What’s Possible w. Ilene Schaffer

Being great at your job does not always mean the right people understand the value you bring. In this episode of What’s Possible, Ilene Schaffer sits down with career coach and former HR leader Sonal Bahl to explore why talented, high-performing professionals can still find themselves overlooked for promotions, opportunities, and compensation.

After nearly 20 years in corporate HR roles around the world, Sonal now helps professionals communicate their value, become more visible, and navigate career moves with greater confidence and clarity.

You'll learn:
- Why putting your head down and working harder is no...

In this In the Moment mini episode, Ilene Schaffer welcomes back her brother, artist Bradford Brenner, for a conversation about flow, creativity, and what happens when judgment gets in the way.

Brad shares how music, painting, technology, and even stepping away from the work can help him stay open during the creative process. You'll learn how we get into flow, what pulls us out of it, and why trying too hard to force flow can actually make it harder to access.

For leaders, creators, and problem-solvers, this episode is a reminder that flow is about...

What does a leader need to know in order to truly feel at their best? In this episode of What’s Possible, Ilene Schaffer welcomes executive coach and new SVChange coach Harry Hofer back to the show for a deeper conversation about four questions he believes every leader should be able to answer:

Who can I trust?
Where do I stand?
What’s keeping me from being okay?
How does my work matter?

Drawing from years of coaching executives and his own experience as a senior leader, Harry explains why these questions surf...

How do you find your own style? For an artist, it might show up in a brushstroke, a color palette, or the way someone recognizes your work from across the street. For a leader, it shows up in how you communicate, make decisions, build trust, and stay aligned with your values.

In this What’s Possible in the Moment mini episode, Ilene Schaffer sits down with her brother, artist Bradford Brenner, to explore what the creative process can teach us about finding our authentic leadership style.

You’ll hear about:

AI may be changing how work gets done, but many of the leadership challenges it exposes are not new. In this episode of What’s Possible, Ilene Schaffer sits down with RLD Group CEO Lisa Duerre to unpack applied research based on interviews with 25 executives across functions including product, engineering, HR, IT, legal, marketing, and sales.

The research revealed three root drivers of organizational fragmentation: silos, a lack of explorer mindset, and underdesigned conversations and collaboration. Lisa explains why AI is amplifying each of them. Which is increasing the need for shared clarity, stronger cross-functional coordination, and le...

In this In the Moment episode of What's Possible, Ilene Schaffer talks with author and presentation expert Nancy Ancowitz about how to show up with more confidence, presence, and authenticity on Zoom and other video platforms.

Drawing from her book Zoom to Success: Present Like a Pro, Nancy shares practical tips for making virtual communication feel more natural. Nancy encourages listeners to reframe fear as excitement and remember that presenting is not about being judged, it is about offering something of value.

Whether you are leading a meeting, giving a presentation, interviewing for a job...

In this episode of What’s Possible, Ilene Schaffer sits down with executive coach, facilitator, speaker, author, and founder of Lead Well Work Well, Shannon Polly, for a warm and practical conversation about human connection.

Shannon, one of the first graduates of the University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Applied Positive Psychology program, brings her background in coaching, facilitation, performance, and positive psychology to explore what connection really looks like. From small moments with strangers to deeper relationships with colleagues, friends, and family.

Ilene and Shannon discuss why connection is essential for well-being, leadership, resilience, and...

In this episode of What’s Possible, Ilene Schaffer sits down with HR executive Jen Feri for an honest and deeply reflective conversation about work, grief, alignment, and what it means to honor yourself.

Jen shares the story of being in a role that looked like a dream job on paper, while privately realizing that the culture and environment were no longer a fit. When her father entered hospice, the stillness of those final days became a catalyst for clarity. Jen began asking what it would really mean to honor him by honoring herself.

Together, Il...

In this In the Moment episode, Ilene Schaffer continues the short series on navigating change by introducing her own STAR Model: a practical framework for staying grounded through uncertainty, transition, and change.

From protecting sleep, movement, hydration, and nourishment, to noticing and fact-checking our thoughts, to accepting what we cannot control and leaning on supportive relationships, this model offers a simple but powerful way to move through change with more resilience and intention.

