The Empowered Leader Podcast copertina

The Empowered Leader Podcast

The Empowered Leader Podcast

Di: Margaret Williams MS ACC
Ascolta gratuitamente

Offerte di stagione | 0,99 €/mese per i primi 3 mesi

A seguire 9,99 €/mese – si applicano condizioni. Puoi disdire mensilmente.
The Empowered Leader is a video podcast for women who have been marginalized, going beneath surface-level leadership advice to name the real tensions of leading inside systems not designed for them: visibility without backlash, authority without permission, and elevating your voice without self-erasure. Each episode interrogates power, bias, and leadership norms while offering a grounded perspective that clarifies what’s personal, what’s systemic, and where your voice and your choices still hold power.

substack.iprofessionalcoaching.comMargaret Williams, MS, ACC Economia Oraria Ricerca del lavoro Successo personale Sviluppo personale
Episodi
  • An American Perspective on French Protest with Will Fullwood

    An American Perspective on French Protest with Will Fullwood
    Oct 26 2026
    Will Fullwood: BioWill Fullwood writes The Contraband Wagon on Substack, “a prescient antiracism publication, sure to empower, intrigue, and inspire.” [1] He describes himself as a longtime educator, assessment and ed tech specialist, antiracist activist, lawyer, poker player, musician, empath, and polymath, with a BA, an MSEd, and a JD (Fordham Law School). [1][2]. Will’s a career educator who taught mathematics and English to students “ages 3-73.” Will was most recently an Assistant Professor at Wake Technical Community College in North Carolina. [2]In August 2025, he founded Mission Meliora, a France-based, mission-driven enterprise “dedicated to building an antiracist world,” serving U.S. audiences through online seminars, live events, and speaking, while building a French team to expand into Europe. [2]His work also includes communications and document review for cultural, racial and gender sensitivity; business equity consulting; speaking on antiracism and curiosity through his fellowship with the Global Curiosity Institute; and retreats in France. On Substack, he hosts live conversations on race, community and courage. [1]Will’s Social MediaPatreon: patreon.com/thecontrabandwagonSubstack: willfullwood.substack.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/william-fullwood-35114013Will on The Empowered Leader (Previous Lives)* “Things We Shouldn’t Say with Will Fullwood and Brandon Ellrich” (Jan 30, 2026): substack.iprofessionalcoaching.com/p/things-we-shouldnt-say-with-will* “Building an Anti-Racism Movement with Will Fullwood” (Feb 18, 2026): substack.iprofessionalcoaching.com/p/building-an-anti-racism-movement* “Notes of the Week | E25 - Margaret and Will” (Mar 17, 2026): substack.iprofessionalcoaching.com/p/notes-of-the-week-e25-margaret-and* “Radical Joy with Will Fullwood” (Jul 8, 2026): substack.iprofessionalcoaching.com/p/radical-joy-with-will-fullwoodKey Statistics* Protest at scale. On January 31, 2023, France’s Interior Ministry counted about 1.27 million people marching against pension reform (87,000 in Paris); unions put it at 2.8 million. [3]* Race and work in France. People perceived as Black, Arab or North African are 2.8 times more likely to report discrimination at work than people perceived as white. At hiring, perceived origin is the second most cited reason for discrimination (21%), after age (42%). [4]* Silence has a cost. 19% of U.S. workers call their workplace toxic, and those workers are more than three times as likely to report harm to their mental health (52% vs. 15%). [5]* Seeing protest through new eyes. In 2023, more than a million people marched in a single day over pension reform. [3]* Race, protest and belonging. France’s rights watchdog found that people perceived as Black, Arab, or North African are 2.8 times more likely to report discrimination at work. [4]* Curiosity as a tool. Will speaks on antiracism and curiosity through the Global Curiosity Institute.* Voice, power, and women leaders. Nearly one in five U.S. workers call their workplace toxic. [5]References* Will Fullwood, The Contraband Wagon (Substack) and “About Will Fullwood a.k.a. Contraband.”* William Fullwood, LinkedIn profile (accessed Oct 26, 2026). https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-fullwood-35114013/* AFP via Hespress English. (2023, January 31). 1.27 mn protesters against French pension reform: Interior Ministry. https://en.hespress.com/57865-57865.html* Défenseur des droits. (2025, December). 18e baromètre sur la perception des discriminations dans l’emploi. Summary: editions-tissot.fr* American Psychological Association. (2023, July 13). 2023 Work in America Survey (n = 2,515 U.S. workers). https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2023/07/work-mental-health-challenges* American Psychological Association. (2023, July 13). 2023 Work in America Survey (n = 2,515 U.S. workers). https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2023/07/work-mental-health-challengesThank you OnyxRose💛🤍💜🖤🏳️‍⚧️ EG, Millie Jones-Cowles, Peter.Sukowski, Seitzinator ❌👑, Ziggy, and many others for tuning into my live video with Will Fullwood! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit substack.iprofessionalcoaching.com/subscribe
    Mostra di più Mostra meno
    1 ora e 26 min
  • Tell the Truth

