Black Woman Leading

Most money advice is tactical: budget this, invest that. Dr. Billina Shaw brings something almost no one else does, a psychiatrist's lens. A Yale-educated, triple board-certified psychiatrist turned financial wellness strategist, she joins Laura to go underneath the numbers to the behavioral and psychological roots of how we relate to money. Fresh off her own pivot, laid off from a federal role and ninety days into full-time entrepreneurship, Billina gets vulnerable about discovering that her own anxiety wasn't about the bills, it was about worth and identity. She and Laura name financial trauma and how it shows up, especially for Black women carrying the "slave and save" mentality, and walk through her Aligned Health and Wealth framework: aligning with purpose, identifying with abundance, abolishing limiting beliefs, and acting with authority. A grounding, judgment-free conversation about building wealth from the inside out.

In this episode:

• What financial trauma is, the three forms it takes (history, household, and her story), and how it quietly drives overspending, hoarding, and avoidance

• Why budgeting alone never fixes it, and how positive reinforcement and abundance, not shame, actually change our relationship with money

• The Aligned Health and Wealth framework, and why disentangling your worth from your work is the first inside-out move

About Dr. Billina

Dr. Billina Shaw is a Yale-educated, triple board-certified psychiatrist turned financial wellness strategist who helps women build aligned wealth from the inside out. Through her coaching practice, Freely Flourish Financial™, she draws on her behavioral health expertise and signature framework to help high-achievers untangle the beliefs and behaviors holding back their personal growth and that of their wallets. A physician and former federal behavioral health Senior Medical Advisor, she brings rare depth to a simple idea: true prosperity starts with alignment.

Connect with Dr. Billina

Website: www.freelyflourishfinancial.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/dr-billina

Instagram: @drbillina

BWL Resources:

• Join us at the 2027 Black Woman Leading LIVE! Conference & Retreat. June 1-4, 2027, Clearwater Beach, FL. Save your seat at www.BWLretreat.com

• Full podcast episodes are now on Youtube. Subscribe to the BWL channel today!

• Check out the BWL theme song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l68EqEJjXq0

• Check out the BWL line dance tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eui89AmJwUg

• Take the free Future-Ready Leader Assessment - https://futureready.blackwomanleading.com/

Credits:

Learn about all Black Woman Leading® programs, resources, and events at www.blackwomanleading.com

Learn more about our consulting work with organizations at https://knightsconsultinggroup.com/

Email Laura: [email protected]

Connect with Laura on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraeknights/

Follow BWL on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/blackwomanleading

Instagram: @blackwomanleading

Facebook: @blackwomanleading

Youtube: @blackwomanleading

Podcast Music & Production: Marshall Knights - https://marshallknights.com/

Graphics: Dara Adams

Listen and follow the podcast on all major platforms:

• Apple Podcasts

• Spotify

• Stitcher

• iHeartRadio

• Audible

• Podbay

Neuroscience strategist Keyshawn Hughes joins Laura to explain what's actually happening in the brain when we communicate, and why so many of us feel more connected online yet lonelier than ever. The founder of Neuro Savvy Leadership breaks down her memorable framing of a world running on "dopamine hits" while starving for "oxytocin drips," the slow, in-person bonding that real relationships require. She and Laura explore how threat and reward show up in our tone and body language, what happens neurologically when Black women go silent or shrink in unsafe rooms, and how to build the self-awareness and strategy to communicate with confidence. A fascinating, practical bridge between brain science and everyday connection.

In this episode:

• Dopamine hits versus oxytocin drips: why digital busyness leaves us lonely, and how to rebuild real connection

• What fight, flight, freeze, and fawn look like at work, and how to move out of them safely

• Practical tools to communicate clearly and advocate for yourself without shrinking or over-explaining

About Keshawn

Keshawn Hughes, M.S. is a NeuroLeadership Strategist, Executive Coach, and Founder of NeuroSavvy® Leadership, equipping HR and corporate leaders with neuroscience-backed tools to boost productivity, retention, and engagement. With a Master's in Strategic Communication, she has facilitated over 400 leadership engagements since 2021, helping organizations build thriving cultures. Keshawn's upcoming book, NeuroSavvy® Storytelling, shares strategies that move people to believe, align, and take action. Based in Atlanta, she brings the same heartfelt approach to life with her husband and child who inspire her daily.

