Episode 58: Stuck in Self-Doubt? Reclaim Your Leadership SWAG

Episode Summary

When was the last time you felt off your game—not burned out, but just off? In this solo episode, Coach Mo breaks down how high-achieving leaders drift into autopilot, self-doubt, and overthinking…and how to reclaim what he calls your SWAG: Self-awareness, Why-power, Aligned actions, and Grit. Through the story of one anxious executive prepping for a high-stakes presentation, you’ll hear how mindset, energy, and intention create real confidence. If you're leading from fear instead of fire, this episode gives you a practical, repeatable path to get back in alignment.

🔑 Key Takeaways

• SWAG Is Your Inner Armor: True leadership starts with energy, intention, and alignment—not titles or tactics.
• Fear vs. Fire: Your inner critic thrives when you lead on autopilot. Shifting to “fire” means leading with values, purpose, and conviction.
• Confidence Comes From Clarity: When your why is clear, your actions align—and your grit returns.
• No Applause Needed: One of the strongest forms of grit? Doing the hard thing even when no one notices.
• A 4-Question Reset: Reclaim your SWAG daily with these:
  • What’s my energy like today?
  • What’s my why for this work?
  • What’s one aligned action I can take?
  • Where have I shown grit this week, even without applause?

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Welcome to the let's Think About it podcast, where we
embark on a journey ofthoughtfulness and personal
growth.
I'm your host, coach Mo, andI'm here to guide you through
thought-promoting discussionsthat will inspire you to unlock
your full potential.
In each episode, we'll explorea wide range of topics, from
self-discovery and mindfulnessto goal-setting and achieving

(00:33):
success.
Together, we'll challengeconventional thinking and dive
deep into the realms ofpossibility.
Whether you're looking to findclarity in your personal or
professional life, or seekingstrategies to overcome obstacles
, this podcast is your go-tosource for insightful
conversations and practicaladvice.
So find a comfortable spot,chill and let's embark on this

(00:57):
journey of self-improvementtogether.
Remember, the power oftransformation lies within you,
and together we'll uncover thetools and insights you need to
make it happen.
So let's dive in.
Welcome to another episode ofthe let's Think About it podcast

(01:20):
.
I'm your host, coach Mo, andI'm here solo, and today I'm
going to talk about your swag.
You always hear me talk a lotabout leadership, and when I
reference leadership today, I'mreferencing leading self.
First, leadership, and leadingself, okay, and how we're going

(01:40):
to get our swag back, how wecarry this inner armor that we
forgot we had, and that's ourswag, and I'm going to dive into
that, but first let me ask youthis when was the last time you
felt like you lost yourself alittle bit?
It was in the room, but not inthe moment.

(02:01):
You were doing something, butyou were mentally checked out.
That's really not burnout, it'snot imposter syndrome, that's a
swag issue, and today I'm goingto help you understand how to
reclaim your swag.
So we show up, oftentimesleading self on autopilot, just

(02:26):
going through the motions,mundane activities, day in and
day out, just going autopilot,doing it because you're supposed
to do it and there's no purposeintact with that.
The most exhausted leaders Icoach.
They're not tired because oftasks, they're tired because

(02:48):
they're out of alignment.
Right, think about thatAlignment.
What do I mean by that?
Something's off and you're justgoing through the motions and
your mind is somewhere else.
A lot of times the inner critichas taken over your mind and is
creating this weight thatyou're carrying.

(03:08):
Maybe it's overwhelming feeling, maybe a stress, maybe it's
some doubt, maybe there's fearthat's present, but the reality
is you're leading self onautopilot and that alignment is
off because the inner critic isdirecting you a certain path, a
certain way.
So here's what SWAG stands forthe S is self-awareness, the W

(03:33):
is the Y, power, a is alignedactions and then G is the grit,
that's SWAG, and when you havethat, you're good.
So I think the best way to helpyou understand is to just take
you through an example so that,hopefully, this kind of connects

