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 4 - Robert Vause, Head of East Region at CLAAS
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How Freediving, Failure, and a 16-Year-Old Leader Built Executive Grit
– New Podcast Episode Out Now! What do freediving and boardroom leadership have in common?
In Episode 4 of Your Authentic Executive, I sit down with Robert Vause, an unconventional leader whose journey began at age 16, managing a service department—and has taken him everywhere from near-military flight school to the depths of freediving and the heights of executive leadership.
Robert’s story is a masterclass in resilience, adaptability, and self-leadership under pressure.
Key Takeaways From This Episode:
Leadership Begins Early – At 16, Robert was leading adults, solving real problems, and learning the value of trust and grit.
Setbacks Aren’t Endings – A detour from his Navy pilot dream led to something even better: purpose-driven business leadership.
Virtual Teams Need Presence – Robert shares how he leads remotely with intentional communication using the 7/38/55 Rule.
Freediving Builds Focus – Training your body and mind to stay calm underwater is a surprising and powerful metaphor for executive presence.
Powerful Quotes From This Episode:
"I’ve immersed my body in stress before—so when I walk into high-stakes leadership moments, I tell myself, 'It’s not going to be that bad. It’s okay.'"
"I'm glad I got the opportunity because had I not, he would have never seen the fight in me."
"There were concessions I needed to take within myself to adapt."
"55% of communication is done via talking, 38% is done via the face and how it moves, and 7% is done by the inflection of the voice."
"I can go further than I think I can."
This is an episode for anyone who's faced the unexpected—and come out stronger.
Your Authentic Executive Podcast
Authentic Leadership | Profound Stories | Proven Lessons
Hosted by Janyne Peek Emsick, Ph.D.
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Tune in next Tuesday, April 8th, for our first SPARK! with our next guest, Kimberly Cappellano, CEO of Private Wealth.
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 again to Robert Vause for coming onto the podcast and sharing your valuable experiences!
Follow him on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-vause/
Be sure to like and comment on the video and subscribe for more Your Authentic Executive Podcast content every month!
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!
