The Empowered Leader Podcast

You’re Not Stuck—You’re Surrounded

Listen up: this is your wake-up call:

Your environment is shaping you, whether you realize it or not.

What you see sets your standards.What you hear becomes your inner voice.What you live in daily becomes your normal.

So, if you feel stuck, drained, or like you’re playing smaller than you’re capable of

Look around.

Because willpower isn’t the problem.Your environment might be.

And here’s where it shifts

You’re not just influenced by environments.You create them.

Your energy.Your boundaries.Your expectations.

They train people how to show up around you.

You are the standard in every room you walk into.

So be honest:

Are you tolerating conversations that shrink you?Are you surrounded by people who challenge you, or just keep you comfortable?Are you building a life that stretches you, or one that keeps you safe?

Because it doesn’t stop with you.

How you show up becomes the environment your team, your family, and your community live inside of.

You don’t just carry influence, You multiply it.

So, raise the bar.

Change the room if you have to.Change the voices.Change what you allow.

Because over time, you don’t just adapt to your environment…

You become it.

And so does everyone around you.

Protecting your peace during chaos is not passive.

It is disciplined.

Chaos is loud.

Betrayal is personal.

And when both hit at the same time, your nervous system will try to choose for you.

Slow down.

Peace is not pretending it doesn’t hurt.

Peace is refusing to let instability hijack your leadership.

Here’s what that looks like inside Elevation.

Liberation: Guard Your Internal Authority

When everything around you feels unpredictable, your power is in what you control internally.

Liberation is about leading without internal chains, not being powered by fear, obligation, or outdated survival strategies.

Protecting your peace means:

* You stop replaying conversations that won’t change.

* You interrupt catastrophic thinking.

* You decline urgency that isn’t aligned.

Chaos will try to recruit you into over-functioning.

Don’t volunteer.

Choose clarity over compliance.

Choose boundaries over burnout.

Peace is protected by decisions, not vibes.

Visibility: Stay Measured, Not Reactive

In chaos, narratives shift fast. People scramble. Energy spikes.

This is where disciplined visibility matters.

Visibility is not performance. It is positioning.

Protecting your peace here means:

* You speak when it serves impact, not ego.

* You document instead of dramatizing.

* You keep your language clean and strategic.

Excellence that remains invisible is lost.

But oversharing in chaos is also a loss.

Be seen on purpose, not by accident.

Transformation: Don’t Absorb What the System Exposed

Chaos reveals where systems are weak.

It exposes poor leadership, unclear power flows, and unspoken rules.

Transformation asks you to translate personal disruption into systemic clarity.

Protecting your peace at this level means:

* You do not carry what belongs to the system.

* You identify the pattern instead of personalizing the moment.

* You strengthen alliances instead of isolating.

Peace grows when you stop trying to fix what was never yours to hold.

Here’s the bottom line.

Peace is not the absence of chaos.

It is internal steadiness in the presence of it.

You will not control betrayal.

You will not control dysfunction.

You will not control other people’s fear responses.

You can control:

* Your boundaries.

* Your voice.

* Your alignment.

Protecting your peace is not retreat.

It is leadership discipline under pressure.

And when you stay steady, the storm loses authority over you.

These two get confused all the time.

Because both create tension.

Both interrupt what’s normal.

Both make people uncomfortable.

But they are not the same.

And if you don’t know the difference,

You will resist what’s necessary

and tolerate what’s harmful.

That matters.

What Disruption Is

Disruption is intentional.

It challenges what isn’t working.

It questions what’s been normalized.

It brings truth into spaces that have avoided it.

Disruption creates tension,

but it has direction.

It’s not random.

It’s not reactive.

Disruption is aligned with change.

What Dysfunction Is

Dysfunction is unaddressed.

It shows up as patterns that repeat

without accountability,

without clarity,

without resolution.

It looks like:

* miscommunication that never gets corrected

* blame instead of ownership

* avoidance instead of action

* behavior that gets tolerated instead of addressed

Dysfunction creates tension, but without movement.

The Difference

Disruption challenges the system.

Dysfunction protects it.

Disruption says: This needs to change.

Dysfunction says: This is just how it is.

One creates clarity.

The other creates confusion.

One moves things forward.

The other keeps things stuck.

