Carmen Ohling, Author at Carmen Ohling, Keynote Speaker + Corporate Life and Leadership Training Coach

Say What You Mean: Why CEOs Must Speak Clearly to Lead Boldly

by Carmen Ohling | Nov 6, 2025 | Uncategorized

As an executive coach, I’ve spent this year in the seats of CEOs, listening, observing, and intervening.

I’ve seen brilliant minds, ambitious visions, and capable teams.

And I’ve seen something else: a gap.

A gap between what is meant and what is said.

Between what could be and what gets executed.

One of the biggest breakdowns? Language.

Not what you say so much as how you say it.

If you’re a CEO or senior executive, here’s the truth:

Your voice is your leadership. How you speak is how you lead.

The Disconnect Between Vision and Voice

Consider “Alex,” CEO of a regional credit union.

At a leadership offsite, he introduced their next-stage goal with a line that sounded like it came straight from a finance deck:

“We want to position ourselves for steady, year-over-year ROA growth while maintaining strong capital ratios and reducing operating expenses.”

Accurate? Sure. Inspiring? Not even close.

Two issues stood out:

“We want to” made it sound like a passive wish, not a firm commitment.
The entire message was framed around financial targets, no vision, no connection to member impact, and no clear call to action for the team.

To the leadership group, it felt like another quarterly update, not a rallying cry.

There was precision, but no passion.

Alignment on metrics, but not on meaning.

So, we rewrote it.

Here’s what Alex said instead:

“By December, we will launch three member-led advisory councils, each responsible for improving a key area of our member experience: lending, digital access, and financial wellness. Each of you will sponsor one. I expect initial results and next-step recommendations in 90 days at our meeting.”

After that meeting, Alex told me:

“The shift was immediate. The team went from quiet head-nods to asking, ‘Can we involve frontline staff in shaping the council charters?’ They suddenly saw where they fit, and what success looked like.”

What changed:

Clarity. The outcome was tangible.
Ownership. Leaders knew what they were accountable for.
Anticipation. They could see the path forward and wanted to contribute.

As many leadership communication experts argue, choosing your words deliberately is not optional; it’s a strategy.

Because if your message doesn’t land, neither will your leadership.

Your Language = Your Leadership Presence

Let’s talk about the three layers of your leadership voice:

1. Internal communication (board, team, members):
If you speak in ambiguous, passive, or too technical language, your team senses it. They don’t know whether to act. They don’t know what you expect.

2. External communication (industry, community, media):
What message are you broadcasting? Are you embedded in jargon, or are you offering clarity and influence that fosters a sense of community?

3. Personal voice (you, in relationship to yourself):
Do you say: “I need to…” “I hope to…” “I’d like to…”

Or do you say: “I will…” “I am…” “Here is what I need from you.”

Over time, your voice builds your self-trust or erodes it.

Make the Shift: Speak Like the Top 1%

Here are three actionable moves for today:

1. Replace passive with active.
Change “We will hopefully…” to “We will.”
Change “I want you to try…” to “I need you to take the lead on…”

2. Ditch the filler words that soften you.
Words like just, maybe, should, could all shrink presence.

One CEO I worked with removed “just” from his vocabulary for two weeks.

He said: “It felt like I was speaking from an entirely different identity.”

3. Frame your message in visceral, human terms rather than abstractions.
Instead of “member-centric digital transformation”, say:

“Every time a member walks in, we want them to leave saying: ‘I’m personally recognized and I belong here.’ That’s what you’re building.”

Research backs this: storytelling and direct language deepen credibility and inspire. (Harvard Business Review+1)

The Bigger Picture: Why This Matters

The pace of change is faster than ever.

Traditional hierarchies are dissolving.

Attention is harder to hold.

And even the most connected teams often feel scattered and distracted.

In that kind of environment, impact becomes fragile.

Trust takes longer to build and is quicker to break.

And influence, the kind that truly moves people, can’t be taken for granted.

You can have the smartest strategy in the room and a highly capable team behind you. But if your voice doesn’t land, if your words don’t spark clarity, conviction, or action, then nothing shifts.

Leadership today demands more than execution. It demands communication that connects.

Final Thought

If you’re a CEO ready to step fully into your voice and your role as a visionary, then your language must evolve.

This isn’t about perfect grammar.

It’s about aligned intent, clear purpose, bold action.

So ask yourself:

What one phrase am I saying today that weakens my presence?
What one sentence could I say instead that galvanizes my team?
How will I show up differently in my next conversation so that people feel moved rather than merely informed?

Want to learn more about speaking like the top 1% to build high-trust communication and grow your influence? Connect with us HERE.

