Lead with Spark | Authentic Leadership for Women, Executive Presence & Career Confidence

What if the story you have been telling yourself about your limits is complete nonsense? In this episode of Lead With Spark, Lynsey sits down with Saphira Howell, author of Impossibullshit: Break the Lies that Keep You Small and Do What You Believed You Couldn’t. Saphira went from early YouTube creator with tens of millions of views to Head of Marketing at a fast growing startup, self taught stock...

If you’ve started identifying your strengths but still hesitate to use them at work, this episode is for you. We’re diving into the real questions women professionals ask about unleashing their superpowers: how to talk about your strengths without feeling like you’re bragging, how to use strengths that don’t feel “work-related,” and how to bring your strengths to your leader in a way that actually...

New Year’s Eve can be exciting, but it can also create pressure to have your goals, your word of the year, and your entire plan for 2026 figured out by midnight. In this Lead With Spark episode, Lynsey gives you permission to pause. Planning is powerful, but rushing can turn hope into heaviness. Instead of a step-by-step framework, Lynsey shares real examples from her own end-of-year prep, includi...

Christmas Eve can feel both magical and heavy. In this short episode of Lead With Spark, Lynsey shares a powerful 10-minute Christmas Eve reset plan to reduce holiday stress, quiet pressure, release perfectionism, and create space for meaning and gratitude. This reset is not just for home. Lynsey uses the same strategy at work before big team meetings, conferences, leadership events, and team buil...

Feeling like the Grinch this year? Same. In this episode, Lynsey shares why the holiday spirit can feel harder during transition seasons, like the first Christmas when your adult kids are building traditions in their own homes. You will learn the Minimum Viable Holiday framework, a simple way to protect your peace, set realistic boundaries, and still create meaningful moments without burning out....

When your workplace feels a little too spicy, who do you call? In this conversation, Lynsey sits down with Wendy Sellers, The HR Lady®, to talk about what it really takes to be a leader people will follow willingly, not just a manager with a title. Wendy is an HR consultant, speaker, mentor, and author of two boldly titled books: “Suck It Up, Buttercup: Be a Leader People Will Follow” and “How to...

In this episode of Lead with Spark, Lynsey borrows the phrase “love of the game” from sports and brings it straight into your career, leadership, and life. Instead of blaming yourself for a lack of motivation, you will explore why your drive always follows your why, and what it means if your “love of the game” has faded. Lynsey walks through four possibilities, right game wrong position, right gam...

In this pre Thanksgiving episode of Lead with Spark, Lynsey explores the power of gratitude as more than a seasonal feeling. It is a daily leadership skill that shapes your mindset, your home, and your work. You will learn how gratitude supports an abundance mindset, reduces stress, strengthens relationships, and helps you stay grounded when life feels full and messy. Lynsey shares her family’s “T...

Do you look like a successful, high-achieving woman from the outside, but inside you are battling doubt, overwhelm, or emotional whiplash from one hard conversation or email? In this episode of Lead with Spark, Lynsey breaks down the connection between identity, emotional intelligence, and leadership so you can stop letting your feelings run the show and start leading from a grounded, confident ce...

Leaders don’t just manage tasks, they design the environment where people and ideas thrive. In this conversation with Gina Brown (MAGNIFY Innovation & Leadership), we break down what neurodiversity really means, how executive function shows up at work (focus, working memory, transitions), and practical ways to build cultures of empathy, clarity, and curiosity, without lowering the bar. If you’...

When the “official lane” looks safe but feels small, it’s time to rethink fit. Inspired by the classic Put Me in the Zoo (Seuss-adjacent), this episode explores how we chase titles and conformity when our strengths are actually asking for a different stage—more authentic, a little bold, and genuinely useful. I share the family story behind a 1967 inscription, a quick overview of the book, and a pr...

Feel stuck defending a role that drains you because “the benefits are good”? This episode tackles corporate Stockholm syndrome, not the clinical diagnosis, but the mindset where fear and comfort have us protecting the very systems that keep us small. We unpack F.E.A.R. (False Evidence Appearing Real), share current career trends (shorter tenures, cooled quits), and give you five practical ways to...