Why This Matters

Here’s where it gets real:

Dysfunction often feels normal

because it’s repeated.

And disruption often feels wrong

because it interrupts that normal.

So, what happens?

People resist disruption

and tolerate dysfunction.

And that’s how broken systems stay in place.

Liberation: Stop Normalizing What Isn’t Working

Liberation is recognizing the difference.

It’s the moment you stop calling dysfunction

Just how things are.

And start asking:

What are we avoiding?

Because what you tolerate

will always continue.

Visibility: See the Pattern Clearly

When you look honestly,

The pattern becomes obvious.

You begin to see:

Where accountability is missing

Where conversations are avoided

Where the same issues keep repeating

No justification.

No minimizing.

Just clarity.

Transformation: Choose to Disrupt Intentionally

This is where leadership shows up.

You don’t disrupt to create chaos.

You disrupt to create movement.

You:

* address what’s being avoided

* challenge what’s being tolerated

* shift what’s been normalized

And that’s where transformation happens.

Integration: The Reality

Here is the truth:

If you avoid disruption,

you will live in dysfunction.

If you tolerate dysfunction,

you will resist change.

But when you disrupt with clarity,

you create the opportunity for alignment.

Closing Reflection

Where am I tolerating dysfunction?

What disruption am I resisting?

What needs to be addressed clearly and directly?

Final Truth

Disruption is not the problem.

Dysfunction is.

And if you don’t challenge what’s not working

You become part of what keeps it in place.

Emotional labor is the invisible tax high-performing, marginalized leaders pay just to stay in the room.

It’s managing other people’s discomfort with your presence.

It’s softening your tone, so you’re not labeled aggressive.

It’s mentoring without recognition.

It’s translating across cultures while still hitting your metrics.

And because you’re competent, it becomes expected.

That’s the cost.

Let’s break it down through the Elevation lens.

Liberation: The Internal Drain

Emotional labor quietly siphons your energy.

You monitor reactions.

You anticipate bias.

You regulate yourself and everyone else.

Over time, you stop asking, “What do I need?” and start asking, “How do I keep this room stable?”

That is internal over-functioning.

Liberation requires releasing perfectionism and emotional labor that quietly siphon power.

Here’s the hard truth:

If you are constantly managing the emotional climate, you are not fully leading, you are stabilizing.

And stabilizing is exhausting.

The cost shows up as:

* Decision fatigue

* Resentment you can’t quite name

* Success that doesn’t feel satisfying

You look accomplished. You feel depleted.

Visibility: The Recognition Gap

Emotional labor is rarely measured, but it is deeply relied upon.

You smooth conflict.

You mentor junior staff.

You make the culture “work.”

But because it’s relational, it’s not always seen as strategic.

Excellence that remains invisible is lost.

When emotional labor isn’t named, it becomes:

* Free consulting

* Free therapy

* Free DEI infrastructure

And suddenly, you’re carrying the representation tax without the authority to change the system.

Visibility here means documenting and positioning the relational work as leadership work or deciding where it no longer belongs to you.

Transformation: When the System Depends on Your Exhaustion

Here’s the deeper cost.

Some systems are quietly sustained by your emotional labor.

They function because you absorb tension.

They avoid change because you buffer conflict.

They don’t evolve because you keep things from breaking.

Transformation demands we reshape teams, cultures, and norms — not just succeed inside them.

If the system collapses without your emotional cushioning, that is data.

The goal is not to harden.

The goal is to redistribute.

* Shared accountability instead of silent carrying.

* Clear norms instead of personal mediation.

* Structural solutions instead of personality management.

The Real Cost

The cost of emotional labor is not just exhaustion.

It’s delayed authority.

It’s muted influence.

Its potential was diverted into maintenance instead of impact.

You were not called to manage everyone’s feelings.

You were called to lead.

The question is not, “How do I stop caring?”

The better question is:

* What emotional labor is aligned with my role?

* What emotional labor is inherited, not assigned?

* What would shift if I stopped absorbing what the system refuses to own?

Elevation requires internal freedom, strategic visibility, and systemic change.

If your leadership is powered by constant emotional regulation of others, that’s not sustainable influence.

That’s survival dressed up as strength.

And you’re beyond survival now.

Emotional Intelligence is not about being nice. It’s about being aware enough to understand and disciplined enough to respond well.

