When companies feel the pressure to hit revenue growth goals, leadership often finds itself at a crossroads: deliver short-term results or focus on building long-term team trust and accountability. But what if the two aren’t at odds? In today’s world of hybrid work, top talent has endless opportunities—and keeping them engaged, productive, and motivated requires more than quotas and KPIs. It requires leadership that blends accountability with empathy.
Consistent, empathetic leadership isn’t about being “soft”—it’s about making the work personal, holding individuals to clear performance expectations, and building an environment where high performers thrive. Addressing underperformance, fostering trust, and connecting a team member’s personal goals to business outcomes are all part of creating a winning culture. The cost of losing top talent—financially and culturally—can be staggering, and smart leaders understand that retaining top performers and reducing friction in their roles is critical to achieving growth.
Helen Fanucci, a seasoned leader with over 25 years of experience managing high-performing sales teams at tech giants like Microsoft, Apple, and IBM, joins us to share the practical strategies behind empathetic leadership. From setting outcome-based performance expectations to managing difficult conversations with underperformers and high achievers alike, Helen’s approach turns leadership theory into actionable practices. Tune in to hear how clear communication, accountability, and care can drive stronger team performance—and measurable revenue impact.
Key Moments in this episode:
0:00 – Intro
3:10 – Empathetic Leadership: what it is, and the statistics behind how it drives growth at enterprise organizations
9:54 – How to measure the growth impact of 1:1 meetings with your sales teams
17:30 – Caring vs Accountability: how the most effective leaders use the two hand in hand
23:10 – Performance improvement plans, outcome-based performance metrics, and their impact on team culture
32:44 – Do's and Don'ts when taking on a new team as a new–or seasoned–leader
39:04 – Modeling: how leadership behavior impacts new acquisition and customer retention
46:00 – Where leadership extends beyond managing performance and hitting quarterly goals in enterprise sales
53:12 – Wrap up: the importance of top-up and bottom-down communication
Helen Fanucci is the Founder and CEO of PipelinePower.AI, which helps B2B companies accelerate revenue growth utilizing AI and cutting edge B2B capabilities. Recognized internationally, she frequently speaks on AI-driven strategy, sales leadership, and building high-performance teams.
She is the best-selling author of Love Your Team, A Survival Guide for Sales Managers in a Hybrid World. As an MIT-trained engineer she developed the Love Your Team system of management over a 25-year career on the front lines at top tech companies including Apple, Sun Microsystems, IBM, and Microsoft. Helen has built and led high-performing sales teams responsible for billions in revenue.
As an advocate for female entrepreneurs, she invests in early-stage, female-founded companies and serves as a Limited Partner in venture firms such as Emmeline, SoGal, and Swizzle Ventures. Helen is an Associate Producer of the award-winning documentary Show Her the Money, which highlights the fact that female entrepreneurs receive only 2% of the funding despite having a stronger track record of results.
Helen serves on the board of directors of Legacy Executive Club, a membership organization focused on uplifting careers and enriching lives.
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