Lead with Spark | Authentic Leadership for Women, Executive Presence & Career Confidence

Lead with Spark | Authentic Leadership for Women, Executive Presence & Career Confidence

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Lead with Spark | Authentic Leadership for Women, Executive Presence & Career Confidence episodes

  • E29 New Year’s Eve Reflection for Women Leaders: Wins, Dreams, and Your Word for 2026

    New Year’s Eve can be exciting, but it can also create pressure to have your goals, your word of the year, and your entire plan for 2026 figured out by midnight. In this Lead With Spark episode, Lynsey gives you permission to pause. Planning is powerful, but rushing can turn hope into heaviness.


    Instead of a step-by-step framework, Lynsey shares real examples from her own end-of-year prep, including wins, memorable moments, big dreams, and the messy middle of figuring it out. You will hear how she reflects using her calendar and camera roll, how she dreams without getting stuck in the “how,” and why she is still waiting for her word of the year to rise to the surface.

    If you want to start 2026 with intention, clarity, and joy, this episode is your reminder that you are not behind. You just need a direction.

    Together We Will Talk About
    • Why New Year’s Eve pressure can make intentional planning feel heavy
    • How to reflect on wins and memorable moments without needing a perfect year
    • Real examples of 2025 wins: travel, health progress, client results, and big career moments
    • How to dream big without shrinking your vision into a “how” problem
    • Why it helps to focus on who you want to BE and what you want to HAVE before what you need to DO
    • The word-of-the-year practice, and what to do when your word is not clear yet
    • How affirmations support identity-based growth and long-term momentum
    • An invitation to start 2026 with spark, not stress
    • One Line to Take With You

      You do not need to have it all planned. You just need to choose a direction.

      Connect with Lynsey
      • Website: LynseyMulder.com
      • Facebook: @LynseySMulder
      • LinkedIn: @Lynsey-Mulder
      • Instagram: @LynseyMulder
      • Share this episode with a friend who is putting too much pressure on January 1. Then comment or email Lynsey with one dream you are carrying into 2026.

        22 min
      • E28 Christmas Eve Reset: A 10 Minute Plan to Reduce Holiday Stress and Stay Present

        Christmas Eve can feel both magical and heavy. In this short episode of Lead With Spark, Lynsey shares a powerful 10-minute Christmas Eve reset plan to reduce holiday stress, quiet pressure, release perfectionism, and create space for meaning and gratitude.

        This reset is not just for home. Lynsey uses the same strategy at work before big team meetings, conferences, leadership events, and team building sessions where she cares deeply about the experience people have. You’ll also hear Lynsey’s Christmas Eve traditions and a few unforgettable holiday missteps that became the best memories, including floor cake, missing stockings, and reindeer sparkles that lasted until Easter.

        If you’re feeling holiday overwhelm and you want to enjoy Christmas instead of performing Christmas, this episode is your reset.

        Together we will talk about

        • Why Christmas Eve can feel magical and heavy at the same time
        • How perfectionism creates pressure at home and in leadership moments at work
        • Lynsey’s Christmas Eve traditions and what they taught her about presence
        • The 10-minute reset plan to protect your peace and reduce holiday overwhelm
        • Boundary scripts you can use to prevent overcommitting
        • How to choose one moment to be fully present on purpose
        • One line to take with you

          I’m here for the people, not the performance.

