The Empowered Leader Podcast

Not numb. Not cold. Settled. You know the moment. The email copied to your boss. The comment in the meeting, said with a smile. The relative who brings up the thing at dinner, again. Your chest tightens. Your face heats. And the next three hours belong to someone who isn’t even thinking about you. Let’s be honest. Most of us were never taught to be unbothered. We were taught to look it. Smile. Swa...

Robin Motzer: Bio Robin Motzer writes Wildlands on Substack, a publication exploring the art and science of health, nature, animals, and belonging to the soul of the world. Wildlands blends ecological restoration, nature-based learning, and creative practice to help people and places thrive through habitat and food-garden restoration, land-based workshops and field days, essays and storytelling, a...

Thank you The Secret Ingredient , Nabanita , Jolie , Ms. Yuse , Leilani Brandon Ellrich and many others for tuning into my live video with Ginny Lynns (Remembring2Laugh) ! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit substack.iprofessionalcoaching.com/subscribe

You were told to leave your feelings at the door. They never left. They just stopped being read. The Rule at the Door Somewhere early in your career, someone gave you the rule. Maybe out loud. Maybe with a look. Leave it at the door. The frustration. The hurt. The fear that you were one wrong word away from losing what you’d fought to get. Check it like a coat and pick it up on the way out. So you...

What it is, how it shows up, and protecting your mental health, peace, and safety Let’s talk about something that doesn’t get discussed enough: obsession . There is a difference between passion, determination, and obsession , and that difference matters. Passion motivates you. It energizes progress, creativity, and purpose. Determination keeps you committed when things get difficult. But obsession...

Using Your Voice to Change the World Your voice is not decoration. It is a transmission, and someone downrange is waiting on your signal. You rehearsed the sentence four times before the meeting. You knew the number was wrong, you knew why, and you knew how to fix it. Then the discussion moved fast; someone senior talked over the pause you were waiting for, and the moment closed. In the parking lo...

Insight This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit substack.iprofessionalcoaching.com/subscribe

Guest Bio: OnyxRose OnyxRose writes OnyxRose9 – Presence Not Permission on Substack from Atlanta and hosts the podcast OnyxRose9 – A Trans Voice. Black, trans, nonbinary, and femme, OnyxRose has been out and transitioning for more than a decade and writes openly about visibility, queer love, and building a good life when the world pushes back. OnyxRose is a regular voice on Another Dry Run, the we...

Guest Bio: Diane Diane writes Diane’s Mindful Substack, where she publishes her Mindful Engagement series and essays on the trucking industry, and she hosts the Mindful Podcast. She has been a professional truck driver since earning her CDL in 2015, and she brings a road-tested view of mindfulness, self-awareness, and staying grounded in a field built mostly by and for men. She is also writing her...

Guest Bio: Cynthia Jamieson Cynthia Jamieson is a transformative leadership and growth coach who has spent 37 years in Human Resources and has held more than 4,000 coaching conversations. She hosts the podcast Who Are You to Lead, Anyway? and writes Cynthia’s Substack, where she explores what happens when capability turns into obligation, and how capable people begin choosing again. She holds the...

What you refuse to look at doesn’t disappear. Trust and believe it just starts running things behind your back. Now, let me say this up front: I know “shadow work” sounds like something that comes with candles and hashtags. It’s not. Take away the packaging, and it’s one of the most practical disciplines a leader can have. The shadow is just this: every part of yourself you had to hide to be accep...

Think about the last time you lost track of time doing your work. Not because you were behind. Because you were in it. The hours went somewhere, and you didn’t miss them. Now think about the last time a Sunday night sat on your chest like a weight. Both of those moments are giving you intelligence. One tells you where your energy lives. The other tells you where it’s being drained. Most of us were...

