Let go, Lean In

Our guest today is Megan Bunnell of Tantalum Coaching. Megan is a generous soul whose desire is for all people to unleash their 10/10 lives! In fact she is hosting a podcast summit featuring Olympians, authors, and other stellar folks beginning this Monday. Find out more at the link embedded above.

Loss and death is not an easy topic to discuss in toxic positivity culture we find ourselves. But reality is, grief affects everyone in subtle and time stopping ways. If you're like me, you might feel grief for a time but then "it's time to move on", right? Not so fast! Sitting with grief and asking "what is also true" can make space for gratitude to emerge within the losses. 

Let's talk about our actions, our choices to care for ourselves, our people and the planet. The aphorisms I use often are those pithy phrases that pack a big idea into a short phrase to help remember the big idea. Think globally, act locally is one of those aphorisms.

Time and current events have been a whirlwind swirling around and within. Today I want to offer us three grounding thoughts, two resources and leave you with a blessing from John O'Donohue. My hope is that you will receive a moment of peace in the midst of the whirlwind of news in the US.

This episode is the last in our eight part series focused on self-leadership. We began in September with my book recommendation of How to Walk into a Room by Emily P. Freeman where I shared the clarity I received by reading her words. Courage, Curiosity, Creativity, Calmness, Confidence, Compassion, Connectedness and now back around to Clarity.

This is the penultimate episode of this eight part series about the 8 C's of Self-Leadership. In past episodes we've talked about courage, curiosity, creativity, calmness, confidence and compassion. Today we turn our attention to connectedness. Connectedness in our interior world and our exterior world. Why do we need to pursue connectedness? 

Welcome dear Listener! We're in week 6 of our eight part series covering the 8 C's of Self-Leadership based on the tool developed by Foundations IFS. There will be a link to their pdf in the show notes on letgoleaninpodcast.com Today I want to focus on Compassion and specifically how do we nurture compassion in ourselves and for others?

We're half way through the 8 C's of Self-Leadership series. Today we take a look at confidence. Specifically, building confidence when yours might be wonky. What does confidence really mean? How do we build it? What's challenging about it? Let's find out!

If there's one thing I've learned over the last four years, it's this: acting like an ostrich in the face of uncertainty doesn't get rid of anxiety. I have learned some helpful practices and have talked about many of them in previous episodes. Today, we'll look at developing calmness in your inner world.

We're in the middle of a series on Self-Leadership using the 8 C's of Self-Leadership Wheel from Foundations of IFS. Today's episode focuses on the fourth C which is Creativity. As a woman of faith, I view creativity as a spiritual practice. I'm hoping you will too after you consider what I share here.

Our third C from the 8 C's of Self-leadership is Curiosity. We're hardwired to be curious but our culture does not support asking lots of questions or wondering about how things work or especially how we work. Curiosity needs to be developed, practiced and cultivated like a gardener. This begins with paying attention. What are the other steps to cultivate curiosity as you learn to lead yourself and others well? Listen in.

Courage is our second C from the 8 C's of Self- leadership that we're exploring in this series. Where do we find courage? What does taking courage look like in our lived experiences? How do we find the courage to be yourself? This episode tackles all these questions and more!

This episode is both a book recommendation and personal application of the first C of the 8 C's of self-leadership: Clarity. Emily P. Freeman's recent book How to Walk into a Room: The Art of Knowing When to Stay and When to Walk Away is the book recommendation and the resource I've applied to my life this summer to gain Clarity; the first C of self-leadership according to the IFS Foundations tool I shared last episode. Such a great book! 

Welcome Welcome to Episode 150 of Let Go, Lean In podcast. This also happens to be the first episode of Year 4! I've been talking to you about leadership, development and leading through the lens of the Enneagram and sharing others' stories about their leadership journeys all this time. in today's episode I answer the 4th grade writing prompt: What did you do on your summer vacation? I also have a list of my takeaways and a tool for your own self-leadership journey.

Have you ever read a work of fiction that was so well written you experienced events with the characters? Kristen Hannah's The Women did that for me. Such an amazing writer! But this episode is not a book recommendation; it's a transparent confession of how complex PTSD landed in my life. I also share how I've worked to let go of the emotions that accompany the somatic experiences. I talk a bit about EMDR and therapy in general.

In which I read aloud my favorite children's book and share reflections on it's continuing inspiration.

It's been more than a few minutes since my last episode 146 encouraging you to read David Brooks' latest book How to Know a Person. I've been thinking a lot about the ways books have enhanced my life. I chose four positive effects of reading to remind you of today. Whether you are leading a group, a team, an organization or your own self, reading is essential. I've talked about the research supporting the value of reading in several episodes. Listen in to hear some positive effects of reading that will make you want to go read!

I just finished a delightful book by David Brooks titled How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen. It is a delightful book because it aligns with the messages of growth and listening as well as so many other points I've shared here on the podcast. Listen to learn why you need to read this book!

Our conversation guest today is Holley Gerth. Holley is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, licensed counselor, and life coach. She imagines a world where we all become who we're created to be, use our strengths to serve, and grow for a lifetime. Holley cofounded the groundbreaking blogging community (in)courage and cohosts the popular podcast More Than Small Talk. 

