Her Next Power Move

Episode Summary Most leaders moving through a hard season are doing exactly what the moment demands — keeping up, delivering, staying functional. What fewer are doing is asking the question that actually determines what they come out with on the other side. In this episode, L. Michelle Smith draws on neuroscience and positive psychology to examine the difference between managing capacity and inten...

Episode Summary When did you last follow someone else? Most high-achieving leaders never stop long enough to ask that question. And that silence is costing their teams more than they realize. In this episode, L. Michelle Smith draws from the final chapter of her bestselling book Call and Response: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church to explore one of the most counterintuitive concepts in l...

Episode Summary Something shifted this week — and if you lead people, you need to pay attention to it. A woman recently filed for religious accommodation based on her objection to using artificial intelligence at work. She won. The accommodation was granted. What was once a philosophical conversation has become an operational reality, and it arrived faster than most organizations were prepared to...

Episode Summary In this episode, host L. Michelle Smith dives into the essential elements of strategic leadership and the mindset shifts required for executive growth . Whether you are looking to level up in your current role or preparing for your next big power move, this conversation provides the insights needed to lead with purpose and authority. Key Takeaways * Lead with Strategy: Understandin...

Last night, I had the opportunity to speak with a remarkable group of professional women about what it really means to find your voice in today’s work environment. What emerged in that conversation was powerful: for many leaders, this is not fundamentally a communication problem. It is a clarity, confidence, and regulation problem shaped by stress, uncertainty, overload, and the growing demands of...

🎙️ Episode 23: The Space Between: Where Leadership Gets Lost and How to Finds it Again You can say the right thing… and still not be heard the way you intended. In this episode of Her Next Power Move , L. Michelle Smith explores the often overlooked space between what leaders say and how their message is actually received—especially in moments of change. As organizations lean into AI, leaders are...

NEW YORK CITY & NEW JERSEY:The Call and Response book tour will be in your area soon! Mark your calendar to sit with myself and Carla Harris for a conversation about how heart-centered leadership is built, why we need it today, and where those foundational lessons came from for the both of us and many other amazing corporate leaders that are at the top of their games today. Join us and special hos...

HER NEXT POWER MOVE Episode 22: Capacity Is an Inside Job Hosted by L. Michelle Smith In this first episode back since the end of 2025, L. Michelle reflects on what has come into sharper focus during her Call and Response book and media tour and introduces the deeper shift happening across her work: a stronger emphasis on heart-centered leadership. This episode takes a closer look at capacity, but...

Seems befitting that a I leverage AI for my end-of-year wrap up, in a year where I integrated AI into my coach-facilitator and C-suite advisement practice. Her Next Power Move is officially in hiatus until the New Year, so take a listen to the podcast created with the data I fed the platform to create the audio and the visuals you see here. This year wasn’t about visibility. It was about validity....

Summary: As the year winds down, many high-performing leaders find themselves mentally drained in a way that sleep alone can’t fix. This episode breaks down the neuroscience of year-end fatigue—why your brain feels foggy, unfocused, or simply done—and why this season hits harder than any other quarter. Grounded in research from cognitive science and positive psychology, we explore how chronic deci...

Episode 20 — When It Feels Like the Wrong People Are Winning Overview Every leader eventually encounters a moment when it looks like the wrong people are getting ahead — the shortcut-takers, the corner-cutters, the ones who maneuver instead of lead. It’s frustrating, not because you’re chasing recognition, but because you’re committed to integrity. In today’s episode of Her Next Power Move™ , we e...

Uncertainty is the leader’s constant companion. When everything around you feels unstable, it’s not about avoiding the chaos—it’s about learning to lead through it. In this episode of Her Next Power Move™ , I explore what happens in the brain during moments of instability and how leaders can use neuroscience-backed tools to stay calm, clear, and focused. You’ll learn why calm isn’t just an emotion...

The world feels unsteady. You can see it in the way people hold their breath in meetings, measure their words, guard their ideas. We can’t fix everything out there—but as leaders, we can build trust in here. Psychological safety isn’t warm and fuzzy. It’s powerfully practical. It’s the thing that makes teams speak up before problems grow, collaborate more fully, and dare to imagine something bette...