Let me ask you something. How much of your pain have you been carrying as evidence against yourself? Now ask yourself what would become possible if that same pain became the raw material of your leadership. That is the conversation we are having today. Pain is one of the most misunderstood forces in leadership. People tell you to push through it. To stay positive. To leave it at the door because f...

Guest Bio: Beth Shekinah Terrence Beth Shekinah Terrence is a shaman, holistic transformation facilitator, and recovery coach based in Annapolis, Maryland. She has more than 30 years as a holistic and wellness practitioner and 18 years as a practicing shaman, trained through a long traditional apprenticeship with shaman Ross Bishop. Beth holds a Master of Science in Restorative Practices and a bac...

Guest Bio: Erica Voell Erica Voell is a Human Design guide for women in midlife. * Career: Children’s librarian for nearly 20 years; left in May 2025. She told you she spent her last five years there working out how to leave, and that COVID surfaced everything she had been denying. * Credentials: Certified Human Design Coach (Ignite Coach School); Certified Human Design Guide, Levels I and II (Eri...

The covert narcissist is loud. They take the room. They demand the spotlight. They are easier to spot. The covert narcissist does not announce themselves. They arrive humble. They arrive helpful. They arrive as the “safe” one in the room. They tell stories of being misunderstood. They mention how others have hurt them. They position themselves as the quiet, sensitive, deeply-feeling person You are...

Truth is not volume. Truth is not aggression. Truth is not emotional discharge. Truth is alignment between what I see, what I say, and how I lead. Most leaders do not struggle with ignorance. They struggle with avoidance. They see the misalignment. They sense the bias. They recognize the dysfunction. But they hesitate to name it. Truth requires courage, but more than that, it requires responsibili...

Haters are often misunderstood. Not every critic is a hater. And not every hater is as detached as they appear. More often than not, what looks like negativity is attention. Focused attention. People rarely invest energy in what is irrelevant to them. They watch. They comment. They react. That is not indifference. That is engagement, misdirected. Liberation: Seeing It Clearly The first shift is in...

At some point, you will be misunderstood. You will make a decision that someone doesn’t like. You will set a boundary that someone disagrees with. You will choose a direction that doesn’t benefit everyone. And in their version of the story, You become the villain. Not because you’re wrong. But because you didn’t align with their expectation. Liberation: Releasing the Need to Be Liked Many people h...

Insight: Boss Up Stop waiting. Start leading yourself. Let’s get straight to it. “Boss up” gets thrown around a lot. People say it like it’s motivation. But most of the time, it’s just words. Because real “bossing up” has nothing to do with talking. It has everything to do with how you show up. What “Boss Up” Actually Means It’s not about titles. It’s not about status. It’s not about acting tough....

One tells you what’s true. The other tells you when to move. You walk into the meeting, and something’s off. Nobody says anything. The agenda hasn’t changed. But the room is quieter than it should be, and the person who always talks first is staring at her laptop. A few days later, a different moment. An offer lands in your inbox. On paper, it’s everything you asked for. And something in you says,...

Insight This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit substack.iprofessionalcoaching.com/subscribe

Friendship is often assumed, but it should be understood because what many people call friendship is not friendship at all. The difference matters. What friendship is. Friendship is aligned. It is built on trust, consistency, and mutual respect. It shows up without conditions. A real friend tells you the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable. Support your growth even when it changes the dynamic. Res...

Spotting fake people gets confused with being suspicious. Being cynical. With being hard. So, leaders override the chill in the chest In the name of being open. In the name of being generous. In the name of being a team player. And then they pay for it. In time. In energy. In opportunities given to people who never planned to give anything back. This isn’t paranoia. This is leadership discernment....

Redemption is often misunderstood. People think it’s about being forgiven. Or starting over. It’s not. Redemption is about what you choose after you’ve seen clearly. And once you see clearly You don’t get to go back to not knowing. What Redemption Is Redemption is a decision. Not a feeling. Not a moment. A decision to stop repeating What you now recognize isn’t aligned. It shows up when you: * tak...