Fear isn’t the enemy of leadership. Getting stuck in it is. And if you’re still leading from urgency, reactivity, or overcorrection, you’re already limiting your clarity.

Beck Sydow is the founder of Humankind Business Leaders and a leadership coach helping founders, CEOs, and senior teams become People Hearted and Business Minded. With a background in psychotherapy, Buddhist psychology, and years of operational leadership as COO and CEO of StickerGiant, Beck brings a grounded, deeply human approach to modern leadership.

In this episode, Beck breaks down why leaders lose clarity when fear takes over and how most organizations end up over-indexing on either the hard edge of business or the soft edge of caring for people. They share a simple but powerful practice for shifting from fear into curiosity, insight, and presence — a framework that helps leaders hold tension instead of collapsing into extremes.

We talk about:
🔹 Why fear causes leaders to double down on one side of the business
🔹 The People Hearted and Business Minded model for modern leadership
🔹 How fear shuts down clarity and drives reactive decision-making
🔹 The Two-Hand Practice for creating space and regaining perspective
🔹 Why leadership breakthroughs come from 1 percent shifts
🔹 How your nervous system shapes your entire organization
🔹 What freedom really means in the leadership journey
🔹 How to hold tension without burning out or disconnecting

Whether you’re navigating growth, uncertainty, or the pressure to get everything right, this conversation will give you a new way to think about leadership, fear, and the inner work required to lead with wisdom.

Quotes from the Episode:
💬 “If you can hold two things at once, you can lead with wisdom.”
💬 “Fear narrows your world. Curiosity opens it.”
💬 “We’re not trying to balance. We’re learning to hold.”
💬 “Freedom comes from knowing where you are and choosing how to respond.”

Actionable Takeaways:
✅ Practice the Two Hand method to shift from fear into curiosity
✅ Notice where you over-index on people or business when stressed
✅ Use small, consistent 1 percent moves to change your leadership
✅ Ground your nervous system before making key decisions
✅ Stay in inquiry when tension rises instead of collapsing into extremes
✅ Lead with clarity by holding both edges of leadership at the same time

Resources from this episode:
→ Humankind Business Leaders: https://www.humankindbusinessleaders.com/about
→ Connect with Beck: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becksydow/
→ Grounding practices available under Resources on Beck’s website
→ Diagram download: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AnP-9dMZEfh3f_rqN9a7yPsymCuoKLjW/view

Like what you heard?
Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and leave a review. It helps more leaders build for freedom, not just scale.

🎧 For more conversations on leadership, clarity, and building companies that last, visit www.jeanmoncrieff.com

Building a purposeful culture isn’t something that happens by accident — it’s built through intentional leadership, transparency, and trust.

Deanna C. Walker, CEO of Venturity , has spent over 35 years in finance, from investment banking to leading one of the most culture-driven accounting firms in the U.S. Under her leadership, Venturity has embraced open-book management, employee ownership, and a people-first approach that’s transforming how accounting firms think about culture and growth.

In this episode, Deanna and Jean dive into what it takes to lead with purpose, create a culture of ownership, and empower teams to think — and act — like leaders. From navigating leadership transitions to aligning values in hiring and feedback, Deanna shares how intentional culture work builds both stronger teams and better businesses.

We talk about:
🔹 How to build a vibrant, people-first culture in accounting
🔹 Why employee ownership fuels engagement and accountability
🔹 The power of open-book management in driving transparency
🔹 Navigating leadership transitions with clarity and communication
🔹 The role of mentorship in developing future leaders
🔹 How values alignment shapes hiring and performance
🔹 What freedom means from the CEO’s seat

Quotes from the Episode:
💬 “We are the people business.”
💬 “We have to model the way.”
💬 “It’s a work in progress.”

Actionable Takeaways:
✅ Foster transparency through open-book management
✅ Encourage employees to think like owners
✅ Align hiring and performance around core values
✅ Communicate openly during leadership transitions
✅ Invest in mentorship as a driver of culture and growth

Resources from this episode:
→ Learn more about Venturity: venturity.com
→ Connect with Deanna on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/deannacwalker

Like what you heard?
Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and leave a review — it helps more leaders build for freedom, not just scale.

🎧 For more conversations on leadership, ownership, and building companies that last, visit www.jeanmoncrieff.com