Connect with Keshawn

Website: http://www.keshawnhughes.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NeuroLeaderKHughes

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keshawnhughes/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keshawnridgelhughes/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@keshawnhughes1576

BWL Resources:

• Join us at the 2027 Black Woman Leading LIVE! Conference & Retreat. June 1-4, 2027, Clearwater Beach, FL. Save your seat at www.BWLretreat.com

• Full podcast episodes are now on Youtube. Subscribe to the BWL channel today!

• Check out the BWL theme song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l68EqEJjXq0

• Check out the BWL line dance tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eui89AmJwUg

• Take the free Future-Ready Leader Assessment - https://futureready.blackwomanleading.com/

Credits:

Learn about all Black Woman Leading® programs, resources, and events at www.blackwomanleading.com

Learn more about our consulting work with organizations at https://knightsconsultinggroup.com/

Email Laura: [email protected]

Connect with Laura on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraeknights/

Follow BWL on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/blackwomanleading

Instagram: @blackwomanleading

Facebook: @blackwomanleading

Youtube: @blackwomanleading

Podcast Music & Production: Marshall Knights - https://marshallknights.com/

Graphics: Dara Adams

Listen and follow the podcast on all major platforms:

• Apple Podcasts

• Spotify

• Stitcher

• iHeartRadio

• Audible

• Podbay

What does it take to lead well when the ground will not stop shaking? In this solo episode, Laura introduces the Future-Ready Leader Model, a tree-based framework for leading from the inside out, through your roots, your trunk, and your branches.

• Roots. Your internal foundation: Self-awareness, emotional regulation, values, and grounding.

• Trunk. Your strategic positioning: The clarity and intentional choices that keep you standing.

• Branches. Your expansive impact: The influence, relationships, and reach beyond your role.

You were not designed to only lead when things are easy. Future-ready leadership is not about becoming someone different. It is about going deeper into who you already are, and growing anyway.

"You can have the most impressive branches in the room. But if your roots are shallow, one hard wind takes you down."

Take the free Future-Ready Leader Assessment. Fifteen questions, about five minutes, and you get your profile, your scores across all three dimensions, your strengths, your growth edge, and three next steps.

https://futureready.blackwomanleading.com/

About Laura Laura Knights is the Creator of Black Woman Leading® and host of the podcast. She is an executive coach, speaker, facilitator, and licensed clinical social worker with 20+ years of experience creating personal and professional development programs that have touched leaders worldwide.

Her expertise and background in business, human resources, adult education, and social work uniquely equip her to teach others how to deal with both the "head work" and "heart work" required to succeed at work and in life. She is the Founder and CEO of Knights Consulting LLC, a leadership development consultancy that provides customized training and coaching programs to create more confident leaders and high-performing teams.

Black Woman Leading® is a research-backed initiative which offers leadership development programming, a podcast, and an annual conference for Black women professionals. Black Woman Leading® is an initiative of Knights Consulting LLC. Learn more at blackwomanleading.com.

BWL Resources:

• Now enrolling for both the August sessions of the Early Career and Mid-Career programs. Learn more at https://blackwomanleading.com/programs-overview/

• Join us at the 2027 Black Woman Leading LIVE! Conference & Retreat. June 1-4, 2027, Clearwater Beach, FL. Save your seat at www.BWLretreat.com

• Full podcast episodes are now on Youtube. Subscribe to the BWL channel today!

• Check out the BWL theme song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l68EqEJjXq0

• Check out the BWL line dance tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eui89AmJwUg

Credits:

Learn about all Black Woman Leading® programs, resources, and events at www.blackwomanleading.com

Learn more about our consulting work with organizations at https://knightsconsultinggroup.com/

Email Laura: [email protected]

Connect with Laura on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraeknights/

Follow BWL on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/blackwomanleading

Instagram: @blackwomanleading

Facebook: @blackwomanleading

Youtube: @blackwomanleading

Podcast Music & Production: Marshall Knights - https://marshallknights.com/

Graphics: Dara Adams

Listen and follow the podcast on all major platforms:

• Apple Podcasts

• Spotify

• Stitcher

• iHeartRadio

• Audible

• Podbay

After nearly 30 years in public service, Dawn Pinnock stepped into an entirely new sector as president and CEO of the Center for Urban Community Services, and had to rebuild something she had spent decades earning: her professional relationships. In this episode, she and Laura break down what it takes to recalibrate how you connect when you are deeply established in one world and starting fresh in another. Dawn shares the exact process she used, taking honest stock of her track record, gathering candid feedback from longtime supporters and even former opponents, and turning those themes into a story she could lead with. It is a masterclass for anyone pivoting, by choice or by layoff, who worries the social capital they built no longer counts.

