Episode 314: How Communication Helps Conscious Leaders Lead Better
Jul 08, 2025
Show notes
In this powerful episode, host Kailei Carr brings together three exceptional communication experts and coaches with The Asbury Group to unpack the art and science of effective communication: Relationship Communication Expert & Executive Coach, Dr. Amber Wright, Executive Communication Expert & Transformational Coach, Pascale Bourne, and Executive Communication Coach & Storytelling Specialist, Alex Cohen. Together, they dive deep into the nuances of effective communication as a conscious leader including presentation preparation strategies, overcoming communication fears and remaining authentic and present in their personal power.
Whether you’re an emerging leader, seasoned executive, or professional looking to improve your communication skills, this episode offers invaluable insights that will transform how you connect with others. Want to know how you can work with any of these practitioners or bring them to your organization to speak? Feel free to reach out to us at hello@groupasbury.com.
ABOUT AMBER WRIGHT
Dr. Amber L. Wright is a relationship communication expert, facilitator and executive coach with The Asbury Group and founder of Words Well Said. As an executive coach and speaker, she guides leaders toward expressing their highest selves with confidence, authentic authority, and grace. Her popular TEDx Talk entitled, “Ask Better Questions to Build Better Connections,” has inspired people all over the world to become stronger communicators in their everyday lives. She has been mentioned in Fast Company,Essence, and Mashable.
Pascale Bourne wears many hats with The Asbury Group including a communication and voice expert, executive coach and transformational facilitator. She has over two decades of experience as a certified Speech Language Pathologist and people leader. Her career has been rooted in healing, nurturing, and mentoring others, helping hundreds of individuals—both literally and figuratively—find their voices and communicate with greater impact.
Driven by her passion and calling, Pascale transitioned from management into coaching, where she now bridges the science and soul of communication. As an Executive Communication Coach and Transformation Facilitator, she has worked with leaders from Fortune 500 companies, leading transformative workshops, delivering dynamic presentations, and providing tailored one-on-one coaching.
Pascale is deeply committed to helping people unlock their innate potential and step into their power as communicators. With a keen ability to uncover the tools that enhance voice and presence, she brings her gifts forward in service to others, empowering them to speak with clarity, confidence, and authenticity.
Alex believes you don’t need to become a great speaker—you already are one. You just need to access what’s already inside you. He combines his studies in communication sciences with over 10 years of coaching experience to help executives overcome speaking anxiety, think on their feet, and become master storytellers. With The Asbury Group, Alex takes an authentic, upbeat, and disarming approach to coaching. No rigid scripts. No forced poses. Just real strategies that tap into your natural strengths. He helps individuals build self-awareness—the key to confident communication. Alex has discovered that when you understand yourself, you understand how to connect with others. Once you feel that connection, speaking in any situation stops being awkward and starts feeling natural.
QUOTABLES:
“The quality of your life is directly influenced by your ability to communicate with confidence and with clarity.” – Dr. Amber Wright
“People want to know that you get where they are. Once they understand that you get where they are, then it opens them up for whatever else you want to share.” – Pascale Bourne
“For our work to be effective, we have to become really good listeners.” – Alex Cohen
You can watch the full video of this conversation here:
Episode 313: Building Trust with Minda Harts
Jun 19, 2025
Show notes
In this powerful episode of Beyond the Business Suit, host Kailei Carr is joined by workplace equity consultant and bestselling author, Minda Harts, to explore the critical role of trust in the workplace. As a preview of her forthcoming book, Talk to Me Nice: Seven Trust Languages for a Better Workplace (coming July 2025), Minda introduces a transformative framework designed to help leaders and teams view trust not just as a value, but as a strategic asset.
During the conversation, Minda breaks down the seven trust languages and shares how each can be used to foster healthier, more productive work environments. Together, Kailei and Minda also discuss why trust is essential to combating burnout, improving retention, and enhancing team culture, especially when we spend over 90,000 hours of our lives at work.
Whether you’re a leader, team member, or change agent, this episode will leave you reflecting on how to build (and rebuild) trust with intention and impact.
