Lifting Leaders Podcast

Traveler vs Tourist: The Leadership Shift from Performance to Presence

Are you leading like a tourist, rushing, performing, and checking boxes or like a traveler, fully present and curious? Discover the leadership shift that sparks clarity, connection, and hope.
In this powerful Lifting Leaders Podcast “Spark” episode, we explore a simple yet transformative idea inspired by a moment in Venice:
Be a traveler, not a tourist.
While it may sound like travel advice, this mindset holds profound implications for leadership, presence, and how we navigate our daily lives.
In today’s fast-paced, performance-driven world, many leaders find themselves moving quickly from task to task capturing moments, checking boxes, and staying constantly visible. But this way of leading often comes at a cost: disconnection, burnout, and missed opportunities for deeper insight and innovation.
In this episode, you’ll discover how shifting from a tourist mindset (performance) to a traveler mindset (presence) can transform the way you lead and live.
You’ll learn how to:
Slow down and become more present in your leadership 
Step off the “beaten path” to unlock creativity and innovation 
Use curiosity as a tool for growth and connection 
Engage more deeply with your team by listening to those closest to the work 
Create space for reflection, rest, and renewed energy 
Reconnect with what truly matters in times of complexity and change 
This episode also explores the powerful connection between presence and hope and how choosing to lead with intention can reignite energy, possibility, and forward momentum.
✨ Carry the Spark Challenge:Choose one moment in your day to lead like a traveler - pause, notice, ask, or explore - and see what shifts.
If you’re ready to move beyond surface-level leadership and step into deeper awareness, connection, and impact… this episode is for you.

Fan Favorite: John Ondrasik (Five for Fighting): Music, Hope, and Moral Courage

We are revisiting this Fan Favorite episode because it lit so many sparks for our listeners. In this inspiring episode of Lifting Leaders Podcast, we continue our “What Brings Us Hope” series with Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and moral activist John Ondrasik, best known as Five for Fighting.
Recorded just minutes before he stepped onstage, John shares a powerful reflection on music, moral courage, and hopein a world facing immense challenges. Through songs that spotlight some of humanity’s most painful struggles, he uses his platform to raise awareness, compassion, and purpose-driven action.
Listen as John opens up about:🎵 His creative journey and what fuels his mission to inspire hope🌍 Lessons he’s learned from some of the world’s most oppressed yet resilient people💫 The importance of following your moral compass—even when it’s difficult
This heartfelt conversation will move you to think differently about leadership, purpose, and the quiet power of hope in action.
Listen now and be reminded that even in dark times, one voice—and one song—can make a world of difference.

The Value of Candor in Leadership: Courageous Conversations and Clear Communication | Gems Inspired by Career Coach Shirlene Evans

In this Lifting Leaders Podcast Gems episode, inspired by our conversation with career coach and leadership expert Shirlene Evans, we explore the value of candor in leadership and why courageous conversations are essential for effective leaders.
What becomes possible when a leader is willing to clearly name what is not working?
In today’s complex and rapidly changing workplace, leaders must strengthen their candor muscle—the ability to speak with honesty, clarity, and purpose. Leadership candor is not about bluntness or criticism. It is about communicating truth with intention, alignment, and respect.
We explore how strong leaders anchor candid conversations in shared purpose, organizational vision, and team priorities. When leaders communicate with clarity, confusion decreases, alignment increases, and teams move forward with greater focus and trust.
Inspired by Shirlene’s insight, we also discuss the importance of preparing for courageous conversations at work. Before raising difficult issues, leaders should gather relevant information—such as employee feedback, surveys, research findings, and leadership assessments—and seek multiple perspectives.
One powerful preparation technique we discuss:Explain the issue as if you were speaking to a sixth grader.This exercise helps leaders simplify complex ideas and communicate with greater clarity.
Finally, we unpack why candor delivered with compassion and support is critical for building trust, engagement, and buy-in during change. When people feel respected and understood, they are far more willing to listen, adapt, and participate in meaningful progress.
Candor is not always comfortable—but it is one of the most important leadership skills for navigating change, strengthening teams, and leading with integrity.
If you are a leader, executive, or team manager seeking to improve communication, feedback, and courageous leadership conversations, this episode offers practical insight and inspiration.

