Behind every great leader is a circle of people who challenge them, ground them, and help them see what they can’t see on their own. Most leaders try to shoulder everything themselves — but the strongest leaders build a system around them. In this episode of Leadership, Actually, we break down how to design your own personal board of directors, and the six types of people every leader should have in their corner.

What We Cover

• Why leaders need a personal board — not just mentors
 • How to define what support you actually need right now
 • The six roles every strong board should include:
   – The Challenger
   – The Sage
   – The Peer
   – The Specialist
   – The Truth-Teller
   – The Emotional Anchor
 • How to choose the right people (and avoid the wrong ones)
 • Why your board should include people outside your organization
 • How to structure this as a real leadership system, not a “vibe”
 • What makes a personal board effective — and sustainable

If leadership has ever felt heavier than one person can carry, this episode will help you build the support structure you need to lead with clarity, steadiness, and strength.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for operational and educational purposes only and should not be interpreted as legal, financial, or compliance advice. Always consult with your HR, legal, and financial advisors before finalizing or implementing any layoff or severance policy.

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📊 FREE HR Layoff Crash Course
In this free course, you'll discover step-by-step strategies to plan, communicate, and execute layoffs with professionalism and empathy. Self-paced and available 24/7.
👉 Register here

https://semerie.learnworlds.com/course/hr-layoff-crash-course

🌀 Lead Differently. Read Differently.

Join This Isn’t a Leadership Book Club — a free, low-pressure community for curious, thoughtful leaders who believe the best leadership lessons come from unexpected stories.

You’ll get a curated reading list, reflection prompts, and invites to quarterly conversations designed to help you lead with more clarity, care, and intention.

👉 [Join the Book Club Here]

https://everground-advisory.myflodesk.com/this-is-not-a-leadership-bookclub

✨ Lead Like You

A three-month private coaching experience that helps leaders uncover their authentic leadership style, build confidence, and navigate challenges with clarity and intention.

Get an exclusive discount with the code PODCAST10 for 10% off

👉 Start now

https://www.evergroundadvisory.com/lead-like-you

Join 12 Months of Leadership Mastery — a completely free 12-month program designed for leaders and founders who want to grow with clarity, confidence, and purpose.

✨ Get monthly themes, reflection prompts, and live leadership trainings — all free. https://everground-advisory.myflodesk.com/12-months-leadership-opt-in

“It’s lonely at the top” isn’t just a cliché — it’s the structural reality of leadership. The higher you rise, the fewer people you can talk to honestly. Your circle shrinks, your guard goes up, and the pressure to hold everything for everyone else grows heavier.

In this episode of Leadership, Actually, we break down why leaders feel so alone, what’s actually happening beneath the surface, and how to build the support systems you need to stay grounded, connected, and human.

We explore:
 • Why the structure of work makes deep connection difficult for leaders
 • The three levels of friendship — and why most leaders lack the deepest one
 • What to share with your team (and what not to)
 • The difference between healthy vulnerability and oversharing
 • The real cost of leadership loneliness on judgment, empathy, and burnout
 • Practical ways to rebuild your support system inside and outside of work
 • How to create connection without crossing boundaries

✨ Lead Better 1:1s, Team Meetings & More with these FREEBIES
Practical guides, toolkits, and resources for leading better meetings, holding better 1:1s and having hard conversations. 

👉 Sign up here

https://everground-advisory.myflodesk.com/1-1-freebies

📊 FREE HR Layoff Crash Course
In this free course, you'll discover step-by-step strategies to plan, communicate, and execute layoffs with professionalism and empathy. Self-paced and available 24/7.
👉 Register here

https://semerie.learnworlds.com/course/hr-layoff-crash-course

🌀 Lead Differently. Read Differently.

Join This Isn’t a Leadership Book Club — a free, low-pressure community for curious, thoughtful leaders who believe the best leadership lessons come from unexpected stories.

You’ll get a curated reading list, reflection prompts, and invites to quarterly conversations designed to help you lead with more clarity, care, and intention.

