

Let Go & Lead with Maril MacDonald
Gagen MacDonald
As a leader, letting go doesn't mean abdicating responsibility. In fact, it's just the opposite. Letting go to lead means encouraging your people toward mastery, infusing the workplace with a sense of purpose, allowing room for self-direction and giving others more autonomy in their jobs. In the Let Go & Lead podcast, Maril MacDonald, Founder and CEO of award winning strategy firm Gagen MacDonald, unpacks these topics and more in conversations with today's business leaders, academics and creative thinkers.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 4, 2019 • 35min
7. Elevating All | Kristy Wallace
Kristy Wallace, CEO of the Ellevate Network, is passionate about partnering with businesses to create true cultures of inclusion. In this episode of Let Go & Lead, Kristy shares how leaders can take a big step toward creating a culture where all types of people can succeed by making a few simple behavior changes.

May 21, 2019 • 31min
6. Systems Start with Self | Darcy Winslow
Darcy Winslow, President & Founder of the Academy for Systems Change, found her calling after leading five large-scale change efforts at Nike. In this episode of Let Go & Lead, Darcy and Maril talk all things systems thinking and leadership, including the importance of embracing a creative orientation, navigating the complex vs. complicated and that leaders are not defined by jobs or companies, but shaped by their purpose and work.

May 7, 2019 • 41min
5. Creating Shared Power | John Renehan
John Renehan, Pratt & Whitney Executive Director of Digital Solutions, is a practitioner of leadership. In actively establishing spaces for open dialogue, listening to others and elevating the experts in the room, John creates a culture of shared power in the workplace. In this episode of Let Go & Lead, John and Maril discuss his guiding leadership practices, the importance of embracing humanity in the midst of change and how simple gestures can result in powerful outcomes.

Apr 23, 2019 • 28min
4. Cutting through the Chaos | Glenda Eoyang
Glenda Eoyang, Founding Executive Director of the Human Systems Dynamics Institute, helps leaders build up their capacity for chaos. In using models and methods to understand patterns of chaos, Glenda shares how organizations can best navigate forward using practical, predictable structures.

Apr 9, 2019 • 31min
3. Nonprofit is a tax status, not a business model | Dorri McWhorter
Dorri McWhorter, CEO of the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, shares her journey of evolving the 140-year old social service agency into a 21st century social enterprise. In the third episode of Let Go & Lead, Dorri reveals how she led her team through this transformation, growing the $10 million organization, which was losing $1 million a year, into the vibrant, robust, $23 million enterprise it is today.

Mar 26, 2019 • 17min
2. Kabbage Heads | Kathryn Petralia
Kathryn Petralia, President & co-founder of Kabbage, shares her story of creating a compassionate culture that defies hierarchy, embraces individuality and celebrates humanity. In the second episode of Let Go & Lead, Kathryn reflects on her leadership journey, explores how culture and values manifest and reveals how employers can screen for self-awareness.

Mar 2, 2019 • 40min
1. The Science of Purpose | Aaron Hurst
Aaron Hurst, expert on the science of purpose at work, joins Maril for the launch episode of Let Go & Lead. Aaron's the CEO and co-founder of Imperative, a technology platform for leaders in the new economy. Maril and Aaron talk all things purpose, meaning and fulfillment. Aaron shares his story, debunks the most common myths of purpose and reveals his groundswell movement towards a world full of workplaces with fulfilled employees.


