Angelique Liles, Aspire Professional Development, on Delegating Without Micromanaging and Becoming a Hero Maker (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 977)
On this episode of North Fulton Business Radio, host John Ray welcomes Angelique Liles, founder of Aspire Professional Development and author of Stick Figure Leadership: Turning Complex Concepts into Simple, Actionable Leadership. Angelique spent eighteen years in leadership roles at a large insurance carrier before opening her own coaching practice in 2021, and she now works with leaders and teams on delegating without micromanaging and building healthier workplace cultures.
Angelique tells the story behind her book’s title, tracing it back to a leadership workshop in Kenya where she was asked, with almost no notice, to stretch a one-hour talk into four hours for more than forty people. With no slides and no drawing skill to speak of, she started sketching stick figures on a whiteboard to explain her ideas, and the approach stuck. She and John also dig into what she calls the “leadership loop,” the difference between knowing about people and truly knowing them, and why real delegation takes a process and a cadence rather than a hero moment or a hand-off.
John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. The show is produced by John Ray and North Fulton Business Radio, LLC, an affiliate of Business RadioX®, and is recorded inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.
Key Takeaways from This Episode
- Angelique breaks down what separates real delegation from micromanaging and from simply “dumping” a project on someone
- Her book, Stick Figure Leadership, grew out of an unplanned four-hour leadership talk in Kenya where she started drawing stick figures because she had no slides and no drawing skill
- Leaders often fail when they try to duplicate themselves instead of developing each person’s own strengths
- The “leadership loop” means adjusting between leading from the front, the middle, or behind based on what each person needs in the moment
Topics Discussed in this Episode
00:20 John Ray introduces the show and guest Angelique Liles
02:00 How Angelique helps leaders lead with clarity, confidence, and care
02:31 From insurance sales to eighteen years in leadership
04:28 Launching Aspire Professional Development in 2021
04:52 The biggest leadership problems Angelique sees today
08:11 A comparison to a great athlete who struggles to coach
10:11 The “leadership loop” and adapting style to each person
15:07 John introduces Angelique’s book, Stick Figure Leadership
15:37 The story behind the book’s title, set in Kenya
19:38 The difference between being a “hero” and a “hero maker”
21:34 Advice for leaders who feel they can’t delegate under pressure
25:50 Warning signs a leader needs coaching
27:04 How Angelique works with individuals and teams
28:17 A client success story
30:14 How listeners can connect with Angelique
Angelique Liles, Executive Coach/Author/Speaker, Aspire Professional Development
Angelique Liles is an executive coach, Gallup Certified Strengths coach, author, and founder of Aspire Professional Development. After 18 years in the insurance industry, most of them in leadership and management roles, she now helps leaders and teams strengthen communication, clarify goals, and use practical leadership tools to build healthier cultures, stronger engagement, and more productive workplaces.
Angelique is the author of Stick Figure Leadership: Turning Complex Concepts into Simple, Actionable Leadership.
Aspire Professional Development
At Aspire Professional Development, Angelique Liles helps leaders move beyond managing tasks and lead people with greater clarity, confidence, and care. Through coaching, strengths-based development, and team workshops, she helps leaders and teams communicate more effectively, work together more efficiently, and build healthy, sustainable workplace cultures.
Renasant Bank supports North Fulton Business Radio
Renasant Bank has humble roots, having started in 1904 as a $100,000 bank located in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has grown into one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions, boasting over $26 billion in assets and more than 280 offices offering banking, lending, wealth management, and financial services throughout the region. All of Renasant’s success stems from the commitment of each banker to invest in the communities they serve, which in turn helps them better understand the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, their banking professionals understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.
Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | X (Twitter) | YouTube
Beyond Computer Solutions supports North Fulton Business Radio
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About North Fulton Business Radio and host John Ray
Approaching 1,000 episodes and having featured over 1,400 guests, North Fulton Business Radio is the longest-running podcast in the North Fulton area, covering business in our community like no one else. We are the undisputed “Voice of Business” in North Fulton!
The show invites a diverse range of business, non-profit, and community leaders to share their significant contributions to their respective markets, communities, and professions. There is no discrimination based on company size, and there is never any “pay to play.” North Fulton Business Radio supports and celebrates businesses by sharing positive stories that traditional media ignore. Some media lean left. Some media lean right. We lean business.
John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. John and the team at North Fulton Business Radio, LLC, an affiliate of Business RadioX®, produce the show, which is recorded inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.
The studio is located at 275 South Main Street, Alpharetta, GA 30009.
You can find the entire archive of shows by following this link. The show is accessible on all major podcast apps, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, and many others.
John Ray also operates his own business advisory practice. John’s services include advising solopreneurs and small professional services firms on their value, their positioning and business development, and their pricing. His clients are professionals who are selling their expertise, such as consultants, coaches, attorneys, CPAs, accountants, bookkeepers, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.
John is the author of the five-star-rated book The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices, praised by readers for its practical insights on raising confidence, value, and prices.
