Impact with Ease

Puzzles, Not Goals: Rethinking How Teams Succeed with guest expert, Radhika Dutt Puzzle-driven leadership challenges goal-setting at a time when pressure, burnout, and uncertainty are reshaping how teams succeed. When you set targets, you rarely get the reality from the trenches. Instead, you create incentives for people to give you a falsely rosy picture. And leaders become the last to know what's really happening. In this episode of Impact With Ease, Blake is joined by Radhika Dutt, author of Radical Product Thinking, for a wide-ranging conversation on leadership, intentionality, and why traditional goal setting fails teams. If you're navigating rapid change, new technology, rising burnout, or a growing sense that "the old ways" no longer work, this episode offers clarity and a new way forward. You'll hear why traditional goal setting isn't working and how puzzle driven leadership vs goal setting creates accountability without fear, restores curiosity, and builds teams capable of adapting in real time. Episode Highlights Intentionality and Responsibility in Leadership [08:24] - Why technology is a tool and how intention determines its impact [10:21] - How corporate responsibility goes beyond individual choice [12:09] - The role leaders take on: like doctors prescribing solutions Technology, AI, and the Limits of Goal-Driven Thinking [14:24] - The FOMO trap: "AI first" isn't a strategy [16:30] - Where AI actually belongs in your vision and strategy [17:30] - Why decisions from fear never create optimal outcomes Why Goals Create Pressure, Burnout, and Blind Spots [20:32] - How aspirational targets create exhaustion and a cycle of marathons [22:30] - Going from knowing the answer to staying curious [23:30] - Goals vs. puzzles: pressure and importance vs. creativity and curiosity The Shift From Goals to Puzzles [24:30] - How puzzle-thinking doubled sales [27:21] - Why proven principles show up in different methodologies [30:58] - How puzzles offer scaffolding without rigidity Accountability Without Performance Theater [33:11] - The three big questions [37:55] - How survival mode shuts down creative problem-solving [39:53] - Practical next steps: the OLA framework Powerful Quotes "When you set targets, you rarely get the reality from the trenches. Instead, you create incentives for people to give you a falsely rosy picture." -Radhika Dutt "When you have puzzles, people bring curiosity. And curiosity is what keeps teams in the problem long enough to actually learn." -Radhika Dutt "When people are in survival mode, their ability to problem-solve and think creatively shuts down—and that's a massive risk for organizations right now." -Blake Schofield "We vote with our labor for the world that we want to produce. If you don't reflect on your intention, how do you know if you're casting the right vote for the world you want to create?" -Radhika Dutt "Goals trigger pressure and importance. Puzzles trigger creativity and curiosity." -Blake Schofield Resources Mentioned Drained at the end of the day & want more presence in your life? In just 5 minutes, learn your unique burnout type™ & how to restore your energy, fulfillment & peace at www.impactwithease.com/burnout-type The Fastest Path to Clarity, Confidence & Your Next Level of Success: executive coaching for leaders navigating layered challenges. Whether you're burned out, standing at a crossroads, or simply know you're meant for more—you don't have to figure it out alone. Go to impactwithease.com/coaching to apply! Ready to Future-Proof Your Leadership? Let's explore what's possible for your team. Whether you're navigating rapid growth, culture change, or quiet disengagement…we can help with our high-touch, root-cause focused solutions that are designed to help grow resilient, aligned & empowered leaders who navigate uncertainty with confidence and create impact without burning out, go to https://impactwithease.com/corporate-training-consulting/

When It All Feels Like Too Much Feeling overwhelmed and uncertain right now? If the world feels heavier, more unsettled, or harder to process than usual, you're not alone. When what we thought was stable no longer feels certain, our nervous systems respond with stress, fear, and powerlessness. These reactions are not personal failings. They're natural biological responses to uncertainty. In this episode, Blake names what so many people are experiencing right now and explains how to cope when everything feels overwhelming. She offers a grounded perspective and practical ways to find calm and perspective in uncertain times, helping you find steadiness and agency when the stress and uncertainty feels like too much. Episode Highlights Why Everything Feels So Hard Right Now [01:30] - Understanding fight, flight, freeze, and fawn responses [03:45] - Why most people are cycling between multiple survival responses [04:30] - How awareness creates self-compassion and clarity Division, Information Overload, and Where Trust Begins [05:20] - The Edelman Trust Barometer [06:16] - Why companies are best positioned to bridge divides [07:00] - Where safety and trust really begin The River Story: A Powerful Metaphor for Uncertain Times [10:15] - The moment of danger that shifted the entire journey [12:30] - When trying to control exhausts us more than the danger itself [14:00] - The shift from panic to presence and strategic action Finding Steadiness in the Middle of Uncertainty [17:45] - What we can control when we can't control the river [19:30] - Why slowing down is strategic, not passive [22:30] - Change as the gift that opens possibility Powerful Quotes "If you've been feeling unsettled, reactive, angry, exhausted, overwhelmed, numb, or emotionally raw lately, I want to say this first: there's nothing wrong with you." -Blake Schofield "We can't control the level of unrest, division, and challenges that we are under globally, economically, and everything else. The only thing we can control is how we go through it." -Blake Schofield "Change actually is the gift. It is the only place of which we're able to create what it is that we want." -Blake Schofield Resources Mentioned Edelman Trust Barometer Drained at the end of the day & want more presence in your life? In just 5 minutes, learn your unique burnout type™ & how to restore your energy, fulfillment & peace at www.impactwithease.com/burnout-type The Fastest Path to Clarity, Confidence & Your Next Level of Success: executive coaching for leaders navigating layered challenges. Whether you're burned out, standing at a crossroads, or simply know you're meant for more—you don't have to figure it out alone. Go to impactwithease.com/coaching to apply! Ready to Future-Proof Your Leadership? Let's explore what's possible for your team. Whether you're navigating rapid growth, culture change, or quiet disengagement…we can help with our high-touch, root-cause focused solutions that are designed to help grow resilient, aligned & empowered leaders who navigate uncertainty with confidence and create impact without burning out, go to https://impactwithease.com/corporate-training-consulting/

