Influential Women Podcast New Episode on Redefining Leadership: Why Empathy and Authenticity Are Competitive Advantages

Sarah Burlew reveals how she built an Inc. 5000 consulting firm centered on joy, authenticity, and psychological safety.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL, UNITED STATES, April 17, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Influential Women Podcast recently released a new episode featuring Sarah Burlew, founder and CEO of Omlie, an award-winning management consulting firm.

In this inspiring conversation, Burlew reveals how she walked away from a stable career during the pandemic and built a $1.9 million company in year one. She did so by doing something radical: making joy, empathy, and authenticity core business strategies. The episode, titled "Redefining Leadership: Why Empathy and Authenticity Are Competitive Advantages," explores what happens when you build a company intentionally designed for people, not for efficiency metrics from the 1800s.

Burlew explains the moment she hit a breaking point. She was spending her days delivering messages from leaders she didn't believe in. She was in the middle management layer during a pandemic, and she realized that the biggest gap in how we work wasn't strategy or innovation. It was humanity. Organizations were missing joy, vulnerability, and authenticity.

She left and started Omlie with a clear mission: build a consulting firm that challenges everything we think we know about how organizations should operate during a pandemic, when everyone said it was the worst time to take risks.

"Work was built 175 years ago to make the Model T as efficient as possible," says Burlew. "But we're knowledge workers. Driving to that kind of efficiency doesn't make us more creative or joyful. It's rare to see the word joy when you're talking about business. But that's exactly what organizations are starved for."

Within one year, she hit $1.9 million in revenue. Someone told her she didn't understand her market value. She proved them profoundly wrong. Now, just a few years later, Omlie has earned a place on the Inc. 5000 list, been recognized as a Global Top 100 Inspiring Workplace, and Burlew has been named a Most Admired CEO. All while centering the very things most businesses ignore: people, culture, and authenticity.

Burlew leads with values even when it costs her business. She chooses clients and partnerships that align with her vision, even when the money would be easy.

"Leading with values costs me some opportunities. That's a price I'm willing to pay because we're not for everybody and everybody's not for us. Choose integrity over convenience, especially when it's hardest," she says.

Burlew proves that different works. That joy is profitable. That empathy scales. That authenticity is strength, not liability. And she does this not from theory, but from lived experience.

This episode speaks to anyone who's ever wondered if there's a better way to work. Anyone who's felt the disconnect between company values and lived reality, who's considered a major pivot but feared it wasn't the right time, or who's been told they don't understand their own worth. Burlew’s story proves it's possible to build differently.

About Influential Women

The Influential Women Podcast features honest, thoughtful conversations with women shaping their industries and building meaningful careers. Produced by Influential Women, a media platform with over 80,000 followers on LinkedIn and the publisher of Influential Women Magazine, the podcast goes beyond titles to explore the real stories behind leadership and impact. Each episode highlights the lessons, challenges, and pivotal moments that have shaped these women's journeys across business, leadership, and creative fields.

The episode is available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major podcast platforms.

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