In this episode:

• Why being "known but not networked" is a real distinction, and how to translate a strong reputation into new rooms

• Dawn's first-90-days playbook: honest self-assessment, feedback focus groups, and positioning yourself as a learner who still brings value

• How the relationships you build internally with your team become the springboard for the ones you build outside

About Dawn

Dawn M. Pinnock has spent nearly 30 years in public service driving change. As President and CEO of the Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS), she leads one of the city's most effective social service organizations, supporting over 50,000 people each year on their path to housing stability and long-term well-being. Before joining CUCS, she served as Commissioner of the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS). In this role, she created the city's first community-based hiring model, advanced family-forward policies for more than 320,000 employees, managed 22 million square feet of city-owned and leased office space, and made New York greener through fleet electrification and large-scale energy efficiency upgrades. Pinnock serves as a Trustee and adjunct professor at Metropolitan College of New York, and in 2026 was appointed to Mayor Zohran Mamdani's Commission on Government Efficiency, a newly formed Charter Revision Commission tasked with modernizing city government.

Connect with Dawn

Website: https://www.cucs.org/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cucs/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cucs_nyc/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CUCSnyc

BWL Resources:

• Now enrolling for both the August sessions of the Early Career and Mid-Career programs. Learn more at https://blackwomanleading.com/programs-overview/

• Join us at the 2027 Black Woman Leading LIVE! Conference & Retreat. June 1-4, 2027, Clearwater Beach, FL. Save your seat at www.BWLretreat.com

• Full podcast episodes are now on Youtube. Subscribe to the BWL channel today!

• Check out the BWL theme song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l68EqEJjXq0

• Check out the BWL line dance tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eui89AmJwUg

• Download the free Black Woman Leading Career Reset Kit - https://blackwomanleading.com/career-reset-kit/

Credits:

Learn about all Black Woman Leading® programs, resources, and events at www.blackwomanleading.com

Learn more about our consulting work with organizations at https://knightsconsultinggroup.com/

Email Laura: [email protected]

Connect with Laura on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraeknights/

Follow BWL on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/blackwomanleading

Instagram: @blackwomanleading

Facebook: @blackwomanleading

Youtube: @blackwomanleading

Podcast Music & Production: Marshall Knights - https://marshallknights.com/

Graphics: Dara Adams

Listen and follow the podcast on all major platforms:

• Apple Podcasts

• Spotify

• Stitcher

• iHeartRadio

• Audible

• Podbay

Fear never fully goes away, so what if the goal was never to get rid of it? Caressa Bell, a Gulf War veteran, former Fortune 50 executive, and author of Manufactured Fearlessness, joins Laura to reframe fearlessness as something you build, not something you're born with. Drawing on the moment she deployed to war with a newborn at home, Caressa shares how "moving even when you're not ready" became the practice that carried her through a military career, two decades in corporate leadership, and the leap into entrepreneurship. She and Laura dig into leading yourself before you lead others, reading what's really happening "beyond the veil" in a room, and why so many of us are far more ready than we let ourselves believe. A galvanizing conversation for any Black woman standing at the edge of a bold move.

In this episode:

• Why fearlessness is manufactured: how to feel the fear, look back at everything you've already done afraid, and move anyway

• "Beyond the veil": reading the unspoken dynamics in a room so you can lead and position yourself strategically

• Why you have to lead yourself first, and how knowing your gifts and triggers is the foundation for leading others

About Caressa

Caressa Bell is an Executive Strategist, Leadership & Transformation Coach, Gulf War Veteran, and former Fortune 50 Executive with more than 30 years of leadership experience spanning military service, corporate transformation, and entrepreneurship. Throughout her career, she has led billion-dollar portfolios, enterprise-wide transformation initiatives, and teams of more than 200 professionals. Today, through her work, speaking, and upcoming book Manufactured Fearlessness: Own Your Leadership, Own the Room, she helps leaders build the courage, clarity, and confidence to Lead Yourself. Lead Others. Leave a Legacy.