October Learnings + Reflections

by Carmen Ohling | Nov 2, 2025 | Uncategorized

3 Lessons We’re Carrying Forward
1. Peak performance while traveling demands structure and boundaries.
Operating across multiple time zones is no small feat. What I’ve learned and shared with the team is that consistency, not circumstance, determines energy. This month, I doubled down on discipline and planning, keeping my sleep and eating aligned with my Miami Beach schedule and protecting my recovery time through meditation, breathwork, and sauna sessions. Yes, that means 7:30 PM bedtimes and 4:00 AM mornings on the West Coast. Excellence requires both boundaries and execution.

2. Hire people who are better than you and celebrate it.
When your team’s brilliance surpasses yours in specific areas, let it expand you, not shrink you. True leadership is the ability to shift from ego to elevation. I’ve been reminded this month that diverse gifts, lived experiences, and ways of thinking create a culture of excellence. Your strength as a leader grows when you allow others to shine in theirs.

3. Quality relationships are the foundational blueprint for a meaningful life.
The most significant moments this month didn’t happen on a stage or in a boardroom; they happened in everyday conversations that deepened trust, reminded me what matters, and re-anchored me in connection. I was reminded that love, friendship, and belonging often require us to be the one. It requires us to be the one to reach out, to listen, to forgive, or to show up even when it feels uncomfortable or inconvenient.

Reflections as We Begin a New Month

Look up.

This phrase is engraved on the inside of my glasses as a daily reminder. Because if we’re honest, most of us are moving too fast to notice the miracles happening in real time.

When we get stuck in “business as usual,” success becomes a checklist, not an experience. We stop noticing beauty, breakthroughs, and breathtaking moments. I’ve found myself in this place too, realizing that my own drive sometimes crowds out margin and creativity.

This month, I’m recommitting to looking up more. From my phone. From my to-do list. From the internal noise that says I must “earn” rest. The truth for peak performance? Rest isn’t earned, it’s required. And when we pause to look up, we find that the best things are often right in front of us.

October Impact

# of Leaders significantly impacted through our work: 164

We’re tracking this number monthly, not for vanity metrics, but as a reminder of the ripple effect created when we choose to live and lead from vision. Every interaction, workshop, keynote, and coaching conversation contributes to something bigger, evidence of what happens when purpose drives performance.

Our Vision: Be the one to show the world how truly great life can be.

Our Mission: Significantly impact the lives of over 1 million leaders by amplifying their gifts, voices, lives, and businesses through high-level collaboration, personal growth, and learning.

This month’s 164 leaders are part of that mission in motion, a living example of what it means to lead Above the Line, to lift others higher, and to embody what “Amplified Life” truly means.

Want to join us? Click HERE to tell us about your team, and we’ll reach out to learn more!

Download the October Reflection Template → Click HERE to download.

What if “busy” is just a feeling?

by Carmen Ohling | Oct 30, 2025 | Uncategorized

Last week, flying from Miami to the West Coast, I caught myself in an old nervous system pattern, the one that whispers, “You have so much to do.”

It’s subtle, but it can creep up quickly, and it’s powerful. That thought immediately created an anxious energy inside me, narrowing my focus and shrinking my creativity and effectiveness. It reminded me how fast “I have a lot on my plate” can morph into “I am overwhelmed.”

The truth?
I didn’t have more to do than usual.
I was just feeling busy.

That feeling, for me, is years of conditioning I’ve worked hard to break—the chronic, daily overactivation of my nervous system, coupled with the pressure I put on myself and the desire to be accepted and approved. Maybe you can relate. It’s built in you; it’s for sure built in me, in my subconscious.

And left unchecked, even after all the work I’ve done to unwind that old patterned conditioning, it steals the very things that make me effective as a leader: clarity, innovation, calm, and presence.

Yet I also know I’ve built new neuropathways. I’ve built disciplines, systems, and standards that drive my life and leadership. For years, when this feeling would arise, I’d tell myself: “There is plenty of time and money for everything.”

Simple, and wildly effective. It shifts me from scarcity (not enough time, money, energy, staff) to grounded, focused attention.

So last week on the plane, I took four deep breaths, longer exhales than inhales, and did three things:

Gratitude: I thanked God for the opportunities He’s blessed us with, me, my husband, and our team at The Amplified Life Company, and smiled at the impact we’re making together.
Brain dump → plan: I emptied every to-do into my journal, then integrated it into my calendar and Asana based on the work only I can do, my 20%.
Single-task focus: I returned to the one thing right in front of me.

I felt deep appreciation that I recognized that old “busy” feeling quickly and realigned.

The truth that most people miss is that we toss around the phrase, “I’ve just been so busy.”

