Don’t Ask, Don’t Get: Patti Humble on Career Courage, Strategy, and Rewiring What’s Next

About this Episode

This episode is the second in a special FEI Podcast series spotlighting past speakers from Financial Executives International’s ICONS: Leaders in Finance event – designed to build momentum toward ICONS 2026.

Heather Cole, Executive Coach and Business Analytics Advisor at Lodestar Solutions, Inc., interviews Patti Humble, former Chief Accounting Officer at UPS, Institute of Management Accountants board member, and Golden Seeds investor.

Patti reframes careers as “jungle gyms, not ladders,” sharing the pivotal moment when she walked into her leader’s office and asked for a promotion—only to learn she wasn’t even being considered. That courageous ask set off a chain reaction that ultimately led her to the C-suite.

Together, Heather and Patti explore:

Why “don’t ask, don’t get” is a leadership strategy, not a slogan

How finance leaders earn influence by shifting from black-and-white answers to business-shaping questions

What real transformation leadership requires: hearts, minds, and momentum—not just project plans

The power of building an external network to accelerate decisions and reduce friction

Patti’s next chapter as a board-ready leader and angel investor supporting women-led startups through Golden Seeds

If you’ve ever assumed that hard work alone would get you noticed, this conversation offers a better playbook—because excellence is impressive, but advocacy is what changes your zip code.

Learn more about FEI's 2026 ICONS: Leaders in Finance at: https://www.financialexecutives.org/icons2026