leading and shaping people, Adriana applies empathy, compassion, and vulnerability. All these learned while navigating her own journey.

At the personal level, Adriana loves spending time with her family and friends. Adriana now has the blessing of having and raising three wonderful boys.

She also has a passion for lifting weights. She is also committed to the work of mentoring younger professionals. Adriana currently lives in Phoenix Arizona where she loves the sun that this estate offers.

Episode Notes

00:00 Intro

02:47 Lesson 1: Have determination

05:21 Lesson 2: Develop resilience and adaptation skills

13:24 Lesson 3: Never stop believing, dreaming and achieving

16:15 Lesson 4: Persistency and consistency signal

23:15 Lesson 5: Have empathy

26:03 Lesson 6: Develop emotional intelligence

31:34 Lesson 7: Empower others

33:27 Lesson 8: Take the time to give back

35:18 Lesson 9: Be humble, but stay hungry

37:18 Lesson 10: Practice gratitude every day

About Urban Adams

Urban Adams is a seasoned financial advisor and published author with over 25 years of industry experience and runs his independent practice in Phoenix, Arizona. Known for his personalized approach and house calls, he combines Stoic philosophy with practical financial guidance to help clients nationwide achieve their goals.

As a father of three daughters and longtime coach of female athletes, Urban brings unique insight to women's financial challenges. His commitment to high-touch, customized financial planning has made him a trusted advisor to his clients.

Episode Notes

1. Time is your best friend, until it's not

1. The Three Bucket Strategy

1. Have a plan, not just an investment strategy

1. Expect your plan to not go according to plan

1. Understand your relationship with money

About Codie Comeau

Codie works in Sales at EF Education First as a Tour Consultant. He is a first-generation college graduated where he thrived, earning a Bachelor’s in Communication, Media & Design with a minor in Psychology. The journey did not stop there as he would later earn an Master’s in Business Administration with a focus on Innovation and New Venture Management.

Although young, Codie has plenty of experience over many different industries including Engineering & Manufacturing, Entertainment, Education and start-ups. He takes on many passion projects, his most notable was the Tennis program at Clarkson University. Under his leadership, the organization thrived growing in members and budget as well as gaining USTA membership.

Codie has a goal to be a global citizen and explore what the world has to offer. He believes that every new place he visits or new culture he experiences helps him to grow as a person and share new perspectives. Codie loves developing new skills and keeping a student mentality. He is excited to begin this new chapter in life and experience what lies ahead. If he’s not busy at work you can find him on the tennis court or golf course, where he still has plenty to learn.

Codie Comeau has joined the 10 lessons learned team as the episode producer

Episode Notes

00:00 Intro 01:22 Meet Our Guest 03:24 Lesson 1: Know the Game, Play to Win 08:32 Lesson 2: Don't Believe Everything You See 15:32 Lesson 3: Recognize the Motive 19:02 Lesson 4: Know when to be Burr or Hamilton 27:44 Lesson 5: Hard Work Is Not Enough 30:06 Lesson 6: Network, Network, Network 33:41 Lesson 7: Understand Money 39:47 Lesson 8: Facts Do Not Care About Your Feelings 43:17 Lesson 9: Life Is Not Fair 44:53 Lesson 10 Know Your Story

About Dawn Christman

Dawn is a human capital executive with expertise spanning 25 years in talent acquisition, talent operations, human resources, and coaching space across the Americas, EMEA and APAC.​

Building and leading international teams of 60+, Dawn focuses on the strengths and opportunities of talent to help propel businesses forward, regardless of their physical location. Having led both functions and clients within start-up, publicly traded and private equity owned environments – she quickly recognizes opportunities to remove obstacles and provide bottom line impact.​

Always intrigued by challenge, she’s had the opportunity to complete needs assessments across sales, operations, human resources, talent acquisition, IT, HRIS, finance, legal, risk and compliance, marketing and branding. Ultimately, results are used to build standard global policies and processes, geared toward impacting internal EVP and external brand – regardless of industry.​

Throughout her career, she has further enhanced her professional and personal career via Board. Historically sitting on the Board of the Twin Cities Chapter of the National Society of Hispanic MBA’s offered the opportunity to lead their major fundraising gala, facilitate sponsor events and develop marketing activities.​

She is now leading the Executive Advisory Board for Jobs for Humanity – focusing on maximizing partnership with the CEO and several C – Suite leaders all focused on the growth and development of the business.​

Her Board work is a natural complement to her humancentric leadership style - driven by the personal belief that people are capable of far more than they realize. Maximizing talent in any space is simply a matter of identifying and driving initiatives together, with humility and the goal to succeed.​

Episode Notes

00:00 Introduction

05:16 Positioning Yourself for New Opportunities

08:17 Research and Networking for Career Growth

16:57 Respect and Career Progression

19:31 Dealing with Job Search Frustration

20:06 Breaking Out of Isolation

20:54 Reinventing Yourself Professionally

21:23 Recognizing Your Value

23:53 Considering Leaving Your Job

27:19 Handling Job Loss Emotionally

30:31 Negotiating Severance Packages