👉 [Join the Book Club Here]

https://everground-advisory.myflodesk.com/this-is-not-a-leadership-bookclub

✨ Lead Like You

A three-month private coaching experience that helps leaders uncover their authentic leadership style, build confidence, and navigate challenges with clarity and intention.

Get an exclusive discount with the code PODCAST10 for 10% off

👉 Start now

https://www.evergroundadvisory.com/lead-like-you

Join 12 Months of Leadership Mastery — a completely free 12-month program designed for leaders and founders who want to grow with clarity, confidence, and purpose.

✨ Get monthly themes, reflection prompts, and live leadership trainings — all free. https://everground-advisory.myflodesk.com/12-months-leadership-opt-in

Feeling depleted, overwhelmed, or past your limit?

This special guided meditation episode is designed for leaders who are moving too fast, carrying too much, or running on fumes. Take five minutes to slow down, reconnect with yourself, and reset your internal system. Whether you’re listening during a commute, between meetings, or at the end of a long day — this is a moment of breath, grounding, and clarity for when you’re burnt out or on the edge of it.

✨ Lead Better 1:1s, Team Meetings & More with these FREEBIES
Practical guides, toolkits, and resources for leading better meetings, holding better 1:1s and having hard conversations. 

👉 Sign up here

https://everground-advisory.myflodesk.com/1-1-freebies

📊 FREE HR Layoff Crash Course
In this free course, you'll discover step-by-step strategies to plan, communicate, and execute layoffs with professionalism and empathy. Self-paced and available 24/7.
👉 Register here

https://semerie.learnworlds.com/course/hr-layoff-crash-course

🌀 Lead Differently. Read Differently.

Join This Isn’t a Leadership Book Club — a free, low-pressure community for curious, thoughtful leaders who believe the best leadership lessons come from unexpected stories.

You’ll get a curated reading list, reflection prompts, and invites to quarterly conversations designed to help you lead with more clarity, care, and intention.

👉 [Join the Book Club Here]

https://everground-advisory.myflodesk.com/this-is-not-a-leadership-bookclub

✨ Lead Like You

A three-month private coaching experience that helps leaders uncover their authentic leadership style, build confidence, and navigate challenges with clarity and intention.

Get an exclusive discount with the code PODCAST10 for 10% off

👉 Start now

https://www.evergroundadvisory.com/lead-like-you

Join 12 Months of Leadership Mastery — a completely free 12-month program designed for leaders and founders who want to grow with clarity, confidence, and purpose.

✨ Get monthly themes, reflection prompts, and live leadership trainings — all free. https://everground-advisory.myflodesk.com/12-months-leadership-opt-in

Most leadership problems aren’t about what needs to get done — they’re about how you’re leading while it gets done.
In this episode of Leadership, Actually, we break down one of the most underrated skills in management: knowing when to coach, when to manage, and when to direct.

You’ll learn:

• The core differences between directing, managing, and coaching
• Why leaders often default to the wrong mode
• How to choose the right approach based on the person and the moment
• A simple 3-question diagnostic to decide which mode to use
• Real-world examples you can apply immediately
• The one mistake that creates most performance issues (hint: misalignment between what someone needs and what they get)

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re giving too much guidance, not enough structure, or over-coaching your team — this episode gives you the clarity you’ve been missing.

✨ Lead Better 1:1s, Team Meetings & More with these FREEBIES
Practical guides, toolkits, and resources for leading better meetings, holding better 1:1s and having hard conversations. 

👉 Sign up here

https://everground-advisory.myflodesk.com/1-1-freebies

📊 FREE HR Layoff Crash Course
In this free course, you'll discover step-by-step strategies to plan, communicate, and execute layoffs with professionalism and empathy. Self-paced and available 24/7.
👉 Register here

https://semerie.learnworlds.com/course/hr-layoff-crash-course

🌀 Lead Differently. Read Differently.

Join This Isn’t a Leadership Book Club — a free, low-pressure community for curious, thoughtful leaders who believe the best leadership lessons come from unexpected stories.

You’ll get a curated reading list, reflection prompts, and invites to quarterly conversations designed to help you lead with more clarity, care, and intention.

