The Lida Citroën Podcast

Do you need two personal brands, one professional and one personal? The Honorable James D. Rodriguez says no, and he has lived that answer at the highest levels of public service. Twice called by the White House to serve, he was the Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training, and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense.
In those roles, James shaped national policy and legislation on veteran employment and built partnerships across federal and state agencies. When he was warned that fighting for military spouses would cost him his reputation, he did it anyway. That decision, he says, was only possible because he had never built two versions of himself. Today he is a nationally recognized voice on veteran affairs and workforce policy, with a career built on 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Lida Citroën has known James for more than 15 years, on stage in front of thousands and over lunch talking about their kids, and she has never seen him be a different person in either setting. Together they unpack the question Lida hears in nearly every coaching session, and why one personal brand, built on integrity and lived the same way at work and at home, is what makes a reputation sustainable.
The higher you rise, the more people see every version of you, and the gap between your “work self” and your real self is exactly where trust breaks down.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why one personal brand, not a separate professional and personal brand, is what makes a reputation last
How doing the right thing “regardless of who’s watching” builds influence a title can’t give you
The difference between boundaries that protect you and boundaries that keep people out
Why listening is the leadership skill most people underestimate
How bringing others “on the bus” multiplies your impact instead of just raising your own profile
This conversation shows why one brand, built on integrity, is the one that lasts.
Links from this episodeReady to build your personal brand? Executive Coaching with LidaBring it to your team: Personal Branding programs for leaders and organizationsGo deeper with The New Rules of Influence: Lida’s playbook for turning one authentic personal brand into lasting influenceConnect with the Honorable James D. Rodriguez on LinkedIn
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Have you been told you need “more executive presence” and walked away with no idea what that means or what to do next?
It's one of the most common pieces of feedback in leadership, and one of the least explained. It also often decides who gets promoted. Lida Citroën, executive coach and author of The New Rules of Influence, breaks down what people usually mean when they say it, drawing on a client who was passed over for promotion and her own early-career experience.
You’ll learn:
Five things “you need more presence” might really mean, from still doing the work of your last role to staying silent when leaders need your view
The questions that turn a vague label into specific next steps
Why image, communication, and gravitas no longer cover it, and what replaces them
Why senior leaders rank presence so highly yet struggle to define it
For leaders who give this feedback: how to make it useful, and how to spot when “presence” is really bias against women, introverts, non-native English speakers, or anyone whose style differs from the leaders before them
Presence isn’t something you’re born with. It’s a skill you can build.
Received this feedback? Executive Coaching with LidaGiving this feedback? Executive Presence Programs for OrganizationsGo deeper: The New Rules of Influence__________________Stay ConnectedLinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook 

What if becoming the leader you've always wanted to be didn't require a new title, more credentials, or waiting until you finally "feel ready"? It just requires a decision and the willingness to do the internal work first.
In this conversation, Lida Citroën sits down with Claudia Wolter, a certified coach with over 15 years of corporate experience, including seven-plus years leading large remote teams across EMEA for a global company. 
Claudia shares the personal pivot point that changed everything for her: discovering non-violent communication (NVC) while reflecting on the kind of parent she wanted to be, and realizing the exact same principles could transform how she leads at work. She and Lida unpack why so many capable professionals (especially women) hold themselves back, waiting for one more title or certification before claiming their expertise, and why true leadership presence has never required permission.
You'll learn:
How non-violent communication reshapes difficult conversations, from parenting to performance management
Why leading with connection and curiosity produces stronger results than commanding authority
The overlooked power of strategic silence in coaching people toward their own solutions
How to give feedback that actually lands, and why the "feedback sandwich" often fails
How to set boundaries while staying authentic
Why self-reflection, not job titles, is the real starting point for becoming the leader you want to be
Whether you just started leading or have been leading global teams, this episode gives you a practical roadmap for closing the gap between who you are today and the leader you're capable of becoming, without sacrificing kindness for results. This is your permission slip to start now.Links from this episodeBook Lida to Speak at Your EventStay connectedLinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook 