ABOUT MINDA HARTS:
Minda Harts is a bestselling author, workplace consultant, and sought-after keynote speaker, helping organizations turn trust into their most significant competitive advantage. Through her groundbreaking Seven Trust Languages® framework, she equips leaders, teams, and professionals with actionable strategies to build high-trust, high-impact workplaces.
Minda has shaped conversations on workplace equity, self-advocacy, and leadership as the author of The Memo, Right Within, and You Are More Than Magic. Her impact spans boardrooms and conference stages worldwide, with companies like Nike, Google, Best Buy, and JPMorgan Chase calling on her to redefine leadership and workplace culture. LinkedIn has recognized her as the #1 Top Voice in the Workplace and by Business Insider as one of the top 100 People Transforming Business.
Minda’s next book, Talk to Me Nice: The Seven Trust Languages for a Better Workplace (July 22, 2025), is set to revolutionize how leaders and teams harness trust as their most valuable asset.
In addition to her work as a speaker and consultant, Minda is an assistant professor at NYU and the founder of The Memo LLC, where she is shaping the next generation of leaders.
QUOTABLES:
“How are we cultivating trust each and every day?”
“I want us to remember that the human element of the workplace…people are not robots.”
“People forget that trust is earned.”
“Sometimes we need to get under the hood and find out what we need more of in the workplace.”
“What does trust look like for you in the workplace?”
THE FINAL FIVE
When you were a child what did you want to be when you grew up? As a child, I wanted to work at the airport. I thought, they were around all these planes and they get to travel. At first it was a flight attendant but if you’ve ever met me in person I wasn’t going to be able to put anyone’s bags up top. I didn’t hit the height requirement. I felt it was a stable career at the airport and to have flight privileges.
What are some of the things that you do to keep your skills sharp? I am a been proponent in investing in yourself. I’m always taking courses, writing classes, or going to conferences because I always want to be learning. I feel like we can’t be creative if we’re not putting ourselves in the spaces to create and hear from others as well.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received? The best advice I’ve received is don’t be ambivalent about your career. I think it’s important and it’s always served me well because we’ve worked so hard to get to where we are and we shouldn’t want to lean out.
What is something that you love to do that some people may be surprised by? This is an exclusive that many people do not know at all…when I have the time I like to rent out a studio and I like to go rap. I like to spit bars in the booth. It’s a way for me to be creative again and I love music. I love rap lyrics and grits.
What is one book that has impacted your life? There’s so many. I know it sounds cliche but I would say the Bible. I grew up going to church but I didn’t start to dig in and find out what the truth meant for me until later in life. It really helps me figure out my advocacy. Jesus was an advocate for the folks in the streets and once I figured out my role and my purpose I realized my mission was to use my mouth and microphone as a truth teller for those who may not feel comfortable telling the truth in the workplace. It really helped give me agency in a way that I hadn’t looked at it before.
You can watch the full video of this conversation here:
Preorder Talk To Me Nice: The Seven Trust Languages For A Better Workplacehere.
Episode 312: The Power of Leading with Love with Nicki Anderson
Jun 06, 2025
Show notes
Does leadership that is love-led have a place in the workplace?
On the next episode of Beyond The Business Suit podcast, Founder and CEO of The Asbury Group, Kailei Carr, is joined by Nicki Anderson, a visionary leader and founder of L3 Consulting. Nicki, with 30 years of leadership experience, emphasizes the importance of leading with heart and compassion. She shares her personal journey, inspired by a meditation session, and highlights the need for self-care and self-acceptance. Nicki stresses the significance of listening, staying curious, and having difficult conversations with kindness as a leader which create ripple effects of positive actions, both in personal and professional settings. Nicki also shares a few practical tips including starting the day with intention and taking midday pauses for self-assessment. This is your guide to start laying the foundation for leadership that is love-led!
ABOUT NICKI ANDERSON:
With over three decades of distinguished leadership, strategic growth, and team management experience, Nicki Anderson is a visionary leader known for consistently driving exceptional outcomes and surpassing organizational goals. Notable achievements include creating and spearheading a groundbreaking leadership program at Benedictine University and serving as the first female CEO of the Naperville Chamber of Commerce in its 112-year history. Nicki also owned and operated her own wellness company from 1993 to 2013 when it was sold. Most recently, Nicki launched her passion project, L3 Consulting. L3 = Love-led Leadership, and focuses on helping individuals develop a more compassionate, heart-centered relational approach to leadership professionally and personally.
