Épisodes

  • 33 - The Hidden Cost of Overfunctioning: How Leaders' Inner Wounds Shape Their Cultures
    Jan 20 2026

    What happens when the very traits that make women exceptional leaders quietly erode their intimacy, wellbeing, and sustainability? In this episode of The Game Changer, Dr. Sharalyn Payne sits down with Dr. Brittany McGeehan to expose The Powerhouse Paradox—the hidden emotional architecture behind over-functioning, rescuing, and chronic self-reliance among C-suite women.

    This is a masterclass on how early life dynamics quietly shape boardroom behavior, relationships, and mental health—and what it takes to break the cycle without dimming your power.

    Key Takeaways
    • The Powerhouse Paradox explained: Why the same over-capacity, hyper-competence, and self-sufficiency that drive executive success often create exhaustion, relational strain, and emotional isolation.
    • The Rescuer Reflex: How high-performing women unconsciously over-give, over-fix, and over-function—and why it sabotages both leadership effectiveness and intimacy.
    • Trauma-driven excellence: Over-functioning isn't always ambition—it's often a survival strategy learned early and rewarded professionally.
    • The receiving gap: Why "letting it be easy" feels unsafe for high-capacity women—and the first practical step toward rewiring that pattern.

    Show Notes

    • Go to the Ultra Influential website for show notes.

    Resources & Mentions
    • Download the Game Changer Leadership Collection

    • Subscribe to the Ultra Influential Newsletter

    Follow Dr. Sharalyn

    • Connect on LinkedIn: Dr. Sharalyn

    • Connect on Instagram: Dr. Sharalyn

    Call to Action

    If this episode challenged how you think about change, share it with a leader who's building the next big thing.

    Don't forget to subscribe to The Game Changer with Dr. Sharalyn on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite platform.

    For consulting inquiries, speaking engagements, or to bring Dr. Payne into your organization email leadership@smpistrategies.com.

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    36 min
  • 31 - Beyond Mindset: How Heartset and Presence Redefine Leadership
    Jan 6 2026

    In this episode of The Game Changer with Dr. Sharalyn, we sit down with Regina Huber, CEO of Transform Your Performance, global leadership expert, and former Boston Consulting Group leader, to challenge one of leadership's most persistent assumptions: that mindset alone is enough.

    With leadership experience spanning five continents and a career that bridges elite consulting, entrepreneurship, media, and executive coaching, Regina brings a rare global and practical lens to leadership development. In this conversation, she introduces a more complete leadership model—one that integrates mindset, heartset, presence, embodiment, and energy to help leaders stand out with confidence and credibility.

    This episode is for leaders who are capable, accomplished, and ambitious—yet sense that something essential is missing from the way leadership is commonly taught.

    Key Takeaways
    • Heartset—how leaders relate to themselves, their values, and their truth—shapes trust, decision-making, and how others experience their leadership.
    • One of the most compelling parts of the conversation: how Regina's passion for dance informs her leadership philosophy and reinforces the idea that leadership is not only cognitive—it is embodied.

    Show Notes

    • Go to the Ultra Influential website for show notes.

    Resources & Mentions
    • Download the Game Changer Leadership Collection

    • Subscribe to the Ultra Influential Newsletter

    Follow Dr. Sharalyn

    • Connect on LinkedIn: Dr. Sharalyn

    • Connect on Instagram: Dr. Sharalyn

    Call to Action

    If this episode challenged how you think about change, share it with a leader who's building the next big thing.

    Don't forget to subscribe to The Game Changer with Dr. Sharalyn on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite platform.

    For consulting inquiries, speaking engagements, or to bring Dr. Payne into your organization email leadership@smpistrategies.com.

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    35 min
  • 30 - Beyond Goals: Reprogramming the Inner Game That Determines Your Business Results
    Dec 30 2025

    Most leaders don't fail because they lack ambition, discipline, or intelligence. They fail because they are unknowingly running outdated internal programs that sabotage clarity, decision-making, and momentum.