What if the most important question in your career isn't "What do you do for a living?" but "How do you want to be remembered?"
Alfred Nobel found out by accident — a newspaper ran his obituary early, mistaking him for his brother, and the headline called him "The Merchant of Death." He didn't wait for the real thing to change course.
In this episode, Lida Citroën unpacks the question she asks every executive she coaches — the one most of us have never actually sat down to answer. It's not a five-year plan. It's the reputation you're building right now, whether you're intentional about it or not. Lida walks through her own process for answering it, and how she lives it out daily.
You'll get the three-part framework she uses with coaching clients to build a desired brand:
Foundation — before you can decide how you want to be remembered, you have to know what's non-negotiable for you.Proof — how to audit the gap between how you're currently showing up and how you actually want to be known, and what to do about it.Payoff — why this clarity is what turns visibility into real influence.
You'll also hear why executive presence, as we've traditionally defined it, isn't the same as influence — and why waiting until the end of your career to think about legacy means you've already waited too long.
This conversation will challenge you and give you the clarity to start building your desired brand today.
Links from this episodeExecutive Coaching with Lida
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What do you wish you'd known when you started your career? Did you understand the role personal branding, relationship-building, and authenticity would play in it? In this episode, we help you find direction, meaning, and the tools for a successful career.
Professionals often enter the workforce without much knowledge about personal branding, networking, and social media management. In this episode, Lida shares what she wishes she had known when she first started out.
Joining her is Beau Saltz, Director of Workforce Solutions at PEG Colorado, who built his career on authenticity, relationship-building, and a constant commitment to learning. His story is a real-world case study in personal branding and reputation management principles in action.
In this episode, you'll learn:
The three questions to ask about your career: what direction you want it to take, how you want to be known, and the mark you want to leave
Why perception matters, and how others' perceptions of you shape decisions about your future
The difference between authenticity and transparency (especially online), and why you can be real without telling people everything
How your online presence can work for or against you, and how consistency across platforms signals what you care about to employers, clients, and colleagues
How to build a network before you need one, and why maintaining relationships matters more than making them
How to conduct an informational interview the right way, and its benefits for your career
Whether you're starting out, starting over, or striving for the next level, this episode gives you the foundation to move forward with clarity and confidence.Links from this episodeLinkedIn Learning Courses Stay connected LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook 

Courage and vulnerability aren't soft skills. They're key pieces of the foundation of a strong personal brand that builds long-lasting influence.
In this episode, Lida draws from The New Rules of Influence to make the case that showing up with courage and vulnerability isn't a weakness or a liability, but it's the key to building a leadership brand and influence that connects with your teams and stakeholders, and establishes trust and credibility.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why courage is not the absence of fear and what it actually means to take action before you feel ready
That courage isn't an end state, it's a muscle built through small, consistent acts of showing up even when it's uncomfortable
The difference between being real and being transparent and why you don't have to share everything to build deep, lasting trust
Why vulnerability is the engine of influence and how it creates the psychological safety that makes people follow you, believe you, and bring their best
Why AI makes this more urgent than ever. AI creates sameness, and your willingness to be real is something that can't be replicated
This episode will give you a courage framework and empower you to start showing up with realness today._______________________Links from this episodeThe New Rules of InfluenceExecutive Coaching with Lida_______________________Stay connectedLinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook 

Many leaders say they want a high-performance team, but few have a clear philosophy for how to build one. 
In this episode, Lida sits down with Paul Barwick-Copeland, Director of Business Consulting and Value Realization Services at NiCE, one of the world's leading AI and customer experience technology companies. Paul leads global high-performing teams across EMEA and APAC, spanning multiple cultures, time zones, and languages. What makes him stand out isn't his title or results, but the way he leads. 
Paul's leadership philosophy is rare. Built on authenticity, empowerment, and a willingness to grow people even when it means letting them go. 
In this episode, you'll learn:
The difference between managing and leading, and how knowing the distinction changes every decision you make about your team
How to lead with consistency across cultures. Why authentic leadership transcends time zones, languages, and cultural differences, and what that means for global leaders
How to hire for positive disruption. Why Paul actively recruits people who will challenge him, and what he looks for beyond credentials
How to build a brilliant team, not just a collection of strong individuals. The philosophy of collective over ego, and how to create psychological safety for people to thrive
How to see potential in people before they see it in themselves. The conversations Paul has with his team that go far beyond the standard performance review
Why letting people go is an act of leadership, not failure. How supporting someone's growth, even out of your team, is one of the most powerful things you can do as a leader
How to stay authentic as a leader in an AI-driven world. What it looks like to lead authentically inside one of the most AI-forward companies in the world
If you lead a team, or want to, this episode will give you the philosophy for authentic leadership that you can start applying immediately.Links from this episodeExecutive Coaching with Lida Stay ConnectedLinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook 

