The Unburdened Leader

When was the last time you felt truly moved by something you saw or heard?

It could be a piece of art or music, a line from a book or poem, being with someone you love, or even a perfect bite of food, but those moments that stop us in our tracks are more than fleeting pleasures.

These “glimmers” create space for our bodies to exhale so that we can experience wonder, awe, and joy.

Learning to recognize and lean into these moments isn’t just about respite from the hard things; they help us navigate challenging times by reminding us that humans need connection, creativity, and hope. 

Today’s guest is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work invites us into a world of creativity and intention. It is a testament to the necessity of nurturing creativity and wonder, and what’s possible when we follow their pull as allies in our journey to love and lead with boldness and integrity.

Amanda Jones is an artist, poet, and filmmaker living and working in the northern beaches of Sydney Australia. Amanda studied ‘Contemporary dance and choreography’ at the School of Creative Arts and ‘Styling and creative direction’ at Whitehouse Fashion Institute. She founded her film production company One Minute Film in 2015 working with clients such as The Iconic, Nimble Activewear, and Barre Body. In 2021 Amanda published her first book Diary of a Freelancer, its success shifted her work into her full-time art practice. 

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How early experiences at the intersection of creativity and commerce shaped Amanda’s career trajectory
• How Amanda realized that some pieces of her journals were meant to be shared
• Why her journaling practice is vital to both her personal life and her work life
• How Amanda approached self-publishing her book to make it a piece of art and embrace its mistakes
• How balancing play and discipline as she takes on a new medium helps Amanda combat imposter syndrome
• How Amanda protects her creativity and imagination despite our challenging world

Learn more about Amanda Jones:

Have you ever looked around and felt that the way you live and work isn’t sustainable? 

It’s hard to find anyone who hasn’t felt the weight of this relentless pace and the intense pressure to keep up as if this is just how modern life has to be.

But what if it doesn’t have to be this way? 

Our culture in the U.S. is burdened by pressures to keep up, excel, and do it all, often without the support systems to help us carry that load.

What if we paused to question the assumptions driving us to stay so busy and overextended? 

Today’s guest invites us to imagine stepping off the hamster wheel and envisioning what it would look like to challenge the norms we’ve been handed about work and life.

We can’t all pack up and move, but we can make small but powerful steps towards a more sustainable way of living, working, and leading.

Kirsten Powers is a New York Times bestselling author and writes the bestselling Substack publication Changing the Channel. Jon Meacham called her most recent book, Saving Grace: Speak Your Truth, Stay Centered and Learn to Coexist with People Who Drive You Nuts, "a great gift at an urgent hour.” 

Kirsten served as an on-air CNN senior political analyst for seven years. She has been a columnist for USA Today, the Daily Beast and the New York Post, and a political analyst at Fox News. Before her career in journalism, Kirsten was a political appointee in the Clinton Administration, worked in New York Democratic politics and was Vice President for International Communications at AOL, Inc.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• Kirsten’s awakening to the fact that American culture is “not normal”
• How neoliberalism reshaped our relationship with work, class, and consumerism
• A reality check on what it takes to make radical changes in your life, at home or abroad
• How unpacking paradigms about work and being busy has led Kirsten to question so many other norms in American life
• The intense and long-term physical toll of our culture’s obsession with overwork
• What gives Kirsten hope that America can do and be better in the future 

Learn more about Kirsten Powers:

Humans tend to crave certainty. In the face of the unknown, we rely on prescriptions and narratives to help us feel better and make sense of what we can’t yet see coming.

For many, sitting with uncertainty like what we are facing now, post-election in the United States, is deeply unsettling and even destabilizing. They brace for what might come next, anxious and ruminating, and looking for answers. 

It’s a natural human response, but it can also leave us stuck in a loop that offers no comfort, only more fear and anxiety.

People will look to the leaders around them for comfort and for answers. And while you may not be able to provide the definitive answers anyone seeks, you can help those you lead and love feel supported and grounded as we all navigate these difficult times.

