Kendrick Leckband's story is a powerful example of what it looks like to step out of a successful career and into a more authentic life. After a high-performing career at a private equity firm, she came to a realization: she wasn't showing up as her true self. Through intentional self-work, including discovering her strengths, clarifying her values, crafting a personal mission statement, Kendrick gained the clarity to understand why she felt stuck and the courage to pursue a new direction more aligned with who she is on the inside.

Her journey highlights a key message for anyone in a similar space in life: real fulfillment doesn't come from titles or tenure, but from alignment. And while the process of change can be uncomfortable, it often leads to the most meaningful growth.

Top 3 Takeaways:

1. Misalignment not lack of ability is often the root of feeling "stuck." Kendrick's experience shows that you can be highly successful on paper yet feel unfulfilled internally.

2. Clarity comes from aligning strengths, values, and mission. The turning point in Kendrick's journey was doing the internal work to define her personal mission and connect it with her strengths and values. This alignment is known as her Authentic Imprint, helping her make decisions with confidence.

3. Transition can feel uncertain—but it can also bring peace and purpose. Even in the middle of career change, Kendrick describes feeling more peace than ever before. Instead of operating from fear, she's grounded in clarity and intentionality. Her story is a reminder that while change is uncomfortable, it often leads to greater energy, presence, and fulfillment—both at work and at home.

Episode Minutes:

Minute 5: Kendrick's top five strengths and their application

Minute 13: The impact of understanding strengths, values, and mission

Minute 25: The foundation of values, strengths, and mission as a guiding compass

Minute 42: Advice for leaders: curiosity, taking small steps, and resilience

Minute 46: The "Three T's" framework: True, Tune, Turn

Links + Resources from This Episode:

Connect with Kendrick on LinkedIn

Join Dana Williams on April 30, 2026 in Dallas, TX for the Authentic Imprint™ Experience

Take the free 3-minute Authentic Imprint™ Assessment

Get a copy of Dana's book, The Internal Revolution: Lead Authentically and Build Your Personal Brand from Within

Learn more about The Strengths Journal

In this episode of Dominate Your Day, I share about the Hula Hoop Principle a simple but transformative way to rethink leadership and personal responsibility. Introduced to me by my therapist many years ago, this principle has completely shifted my perspective. I've noticed that leaders exhaust themselves trying to control others while neglecting the one thing they fully own themselves.

The "hula hoop" represents everything within your control (your thoughts, actions, and growth), while everything outside it simply isn't yours to carry. Clarity of personal mission is the antidote to burnout and reactivity. Especially in a rapidly changing world shaped by AI and shifting career paths, your mission acts as an internal compass guiding decisions, protecting your energy, and helping you lead with intention instead of reaction. Real leadership starts within. When you focus on changing yourself first, everything else begins to shift.

Top 3 Takeaways:

You only have control over what's "inside your hula hoop" stop spending energy on what isn't yours.

A clear personal mission acts as your GPS in uncertain, fast-changing environments.

Lasting impact begins with internal change, not external control.

Episode Minutes: Minute 2: Dana's personal reinvention story and creating her mission framework

Minute 4: Guided exercise: drawing your Hula Hoop and defining your mission statement

Minute 6 - How to craft 5 concise mission statement versions

Links + Resources from This Episode:

Take the free 3-minute Authentic Imprint™ Assessment

Get a copy of Dana's book, The Internal Revolution: Lead Authentically and Build Your Personal Brand from Within

Learn more about The Strengths Journal

Vanessa Peace shares a powerful story of reinvention, resilience, and rediscovery after an unexpected job loss. Drawing from a dynamic career spanning companies like Southwest Airlines, AT&T, and the American Cancer Society, Vanessa reflects on how her personal challenges including raising a daughter with complex medical needs shaped her leadership style and deepened her sense of purpose.

Through the lens of the Authentic Imprint™ framework, she highlights the importance of understanding and leveraging one's strengths, while aligning with core values such as authenticity, purpose, family, and love. Her journey reveals that even in moments of uncertainty and bruised confidence, clarity can emerge when you intentionally reconnect with who you are at your core. Her story is a testament to the idea that true fulfillment comes not from chasing titles, but from courageously choosing alignment and trusting that everything else will follow.

Top 3 Takeaways:

Clarity comes from within. Knowing your strengths, core values, and personal mission helps you navigate uncertainty and make aligned decisions even during major life transitions.

Emotional awareness is a skill. Pausing to recognize and name your emotions throughout the day can prevent overwhelm and help you respond intentionally instead of reacting.

