Leadership transparency is a buzzword. “I’m an open book. Ask me anything.”

But here’s the truth: great leaders aren’t open books, they’re disciplined communicators.

In today’s episode of Hire Power, we’re breaking down the nuance of transparency:

When it builds trust, and when it quietly destroys it.

Harvard Business Review has written about this extensively, yet most leaders still get it wrong. Transparency isn’t about saying everything. It’s about saying the right things, at the right time, in the right way. And yes — even seasoned leaders make mistakes here.

You’ll learn the moments when transparency is non-negotiable, when it becomes dangerous, and why emotional intelligence is the leadership differentiator in an AI-driven world.

If you lead people, even one person, this episode will make you a stronger, clearer, more grounded communicator.

In this episode:

• Why transparency is misunderstood and why “being an open book” is not the mark of a great leader
• The three moments when transparency is essential, especially during change, uncertainty, and low morale
• How silence creates more fear than truth and why employees assume the worst when leaders say nothing
• A real story from the field about acknowledging a sensitive cultural moment and why it built more trust than staying quiet
• The rise of emotional intelligence in the AI era and why EQ is becoming a leader’s competitive advantage

💬 Connect with Kim: linkedin.com/in/frostkim

🌐 Learn more: frostconnections.com

Most leaders say they want to hire people smarter than themselves… but when it comes to the reality of succession planning, many avoid it entirely.

In today’s episode, Kim Frost breaks down the leadership responsibility almost no one talks about — but that the strongest leaders quietly master: planning for their own replacement.

This conversation is bold, direct, and necessary. Because protecting your seat isn’t leadership. Protecting the future of the business is.

Kim unpacks the data, the risks, and the mindset shifts every leader, board member, and CEO needs to hear — especially as CEO turnover accelerates and organizations continue to operate without any formal succession plan.

If you care about leadership longevity, organizational stability, or building a legacy that outlasts you, this episode is non-negotiable.

In this episode:

• Why most leaders avoid succession planning (and why that’s dangerous)
• The data every leader needs to know right now
• How to build true bench strength
• The uncomfortable hiring question every leader must ask

💬 Connect with Kim: linkedin.com/in/frostkim

🌐 Learn more: frostconnections.com

Today we’re diving into one of the most overlooked, misunderstood, and high-ROI leadership practices: stay interviews.

Not performance reviews, not hallway check-ins, not annual conversations—true, intentional, proactive dialogues designed to keep your best people before they start imagining a future without you.

Here’s the reality:

Most leaders don’t know what a stay interview is.

Even fewer know how to actually run one.

And almost none understand the massive impact they have on retention, connection, and culture.

Great leaders?

They do stay interviews consistently—and it’s one of the reasons their high performers stay.

In this episode, we break down:

- Why stay interviews matter now more than ever

- Why your top performers (your HiPos) are actually the loneliest people on the team

- What you should be asking—and what you should never ask

- How stay interviews strengthen trust, reduce preventable turnover, and build real culture

- Why waiting for an exit interview means you’re already too late

You’ll also get a simple framework and four essential questions you can start using this week, plus a leadership challenge to put this episode into action immediately.

Because retention isn’t reactive.

💬 Connect with Kim: linkedin.com/in/frostkim

🌐 Learn more: frostconnections.com