Connect with Caressa

Join the waitlist for Caressa Bell's upcoming book, Manufactured Fearlessness: Own Your Leadership, Own the Room, and be the first to receive launch updates, exclusive content, and release announcements: https://www.iamcaressabell.com/manufactured-fearlessness

Website: http://www.iamcaressabell.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caressabell/

Instagram: @claritywithcaressa

BWL Resources:

• Now enrolling for both the August sessions of the Early Career and Mid-Career programs. Learn more at https://blackwomanleading.com/programs-overview/

• Join us at the 2027 Black Woman Leading LIVE! Conference & Retreat. June 1-4, 2027, Clearwater Beach, FL. Save your seat at www.BWLretreat.com

• Full podcast episodes are now on Youtube. Subscribe to the BWL channel today!

• Check out the BWL theme song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l68EqEJjXq0

• Check out the BWL line dance tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eui89AmJwUg

• Download the free Black Woman Leading Career Reset Kit - https://blackwomanleading.com/career-reset-kit/

Credits:

Learn about all Black Woman Leading® programs, resources, and events at www.blackwomanleading.com

Learn more about our consulting work with organizations at https://knightsconsultinggroup.com/

Email Laura: [email protected]

Connect with Laura on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraeknights/

Follow BWL on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/blackwomanleading

Instagram: @blackwomanleading

Facebook: @blackwomanleading

Youtube: @blackwomanleading

Podcast Music & Production: Marshall Knights - https://marshallknights.com/

Graphics: Dara Adams

Listen and follow the podcast on all major platforms:

• Apple Podcasts

• Spotify

• Stitcher

• iHeartRadio

• Audible

• Podbay

Starting a new role is one of the most pivotal, and most vulnerable, moments in a career. Dr. Ciera Graham joins Laura with a clear, intentional framework for building and activating a strong professional reputation from day one. Drawing on her own journey, Ciera unpacks how to make a strong first impression, build the right relationships early, and manage your visibility and narrative so the right people understand your value. Whether you are stepping into a new job, a new team, or a new level, this conversation offers a practical roadmap for establishing credibility on purpose.

In this episode:

• How to make a strong first impression and establish credibility in a new role
• Building the right relationships and networks early, before you need them
• Managing your visibility and reputation so your value is seen

About Dr. Ciera

Dr. Ciera Graham is an experienced higher education professional, business owner, and an accomplished career coach. She received her bachelor's degree in Sociology and a Master's in Community Counseling from Washington State University, and a PhD in Sociology in August 2015 at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Graham has been described as tenacious, innovative, forward thinking, impeccable executor a leader who leads with gratitude, and someone empowered to create a win-win situation for everyone she meets.

She owns her own business, Dr. C Graham Consulting in which she provides career consulting services to entry to mid-level professionals. She has over 15 years of experience in the career development and coaching space. Her specialty is helping millennials and Gen Zers assess their skills, define their strategy, and engage in storytelling to ultimately secure and succeed in the job of their dreams. She also was invited by the CEO of Career Contessa to join their exclusive coaching network, a title only given to the top career coaches in the country. She is a past career columnist for Career Contessa, Best Colleges, The Seattle Times and the Everett Herald, and current contributor to the University of Washington Professional & Continuing Education department. She enjoys writing on topics focused on career and leadership development for Black women and navigating the workforce as a millennial. She has appeared on the following podcasts: Career Contessa, Your Career GPS, and Find your Dream Job.

Connect with Dr. Ciera

Website: http://cieragraham.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drcieragraham/

Instagram: @drcgrahamconsulting

BWL Resources:

• Now enrolling for both the August sessions of the Early Career and Mid-Career programs. Learn more at https://blackwomanleading.com/programs-overview/

• Join us at the 2027 Black Woman Leading LIVE! Conference & Retreat. June 1-4, 2027, Clearwater Beach, FL. Save your seat at www.BWLretreat.com

• Full podcast episodes are now on Youtube. Subscribe to the BWL channel today!

