Thinking Smart in the AI Era: Calm, Connection, and Community Unite
When the Fog Feels a Little Spooky
There’s something about late October — a chill in the air, shadows stretching long, and whispers of what’s real and what’s imagined.
In business, that eerie uncertainty isn’t limited to Halloween. It shows up in the rush of innovation, the noise of AI headlines, and the quiet question every leader faces: How do we stay human when the pace gets inhuman?
That question lingered over last week’s EVU Live conversations — as we explored how calm, connection, and community might just be the light that cuts through the fog.
Episode 7: The Power of Community in Business Growth
“Business growth doesn’t happen in isolation—it happens in community.”
That line from EVU Live: Ideas That Scale | Episode 7, hosted by Nikki Estes and Kenneth Lang, echoed like a mantra across every story shared.
The two pulled back the curtain on what true business growth looks like when you strip away vanity metrics and focus on relationships that multiply results.
Kenneth shared how even introverted professionals can build trust without burnout — by focusing on alignment over attention. Nikki spoke to the power of nurturing communities that extend far beyond the LinkedIn feed — weekly meetups, quiet support chats, and digital spaces that foster real belonging.
“Community,” Kenneth said, “isn’t a network. It’s a mindset. It’s about building circles that lift, not ladders that isolate.”
The takeaway? Your growth isn’t about visibility alone — it’s about the people who help you stay visible when you can’t do it all yourself.
Because in the end, you don’t just need followers. You need your people.
Episode 8: How to Lead Calm, Compliant, and Scalable Tech Teams
If Episode 7 was about connection, Episode 8 was about composure.
When Devinder Sodhi joined Nikki Estes for EVU Live: Ideas That Scale | Episode 8, the focus shifted from the external to the internal — from community growth to internal systems that sustain it.
“What if calm,” Devinder Sodhi asked, “was your team’s ultimate competitive advantage?”
In a world haunted by chaos and speed, his message landed with quiet power. Drawing from 15+ years in engineering leadership — across Johnson & Johnson, Canfield, and EBOTS — Devinder outlined how regulated industries thrive not through rapid reaction, but through measured clarity.
“When pressure rises,” he explained, “most teams speed up. The best ones slow down—clarify—and scale smarter.”
It’s a principle rooted in what he calls The Calm Advantage — a leadership stance that turns compliance and complexity into innovation and trust.
In moments where anxiety tempts teams to rush, calm becomes a form of courage.
Devinder’s frameworks, discussed in the live session, revealed three core habits of scalable, compliant teams:
- Lead with learning, not fear. “Regulation is not resistance—it’s the rhythm that keeps your system stable.”
- Build systems that breathe. Documentation and education aren’t red tape; they’re the infrastructure of trust.
- Model calm under chaos. Teams don’t emulate processes. They emulate energy. Calm is contagious.
As the conversation deepened, Nikki added, “Calm doesn’t mean slow. It means steady.”
It’s this blend of composure and clarity that gives leaders their real edge in the AI era — not speed, not automation, but the ability to pause with purpose.
Poll Reflection: What Do We Teach the Next Generation?
The week ended with a simple question that stirred deep reflection:
“What’s the most important skill to teach your kids early?”
The highest vote went to “Regulate emotions.”
In an age that prizes performance, this answer felt refreshingly human. Emotional regulation — the ability to lead yourself before you lead others — might be the most underrated leadership skill of all.
It connects directly to the lessons from Devinder and Nikki: calm isn’t passive; it’s powerful. It’s what separates reaction from response, burnout from balance.
Maybe emotional intelligence isn’t just a skill — maybe it’s a strategy.
Community Highlights: Where Leadership Gets Personal
Each week, the EVU community proves that leadership isn’t a theory — it’s lived.
Here’s what our Emerging Voices Unite community taught us this time around:
Wendy Anderson Cocke — When Work and Life Collide
Wendy’s feature on Women in the Arena peeled back the curtain on why women often feel like outsiders in corporate hierarchies. Through her “circle exercise,” she revealed how men and women view work and life differently — and why inclusivity begins with understanding.
“When women feel like outsiders, it’s not about capability — it’s about playing in systems never designed with them in mind.”
Read Wendy’s full insight on how community-driven leadership redefines success in male-dominated spaces.
Loes Pijpers — The Power of Checking In
“Sometimes people don’t go outside. We assume they’re okay.”
Loes’s simple reminder hit a nerve. In business, as in life, community thrives when we notice the quiet ones. Her reflection reminds us that connection isn’t about being loud — it’s about being present.
Explore Loes’s reflection on how empathy reduces isolation and strengthens leadership cultures.
Nikki Estes — Building Visibility Through Systems
“You don’t need 40 hours a week to grow your brand—you just need the right support system.”
From her content playbooks to her Execution Support Teams, Nikki proved that visibility compounds when systems and community work together.
Discover Nikki’s visibility framework and how leaders can scale without burnout.
Robert Jaeger — Servant Leadership in Action
“The higher you move in a company, the less direct impact you can make. So it’s crucial to empower those who can.”
Robert’s leadership philosophy reflects the heartbeat of EVU: empowerment through service. He reminds us that real leaders don’t hold control — they distribute it.
Read Robert’s insight on how servant leadership builds empowered, connected teams.
Devinder Sodhi — Calm in the Chaos
Fresh from Episode 8, Devinder’s reflection on The Calm Advantage took root across the community. “Calm isn’t passive. It’s a powerful stance that turns pressure into progress.”
Read Devinder’s full post on transforming compliance into scalable innovation.
Josh Broward — Solopreneurs and the Community Mindset
Josh reminded us that even solo builders aren’t alone.
“Solopreneurs are growing through community, clarity, and smart systems.”
Read Josh’s insight on how AI and lean systems empower solo business owners to thrive without burnout.
Nikki Estes — The Power of Rejection Reframed
“Conviction doesn’t require perfection — it requires proof.”
Nikki’s second reflection turned rejection into a rallying cry. Leadership, she reminds us, is about holding steady when the yeses are slow to come.
Read Nikki’s full post on reframing rejection into progress.
Devinder Sodhi — The Calm Advantage: Leading Beyond the Bubble
“There’s a bubble that wraps around us sometimes when we devote our time to a field.”
That’s how Devinder Sodhi opened his recent reflection after attending Human+Tech Week — a convergence of design, well-being, and AI that reminded him (and all of us) that the future isn’t just technical; it’s deeply human.
“In the eerie rush of AI, tech, and transformation, the real magic lies in staying grounded.”
Devinder’s insight is a timely reminder that calm isn’t passive — it’s a powerful stance that turns pressure into progress. His perspective bridges leadership and innovation, showing that scalable impact doesn’t come from doing more, but from doing it with clarity.
Read Devinder’s full post on how staying calm becomes a superpower in a high-pressure, high-tech world.
Coming Soon: EVU Live — Episode 9 “Critical Thinking in the AI Era”
Sometimes, even the best-laid plans meet real-world challenges.
Due to unforeseen circumstances caused by a typhoon that impacted our producer’s region, EVU Live: Ideas That Scale | Episode 9 — Critical Thinking in the AI Era: How Coaching Shapes Better Decisions.— originally scheduled for Tuesday at 10 AM ET — has been postponed.
But great conversations don’t disappear. They just take a little longer to arrive.
When it returns, this powerful session featuring Anna Rooney and Nikki Estes will dive into how critical thinking and coaching sharpen decision-making in the AI era. In a world where automation dominates, this discussion will bring the human advantage back into focus — teaching leaders to think clearly, coach intentionally, and lead confidently.
Here’s what to expect when it airs:
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How coaching strengthens reasoning and builds confident decision-makers.
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Strategies for overcoming AI-driven uncertainty with structure and insight.
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Why the leaders of tomorrow will be those who slow down, reflect, and choose with purpose.
Because the future doesn’t belong to those who react the fastest — it belongs to those who think the smartest.
📅 Stay tuned for the rescheduled date for Critical Thinking in the AI Era: How Coaching Shapes Better Decisions
Final Reflection: The Light That Outlasts the Fog
As the Halloween dust settles and November dawns, one truth remains: the scariest thing in leadership isn’t failure — it’s forgetting that you don’t have to lead alone.
Calm leadership, like a lantern in the fog, doesn’t burn brightest — it burns longest. Community keeps it lit.
The world may be rushing into the AI age, but at EVU, we’re slowing down — to think, to connect, to remember that human leadership will always be our greatest advantage.
Let’s finish strong — together. Your voice doesn’t just matter. It sticks.
Stay connected with EVU:
- Follow Emerging Voices Unite to catch weekly challenges, polls, and highlights.
- Subscribe to our Voices in Action newsletter → Subscribe Here
- Catch the replay of Episode 7 of EVU Live: Ideas that Scale last October 21 at 10 AM ET with Kenneth Lang and Nikki Estes.
Episode 7: The Power of Community in Business Growth
- Rewatch Episode 8 of EVU Live: Ideas that Scale last October 28 at 10 AM ET with Devinder Sodhi and Nikki Estes.
Episode 8: How to Lead Calm, Compliant, and Scalable Tech Teams
- Wait for Episode 9 of EVU Live: Ideas that Scale this November with Anna Rooney and Nikki Estes.
Episode 9: Critical Thinking in the AI Era
- Connect with Kenneth Lang on LinkedIn to dive into practical community-building strategies that help professionals expand influence, create connection, and scale authentically.
- Connect with Devinder Sodhi on LinkedIn to explore calm, compliant, and scalable leadership strategies that transform pressure into progress and complexity into clarity.
- Connect with Anna Rooney on LinkedIn to uncover how critical thinking and coaching sharpen decision-making in the AI era and lead to smarter, more confident leadership.
- Connect with Nikki Estes on LinkedIn to learn how authentic leadership, community-driven growth, and creative systems turn ideas into sustainable visibility and impact.