But busy isn’t a fact, it’s a state of mind. It’s how your nervous system interprets motion without meaning, effort without alignment, or urgency without clarity.

You can run a company, lead a team, train for a marathon, parent, and travel weekly and not feel busy. You can also have one meeting on your calendar and feel overwhelmed.

Because busyness isn’t what’s on your plate, it’s how you’re holding it.

When you’re busy, your attention is fragmented. You’re scanning, reacting, juggling.
When you’re focused, you’re present. You’re doing the next right thing with full attention and grounded energy.

That’s the shift: chaotic motion → conscious momentum.

When that internal buzz of “I don’t have enough time” shows up, try this three-question reset:

What’s actually true right now? (Not the story, the facts.)
What’s the next most important thing? (Not ten things, the next thing.)
Can I do it calmly, not urgently? (Fast is fine; frantic is optional.)

Or pair it with my go-to affirmation + four deep breaths:
“There’s plenty of time and money for everything.”

Do this and watch how fast “busy” dissolves into clarity.

High achievers don’t need more hours. We need more presence in the hours we already have.

Leaders who live and lead Above the Line aren’t the ones who do the most, they’re the ones who do what matters most without losing themselves in the process.

So today, instead of saying “I’m busy,” try:
“I’m focused.”
“I’m present.”
“I’m doing the next right thing.”

When you lead from that place, your schedule doesn’t shrink; your capacity expands.

What’s your go-to strategy to let go of busyness and return to clarity?

Drop it in the comments or email me at hello@carmenohling.com. I’d love to hear it and share a few back with the community.

What If Happiness Isn’t Something to Chase?

by Carmen Ohling | Oct 23, 2025 | Uncategorized

Why redefining success might be the most strategic leadership move you’ll ever make.

I sat down on the tall brown stool on my balcony in Miami Beach, setting my journal, pen, coffee, and water gently on the table in front of me. I took a deep breath, felt my shoulders drop, and looked up. The early morning sun had just started illuminating the tops of the deep green palm trees. The ocean shimmered in the distance, calm and endless.

In that moment, no milestones reached for the day, no boxes checked on the to-do list, yet I felt fully alive.

Not because I had accomplished anything.

But because I had finally slowed down long enough to notice.

And I realized: This is happiness. Not the version we’re sold based on success, acquisition, or approval, but a state that’s always available, if we’re present enough to choose it.

How Do You Define Happiness?

At a recent keynote, Harvard professor and best-selling author Arthur Brooks (co-author of Build the Life You Want with Oprah) offered a deceptively simple formula for happiness:

“The happiest people have, in both balance and abundance, three things: enjoyment, satisfaction, and meaning.”

No mention of titles. No need for a net worth benchmark. No endless list of goals.

Brooks calls these the macronutrients of happiness, essential, non-negotiable, and nourishing for the long game of life and leadership:

Enjoyment is not just fleeting pleasure, but shared joy. Think laughter over a meal, meaningful conversation, or a team win celebrated together.
Satisfaction comes from effort and perseverance. It’s the reward of discipline and delayed gratification. But it’s also fleeting, unless we pause to acknowledge it.
Meaning is your internal compass. It’s the “why” behind your work and your life. The story you’re telling about who you are and what matters most.

Brooks also identifies four pillars of a meaningful life:

Faith. Family. Friendship. Work.

Faith doesn’t have to be religious; it can be trust in something bigger than yourself. Nature. Service. Purpose.

And then he dropped this truth bomb:

“Your life is your enterprise, and you are the founder and CEO. Love and happiness are your currency. Do you know how to accumulate more of them?”

For years, I was the high-functioning achiever. Maybe you are, too.

Chasing the next thing. Then the next. Then the next.

Each milestone moved the goalpost. Rest, play, or even celebration? It was all postponed because I hadn’t “earned it” yet. And every time I hit a goal, I raised the bar again, thinking this time the satisfaction would last.

But it never did.

It wasn’t until I slowed down, really slowed down, that I realized:

I had been bargaining with my happiness.

I believed I could buy it with productivity, perfection, or performance. But happiness isn’t a transaction. It’s a practice, simply because it’s always available.

A New Way to Measure Success (That Actually Creates It)

Today, I measure success differently. By what I feel, and by what I help others feel.

Personally: Did I wake up feeling energized and enthusiastic for the day ahead?
Professionally: Am I doing meaningful work I love, with people who I enjoy and respect deeply, who are also lit up by what they do, and together, are we making a real impact in the lives of leaders?

If the answer is yes, I know we are building something special, sustainable, and significantly impactful.

This isn’t about rejecting ambition. It’s about redefining it.