When Nicki isn’t writing or speaking about Love-led Leadership, she is the Director of Strategic Partnerships for DuPage Foundation. Nicki is also committed to community service, serving on the Board of Directors for Loaves and Fishes and the Advisory Board for The Alive Center and volunteering for other community events. If you want anything personal, Nicki and her husband Bill live in Naperville, IL. They have four grown children and two grandchildren.
QUOTABLES:
“I believe we are all born to love and to be loved.”
“Showing up every day with love is not only extremely courageous, but vital for a business of collaboration, of trust, of connection and all the things that are lacking because we don’t bring that love.”
“Don’t confuse grace with boundaries.”
“Love isn’t a soft skill, it’s a life skill.”
“It’s amazing what happens when you come out on the other side of discomfort.”
Episode 311: The States of Consciousness
May 08, 2025
Show notes
The Beyond the Business Suit podcast is back with another powerful episode led by Kailei Carr who reflects on what it truly means to lead in this new era of change, uncertainty and a collective yearning for something deeper. In this episode, Kailei invites us to explore a more conscious, human-centered approach to leadership that begins not with what we do, but with who we are being.
Kailei introduces the Asbury Group’s four states of consciousness—Existing, Thinking, Knowing, and Being—not as a hierarchy, but as a mirror for self-awareness and a path out of survival mode and into a more trusting flow within your leadership and beyond. Through reflections on her own personal leadership journey, Kailei equips leaders with the essential tools needed to evolve in this new era with presence, intentionality, and curiosity.
QUOTABLES:
“We are in a time where we need to deepen who we need to be and lead from a new place.”
“It’s more than just a framework: it’s a lens, a language and a mirror to help us see not just how we lead but who we are being while we lead.”
“Recognizing where you are can help you relate to yourself and others.”
“The goal is to be aware of where you are.”
“Presence is a key tool that we all have to expand our capacity and shifts us from a thinking state to a knowing or flow state.”
Episode 310: Examining Our Stories with Denitra Letrice
Mar 28, 2025
Show notes
In this next episode, we’re exploring recovery — not just from addiction, but also from the internalized domestication that keeps us small, disconnected, and playing by someone else’s rules. As a coach, mentor, and disruptor, Denitra Letrice joins host Kailei Carr who invites you to question what truly lights you up and what it takes to get closer to the person and leader you’re meant to be. Together, they’ll dive into the common roadblocks that show up on professional leadership journeys, the challenges of breaking free from where you come from, and the radical investments that create generational impact. Denitra is all about modeling what it means to show up in all spaces as your whole self — not just for you, but for your children and everyone watching — because the legacy we leave starts with the risks we’re willing to take now.
ABOUT DENITRA LETRICE:
Denitra Letrice is an accomplished People Leader, Change Agent, and award-winning coach dedicated to helping individuals and organizations turn their ideal vision into reality. Whether working one-on-one or with groups of professionals, Denitra ensures that building the life or company culture you desire becomes more than just talk — it becomes action. With a proven track record in developing top talent, shaping corporate culture, driving operational excellence, and fostering cross-departmental collaboration, Denitra leads with a results-driven, people-centered approach. Known for her motivating and empowering leadership style, she is passionate about mentoring and coaching others to achieve both individual and organizational success.
QUOTABLES:
“Recovery from addiction doesn’t have to be your rock bottom.”
“So much of what the world needs right now is inside of people who are hiding it.”
“My passion is about helping people see themselves so that they can heal what needs to be healed and thrive to who they are called to be.”
“Give yourself permission to declare what you want your life to look like…full stop.”
“Let’s disrupt the shackles that we’ve put on our own beings.”