          What to try tonight

          • Take one slow breath in and out
          • Say: “I want this to be meaningful, and I don’t need it to be perfect.”
          • Answer the 3 clarity questions
          • Send one boundary text if needed
          • Choose one moment tomorrow to be fully present
          • Set your 2-part intention and go to bed proud of how you led today
          • Simple boundary scripts you can borrow

            • “This year we’re keeping it simple. Here’s what we’re doing.”
            • “I love you, and I’m not available for that this year.”
            • “We can be there from ___ to ___. We’re looking forward to it.”
            • Connect with Lynsey:

              • Website: LynseyMulder.com
              • Facebook: @LynseySMulder
              • LinkedIn: @Lynsey-Mulder
              • Instagram: @LynseyMulder
              • 13 min
              • E27 Minimum Viable Holiday: Protect Your Peace Without Becoming the Grinch

                Feeling like the Grinch this year? Same. In this episode, Lynsey shares why the holiday spirit can feel harder during transition seasons, like the first Christmas when your adult kids are building traditions in their own homes. You will learn the Minimum Viable Holiday framework, a simple way to protect your peace, set realistic boundaries, and still create meaningful moments without burning out.

                You will walk away with a practical three-step plan: choose your holiday values, set two non-negotiables, and pick one “show up moment” you will do fully. Plus, Lynsey shares a powerful ornament tradition that brings the season back to what matters most: connection, memories, and meaning.

                What you will learn
                • Why holiday blah feelings do not mean you are ungrateful
                • How to create a Minimum Viable Holiday that is meaningful but not exhausting
                • The 3-step framework: values, non-negotiables, and one show up moment
                • Simple boundary scripts you can use with family and friends
                • How to honor change when your kids are grown and your traditions are evolving
                • Reflection questions
                  • What is changing in your holiday season this year?
                  • What three values do you want to guide your December?
                  • What two non-negotiables will protect your energy and peace?
                  • What is your one show up moment that you will do fully present?
                  • Scripts you can borrow
                    • “This year we’re keeping things simple. Here’s what we are doing.”
                    • “We can be there from 2 to 4, and we’re really looking forward to it.”
                    • “I love you, and I’m not available for that this year.”
                    • “I hear you, and this is what works for us this year.”
                    • Connect with Lynsey:

                      • Website: LynseyMulder.com
                      • Facebook: @LynseySMulder
                      • LinkedIn: @Lynsey-Mulder
                      • Instagram: @LynseyMulder
                      • Share it with a friend

                        Know someone who is one Target run away from becoming the Grinch? Send them this episode.

                        19 min
                      • E26 The HR Lady on Tough Conversations, Personality Styles, and Leading People Well

                        When your workplace feels a little too spicy, who do you call? In this conversation, Lynsey sits down with Wendy Sellers, The HR Lady®, to talk about what it really takes to be a leader people will follow willingly, not just a manager with a title.

                        Wendy is an HR consultant, speaker, mentor, and author of two boldly titled books: “Suck It Up, Buttercup: Be a Leader People Will Follow” and “How to Deal with Crappy Leaders and Jerks at Work”. With nearly 30 years of experience guiding companies from 5 to 5,000 employees, she has seen it all and is not afraid to tell the truth about leadership, culture, and accountability.

                        In this episode, you will hear:

                        • Why the majority of problems at work are really communication problems
                        • How personality styles and traits (think DISC, introvert, extrovert, ambivert) shape every interaction
                        • Simple ways women in leadership can adjust how they communicate without being inauthentic
                        • What real active listening looks like when you are stressed, busy, and managing a full plate
                        • How to have hard conversations without crushing your team or losing yourself
                        • A practical “acting lesson” you can use to shift your style for 15 minutes and finally be heard
                        • Wendy and Lynsey get honest about being high D personalities, missing social cues, learning to “shut up and listen,” and how to repair relationships when communication has gone sideways. You will walk away with concrete steps you can use tomorrow to improve engagement, build trust, and lead with more clarity and confidence.

                          If you are a woman in leadership who is tired of sugarcoated advice and wants real tools to navigate people, performance, and personality differences, this episode is for you.