• Check out the BWL theme song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l68EqEJjXq0

• Check out the BWL line dance tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eui89AmJwUg

• Download the free Black Woman Leading Career Reset Kit - https://blackwomanleading.com/career-reset-kit/

Credits:

Learn about all Black Woman Leading® programs, resources, and events at www.blackwomanleading.com

Learn more about our consulting work with organizations at https://knightsconsultinggroup.com/

Email Laura: [email protected]

Connect with Laura on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraeknights/

Follow BWL on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/blackwomanleading

Instagram: @blackwomanleading

Facebook: @blackwomanleading

Youtube: @blackwomanleading

Podcast Music & Production: Marshall Knights - https://marshallknights.com/

Graphics: Dara Adams

Listen and follow the podcast on all major platforms:

• Apple Podcasts

• Spotify

• Stitcher

• iHeartRadio

• Audible

• Podbay

Dr. Kiki Ramsey brings a positive psychology lens to one of the most important relationships we have: the one with ourselves. In this conversation, she and Laura explore what it means to create your own happiness rather than waiting on circumstances, titles, or other people to deliver it. Kiki shares her leadership journey and the science-backed practices that help Black women cultivate joy as a discipline rather than a destination. It is a grounding, hopeful conversation about tending to your inner life with the same intention you bring to your goals.

In this episode:

• Why happiness is something you build, not something you wait for
• Positive psychology practices for cultivating joy in everyday leadership
• How a strong relationship with yourself becomes the foundation for everything else

About Dr. Kiki

Dr. Kiki Ramsey is a renowned Positive Psychologist, ICF Master Certified Career Coach, International Keynote Speaker and Best Selling Author. With a commitment to making a positive impact in the world, Dr. Kiki founded The Positive Psychology Coaching and Diversity Institute (PPCaDI), a leadership development firm that specializes in diversity and leadership coaching and training.

Dr. Kiki is known for her innovative approach to coaching, and DEI called Positively Diverse Leadership, which is an evidence-based approach rooted in positive psychology that fosters the intentional use of strengths to help leaders build better working relationships and communication skills to become more inclusive leaders. This unique approach allows Dr. Kiki to help leaders and organizations create more inclusive and happy work cultures that foster belonging for all.

As a leader in her field of positive psychology and DEI, Dr. Kiki has worked with a diverse range of clients, including top-level executives in Fortune 500 organizations and business owners, coaching and delivering keynote addresses for corporations, conferences, and events around the world. Dr. Kiki's dedication and expertise have earned her the recognition of being named Top 50 Women Leaders in Georgia in 2023, 2024 and 2025 by Women We Admire.

Connect with Dr. Kiki

Website: http://www.ppcadi.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drkikiramsey/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drkikiramsey/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kiki.ramsey/

BWL Resources:

• Now enrolling for both the August sessions of the Early Career and Mid-Career programs. Learn more at https://blackwomanleading.com/programs-overview/

• Join us at the 2027 Black Woman Leading LIVE! Conference & Retreat. June 1-4, 2027, Clearwater Beach, FL. Save your seat at www.BWLretreat.com

• Full podcast episodes are now on Youtube. Subscribe to the BWL channel today!

• Check out the BWL theme song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l68EqEJjXq0

• Check out the BWL line dance tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eui89AmJwUg

• Download the free Black Woman Leading Career Reset Kit - https://blackwomanleading.com/career-reset-kit/

Credits:

Learn about all Black Woman Leading® programs, resources, and events at www.blackwomanleading.com

Learn more about our consulting work with organizations at https://knightsconsultinggroup.com/

Email Laura: [email protected]

Connect with Laura on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraeknights/

Follow BWL on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/blackwomanleading

Instagram: @blackwomanleading

Facebook: @blackwomanleading

Youtube: @blackwomanleading

Podcast Music & Production: Marshall Knights - https://marshallknights.com/

Graphics: Dara Adams

Listen and follow the podcast on all major platforms:

• Apple Podcasts

• Spotify

• Stitcher

• iHeartRadio

• Audible

• Podbay

Mecca Anderson joins Laura to challenge the assumptions we carry into our personal and professional relationships. Too often we operate on autopilot, repeating old patterns and making unintentional missteps that quietly cost us trust, connection, and opportunity. Mecca shares her own leadership story and her approach to rewiring how we relate to the people who shape our lives and careers, from being more intentional about the connections we build to noticing the small habits that get in our way. It is a candid, practical conversation about relating to others, and to ourselves, with more awareness and less default.