Episode 309: Fireside Chat – Transforming Leadership with Intention
Mar 17, 2025
Show notes
In this episode, Myra Capri leads a conversation with two phenomenal women, Radiah Rhodes, Wellbeing Advisor, and CEO of Evók, and Kailei Carr, CEO of the The Asbury Group. These powerhouse women are transforming leaders globally by elevating consciousness and helping them understand the power of intention.
Together, they’ve developed Conscious Leadership development programs that help leaders show up fully aligned with who they truly are. They not only break down the difference between goals and intentions, vulnerability and intimacy, and being versus doing—but also offer a fresh perspective on leadership, embodiment, and personal evolution.
Be prepared to take a deep dive into transformation as not just a process, but a way of being—and how you can start creating the life and leadership you desire right now.
ABOUT RADIAH RHODES:
Radiah Rhodes is an Author, Operations Leader and a Well-being advisor to global, innovative, and conscious executive leaders. Radiah believes there’s a better way to succeed at higher levels and it’s directly tied to both personal and an organization’s well-being.
For more than 25 years, Radiah trained herself to execute and deliver results in tough environments and at high levels. Graduating in engineering, leading teams and organizations for some of the world’s greatest Fortune 500 corporations and building iconic brands.
As a trained engineer, Radiah resolved to break up that pattern and designed her way out of a cycle of stress and sacrifice where so many ambitious high-achieving professionals spiral. Radiah believes well-being is the source of your productivity, creativity, and power and individuals can’t truly be successful without it. Thriving individuals who draw from their well-being are not only successful themselves, but are the keys to a successful, powerful team as well.
ABOUT KAILEI CARR:
Kailei Carr is an award-winning speaker, executive coach, and the CEO & Founder of The Asbury Group, a global transformational development firm known for its “whole person” approach to leadership. Renowned as a trusted advisor and a “safe space” for global leaders and legacy makers, Kailei’s conscious leadership model—grounded in awareness, purpose, and well-being—has inspired leaders to transform themselves and their organizations from the inside out. Kailei earned her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and holds a BA from Emory University. Outside of coaching and speaking engagements, she hosts the acclaimed podcast, “Beyond the Business Suit,” which reaches listeners in over 100 countries.
Through her work, Kailei has inspired countless leaders to unlock their personal power and reach their highest potential, all while prioritizing wellbeing. Her insights have been featured in major media outlets including Forbes, Fortune, and The Oprah Winfrey Network.
QUOTABLES:
“Your life is a direct match for who you’re being.” – Radiah Rhodes
“Surrender is not about giving up, it’s about letting go.” – Kailei Carr
“People can everyday access to transformation and to who they’re being.” – Radiah Rhodes
“Being [for me] is really being in full alignment and in conscious awareness of this present moment.” – Kailei Carr
Episode 308: Conscious Leadership Series – Optimize Your Health, Elevate Your Leadership
Feb 20, 2025
Show notes
As season 9 of the Beyond the Business Suit podcast continues to unfold, we’re diving deep into the relationship that chronic stress has with our leadership success with Dr. Kanika Sims, a board-certified internal medicine physician and esteemed practitioner with The Asbury Group. In this kickoff to our Conscious Leadership Series, Dr. Kanika guides us through how we, as leaders, can optimize our health in order to become the best leaders we can be. Dr. Kanika explains the difference between good stress vs. harmful stress and what the impact of stress can to do to the mind and body. By listening to this episode, we hope leaders can gain a higher consciousness of the tools and practices that can support more effective leadership and lessen chronic stress.
ABOUT DR. KANIKA SIMS
Dr. Kanika Sims, a board-certified Internal Medicine physician and leadership coach, brings over 20 years of expertise in women’s health, workplace wellness, and leadership development. As a clinician and coach, Dr. Sims brings a unique perspective to fostering growth, resilience, and transformative change in organizations. She empowers women in leadership with tools and support that align well-being with leadership effectiveness. Dr. Sims has coached leaders across sectors such as healthcare, education, and corporate environments, focusing on optimizing performance health—the alignment of mental clarity, emotional resilience, and physical vitality necessary for peak leadership effectiveness. Her approach combines stress management techniques with leadership development strategies to help clients overcome burnout, enhance emotional agility, optimize cognitive performance and lead with confidence and intentionality. Known for her empathetic coaching style, Dr. Sims creates safe, growth-centered spaces where clients can clearly define their goals, develop purposeful strategies, and achieve meaningful outcomes. Her passion for empowering women in leadership is evident in her work, which emphasizes well-being, reflective practices, and science-based strategies to drive sustainable success.
