Today's leadership reflection is from Ashley Johnson. Ashley and I worked together on a change initiative when I was consulting with Shambaugh Leadership, and I was so excited to meet her. We both aligned on the idea of navigating change from a human lens. Ashley is the founder of Brightwell Leadership and she helps newly formed leadership teams align and lead together.

She's an executive coach with over 15 years of leadership development experience within multiple industries, and she has her master's degree in organizational leadership. On top of that, she's a mom of three living in North Carolina and like so many of us running on a little coffee and a big dream. I'm really excited for you to hear Ashley's take on the human side of change today.

 If you're interested in learning more about the human side of change, please check out The Rooted Leader Podcast, Season 1, episode 4: The Human Side of Change, and thank you so much for joining. As always, I hope that you stay rooted in authenticity and empathy.

ADHD in Women: Strengths, Hormonal Shifts, and Rest for High Performers

Kathleen Wisemandle introduces a Rooted Leader minisode on how ADHD often presents differently in women, leading many to go undiagnosed as girls because symptoms are more mental (racing, hyperactive minds) than physically disruptive as often seen in boys. Resources from the January 2024 issue of the leadership newsletter, The Root: ADHD in Women.

If you'd like to share a thought or a question for a future episode, you can email me at [email protected]or reply directly on The Rooted Leader Substack.

And if you might benefit from connecting with other leaders, the Rooted Leader Community is a private space where you can ask real questions and get real perspectives from other leaders. Every month we gather for the Rooted Leader Round Table, where we reflect on a leadership topic of the month for personal insights, connection, and private conversation, all for the cost of a great locally roasted latte per month.

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00:00 The Strengths of ADHD in High-Performing Women

01:16 Welcome

01:47 The Types of ADHD

02:24 High Performing ADHD Women Professionals

03:15 The Hyperactive - Impulsive Side of ADHD

04:41 Positive Attributes: It's not all about the deficits

06:59 Impact of Hormonal Shifts

07:29 Well-Being

09:53 ADHD or not?

10:46 Three Takeaways

11:52 Reflection

13:33 In Closing

14:32 Resources and Community

In this episode of The Rooted Leader podcast, I discuss the “above the line/below the line” framework, drawing on Brené Brown’s work, to help leaders recognize reactive patterns like the victim-hero-villain Drama Triangle and shift into more generative “above the line” thinking.

Below the line responses are described as defensive, threat-based reactions (fight, flight, freeze, fawn) linked to an “amygdala hijack,” often accompanied by anger, fear, anxiety, or panic.

The episode contrasts the Drama Triangle with the Empowerment Dynamic (victim to creator, persecutor to challenger, rescuer to coach), sharing examples from parenting, coaching clients facing job-search overwhelm, and group coaching, and closes with three takeaways and reflection questions to build compassion and faster recognition of reactive states.

A little bit about the why, and the why now behind The Rooted Leader Podcast.

Neeta Jain is a leadership advisor and keynote speaker who helps leaders and organizations build high-performing teams by reducing friction, rebuilding trust, and improving the quality of leadership decisions under pressure.

Neeta works with organizations through keynotes and workshops, drawing on emotional and moral intelligence as practical frameworks to help teams make better decisions when the stakes are high and trust is on the line. She has worked with organizations including GE Aerospace, Amazon, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, and Yale University.

Neeta is also a TEDx speaker (TEDxOcala), where she challenged audiences to examine how leadership decisions shape culture from the inside out.

The Rooted Leader Podcast, Leader Reflections.

Send questions to [email protected]

Find this bonus episode and all episodes on The Rooted Leader Substack or anywhere you find your favorite podcast.

Resetting Your Compass: The 5 Ps of Purposeful Leadership

Kathleen Wisemandle welcomes listeners to a Rooted Leader minisode on pausing autopilot to reflect on what is purposeful. Drawing on Amy Jen Su’s book "The Leader You Want to Be," she highlights common “just” traps and introduces the five Ps—Purpose, Process, People, Presence, and Peace—as internal and external levers for resetting your compass through self-awareness, prioritization/delegation, boundaries, nervous system regulation and pattern-spotting, and leading with trust and gratitude.

May 2023 The Root Newsletter: Leading with Purpose

Send questions to [email protected] or The Rooted Leader substack

00:00 Our Compass

00:58 What Does Living More Purposefully Look Like

03:04 The 5 P's

07:18 Benefits of Living More Purposefully

10:55 Being More Purposeful Takes Time

13:11 Three Takeaways

14:20 Other Ways to Find Purpose

14:55 Reflection Questions

16:04 Resources

This is a video about Leading with Compassion over Compliance

00:00 Leading with Compassion over Compliance

02:47 Compassion vs. Compliance

04:49 The Importance of Relationships

05:43 Building PEA

06:42 Showing Up with Compassion

08:18 Three Takeaways

09:46 Reflection: Your Personal Coaching Moment

11:12 Insights and Action

12:13 Resources

Adapted from The Root Newsletter: Volume 4, Issue 3: Leading With Compassion from March 2025

Questions or ideas please respond in The Rooted Leader Substack or email me at [email protected]

Get full access to The Rooted Leader at aspiretogrow.substack.com/subscribe

This Episode of The Rooted Leader addresses the Human Side of Change

00:00 The Human Side of Change

01:11 What Qualifies as Change?

03:50 What Problem are We Trying to Solve for?

04:19 The Three Phases of Change

07:51 Leadership Tips

08:30 Three Takeaways

09:05 Reflection

10:16 Resources

Adapted from The Root Newsletter: Volume 1, Issue 3: Transition and the Change Curve

Questions or ideas please respond in The Rooted Leader Substack or email me at [email protected]

Sometimes we meet people on LinkedIn who align with our spirit, and Mark Holden is one of the many I’ve been lucky to connect with. He is a self-proclaimed “Lemonade maker”, and once you listen to his reflection on what courage means to him, I think you’ll know why.

I introduce Mark, the leader, advisor, volunteer and dad, and he begins his reflection at 0:50.

Enjoy!

Stepping into Courage

Based on The Root newsletter, March 3, 2025 - Stepping into Courage

The Courage Gap: Five Steps to Braver Action by Dr. Margie Warrell

Dr. Warrell's Courage Quiz

Please send questions to or thoughts for future episodes [email protected] or reply within The Rooted Leader Substack 🌿