The Unlock Lab

Today I talk about the leaky faucet of leadership, and this whole thing starts with a story about my dishwasher at home. About a year ago it started leaking about once every ten times we ran it. It was a nuisance, but I had no idea how to diagnose the situation. So I ignored solving the problem for good, and my husband wasn’t pushing for that either. We told ourselves it would go away, but of cour...

Let's talk about the hardest decisions you'll make in your career: when to stay and when to leave your leadership role. There are two big mistakes I see leaders make, and I've made both myself. You leave too soon, or you overstay your welcome. Leaving too soon usually happens when you decide everyone else is the problem. The company is broken, nobody can do their job, and you've never stopped to l...

Today I’m talking to you about something that’s hard to learn until you go through it: starting new jobs in new industries, new companies, and even new roles. In this episode, I share the counsel I’ve gained from my own career transitions, including the time I entered a new company where the product was entirely in Spanish. The most critical step to take before you begin a new role is to clear out...

We evolve as leaders, and that's normal. But we operate in environments, and around people that want us to stay the same. In this episode I talk about what it really takes to grow: letting old parts of who you are die off so that new growth can take root. This old version might be operating from a place of fear, from people pleasing, or from ways of working that aren't working anymore. To bring th...

Being hooked but not attached means staying fully committed to the dream you're building, while loosening your grip on exactly how, when, and in what form it shows up. After 100 episodes of my podcast, I had a call with my OG coach that brought something into focus. My struggle was never really about the views, the listens, or the feedback. It was that I'm hooked on the dream itself, the service I...

Managing up is one of the most important skill sets you can develop as a leader, and almost nobody teaches it. You don't take a class on this in school and you likely are not mentored around how to do it. With the prevalent ‘power over’ approach to leadership that runs rampant today, we are trained to simply do what we’re told. It may sound counter intuitive, but to be a great steward of yourself,...

Hunting for the next title, that next rung of the upward ladder can be a huge mistake if you're looking for a long, sustainable, successful career. But if the title is your end all be all goal, then my dear, you have got to listen to this episode. You see the illusion is that the title gives us more leadership authority. The illusion is that it gives us more power, and more ability to influence. T...

Personality tests. I'm just going to say it: I'm not a fan. Unpopular opinion? Perhaps, but we need to talk about the use of personality assessments in the workplace, because I think we need to have an honest conversation about this. Here's my problem. These assessment tools (like Myers-Briggs, DISC, Colors, etc.) they want to put you in a box. They want to give you a label that isn't even your ow...

Perfectionism is a word that I generally haven’t identified with to a large extent. If somebody were to ask, "Are you a perfectionist?" I probably wouldn’t raise my hand immediately. Why? Because deep down I know that perfectionism is an illusion. Perfectionism is defined by other people and requires effort trying to reach some gold standard that quite frankly is unrealistic, not achievable and so...

The term "imposter syndrome" is one that every time I hear it, I cringe. The reason is that nobody is an imposter, and you cannot diagnose this as a clinical syndrome. Using this language perpetuates the underlying issue of people not feeling good enough. What is actually going on is an inner dialogue, an inner narrative, or an inner critic going on in your head that is telling you all kinds of li...

In this episode, meet Jenn T. Grace, my friend, a champion of storytelling, and financial advisor consultant turned founder of Publish Your Purpose. Jenn shares her personal path from navigating corporate challenges where she hid a big part of her identity to empowering authors through her organization. We discussed crucial ways to align your personal values with your professional environment and...

Let me just say it: you are not going to get it right every time as a leader. Not even close. And honestly? That's not the problem. The problem is what happens when you don't repair it. In this episode of The Unlock Lab, I talk about where the real strength in leadership actually lives, and spoiler alert, it's not in being perfect. It's in the repair and the correction. The willingness to say, "Ye...

