The Leadership Test You Can’t Prepare For | Guild CEO Bijal Shah

Sometimes you don’t know what kind of leader you are until a crisis hits. **Bijal Shah was two and a half months postpartum and out on parental leave when Guild’s founder and CEO suffered a stroke.** Suddenly, she was called to step in, steady the company, earn the confidence of the board and executive team, and make decisions she never expected to face. Months later, a board member told her something she’ll never forget: **“We never knew you had this gear.”** In this episode of **Lead the Team**, Bijal shares what she discovered about herself in that moment — and the leadership traits that helped her rise to it: listening, low ego, decisive action, resilience, and the willingness to go all in. She also tells a career story she says she’s **never told before**, revealing why walking away from a difficult situation earlier in her career may have cost her an important opportunity to grow. Plus, we dig into **AI and the future of work**, the skills employees will need to thrive, what Guild is learning from serving millions of workers, and why Bijal believes great CEOs need to think beyond short-term wins to build enduring businesses. **You’ll hear:** • How Bijal unexpectedly stepped into the CEO role • Why a board member told her, “We never knew you had this gear” • The power of listening, low ego and decisive action • Why discomfort can be where your greatest growth happens • Her candid story about a career decision she sees differently today • How AI is reshaping skills and the future of work • Why enduring businesses require long-term leadership • What Martin Luther King Jr.’s *Letter from Birmingham Jail* taught her about moral courage This is a conversation about what happens when the moment demands **another gear ... and you discover you have it.** \----- **Connect with the Host, #1 bestselling author Ben Fanning** Speaking and Training inquires Subscribe to my Youtube channel LinkedIn Instagram Twitter