In this episode:

• The common, unintentional relationship mistakes that quietly undermine trust and connection
• How to move from autopilot to intention in both personal and professional relationships
• What it looks like to rewire long-held patterns and show up differently

About Mecca

Professor Mecca Anderson is a lawyer, law professor, and speaker with more than 15 years of experience spanning civil litigation, criminal prosecution, judicial clerkships, legal entrepreneurship, and appellate practice. She began her legal career clerking at the Supreme Court of Georgia before building a career representing injured clients, teaching future lawyers, and serving communities across Georgia. She currently focuses her practice on personal injury litigation as Of Counsel with Maxwell Tillman + Coleman.

Whether advocating for injured clients, teaching future lawyers, speaking to audiences, or mentoring professionals, Professor Anderson explores the intersection of relationships, professionalism, leadership, and human behavior, helping others build careers and lives grounded in trust, purpose, and meaningful connection.

Connect with Mecca

Website: https://www.johnmarshall.edu/facultystaff/mecca-anderson/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mecca-anderson/

Instagram: @mecca.profesquire and @professormec

TikTok: @professormec

BWL Resources:

• Now enrolling for both the August sessions of the Early Career and Mid-Career programs. Learn more at https://blackwomanleading.com/programs-overview/

• Join us at the 2027 Black Woman Leading LIVE! Conference & Retreat. June 1-4, 2027, Clearwater Beach, FL. Save your seat at www.BWLretreat.com

• Full podcast episodes are now on Youtube. Subscribe to the BWL channel today!

• Check out the BWL theme song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l68EqEJjXq0

• Check out the BWL line dance tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eui89AmJwUg

• Download the free Black Woman Leading Career Reset Kit - https://blackwomanleading.com/career-reset-kit/

Credits:

Learn about all Black Woman Leading® programs, resources, and events at www.blackwomanleading.com

Learn more about our consulting work with organizations at https://knightsconsultinggroup.com/

Email Laura: [email protected]

Connect with Laura on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraeknights/

Follow BWL on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/blackwomanleading

Instagram: @blackwomanleading

Facebook: @blackwomanleading

Youtube: @blackwomanleading

Podcast Music & Production: Marshall Knights - https://marshallknights.com/

Graphics: Dara Adams

Listen and follow the podcast on all major platforms:

• Apple Podcasts

• Spotify

• Stitcher

• iHeartRadio

• Audible

• Podbay

Who are you being as a leader right now, and did you ever actually choose her? In this solo episode, Laura opens Season 9's work on the relationship with yourself by guiding you through a leadership identity audit. This is not about casting a vision for who you want to become. It is an honest, present-tense look at who you already are. Most of us never consciously designed our leadership identity. We built it in survival mode, in rooms that required it, and we kept performing it long after the room changed. The audit gives you a simple framework to examine what you are carrying, tell the difference between what still serves you and what is just familiar, and reclaim the choice of who you lead as now.

In this episode:

• Why an identity audit is different from vision or goal-setting, and why that distinction matters
• The three audit questions: what you built to survive, what is still true versus just familiar, and what you are ready to release
• How honesty with yourself becomes the foundation for every other relationship you cultivate this season

About Laura Laura Knights is the Creator of Black Woman Leading® and host of the podcast. She is an executive coach, speaker, facilitator, and licensed clinical social worker with 20+ years of experience creating personal and professional development programs that have touched leaders worldwide.

Her expertise and background in business, human resources, adult education, and social work uniquely equip her to teach others how to deal with both the "head work" and "heart work" required to succeed at work and in life. She is the Founder and CEO of Knights Consulting LLC, a leadership development consultancy that provides customized training and coaching programs to create more confident leaders and high-performing teams.

