The Look & Sound of Leadership Podcast By Essential Communications - Tom Henschel cover art

The Look & Sound of Leadership

The Look & Sound of Leadership

By: Essential Communications - Tom Henschel
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An ongoing series of Executive Coaching Tips designed to help you be perceived in the workplace the way you want to be perceived.© 2026 The Look & Sound of Leadership Career Success Economics Management Management & Leadership Personal Development Personal Success
Episodes
  • Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office
    Apr 2 2026

    Tom interviews Dr. Lois Frankel about women in the workplace and other ideas in the just-published third edition of Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office.


    Listen to the full, unedited conversation here.


    Get the “Nice Girls” book, here.


    If you’re curious about a chemistry call, pop Tom an email.


    There are always more resources in our monthly email.


    COACHES!

    You are always welcome at the Executive Coaching Special Interest Group sponsored by ICF Los Angeles. Reach out to me if you want to know more. We’d love to have you. You’ll get CCE’s, too!


    Related Library Categories:

    • For Women
    • Perception – How You Perceive Yourself
    • Leadership


    Related Episodes

    • 246Coaching versus Therapy
    • 221Conflict
    • 241 Conquering People Pleasing
    • 222The Conflict Conversation
    • 237Leading with Political Savvy – Part One


    A transcript of the episode is here.


    Thanks again for subscribing. And your reviews. You’re the best!


    From all of us here at The Look & Sound of Leadership, thanks for being such a great audience!


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    26 mins
  • How to Conquer Nervousness
    Mar 5 2026

    Before testifying in a high-stakes case, a theorist and his coach swap horror stories about their nerves hijacking them and the lessons they learned.

    Tom’s top four idea for conquering nervousness:

    • Write happy endings
    • Celebrate incremental improvement
    • Externalize your nasty voice
    • Ignore your nerves

    Applying these techniques using our free PDF about mastering nerves.

    The clip of Emma Stone battling her anxiety before a global audience is here.


    Each month, we share additional tools in our monthly email.

    If you’d like to explore Private Coaching with Tom, reach out to him at: tom@essentialcomm.com.


    COACHES!

    Come join us at the Executive Coaching Special Interest Group sponsored by ICF Los Angeles. You’ll get CCE’s, too!


    Related Library Categories:

    • Managing Yourself
    • Nervousness
    • Self-Talk

    Related Episodes:

    • 71 - Act “As If”
    • 62 - Choosing Persistence
    • 147 - Conquering Fear
    • 178 - The Executive Impostor
    • 12 - Managing Nervousness


    Grab a free transcript of the episode here.

    We are so grateful for your reviews!

    From all of us here at The Look & Sound of Leadership, thanks for being such a great audience!

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    24 mins
  • Humility as Strength
    Feb 5 2026

    A leader is getting pressured to stop being so prickly and gain some humility. With her coach, she explores whether it’s even possible for humility to ever be a strength.


    Core concepts in this episode:

    • Humility is confidence without defensiveness.
    • Assess yourself on the humility scale. “How do I respond to challenges?”
    • Humble leaders are confident in their authority.
    • Ask frequently: “How might I be wrong about this?”
    • Humility requires active listening.


    Questions addressed in this episode:

    > Are humble leaders perceived as weak?

    Some people may see humble leaders as weak, but humble leaders are actually confident in their authority.


    > If humble leaders need confidence, will they be seen as arrogant?

    No, because humble leaders do not fight for dominance. They invite the opinions of others and are non-defensive when challenged.


    > How can I tell whether I am humble?

    Ask yourself, “When I am challenged, what feelings do I experience?” Leaders who respond non-defensively are high in humility.


    > What practices can I adopt to develop more humility?

    Ask yourself frequently: “How might I be wrong about this?"


    > What are the benefits to being a humble leader?

    Your team will experience psychological safety and move towards high performance.


    Resources mentioned in this episode:

    Humbitious: The Power of Low-Ego, High-Drive Leadership by Amer Kaissi explores how to be both ambitious and humble.


    Links for coaches:

    Join Tom and a community of coaches at the Executive Coaching Special Interest Group.


    The Los Angeles Chapter of International Coach Federation offers countless opportunities for CCEs and community building.


    If you’re in the L.A. area, join the ICF-LA March Chapter meeting. And be sure to say ‘hi’ to Tom! Register here.


    Each month, we share additional tools in our monthly email.


    If you’d like to explore Private Coaching with Tom, reach out to him at: tom@essentialcomm.com.


    This episode is tagged in three categories in our podcast library:

    Executive Presence

    Leadership

    Personal Growth & Self-Development


    Related Episodes:

    122 - Achieving Authenticity

    146 - Building Empathy

    248 - Building Listening

    260 - How to Guarantee Psychological Safety

    232 - Unlocking Executive Presence through Emotional Intelligence


    Thank you so much for your reviews!


    From The Look & Sound of Leadership

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    25 mins
All stars
Most relevant
This podcast is perfection! The way the creator breaks down coaching into conversations and then commentary makes the information enjoyable and easy to digest and relate to. Bonus!! He always provides resources and related episodes if you are looking for a deeper dive into a specific topic. I always recommend Tom Henschel to everyone who is curious about self development and coaching, regardless of what role they have in their company because the takeaways have literally changed the direction of my career.

Quick, relevant, and clear advice

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I like the way Tom recounts an actual conversation and then discusses key points from it. I find it much easier to apply the concepts to my own environment. Many times when I listen to podcasts, I have thoughts like "...but what about this..." or "That would be difficult to put into practice because..." The conversations that Tom walks us through are relatable and often answer some of these questions for me because a character in the dialogue is actually working through and trying to apply the concept themselves. The most helpful episode so far has been 'Sorting and Labeling'. Tom refers to it often and it's truely essential in conveying my thoughts to another person effectively.

Relevant and Relatable

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Stumbled on this podcast about a year ago and I have been stuck on it. Sorting and labeling saved my life. Thank for the relentless work!

Amazing Job. Magical for my Journey

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