Successful, But Unfulfilled: Corrie's Leadership Turning Point Are you a successful, but unfulfilled, leader? Corrie wasn't burned out or failing, but she was unfulfilled, questioning herself, and missing the spark that once made her work feel meaningful. This is the story of how one woman stopped trying to "push through" and started realigning how she worked, led, and carried responsibility. Fulfillment doesn't require walking away from success. Sometimes, it requires learning how to lead and work differently from the inside out. In this episode, Blake helps unpack a real leadership success story. Corrie was successful by every external measure—strong leader, solid career, flexibility, income, and trust. And yet, she felt drained, disengaged, and quietly questioning herself. You'll hear why successful leaders feel unfulfilled at work and how she found leadership fulfillment without changing jobs. Instead, she found clarity, gained energy, and reignited the spark that once made her work meaningful. Episode Highlights The Hidden Struggle of Successful Leaders [01:55] - Dreading getting out of bed despite driving results [03:20] - When job searching becomes a cycle of rejection [04:38] - The belief that "this is just how it is" once you climb the ladder When Job Changes Don't Fix the Problem [16:49] - How constant rejection erodes confidence [18:50] - Missing the signs to stop and ask "What am I missing?" [20:10] - The frustration of wanting results now vs. reflection The Perspective Shift That Changed Everything [25:01] - Realizing misalignment was the real problem [27:04] - Understanding what truly motivates you beyond revenue [30:34] - Taking back your power from external circumstances Becoming a Better Leader by Carrying Less [44:37] - Getting the same results in fewer hours by working differently [48:41] - Learning you have more control than you thought Fulfillment Without Sacrificing Career or Family [50:46] - Moving from personal to seeing the bigger picture [53:26] - Shifting from desperation mode to empowered [55:51] - Why the journey was worth it Powerful Quotes " I kept thinking I'm okay. And then I got to a point where I just wasn't happy anymore. I wasn't excited to go to work. I wasn't excited about, you know, those results I was driving. I was just dreading getting out of bed. And it was more than just like depression or anything like that. It was like, I really had nothing to look forward to. And I just noticed it was impacting my life, my relationships. And I'm like, I need to make a change." -Corrie "I didn't realize that you can be happy in your career once you climb the ladder, but this whole process has really just opened up my eyes. And not just in my career, but like in life in general with my family and my friends and hobbies and everything." -Corrie "It's okay to ask for help. I was always the person who had the answers. So when it came to the point where I needed help, I didn't even know what to do or where to turn." -Corrie "The only way we really can truly create change is to understand what we need and how we can be empowered to create that change for ourselves." -Blake Schofield "Your career is not in your manager's hands. It's in your hands. You have control of this." -Corrie Resources Mentioned Drained at the end of the day & want more presence in your life? In just 5 minutes, learn your unique burnout type™ & how to restore your energy, fulfillment & peace at www.impactwithease.com/burnout-type The Fastest Path to Clarity, Confidence & Your Next Level of Success: executive coaching for leaders navigating layered challenges. Whether you're burned out, standing at a crossroads, or simply know you're meant for more—you don't have to figure it out alone. Go to impactwithease.com/coaching to apply! Ready to Future-Proof Your Leadership? Let's explore what's possible for your team. Whether you're navigating rapid growth, culture change, or quiet disengagement…we can help with our high-touch, root-cause focused solutions that are designed to help grow resilient, aligned & empowered leaders who navigate uncertainty with confidence and create impact without burning out, go to https://impactwithease.com/corporate-training-consulting/