The Courage To Name What Is and Is Not Working - with Shirlene Evans

What happens when a successful technology leader feels a spark that simply won’t be ignored? In this inspiring episode of Lifting Leaders Podcast, we welcome Career Coach, Shirlene Evans, ACC, whose thriving career in the tech industry took a powerful turn when she realized her true calling was helping others navigate theirs. That spark shifted her focus from building systems to building people and the ripple effects have been profound.
Listen in as Shirlene shares why one of the most overlooked leadership skills is the courage to pause and identify what is not working before rushing in to fix it. Too often, leaders move straight to solutions without fully naming the real issue. Shirlene unpacks what happens, to leaders, to teams, and to entire systems, when things go unspoken. Silence does not create stability; it stifles creativity, drains energy, and quietly erodes innovation. But when leaders learn to speak up with intention, they open the door to fresh thinking and forward momentum.
You will also hear why honesty alone is not always enough when naming what is not working. It takes imagination. It takes vision. It takes the ability to see beyond the current reality and invite others into what is possible. Shirlene offers practical recommendations to help leaders build the courage and skill to speak up, move forward, and foster an environment where creativity and innovation thrive.
Shirlene’s energy, warmth, and passion for coaching and mentoring shine throughout this conversation. If you have ever felt the tension between staying silent and saying what needs to be said, this episode will light a spark for you.
We think you’re going to love this one.

Spark Episode: What Is Your Leadership Superpower?

In this Lifting Leaders Spark episode, Tricia Rhine invites listeners to explore a powerful leadership question: What is your leadership superpower?
Spark episodes are short leadership reflections designed to help leaders pause, think differently, and apply practical insights in their daily leadership.
In this episode, Tricia explores:
• Identifying your natural leadership strengths• Recognizing the gifts others consistently see in you• How your strengths can build trust, connection, and psychological safety
Through thoughtful questions and relatable insights, this episode encourages leaders to notice the strengths they may be overlooking and to intentionally steward those gifts.
✨ Reflection for listeners:What is the strength people thank you for most often - the one that feels so natural you almost overlook it?

Deep Listening, Curiosity, and More Gems Inspired by Barbara Acevedo Visser, MCC

In this powerful “Gems” episode, we revisit our rich conversation with Barbara Acevedo Visser, Master Certified Coach and uncover some leadership gems we gleaned within her wisdom. If you’ve ever left a conversation thinking, “I could have listened better,” this episode is for you.
We explore what it really means to listen at deeper levels - beyond words, beyond responses, and beyond the internal dialogue that competes for our attention. Barbara reminds us that curiosity is not just a mindset - it’s a disciplined leadership practice. When we intentionally suspend judgment and choose curiosity instead, we create space for trust, insight, and genuine connection.
In the episode, we’re digging into:
How suspending judgment transforms conversations and strengthens rapport
Why curiosity is the antidote to assumption
Simple, practical steps to quiet a busy mind before and during a conversation
How both speaker and listener benefit when presence is intentional
What to consider before a one-on-one conversation when “fixing” isn’t the goal
One of the biggest insights? When leaders enter conversations without the pressure to solve or fix, something powerful happens. Clarity emerges. Trust deepens. And both parties feel heard and valued. Sometimes the most impactful leadership move is not offering the answer - it’s offering your full attention.
Barbara’s sage advice offers practical tools you can apply immediately: pausing before responding, checking your intention, naming what you’re noticing, and consciously choosing curiosity over certainty. These simple shifts can radically improve the quality of your leadership conversations.
There is so much to hear and reflect on in this episode. If you are committed to building trust, strengthening relationships, and leading with intention, you will find this conversation truly insightful.

