Life Fulfilled Podcast — Where leadership, self awareness and workplace performance actually connect.

Bernie Borges speaks with Jess Smith, a former Chief People Officer and founder of Reframing HR, to explore one of the most overlooked challenges of the AI era: the identity crisis that follows a layoff. Jess shares her personal experience being laid off from Meta, how she rebuilt herself from the ground up, including becoming a certified Zumba instructor and launching a mobile fitness business, and what it taught her about leadership, humanity, and reinvention.  She introduces her ANCHOR Framework, a practical tool for leaders guiding teams through mass transformation, and offers a candid look at why protecting your identity from your job title may be the most important leadership skill of the decade. Watch the Life Fulfilled podcast on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@lifefulfilledpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Who This Is For This episode is for founders, CEOs, and senior executives leading growth-stage companies navigating the disruption of AI-driven transformation. If you're managing teams through restructuring, supporting people through layoffs, or quietly wrestling with your own sense of identity and purpose at the top, Jess's framework and story will give you both the language and the tools to lead through it with humanity intact.In This Episode, You'll Learn: Why the hardest part of a layoff isn't the job search, it's the identity crisis How to lead your team through disruption with empathy while you're personally impacted Jess's ANCHOR Framework — six principles for guiding people through mass transformation How to disconnect your identity from your title before a crisis forces you to Why AI disruption is also an invitation for personal reinvention Life Fulfilled Podcast host Bernie Borges, offers a complimentary strategy session. Schedule yours here: https://calendly.com/midlife-fulfilled-podcast/employee-20-minute-strategy-call  Get the Life Fulfilled newsletter delivered to your inbox weekly. Some creators charge for their newsletter. My newsletter is free! Subscribe here. https://fulfilledatworkacademy.com/newsletter/ About Fulfilled Leadership: The Fulfilled Leadership YouTube channel helps growth-stage leaders replace burnout, disengagement, and turnover with a fulfillment-based operating system without sacrificing results. If you are a founder, CEO, or leader running a company with 100–3000 employees, you are in the right place. 👍 Like this video if you’re rethinking how you lead your team.🔔 Subscribe to the Fulfilled Leadership YouTube channel 👉 Learn more at FulfilledAtWorkAcademy.com Want to know more about Fulfillment Centric Leadership™? https://fulfilledatworkacademy.com/  About Jess Smith Jessica Smith is a Chief People Officer with 15 years of experience leading global HR teams across Amazon, AWS, and Meta. She has guided organizations through large-scale transformation across the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Europe, and Asia Pacific. In 2026, she completed MIT's program in Leadership for the AI Age, deepening her expertise in how AI is reshaping organizations from the people side. She holds a BS in Finance from Hampton University and an MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona, and is bilingual in English and Spanish. Today, Jess is the founder of Reframing HR, a platform built to help senior HR leaders shape — not just survive — the future of work. 🎙️ Subscribe for weekly conversations at the intersection of leadership, fulfillment, and performance.#LeadershipDevelopment #HighPerformanceLeadership #AILayoffs #ExecutiveLeadership #CareerReinvention #OrganizationalChange #Leadership #CHROLeadership #FulfilledLeadership Main Takeaway The most resilient leaders in the AI era are the ones who built an identity before the disruption hit. Jess Smith's ANCHOR Framework offers a practical, human-centered path for executives to guide their teams — and themselves — through layoffs and transformation without losing what matters most. Connect with Jess Smith Website: https://www.reframinghr.com/   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesssmithm/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadershiplessons_from_life 📅 Book a Complimentary 30-Minute Strategy Session with Bernie Life Fulfilled Podcast host Bernie Borges, offers a complimentary strategy session. Schedule yours here: https://calendly.com/midlife-fulfilled-podcast/employee-20-minute-strategy-call  Connect with Bernie Borges Website: https://fulfilledatworkacademy.com/ LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernieborges/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bernieborges/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bernieborges   Speaking: https://fulfilledatworkacademy.com/speaking/ Music attribution: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Old Bossa ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Twin