Think joy at work is a luxury when you're drowning in transformation chaos? Think again. In episode 2 of our sustainable leadership series, Lyndsey and Briony reveal why joy isn't optional - it's the fuel that prevents burnout during long-term change.

⁠Download our 3 habits, 3 weeks, 0 burnout guide here.⁠

Discover why "if it's hard, it should feel miserable" is destroying your team's momentum, and learn three practical joy habits you can implement this week:

• The Joy Audit (15-minute one-time exercise to identify what actually brings you joy)
• Daily Joy Blocks (intentional 15-minute slots for your own enjoyment)
• Bright Spot Team Rituals (weekly wins that shift your team culture)

This isn't toxic positivity. It's intentional, evidence-based practice that reduces burnout and increases performance. Joy doesn't happen by accident - you have to create it.

Perfect for transformation leaders tired of the "just push through" mentality who want to lead change in a way that's both effective and sustainable.

Download the free 3-part habits workbook in the show notes.

Episode 3 coming next week: Connection habits for sustainable transformation leadership

Leading a multi-year transformation? Feeling crushed by the sheer volume of change? You're not alone. In this episode of Lead the Room podcast, Lyndsey and Briony share the first of three essential daily habits that help transformation leaders sustain momentum without burning out.

Download our 3 habits, 3 weeks, 0 burnout guide here.

Discover why "just be more resilient" is terrible advice, and learn three practical, science-backed achievement habits you can implement today:

• The 3 Wins Close Out (4:55pm daily ritual)
• The One Thing Forward technique (morning priority setting)
• The Progress Wall (weekly visual tracker)

These aren't "nice-to-haves" - they're scientifically proven essentials for maintaining the mental and physical stamina needed for long-term change leadership.

Perfect for: Technology transformation leaders, change managers, delivery leads, and anyone responsible for driving complex organizational change over 12-24 months.

Download the free workbook in the show notes to implement all three habits this week.

Next Episode: Joy habits for sustainable transformation leadership

Forget "new year, new you" – this episode is about the reality of coming back to work in January without the energy everyone expects you to have.

Hosts Lyndsey and Bryony get honest about returning from the festive break feeling exhausted rather than refreshed, and why that's completely okay when you're leading transformation. If you're crawling back into the office wondering what your password is, this conversation is for you.

In this episode, we share our biggest leadership learnings from 2025 and how we're approaching 2026 differently – with more boundaries, self-compassion, and realistic expectations. Plus, we kick off a new mini-series on building sustainable transformation without burning out.

• Why the "new year, new you" narrative doesn't work for transformation leaders
• How to lead with consistency even when you're feeling isolated or doubted
• The power of setting boundaries and protecting your personal pace
• Why daily habits matter more than January motivation
• How to show yourself compassion as a leader in new roles or situations
• The importance of closing out leadership roles intentionally
• Practical strategies for managing pace and avoiding team burnout

What You'll Learn:

What You'll Learn:

• Why leaders struggle to genuinely switch off during holidays

• How to set up before your break so you can actually disconnect

• The digital detox strategy that removes temptation

• How to return from your break in a sustainable way

• Why role modeling healthy breaks matters for your team culture

Three Key Takeaways:

1. The Pre-Break Handover – About a week before you finish, document: What might come up and how to handle it, what decisions your team can make without you, who's the point person and what authority they have. Share this with your whole team and explicitly tell them you will NOT be checking emails or messages.

2. The Digital Detox Setup – Delete work email and messaging apps from your phone completely. Set a proper out of office that clearly states you're not checking anything and directs people to your point person. Tell your family you've done this so they can hold you accountable. Optionally, set up auto-delete for incoming emails.

3. The Return Ritual – Don't check email the night before you return. Block out your first morning back with no meetings for catch-up time. Scan emails for only urgent/important items. Have a 30-minute check-in with your team. Don't apologize for having been away—thank your team instead. This models healthy boundaries for your whole team.

Resources:

• Download our free "Transform Your Team In 15 Minutes" guide at here.