Deep Listening in Leadership: Curiosity, Self-Awareness, and Sensing the Future with Barbara Acevedo Visser, MCC

What does deep listening in leadership really require, especially during rapid change?
In this episode of the Lifting Leaders Podcast, we welcome Master Certified Coach Barbara Acevedo Visser, MCC, for a powerful conversation about deep listening, curiosity, self-awareness, and sensing emerging possibilities in uncertain times.
Barbara shares how intentional slowing down strengthens executive presence and transforms the way leaders respond to complexity. When leaders choose curiosity over judgment, they create psychological safety, expand perspective, and make wiser decisions. Curiosity becomes a leadership discipline — not just a mindset.
You’ll learn:
How deep listening improves leadership effectiveness and team trust
Why slowing down enhances strategic thinking and innovation
How to sense what is emerging before it is fully visible
Practical ways to respond thoughtfully instead of reacting impulsively
Why self-awareness and clarity of values are essential during rapid change
This episode explores how leaders can stay grounded in who they are while adapting to shifting environments. When leaders are anchored in values and identity, they can navigate uncertainty without losing effectiveness or themselves.
If you are leading through complexity, change, or organizational transformation, this conversation offers practical leadership wisdom, reflective insight, and actionable strategies to help you listen more deeply and lead more intentionally.
Light the Spark. Ignite Genuine Hope. Lead the Change.
 
 

Sharing Some Post-Valentine’s Day Love

We’re taking a short break from our Light the Spark series to share something close to our hearts — love. 💛 In this special post-Valentine’s Day episode of the Lifting Leaders Podcast, we’re sending heartfelt gratitude to you, our listeners, and celebrating the people and places we cherish most — our friends and families, and the breathtaking beauty of the Pacific Northwest we’re blessed to call home.
We also reflect on a powerful “Gist of Things” article by Marilyn Gist, titled The Courage to Let Yourself Be Helped. As we share highlights from her insights, we explore how accepting help is not weakness - it’s love in action.  What goes through your mind when someone offers to help you? Do you worry that they don’t see you are fully capable, on our own?  Just what if you accepted help? 
There’s something profound about this simple exchange. Accepting help can build connection. It can strengthen trust. It can spark community. So, what does that have to do with interdependence? Everything. In this episode, we share stories of when interdependence was simply “the way we did life” - and why it still matters for leaders today.
We hope you love this week’s episode - and that it reminds you that leadership, at its core, is relational. 💕

Building a Culture of Respect: Leadership "Gems" from Julie Pham's Interview

In this Lifting Leaders Podcast Gems episode, we revisit key insights from our conversation with Julie Pham, PhD, author of 7 Forms of Respect and share what we discovered after taking her Respect Assessment.
This brief reflection revealed powerful aha moments about how respect is experienced differently across teams and cultures. We explore what the assessment uncovered for us, how leaders can intentionally build trust and respect, and why co creating team norms and working guidelines is essential for a healthy culture.
If you are a leader looking to strengthen trust belonging and respect on your team, this episode offers practical insight and inspiration to spark meaningful cultural shifts.
✨ We hope this episode lights a spark and supports you in leading with greater awareness and intention to make a better world.

Respect & Leadership: How Culture Shapes Influence, Trust, and Genuine Hope | Dr. Julie Pham

What does respect really mean and why does it look so different across cultures, teams, and leadership contexts?
In this episode of the Lifting Leaders Podcast, we’re joined by Julie Pham, PhD, author of 7 Forms of Respect, to explore how respect shapes leadership effectiveness, influence, trust, and belonging, especially in today’s polarized world.
Julie challenges the assumption that respect is universal, inviting leaders to examine how culture, micro-cultures, hierarchy, and lived experience shape both the respect we expect and the respect we extend to others. Together, we dive deeply into two often overlooked forms of respect and why misunderstanding them can quietly erode trust, collaboration, and inclusion on teams.
Grounded in our 2026 focus on Influencing Genuine Hope, this conversation explores how curiosity about respect can:
Reduce polarized communication
Bridge cultural and relational divides
Strengthen leadership influence without authority
Foster trust, psychological safety, and belonging
Insightful, practical, and deeply human, this episode offers leaders a hope-forward path one where respect becomes an everyday leadership practice that brings people closer together rather than pushing them apart.