Establishing new rhythms for my work, life and faith in 2024 have taken longer than they used to! All of January I was discerning what to keep, what to let go and where to lean in so I was ready to really get going in February.  Turns out in this season of my life I am more easily distracted than I used to be. The biggest culprit is EMAIL. 

What does it mean to connect the dots if we don't have the dots collected in one place? This adds a Why to the What and How of living a dot to dot life.

Please tell me I'm not alone with the kind of day I had today! Distractions that appeared like emergencies took two hours of my time and took my emotions outside my window of tolerance. Ever had that happen? 

Kristen Stockton is the Founder of the Caregiver Coach Group, under JASKAP Consulting LLC, where Kristen is the Principal Managing Partner. During our conversation we talk about leadership as a throughline in life. Kristen's unique background spans 30 years of working with non-profit, private and public sector organizations.

It's the beginning of the third week of January and I thought we needed a joke. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, Practice, Practice. No one knows the origin of this joke including the folks at Carnegie Hall. The reason I chose this joke is this episode is all about Practice, Practice, Practice but not necessarily musical instruments.

Welcome to the first episode of 2024! Ta da! (page turn) New Year! Same me. I'm guessing same you as well. This episode invites you to slow down and pay attention to what is drawing you forward rather than to the external values of other voices. There are several resources as well as a suggested practice to help you learn to lead yourself well so that you can lead others well.

Ideas simmer, they don't bubble over. Reflecting on influence as a leadership value has been a simmer that took a lot of time to bring out the subtleties of influence. 

Learning-Growing-Changing-Sharing-Encouraging-Equipping are all elements of Development. Not the fundraising kind of Development. The leadership value of personal and professional development that is the key to lifelong learning and the key of Transformational Leadership. 

Judy M. Baker founded Book Marketing Mentor to support authors at every stage in their journey, guiding them on the path to success and sustainable sales. Judy is the President of the Redwood Writers Club and co-hosts the Grand Authors Group. Judy and I had a lovely conversation about the Leadership Value of Development, both of self and your people. 

In my conversation with Dr. Jill Richardson (ep. 134) she chose Honesty & Transparency from the list of Leadership Values she was sent. We discussed these values as well as the Enneagram and her upcoming course called The Enneagram for Writers. In this solo episode I thought I would model these values through a personal story or two. I had fun with this; hope you enjoy it. 

My dear listener, I am so happy to share this conversation with the Reverend Dr. Jill Richardson. We had a delightful time! Dr. Jill Richardson pastors in suburban Chicago, as well as writing and speaking. Her passion is to work with the next generation to create a healthy church and to teach pastors. She has written or contributed to 8 books, and her articles have appeared in leading national magazines and websites. Jill has three adult daughters and one unruly cat. She also enjoys traveling, gardening, volunteering with World Relief, breaking out in random musical numbers, emerging victorious in LOTR trivia, and a good cup of Earl Grey.  

In our series on leadership values have you noticed the overlap of some of the values? I thought I would take some liberties with word play in this solo episode. Today's leadership value is Respect. I'm putting it together with another leadership value Communication. The first two letters of Communication are Co. The first two letters of Respect are Re. Putting those letters together in one word, we get a CoRe value. See what I did there?

Molly Hegenderfer is a seasoned Project Manager -- most recently with a non-profit. Proven process design skills, development support, Email marketing (constant contact, mailchimp), CRM mangement (bloomerang, zapier), Event Management (eventbrite), technology managment for small business. Strong skills -- Business Analysis, Sales, Team Building, and Public Speaking. Hold a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from Washington State University. Personally she is a friend, sister, wife, mother and Christ follower who is a joyful encourager In all situations. Molly chose respect as the leadership value she wanted to discuss. It's a powerful one!

In this solo episode on the leadership value of Accountability, I talk about the courage it takes to ask for even one person to hold you to your commitments. Accountability is not easy and frivolous. Asking someone to watch your work, your words, your growth is inviting scrutiny as well as being vulnerable to failure. If you never share the risk you take then no one knows the leap you make. Accountability takes Courage and it is worth it!

Today's conversation is with Ruthie Gray, whose book Empty Nest Awakening launches TODAY!  Ruthie Gray is a wife, Gigi, empty nester, and content marketing consultant for Christian entrepreneurs, specializing in community building for Instagram and newsletter growth. Her hobbies include Florida beach walks, RV-ing with hubby, and reading historical fiction. Ruthie is the founder of Authentic Online Marketing School where she teaches her Community Marketing Framework, and podcasts at Authentic Online Marketing (so easy, your mom – or Carol Brady - can do it). Connect with her on Instagram or her website authenticonlinemarketing.com.

"The absence of integrity erodes trust" Allison Priola Picking up from our conversation around integrity as a leadership value I share more about what Integrity looks like in the life of a leader through the ideas of identity, community and love.