Support Without Solving: Stop Carrying It All as a Leader Serial fixers often experience leadership burnout which quietly shows up as emotional over-responsibility, exhaustion, and feeling like everything depends on you. You care deeply about your people. You want to be supportive, responsive, and present. But somewhere along the way, that helpfulness starts to feel heavy. Being helpful shouldn't drain you.You weren't meant to carry everything. And pretending you can could be what's breaking you. In this episode of Impact With Ease, Blake Schofield sits down with psychotherapist and corporate mental wellness expert Leah Marone to explore why so many leaders feel responsible for everything. You'll learn how to lead in a way that supports others without carrying it all yourself. Episode Highlights Why Leaders End Up Carrying Everything [06:34] - How empathy and competence turn into over-responsibility [09:20] - The unspoken pressure leaders feel to "hold it all together" [11:31] - Why this pattern is so common in high-performing leaders The Hidden Cost of Being the Helper [13:56] - How solving for others actually increases exhaustion [16:20] - Why teams become dependent instead of empowered [17:26] - The emotional labor leaders rarely name out loud Support Without Solving: What Changes [18:58] - The difference between being supportive and being responsible [20:22] - How validation builds trust without taking ownership [22:20] - What leaders can do instead of fixing Helping Teams Build Confidence and Ownership [27:04] - Why discomfort is part of growth for teams [28:04] - How leaders unintentionally block development [31:44] - Simple shifts that create capability instead of dependence Leading with Boundaries That Actually Work [34:38] - Internal boundaries that reduce emotional load [37:10] - How to stay caring without carrying everything [42:27] - Why presence matters more than perfect answers The Power of Micro-Resets [48:48] - Using daily transitions as opportunities to release stress [47:28] - How small shifts compound into significant change [51:28] - Building the muscle of being present without being perfect Powerful Quotes "Support doesn't mean solving. It means creating space for someone to build their own confidence." – Leah Marone "It's the thing that helped you feel successful and loved and a sense of belonging. And then it is the thing that becomes cycles of burnout, overwhelm, over-responsibility, worrying about everyone else's feelings while dishonoring your own." – Blake Schofield "People have to have our ownership, we have to hear ourselves, it has to get pocketed away internally for us to be able then to activate." – Leah Marone "You cannot receive when your hands are full. Life is always going to give you something that's unexpected. And when you are so busy and so full that you don't have space for that, then it makes it really hard to manage your emotions, to help deal with and manage other people's emotions, to be present to the greater opportunities." – Blake Schofield Resources Mentioned Drained at the end of the day & want more presence in your life? In just 5 minutes, learn your unique burnout type™ & how to restore your energy, fulfillment & peace at www.impactwithease.com/burnout-type The Fastest Path to Clarity, Confidence & Your Next Level of Success: executive coaching for leaders navigating layered challenges. Whether you're burned out, standing at a crossroads, or simply know you're meant for more—you don't have to figure it out alone. Go to impactwithease.com/coaching to apply! Ready to Future-Proof Your Leadership? Let's explore what's possible for your team. Whether you're navigating rapid growth, culture change, or quiet disengagement…we can help with our high-touch, root-cause focused solutions that are designed to help grow resilient, aligned & empowered leaders who navigate uncertainty with confidence and create impact without burning out, go to https://impactwithease.com/corporate-training-consulting/

Why Does Success Feel So Hard (When You're Good at Your Job)? You're successful. You're respected. So why does work feel heavier, more exhausting, and less fulfilling than it should? Burnout in capable professionals rarely comes from failure. It comes from years of being the person who steps in, figures it out, and carries more than their share. In this episode, Blake explores why high performers feel exhausted even when they're doing everything "right". You'll hear why common fixes like rest, boundaries, or a new role rarely create lasting change, and you'll learn what actually does. Episode Highlights When Success Starts Feeling Heavy [01:00] - A client who did everything right but felt exhausted [02:15] - "I keep over-giving and I don't know how to stop" [03:20] - When caring deeply still leaves you drained How Being Capable Becomes Costly [04:10] - The ability that made you successful started costing you [05:30] - When success strategies quietly turn into stress patterns Why Change Doesn't Stick [06:45] - Changing environments but finding the same cycles [08:20] - Root patterns driven by the subconscious What Actually Creates Sustainable Success [09:45] - How to change the patterns keeping you stuck [10:50] - Success doesn't have to require self-sacrifice Powerful Quotes "This isn't the kind of burnout where you hate your job. It's the kind where you care deeply and you're still drained." -Blake Schofield "Over-responsibility and hyper-performance aren't personality traits. They're actually ways of living that you learned how to do in order to adapt." -Blake Schofield "This is not a willpower problem. It's not a discipline problem. And it's not a capability problem. It's a root pattern problem." -Blake Schofield "Success does not have to feel this hard. And nothing's wrong with you. You're not lazy or ungrateful and you're not failing. You're just operating from a pattern that's outlived its usefulness." -Blake Schofield Resources Mentioned Drained at the end of the day & want more presence in your life? In just 5 minutes, learn your unique burnout type™ & how to restore your energy, fulfillment & peace at www.impactwithease.com/burnout-type The Fastest Path to Clarity, Confidence & Your Next Level of Success: executive coaching for leaders navigating layered challenges. Whether you're burned out, standing at a crossroads, or simply know you're meant for more—you don't have to figure it out alone. Go to impactwithease.com/coaching to apply! Ready to Future-Proof Your Leadership? Let's explore what's possible for your team. Whether you're navigating rapid growth, culture change, or quiet disengagement…we can help with our high-touch, root-cause focused solutions that are designed to help grow resilient, aligned & empowered leaders who navigate uncertainty with confidence and create impact without burning out, go to https://impactwithease.com/corporate-training-consulting/