Alignment matters more than achievement. True fulfillment comes from designing your life around purpose and authenticity not chasing titles, status, or external expectations.

Episode Minutes:

Minute 7: Deep dive into Vanessa's CliftonStrengths profile and energy management

Minute 13: Using strengths like communication and connectedness to overcome fear

Minute 20: Leveraging core values during impactful presentations

Minute 35: Embracing authenticity and purpose in life

Links + Resources from This Episode:

Connect with Vanessa Peace on LinkedIn

Take the free 3-minute Authentic Imprint Assessment

Get a copy of Dana's book, The Internal Revolution: Lead Authentically and Build Your Personal Brand from Within

Learn more about The Strengths Journal

On this episode of Dominate Your Day, Ellen Wood, CEO of VCFO, talks about what it means to be a trailblazer. Nearly 30 years ago, Ellen pioneered the fractional CFO model long before "virtual" became part of everyday business language. What started as a bold, unconventional idea has now served more than 6,000 clients and helped define an entire industry.

We discuss culture, accountability, and leadership. Over the years, Ellen has learned that culture isn't a "soft" concept it's the heart of the business. By involving employees in defining core values and ultimately elevating "people first" to the top priority, she has intentionally shaped an organization rooted in integrity and service. Her perspective reinforces the truth that authentic leadership is about walking the talk building strong systems, empowering people, and staying true to your values while you grow.

Top 3 Takeaways:

1. Great leadership starts with culture.

Ellen reminds us that intentionally defining values and truly putting people first creates the foundation for long-term success.

2. Strong leaders build accountability into their organizations.

They do this by clearly defining roles, setting expectations, and ensuring that ownership sits with one person, not many.

3. Leadership is about walking the talk.

Leaders should model integrity, give back to the community, mentor the next generation, and continuously grow so your team can grow alongside you.

Episode Minutes:

Minute 5:00 - Building a strong organizational culture and defining core values

Minute 9:00 - Industry trends: consolidation and the future vision for VCFO

Minute 12:00 - Leadership influences and mentoring practices

Minute 16:00 - The significance of accountability and systems like EOS

Links + Resources from This Episode:

• Connect with Ellen on LinkedIn

• Learn more about vcfo

• Take the free 3-minute Authentic Imprint™ Assessment

• Get a copy of Dana's book, The Internal Revolution: Lead Authentically and Build Your Personal Brand from Within

• Learn more about The Strengths Journal

On this episode of Dominate Your Day, I had the privilege of sitting down with Sharon Eubank to talk about her new book, Doing Small Things with Great Love, and the powerful lessons she's learned from nearly three decades of global humanitarian work. Sharon emphasizes that real help is always an exchange grounded in respect, dignity, and listening rather than assuming we know what's best for others.

We also discuss the leadership principles behind her work, especially the belief that we are most powerful where we live. Sharon explains how lasting change happens within trusted networks teams, neighborhoods, and organizations that hold one another accountable and unite around a shared purpose. She reflects on how service and purpose-driven teamwork can counter polarization and digital isolation, strengthen communities, and even improve mental health.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to make a positive impact within their community.

Top 3 Takeaways:

1. Small acts matter more than we think. Real impact doesn't have to be big or global it's about giving the right help at the right time in the right way. Even simple acts, done with empathy, can restore dignity and humanity.

2. We are most powerful where we live. Lasting change happens in our own communities, where we understand the culture, speak the language, and have long-term relationships. Don't underestimate the influence you have right where you are.

3. Great leadership empowers, it doesn't dictate. Instead of solving problems for people, strong leaders help others build confidence to find their own solutions creating purpose-driven, trusted teams that make meaningful impact together.

Episode Minutes: Minute 10:00 - Prioritizing where you are most powerful - your community

Minute 11:00 - The importance of trusting and empowering those around you in leadership

Minute 13:00 - Lessons from humanitarian work applicable to purpose-driven teams

Minute 16:00 - Reflections on human nature, polarization, and community connection

Links + Resources from This Episode:

Get a copy of Sharon's book, Doing Small Things with Great Love

Take the free 3-minute Authentic Imprint™ Assessment

Get a copy of Dana's book, The Internal Revolution: Lead Authentically and Build Your Personal Brand from Within

Learn more about The Strengths Journal

Values aren't what you say. They're what you protect especially when it costs something. In this episode, I offer 3 diagnostic questions to help you determine whether or not your values guide your leadership decisions. When values are compromised quietly over time, leadership starts to feel hollow.