What if the behavior you think is making people like you is the exact thing preventing them from respecting you, considering you for new opportunities, and taking you seriously as a leader?
People-pleasing rarely feels like a problem when you're doing it. It feels like kindness, generosity, and being a good teammate. In this episode, Lida gets personal about a moment she said yes to something she never should have, spent three weekends resenting it, and realized she had been quietly teaching people that her “no" wasn't a real option. Sound familiar?
Using research from Brené Brown and Adam Grant, her own values framework, and the direct connection to self-talk and imposter syndrome she unpacked in Episodes 21 and 25, Lida breaks down what people-pleasing actually costs you, and the practical tools to stop it starting today.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why people-pleasing is a personal branding problem. How chronic accommodation creates a reputation that's likable but not influential, and what that costs your career
How to tell the difference between real generosity and people-pleasing. The three distinctions (generosity, collaboration, kindness) and how to identify which one is actually driving your behavior
The self-talk underneath the automatic yes. The internal tape that runs before every yes that should have been a no, and how to interrupt it
Why boundaries free you instead of limit you. The playground study that reframes everything you thought you knew about setting limits 
The values filter. Three questions to run every future yes or no through, starting with your next high-stakes decision
Liked vs. trusted. Why these aren't the same thing, and which one actually builds influence
If you've ever felt quiet resentment after saying yes, or wondered why people describe you as agreeable but never as decisive, this episode will name what's happening, and give you a way forward.Links from this episode
The Human Advantage: Elevating Executive Presence & Influence in the Age of AI 
Episode #21 and #25
 
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Now that you understand how self-talk shapes your narrative and reputation (listen to episode #25), it's time to take that internal foundation and translate it into the kind of executive communication that actually moves your stakeholders to act. Knowing what to say to yourself is step one, and communicating and influencing up is the next level. 
In this episode, Lida sits down with Naomi Price, SVP of Global Accounts at Vantage Partners and an internationally recognized expert in executive communication and strategic influence, to give you a practical, repeatable playbook for communicating at the highest levels.
In this episode, you'll learn:
 
• How to use self-talk in high-stakes conversations: The three specific phrases Naomi recommends saying to yourself before any important meeting, and why getting them right is visible to everyone in the room
• The micro-behaviors that build or destroy trust: Composure vs. energy, eye contact, gestures, and the small physical signals leaders read before you say a single word
• The Lean In, Link, Leverage framework: Naomi and Vantage's three-step method for speaking up and influencing the decision-makers
• How to sell up without being ignored: The problem-solving approach that turns resistance into buy-in, including the exact script for getting a yes from your boss's boss
• What to say so others will listen: How to filter everything you know down to the only thing your audience actually needs to make a decision
 
If you've ever had the right answer in a high-stakes room and still couldn't get traction, this is where you start.Links from this episodeExecutive Coaching with Lida The New Rules of InfluenceFollow Naomi Price on LinkedIn
Vantage 2026 Negotiation Study
 
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What if the biggest threat to your reputation isn't what you say out loud, but the story you're telling yourself before you even open your mouth?
In this episode, Lida Citroën shares a personal moment that spiraled into a fully imagined situation, and uses it to unpack one of the most overlooked drivers of leadership presence: your self-talk!  Lida breaks down the three-step narrative formula that shapes how you're perceived, and why the conversation happening in your head matters just as much as the one happening in the room.
In this episode, you'll learn:
How self-talk shapes your reputation. The three-part chain from what you tell yourself, to what you tell others, to what others tell others about you
Why your mind treats your own words as fact, and how negative self-talk leaks out even when you think you're hiding it
The line between reframing and faking, and why "fake it till you make it" deserves a closer look
How to use physiological cues to your advantage. The exact reframe Lida uses before every stage appearance to turn nervous energy into confident presence
Why overconfidence backfires. The nuance between owning your value and tipping into arrogance
Whether you're prepping for a high-stakes conversation, walking into a networking event, or just trying to quiet a critical inner voice, this episode gives you a practical way to make sure your internal narrative is working for you, not against you.Links from this episodeExecutive Coaching with LidaControl The NarrativeStay ConnectedLinkedInYouTubeInstagramFacebook