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Hi! I'm Stephanie, founder of the Empowered Leaders Academy.

Guiding newer corporate leaders to transition from doer to boss - offering coaching, training & group support to help you build an extraordinary team along the way! Sign up for my newsletter, join an upcoming live event, apply to the community, or get 1:1 coaching.

An image of seven plain lightbulbs hanging in a row. Only the fifth one is lit up and is shining very brightly. The text above the image reads: "Transformational Leadership".
Featured Post

Leading with Empathy: Transformational Leadership

Welcome Back, Reader What does it mean to lead with empathy? Do you know a leader who struggles with managing conflict? If you shift the focus away from the word "conflict" and, instead, focus on the intent of helping someone to improve, the conversation gets easier. Do you know a team or an individual who is burned out (or headed that way)? Let's look at why that might be: Are they afraid to speak up about having too much to do? Are they trying to prove themselves to someone? Does it make...

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Welcome Back, Reader It's been said... but it deserves repeating Yes, it feels like it would be easier if only you had THAT title. But I've witnessed too many who get THAT title... and still think they need the next one to make a difference. The truth is that it was never about the title. No one ELSE can give you the permission that you believe you need to make an impact. If people look to you for advice... If they feel comfortable coming to you when there is an issue... If you make others...

A New Yorker Cartoon about the sad reality of how people are promoted

Welcome Back, Reader New Yorker Cartoon by Kendra Allenby “At this point in your career, your only possible promotion is to management, where you will stop doing the work you love and use a skill set you don’t have and we don’t teach.” It would be funny, if it wasn't true As a leader who has had employees say they don't want to go into leadership but they still want to be recognized or promoted in some way, why does it have to be like this? ..."your only possible promotion is to management"....

A road sign that reads "Burnout" is pointing forward against a harsh, sunny sky.

Welcome Back, Reader It seems like everyone is burned out... And if you don't think you're burned out, every article you read tells you that you are! How do you know for sure? Sometimes all you have to do is ask your family or friends... they see it, they feel it. It has to do with how much energy you have left AFTER you leave the office. How often you feel that you HAVE to check in on work after hours... even if just for ONE quick thing. How truly PRESENT are you with your family and...

A silhouette of a person balancing on one foot standing atop a large rock against a sunset backdrop

Welcome Back, Reader The Elusive Mystery of Balance... Honest vs. Kind Work vs. Personal Trust vs. Oversight Soft vs. Hard Skills Experience vs. Competency The list goes on and on and on... We may rebel against the majority to move the needle to one side or the other. We may consider ourselves (or others) weak or strong based on which side of the scale we favor. We may search for the happy medium, yet often find ourselves in a comfort zone leaning one way or the other. The reality is even...

Welcome Back, Reader Ah, the generation gap! "They don't have any loyalty." "They are disengaged with work." "They are slackers with no work ethic." Oops, did you think we were talking about Gen Z or Millennials? Nope! These were the common statements the Boomer generation used to describe Gen X when they first entered the workforce. Boomers vs. Gen X... Boomers had valued long-term employment with a single company. Gen X had grown up witnessing corporate restructuring and layoffs in the 80s,...

Welcome Back, Reader Why do we call them "soft skills"? Soft skills are “soft, until you don’t have them, Then it’s hard.” --Chike Aguh, senior advisor of Harvard University’s Project on Workforce Aguh further suggested that the process of developing soft skills is similar to getting good at sports by adding, “You can’t read a book on how to do a jump shot.” I couldn't agree more with his sentiment! Organizations don't spend enough time assessing soft skills in job candidates, and much less...

Welcome Back, Reader Do Your Employees Feel Appreciated? Or do you just think they do? "There are two things people want more than sex and money: recognition and praise." - Mary Kay Ash, Founder of Mary Kay, Inc. While most everyone would like a raise or bonus, that monetary incentive is quickly forgotten. Appreciation doesn't have to cost anything. It can be as simple as a sincere 'thank you'... verbally or written. The problem? "While more than 80% of managers THINK that they are providing...

Welcome Back, Reader Does Your Team Really Have Psychological Safety? Or do you just think they do? "Our people speak up all the time in meetings!" But is it the same people who always speak up? "They feel comfortable bringing up issues to me!" But do they blame others when they do? "Everyone on my team is happy!" But are they only cajoling you with what they think you want to hear? Even worse... The higher up in the leadership chain that your role is, the further from seeing 'the bottom of...

Do You Have a Fixed or Growth Mindset? Let's look at some examples... "Your intelligence is something very basic about you that you can't change very much." "You can learn new things, but you can't really change how intelligent you are." "No matter how much intelligence you have, you can always change it quite a bit." "You can always substantially change how intelligent you are." Did you find yourself agreeing more with the first two phrases? ...or with the last two phrases? In her book 'Grit...