At its core, Emotional Intelligence (EQ) shows up in two critical behaviors:Active Listening and Empathy.

One gathers the signal.The other interprets it.

Together, they determine whether the connection happens or breaks.

Active Listening: Hearing Beyond Words

Active listening is the ability to fully engage with what is being said without interrupting, filtering, or preparing your response.

It requires:

* Presence

* Focus

* Restraint

Active listening asks:“Am I truly hearing this person or just waiting to speak?”

It’s not passive.It’s disciplined attention.

What It Does

* Captures facts, tone, and intent

* Reduces misinterpretation

* Signals respect and value

Without active listening, you don’t have the full picture, just fragments.

Empathy: Understanding What It Means

Empathy is the ability to understand and acknowledge another person’s perspective and emotional experience.

It does not mean agreement.It means an accurate understanding.

Empathy asks:“What is this experience like for them?”

It turns information into insight.

What It Does

* Builds trust

* De-escalates tension

* Strengthens connection

Without empathy, information stays intellectual; it never becomes relational.

The Correlation (Where Most People Miss It)

Active listening and empathy are not separate skills; they are dependent.

* Active listening without empathy = cold, transactional interaction

* Empathy without active listening = assumption, projection, and error

You cannot empathize accurately if you haven’t listened well.And listening alone doesn’t create a connection unless it is understood.

The Flow of Emotional Intelligence

Awareness → Active Listening → Empathy → Response

* Awareness keeps you present

* Active listening gathers truth

* Empathy interprets meaning

* Response determines impact

Break one step, and the outcome weakens.

Through the Three Pillars

Liberation: Be Honest About How You Listen

Most people don’t listen; they react.

Liberation requires asking:

* Do I interrupt, assume, or rush?

* Do I listen to understand or to respond?

Clarity here changes everything.

Visibility: Catch Yourself in Real Time

Notice the moment:

* When you stop listening

* When you start forming your reply

* When you assume instead of asking

That awareness is your correction point.

Transformation: Practice Disciplined Response

* Pause before responding

* Reflect on what you heard

* Validate perspective before offering your own

Consistency here builds trust fast.

Impact at Every Level

Individual

* Stronger relationships

* Better decision-making

* Reduced emotional reactivity

Team

* Clearer communication

* Fewer misunderstandings

* Increased psychological safety

Organization

* Stronger culture of trust

* Faster conflict resolution

* More effective collaboration

The Leadership Reality

Leaders who don’t listen well don’t lead well.

People don’t disengage because they aren’t heard.They disengage because they aren’t understood.

And understanding only happens when listening and empathy work together.

The Tension

Real listening takes time.Empathy requires patience.

In fast-paced environments, both get skipped.

But when you skip them, you don’t save timeyou create rework, conflict, and misalignment.

Closing Reflection

* When you listen, are you fully present or preparing your response?

* When someone speaks, do you seek to understand or to fix?

* Where has a lack of listening or empathy already created tension?

Final Truth

You cannot build trust without empathy.You cannot create empathy without listening.

Emotional Intelligence is not what you know about people it’s how well you understand them in real time.

Strategic Moves (Apply Immediately)

* In your next conversation, don’t interrupt at all

* Reflect back: “What I hear you saying is?”

* Ask one clarifying question before responding

* Separate understanding from agreement

* Slow down just enough to get it right the first time

Lindsay (Lindsay’s Wavelength)

Astrologer, Tarot Reader, Podcaster, & Holy Fire Reiki Master

Lindsay’s Wavelength is an intuitive guide and spiritual practitioner dedicated to helping people navigate life’s transitions and cosmic shifts. Through her work, she aims to empower others to find their footing as we collectively build a collaborative, fresh future.

What She Does

* Astrology & Tarot: Lindsay offers psychological and spiritual insights, tracking major transits (like Pluto and Saturn) and lunar cycles to help people find deep inner knowing.

* Podcast Hosting: She hosts her own podcast, sharing cosmic guidance and deep-dive discussions on astrological energies.

* Energy Healing: As a Holy Fire Reiki Master, she incorporates energy work into her holistic approach to healing and alignment.

Her Philosophy

“I believe the way forward is coming together to build a new future. Let’s figure it out together.”