    In this powerful conversation, Dr. Sharalyn Payne sits down with Dr. Alain Salas to dismantle the myths of traditional goal-setting and expose what actually governs performance: mindset architecture, emotional regulation, and subconscious decision loops. This episode is a wake-up call for leaders who are doing "everything right" and still feel stuck, depleted, or frustrated by diminishing returns.

    Key Takeaway
    • The 3-step process to reprogram business blocks, negative thought loops, and unproductive emotional pattern.
    • Personal and professional development go hand in hand.
    • You are more powerful than you think.

    Show Notes

    • Go to the Ultra Influential website for show notes.

    Resources & Mentions
    • Download the Game Changer Leadership Collection

    • Subscribe to the Ultra Influential Newsletter

    Follow Dr. Sharalyn

    • Connect on LinkedIn: Dr. Sharalyn

    • Connect on Instagram: Dr. Sharalyn

    Call to Action

    If this episode challenged how you think about change, share it with a leader who's building the next big thing.

    Don't forget to subscribe to The Game Changer with Dr. Sharalyn on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite platform.

    For consulting inquiries, speaking engagements, or to bring Dr. Payne into your organization email leadership@smpistrategies.com.

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    47 min
  • 29 - The Disruptor's Dilemma: Innovation without Burnout or Chaos
    Dec 23 2025

    Disruptive leaders are often the ones who see what's broken long before others are willing to name it, but vision without discipline can quietly create burnout, resistance, and chaos. In this deeply personal and strategic episode, Dr. Sharalyn explores the hidden cost of constant disruption and reveals how elite leaders drive innovation without exhausting their people or destabilizing the system.

    If you're leading change, carrying urgency, and feeling the tension between speed and sustainability, this episode offers clarity, recalibration, and a more powerful way forward.

    Key Takeaway

    The most respected disruptors aren't the loudest voices in the room. They're the leaders who change systems without breaking people.

    Show Notes

    • Go to the Ultra Influential website for show notes.

    Resources & Mentions
    • Download the Game Changer Leadership Collection

    • Subscribe to the Ultra Influential Newsletter

    Follow Dr. Sharalyn

    • Connect on LinkedIn: Dr. Sharalyn

    • Connect on Instagram: Dr. Sharalyn

    Call to Action

    If this episode challenged how you lead change, share it with the leaders and game changers in your network.

    Don't forget to subscribe to The Game Changer with Dr. Sharalyn on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite platform.

    For consulting inquiries, speaking engagements, or to bring Dr. Payne into your organization email leadership@smpistrategies.com.

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    19 min
  • 28 - Rethinking Healthcare: Innovation with Purpose
    Dec 16 2025

    Healthcare is no longer just a line item—it's a leadership decision with human, cultural, and economic consequences. In this episode, Dr. Sharalyn Payne sits down with Donovan Pyle to unpack how wasted healthcare dollars quietly drain employee well-being, suppress creativity, and erode organizational performance—and how visionary leaders can reclaim healthcare as a lever for economic empowerment, trust, and retention.

    This conversation challenges executives to move beyond cost containment and into strategic stewardship, where benefits design becomes a catalyst for freedom, focus, and sustainable growth.

    Show Notes

    • Go to the Ultra Influential website for show notes.

    Resources & Mentions
    • Download the Game Changer Leadership Collection

    • Subscribe to the Ultra Influential Newsletter

    Follow Dr. Sharalyn

    • Connect on LinkedIn: Dr. Sharalyn

    • Connect on Instagram: Dr. Sharalyn

    Call to Action

    If this episode sparked new thinking about leadership, systems, and responsibility, consider sharing it with someone who helps shape decisions in your network.

    Don't forget to subscribe to The Game Changer with Dr. Sharalyn on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite platform.

    For consulting inquiries, speaking engagements, or to bring Dr. Payne into your organization email leadership@smpistrategies.com.

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    36 min
  • Episode 29 - Lead to Serve, Serve to Scale: The Hidden Power of Influence
    Dec 11 2025

    In this week's conversation, Kurt Uhlir — accomplished executive, operator, and global speaker — dismantles one of leadership's oldest misconceptions: that authority is the source of power. In reality, influence multiplies when leaders choose to serve.