QUOTABLES:
“Sometimes in the pursuit of success, we forget our health.”
“Your body is also a divine gift.”
“When you see an opportunity, it opens up possibility.”
“Being in the present moment is so powerful.”
“We are able to do the work so much better when our bodies are in balance.”
Episode 307: Welcome to Season 9!
Feb 18, 2025
Show notes
We’re back! Not only are we celebrating the return of Beyond the Business Suit with season 9, but we’re also celebrating the 10 year anniversary of the podcast. This episode is all about our evolution and highlighting what’s in store for this season and beyond. Join us for this exclusive look at what you have to look forward to in season 9, along with a few other BIG announcements as we expand and grow in new directions.
QUOTABLES:
“We’re committed to having you BE well so you can LEAD well.”
“Your growth, development and wellbeing is at the center of it all [for Beyond the Business Suit].”
Stay connected to our social channels for more updates on the Beyond the Business Suit podcast, the Beyonding Retreat and all things Asbury Group:
Register for “Mastering Stress For Leadership Success”, led by Dr. Kanika Sims, here.
Episode 306: BONUS – How to Manage Deep Disappointment with Kailei Carr
Nov 08, 2024
Show notes
The days after a historic presidential election can leave us all feeling a range of different emotions. In this bonus episode of Beyond the Business Suit, co-host Kailei Carr, felt is necessary to dive into these complex emotions and arise from them—whether personal, professional, or even on a broader scale. In this episode, Kailei shares essential tools for self-awareness and healthy emotional processing, including self-listening practices and ways for us to move past the fear responses we may be experiencing. Not only does Kailei explore the power of reconnection, but how to also learn how to lean on supportive communities to stay grounded. This episode leaves us all with helpful resources to support us all through the journey of these challenging emotions.
QUOTABLES:
“No political candidate determines my destiny.”
“Isolation is trauma response.”
“It’s evident why we need to be together in community.”
Episode 305: BONUS – All About The 2024 Beyonding Retreat
Oct 25, 2024
Show notes
With the 2024 Beyonding Retreat less than two months away, we are officially in countdown mode! In this BONUS episode of Beyond The Business Suit, we’re talking about all things retreat and giving you a preview of our upcoming podcast, Beyonding! In this episode, retreat co-hosts Kailei Carr and Pascale Bourne sit down with their co-facilitators Myra Herring and Dr. Naeema Olatunji to discuss their insights on what attendees can expect from their retreat experience and what it truly means to embody the theme and go “Beyond Limits.” Not only do the group of ladies share their personal stories of impact from being a former attendee, but they reinforce the importance of being fully present and open to the transformation that is sure to take place. They even share the foundation of the retreat and its evolution over time by going DEEP into the “soulular” level. This episode not only will leave you knowing if this experience is right for you, but it will also inspire you to go beyond limits in your own life!
With fewer than 10 spots left, you’ll want to register today at BeyondingRetreat.com. You deserve it!
ABOUT THE RETREAT:
The Beyonding Retreat is an all-inclusive, immersive women’s retreat designed to awaken your inner power and shatter the barriers that hold you back. Nestled amidst the lush Costa Rican jungle at the Imiloa Institute, this transformative journey will guide you to transcend personal limitations, activate your healing and deeply engage with your inner wisdom to take you to your personal next level.
Our 2024 Beyonding Retreat is taking place Saturday, December 7th – Thursday, December 12, 2024 at the Imiloa Institute (where we will have the entire retreat center to ourselves), immersed in the Costa Rican jungle just north of Dominical, deep in the Savegre Mountains and overlooking the Pacific ocean. Explore more at BeyondingRetreat.com.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
Stay Connected
, and focuses on helping individuals develop a more compassionate, heart-centered relational approach to leadership professionally and personally.