Feel stuck in your head? Spinning, second-guessing, or riding waves of frustration and doubt? This episode reframes emotional intelligence as a daily, doable practice rooted in identity. You’ll learn why feelings are real but not always reliable, and how to treat them as data, not directors, so you can calm the noise and move the needle. We walk through simple tools you can use this week: a 60-sec...

When women lead, the room shifts. In this conversation with Dr. Ebony Stone—author, speaker, and coach— we unpack what it really takes to thrive as a woman in leadership today: grace over guilt, perspective over comparison, and “do it scared” over perfect timing. Ebony shares her PAUSE framework (Pause/Pray, Analyze, Understand, Strategize, Execute) and how it applies to real life—boardrooms, busy...

If your updates get lost, decisions stall, or you leave meetings exhausted from carrying the room, the problem isn’t just strategy. It’s how you show up. In this story-driven episode, Lynsey unpacks executive presence using three unforgettable rideshare moments from her latest trip to Destin, Florida: the disengaged “Mr. Earbuds,” the resigned “Miss Chaos,” and the intentional hostess with the mos...

What if the third most important day of your life is the day you start living your why, on purpose? In this episode, Lynsey breaks down intentional living as a series of tiny, faithful micro-movements (not cliff jumps) that add up to a life that feels like you. Drawing on John Maxwell’s take, “decide in advance who you will be and what you will give,”she connects it to the SparkLife formula: Value...

Moving from “I’ll just do it myself” to true leadership is a skill, and delegation is the lever. In this episode of Lead with Spark, Lynsey shares a simple four-step handoff loop - Select, Scope, Support, Spotlight - that turns tasks into growth without letting anyone down. You’ll learn how to use the Eisenhower model (urgent vs. important) to decide what to delegate, how to give a clear, kind ove...

If you’ve ever wondered why “be more relatable” sounds obvious but feels impossible in real life, this conversation with author and keynote speaker Rachel DeAlto will be your masterclass. We dig into what relatable leadership actually looks like day-to-day—clear communication, active listening, and honest transparency—and why respect is the trait teams are craving most. You’ll learn Rachel’s simpl...

Women in leadership are carrying too much invisible work; note-taking, scheduling, conflict smoothing, onboarding support, and the quiet “glue work” that keeps projects alive but rarely shows up on a dashboard. That hidden load stalls recognition, performance reviews, and promotion. In this episode of Lead with Spark, Lynsey shares a practical visibility playbook to end the invisible work tax with...

From the Grand Concourse to the boardroom, this leadership podcast episode turns the Iowa State Fair into a practical playbook for women in leadership. Lynsey Mulder weaves three generations of family tradition - Grandma’s one-section-a-day map, Grandpa’s steady hours in the livestock barns, and a new stop at Cowboy Bootcamp with her grandson - into ten blue-ribbon leadership lessons you can apply...

What does it take to lead with both curiosity and compassion? In this episode, I sit down with Malinda Shultice, professor at Iowa State University and Barcelona Executive Business School, licensed nursing home administrator, and founder of a consulting company dedicated to tackling high turnover in healthcare.   Malinda shares her bold career pivot from senior living to academia and entrepreneurs...

In today’s episode, we tackle something that many women professionals struggle with. Saying no. Constantly overcommitting to work, family, and social obligations can lead to burnout and a loss of focus on what truly matters. In this empowering episode, I dive deep into the importance of setting non-negotiables in your life. Learn how to align your boundaries with your core values and priorities, a...

In today’s fast-paced, tech-driven world, the idea of “work-life balance” feels outdated and out of reach. In this episode of Lead With Spark, we explore the evolution from work-life balance to work-life alignment, a dynamic approach that helps you integrate your career, family, and personal goals in a way that fuels your well-being and success. Join Lynsey as she shares her personal strategies fo...

Unleashing Your Superpowers: The Spark You’ve Been Missing What if the secret to more confidence, less burnout, and a life you actually love was already inside you? In this episode of Lead with Spark, Lynsey takes you step-by-step through the process of identifying and unleashing your unique superpowers, the strengths that make you brilliant, bold, and impactful. You’ll hear a heartwarming story a...

Are you secretly waiting for someone to find out you're not as capable as they think you are? You're not alone - in fact, studies show that 70% of people experience imposter syndrome at some point in their careers, and the number jumps even higher for high-achieving women in leadership. In this empowering episode of Lead with Spark, Lynsey breaks down what imposter syndrome really is, why it shows...