Today, I’m sharing strategies, practices, and thoughts that can help us move through uncertainty, for ourselves and the ones we love and lead.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How and why to establish “certainty anchors” for those you lead
• Why an honest, compassionate presence is more beneficial than pretending you have all the answers
• Why we need to balance courage and comfort, and the fine line between caring and caretaking
• Why finding grounding routines is essential, no matter how small or scrappy or imperfect
• How claiming your personal power and agency will help you feel less stuck
• How we build trust and resilience in our relationships amidst uncertainty

Learn more about Rebecca:

When you think about resilience, what comes to mind?

Our culture loves narratives about triumphing over hardship. And overcoming pain, heartbreak, and even abuse can make us stronger.

However, uplifting “overcoming” too often comes at the expense of actually examining and addressing the lack of care, protection, and support people had to navigate on their path to resilience. We valorize grit and perseverance at the cost of people’s health and wellbeing, encouraging them to just keep pushing past the point of burnout.

My guest today pulls back the curtain on these narratives of overcoming adversity and building resilience to find that so much of the adversity people face is rooted in how we fail to care for ourselves and each other in our society. Real resilience, she says, isn’t about your own personal toughness; it’s about how we relate to and support each other.

Soraya Chemaly is an award-winning author and activist. She writes and speaks frequently on topics related to gender norms, inclusivity, social justice, free speech, sexualized violence, and technology. She is the author of The Resilience Myth: New Thinking on Grit, Strength, and Growth after Trauma and Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women’s Anger, which was recognized as a Best Book of 2018 by the Washington Post, Fast Company, Psychology Today, and NPR. She has contributed to several anthologies, most recently Free Speech in the Digital Age and Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change The World. Soraya is also a co-producer of a WMC #NameItChangeIt PSA highlighting the effects of online harassment on women in politics in America.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How Soraya made the connection between our toxic ideology of resilience and how we devalue community support and care
• How the idea of “bouncing back” can actually impede change, both personal and social
• How resilience narratives flatten, decontextualize, and depoliticize trauma and recovery 
• Why we need to shift our concept of resilience from individual to communal, cultural, and relational
• How “soldiering on” can perpetuate a lack of options within the system
• The false binaries we have to confront to dismantle the resilience of the status quo
• How telling someone they are or need to be resilient shuts down opportunities for real care and support

Learn more about Soraya Chemaly:

As the United States approaches one of the most important elections, many people I know are expressing how the current state of affairs is affecting their work, home life, and overall well-being.

With the stress and the chaos, it would be easy to shut down and ask, “Why bother?”

This is why it feels especially timely to bring back my long-time friend, Iowa state representative and state house minority leader, Jennifer Konfrst, to the podcast.

Whether it's a major election, a looming work deadline, or a personal goal, we all carry heavy responsibilities on top of what's happening in our country. I wanted to talk to Jennifer about how she finds the strength to keep going, even when the victories are hard-won or the losses are break-your-heart big.

Jennifer shares her not-so-secret recipe for staying true to her values and community, staying open and seeking support, which helps her avoid falling into despair and hopelessness. 

Her perspective is a source of hope, motivation, and a call to keep fighting that many of us need right now.

Jennifer Konfrst teaches public relations & strategic political communication courses at Drake University in Des Moines, IA. Before joining the Drake journalism faculty in 2013, she worked in public relations for 20 years, most recently at Iowa Public Television. 

She also serves as an Iowa House of Representatives member, representing the 43rd district since 2019. She is the House minority leader, a position she has held since 2021, and she is the first woman to hold this position in Iowa.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• What the Iowa Supreme Court ruling on abortion taught Jennifer about showing up even when you’re devastated and angry
• The self-care that is essential for Jennifer in the face of setbacks and struggles at the State House
• How Jennifer builds trust in her leadership with her caucus in her role as House Minority Leader
• How consistently highlighting and celebrating even small wins helps keep people motivated
• How her personal healing work has helped Jennifer allow for disagreement and conflict within her caucus
• The challenges of trust with voters, representatives across the aisle, and within her party
• The case for getting and staying engaged in politics, especially at the local level

Learn more about Jennifer Konfrst: