High Octane Leadership

When Abha Bowers became CEO of Walk West, her team started treating her a little bit differently because she's now the boss. And she wondered - since she doesn't look like most CEOs, she hugs way more than other CEOs, she's a feeler, a laugher, an empath - would she have to change her leadership style? Could she truly ever be effective as a leader?

So she hired someone who's been there, Executive Coach Ravila Gupta. Together they worked on vulnerability, navigating being the only one in the room, breaking the glass ceiling, the River of Life, and how to become a transformative leader.

Today Donald talks to both women about how Executive Coaching has advanced their careers.

Show Notes

When Abha Bowers became CEO of Walk West, her team started treating her a little bit differently because she's now the boss. And she wondered - since she doesn't look like most CEOs, she hugs way more than other CEOs, she's a feeler, a laugher, an empath - would she have to change her leadership style?  Could she truly ever be effective as a leader?

So she hired someone who's been there, Executive Coach Ravila Gupta. Together they worked on vulnerability, navigating being the only one in the room, breaking the glass ceiling, the River of Life, and how to become a transformative leader.

Today Donald talks to both women about how Executive Coaching has advanced their careers.

Abha Bowers is the CEO of Walk West, Certified Nutritionist and Personal Trainer.
Ravila Gupta is an Executive Coach and CEO of the Bagchi Group.


High Octane Leadership is hosted by The Diversity Movement CEO and executive coach Donald Thompson and is a production of Earfluence.

Order UNDERESTIMATED: A CEO’S UNLIKELY PATH TO SUCCESS, by Donald Thompson.

What is High Octane Leadership?

Future-proof your leadership with High Octane Leadership, a place where business leaders (whether by title or aspiration) share cheat codes for unlocking workplace excellence, lessons learned along the way, and insider tips for future generations of next-level professionals.

With two decades of experience leading and growing multi-million dollar firms, host Donald Thompson is a serial entrepreneur and investor who worked his way to success with hustle and humility. He’s an expert in goal achievement, influencing company culture, and driving exponential growth. A Certified Diversity Executive, Donald is also CEO and co-founder of The Diversity Movement, a multi award-winning product-driven consultancy which offers an employee-experience product suite to personalize diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) through data, technology, and expert-curated content.

Each week on The Donald Thompson Podcast, he talks leadership, competitive learning, diversity and inclusion, and business growth through personal development with guests who are shaping the future of work. Find him on Linkedin, and listen here to learn how you can become future-proof too.