👉 [Join the Book Club Here]

https://everground-advisory.myflodesk.com/this-is-not-a-leadership-bookclub

✨ Lead Like You

A three-month private coaching experience that helps leaders uncover their authentic leadership style, build confidence, and navigate challenges with clarity and intention.

Get an exclusive discount with the code PODCAST10 for 10% off

👉 Start now

https://www.evergroundadvisory.com/lead-like-you

Join 12 Months of Leadership Mastery — a completely free 12-month program designed for leaders and founders who want to grow with clarity, confidence, and purpose.

✨ Get monthly themes, reflection prompts, and live leadership trainings — all free. https://everground-advisory.myflodesk.com/12-months-leadership-opt-in

Being told you have to lay someone off is one of the hardest moments in leadership — especially when the decision wasn’t yours. In this episode of Leadership, Actually, we walk through how to approach that moment with clarity, steadiness, and humanity.

You’ll learn what to do immediately after you’re informed, how to prepare yourself and the conversation, and how to support both the departing employee and the team that remains.

What We Cover

• Why your first step is getting clarity — not reacting
 • What questions to ask your HR and legal partners
 • Why you need training, scripts, and clear expectations from HR
 • What your role is in a layoff conversation
• What your role is not (including what you should never improvise)
• How to deliver the message in a grounded, compassionate way
• How to handle emotional reactions without getting overwhelmed or defensive
• What support the employee should receive: severance, benefits, EAP, and outplacement
• How to communicate with the remaining team
• Why leaders need to care for themselves after a layoff, too

This is a practical, human-centered guide for leaders who want to navigate layoffs with clarity — even when the decision is out of their hands.

✨ Lead Better 1:1s, Team Meetings & More with these FREEBIES
Practical guides, toolkits, and resources for leading better meetings, holding better 1:1s and having hard conversations. 

👉 Sign up here

https://everground-advisory.myflodesk.com/1-1-freebies

📊 FREE HR Layoff Crash Course
In this free course, you'll discover step-by-step strategies to plan, communicate, and execute layoffs with professionalism and empathy. Self-paced and available 24/7.
👉 Register here

https://semerie.learnworlds.com/course/hr-layoff-crash-course

🌀 Lead Differently. Read Differently.

Join This Isn’t a Leadership Book Club — a free, low-pressure community for curious, thoughtful leaders who believe the best leadership lessons come from unexpected stories.

You’ll get a curated reading list, reflection prompts, and invites to quarterly conversations designed to help you lead with more clarity, care, and intention.

👉 [Join the Book Club Here]

https://everground-advisory.myflodesk.com/this-is-not-a-leadership-bookclub

✨ Lead Like You

A three-month private coaching experience that helps leaders uncover their authentic leadership style, build confidence, and navigate challenges with clarity and intention.

Get an exclusive discount with the code PODCAST10 for 10% off

👉 Start now

https://www.evergroundadvisory.com/lead-like-you

Join 12 Months of Leadership Mastery — a completely free 12-month program designed for leaders and founders who want to grow with clarity, confidence, and purpose.

✨ Get monthly themes, reflection prompts, and live leadership trainings — all free. https://everground-advisory.myflodesk.com/12-months-leadership-opt-in

Layoffs are one of the hardest responsibilities leaders face — emotionally, operationally, and culturally. But the worst time to design a layoff process is in the middle of one.

In this episode of Leadership, Actually, we walk through how to build a layoff policy that is structured, transparent, and deeply human. You’ll learn the essential components every organization should document long before a workforce reduction becomes necessary, including:

What We Cover

• Why clarity and criteria matter before layoffs ever happen
• How to operationalize the full layoff process (planning, notification, and support phases)
• What to include in a standard severance policy
• Why outplacement should be available to every employee, not just executives
• How to integrate your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for emotional support
• How to communicate layoffs with transparency, steadiness, and care
• Why your layoff policy should evolve after every RIF

You’ll leave with a grounded, repeatable framework that helps leaders navigate layoffs with clarity and compassion — and helps employees transition with dignity.