Allison Priola is a high capacity leader with over 20 years of organizational experience in creating, equipping and leading teams. As a seasoned organizational leader, developer, facilitator and coach, she helps teams bring simple solutions to complex problems through guided collaboration and maximizing talents. She is skilled in leading through strategic planning, creative solutions, and managing projects. Additionally, she is an ICF certified coach with a desire for individuals and teams to make and execute upon clear steps towards organizational goals, as well as growth as whole leaders doing meaningful work. She is passionate about facilitating opportunities for individuals to understand how they are gifted in order to fully live into their talents, roles and responsibilities. Allison is currently Program Manager for the AmeriCorps programs at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

We are in our sixth week of this series on leadership values. If you're new here you can head back to episode 121 to hear the entire series. Today we'll take a closer look at Passion and Commitment. I see these paired values as the energy and the engine of leadership. 

Melody is a cancer survivor, author, trainer, speaker, marriage counselor, comedian and professional napper.   Melody and Phil live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas have been married for 44 years, have 3 kids and 5 grandchildren.   A popular and frequently requested trainer, speaker and motivator, she addresses audiences from ten to thousands and uses laughter and lessons from her life, her business and her faith to inspire every audience.    Author of 3 books: “He can Be Trusted, Discovering God's Presence in Your Darkest Moments”   “The Couples Prayer Journal - a digital weekly devotion and prayer guide” (co-authored with husband Phil)   “Connecting with God through prayer” (e-book)   Newest: “My Daily Conversations With God - a 90 Day Prayer Journal”   

In the previous episode conversation with Andrea Stunz, she identified Resilience as an important value of leadership. Today I unpack more about Why Resilience in on the Leadership Values list. 

Andrea Stunz is back to have a deep conversation with us about the leadership value of Resilience. Andrea is a well-traveled, born-and-raised Texan who longs for adventure - especially if it requires a passport. As a Christ-following sojourner, she is a lover of stories and a connoisseur of sunrises and coffee - best when served up together. When she's not supporting others by editing and mentoring, she can be found writing or spending time with the joys of her life, her grandchildren.

Did you know that there are seven different leadership styles? The one I focus on is Transformational Leadership. There has been a considerable amount of research on leadership skills and values; this season we are going to focus on the 14 leadership values. This episode focuses on Empathy. 

To kick off the 3rd year of Let Go, Lean In podcast, I had a conversation with Dominica Lumazar, business development specialist and executive coach. This is Dominica's third time as a guest on LGLI and she shares the leadership value she believes most important: Empathy. 

Welcome to the 3rd year of Let Go, Lean In Podcast! After taking the summer off for rest, getting out in creation and completing some creative projects, I'm excited to begin talking with you about Transformational Leadership again. Thanks for being here!

I love to make a book recommendation when I know there is value for you in reading it. Author Meera Lee Patel has written such a book: How It Feels to Find Yourself. This is a new book and I simply love it! Listen in to hear more of why I am recommending this book to you.

Amanda Cleary Eastep is not related to Beverly Cleary but wishes she were. She is, however, a children's author, and the Tree Street Kids is her middle grade series for readers 8-12. Amanda knows kids because she's still one at heart. When she is forced to act like an adult, she edits nonfiction books by grownup authors. Amanda lives and writes in the mountains of North Carolina but has spent most of her life in the suburbs of Chicago, the home of the Tree Street Kids.

A few weeks ago, our pastor posed a question that I've been mulling around: how do I intentionally invest in my well-being? In light of the loneliness epidemic and the isolation that can come with the second half of life, it's important to be intentional in investing in our well-being so that we can live healthy, helpful and fulfilling lives. He gave us four categories to consider being intentional about investing: Faith, Family, Friendships and Meaningful work that benefits others. 

Andrea is a well-traveled, born-and-raised Texan who longs for adventure - especially if it requires a passport. As a Christ-following sojourner, she is a lover of stories and a connoisseur of sunrises and coffee - best when served up together. When she's not supporting others by editing and mentoring, she can be found writing or spending time with the joys of her life, her grandchildren.

Creativity can feel like a lot of pressure. You might be like me; having a hard time thinking of yourself as a creative person. Listen and be encouraged (hopefully!)

Hillary Loveland Bennett has all the credentials necessary to achieve greatness in the business world of coaching. In our conversation you'll find out why those achievements were not enough and what was missing.

It's a challenge to learn to see from another perspective! There are tools you can gather to help you. Three immediately come to mind and I identify them and unpack them a bit in this episode. Awareness Curiosity Practice Listen to learn how these three elements can help you learn to see from another perspective.

Cindy Kizanis, M.A. MFT, Doctor of Intercultural Studies, is an adjunct professor of Marriage and Family Therapy at Western Seminary and co-founder of Be.loved Ministries. She has been encouraging, teaching, and equipping women for over 25 years. She loves reading, music, painting and creating, and is always ready for a good kitchen dance party! Since deciding to close her therapy practice, she has been happily spending time on writing projects, and most recently has learned how to tattoo eyebrows! She is turning the chapter on a new season of life as an empty nester, along with her husband of 33 years, in a small town on the outskirts of Silicon Valley.