Listen to the full episode of The Joy CEO Podcast with Jenifer Namestka

→ Listen on Apple
→ Listen on Spotify

📲 Follow Jenifer on LinkedIn at JD Namestka

🌐 Learn more about AVO Solutions at avoinc.com

What does it really take to pivot from corporate life to building a mission-driven business...

🎧 Listen to Episode 4: Why I Built My Leadership Brand Around JOY (And You Should Too)

Listen on Apple Podcasts >

Listen on Spotify >

Let’s get one thing straight:

Joy isn’t cute.

It’s not soft.

And it’s definitely not a luxury.

It’s strategy.

When I walked away from my corporate career i...

🎧 Listen to Episode 3: The Soft Skills That Shape Strong Leaders with Dr. Susan Dean

Listen on Apple Podcasts >

Listen on Spotify >

When Dr. Susan Dean talks about leadership, you don’t just hear theory. You feel lived experience.

She’s stood in the sweltering heat picking bad blueberries off...

🎧 Listen to Episode 1: How to Lead with Joy, Grace, and Creative Impact: Lessons from Amazon Leader Justin Honaman

Listen on Apple Podcasts >

Listen on Spotify > 

What does it look like to lead with heart in high-performance environments—and still drive results...

🎧 Listen to Episode 2: What I’d Tell My 25-Year-Old Self About Career, Control & Joy

Listen on Apple Podcasts > 

Listen on Spotify >

If I could go back and talk to my 25-year-old self—the one with fear in her chest and ambition on her back—I wouldn’t give her a checklist.

I’d give her permiss...

I was 12 years old.
Fifth grade.
And someone suggested I skip a grade.

It felt like a big deal.
A recognition of something inside me—potential, readiness, maybe even brilliance.
But my mother said no.

She had her reasons, and in hindsight, they were good ones:
I was young for my grade.
The social reperc...

Over the past several months, I’ve been speaking inside some of the world’s most recognizable brands —from Harvard, to Fortune 500 companies like Kraft Heinz, Campbells, Haleon and Outback Steakhouse—talking to executives who are carrying tremendous responsibility. These are people who have checked ...

Last week, I had a full-circle moment.

I was invited to speak to a team at Campbell’s—a company that shaped so much of my corporate journey. I spent three years there, building brands, leading teams, and even co-creating a mentoring program that’s still going strong, serving six hundred associates....

If I’m being honest, I’ve wanted to launch a podcast for a long time.

But I hesitated.

The usual voices crept in—What if no one listens? Can I really do this? Aren’t there already a million podcasts out there?

And then one day, I got clear:
If even one person hears an episode that shifts somethin...

Somewhere along the way, we got the message that speaking up was dangerous.

Not overtly, of course. No one stood at a podium and said, “Be quiet if you want to be taken seriously.” But we learned through subtle glances, passed-over promotions, and the hush that follows when a woman says what everyo...

There’s a difference between momentum and a milestone.

One keeps you moving.

The other stops you in your tracks—and changes you.

That’s what a loud win feels like.

It’s not just something that happens to you.

It’s something that rewrites you.

I just returned from speaking at Harvard.
(Even typ...

You’re a high achiever.

You move fast. You carry a lot. You lead like it’s second nature.

And still, you often wonder:

“What did I even do this month?”

That’s not because you’re unfocused. It’s because when you’re operating at your level—when excellence is your norm—you rarely pause to recognize...