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 6 - Stephen Barbee, Prison Fellowship Field Director
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How Redemption, Resilience, and Brokenness Feed the Multitude
Our newest episode is out now!
In Episode 6 of Your Authentic Executive, we sit down with Stephen Barbee—a former All-American athlete, mentor, and founder of Passion to Purpose Ministries. Stephen transformed his life from crack addiction and incarceration to finding a meaningful purpose, developing a faith-driven life, and inspiring leadership. Stephen’s story is a raw, powerful testimony of redemption and resilience, proving that transformation is not only possible—it’s contagious.
Key Takeaways from this Episode:
Redemption Starts with a Choice – Stephen shares the moment he hit rock bottom, asked three hard questions, and chose to change the trajectory of his life.
“Where am I? How did I get here? And where am I going?”
You Can’t Heal What You Won’t Face – Whether in a prison cell or a classroom, Stephen teaches that growth requires courage, accountability, and honesty.
Your Brokenness Feeds the Multitude – Stephen shows how your story—especially the hardest chapters—can be someone else’s roadmap.
“It’s not my wholeness that feeds people. It’s my brokenness.”
Leadership is Often Planted in Crisis – From a team captain in high school to a mentor in federal prison, Stephen reflects on how his leadership took root in the most unexpected places.
Powerful Quotes from the Episode:
“Changing my location didn’t change me. I brought my addiction with me.”
“It’s not because of my all-American status that people listen to me. It’s because of my brokenness.”
"I had to go inward before I could go outward."
"Pride will keep you in your addiction much longer than you desire."
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 Stephen Barbee for taking time to deliver such valuable insight to fellow executives!
Follow him on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/l-stephen-barbee-a3362450/
Be sure to like, comment, 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!
