Leadership Tea

We wrap the season by getting specific about what it means to be a good mentee, not just someone who wants access to a mentor. We share the habits that build real trust, the red flags that tell you to move on, and the practical ways to grow a “village” that supports your career and your life. We discuss issues such as:

• remembering you always have options beyond assigned pairings 
• being in relationship...

You've dreamed about it. Maybe you've even Googled it. But what does moving abroad actually cost — financially, practically, and emotionally?

In Part 2 of our series with the State Department Federal Credit Union (SDFCU), Shelby and Belinda sit back down with Sam Salmon and Josh Barrett — two financial professionals who aren't just advising on international living, they're currently doing it. From hidden garbage taxes in...

How do you raise children who understand the value of money in a world where almost every payment is digital?

In this episode of Leadership Tea, Shelby Smith-Wilson and Belinda Jackson welcome back financial experts Sam Salmon and Josh Barrett from the State Department Federal Credit Union to discuss practical strategies for raising financially confident kids.

Together, they explore allowances, saving, budgeting, first jobs, spending...

Surprise! We recorded from a new space this week, Cowo & Crèche here in the DMV, and it feels like the start of a new chapter for Leadership Tea. We're also making an announcement we've been sitting on: Rooted & Rising, our first international leadership retreat, taking place January 17–22, 2027 in Cape Town, South Africa.

We talk through what to expect: Table Mountain, wine country in Stellenbosch, meaningful reflecti...

What happens when the career you've spent decades building suddenly ends?

In this special re-release of one of Leadership Tea's most impactful conversations, executive leader Cathy Duffy shares how being unexpectedly pushed into early retirement became the beginning of an entirely new chapter.

Shelby Smith-Wilson and Belinda Jackson explore identity, leadership, resilience, and what it truly means to take your power back after a forc...

After nearly three decades of public service, Shelby shares her experience navigating a Reduction in Force (RIF), the grief that follows career loss, and the challenge of rebuilding professional identity after an unexpected transition.

In this candid coaching conversation, Belinda and Shelby explore what it means to process professional grief, move forward without bitterness, and build confidence in the face of uncertainty.

They disc...

Leadership often means making difficult decisions, staying calm under pressure, and showing up for others. But what happens when the hardest leadership challenge isn't at work, it's at home?

In this episode, Shelby and Belinda sit down with former diplomat and operations leader Brittany Carroll to discuss becoming a caregiver for her father while managing a demanding professional career.

Together, they explore:

• Leadership during p...

In this episode of Leadership Tea, Shelby and Belinda sit down with Kahana Samms, founder of Good Spirit Cafe, to discuss reinvention, entrepreneurship, wellness, and building community after uncertainty.

After years working in federal IT and cybersecurity, Kahana found herself navigating furloughs, layoffs, and major life transitions, prompting her to rethink stability, purpose, and what it truly means to build a meaningful life.&n...

Performance reviews are not just paperwork. They’re a reflection of leadership.

In this episode, Shelby and Belinda break down how strong leaders handle employee evaluations, difficult feedback, and accountability conversations without damaging trust or team morale.

They discuss:

• Why employees should never be surprised by feedback
• How to write more specific and actionable evaluations
• The difference between performance issues a...

A bad performance review can feel personal—but your response is what actually shapes your career.

In this episode, we walk through exactly how to handle a negative evaluation at work—from figuring out what’s true to deciding whether (and how) to push back.

We talk about:

• How to separate facts from emotions
• Using your “receipts” to support your performance
• When to challenge feedback—and when to acc...

When you feel stuck, doing more isn’t the answer. Clarity is.

In this episode, we sit down with Bobby Staten III (Chief of Clarity) to unpack what’s really happening when leaders feel overwhelmed, stuck, or out of alignment, and how to move forward with intention.

From “changing the tape” to redefining identity, this conversation goes beyond surface-level productivity advice and gets to the core of how leaders...

What does leadership look like when the playbook breaks down?

In this episode of The Leadership Tea Podcast, Shelby and Belinda reflect on what crisis management requires from leaders when events are unfolding in real time.

Drawing from their own experience in high-pressure environments, they discuss calm under pressure, executive presence, hard personnel decisions, internal communication, and the practical ways leaders can keep team...

AI is moving fast, but leadership still requires judgment.

In this episode, Shelby and Belinda are joined by Nadeen Matthews, Founder and CEO of Crescent Advisory Group, for a thoughtful conversation about leadership in the age of AI.

Rather than focusing on hype or tools alone, Nadeen explains why leaders need to connect AI to business strategy, customer impact, employee readiness, and organizational risk. She also breaks down what ...

Hard conversations are part of the job, and avoiding them costs more than most leaders realize.

In this episode, Shelby and Belinda share a practical framework for navigating difficult conversations at work with clarity, boundaries, and discernment. They share executive-level strategies for adapting communication styles across different contexts, setting boundaries without overexplaining, and using silence as a powerful tool. Shelby...

What can the kitchen teach leaders about influence, trust, and soft power?

In this episode, Shelby and Belinda are joined by Jeremiah Knight, Foreign Service Officer and author of Diplomat in the Kitchen, to explore leadership through the lens of culinary diplomacy.

Jeremiah shares how food, storytelling, and hospitality can build trust across cultures and serve as a powerful form of soft power in professional environments. He also r...

What does it really mean to stand for something as a leader right now?

In this episode of The Leadership Tea Podcast, Shelby and Belinda discuss the growing pressure leaders face to speak out, and why outrage alone is not leadership. They explore how judgment, discernment, and timing play a critical role in deciding when to speak up, when to wait, and how to create lasting impact without grandstanding.

Through thoughtful reflection a...

Cathy Duffy joins us to explore redefining power at work, building skill security, and choosing yourself as a leader in today’s evolving workplace.

In the Season 5 premiere of The Leadership Tea Podcast, Cathy reflects on leadership from inside complex organizations, sharing hard-earned insights on compensation, identity beyond titles, and why job security is no longer enough. She challenges leaders to focus on skill security,...

Ready to start 2026 with clarity instead of chaos? Belinda & Shelby lay out a four-move blueprint to make your first quarter productive and sane: choose a small number of strategic bets, audit and activate your influence architecture, fix friction in your systems, and lead at the pace of judgment. Rather than sprinting into January, we unpack how deliberate choices, cleaner processes, and thoughtful outreach create momentum tha...

In this Leadership Tea Podcast episode, Belinda and Shelby take stock of 2025 with clear eyes, celebrate wins, acknowledge lows, and set 2026 on two pillars: abundance and audacity. We trade scarcity for flow, set targets for brave action, and commit to celebrating progress while we implement at full speed. Here are the highlights:

• review of our 2025 focus words and what they produced
• identity shift after career chang...