Success, for me, now includes:

Solitude that restores
Discipline that focuses
Vision that inspires
Connection that energizes
Self-leadership that sustains

It’s building the internal landscape of a fulfilling life, one that you don’t have to escape from, numb out in, or earn back with hustle culture burnout.

If you’re a CEO, executive, founder, or changemaker, here’s the reality:

Your inner life drives your outer results.

The energy you bring into a room, your presence, your clarity, your groundedness. That’s what sets the tone. Teams don’t just follow what you say. They mirror what you model.

That’s why the leaders we coach aren’t just refining strategy, they’re redefining identity.

Because leadership isn’t just about what you do.
It’s about who you’re becoming in the process.

If this resonates, here are 3 questions to reflect on this week:

When do I feel most alive in my day? Can I create more space for that feeling?
What am I chasing right now that’s costing me joy?
How would I lead differently if I believed happiness was the path, not the reward?

Small, consistent shifts = Big results.

So I’ll leave you with the question I started with:

What if happiness isn’t something to chase?

What if it’s something you practice, moment by moment, breath by breath?

I’d love to hear what this sparked for you. Drop a comment below or email me directly at carmen@carmenohling.com

Let’s stop postponing peace.
Let’s build leadership legacies that feel as good on the inside as they look on paper.

Why JPMorgan’s Next CEO Must Be a Coach

by Carmen Ohling | Oct 16, 2025 | Uncategorized

I spent 16 years inside JPMorgan. I saw the culture Jamie Dimon built, and I met him a few times. One of those moments that stuck with me wasn’t a strategy session or a speech.

It was Jamie walking the floor in dad jeans and New Balance sneakers. No flash. No performance. Just a leader who was direct, visionary, no-BS, accountable, and, above all, an encourager.

That’s leadership.

And if you read his latest 2025 Shareholder Letter, you see why JPMorgan Chase is still at the top: he keeps hammering on the basics that most leaders ignore. Complacency, arrogance, bureaucracy, and BS kill companies. He says it outright. He pushes leaders to weed out bureaucracy every day, to run leaner, to listen harder, and to stay humble.

He told his executives, “It’s your job to coach. Don’t outsource it.”

That’s the truth most organizations miss. Titles don’t build culture. Coaching does. Not “rah rah” pep talks but the kind of coaching that holds people accountable, builds trust, and inspires vision.

JPMorgan Chase will need its next CEO to be that kind of leader.

And Dimon’s not just saying it in his letter. In his recent Fortune interview, he went further. He said the next CEO cannot simply be the “smartest in the room.” Instead, they need to be the pied piper. Someone who can rally people forward, motivate through presence, and build a culture of trust from the inside out.

That’s how JPMorgan stays not just relevant, but dominant, not just for the next five years, but for the next century.

How We Do This at The Amplified Life Co.

This is exactly the kind of leadership shift we help organizations make every day. We take the principles Jamie Dimon is pointing to, coach, motivator, visionary, and make them practical, embodied, and real for leaders and teams.

Here’s what we specifically do:

Vision Communication Training → Teach leaders to speak with clarity, conviction, and charisma so their vision lands with employees, boards, and stakeholders.
Thought Leadership Labs → Facilitate experiential sessions where leaders practice being bold, uncomfortable, and creative, not just logical.
Above-the-Line Coaching → Show executives how to coach their own teams with presence and purpose instead of outsourcing it.
Culture Activation Workshops → Transform company values from words on a wall into behaviors people live and breathe every day.

How We’ve Helped Before

We’ve seen firsthand how these shifts change organizations:

Helped a regional financial institution transform its board presentations from dry data dumps into visionary storytelling that earned trust and unity.
Worked with a city government leadership team to move from reactive, siloed communication to collaborative, community-centered leadership.
Partnered with a mission-driven nonprofit to teach executives how to embody their values on stage, leading to record fundraising and renewed staff engagement.

Who We Help Most

We specialize in leaders and organizations who are ready to be bold and elevate beyond “business as usual”:

Regional financial institutions that want to stay relevant, attract talent, and inspire their members.
City and state governments need leaders to speak with clarity and vision in high-pressure environments.
Mission-driven organizations that want to embody their values so clearly that others can’t help but rally behind them.

The Takeaway

What Jamie Dimon knows, and what most leaders are still waking up to, is that the future belongs to coaches, not managers or in-the-moment performers. Leaders who build trust. Leaders who can speak a vision so clearly that people don’t just follow, they join.

That’s how JPMorgan Chase will write its next chapter.

And it’s how your organization can, too.

Your Next Move

If the next CEO of JPMorgan must be a coach to keep the #1 bank in the world at the top, what does that say about your own leadership?

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