    Tell the Truth
    Oct 24 2026
    The mask keeps you safe. It also keeps you small.Let’s be honest. Most of us don’t lie big.We lie small. All day long.“I’m fine.” “No problem.” “Whatever works for you.” “It’s not a big deal.”We laugh off the comment that stung. We nod at the plan we know won’t work. We say yes to the thing we have no room for. And we call it being professional. Being easy to work with. Keeping the peace.It isn’t peace. It’s a mask.People wear masks because they fear the truth being exposed. Speak the truth anyway.What Telling the Truth IsTelling the truth isn’t blurting. It isn’t unloading every thought you’ve had since 2019. It isn’t using honesty as a license to wound.It’s saying what is so, clearly, to the person who needs to hear it.It’s not about being brutal. It’s about being clear.It’s not about winning the conversation. It’s about not abandoning yourself in it.Truth with care is a gift. Truth used as a weapon is just cruelty with a good excuse. You already know the difference. You’ve been on the receiving end of both.Why We Learned to Lie SmallNobody handed us a rulebook. We learned it anyway.We learned that the girl who spoke up got called bossy. That the woman who named the problem became the problem. That the one who said “that’s not okay” got a reputation, and the one who smiled got promoted.For many of us, especially women who have been marginalized in the rooms we lead in, the small lie wasn’t weakness. It was survival. It kept the job. It kept the relationship. It kept us out of the line of fire.So be gentle with yourself about the masks you’ve worn. They did their job.But a tool that kept you alive can still be the thing that keeps you from living.What the Mask CostsThe mask doesn’t come off at five o’clock. It comes home with you.It costs energy. Holding back the true sentence takes effort, every single time. That tiredness you can’t explain after a meeting where you “didn’t even say anything”? That’s the cost.It costs trust. People can feel when something is being held back, even if they can’t name it. The mask meant to protect the relationship slowly empties it out.It costs influence. The idea you didn’t say can’t be credited to you. The concern you swallowed can’t be acted on. The boundary you didn’t name can’t be respected.And it costs you. Wear a mask long enough and you start forgetting what your own face looks like.The truth you hold back doesn’t disappear. It just leads without you.The Truth You Tell Yourself FirstBefore the truth comes out of your mouth, it has to get past you.This is the harder part. The honest look at what you actually want. What you actually feel. What you already know about that job, that friendship, that pattern, and keep talking yourself out of.Many of us are fluent in everyone else’s truth and strangers to our own. We can tell you exactly what the team needs, what our family needs, what the client needs. Ask what we need and we go quiet.Start there. You can’t speak a truth you haven’t let yourself hear.The TellingTruth-telling is a muscle. Nobody starts with the hardest conversation of their life. You start small, and you build.Begin by catching the small lie as it leaves your mouth. You don’t have to fix it every time. Just notice it. “There it is again. I said fine. I’m not fine.” Noticing is where the change starts.Then trade one small lie a day for a small truth. “Actually, I can’t take that on this week.” “I see it differently.” “That comment didn’t sit right with me.” Short. Plain. No speech attached.Say it once, and let it stand. You don’t need three paragraphs of apology wrapped around one honest sentence. The over-explaining is the mask trying to slip back on.Choose your timing, not your silence. There is a difference between “not now” and “not ever.” Waiting for the right moment is wisdom. Waiting forever is the mask with a better excuse.And let the discomfort be there. The first few times you tell the truth, it will feel like you’ve done something wrong. You haven’t. You’ve done something new.Unfamiliar is not wrong. It’s just the sound of you, unmasked.Integration: The Leadership RealityIf you lead people, they are watching what happens to truth in your presence.When someone brings you bad news, do they get thanked or punished? When someone disagrees, does the room get curious or cold? Your team will tell you exactly as much truth as you have made safe to tell. Not one sentence more.So go first. Name your own mistakes out loud. Say “I don’t know” when you don’t. Thank the person who told you what nobody else would. That’s how you build a culture where masks come off.And know this too: some rooms will punish truth no matter how kindly you tell it. That isn’t proof you were wrong to speak. It’s information about the room. What you do with that information is your decision.The Coaching ChairLet’s sit with this ...
    Mostra di più Mostra meno
    11 min
  • Unbothered

