Nicole Nelson — Podcast Guest
Leadership Advisor and Founder of Start Again Stronger. Available for podcast interviews, keynote talks, and conference panels on self-trust, betrayal recovery, and leading through personal crisis.
Top-rated presenter │ HFMA Leadership Conference │ Channel Marketing Association │ Hearst Media Women At Work
Both sides: the boardroom and the breakdown.
Nicole Nelson is the founder of Start Again Stronger and a leadership advisor for professionals navigating betrayal, executive burnout, and high-pressure transitions.
She brings 25 years in operations and people strategy — from Johnson & Johnson’s Leadership Development Program to scaling global teams at Datto across the US, Canada, Australia, and Europe. She designed performance frameworks with 100% manager adoption and reduced attrition by 29% through workforce strategy. She studied at Yale School of Management’s Executive Women’s Leadership Program.
I know both sides: the boardroom and the breakdown.
Nicole speaks from inside the work, not from a textbook. She has navigated losing her mother to pancreatic cancer in 90 days while leading three cross-functional teams. She launched a workforce development initiative that reduced attrition by 29% within months of her cousin being shot and killed. She has lived the territory she now serves.
This means she brings the business acumen a therapist can’t, and the emotional depth a corporate consultant won’t touch.
Topics I speak on.
Below are three topic areas where I bring the deepest intersection of lived experience, intellectual frameworks, and 25 years of work. I’m also open to adapting these or discussing related territory that fits your show’s angle and audience.
01
Self-Trust as a Leadership Capacity
The pattern of high-achieving professionals who give everything to a role, a relationship, or an identity — and then lose it. Drawing on Laura Empson’s “insecure overachiever” research, my own lived experience navigating betrayal and career upheaval, and the integrated practice of strategy plus nervous system regulation as a paired discipline.
02
Leading Through Personal Crisis
What I learned leading three cross-functional teams while my mother died of pancreatic cancer in 90 days. How I launched a workforce development initiative that reduced attrition by 29% within months of my cousin being shot and killed. A practical framework for executives navigating personal crisis without losing their professional footing.
03
How High Achievers Abandon Themselves
The hidden contract perfectionists, people-pleasers, and imposter syndrome sufferers make with their own performance — and why it works professionally while breaking personally. Drawing on Human Design, Emotion Code, somatic practices, and the integrated path back to self-trust.
Also Can Discuss:
Human Design for leaders — how energy type affects leadership style and burnout risk
Emotion Code and Eden Energy Medicine for stuck patterns
Returning to leadership after compressed personal crisis
The insecure overachiever pattern in women leaders specifically
How marriage, divorce, and career upheaval often follow the same emotional script
Where Nicole has spoken before.
FEATURED KEYNOTES & SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
HFMA Leadership Conference, Top-rated presenter, two years running
Channel Marketing Association Conference, Keynote presenter on Mastering The Art Of Give And Take, How To Thrive In High Stress Careers
Hearst Media Women At Work Magazine Power Breakfast Series
AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT METRICS
63% of participants pursue further engagement after Nicole’s sessions
73% of participants request additional materials
100+ presentations delivered worldwide
Audiences ranging from 7 to 170 attendees
How to book Nicole.
To invite Nicole as a guest on your show, use the form below or email directly. Most booking requests get a response within 48 hours.
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