Leadership is Feminine®

What if the bravest act of leadership is knowing when it's time to pause? In this deeply personal episode, Kris invites listeners into the raw, honest crossroads she's currently navigating—one marked by completion, uncertainty, and a longing for deeper, more human connection. After nearly 400 episodes, thousands of hours of recording, and decades spent teaching leaders how to lead, she shares the truth many high-achieving women rarely admit out loud: sometimes the thing we've mastered is the very thing we're meant to release.

Kris reflects on how leadership hasn't fundamentally changed—and on the bittersweet realization that she has said everything she came here to say. She talks openly about shifting away from the isolating online model that has defined the last several years and into work that brings her back into rooms, back into community, back into the presence she craves.

She also guides listeners through a powerful reframing of accountability—not as pressure, but as profound self-care. Because when we don't follow through on the promises we make to ourselves, the weight of that avoidance becomes its own burden.

• The emotional and practical reality of feeling "complete" in a long-standing body of work
• Why accountability to yourself is one of the highest forms of self-care
• The difference between knowing what to do and actually doing it
• The discomfort, fear, and liberation of honoring the commitments you've ignored
• What it means to pause with integrity, clarity, and agency

This episode is a pause, not a goodbye—a moment of truth-telling, gratitude, and trust in what comes next.

We love the idea of accountability—until it gets uncomfortable. Until it requires us to tell the truth and stop making excuses for what we've been tolerating. In this powerful episode, Kris Plachy explores the deep connection between accountability, self-trust, and personal agency—and why even the most successful women can find themselves over-tolerating, over-accommodating, and avoiding difficult conversations.

Kris challenges high-achieving women to stop externalizing the problem ("Why won't they just…") and instead reclaim responsibility for their own responses, expectations, and results. The truth? Accountability isn't about controlling others—it's about your willingness to show up, follow through, and address what needs to be addressed, even when it's uncomfortable.

She reminds listeners that every relationship, every result, and every outcome in your life begins with your own accountability—and that reclaiming this power is the most freeing leadership practice there is.

• The link between accountability, self-trust, and self-worth
• Why high-performing women often struggle to hold others accountable
• How to stop displacing responsibility and strengthen your personal agency
• What to ask yourself when someone doesn't meet expectations
• How radical accountability unlocks freedom, clarity, and growth

This conversation is an invitation to take your power back—not by controlling others, but by mastering the only person you can truly lead: yourself.

In this week's episode of Leadership is Feminine®, Kris speaks straight to the hearts of high-achieving women who are carrying so much—the businesses they run, the households they manage, the people they care for, and the decisions they make every hour of the day. Kris argues that successful women don't just deserve joy. They require it.

After years of hosting immersive client retreats, she's seen firsthand what happens when accomplished women are offered a space designed entirely for them: where they don't have to drive, plan, decide, or take care of anyone. They get to receive. And something powerful happens.

They come back to themselves.

These experiences aren't frivolous. They are healing. They restore the spirit of a woman who spends her life pouring into everyone else. Kris makes the case that joy is a strategic investment. And it is necessary if we want to lead sustainably.

• The invisible weight successful women silently carry
• What shifts when women are cared for instead of caretaking
• How play creates emotional spaciousness and clarity
• Why joyful rest is a strategic requirement—not a luxury
• The cultural and personal permission women need to take real breaks

This is your invitation to recapture delight—to make room for play, presence, and wonder.

Kris is back with another round of the pet sitting saga—but this time, it's about more than just unreliable pet sitters. It's a story about accountability, boundaries, and leadership. Through a string of mishaps (and three fired sitters), Kris explores how these small, personal frustrations mirror the much larger issue of how we manage people in our lives and businesses.

When expectations aren't met, many leaders justify, tolerate, or avoid confrontation. But as Kris shares, avoiding accountability—whether with a pet sitter or an employee—only recycles poor performance and creates a culture of tolerance instead of trust.

• Why unmet expectations persist, and what happens when you ignore them
• The emotional traps of people-pleasing, guilt, and "just letting it slide"
• How avoidance erodes both trust and leadership confidence
• The power of holding others—and yourself—accountable with grace, not anger
• Why mutual accountability is the missing ingredient in healthy workplaces

This conversation is an invitation to protect your standards, honor your agreements, and lead with both compassion and clarity—because accountability isn't cruelty; it's integrity in action.

This week on Leadership is Feminine, Kris Plachy and her Director of Operations, Michelle Arant, sit down for an unscripted conversation that captures leadership in its most human form. What started as a casual team discussion turned into a powerful reflection on how we handle discomfort, accountability, and growth — both in business and in life.

Through the lens of a lighthearted story about a pet sitter, Kris and Michelle explore how everyday moments can reveal our relationship with responsibility and self-management. They discuss the tendency to over-accommodate others, the generational shifts in resilience and follow-through, and why true leadership demands that we get comfortable being uncomfortable.

Their conversation is an honest reminder that friction isn't failure — it's feedback. Whether you're mentoring a new hire, raising kids, or running a multimillion-dollar company, the path to better leadership begins with allowing discomfort to do its work.

• How discomfort helps us build capacity for growth and leadership
• The difference between supporting someone and over-accommodating them
• Why avoiding friction can unintentionally stunt development — for ourselves and others
• How leaders can model resilience and self-accountability through their own behavior
• What small, everyday moments can reveal about how we handle responsibility
• Why embracing discomfort may be the most undervalued leadership skill of all

This conversation invites you to pause and ask: Where am I protecting others — or myself — from the very discomfort that could lead to growth?