Change Is Hard

The strengths that helped you become successful can eventually start costing you. Responsibility can become over-responsibility. Helpfulness can become over-functioning. High standards can become control. Availability can become constant interruption. Calm can become emotional suppression. Independence can become isolation. In this episode of Change Is Hard , Audrey explores what happens when your...

We tend to treat every challenge like a problem that needs to be solved. But some situations have one clear answer. Some have several reasonable solutions. Some force you to choose between competing consequences. And others create tensions that will never disappear no matter how smart, experienced, or decisive you are. That distinction matters. In this episode from the Change Is Hard archives, I b...

At some point in your leadership career, the very behaviors that helped make you successful can start to become limitations. Being dependable. Knowing the answers. Taking ownership. Being the person everyone comes to. Jumping in when something needs to get done. Those habits work—until your role, your team, or the level at which you’re leading changes. In this episode of Change Is Hard , Audrey ex...

What do you do when you’re facing something you’ve never done before? Confidence can only take you so far because confidence is built on evidence — past experience, past wins, and proof that you’ve handled something similar before. But eventually, you reach the edge of that evidence. That’s where self-trust takes over. In this episode, I talk about the difference between confidence and self-trust,...

Great leaders don’t need to have all the answers. In fact, one of the most powerful leadership skills is knowing how to ask better questions. In this episode, Audrey explores why leaders are often too quick to solve, advise, or take ownership of someone else’s problem—and how powerful questions can build confidence, ownership, and better thinking instead. You’ll learn: Why the first problem someon...

It is easy to talk about leadership. It is another thing to have someone who works closely with you describe what your leadership actually feels like. In this behind-the-scenes conversation, I sit down with Feliz, my assistant and program manager at The Leadership Lab, and ask the uncomfortable question: Do I practice what I preach? We talk honestly about my leadership style, direct communication,...

Many leaders divide their work into two categories: the “real work” and everything else that interrupts it. But strategic thinking, building relationships, developing others, attending leadership events, and investing in your own growth are not distractions from the job. They are the job. In this episode, Audrey explores why leaders often treat essential leadership responsibilities as extra work—a...

In this episode, I’m joined by Hanna Bauer for a conversation about leadership, resilience, and what Lean Six Sigma can teach us about building healthier human systems. Hanna shares how her childhood experience with a serious heart condition shaped the way she thinks about signals, uncertainty, and resilience. From there, we explore how leaders can become more aware of the signals they may be miss...

AI is no longer just a tool leaders are experimenting with. It is becoming a leadership challenge. In this episode, Audrey explores five of the biggest questions leaders are asking about AI right now: Are we moving fast enough? Where is the ROI? Who is accountable when AI gets it wrong? How do we prepare people without losing their trust? What does leadership look like when AI can do more of the w...

In this episode of Change Is Hard , Audrey continues the conversation about why knowledge alone is no longer enough — especially in an AI-supported world. AI can summarize, generate, analyze, and help us move faster. But it cannot replace the human skills leaders need most: discernment, judgment under uncertainty, self-regulation, meaning-making, connection, creativity, taste, accountability, alig...

In this episode, Audrey talks with Jennifer Doty about career identity, feeling stuck, job search beliefs, and the mindset shift behind what Jennifer calls the “right now role.” They explore why so many people tie their worth to a title, how fear can sabotage career decisions, and how to make the most of where you are without assuming you have to stay there forever. Jennifer also shares her own tr...

We’ve all heard the phrase, “knowledge is power.” But knowledge by itself is only potential power. In this episode, Audrey explores why more information isn’t always the answer — and how learning can sometimes become a way to avoid discomfort, uncertainty, or action. She breaks down the difference between knowledge gaps, skill gaps, confidence gaps, experience gaps, and avoidance gaps, and challen...

FOMO gets a lot of attention, but in leadership, it is not always about missing out on something fun. Sometimes FOMO looks like joining meetings you do not need to be in, staying copied on every thread, or keeping yourself close to decisions that no longer require your direct involvement. In this episode, Audrey explores how FOMO can quietly become a leadership trap. It often disguises itself as r...