                          One line to take with you:

                          “Adjusting your style for someone else is not being fake, it is being an effective leader.” Wendy Sellers

                          Connect with Wendy Sellers (links coming soon):

                          • Website: thehrlady.com and Blog
                          • Books: Suck It Up, Butter Cup & The A-Hole Whisperer
                          • HR Empowerment Podcast
                          • LinkedIn: @WendyTheHRLady
                          • Mentor Program
                          • Wendy’s Cross Country RV Trip
                          • Connect with Lynsey:

                            • Website: LynseyMulder.com
                            • Facebook: @LynseySMulder
                            • LinkedIn: @Lynsey-Mulder
                            • Instagram: @LynseyMulder
                            • 44 min
                            • E25 Love of the Game: Are You Playing the Right One in Your Career?

                              In this episode of Lead with Spark, Lynsey borrows the phrase “love of the game” from sports and brings it straight into your career, leadership, and life. Instead of blaming yourself for a lack of motivation, you will explore why your drive always follows your why, and what it means if your “love of the game” has faded. Lynsey walks through four possibilities, right game wrong position, right game wrong team, right game right team but you have forgotten your why, or you are playing the wrong game altogether. Using her SparkLife framework of values, superpowers, and non negotiables, she helps you diagnose where you might be out of alignment and what that means for your next step. You will get powerful reflection questions to clarify why you are playing, whether you still love the game, and how to design a role, team, or season that actually sparks life. This is a must listen for women leaders, high achievers, and professionals who feel successful on paper but quietly wonder, “Is this really my game?”

                              By the end of this episode, listeners will:

                              • Understand why drive always follows a clear, compelling why
                              • Recognize the difference between loving the game and just surviving it
                              • Identify whether they are in the right game, wrong position, wrong team, or wrong game entirely
                              • Use values, superpowers, and non negotiables as a lens for career alignment
                              • Walk away with reflection questions to realign their work with what truly sparks life
                              • One line to take with you

                                When your why is misaligned, it is not a motivation problem, it is a game problem.

                                Connect with Lynsey:

                                • Website: LynseyMulder.com
                                • Facebook: @LynseySMulder
                                • LinkedIn: @Lynsey-Mulder
                                • Instagram: @LynseyMulder
                                • 19 min
                                • E24 Gratitude in Motion: How Thankfulness Shifts Your Mindset, Your Home, and Your Leadership

                                  In this pre Thanksgiving episode of Lead with Spark, Lynsey explores the power of gratitude as more than a seasonal feeling. It is a daily leadership skill that shapes your mindset, your home, and your work. You will learn how gratitude supports an abundance mindset, reduces stress, strengthens relationships, and helps you stay grounded when life feels full and messy. Lynsey shares her family’s “Thankful Board” tradition, a simple mudroom practice that keeps memories, people, and joyful moments in front of them all year long. You will also hear examples of big and small gratitudes, from being thankful for breath on hard days to savoring a smile from the barista. The episode wraps with three practical tools you can start right away, a gratitude walk, a gratitude log, and your own version of a thankful board or wall. This is the perfect episode to reset your focus, lead with more intention, and carry a spirit of gratitude into the holiday season and beyond.

                                  Key learnings from this episode:

                                  • How gratitude rewires your brain toward an abundance mindset instead of scarcity
                                  • Why simple daily gratitude practices boost resilience, emotional health, and leadership
                                  • How a “Thankful Board” can become a visual anchor for family and team gratitude
                                  • Ways to practice gratitude on tough days when all you can name is breath or coffee
                                  • Practical ideas to teach gratitude to your kids, your team, and yourself this season
                                  • One line to take with you:

                                    Gratitude does not deny the hard, it simply refuses to hand it the microphone.

                                    Connect with Lynsey:

                                    • Website: LynseyMulder.com
                                    • Facebook: @LynseySMulder
                                    • LinkedIn: @Lynsey-Mulder
                                    • Instagram: @LynseyMulder
                                    • 17 min
                                    • E23 You Are Not Your Feelings: Identity and Emotional Intelligence for Women Leaders

                                      Do you look like a successful, high-achieving woman from the outside, but inside you are battling doubt, overwhelm, or emotional whiplash from one hard conversation or email? In this episode of Lead with Spark, Lynsey breaks down the connection between identity, emotional intelligence, and leadership so you can stop letting your feelings run the show and start leading from a grounded, confident center.