• Follow us on Instagram: @leadtheroomcoaching

• Email us: [email protected]

How to Set Your Team Up for January Success | Stop the New Year Chaos

Dreading January 2nd when you'll have no idea where to start? You're not alone. The average leader spends the first 3 weeks of January just getting oriented - by which time you're already behind on Q1 goals.

In this episode, Briony and Lyndsey share the 3 counter-cultural strategies that will transform your January. Spend just 3-4 hours in December planning, and come back refreshed, clear, and ready to lead.

Get our 15 minute team transformation guide here.

Get the podsheet here.

You'll learn:✅ The December Download - how to document everything before the break so nothing lives in people's heads✅ The January Energy Map - planning your first 3 weeks based on realistic energy levels (not fantasy productivity)✅ The January Intention Ritual - setting intentions vs resolutions to transform how you show up as a leader

Topics covered: January planning, team leadership, leadership strategies, work energy management, team priorities, leadership intentions, New Year planning for leaders, avoiding January burnout, team alignment strategies

Stop winging it in January. These practical strategies take just hours to implement but transform your entire quarter.

Monday morning. You open your calendar and your stomach drops. Back-to-back meetings from 9am to 5pm. Seven meetings. When are you actually supposed to DO the work?

The average leader now spends 23 hours a week in meetings—more than half your working week. And most of those meetings? Completely unnecessary, involve too many people, or could be done in 15 minutes instead of an hour.

This episode shares how Lyndsey and Briony each reclaimed up to 10 hours a week by fundamentally changing their relationship with meetings.

Get our FREE planner here to help you take back control of your week.

Three Practical Strategies You Can Implement This Week:

Strategy #1: The Meeting Audit – Track every meeting for one week and ask four questions: What was the purpose? Did it achieve that purpose? Did it need to be a meeting? Did it need ME specifically? Most leaders are shocked to discover 15-20 hours of unnecessary meetings. Use this data to change your relationship with meetings going forward.

Strategy #2: The Default No Policy – Reverse the burden of proof. Instead of accepting unless there's a reason to decline, your default is no unless there's a compelling reason to say yes. Before accepting any meeting invite, ask: Is the purpose clear? Do I specifically need to be there? Could this be achieved differently? Push back politely when answers aren't clear. Reclaim hours every single week.

Strategy #3: Timeboxing for High-Impact Work – Block 2-3 hour chunks in your calendar for your highest impact work: strategic planning, transformation projects, difficult conversations, proposals. Protect these blocks like they're meetings with your CEO. Label them specifically so you know what you're working on. Train yourself and others to treat these as non-negotiable.

Why This Matters: What happens between meetings? You stay late to do actual work. You work weekends. You burn out. Meanwhile, the transformation work you're supposed to be leading—the strategy, the coaching, the thinking—never happens because you're too busy being in meetings ABOUT the work instead of DOING the work.

Since going remote/hybrid, meetings became the default way to communicate about everything. Leaders feel like if you're not in meetings, you're not working. But the most important work requires uninterrupted deep work time, not being pinged from one meeting to the next.

Pro Tips:

• Do the meeting audit once a year or when you start a new role (at 3-month mark)
• Buddy up with leadership peers to take turns at corporate meetings
• Make timeboxed slots private appointments so people don't know you're declining for "meeting with yourself"
• Offer alternatives when protecting your time: "So-and-so on my team would be well-placed" or "I can't do that time but here are alternatives"

The Bottom Line: You have more agency than you think. Start small. Experiment. Most leaders get zero pushback when they start being intentional about their time because when you DO show up to meetings, you're prepared, purposeful, and impactful.

No permission needed. No six-month change program. Just take control of your calendar.

Most end-of-year reviews are terrible—sterile performance meetings or forced fun activities that nobody wants. Then January comes and nothing actually changes.

This episode gives you 3 creative year-end rituals that actually work for building real team connection, honest reflection, and genuine transformation.

Get our build your leadership playbook here and our AMAZING weekly planner here.

Strategy #1: The Leader's 6 Reflection Questions – 45 minutes of personal journaling through 6 powerful questions about who you were as a leader this year and who you want to become. Looking back: When did you feel most aligned? When did you lead from fear? What did you let slip? Looking forward: What pattern are you changing? What does your team need from you? What non-negotiable routine protects your energy?

