02 Reclaim Your Joy

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Are you leading, achieving, and showing up for everyone else—but wondering why it all feels so heavy?

In this kickoff episode of the Joyfully Unstoppable podcast, leadership coach Becky Hamm explores what joyful leadership really looks like—and why it's not just possible, but essential for high-achieving women who want to lead with clarity, confidence, and ease.

You’ll learn:
 💡 Why joy is a leadership strategy—not a reward
 💡 What gets in the way of joyful leadership (and how to get it back)
 💡 Practical ways to reset your rhythms, restore your energy, and reconnect with your purpose

If you’re ready to trade the pressure to prove for a path that actually feels good—you’re in the right place.

Joyfully Unstoppable—helping women reconnect with what matters most.

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Episode Transcript

(00:05):
Welcome to Joyfully Unstoppable,the podcast for women who are
ready to lead boldly, livelightly, and reclaim their joy.
I'm your host, Becky Hamleadership coach, speaker and
founder of Women Lead Well.
After years of high levelleadership, I discovered that
success doesn't have to comewith cost of your peace, your
values, or your wellbeing.

(00:27):
Each week we'll explore what itmeans to lead with clarity,
confidence, and authenticity.
Even in a world that tells youto hustle harder and prove your
worth, you carry a lot.
Let's help it feel lighter.
This is your space to breathedeeper, trust yourself more, and
learn to lead joyfully,sustainably, and authentically.

(00:52):
Hello, friend.
If you've ever felt likeleadership is just one long
to-do list with no finish linein sight, I want you to know
this.
You are not alone, and itdoesn't have to be that way.
Today we're talking about one ofmy favorite topics, joyful
Leadership.
We're gonna unpack what itactually means, why so many

(01:13):
women struggle to access joy.
And how joy can become yourgreatest asset, not just
something you get to experienceafter you've earned it.
So if you're ready to lead withmore energy, clarity, and ease,
you're in the right place.

(01:35):
Let's start here.
Many of us were taughtexplicitly or not, that the more
serious we are, the moresuccessful we'll be.
That the more pressure we feel,the more we must be doing
something right.
So we became experts at pushingthrough, at powering on, at
proving ourselves.
And somewhere along the way, joystarted to feel optional.

(01:58):
Maybe even irresponsible, buthere's the truth.
Joy isn't a distraction fromleadership.
It's the fuel for it.
I used to lead from exhaustionand over-functioning.
I thought it was noble.
I thought burning out meant thatI was committed.
That being overwhelmed meant Iwas doing it right, but all it

(02:18):
really meant was that I wasdisconnected.
From my values, from my body,from the reason I started
leading in the first place.
And let me tell you, leadingwithout joy is not sustainable.
It drains your creativity, itshrinks your confidence, and it
sends a message to your teamthat leadership is just a grind

(02:42):
Now.
Huh.
Joy does not mean that you'realways happy.
Joy means that you're anchored.
It means that you're rooted insomething deeper than urgency,
perfection or pressure.
It means that you are connectedwith your purpose, that you can
find the fun on.

(03:03):
So what does joyful leadershipactually look like?
Well, it looks like clarity.
Knowing what matters most ingetting that to guide your
decisions.
It looks like boundaries.
Protecting your time, energy,and mental space from what
drains you.
It looks like authenticityshowing up as your full self,
not just the polished versionyou think people expect.

(03:26):
It also looks like celebration.
Taking time to acknowledge yourwins.
Your progress, your growth, yourteams wins, their progress,
their growth.
Joyful leadership is not aboutbeing bubbly or chipper all the
time.
It's about being fully presentin your life.
It's about creating the kind ofleadership experience that

(03:47):
doesn't just look successful,but actually feels successful
too.
And maybe that means cancelingmeetings that no longer serve a
purpose.
Maybe it's finally delegatingthe things that you've been
white knuckling.
Maybe it's pausing long enoughto breathe, to reset to remember
why your work matters to you.

(04:07):
You don't need to overhaul yourentire life to lead with more
joy, but you do need to believethat it's possible.
And from there, build.
So what blocks your joy?
Here's what I see most often inmy clients.
Number one.
People pleasing.
You wanna make everybody elsehappy at the expense of

(04:27):
yourself.
Number two, perfectionism.
You think that you can actuallydo everything right?
And then number three is thisvalidation seeking of others.
You turn to others to tell youwhether you're good enough
instead of knowing your wortheternally.
So what does that mean?
It means we think we need avacation.
What we actually need to do isreset.

(04:50):
We need to work with our bodies,with our beliefs.
We need to stop the urgent tofocus on the important.
Now, here are a few ways for youto reclaim your joy starting
today.
I want you to build in fiveminute transition intervals
between your meetings, for youto stop ground in your body, and

(05:11):
reset.
I want you to celebrateenoughness instead of chasing
the constant improvement, I wantyou to set phone boundaries so
that your brain gets a break.
I want you to let go of beingthe go-to fixer for every
problem that's out there, and Ithink most importantly, I want
you to reconnect with why youstepped into leadership in the
first place.

(05:32):
There was a purpose there and apassion.
There was something in you thatwanted to serve, to shape, to
ground, to grow something.
Let's get back to that.
Now, if any of this isresonating, if you're sitting
there and thinking, yes, I wantthis, but I don't know where to
start.
Start small, start today.

(05:56):
Do what you can.
Reconnect with that joy that isinside of you.
It is there.
You just have to find littleglimmers of it, and every day
over the next week, I want youto find a little glimmer of joy
in your day.
Maybe it's in connecting withsomeone.
Maybe it is in setting andmaintaining that boundary.
Maybe it's taking some time toregulate your nervous system.

(06:20):
Maybe it's taking some time toreconnect with your values and
what's important to you.
You can do that.
It doesn't have to be big.
It doesn't have to be flashy.
Another thing you can do if youwant, is subscribe to the
confidence edit.
That's my weekly email that Isend out to, to all of my
subscribers, to give you moreactionable tips about what you

(06:42):
can do to lead well, to leadjoyfully, sustainably, and
authentically.
So thank you for joining with metoday.
Here is your reminder.
Joy is not a luxury.
It is a leadership strategy.
And now, if you enjoyed thisepisode, I'm gonna ask you to
follow the show so you don'tmiss what's coming next.

(07:02):
Share it with a friend or ateammate who's ready to lead
differently and head over to AtWomen Lead Well on all of the
socials to connect with me.
I love hearing what resonates.
And until then, take a deepbreath.
You carry a lot.
Let's help it feel lighter.