Black Woman Leading® is a research-backed initiative which offers leadership development programming, a podcast, and an annual conference for Black women professionals. Black Woman Leading® is an initiative of Knights Consulting LLC. Learn more at blackwomanleading.com.

BWL Resources:

• Now enrolling for both the August sessions of the Early Career and Mid-Career programs. Learn more at https://blackwomanleading.com/programs-overview/

• Join us at the 2027 Black Woman Leading LIVE! Conference & Retreat. June 1-4, 2027, Clearwater Beach, FL. Save your seat at www.BWLretreat.com

• Full podcast episodes are now on Youtube. Subscribe to the BWL channel today!

• Check out the BWL theme song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l68EqEJjXq0

• Check out the BWL line dance tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eui89AmJwUg

• Download the free Black Woman Leading Career Reset Kit - https://blackwomanleading.com/career-reset-kit/

Credits:

Learn about all Black Woman Leading® programs, resources, and events at www.blackwomanleading.com

Learn more about our consulting work with organizations at https://knightsconsultinggroup.com/

Email Laura: [email protected]

Connect with Laura on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraeknights/

Follow BWL on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/blackwomanleading

Instagram: @blackwomanleading

Facebook: @blackwomanleading

Youtube: @blackwomanleading

Podcast Music & Production: Marshall Knights - https://marshallknights.com/

Graphics: Dara Adams

Listen and follow the podcast on all major platforms:

• Apple Podcasts

• Spotify

• Stitcher

• iHeartRadio

• Audible

• Podbay

Welcome to Season 9 of Black Woman Leading, the podcast! This podcast is an extension of the Black Woman Leading programs and events.

In this opener, Laura sets the table for a new season built entirely around relationships, the full ecosystem of connections that either sustain us or drain us as leaders.

Coming out of Season 8's work on joy and wholeness, she frames this season as what we build from that grounded place: authentic relationships with ourselves, our teams, our communities, and the people in our personal lives who make our leadership sustainable.

At the heart of the season is one question. How do we cultivate and curate relationships that do not require us to decenter our own experience, abandon our values, or shrink ourselves to belong?

Laura shares where the season is headed and why real relationship, the kind that fuels great leadership, always starts with a grounded, boundaried, fully present you.

About Laura Laura Knights is the Creator of Black Woman Leading® and host of the podcast. She is an executive coach, speaker, facilitator, and licensed clinical social worker with 20+ years of experience creating personal and professional development programs that have touched leaders worldwide.

Her expertise and background in business, human resources, adult education, and social work uniquely equip her to teach others how to deal with both the "head work" and "heart work" required to succeed at work and in life. She is the Founder and CEO of Knights Consulting LLC, a leadership development consultancy that provides customized training and coaching programs to create more confident leaders and high-performing teams.

Black Woman Leading® is a research-backed initiative which offers leadership development programming, a podcast, and an annual conference for Black women professionals. Black Woman Leading® is an initiative of Knights Consulting LLC. Learn more at blackwomanleading.com.

BWL Resources:

• Now enrolling for both the August sessions of the Early Career and Mid-Career programs. Learn more at https://blackwomanleading.com/programs-overview/

• Join us at the 2027 Black Woman Leading LIVE! Conference & Retreat. June 1-4, 2027, Clearwater Beach, FL. Save your seat at www.BWLretreat.com

• Full podcast episodes are now on Youtube. Subscribe to the BWL channel today!

• Check out the BWL theme song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l68EqEJjXq0

• Check out the BWL line dance tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eui89AmJwUg

• Download the free Black Woman Leading Career Reset Kit - https://blackwomanleading.com/career-reset-kit/

Credits:

Learn about all Black Woman Leading® programs, resources, and events at www.blackwomanleading.com

Learn more about our consulting work with organizations at https://knightsconsultinggroup.com/

Email Laura: [email protected]

Connect with Laura on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraeknights/

Follow BWL on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/blackwomanleading

Instagram: @blackwomanleading

Facebook: @blackwomanleading

Youtube: @blackwomanleading

Podcast Music & Production: Marshall Knights - https://marshallknights.com/

Graphics: Dara Adams

Listen and follow the podcast on all major platforms:

• Apple Podcasts

• Spotify

• Stitcher

• iHeartRadio

• Audible

• Podbay