A Virgo herself, Lindsay blends practical, grounded energy (like cleaning and getting organized during a Cancer New Moon!) with transformative spiritual insights, encouraging her community to rest, integrate, and step across the “rainbow bridge of transformation.”

Thank you Susan Gaustad, Ms.Yuse, Omixintel, Michelle, Mandy Ohman, Millie Jones-Cowles and many others for tuning into my live video with Lindsay’s Wavelength! Join me for my next live video in the app.

Let’s be honest, they can look the same at first.

Both speak with certainty.

Both take up space.

Both can get results for a while.

But underneath? Completely different drivers.

Confidence says:

I know what I bring, and I’m still growing.

Arrogance says:

I already know, and I don’t need input.

One stays open.

The other shuts the door and doesn’t even realize it.

The One About Liberation

This is where your leadership either creates freedom or quietly restricts it.

Confidence:

* Doesn’t need to prove anything

* Creates space for people to think, speak, and challenge

* Let others show up fully without fear

Arrogance:

* Needs to be right or in control

* Dominates energy in the room

* Causes people to filter themselves

Pay attention to this: if people are editing themselves around you, you’re not leading, you’re limiting.

The One About Visibility

This is about what you’re willing to let people actually see.

Confidence:

* Shows up real, not polished

* Owns mistakes without losing credibility

* Makes growth visible

Arrogance:

* Protects the image at all costs

* Avoids being seen in uncertainty

* Equates vulnerability with weakness

Here’s the truth: people don’t trust perfection; they trust ownership.

The One About Transformation

This is where leaders either expand or stall out.

Confidence:

* Leans into discomfort

* Uses feedback as fuel

* Keeps evolving and brings others with them

Arrogance:

* Resists anything that challenges identity

* Dismisses feedback

* Stays stuck while projecting certainty

If you’ve stopped growing, you’ve already started becoming the bottleneck.

The Leadership Reality (Integration)

This is where it all comes together, and where most leaders get exposed.

You can be experienced.

You can be accomplished.

You can even be exceptional at what you do.

And still lose people.

Because leadership isn’t about your capability alone, it’s about your impact.

* Do you liberate people or make them cautious?

* Do you allow yourself to be seen, or do you stay protected behind the role?

* Are you actively transforming, or relying on what’s worked before?

Confidence creates environments where people step in, speak up, and grow.

Arrogance creates environments where people step back, stay quiet, and comply.

And here’s the kicker,

compliance looks like alignment, until performance drops and engagement disappears.

The Closing Reflection

Don’t overthink this, just be honest:

* What am I holding on to being right instead of creating space?

* What am I more focused on, how I’m perceived, or how I’m showing up?

* Where have I stopped stretching, but still expect others to?

And the question that cuts through all of it:

Who do people get to be when they’re around me?

Because that’s your real leadership footprint.

Confidence expands people.

Arrogance shrinks them.

And whether you realize it or not,

your presence is shaping one or the other every single day.

Resourcefulness isn’t about having more.

It’s about doing morewith what you already have.

Because the truth is

Most people aren’t limited by resources.They’re limited by how they think about them.

The Hidden Reality

It’s easy to say, “I need more time.”More support.More money.More clarity.

But often, that’s not the real issue.

The issue is:

* underutilized capability

* overlooked options

* unchallenged thinking

Because resourcefulness doesn’t start outside of you.

It starts with how you approach what’s already in front of you.

Where This Shows Up in Leadership

Resourceful leaders don’t wait.

They:

* ask better questions

* reframe constraints

* find leverage where others see limits

When something isn’t working, they don’t default to:

“We don’t have enough.”

They ask:

“What are we not seeing?”“What are we not using?”“What needs to shift in how we’re thinking?”

The Truth Most People Miss

Constraints are not always barriers.

Often, they are filters.

They force:

* creativity

* prioritization

* innovation

Without constraints, many people stay comfortable.

With them, resourceful leaders rise.

The Shift

Resourcefulness is a decision.

A decision to:

* stop waiting

* stop defaulting to lack

* start working with what is available

It’s not about doing more work.

It’s about thinking differently about the work.

Visibility

You can’t become resourcefulif you’re constantly focused on what’s missing.

You have to see clearly:

* what you already have

* what you’re not using

* where you’re defaulting to excuses

Because sometimes, “lack of resources.”is really a lack of perspective.

