04 Leading from Within: Embracing Authentic Leadership

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🎙️ What If You Didn’t Have to Prove Yourself Anymore? | Joyfully Unstoppable Podcast

You’re successful. Capable. Respected.
 And still… somewhere deep down, you feel like you're performing leadership instead of living it.

In this episode of Joyfully Unstoppable, we kick off the Authentic Leadership series with a powerful question:
What if you didn’t have to prove yourself anymore?

If you’ve ever felt the pressure to lead like someone else—or the exhaustion of always striving to meet others' expectations—this conversation is for you. You’ll learn:

✨ What authentic leadership really means (and what it doesn’t)
✨ Why so many high-achieving women struggle with it
✨ What it looks like to lead from your values, not your mask
✨ How authenticity can help you break free from burnout

You don’t need to choose between success and being yourself. You can lead with clarity, confidence, and joy. And this is the first step.

Download the Leadership Values Worksheet!

Joyfully Unstoppable—helping women reconnect with what matters most.

Subscribe so you never miss an episode!

✨ Let’s stay connected
Want more support as you lead with clarity, confidence, and joy? Here’s how we can keep growing together:

📝 Download the Burnout Recovery Checklist!
👩🏽‍🤝‍👩🏾 Join the Women Lead Well Community on Facebook!
📋 Join the Waitlist for Frantic to Flourishing!
🌿 Meet Becky – Get to know the heart behind the mic
💼 Coaching for Women Leaders – Ready for personalized support? Explore 1:1 coaching
📚 Free Leadership Resources – Practical tools to help you lead (and live) well
🏡 Explore Women Lead Well – Learn more about Women Lead Well and everything we offer

Episode Transcript

(00:03):
Welcome to Joyfully Unstoppable,the podcast for women who are
ready to lead boldly, livelightly, and reclaim their joy.
Whether you're leading a team, aclassroom, a boardroom, or your
own big, beautiful life, I'm soglad you found us.
I'm your host, Becky Hamleadership coach, speaker and

(00:23):
founder of Women Lead Well,after years of high level
leadership, I discovered thatsuccess doesn't have to come at
the cost of your peace, yourvalues.
Or your wellbeing.
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

(00:43):
worth, you carry a lot.
Let's help it feel lighter.
Now, today we are talking aboutone of the most important
pillars of leading wellauthentic leadership, and we're
starting with a big freeingquestion.
What if you didn't have to proveyourself anymore, how would you

(01:04):
show up different?
Let's talk about what authenticleadership really means and how
it might be the very thing thathelps you move from frantic to
flourishing.
Authentic leadership is one ofthose buzzy terms that gets
thrown around a lot.
It is often misunderstood.
So before we talk about what itis, let's talk about what it's

(01:27):
not authentic.
Leadership isn't a personalitytype.
You don't have to be loud orextroverted or ooze, charisma to
be authentic.
But I mean, rock on if you are.
It's also not about being niceall the time, being overly
vulnerable or putting all ofyour mess on display in the

(01:49):
desire to seem relatable.
And finally, and maybe mostimportantly, it is not soft.
It is not weak.
It is not less effective.
In fact, authentic leadership isdeeply powerful, but that power
comes from alignment, notprojection.
Authentic leadership isn'tsomething you perform.

(02:10):
It is something you embody.
It's about leading from yourvalues, your voice, your vision,
not from fear over functioning,or need to prove that you belong
in the room.
But now here's where it getsreal.
If you are a high achievingwoman, you have probably learned
how to lead by adapting.

(02:31):
You have probably learned how toread the room code switch to fit
different contexts, anticipateeveryone's needs.
You've probably stayed fivesteps ahead and you've probably
proved, constantly proved thatyou are competent, capable, and
worth taking seriously.
And that works until it doesn't,because somewhere along the way,

(02:55):
many of us

Becky (02:56):
start disconnecting from ourselves.
We become what the role demands,what the organization expects,
what our families expect.
We lead from the outside in andover time we start to feel off.
We're successful but exhausted.
We're respected, but we'rerestless.

(03:17):
We've earned our seat at thetable, but we don't always feel
like we can bring our full selfto it.
Here's the truth.
Authentic leadership becomesscary when we've built success
by shape.
Shifting, letting go of the maskcan feel like losing control,
but that's actually how youregain it.

