What Leaders Get Wrong About External Influence w/ Carlee Wolfe

You can be the most brilliant person in the room and still be invisible. Let’s fix that.

In this episode, I sit down with Carlee Wolfe, a global talent and leadership executive who has spent her career at the intersection of leadership, influence, and the future of work. Carlee leads global integrated talent management at Hyatt Hotels Corporation and has held leadership roles with Under Armour and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Her work focuses on how talent systems — performance, development, succession, and mobility — shape trust, credibility, and reputation in an AI-accelerated world.

This conversation goes deep on what it actually takes to build external credibility as a leader, why most technical leaders are leaving influence on the table, and what Carlee has learned from her own journey of showing up publicly. Let’s keep it real: having the expertise is not enough. The leaders who get picked, promoted, and trusted externally are the ones who’ve figured out how to make their point of view visible.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

Why staying silent — even inside your own organization — can make you look like a doer instead of a strategist, and how to change that

The difference between being a corporate branded parrot and showing up as a leader with a real point of view

How to start building your external presence in 30 days, even if you have no idea where to begin

What unintentional behaviors are quietly eroding trust in your external moments — and how to recover when things go wrong

Resources Mentioned:

Connect with Carlee on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carleeawolfe/

Your Next Steps:

Access the white paper: External Influence: The Currency Every Leader Must Carry. https://externalinfluence.us