Elaine Meryl Brown & Rhonda Joy McLean: Empowering Black Women Leaders in Corporate America

The legends are here. Elaine Meryl Brown and Rhonda Joy McLean have spent decades doing the latter.

These are not surface-level careers. These are rooms entered, decisions made, systems navigated, and influence built over time.

They are pioneers in their respective fields, women who did not simply rise through the ranks but learned how to move within them with precision, strategy, and staying power. In this conversation, Monica Wisdom sits with Elaine Meryl Brown and Rhonda Joy McLean, co-authors of The Next Little Black Book of Success , to talk about what it really takes to build a career that lasts.

Elaine Meryl Brown built her career at the highest levels of media, shaping stories and strategy inside HBO and beyond. Rhonda Joy McLean spent decades inside corporate law at Time Inc., advising global brands and leading at the highest levels of decision-making.

Together, along with the late Marsha Haygood, they have spent more than a decade documenting what it actually takes to lead, advance, and sustain success. This is a conversation about experience.

The kind you only earn by staying in the room. They speak openly about what it required to build their careers, what they had to learn that no one teaches, and how their understanding of success has evolved.

The conversation moves through the women who shaped them, the decisions that defined them, and the realities behind navigating professional spaces with clarity and intention. Their latest book, The Next Little Black Book of Success , is not a theory.

It is a continuation of a body of work rooted in lived experience, offering direct insight into how to move, lead, and think in today’s workplace. This episode is not about quick wins.

It is about perspective. It is about longevity.

And it is about learning from women who have done the work and stayed long enough to understand it. What You Will Hear in This Episode ✓ The truth about what is shifting in the workforce and why so many are being forced to pivot ✓ How to navigate authenticity, visibility, and emotional wellness in high-pressure spaces ✓ What it means to begin again and move forward with clarity in uncertain times About the Guests Elaine Meryl Brown is an award-winning writer, producer, and former HBO executive with a career spanning media, storytelling, and leadership development.

She has received more than 40 industry awards and has dedicated her work to helping women expand their vision and step into leadership with clarity and intention. Rhonda Joy McLean is President and CEO of RJMLEADS LLC and former Deputy General Counsel of Time Inc., where she advised global brands including Time, Fortune, People, and Essence.

She has spent decades working at the intersection of law, leadership, and career advancement, guiding executives, organizations, and entrepreneurs worldwide. Together with the late Marsha Haygood, they are the authors of the Little Black Book of Success series, a body of work that has guided women across industries for more than a decade.

Featured Book The Next Little Black Book of Success: A practical and direct guide to navigating leadership, power, and career advancement in today’s evolving workplace. Order your book HERE.

If You Are Ready to Start Your Own Podcast If this conversation sparked something in you and you are thinking about building your own platform, your voice matters. Visit and schedule a one-on-one advising session with Monica Wisdom, Producer and Host of Black Women Amplified.