                                      You will hear how your brain creates an identity story from everyday triggers, why stuffing your emotions or spiraling in them both lead to inaction, and what it looks like to respond as an emotionally intelligent leader instead. Lynsey walks you through her SPARK process so you can recognize your emotions, realign with who you truly are, and choose actions that match the woman and leader you want to be.

                                      Whether you are navigating imposter syndrome, decision fatigue, or just a season where life feels heavier than usual, this episode will help you reclaim your identity, reset your self-talk, and build work life alignment that actually feels sustainable.

                                      In this episode, you will learn:

                                      • The difference between your true identity and your current feelings
                                      • How emotional intelligence helps you notice, name, and navigate emotions in real time
                                      • The SPARK framework to move from emotional reactivity to intentional response
                                      • How to use identity statements and a daily voice memo to retrain your inner dialogue
                                      • Why curating your inputs (people, content, environment) is critical for your mindset and leadership
                                      • This is your invitation to stop freestyling your emotional world and start designing it on purpose so you can lead with confidence, clarity, and your full spark.

                                        Line to take with you, “You are not your worst thought on your worst day. Your emotions are real, but they do not get to define your identity.”

                                        Connect with Lynsey:

                                        • Website: LynseyMulder.com
                                        • Facebook: @LynseySMulder
                                        • LinkedIn: @Lynsey-Mulder
                                        • Instagram: @LynseyMulder
                                        • 17 min
                                        • E22 Brain-Savvy Leadership: Neurodiversity as a Leadership Strategy (Not a Checkbox) with Gina Brown

                                          Leaders don’t just manage tasks, they design the environment where people and ideas thrive. In this conversation with Gina Brown (MAGNIFY Innovation & Leadership), we break down what neurodiversity really means, how executive function shows up at work (focus, working memory, transitions), and practical ways to build cultures of empathy, clarity, and curiosity, without lowering the bar. If you’ve ever felt “successful despite yourself,” this one gives you language, tools, and grace.

                                          Connect with Gina:

                                          • Website: Magnify Innovation Group
                                          • LinkedIn: @Gina Hibbard Brown
                                          • Facebook: @Gina.Hibbard
                                          • Episode Highlights
                                            • Neurodiversity ≠ diagnosis only: Why every team is cognitively diverse and how leaders can design for it.
                                            • Executive function in real life: Working memory, transitions, and focus. Simple scaffolds that actually help.
                                            • Reframe “performance issues”: Move from what’s wrong? to what’s strong? and watch capability rise.
                                            • Meeting & brainstorm design: Fast ideators vs. deep processors, how to make both shine.
                                            • Language shift that matters: Swap “I’m sorry” for “Thanks for your patience—here’s what I’m doing next.”
                                            • The cost of brilliance: Giving grace when great ideas and small misses arrive as a package deal.
                                            • Leader’s role: Empathy + clarity + curiosity = an environment where people and innovation thrive.
                                            • One line to take with you:

                                              "Understand your brain, ditch the shame, and up your game." Directly from Gina's signature framework.

                                              Connect with Lynsey:

                                              • Website: LynseyMulder.com
                                              • Facebook: @LynseySMulder
                                              • LinkedIn: @Lynsey-Mulder
                                              • Instagram: @LynseyMulder
                                              • 53 min
                                              • E21 Authentic, Not Conforming: Build Executive Presence That Fits

                                                When the “official lane” looks safe but feels small, it’s time to rethink fit. Inspired by the classic Put Me in the Zoo (Seuss-adjacent), this episode explores how we chase titles and conformity when our strengths are actually asking for a different stage—more authentic, a little bold, and genuinely useful. I share the family story behind a 1967 inscription, a quick overview of the book, and a practical path to test-and-try your way into rooms where your gifts breathe: tiny experiments, stretch assignments, job crafting, and feedback that acts like a flashlight (not a verdict). If you’ve been pressing your face to the wrong gate, this is your gentle nudge to stop knocking and start showing.

