S2E352 Lead to Win with Carla Harris

It's a Good Life

Brian Buffini

Business, Unknown, Entrepreneurship, Life, Good, Entrepreneur, Coaching

4.4 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 2 December 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Carla Harris started her extraordinary career on Wall Street in 1987 – right before the financial markets crashed that fall. In the ensuing nearly 40 years, she persevered through and overcame challenges, rising to the top leadership echelons. Now the Vice Chairman of Wealth Management and Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley, Carla is also a keynote speaker and author, generously with sharing with others insights into how to be a great executive that leads with courage, clarity and humility. You’ll also hear the surprising story of how she incorporates her lifelong love of gospel music into her busy schedule now and why she feels that in non-negotiable.

YOU WILL LEARN:

How giving up the need to do it all yourself will free you to do what you and only you can do best.
How the combination of believing in who you truly are — along with a healthy dose of courage — can help you reach your dreams and goals.
The importance of focusing on what you know to be true, instead of thinking about what may or may not happen, and what others may be thinking.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Lead to Win: How to Be a Powerful, Impactful, Influential Leader in Any Environment by Carla Harris

NOTEWORTHY QUOTES FROM THIS EPISODE:

“I want to as a leader, make people feel seen, make them feel like they're so important that they're the only person in the room.” — Carla Harris

“If you’re going to bother to do anything, deliver excellence. Sometimes your best won’t be enough, but you can always know you left it all on the floor.” – Carla Harris

“Serve, don’t sell. If you serve people well, you’ll have all the business you could ever want.” – Carla Harris

“Your people should never have to wonder where they stand with you. Be straight, be transparent, and close the loop every time.” – Carla Harris

“I say, but for the grace of God, I would not be sitting where I'm sitting today. And part of that grace was also not letting me focus on what wasn't happening or what somebody else must be thinking.” — Carla Harris

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to It's a Good Life, the podcast for entrepreneurs, where it's all about growing yourself and your business.
0:09.6	Here's your host, founder of America's largest business coaching company, Brian Bafini.
0:17.2	Well, the top of the morning to you, and welcome to It's a Good Life.
0:21.2	I often say I have a special guest today, but I don't know how to describe this one.
0:25.2	Maybe extra special?
0:26.4	I don't know what to say.
0:28.0	How about superstar special?
0:29.7	How about my girl?
0:31.6	She is awesome, okay?
0:34.4	Carla Harris has spoken at our peak experience and leadership this year. We've had 2,500 events in our career.
0:41.5	And we've had presidents of companies, movie stars, all the major sports figures, the first man on the moon, the last man on the moon.
0:50.8	And the guy who didn't get to the moon and Jim Lovell. We have never had a response
0:55.4	to a speaker like we've had to Carla Harris. And the reason is, not only because she's this
1:01.1	fabulous woman with this incredible resume as a market maker in New York, like an incredible
1:08.2	performer and Carnegie Hall and has a big Carnegie Hall presentation
1:12.9	coming up here right the beginning of December. But she has so much applied wisdom and so much
1:19.7	applied insight. And we've done great sessions with Carla, but then we've done Q&A sessions
1:24.3	where she sat there in front of thousands of people and answer their questions and is the best Q&A sessions I've ever been a part of because she has so much experience and so much wisdom and she has been there and done that. Carla, I know it's always hard to live up to a big old buildup like this, but I just want to say thank you. You've been a blessing to me and our clients this year. And I'm just so excited to bring you to our podcast audience and get you exposed to as many people as I can. Well, thank you so much, Brian. And thank you for having me at your amazing events as well as on this podcast. It is a privilege and an honor, as I have said before. You know, a lot of people write books. You know, it's interesting to me, a lot of people write books on leadership specifically. And then I find out that when I meet the person, talk to the person, good insight, good, good information, but they don't really lead many people. In Lead to Win, you have been a leader for decades and you have great insight. It has helped me as a leader. It's helped me to step more into my role
2:18.9	as a leader, but also in the dynamics of you make it clear that everyone's in leadership. And, you know,
2:24.7	we all know the commercials like, you have potential and you have potential and you have potential,
2:28.9	and you have potential, right? The Pinocchio knows. So people say that stuff, but I'd love you to kind of go
2:33.7	back to your leadership journey,
	...

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