This short episode is a reminder that navigating change is not only about strategy. It is also about how we care for...

In this episode of What’s Possible, Ilene Schaffer sits down with Jonathan Stutz, co-author with Eddie Pate of Daily Practices of Inclusive Leaders, for a timely and practical conversation about what inclusive leadership really looks like inside organizations.

Jonathan shares how his early experiences with discrimination, his commitment to repairing the world, and his corporate diversity work at companies like Microsoft and Amazon shaped his path into inclusion and leadership. Ilene and Jonathan explore why diversity, equity, and inclusion cannot be treated as a one-time program or check-the-box training. Instead, inclusion has to be woven into th...

How do leaders navigate change at work? This "In the Moment" episode of What's Possible kicks off a short series on just that. Up first, Ilene Schaffer introduces Prochaska’s Stages of Change Model, and explaining why it can be such a helpful tool for leaders guiding teams through uncertainty.

Originally developed to understand behavior change, Ilene applies the model to today’s workplace, where leaders are often rolling out new strategies, systems, and decisions in the middle of unfamiliar territory and rapid change.

Leaders may already be in action mode because they have had time...

In this In the Moment episode, Ilene Schaffer closes out the short series on navigating change by introducing William Bridges’ Transition Model. This simple and powerful framework helps us understand the human side of change.

Ilene explains that transition does not begin with a new beginning. It begins with an ending. Whether the change is unwanted, like a layoff, or deeply desired, like a marriage or new opportunity, endings can still bring grief, uncertainty, and disorientation.

This short episode is a reminder that meaningful change requires patience. When we give ourselves time to pause, get ce...

What if failure is not the thing that holds your career back, but one of the things that helps you grow into a stronger leader? In this episode of What’s Possible, Ilene Schaffer talks with Stephen Scharf, a Chief Information Security Officer with more than 25 years of experience in cybersecurity, about failure, managerial courage, communication, and career growth.

Stephen shares candid stories from his own leadership journey, including early career mistakes, high-pressure decisions, and the moments that helped prepare him for the C-suite. He also explains why leaders need the courage to make decisions under pressure, ad...

In this special bonus episode of What’s Possible, Ilene Schaffer is joined by OB-GYN and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Marni Carlyle and work happiness expert Stella Grizont for a candid, science-informed, and empowering conversation about menopause, work, leadership, and well-being.

They explore the symptoms many women experience during perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause, including brain fog, irritability, hot flashes, sleep disruption, and changes in energy. You’ll also learn why these experiences can have a real impact on leadership, performance, relationships, and daily life.

Dr. Carlyle brings a medical perspective on what is happening in the...

What if success is not about getting more, but giving more value first? In this episode of What’s Possible, Ilene Schaffer talks with Bob Burg, co-author of the international bestseller The Go-Giver, about the five laws of stratospheric success and why they are still deeply relevant for leaders, entrepreneurs, coaches, and professionals today.

Bob shares how value, compensation, influence, authenticity, and receptivity can change the way we think about business, leadership, sales, and human connection. He also explains why providing more value than we take is generous and strategic, and why people still do business with th...

In this episode of What’s Possible: In the Moment, Ilene Schaffer continues her conversation with Kami Sip about the hidden costs of indecision, and what leaders can do when a decision cannot be made right away.

Kami explains that indecision is still a decision, and when leaders delay without clarity, they often distribute ambiguity, risk, and stress to the people around them. Building on part one, she revisits three common blocks to decision-making and offers practical ways leaders can manage those blocks more intentionally.

This short conversation is a practical reminder that, sometimes, leadership is...

In this episode of What’s Possible, Ilene Schaffer sits down with Michael Park, Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships and Channels at ServiceNow, for a conversation about leadership, AI, and how to navigate a world of work that is changing faster than ever.

Michael has spent the last five years with AI at the center of his work, including serving as ServiceNow’s CMO and leading the company’s first dedicated AI go-to-market function. In this conversation, he shares what he is learning from the front lines of transformation. Including why leaders need to tak...