(03:54):
with you.
And I work with a lot ofleaders, right, and I'm going to
focus in the leadership space,but I'm going to give you an
example, because leaders dealwith everything that you're
probably dealing with, becausewe lead self first.
So this, hopefully, thisexample that I share, will
resonate with you, because thisparticular leader I'm going to

(04:17):
call her Sally, let's just callher Sally.
So Sally came to me.
She's a high level exec and shewas feeling this anxiety about
this big presentation that shehas to do.
The audience is stakeholders,internal and external
stakeholders and she was justreally in awe with anxiety,

(04:40):
nervousness about presenting herpresentation.
And remind you, this woman ison top of her game.
She's just on top of her game.
So she comes to me in oursession and she's just I want to
talk about this presentationthat I have to give and I'm just
not feeling like really aligned, I'm feeling like really

(05:01):
worried, I'm feeling like reallynervous.
I'm like what do something'soff?
I feel like I got to have allthe answers when I'm presenting
this presentation.
I've been going through mycontent over and over, editing
my slides and this, but I stilldon't feel confident.

(05:23):
And I mentioned to her.
I was like you're swag, youdon't have no swag.
We got to get your swag back.
She thought I was referencingswagger but I was like nah, man,
we're not talking about swaggerin that sense.
We're talking about swag,regaining self-awareness, that.
Why power, that aligned action,that grit, right.

(05:45):
So we started with the basics,right.
I went back to her.
I said what part of you do youwant to show up in that room?
Because where she was focusedat the response that people
would potentially give her whenshe delivered this presentation
or she wouldn't have all theanswers as a certain question

(06:06):
comes up in the presentation andthat created certain judgments
that she was carrying up in thepresentation.
And that created certainjudgments that she was carrying
when I asked her what part ofyou do you want to lead with
your fear or fire?
What part of you in preparingfor this presentation, what part
of you is showing up leadingwith fear or leading with fire.

(06:27):
And she thought about it right,and she says I think right now
I'm leading with fear.
I was like, tell me more aboutthat.
And so then she explained howshe felt that she has to have
all of these answers to beperfect in this presentation and
it's eating her alive.

(06:48):
And I said how do you shiftfrom leading with fear to
leading with fire?
And she said I don't need toworry about having all the
answers.
I said exactly.
So what do you need to do?
I think I just need to be moreintentional about if I don't
have the answer to a questionthat's asked during this
presentation.
I can be intentional in aresponse.

(07:09):
That would provide moreconfidence that I will get them
to answer, even though I don'tknow it right now.
I was like exactly how doesthat feel?
And you know what?
Now that I think about it, itfeels good, okay, perfect.
Why does this presentationmatter to you?
Why is it important?
It's my credibility, myintegrity, and I'm trying to

(07:31):
drive home this new program thatcan really shift certain
changes in our organization, andthat's really important to me.
And how are you beingdistracted away from that?
She said my fear, okay.
So how do you get back to yourwhy I got to remember that the

(07:52):
integrity of this is veryimportant.
The positive change that's goingto come from my presentation is
very important.
Exactly Boom she's fueled.
Now what actions need to bealigned to ensure that you can
demonstrate this phenomenalpresentation?

(08:15):
So then she was like maybe it'snot really about editing my
content, but really focusing onmy tone and how I'm going to be
present in this meeting whileI'm presenting.
Exactly what does that looklike?
How do you get that?
How do you set that tone?

(08:36):
How are you going to prepyourself?
I'm going to rehearse, gothrough my cues, have my note
cards and just really beconfident about that.
How do you be confident aboutthat?
She said I'll do a dry run.
Oh, okay, do you need someoneto sit in with you?
She said no, I'm good, I'vedone enough of these.
I know.
I just need to run through it afew more times.

(08:57):
Her actions is in alignment.
So now I'm seeing a shift.
As we're talking about this,this shift of positivity.
I asked her in that moment,based on what you just told me,
how are you feeling now?
She was like I'm feeling alittle bit more confident.
I don't feel as nervous as Iwas coming into our session to

(09:18):
talk to you.
I'm like great.
So my final question how areyou going to see this through?
And she was like man, I alreadygot this, what you mean.
She's like no, I got this.
I said, coming in you felt alittle bit nervous and then you
even told me you were at a fiveor six about the presentation.
Where are you at now?

