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

Companies love to say they “hire for culture”… but most can’t define what their culture actually is. That’s why turnover stays high and hiring stays inconsistent.

In this episode, Kim breaks down why culture fit is not a hiring strategy—and what to build instead: a clear, behavior-based employee brand.

You’ll learn:

• What “culture fit” really means (and why it’s unreliable)

• Why gut-driven hiring leads to first-year turnover

• The difference between employer brand vs. employee brand

• Why interviewing for “vibe” creates chaos

• The 5–7 word culture clarity test

• How a fast-growing company cut turnover simply by defining their internal identity

If you want help defining your employee brand or building a culture interview scorecard, DM Kim. Her team specializes in clarity, alignment, and hiring systems that work.

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

🌐 Learn more: frostconnections.com

Most leaders love to say, “I’ll know it when I see it.” But here’s the truth: hiring off your gut alone is not leadership, it’s luck.

In this episode of Hire Power, Kim Frost breaks down the difference between instinctive hiring and intentional hiring. She shares why relying solely on gut feelings or vague phrases like “not a culture fit” can lead to bias, poor decisions, and costly mis-hires, and how the best leaders learn to balance intuition with structure.

Kim pulls from her own corporate experience to show how instinct can both help and hurt your process. You’ll walk away knowing how to spot the difference between valid intuition and untested assumptions—and how to interview with clarity, consistency, and confidence.

In this episode:

• Why “I hire off my gut” isn’t as intuitive as you think
• The problem with using “culture fit” as feedback
• How first impressions can mislead even experienced leaders
• The balance between instinct, structure, and evidence-based hiring
• Why values-based interviewing is the key to better hires

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

🌐 Learn more: frostconnections.com

How do great leaders move people, not just manage them? In this episode of Hire Power, I sit down with storytelling expert Mario Juarez, founder of StoryCo to unpack why story is one of the most essential leadership tools most leaders underuse.

We explore why your story isn’t just what you say about yourself, but what people experience with you.

Drawing from nearly 30 years inside Microsoft and his work with executives, Mario shares how story has the power to transform cultures, align teams, and redirect entire organizations. He also gets real about what most leaders get wrong and what it really takes to tell stories that feel authentic, grounded, and emotionally resonant.

Whether you run a small team or an entire company, this conversation will change how you think about the way you talk to and lead your people.

In this episode:

• Why storytelling is a core leadership skill
• What your story really is (and isn’t)
• The biggest mistake leaders make with storytelling
• Where to start if storytelling feels uncomfortable
• What Mario learned working with senior executives at Microsoft, including the time investment and practice it takes to make a talk look “effortless.”
• Human storytelling in an AI-driven world
• Mario’s six-word story method and how it forces clarity on what truly matters in your message.

About Mario Juarez

Mario Juarez is the founder of StoryCo, where he helps leaders and organizations craft stories that move people to action. Before starting his firm, Mario spent nearly three decades at Microsoft in communications, marketing, PR, and executive communications. There, he developed his “Storytelling for Impact” framework and saw firsthand how story can reshape cultures, engage teams, and support major leadership transitions. Today, he teaches leaders how to use story as a strategic tool—not spin, but a way to connect, inspire, and lead with intention.

Connect with Mario: https://mario-juarez.com

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

🌐 Learn more: frostconnections.com

After taking her first two-week vacation since 2018, Kim Frost is back, recharged, refocused, and reminded that real leadership requires rest.

In this episode of Hire Power, Kim unpacks what truly happens when you step away from the grind and give your brain, your relationships, and your business room to breathe. From the science of detachment and creativity to the leadership benefits of unplugging, this episode is your reminder that rest isn’t indulgent, it’s strategic.

In this episode:

• Why your best ideas come during the pause, not the push.
• The surprising link between time off and promotions.
• How detachment boosts creativity, problem-solving, and long-term perspective.
• What two weeks away revealed about love, leadership, and life beyond work.
• A leadership challenge to schedule your next real break... no excuses!

Rest like a leader, and show others how it’s done.

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

🌐 Learn more: frostconnections.com

Let’s flip the script on what makes a powerful leader. It’s not always authority, strategy, or a polished presentation... it’s humor.

In this episode of Hire Power, Kim Frost explores why humor is one of the most underrated yet most effective leadership tools. Drawing on insights from Harvard Business Review and her own experience coaching executives, Kim reveals how laughter isn’t just about fun, it’s a trust-building, retention-boosting strategy.

In this episode:

• Why humor is a measurable leadership advantage
• The five laugh languages and how to use them
• How humor builds trust and lowers turnover
• The three humor boundaries every leader must know
• Real-life stories of leaders using levity to build culture

Connect with Kim: linkedin.com/in/frostkim

Learn more: frostconnections.com