Strategy #2: The Year in Stories – 60-90 minute collaborative timeline exercise where your team maps the year through stories, not metrics. Four categories: Moments of Pride, Struggle, Surprise, and Connection. Creates psychological safety through storytelling, builds shared narrative, surfaces learning without blame.

Strategy #3: The Team Manifesto – 90-minute workshop (or 30-minute quick version) where your team co-creates commitments about how you want to work together in the new year. Three questions: What do we want to be known for? What do we need from each other? What are our commitments? Document it, reference it monthly, treat it as living document.

Quick implementation: Pick ONE strategy before year-end. Tight on time? Do the 6 Questions yourself. Want connection? Run Year in Stories. Ready for transformation? Facilitate Team Manifesto.

Even 30 minutes of intentional year-end reflection is better than skipping it entirely. What you do in these final weeks sets the tone for the whole year ahead.

Three months into new leadership roles, Lyndsey (leading remotely on 7-hour time difference) and Briony (international move + new transformation role) do a raw check-in on the 4 habits they committed to from day one.

Lyndsey's Reality:

Transparency – Sends regular updates. Gets zero response. Feels vulnerable sending into silence. Learning: explicitly ask for feedback.

Psychological Safety – Prioritized over quick wins. Meetings are silent. No one admits it doesn't exist. Intentionally asks "why" to understand resistance.

Ruthless Boundaries – Books 10-minute meetings (not 30). Replies "That can be an email" to meeting requests. Proving remote work IS more effective.

Energy Management – Saves energizing tasks for hour before UK comes online. Leaves thinking "achieved loads + had thinking time."

Briony's Reality:

Being Authentic – Mission accomplished—people know who she is. Week 3 wobble (retreated, stopped speaking up), but picked back up. Way more vulnerable than expected.

Daily Reflection – Used AI for 100 reflection questions, picks 2 daily. Does it 4/5 days. Helps adapt to THIS team, not assume from old team.

Protecting Resilience – Last months = most challenging of life. International move, kids struggling, house moves, proving herself as unknown. Maintained exercise/boundaries. Eating more sugar, sleep worse. Letting herself binge-watch TV. It's a season.

One-to-Ones – Too hectic for formal slots. Adapted: calls people about tasks, adds "What else have you got?" Mini one-to-ones work. Don't let perfect be enemy of good.

Key Lessons:

✅ Habits ebb and flow
✅ Being yourself is vulnerable
✅ Adapt when not working
✅ Take control yourself
✅ Consistency > perfection

Challenge: What 2 habits will you start THIS WEEK for mid-November through Christmas?

Download "Walk the Week" planner: https://pensight.com/x/leadtheroom/plan-you-week-with-purpose-connection-creativity-and-courage

In this episode of Lead the Room, Briony and Lyndsey tackle the biggest misconception in leadership today: that transforming team culture requires massive time investments, expensive away days, or sweeping organizational overhauls. They reveal how intentional small actions can fundamentally shift team dynamics, boost performance, and create the high-performing, connected workplace culture that modern teams desperately need. Through practical examples and honest conversation, they dismantle the broken leadership playbook that prioritizes hustle culture over sustainable excellence, offering leaders a realistic path to building counter-cultural teams where people actually want to work.

Key Takeaways:

"Governance" might be everyone's least favorite word, but hear us out...

This isn't about bureaucracy or PowerPoint decks nobody understands. This is about the difference between projects that drift endlessly (despite everyone working hard) and teams that deliver smoothly without burning out.

In this week's episode, we're sharing 3 lightweight strategies you can implement in your NEXT team meeting:

✅ The 15-min traffic light check-in (support, not surveillance)
✅ The "what does done look like" document (clarity, not control)
✅ Decision rights from day one (so 12 people aren't trying to make every call)

No fancy software. No consultants. No away days. Just human-centered ways to keep transformation projects on track.

Share your governance wins and woes with us over on instagram or [email protected]