This isn't a personality problem, it's an alignment gap. When your strengths operate disconnected from your values, you can be highly productive and deeply unfulfilled at the same time. But when strengths and values align? Leadership becomes sustainable. In today's episode, I share 3 steps you can take to begin re-aligning your values with your decisions.

Top 3 Takeaways: 1. Your real values are revealed in what you protect when it costs you something. Pressure doesn't create your values it exposes them.

2. When your strengths operate without alignment to your values, leadership starts to feel hollow. Productivity can increase while fulfillment quietly decreases.

3. Sustainable leadership requires clarity about your non-negotiables. When your daily decisions reflect your true values, energy and integrity return.

Episode Minutes:

Minute 1: How leaders quietly compromise their values over time

Minute 2: Diagnostic questions: Do you protect time, honesty, boundaries?

Minute 4: Alignment of strengths and values leads to sustainable leadership

Links + Resources from This Episode:

Take the free 3-minute Authentic Imprint™ Assessment

Get a copy of Dana's book, The Internal Revolution: Lead Authentically and Build Your Personal Brand from Within

Learn more about The Strengths Journal

Here's what no one tells you about strengths: knowing them isn't enough. Many high-performing leaders know their strengths well and still feel drained or disconnected not because they're doing something wrong, but because something is out of alignment.

This episode explores why strengths alone aren't enough and what to notice when leadership starts feeling heavier than it should. I also unpack the difference between burnout and misalignment. Misalignment shows up quietly through constant urgency, reduced presence, or emotional fatigue and often appears long before burnout does. By paying attention to energy and emotional signals, leaders can realign sooner, practice their strengths more intentionally, and lead with greater clarity and sustainability.

Top 3 Takeaways:

1. Knowing your strengths isn't the same as leading in alignment with them. Strengths used out of habit can drain energy when they aren't applied intentionally.

2. Misalignment comes before burnout. Feeling constantly "on," impatient, or disconnected are early signals not personal failures.

3. Your energy is leadership feedback. Irritability, urgency, and fatigue often point to misalignment, not incompetence listening sooner changes everything.

Episode Minutes:

Minute 1: Differences Between Burnout and Misalignment

Minute 3: How Energy Acts as Honest Feedback

Minute 4: Using The Authentic Imprint Assessment to Identify Misalignment

Resources from This Episode:

Take the free 3-minute Authentic Imprint™ Assessment

Get a copy of The Internal Revolution: Lead Authentically and Build Your Personal Brand from Within

Plan your days by actively using your strengths with The Strengths Journal™

Book a 30-minute discovery call to discuss your executive and team development needs

In this episode of the Dominate Your Day podcast, I speak with speaker, identity strategist, and co-founder and CEO of Build-A-Biz Kids, Leah Coss, to explore how early identity formation shapes the trajectory of our lives. Leah shares her personal journey from growing up in a chaotic and unsafe environment, to making destructive choices as a teenager, to experiencing a pivotal moment of self-awareness that changed everything.

We also discuss the powerful mission behind her nonprofit organization, Build-A-Biz Kids. While the programs teach business, public speaking, and digital literacy to kids, the real impact lies in experiential learning that develops confidence, decision-making, resilience, and self-awareness. Leah explains why soft skills not technical skills are now the most critical for the next generation, and how giving kids real responsibility and ownership allows them to see feedback as data rather than rejection. By partnering with schools, libraries, and nonprofits, Build-A-Biz Kids is scaling this impact in a sustainable way reaching kids early, before the world defines who they are for them.

Top 3 Takeaways:

1. Identity drives behavior. When kids (and adults) see themselves as capable, their decisions and outcomes change.

2. Confidence is built through experience, not instruction. Real ownership and real-world feedback create lasting growth.

3. Soft skills are future-proof skills. Resilience, decision-making, communication, and self-awareness are essential for both mental health and career success.

Episode Minutes:

Minute 1: A Journey of Transformation

Minute 8: Building a Charity: The Birth of Build-A-Biz Kids

Minute 18: Empowering the Next Generation:

Skills for the Future Links + Resources from This Episode:

Learn more about Build-A-Biz Kids at www.buildabizkids.com

Connect with Leah Coss on LinkedIn

Take the free 3-minute Authentic Imprint™ Assessment

Get a copy of Dana's book, The Internal Revolution: Lead Authentically and Build Your Personal Brand from Within

Learn more about The Strengths Journal