Musicom⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Suno⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, executive coach and former Tesla leader Jay Abbasi challenges one of the most deeply held assumptions in high performance leadership, that stress is something to be eliminated. What he reveals instead is a more powerful and sustainable path: learning to move through stress with clarity, choice, and purpose. Who This Is For This episode is for founders, CEOs, and senior executives leading growth-stage companies who are winning on paper but feel the weight of it. If you've tried to "manage" stress and still find it running you this conversation reframes the entire equation.In this episode, you'll discover: Why stress is not the enemy, and what actually is The And Then What? (ATW) framework for neutralizing worst-case thinking in real time How to find "the space between stimulus and response" and lead from it Why adaptability is more powerful than control when pressure peaks The "Child Analogy" — a simple tool for processing distress without suppressing it How to "Zoom Out" when a high-stakes moment feels overwhelming The one question that reframes everything: "What's the story I'm telling myself?" About Jay Abbasi Jay Abbasi is a global keynote speaker, executive coach, and host of the top-rated podcast Unstuck with Jay Abbasi. As a former Tesla leader who oversaw national training programs for 1,000+ employees, Jay now coaches executives at Google, Amazon, TikTok, and Wells Fargo — blending corporate experience with deep expertise in mindfulness, resilience, and well-being. His work has been featured in Forbes and Authority Magazine. Connect with Jay Abbasi Website & Podcast: https://jayabbasi.me   LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayabbasi/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/@jayabbasi_  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayabbasipodcast If this episode resonates with you, Bernie offers a complimentary strategy session. Schedule yours here: ⁠https://calendly.com/midlife-fulfilled-podcast/employee-20-minute-strategy-call⁠  Watch the Life Fulfilled podcast on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@lifefulfilledpod⁠⁠⁠ Get the Life Fulfilled newsletter delivered to your inbox weekly. ⁠⁠⁠Subscribe here⁠⁠⁠. Some creators charge for their newsletter. My newsletter is free! Connect with Bernie Borges⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Get in touch with Bernie⁠⁠⁠ to explore hiring him to:  Be your executive coach  Facilitate group coaching for your team  Deliver a team workshop  Be your next keynote speaker at your next event.  A tailored presentation or workshop on ⁠⁠⁠Fulfillment Centric Leadership™⁠⁠⁠. Music attribution: ⁠⁠⁠Old Bossa ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Twin Musicom⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Suno⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What separates executives who build teams that stay from those who can't stop the revolving door? The answer isn't compensation, perks, or culture decks. It's trust.  And in a world accelerating with AI and constant change, trust has become the most powerful competitive advantage a leader can build.In this episode, Host Bernie Borges speaks with Bala Muthiah — Head of Engineering at a Silicon Valley technology company, leadership coach, and systems thinker with over two decades of experience, to explore why trust is no longer a soft skill. It's a strategic asset.  Bala's lens is unique: shaped by a deep sense of community, a life-changing experience teaching underserved kids about technology, and years of leading high-performing engineering teams, he knows what it means to build cultures where people don't just perform,  they belong. Who This Is For: This episode is for founders, CEOs, and senior executives leading growth-stage companies who are winning on paper but watching their best people disengage or walk out the door. If you're asking why your team isn't as cohesive as it once was, or wondering how to lead with authority and humanity as AI reshapes every role in your organization,  this conversation is for you. What You'll Discover: Why trust is the foundational element of human progress, and why it must now be an explicit leadership strategy How AI is blurring traditional job roles, and what that means for how you empower and trust your team The shift from competitive growth ("winning and losing") to expansive growth where everyone has to rise Why culture isn't just a set of principles, it's the entire environment (soil, water, air, sun) that allows people to thrive The real reason most companies drift from mission to margin as they scale, and how to protect your purpose Why curiosity may be the most underrated executive skill in the age of AI The one practice Bala recommends every executive start today If this episode resonates with you, Bernie offers a complimentary strategy session. Schedule yours here: