{"podcast":{"title":"Real Leadership","slug":"real-leadership-6416273","podcast_index_feed_id":6416273,"rss_url":"https://feed.podbean.com/real-leadership/feed.xml","website_url":"https://real-leadership.podbean.com","image_url":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/16325038/Real-Leadership-PodBean.jpg","author":"real-leadership","episode_count":52,"summary":"Welcome to REAL Leadership, the podcast that takes you on a journey behind the scenes of some of the world’s most successful companies. Produced by The О̄nin Group and hosted by COO Jim Weaver, our show is dedicated to exploring what it truly means to be a leader in industries that make, move and process. In each episode, Jim sits down with C-level executives to discuss their experiences and insights on leadership, as well as the challenges and opportunities that come with leading in dynamic environments. Our guests come from a range of industries, including logistics and manufacturing, and offer real stories and actionable advice to inspire you to take your leadership to the next level. If you’re a seasoned executive or aspiring leader looking to sharpen your leadership skills and stay ahead of the game, then this is the podcast for you. Join us as we dive deep into the world of REAL Leadership.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-10T04:19:20.802550+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/real-leadership-6416273"},"episode":{"title":"Erica Baird, Executive Director of Global Sales and Service, Cummins, Real Leadership","slug":"erica-baird-executive-director-of-global-sales-and-service-cummins-real-leadership","published_at":"2026-06-09T13:40:46+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/real-leadership-6416273/erica-baird-executive-director-of-global-sales-and-service-cummins-real-leadership","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/real-leadership-6416273","url":"https://real-leadership.podbean.com/e/erica-baird-executive-director-of-global-sales-and-service-cummins-real-leadership/","audio_url":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/sxjy4ytddsq6znwb/RL_S03_E09_Erica_Bairdbf69i.mp3","summary":"What happens when an open mic poet, a foster mom to more than 14 kids, and the daughter of Muhammad Ali's bodyguard becomes a top executive in the global heavy industrial sector? You get Erica Baird — Executive Director of Global Sales and Service at Cummins, the Fortune 150 power solutions leader. Erica oversees more than 1,200 employees worldwide across sales, service, customer experience, data center installation and commissioning, aftermarket parts, field service, design engineering, and compliance. Before Cummins, she spent 15 years at Caterpillar leading initiatives that quadrupled sales and building the business risk and governance framework used by the executive team and board of directors. She holds a degree in mining and mineral engineering from the University of Arizona, sits on the board of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers as chair of the construction sector, and is a member of C200. But Erica's leadership philosophy didn't come from a boardroom. It came from being a biracial kid bullied for being different, from a mother who was disowned for having her, from blue-collar people who raised her, and from a teacher who discovered she could write poetry. It came from being the first Black woman in nearly every role she took, navigating an industry that wasn't built for her, and refusing to leave when it would have been easier to. In this episode of Real Leadership, Erica gets honest about the sponsor who fought for her behind closed doors, the \"sidestep\" role meant to slow her down that became her global breakout, and the boss who once told her she was \"too direct\" — and the conversation that changed his mind. She also shares how her engineer's love of structure became the foundation for fostering 14 children, and why she believes the industrial talen…","meta_description":"What happens when an open mic poet, a foster mom to more than 14 kids, and the daughter of Muhammad Ali's bodyguard becomes a top executive in the global…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3127,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/real-leadership-6416273/episodes/erica-baird-executive-director-of-global-sales-and-service-cummins-real-leadership/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/real-leadership-6416273/erica-baird-executive-director-of-global-sales-and-service-cummins-real-leadership.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}