🎙️ Show Notes Thank you for your patience as I’ve been on deadline for the past several days but we still managed to crank this episode out for you. Enjoy! Overview We’ve been taught that the harder we grind, the more successful we’ll be. But what if that belief is holding us back? In this episode of Her Next Power Move™ , we’re dismantling the myth of hustle culture and redefining success on our...

Uncertainty is the leader’s constant companion. But what if you had a tool that didn’t just help you endure the unknown—but helped you thrive in it? In this episode of Her Next Power Move™, I dive into Hope Theory, developed by Dr. C.R. Snyder, and show you how hope is more than a feeling. It’s a framework—rooted in psychology and neuroscience—that gives leaders both the belief they can act and th...

Here are the show notes for Episode 16 of Her Next Power Move™ . Episode Overview Adversity is something every leader will face—whether it’s a failed launch, a tough layoff, or even personal loss. These moments can shake us to our core. But they can also become the very soil where new growth takes root. In this episode of Her Next Power Move™, I explore post-traumatic growth —the powerful transfor...

In a world of constant connectivity, leaders are facing an invisible threat: digital overload. Emails, Slack messages, notifications, dashboards… they’re all competing for your attention and sabotaging your focus, decision-making, and leadership presence. In this episode, I break down the neuroscience behind task-switching and attention fragmentation, explore the real costs of digital overload, an...

AI is transforming leadership—but the speed and volume of information can overwhelm even the sharpest minds. In this episode, L. Michelle Smith explores how constant task switching and digital overload impact your brain’s focus, decision-making, and emotional regulation. Drawing on neuroscience and recent research, she offers practical strategies to help you harness AI’s power without sacrificing...

Burnout isn’t just about being tired. It’s about depletion—emotionally, mentally, physically—and it’s hitting high-achieving leaders especially hard right now. In this episode, L. Michelle Smith unpacks the neuroscience of burnout and recovery, revealing what truly works beyond just rest. Drawing from positive psychology, she shares a blueprint for bouncing back and building a life and leadership...

The Power of Emotional Agility: Why Flexibility Beats Control in Leadership Episode Summary: In this episode of Her Next Power Move , host L. Michelle Smith dives into one of the most underestimated yet essential leadership skills: emotional agility. Based on the research of Harvard psychologist Dr. Susan David and rooted in neuroscience, this solo episode offers practical tools for leading with g...

Writing "Call & Response" was an incredible journey. The conversations I had with dear friends like Cynt Marshall were so powerful, and sometimes, we got in a few laughs. You've probably heard "the red hooker shoes" story before? She tells this story from the platform, in media interviews and even in her debut book "You've Been Chosen: Thriving Through the Unexpected." In fact, it was in my first...

Show Notes for Episode 11 — “Emotional Regulation Isn’t Suppression” Her Next Power Move with L. Michelle Smith, MS, ACC, CPEC You’ve probably heard the advice: “Keep your emotions out of it.” But what if that’s the exact opposite of what great leaders do? In this episode, I explore the science and strategy behind emotional regulation—how it differs from suppression, why it matters to leadership,...

What if fear wasn’t your enemy… but your engine? In this soul-stirring episode of Her Next Power Move , I invite high-performing leaders to sit with fear—not to silence it, but to listen. You’ll learn how to use anxiety as a signal for alignment, growth, and resilience, instead of allowing it to derail your leadership. I’ll unpack: * The neuroscience behind fear and motivation * The difference bet...

🎧 Episode 9 Show Notes Title: It’s Lonely at the Top: Combating Isolation in Leadership Host: L. Michelle Smith, MS, ACC, CPEC Summary: Leadership can be deeply fulfilling—but it can also be profoundly lonely. In this episode, we explore the quiet cost of success: emotional isolation at the top. Drawing from neuroscience, positive psychology, and real-life leadership coaching, L. Michelle unpacks...

In this episode of Her Next Power Move , L. Michelle Smith, MS, ACC, CPEC, dives into the powerful concept of cognitive distortions and how they can shape our perceptions and reactions. Learn how to identify these thought patterns and, more importantly, how to reframe them to build a mindset rooted in growth and resilience. Key Highlights: * Understand what cognitive distortions are and why they m...