(09:40):
She's like man, I'm at a nine.
I was like a nine.
She was like, yes, a nine.
I'm like that's grit, that'sreal grit.
How did you get to that nine?
I got to the nine because wewere talking and just as we were
talking, through the scenario,I feel like I got my grind back,
my grit back.
Exactly.
That's swag, because in thisexample of what I share, we talk

(10:05):
through the self-awareness, whywe talk through the aligned
action, and then the grit.
The grit was the energy thatshifted and made her move from a
level five to a level nine inconfidence.
That's grit, baby, that'sgetting your swag back.

(10:25):
And here's the real of it all.
By the way, she crushed thepresentation.
She immediately texted meafterwards and said she crushed
it.
Round of applause, the wholenine.
You have this ability to carrythis with you as well.
The swag.
There are some simple thingsthat you can do.
Number one just ask yourself,whenever you're feeling nervous

(10:50):
on the situation, what's myenergy like today?
Start there, what's my energy.
Okay, that's number one.
Number two you can ask yourselfwhat's my why for the work I'm
doing, whatever that dynamic is,what's my why?
What's my why?
What's one action, one alignedaction I could take that feels

(11:16):
real?
That's number three.
That's the A.
And then, finally, number fourwhen have I already shown grit
this week, even if no oneclapped for me?
Think about that.
The awareness, theself-awareness.
What's my energy like today?
My why.
What's my energy like today?

(11:36):
W is my why.
What's my why for the work thatI'm doing today?
The A what's one aligned actionI can take today that feels
real?
And then G where have I showngrit, grit, this week, even if
no one claps for me?
Where have I shown that thisweek?

(11:57):
That's it.
That's reclaiming your own swag.
But what's amazing about thisconcept is I have a tool that I
use.
So I worked with Sally, yourleader too.
You lead self, and so how do weregain your swag?
And just do those things.

(12:18):
Do those simple things.
I'm going to reiterate it.
What's my energy today?
Why is the work important?
What's one aligned action I cantake that makes me feel right
and gets me back to the real me?
And then, finally, how have Ialready shown grit where no one
else has applauded me?

(12:39):
That's swag, baby.
That's swag.
Get your swag back.
I utilize a swag activity that'sfully documented that I'm
willing to share.
Just DM me, connect with me onLinkedIn at Maurice Mabry, or
you can visit me on Instagram,coach Mo Coaching, and just DM

(13:01):
me.
Dm me and ask for a swag list.
I will be happy to connect withyou and be sure that you get a
swag list.
And what that list does is itgives you values to help you
connect your why Right, andthat's the purpose of the swag

(13:22):
list is to get that why goingRight.
The why is the core of yourswag, because you want to know,
you want to have purpose of whyyou're doing things and the
direction that you're going.
And my swag list it gives you avisual of different values that
can help you connect your whyand then, with that why, it can

(13:46):
also help drive your energy,your grit and aligned actions.
I appreciate you for checking inwith me.
I appreciate all of you forlistening and, at the end of the
day, reclaim your swag.
It's okay.
Reclaim your swag and it startswith you.
Take care.

(14:06):
Thank you for joining me inthis episode of let's Think
About it.
Your time and attention aregreatly appreciated.
If you found value in today'sdiscussion, I encourage you to
subscribe on your favoritepodcast platform.
Remember, the journey ofself-improvement is ongoing and
I'm here to support you everystep of the way.

(14:27):
Connect with me on social mediafor updates and insights.
You can find me on Instagramand Facebook at Coach Mo
Coaching, or LinkedIn at MauriceMabry, or visit my website at
mauricemabrycom for exclusivecontent.
Until next time, keepreflecting, keep growing and,

(14:50):
most importantly, keep believingin yourself.
Remember, the most effectiveway to do it is to do it
Together.
We're making incredible stridestoward a better and more
empowered you, so thank you, andI'll see you in our next
episode.