In this deeply moving episode of the Finding North Podcast, Nancy Girres sits down with legendary executive coach and Vistage Chair Emeritus Janet Fogarty for a conversation about reinvention, intuition, grief, courage, identity, and designing a life that actually feels aligned.

After spending 27 years guiding CEOs through growth, crisis, and transformation, Janet made a shocking decision at age 70: she walked away from the career she loved most.

This conversation explores:

• Why success alone is never enough

• The hidden cost of ignoring your intuition

• How sabbaticals can completely change your life

• The power of asking better questions

• Why listening is more transformative than advice

• The difference between kindness and honesty

• How to stop following someone else’s compass

• What it really means to flourish as a human being

Janet shares wisdom from decades spent coaching leaders through pivotal moments and reveals the mindset shifts that helped her embrace an entirely new chapter of life with freedom, peace, and purpose.

If you’ve been feeling stuck, burned out, disconnected, or quietly questioning your direction... this episode may change the way you see your life.

📸 Follow behind the scenes: https://www.instagram.com/coachgirres/

🌐 Nancy’s Website: https://nancygirres.com/

💼 Connect with Nancy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancygirres

Subscribe for weekly conversations on leadership, identity, healing, burnout, and personal transformation.

#findingnorthpodcast #janetfogarty #selfgrowth #leadership #personaldevelopment

In this episode of Finding North, Nancy Girres sits down with executive team coach and communication expert Whitney Walpole to explore leadership, reinvention, motherhood, identity, and the conversations that change everything.

After 30 years coaching leadership teams and helping organizations build healthier cultures, Whitney shares the powerful communication tools behind her upcoming book, Breakthrough Conversations: How Great Teams Talk and Win Together.

This conversation goes deep into:

• Why most people focus on what they DON’T want

• The communication shift that transforms relationships

• What successful women struggle with privately

• Why “having it all” is more complicated than it sounds

• The surprising freedom that comes with getting older

• Why women often come alive later in life

• The power of uncertainty, growth, and becoming

If you’ve ever felt successful but disconnected from yourself… this conversation will stay with you.

📸 Follow behind the scenes: https://www.instagram.com/coachgirres/

🌐 Nancy’s Website: https://nancygirres.com/

💼 Connect with Nancy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancygirres

Connect with Whitney Walpole:

✉️ whitney@culturecounts.biz

🌐 https://www.conversationscount.com

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#leadership #womenover50 #personalgrowth #communicationskills #executivecoaching #findingnorth #whitneywalpole #nancygirres #womeninleadership #selfdevelopment #emotionalintelligence #mindsetshift #breakthroughconversations #leadershippodcast #womenempowerment #midlifetransformation #purposedrivenlife #authenticleadership #teamculture #podcastforwomen

In this episode of Finding North, Nancy Girres sits down with retired entrepreneur and longtime business leader Michael Trotter for an honest conversation about leadership, pressure, identity, freedom, legacy, and what really matters after decades of building a successful company.

Michael shares the moment that unexpectedly changed the trajectory of his life, how he built a people-first company culture, and why true leadership starts with serving the people doing the hardest work.

This conversation explores:

• The unexpected moment Michael became CEO

• Why great leadership is built through responsibility

• The hidden pressure behind business ownership

• How company culture shapes long-term success

• Why frontline employees mattered most to him

• The power of recalibration and personal growth

• What freedom feels like after stepping away from leadership

• Lessons on family, legacy, mentorship, and letting go

This is a conversation for leaders who have spent years carrying responsibility and are now asking what success truly means.

📸 Follow behind the scenes: https://www.instagram.com/coachgirres/

🌐 Nancy’s Website: https://nancygirres.com/

💼 Connect with Nancy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancygirres

Subscribe for weekly conversations on leadership, identity, personal growth, business ownership, freedom, and finding your true direction.

#findingnorth #nancygirres #michaeltrotter #leadership #entrepreneurship #businessowner #businessgrowth #ceomindset #leadershipdevelopment #selfdiscovery #executivecoach #culture #retirement #personaldevelopment #podcast

In this episode of Finding North, Nancy Girres sits down with speaker, writer, and coach Danielle B. Baldwin to explore inspiration, identity, grief, and what it really takes to rebuild your life when everything you planned falls apart. Danielle shares how high achievers slowly drift away from themselves, why “aspiration culture” leaves people empty, and how true inspiration is not about striving harder but about reconnecting to something deeper within.