https://calendly.com/midlife-fulfilled-podcast/employee-20-minute-strategy-call  The Main Takeaway: Trust isn't built through policy — it's built through intention. The executives who will lead the next decade are those who treat trust not as a soft value, but as a hard strategic advantage. Connect with Bala Muthiah: 🌐 Website: balamuthiah.com 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/balaarjunan/ Watch the Life Fulfilled podcast on YouTube: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@lifefulfilledpod⁠⁠ Get the Life Fulfilled newsletter delivered to your inbox weekly. ⁠⁠Subscribe here⁠⁠. Some creators charge for their newsletter. My newsletter is free! Connect with Bernie Borges⁠⁠⁠ ⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Get in touch with Bernie⁠⁠ to explore hiring him to:  Be your executive coach  Facilitate group coaching for your team  Deliver a team workshop  Be your next keynote speaker at your next event.  A tailored presentation or workshop on ⁠⁠Fulfillment Centric Leadership™⁠⁠. Music attribution: ⁠⁠Old Bossa ⁠ ⁠Twin Musicom⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Suno⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feeling Burnout or Unfulfilled? The Difference Matters. If you’ve ever found yourself exhausted despite accomplishments or rest, you’re not alone. In this episode of the Life Fulfilled podcast, Host Bernie Borges explores the hidden reasons executives often feel drained and why “burnout” might not be the real culprit. 3 Key takeaways: Burnout vs. Unfulfillment: True burnout is about physical and emotional depletion from sustained stress, whereas unfulfillment stems from a lack of purpose and connection to your values. Rest Isn’t Always the Solution: If you return from a vacation or break and still feel empty, it’s a signal that your challenge isn’t about workload, but meaning. A Simple Reframe: Instead of another checklist, pause and ask yourself, “What did I do this week that felt like the real me?” This honest reflection helps identify the fulfillment gap and guides you forward . Main takeaway:Discovering whether you’re burned out or unfulfilled can change your path. Fulfillment is rebuildable and it starts with recognizing your real needs, not just chasing rest. Watch the Life Fulfilled podcast on YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@lifefulfilledpod⁠ Get the Life Fulfilled newsletter delivered to your inbox weekly. ⁠Subscribe here⁠. Some creators charge for their newsletter. My newsletter is free! Connect with Bernie Borges⁠ LinkedIn⁠ ⁠Instagram ⁠⁠TikTok ⁠⁠Website⁠ ⁠Get in touch with Bernie⁠ to explore hiring him to:  Be your executive coach  Facilitate group coaching for your team  Deliver a team workshop  Be your next keynote speaker at your next event.  A tailored presentation or workshop on ⁠Fulfillment Centric Leadership™⁠. Music attribution: ⁠Old Bossa Twin Musicom⁠ ⁠Suno⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI isn’t just changing what we do at work, it’s shifting how we find meaning in our roles. Bernie explains the “meaning gap,” is what employees can feel when machines take over tasks that once defined their value. Human capacities like discernment, relational intelligence, and purpose-driven judgment are the real differentiators now. As leaders, we need to recognize and celebrate these qualities out loud and often, so our teams know their unique contributions matter more than ever. Let’s lead with fulfillment in the age of AI. Watch this episode on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@lifefulfilledpod/ Here are three key takeaways for leaders navigating the AI era: 1️⃣ Discernment is Irreplaceable: Machines generate outputs, but only humans can apply judgment, context, and experience to decide what’s truly valuable. 2️⃣ Relational Intelligence Matters More Than Ever: Genuine empathy, trust-building, and navigating complex relationships are deeply human capacities that technology can’t replicate. 3️⃣ Purpose-Driven Judgment is Essential: AI optimizes for efficiency, but aligning decisions with values, culture, and ethics remains a uniquely human responsibility. Main takeaway: The true opportunity for leaders in this AI moment is to regularly recognize and celebrate the irreplaceable human capacities within their teams. By doing so, you empower individuals to see their evolving value, ensuring both fulfillment and sustained performance. Get the Life Fulfilled newsletter delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe here. Some creators charge for their newsletter. My newsletter is free! Schedule a complimentary strategy call with Bernie. Click here to schedule it. Connect with Bernie BorgesLinkedInInstagramTikTokWebsite Get in touch with Bernie to explore hiring him to: Be your executive coach Facilitate group coaching for your team Deliver a team workshop Be your next keynote speaker at your next event. A tailored presentation or workshop on Fulfillment Centric Leadership™.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices