Hi! I’m Kathy, a former C-Suite exec turned coach and artist. I’m on a mission to help leaders become more impactful with less stress. I write each week for leaders who care deeply about their business, their team, and their values. Glad you’re here.
Today’s post is a new format I’m testing: I’ll share one piece from my archives worth revisiting, one thing I learned recently, and someone you should know. Share which section you liked best in the Comments.
Stop Waiting to Future-Proof Your Career
From The Archives
A client asked me last month, “How do I know if I’m on the right path?” This piece is my long answer. Hint: It’s less about whether you’ve chosen well and more about preserving your freedom to choose. It covers the levers you can use to keep your options open..
Say The Thing
A Recent Learning
A few weeks ago, I was working through my content plan with AI when I typed the sentence I’d been avoiding: I really can’t be bothered to search out and consume leadership content.
The relief was almost instant.
Once I stopped letting fear of being judged drive my decisions, another path appeared: more live conversations. Substack Lives. Paid Subscriber Ask Me Anything (AMA) calls. More me in my element. Less forcing a path that left me drained.
Our first AMA was last Friday. We talked about building trust with a new boss and choosing a narrow career vs. a broad one. Paid subscribers can watch the replay here; free subscribers can catch a preview.
It’s only been a few weeks, but I already feel the shift. I don’t know if the model will work out. But I know this: when you can’t admit the truth to yourself, you’re the one limiting yourself, even if you blame someone else’s standards or stories.
So if fear has been keeping you from a truth, try saying it out loud. See what happens.
Why Worry When You Can Wonder
Someone To Know
I recently finished Dacher Keltner’s book, Awe. His research asked people around the world what moves them to awe. I would have guessed nature. Maybe music.
No. It was people. And their actions.
“Around the world, we are most likely to feel awe when we are moved by moral beauty…”
He defines moral beauty as “exceptional virtue, character and ability.”
It made me think of a leader I worked with who gracefully took the fall when a Board made a series of bad calls. My chest swelled, and my throat tightened.
I know we don’t always associate work with awe, the good kind. But it can be.
If someone brings moral beauty to your work, now or in the past, let them know.
Thanks for joining me in this month’s digest.
May you lead without limits,
Kathy
The section on 'Say The Thing' is brilliant. The relief you felt when you admitted you didn't want to consume leadership content—and how that pivoted your business toward Live conversations—is exactly the kind of hidden tension I see in senior leaders' careers. It makes me wonder: for the high-performing leaders you coach, how often is the 'limiting belief' actually a correct assessment of a bad environment, rather than a mindset block?