This conversation goes deep into:

• Why successful people still feel lost

• The emotional difference between aspiration and inspiration

• How life quietly pulls you off your planned path

• What happens when your “future self” no longer exists

• Grief, fertility loss, and identity collapse

• Why belonging shapes how we see ourselves

• How leaders lose themselves in achievement

• The conditions required for real inspiration to return

This is a conversation for anyone who has ever thought: “I did everything right… so why don’t I feel right?”

📸 Follow behind the scenes: https://www.instagram.com/coachgirres/

🌐 Nancy’s Website: https://nancygirres.com/

💼 Connect with Nancy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancygirres

Subscribe for weekly conversations on leadership, identity, healing, burnout, and personal transformation.

#findingnorth #nancygirres #daniellebaldwin #leadership #burnout #inspiration #personalgrowth #identity #executivecoaching #selfdiscovery #healingjourney #mindset

In this episode of Finding North, Nancy Girres sits down with entrepreneur, author, and Savvy Strategic Partners founder Jill Simonds for a raw conversation about leadership, trauma, identity, healing, and what truly drives high achievers. Jill opens up about growing up around addiction, losing her father in college, breaking generational cycles, and how overachievement became tied to worthiness. She also shares powerful business insights about why so many companies hit invisible growth ceilings and what leaders must do to create freedom instead of chaos.

This conversation goes deep into:

• Childhood trauma and emotional survival

• Why high achievers struggle with self-worth

• Breaking generational cycles

• The hidden emotional cost of success

• Why most businesses become dependent on the founder

• Fractional leadership and scaling sustainably

• Healing, recalibration, and finding your true direction

This is a conversation for leaders who have achieved success but still feel like something deeper is unresolved.

📸 Follow behind the scenes: https://www.instagram.com/coachgirres/

🌐 Nancy’s Website: https://nancygirres.com/

💼 Connect with Nancy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancygirres

Connect with Jill Simonds:

🌐 Jill's Website: https://www.savvystrategicpartners.com/

💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillcsimonds/

Subscribe for weekly conversations on leadership, identity, healing, business growth, and personal transformation.

#findingnorth #nancygirres #jillsimonds #leadership #entrepreneurship #businessgrowth #healing #selfdiscovery #personaldevelopment #executivecoach #ceomindset #traumahealing #podcast

In this episode of Finding North, Nancy Girres sits down with Kyle Recchia, CEO of Fast Fit & The Perfect Workout and author of Fit for the Calling, to explore identity, burnout, leadership, and what it really takes to realign your life.

This conversation goes deep into:

• Why success does not always equal fulfillment

• The identity behind your habits

• How recalibration moments shape your life

• Leadership under pressure and uncertainty

• The role of relationships in staying grounded

• And what it means to truly find your direction

This is a conversation for anyone who feels like they have done everything right but still feel something is missing. 🎧

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to Finding North

01:56 Why This Conversation Matters (Identity and Purpose)

05:38 Identity vs Habits: The Real Problem

11:37 Recalibration Moments That Change Everything

16:33 Leadership, Pressure and Trusting Your Voice

20:34 Relationships, Family and Personal Anchors

31:59 Vision for the Future and What Comes Next

📸 Follow behind the scenes: https://www.instagram.com/coachgirres/

💼 Connect with Nancy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancygirres

Subscribe for weekly conversations on clarity, leadership, and personal transformation!

#findingnorth #nancygirres #leadership #identity #burnout #purpose #personalgrowth #executivecoach #selfdiscovery

In this podcast, Nancy Girres sits down with leaders, thinkers, and high-achievers to explore burnout, identity, purpose, and what it really takes to realign your life. This isn’t about having everything figured out. It’s about asking better questions, finding clarity, and choosing your own direction.

If you’ve ever felt lost, even after doing everything “right”, this is for you.

📸 Follow behind the scenes: https://www.instagram.com/coachgirres/

💼 Connect with Nancy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancygirres

>> Subscribe for weekly conversations on clarity, purpose, and personal growth.

#findingnorth #personalgrowth #burnout #selfdiscovery #lifedirection