    Unbothered
    Oct 23 2026
    Not numb. Not cold. Settled.You know the moment.The email copied to your boss. The comment in the meeting, said with a smile. The relative who brings up the thing at dinner, again. Your chest tightens. Your face heats. And the next three hours belong to someone who isn’t even thinking about you.Let’s be honest. Most of us were never taught to be unbothered. We were taught to look it.Smile. Swallow it. Don’t make a scene. Then go home and replay it in the shower until the water runs cold.That isn’t unbothered. That’s bothered in disguise.What Unbothered IsUnbothered is a settled center. Things still reach you. You still feel them. They just don’t get to take over the controls.It’s not about feeling nothing. It’s about deciding what gets your energy.Your reaction is a resource. Every time you spend it on someone who wanted a rise out of you, you paid them. Unbothered is simply choosing where that payment goes.What Unbothered Is NotIt isn’t numbness. Numb is what happens when you’ve been hurt so often that you shut the door on everything, joy included. That’s protection, and it costs you your own life.It isn’t the performance. The breezy “I’m fine” while your jaw is clenched. Performing calm takes more energy than the original insult did.And it isn’t indifference. You can care deeply about your work, your people, and your values and still refuse to be pulled off course by every pebble someone throws.Unbothered is not unaffected. It’s unmoved from your center.Why It Was Taken From UsHere’s the uncomfortable truth. Women in leadership get graded on our reactions in a way others don’t.Show you’re upset and you’re “too emotional.” Show nothing and you’re “cold” or “intimidating.” So we learned to monitor ourselves constantly, reading every room, managing every flicker on our faces.That constant watch is exhausting. It keeps your nervous system on alert, waiting for the next thing. And when you’re always braced, everything bothers you, because everything feels like a threat.Some people learned that, too. They know a reaction from you can be used against you. The provocation is the point.What they took from you wasn’t theirs to keep. Your peace included.Where Unbothered Comes FromReal calm doesn’t come from trying harder to stay calm. It comes from being settled in who you are.When you know your worth, a dismissive comment is information about the person who said it. When you know your record, one bad review doesn’t rewrite it. When you’re grounded in your values, someone else’s opinion becomes something you consider, not a verdict you obey.That’s why unbothered is healing work, not a technique. The more whole you become, the less there is for anyone to grab onto.The SettlingWhen something lands, let it land. Notice the heat in your face or the drop in your stomach. Don’t argue with it. Your body is telling you something happened, and it’s right.Then take a breath before you take a position. The urge to respond right now is rarely wisdom. It’s the old alarm. Nothing that matters will be lost in the time it takes to breathe.Ask yourself one quiet question: is this mine to carry? Some things are. A real mistake, a fair concern, a person who needs you. Many things aren’t. Someone else’s mood. Someone else’s need to be right. Someone else’s discomfort with you taking up space.If it’s yours, handle it on your timing, in your words. If it isn’t, set it down. You don’t have to win it, explain it, or replay it. A boundary is a decision, not a debate.And when you catch yourself replaying it later, and you will, be kind about it. Each time you notice and come back, the settling gets a little deeper.Integration: The Leadership RealityUnbothered doesn’t mean unaccountable. If feedback is true, it should still reach you. Being settled is what lets you hear it without collapsing or getting defensive.It doesn’t excuse looking away from harm. Staying calm about a snide remark aimed at you is one thing. Staying calm while someone on your team is mistreated is not peace. It’s silence. Your settled center is exactly what lets you step in clearly.Your calm is contagious, and so is your panic. A team takes its cue from the leader’s nervous system. When you stay steady under pressure, you give everyone else permission to think instead of react.And some places are built to keep you bothered. If a workplace requires you to stay braced every single day just to function, the problem isn’t your reaction. That’s information about the place.The Coaching ChairCome sit with me for a minute.Think of the person or situation that rattles you most right now. Not the biggest problem in your life, just the one that gets under your skin fastest. Picture the last time it happened. Notice where you feel it in your body as you remember.Now look at how much of your time it has taken since. The conversations in your head. The things you wish you’d ...
    Mostra di più Mostra meno
    10 min
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
Ancora nessuna recensione