✨ Lead Better 1:1s, Team Meetings & More with these FREEBIES
Practical guides, toolkits, and resources for leading better meetings, holding better 1:1s and having hard conversations. 

👉 Sign up here

https://everground-advisory.myflodesk.com/1-1-freebies

📊 FREE HR Layoff Crash Course
In this free course, you'll discover step-by-step strategies to plan, communicate, and execute layoffs with professionalism and empathy. Self-paced and available 24/7.
👉 Register here

https://semerie.learnworlds.com/course/hr-layoff-crash-course

🌀 Lead Differently. Read Differently.

Join This Isn’t a Leadership Book Club — a free, low-pressure community for curious, thoughtful leaders who believe the best leadership lessons come from unexpected stories.

You’ll get a curated reading list, reflection prompts, and invites to quarterly conversations designed to help you lead with more clarity, care, and intention.

👉 [Join the Book Club Here]

https://everground-advisory.myflodesk.com/this-is-not-a-leadership-bookclub

✨ Lead Like You

A three-month private coaching experience that helps leaders uncover their authentic leadership style, build confidence, and navigate challenges with clarity and intention.

Get an exclusive discount with the code PODCAST10 for 10% off

👉 Start now

https://www.evergroundadvisory.com/lead-like-you

Join 12 Months of Leadership Mastery — a completely free 12-month program designed for leaders and founders who want to grow with clarity, confidence, and purpose.

✨ Get monthly themes, reflection prompts, and live leadership trainings — all free. https://everground-advisory.myflodesk.com/12-months-leadership-opt-in

Firing someone will never be easy — but it doesn’t have to be messy, confusing, or demeaning.

As a leader, how you handle a termination says as much about you as it does about the person leaving. Done poorly, it damages trust across the team. Done well, it preserves dignity, clarity, and respect.

In this episode of Leadership, Actually, we walk through how to prepare, what to say, and how to follow through when you need to let someone go. You’ll learn:

• Why preparation and process matter (and why you need your ducks in a row)
• How to lean on scripts instead of improvising in the moment
• The 4-step structure for delivering the message clearly and respectfully
• What to say to the team afterward — without oversharing
• How to close the conversation in a way that honors the person

This isn’t about making firing “nice.” It’s about making it humane, clear, and steady — so you preserve trust even in one of the hardest leadership moments.

✨ Lead Better 1:1s, Team Meetings & More with these FREEBIES
Practical guides, toolkits, and resources for leading better meetings, holding better 1:1s and having hard conversations. 

👉 Sign up here

📊 FREE HR Layoff Crash Course
In this free course, you'll discover step-by-step strategies to plan, communicate, and execute layoffs with professionalism and empathy. Self-paced and available 24/7.
👉 Register here

🌀 Lead Differently. Read Differently.

Join This Isn’t a Leadership Book Club — a free, low-pressure community for curious, thoughtful leaders who believe the best leadership lessons come from unexpected stories.

You’ll get a curated reading list, reflection prompts, and invites to quarterly conversations designed to help you lead with more clarity, care, and intention.

👉 [Join the Book Club Here]

✨ Lead Like You

A three-month private coaching experience that helps leaders uncover their authentic leadership style, build confidence, and navigate challenges with clarity and intention.

Get an exclusive discount with the code PODCAST10 for 10% off

👉 Start now

Most team meetings are a waste of time. Too much status reporting, not enough substance.

But when done right, meetings are one of the most powerful tools a leader has — a chance to align priorities, clear obstacles, and fuel momentum.

In this episode of Leadership, Actually, we break down the five topics that make team meetings matter. You’ll learn how to:

• Refocus your team on what actually matters this week or quarter
• Use meetings to clear bottlenecks instead of creating more noise
• Celebrate progress in a way that drives energy and performance
• Bring the customer’s voice into the room
• Turn mistakes into shared learning moments

If your meetings feel flat, scattered, or repetitive, this episode will help you reset — and run conversations your team actually looks forward to.

✨ Lead Better 1:1s, Team Meetings & More with these FREEBIES
Practical guides, toolkits, and resources for leading better meetings, holding better 1:1s and having hard conversations. 