In this episode, I explore the gems of generosity in leadership. Moving away from transactional leadership and the "what's in it for me" model, I offer generosity as a core pillar for authentic leadership. I break down the many forms generosity can take, from giving your time, to initiating difficult conversations. I also address the common resistance we face, such as the fear of getting burned or...

Feeling stuck in a career that looks successful on paper but leaves you drained is a heavy burden to carry. It’s a nagging sensation that you are meant for more, but your inner narrative, or even external influences might be convincing you to stay the course. Looking at the drivers of our choices and decisions allows us to understand if we are living the life we want, or the life we think we’re su...

Are you an experienced leader who feels like you’re constantly pushing boulders up hills when managing your team? Organizations often prioritize execution and technical expertise over everything else. This leaves many leaders with a significant people skill gap, especially those who have risen in the ranks due to their technical and analytical expertise. If you’ve been told you need to work on you...

Intentional community is the conscious gathering of people for a specific purpose where every individual is seen, heard, and accounted for. For years, I lived with the belief that I just had to do life by myself, which was the biggest lie my inner critic ever told me. When you move out of isolation and into a space of mutual support, you strip your inner critic of its power and begin to lead from...

Reluctant leadership is the resistance to expanding your influence, because stepping out of a functional expert role can feel intimidating. I have worked with incredibly successful leaders who hold themselves back by listening to the self-doubt in their heads instead of acting on their capability to guide others. Accepting the leader within allows you to multiply your impact and get the results yo...

Burnout is more than just being tired; it is a profound state of physical and emotional exhaustion built on ignored boundaries. That is exactly why I brought burnout expert Cait Donovan onto the podcast. Healing this condition requires addressing the deep internal wounds rather than just applying surface-level fixes to the symptoms. Listen to learn how high achievers miss the early warning signs o...

We live in a world that worships execution. We are obsessed with the "How” the strategy, the tactics, the ten-step plans. But often, we are trying to build a bridge before we even know where we want it to land. This is the trap of prioritizing the doing over the being. I see this pattern constantly with my clients, and I have lived it myself. We want the lightning bolt of clarity to hit us so we c...

We often think our inner critic is just who we are, but that is not the truth. If you aren't cognizant, that inner voice will start as a tiny snowflake and snowball until it convinces you that nothing is worth it anymore. In this episode, I share the specific five-step framework I use with my 1:1 clients and organizations to help them stop the spiral and interact better with one another. Tune...

We often think of public speaking as a technical skill, but it is actually a profound test of our human skills. I recently gave a presentation on inner critics. The challenge wasn't the speaking itself, as I have done that for years, but the format. I had to condense a 45-minute keynote into a hard-hitting 10-minute talk. This shift in routine woke up my own inner critics. The struggle is not...

Human skills are the ability to deeply look at yourself, understand your patterns, and realize that to be a successful leader, you must put yourself first in the equation of your life. For years, many of us have been indoctrinated into roles of self-sacrifice; whether as the "caregiver" or the "provider," we often find ourselves at the very end of the list. When we abandon ourselves this way, we o...

"I don’t believe we can heal things we don’t understand"-Stacey Uhrig We often think of trauma as the big, explosive events: war, violence, or catastrophe. But what about the paper cuts?. What about the relentless pressure of "not enoughness" that accumulates over decades?. In this episode, I sit down with Stacey Uhrig, a Trauma Recovery Coach who helps people flip their mindse...

Starting a new year "well" isn't about forced optimism or arbitrary calendar dates; it is about honoring your internal rhythm and finding your footing before you sprint. For years, I noticed a pattern where my personal "new year" didn't actually kick in until the spring equinox. I used to feel the pressure of expectations and conditioning that I should be excited in January, even when I felt like...

As another year wraps up, you may find yourself reflecting on what you achieved, what you didn’t, and where you hope to go next. It’s a natural process, but it can easily stir up a voice we know all too well: The Inner Critic. This week’s episode on The Unlock Lab, I address the inner critic that measures your success harshly. I highlight the importance of setting your own measures based on what m...