    Kurt brings decades of experience leading high-growth companies and elite teams. In this episode, he reveals why the leaders who scale organizations — the ones whose teams outperform, innovate, and stay committed — are those who practice strategic service, not performative leadership.

    Together, we explore why the organizations built on trust, service, and empowered cultures are the ones that win.

    Show Notes

    • Go to the Ultra Influential website for show notes.

    Resources & Mentions
    • Download the Game Changer Leadership Collection

    • Subscribe to the Ultra Influential Newsletter

    Follow Dr. Sharalyn

    • Connect on LinkedIn: Dr. Sharalyn

    • Connect on Instagram: Dr. Sharalyn

    Call to Action

    If you're ready to build teams that execute with consistency, trust, and resilience…
    Start by serving the people you lead.

    And share this episode with a leader who's ready to scale their influence — not just their output.

    Don't forget to subscribe to The Game Changer with Dr. Sharalyn on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite platform.

    For consulting inquiries, speaking engagements, or to bring Dr. Payne into your organization email leadership@smpistrategies.com.

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    39 min
  • Episode 26 - Leading Change When the System Works Against You: Moving the Unmovable
    Dec 2 2025

    Most leaders don't fail because they lack vision — they fail because the system they're leading inside was never built for the change they're trying to produce. In this episode, Dr. Sharalyn reveals the strategies high-impact leaders use to accelerate change even when culture, politics, and power structures seem immovable. Verified research shows that organizational resistance, not individual capability, is the top barrier to transformation. This episode gives leaders the tools to navigate that resistance with clarity, authority, and influence.

    Key Takeaway

    Systems don't respond to titles — they respond to credibility, clarity, and conviction. When the system is against you, your leadership becomes the most powerful force in the room.

    Show Notes

    • Go to the Ultra Influential website for show notes.

    Resources & Mentions
    • Download the Game Changer Leadership Collection

    • Subscribe to the Ultra Influential Newsletter

    Follow Dr. Sharalyn

    • Connect on LinkedIn: Dr. Sharalyn

    • Connect on Instagram: Dr. Sharalyn

    Call to Action

    Share this episode with a leader who's carrying a heavy mandate in a resistant system.

    Don't forget to subscribe to The Game Changer with Dr. Sharalyn on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite platform.

    For consulting inquiries, speaking engagements, or to bring Dr. Payne into your organization email leadership@smpistrategies.com.

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    13 min
  • Episode 25 - The Courage Advantage: Why Conflict is the Catalyst for Leadership
    Nov 18 2025

    In this episode of The Game Changer with Dr. Sharalyn, Leah Brown—global legal leader, award-winning executive, and strategic advisor—reveals why conflict is the proving ground for influence, innovation, and integrity.

    In a world where leaders are pressured to keep the peace, Leah Brown argues the opposite—conflict isn't the enemy; it's the ignition point of true leadership.

    According to Harvard Business Review, 57% of employees avoid conflict, even when it costs the organization time, trust, and millions in rework. But courage isn't just a character trait—it's a competitive advantage. And leaders who master courageous conflict outperform the ones who avoid it.

    Key Takeaway

    "It's so important to sort relationships with people before you're in a difficult situation because you need to know who you can trust before you get there."

    Show Notes

    • Go to the Ultra Influential website for show notes.

    Resources & Mentions
    • Download the Game Changer Leadership Collection

    • Subscribe to the Ultra Influential Newsletter

    Follow Dr. Sharalyn

    • Connect on LinkedIn: Dr. Sharalyn

    • Connect on Instagram: Dr. Sharalyn

    Call to Action

    If this episode challenged you, inspired you, or gave language to something you've been carrying, share it with a leader who needs it.

    Don't forget to subscribe to The Game Changer with Dr. Sharalyn on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite platform.

    For consulting inquiries, speaking engagements, or to bring Dr. Payne into your organization email leadership@smpistrategies.com.

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    52 min