👉 Sign up here

📊 FREE HR Layoff Crash Course
In this free course, you'll discover step-by-step strategies to plan, communicate, and execute layoffs with professionalism and empathy. Self-paced and available 24/7.
👉 Register here

🌀 Lead Differently. Read Differently.

Join This Isn’t a Leadership Book Club — a free, low-pressure community for curious, thoughtful leaders who believe the best leadership lessons come from unexpected stories.

You’ll get a curated reading list, reflection prompts, and invites to quarterly conversations designed to help you lead with more clarity, care, and intention.

👉 [Join the Book Club Here]

✨ Lead Like You

A three-month private coaching experience that helps leaders uncover their authentic leadership style, build confidence, and navigate challenges with clarity and intention.

Get an exclusive discount with the code PODCAST10 for 10% off

👉 Start now

One of the hardest conversations for any leader: telling a motivated employee they’re not ready for a promotion.
 Done poorly, it kills motivation.
 Done well, it creates clarity, direction, and trust.

In this episode of Leadership, Actually, we break down how to handle this conversation step by step — from understanding your company’s promotion process, to giving clear and actionable feedback, to mapping out a development plan that keeps ambition alive.

You’ll learn how to:

• Explain the promotion process clearly and transparently
• Acknowledge ambition without overpromising
• Name the gap with specific, observable feedback
• Connect feedback to business impact (so it sticks)
• Offer a path forward without shutting the door

This isn’t about saying “no.” It’s about saying “not yet — and here’s how you can get there.”

✨ Lead Better 1:1s, Team Meetings & More with these FREEBIES
Practical guides, toolkits, and resources for leading better meetings, holding better 1:1s and having hard conversations. 

👉 Sign up here

📊 FREE HR Layoff Crash Course
In this free course, you'll discover step-by-step strategies to plan, communicate, and execute layoffs with professionalism and empathy. Self-paced and available 24/7.
👉 Register here

🌀 Lead Differently. Read Differently.

Join This Isn’t a Leadership Book Club — a free, low-pressure community for curious, thoughtful leaders who believe the best leadership lessons come from unexpected stories.

You’ll get a curated reading list, reflection prompts, and invites to quarterly conversations designed to help you lead with more clarity, care, and intention.

👉 [Join the Book Club Here]

✨ Lead Like You

A three-month private coaching experience that helps leaders uncover their authentic leadership style, build confidence, and navigate challenges with clarity and intention.

Get an exclusive discount with the code PODCAST10 for 10% off

👉 Start now

Resentment is one of leadership’s hidden emotions — and most managers feel it at some point. The key isn’t to pretend it isn’t there. The key is to use it as a signal.

In this episode of Leadership, Actually, we explore:

• Why resentment shows up in management roles
• The three root causes: unclear expectations, unbalanced effort, and unspoken boundaries
• The harm resentment creates when it lingers unaddressed
• Practical ways to reset expectations, redistribute effort, and set boundaries
• How to treat resentment as leadership feedback instead of a personal failure

Because resentment doesn’t make you a bad manager — it makes you human. What matters is how you respond.

✨ Lead Better 1:1s, Team Meetings & More with these FREEBIES
Practical guides, toolkits, and resources for leading better meetings, holding better 1:1s and having hard conversations. 

👉 Sign up here

📊 FREE HR Layoff Crash Course
In this free course, you'll discover step-by-step strategies to plan, communicate, and execute layoffs with professionalism and empathy. Self-paced and available 24/7.
👉 Register here

🌀 Lead Differently. Read Differently.

Join This Isn’t a Leadership Book Club — a free, low-pressure community for curious, thoughtful leaders who believe the best leadership lessons come from unexpected stories.

You’ll get a curated reading list, reflection prompts, and invites to quarterly conversations designed to help you lead with more clarity, care, and intention.

👉 [Join the Book Club Here]

✨ Lead Like You

A three-month private coaching experience that helps leaders uncover their authentic leadership style, build confidence, and navigate challenges with clarity and intention.

Get an exclusive discount with the code PODCAST10 for 10% off

👉 Start now