(03:38):
So what does authenticleadership look like day to day
meeting to meeting.
It's not a script, it's a shift.
It's moving from reaction toalignment, from people pleasing.
To purpose from performing tobeing here are a few markers.

(03:59):
You lead from your innercompass, not just external
expectations.
Now, this means you have to getin touch and stay in touch with
your core values.
You say no without apology,without overexplaining.
Now, this means you have to letyour values inform what you say
yes to and what you say no to,and you have to stick to both.

(04:19):
You create boundaries thatprotect your peace and your
productivity.
Now this means that you have toknow yourself well enough to be
clear on your energy engines andyour energy vampires.
What gives you energy and whatdrains your energy feed one, cut
the other.
You trust your instincts evenwhen they go against the grain
because you, my friend, werecreated for a reason.

(04:41):
Not anyone else's reason.
Your reason.
The grain doesn't apply to you.
You have your own uniquemission.
And finally, authenticleadership means that you allow
your full humanity in theworkplace.
You don't have to numb yourselfto be taken seriously or pretend
like your family doesn't exist.

(05:03):
You stop asking, what do theyneed me to be?
And you start asking What's trueto who I am, what's true to the
person I'm becoming?
That's where power lies.
That's where peace is found.
Authentic leadership is joyful.
It is sustainable, and it ispowerful and it ain't something

(05:25):
you earn.
It is something you remember.
Now y'all, this conversationisn't just a leadership trend.
It is a lifeline because ifyou're listening to this
podcast, chances are you'retired.
Not just physically, butexistentially tired.
You're tired of running onadrenaline.
You're tired of trying to leadlike someone else.

(05:48):
You're tired of success thatcost you your soul.
Burnout is not a personalfailure.
It is a leadership signal.
It is your body's way of sayingthis isn't sustainable.
Something has to shift and hereis the good news.
Authentic leadership isn't justabout leading better.

(06:08):
I.
It's about feeling better.
When you lead from your values,your nervous system settles.
When you stop over functioningto prove your worth, you reclaim
your time, your clarity.
And your joy, and as someone whohas made the transition, let me
tell you, it is so worth it.

(06:31):
Once you own your worth, yourinherent divine worth that was
instilled in you by the universeitself.
Other people's opinions andexpectations become a whole lot
less compelling.
And the freedom that comes withauthenticity is better than any
external validation you couldever receive.

(06:52):
Because once you step intoalignment with who you truly
are, everything gets clear andthe work gets fun again.
You don't have to choose betweenbeing successful and being
yourself.
That is a false choice, and it'sone we are done accepting.

(07:12):
Now, if this resonated with you,I hope you know that you're not
alone.
You are not too sensitive.
You are not asking for too muchand you don't have to white
knuckle your way through thisseason.
There is a different way to leada way that is deeply you.

(07:32):
A way that helps you thriveinstead of just survive.
No more proving, no moreperforming, just powerful,
sustainable, authenticleadership that doesn't burn you
out.
And I'm gonna invite you, I'llput it in the show notes below a
finding your values worksheetthat you can use to help you

(07:55):
figure out those core values.
Because that's where it starts.
You get real clear on whatmatters most to you, and then
those things that don't alignwith your core values, you can
start putting those away.
Because my friend, I want you tolead joyfully.
I want you to tap into thatdivinely inspired intention for

(08:20):
your life and live it becausethere's not another human being
on this planet who can.
So friends, if this episoderesonated with you, please share
it with another woman who youthink would excel as an
authentic leader, even thoughperhaps she might not believe in
herself enough to say it.
Let's start that process for herand please like subscribe to

(08:45):
this podcast.
That's how we gain traction.
That's how a brand new babypodcast like mine comes into
being and, and makes its way inthe world.
Sign up for my weekly email forthe the newsletter, the
confidence edit.
Then you can get the podcastreleases.
You get new blog posts when theycome up.
Any new free downloads that I'veadded to the website.

(09:08):
And then if you'd be interestedin one-to-one coaching, you can
go to Women Lead well.net andyou can learn more about that.
Thank you so much for listeningto this episode of Joyfully
Unstoppable.
I hope it brought some value toyou.
You are an amazing leader.
You already are just now, andyou can be fully you and be an

(09:30):
amazing leader.
So let's lead well, and let'smake it joyful again.
All right, take care.
Bye.