Your Authentic Executive Podcast
Authentic Leadership. Profound Stories. Proven Lessons.
Your Authentic Executive is where executives go on the record — the pivotal moments, the hard-won lessons, the vignettes that shaped who they are as leaders. Not polished success stories. The real ones. New full episodes drop the first Tuesday of every month.
About SPARKs Between full episodes, SPARKs deliver power-packed excerpts built to ignite action. Drop a SPARK into your next team meeting, play it, and use the Action4Traction™ and Talk4Traction™ prompts to open real leadership conversations and drive next steps. SPARKs drop Tuesdays 2, 3, and 4.
✅ Full Episode – First Tuesday of Every Month
🔥 Sparks – power-packed excerpts to share and ignite action.
🎙 Subscribe now and join us on a journey to uncover the stories, struggles, and strategies behind Your Authentic Executive.
About Your Host: Janyne Peek Emsick, Ph.D.
For 35+ years, Janyne Peek Emsick, Ph.D. has helped Fortune 150 companies, award-winning privately owned organizations, the public sector, global nonprofits, and mission-driven organizations on six continents. All engage Janyne for a specific reason: when the hardest things go unspoken, she names them — and does it in a way that opens the door rather than closes it. Ph.D. in transformational leadership | Harvard Law Executive Education | NeuroLeadership Institute | Founder, 5R Edge™. Pronounced jah-neen'.
Together, we've got this.
📌 Follow Janyne on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/janynepeekemsick
📌 Explore Executive Coaching → YourExecutiveCoach.com
Your Authentic Executive Podcast
Episode 1 - Susan Courtney, Former Executive VP at BCBSNE
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In this debut episode of Your Authentic Executive Podcast, we sit down with Susan Courtney, retired Executive Vice President of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska, to explore her incredible journey from a small-town childhood in Minnesota to leading at the highest levels of corporate America.
Susan shares insights from her early years, the impact of her family, and how golf played a pivotal role in shaping her identity. She reflects on her time in the Navy during the Cold War, where she developed resilience through high-stakes operations, including nuclear launch communications and in-flight refueling.
We also dive into her transition from military to civilian life, the lessons she learned about toxic work cultures, and what ultimately led her to a successful leadership career at Blue Cross Blue Shield. Along the way, Susan reveals some of her most valuable leadership philosophies—like why failure is “the tuition you pay for learning” and the power of thinking like a CEO.
Tune in to hear Susan’s inspiring story, the defining moments of her career, and her reflections on servant leadership, mentorship, and what’s next in her journey.
Listen now and join us in uncovering the authentic lessons of top executives!
Powerful Quotes from the Episode:
- "Make it to breakfast, make it to lunch, make it to dinner…”
- "Failure is the tuition you pay for learning. You've paid your tuition—now learn."
- "Suck it up, buttercup."
- "Leadership is a responsibility, not a privilege."
- "You can stand on your head for 16 weeks if you have to…If you want something bad enough, you can do it."
- "Think like the CEO."
- "Culture is critical. It's not just about the paycheck or title—it’s about where you thrive."
- "I thought, 'How hard could it be?' And I learned that culture makes all the difference."
- "You never know when opportunities will arise—always be ready to stretch your skills."
- "All of us need a little kick in the pants now and then."
- "Rest isn’t just a luxury—it’s a necessity. You have to be before you can do."
Your Authentic Executive Podcast
Authentic Leadership | Profound Stories | Proven Lessons
Hosted by Janyne Peek Emsick, Ph.D.
For SPARKS! sneak peeks of each full episode, follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook!
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janynepeekemsick/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janyneyourexecutivecoach/
You can also listen to our podcast on-the-go now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Hf8dKgOS9jniNdmfg1i8q?si=4ded7c1ab5c0440a
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-authentic-executive-podcast/id1794646555
Thank you so much to Kimberly Cappellano for taking time to deliver such valuable insight to fellow executives!
Follow her on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-cappellano/
Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe for more Your Authentic Executive Podcast content every month!