Liberation

There is freedom in resourcefulness.

Because once you realize you can create movementwithout perfect conditions

you stop waiting.

You stop depending on external validation.You stop needing everything to line up.

You move anyway.

Transformation

Transformation happens when you shift from:

* dependency → ownership

* limitation → possibility

* reaction → creation

You stop asking, “Do I have enough?”And start asking, “How can I make this work?”

Integration: The Leadership Reality

Here’s the reality:

At higher levels of leadership,no one hands you perfect conditions.

You’re expected to:

* figure it out

* make decisions with incomplete information

* create results with constraints

Resourcefulness isn’t optional.

It’s the standard.

Final Truth

The most powerful leadersare not the ones with the most resources

They’re the ones who know how to usewhat they havebetter than anyone else.

Closing Reflection

Where are you waiting for moreinstead of using what’s already available to you?

And what would changeIf you decided todayto move forward anyway?

Straight Talk

This message hits a key leadership nerve:

People don’t like being told they already have enoughbecause it removes the excuse.

That’s exactly why it works.

Willpower and determination are often treated like the same thing.

They’re not.

And confusing them is one of the fastest ways to burn yourself out while thinking you’re being disciplined.

Liberation: Willpower Is Temporary: Determination Is Direction

Willpower is short-term.

It’s the push.The force.The “just get through this” energy.

Willpower helps you:

* meet a deadline

* push through discomfort

* stay focused in a moment

But it fades.

Determination is different.

Determination is long-term.

It’s not about force; it’s about commitment to a direction, even when motivation is gone.

Liberated leadership requires you to stop relying only on willpower.

Because willpower alone will have you pushing through things you should be questioning.

Visibility: What You’re Pushing Through Matters

From the outside, willpower and determination can look the same.

Both look like discipline.Both look like persistence.

But internally, they feel very different.

Willpower says:“I just need to get through this.”

Determination says:“This still matters to me.”

That distinction is critical.

Because if you’re constantly relying on willpower, you may be:

* forcing alignment that isn’t there

* staying in situations that don’t serve you

* proving something instead of building something

And especially for marginalized leaders, this matters.

You’ve been conditioned to push through.

But not everything is meant to be endured.

Transformation: Determination Builds Willpower Sustains

Willpower helps you maintain.

Determination helps you build.

Willpower gets you through the moment.Determination moves you toward something meaningful.

At the leadership level, determination is what allows you to:

* stay aligned over time

* make consistent decisions

* keep moving even when recognition is delayed

It’s not loud.

It’s steady.

Integration: The Reality

Here’s the reality most people don’t say:

You can use willpower to stay in the wrong place for a very long time.

You can push through misalignment.You can force consistency.You can endure more than you should.

And call it strength.

But determination requires something different:

It requires alignment.

It requires clarity about where you’re going and why.

Final Truth

Willpower is about effort.

Determination is about direction.

One is about pushing harder.

The other is about staying committed to what actually matters.

Closing Reflection

The question is not:

“Do I have the willpower to keep going?”

The better question is:

“Is this direction worth my determination?”

Because when willpower runs out, it will

Only determination keeps you moving.

And that’s what sustains real leadership.

 Self-mastery. Self-mastery is the discipline of choosing authority over approval, especially when no one is applauding. Let’s be honest, most high-performing marginalized leaders don’t lack skill. They lack relief from the internal pressure to overperform. Over prove and over carry. Somewhere along the line, survival became strategy.

We internalized contracts that were never ours to sign. If I am exceptional enough, I’ll be safe. If I carry more, I’ll be valued if I hold it together. I’ll keep my seat. That’s not mastery. That’s conditioning.

Liberation requires we free the leader before we scale the leadership. If you are still leading from fear of being questioned, replaced. Or misunderstood. Your authority is being negotiated internally before you ever enter the room. Self-mastery means you stop explaining boundaries that are clear. You let excellence be enough when perfection is just anxiety in professional attire.

You recover from self-doubt faster because you recognize it as a residue, not reality. You make decisions from alignment, not urgency. Clarity replaces chaos. Confidence become grounded, not performative. Here’s the forward question. Where are you still seeking permission for what you already know?

Make one clean decision this week. From authority. No over justifying, no shrinking, no apology tour. That’s the work self-mastery is not loud. It’s discipline and it changes everything.