                                                Episode highlights

                                                • Why fit beats fancy: belonging is a function of stage, not worth
                                                • Demonstrate, don’t beg: make value visible with tiny tests
                                                • Conformity vs. authentic presence: how to lead without shrinking
                                                • Micro-moves: stretch assignments, job crafting 20%, shadowing, serving
                                                • A script to ask for a stretch—with guardrails
                                                • “Picture this” moments you can use this week (open the meeting, turn a status into a decision, design your next chapter)
                                                • One line to take with you

                                                  "Stop knocking at the wrong gate—start showing what fits."

                                                   

                                                  Work with Lynsey

                                                  Ready to find the stage that fits? I offer 1:1 coaching for women leaders and business coaching for founders and executive teams—practical, momentum-focused, tailored to you. Start here: LynseyMulder.com

                                                   

                                                  Connect with Lynsey:

                                                  • Website: LynseyMulder.com
                                                  • Facebook: @LynseySMulder
                                                  • LinkedIn: @Lynsey-Mulder
                                                  • Instagram: @LynseyMulder
                                                  • 13 min
                                                  • E20 5 Ways to Escape Corporate Stockholm Syndrome (Without Quitting Your Job)

                                                    Feel stuck defending a role that drains you because “the benefits are good”? This episode tackles corporate Stockholm syndrome, not the clinical diagnosis, but the mindset where fear and comfort have us protecting the very systems that keep us small. We unpack F.E.A.R. (False Evidence Appearing Real), share current career trends (shorter tenures, cooled quits), and give you five practical ways to rebuild momentum without torching your paycheck: call fear by name, try micro-shifts before macro moves, redefine loyalty, build portable stability, and measure what really matters at the end of a career and a life.

                                                    Episode highlights

                                                    • The gut-check: 3 questions that reveal quiet loyalty to the wrong things
                                                    • FEAR → make it show its math (stop treating guesses as facts)
                                                    • Five ways out (no quitting required): stretch assignments, job crafting, shadowing, skills-for-service volunteering, and decision memos that return time
                                                    • Portable stability: skills, references, and runway so you can choose from strength
                                                    • Why tenure is shorter, quits cooled, and what that means for brave but sane career moves
                                                    • “Picture this” moments: saying yes to a stretch (with guardrails), turning a status meeting into a memo, and designing your next chapter on purpose
                                                    • One line to take with you

                                                      “You don’t have to quit to be brave, just stop defending what’s dimming you.”

                                                      Work with Lynsey

                                                      Ready to turn these into habits? I offer 1:1 coaching for women leaders and business coaching for founders and executive teams. Practical, momentum-focused, and tailored to you. Start here: LynseyMulder.com.

                                                      Connect with Lynsey:

                                                      • Website: LynseyMulder.com
                                                      • Facebook: @LynseySMulder
                                                      • LinkedIn: @Lynsey-Mulder
                                                      • Instagram: @LynseyMulder
                                                      • Episode Citations: 

                                                        • Median employee tenure (Jan 2024) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: overall 3.9 years; private 3.5, public 6.2. Bureau of Labor Statistics+1
                                                        • Employee engagement (2024/2025) Gallup: U.S. engagement ~31% in 2024 (10-year low). com
                                                        • Quits rate (2025) BLS JOLTS: quits ~1.9%, little changed in August. Bureau of Labor Statistics
                                                        • End-of-life regrets Bronnie Ware’s “Top five regrets of the dying.” Bronnie Ware+1
                                                        • 20 min

                                                        About Lead with Spark | Authentic Leadership for Women, Executive Presence & Career Confidence

                                                        From the publisher's feed

                                                        Welcome to the Lead with Spark Podcast: Authentic Leadership for Women Who Want More.