In this episode of Change Is Hard , I’m joined by Scott Lackey, author of Wake Up to Die Again: Breaking Who You Became So You Can Be Who You Were Meant to Be . We talk about the quiet but powerful impact of broken promises — especially the ones we make to ourselves. Scott shares how his own wake-up call led him to complete an Ironman, write his book, and begin rebuilding trust with himself one sm...

In this reflective episode, Audrey explores why every new season of life, leadership, and growth requires some kind of release. As summer begins and her birthday approaches, she reflects on personal transitions, shifting identities, and the quiet grief that can come with even good change. Growth often asks us to let go of what once worked, what once fit, or what once made us feel valuable. Through...

Helping your team is part of leadership — but helping too much can quietly become rescuing, controlling, and even micromanaging. In this episode, Audrey explores the hidden leadership trap of stepping in too quickly, taking work back, smoothing things over, and calling it support. The real question is not just, “Am I helping?” It is, “What am I protecting?” Audrey unpacks how leaders can unintenti...

Some of the most exhausted leaders aren’t struggling because they’re incapable. They’re struggling because they’ve become responsible for everything. In this episode of Change Is Hard , Audrey explores the deeper emotional roots of overfunctioning in leadership — the patterns that look like high performance on the outside, but are often driven by fear, anxiety, over-responsibility, and the need to...

In this episode, Audrey unpacks the hidden cost of over-alignment inside teams and organizations. What starts as healthy collaboration can quietly turn into: over-involvement excessive consensus endless processing and decision paralysis If you’ve ever sat through meetings only to realize nothing actually moved forward… this episode is for you. Audrey explores: why decisions keep getting reopened t...

You can change someone’s title. You can increase their pay. You can even move them from hourly to salary. And still… nothing changes. In this episode, Audrey breaks down the often-missed reality behind employee transitions: mindset doesn’t automatically shift just because the role does . Through a real conversation with another business owner, she explores the difference between an hourly mindset...

You Don’t Have a Time Problem. You Have a Focus Problem It feels like a time problem. Too much to do. Not enough hours. Everything feels important… and somehow nothing is actually moving forward. But what if that’s not the real issue? In this episode, we’re talking about what’s actually happening when you feel overwhelmed, scattered, and stuck—and why the answer isn’t more time, better planning, o...

You’ve got someone on your team. They’re trusted. Reliable. The one everyone goes to. And naturally… you start thinking: they’re next. But when the opportunity comes up? They hesitate. Or they say no. In this episode, we’re unpacking what’s really going on—because this isn’t about a lack of ambition. Your top performers aren’t avoiding leadership. They’re responding to what they see. And what they...

There are rules you’re following in your leadership… rules no one actually gave you. They sound helpful. They sound responsible. But over time, they can quietly begin to hold you back. In this episode, Audrey walks through three of the most common “unwritten rules” that show up in leadership: I have to keep proving myself If I’m direct, I’m being rude Conflict is a bad thing These patterns often c...

You know exactly what needs to be done. You’re capable. You’re clear. You’re doing good work. And still… you can’t move forward. In this episode, Audrey explores a very specific kind of frustration that shows up in leadership and high-performing roles: when your ability to execute is dependent on someone who isn’t showing up—often your boss. This isn’t about competence. It’s about constraints. Thr...

There’s a shift in your career that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough. It’s not when you’re struggling. It’s not when things are falling apart. It’s actually when everything looks… right. You’re doing well. People trust you. You’ve built a reputation. And then—you get the promotion. Recognition. Validation. Maybe even relief. But then something shifts. In this episode, I break down what’s rea...

Disappointment at work rarely comes from people doing something wrong. More often, it comes from expectations that were never clearly stated. In this episode, Audrey unpacks one of the most common (and costly) leadership gaps: unclear expectations. From missed deliverables to quiet frustration that builds over time, she explores how assumptions—not intent—are often at the root of breakdowns in com...