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09/16/2026
What are you hearing beneath the questions people are asking?
During change, a question is not always just a request for information. "Why are we doing this?" may really mean, How will this affect me? "Is this permanent?" may mean, What can I still count on? "What happens next?" may mean, Am I prepared for what is coming?
Leading through change requires more than delivering information. It requires listening for what people may actually be trying to understand.
Before responding too quickly this week, pause long enough to hear the concern underneath the question. You may discover that what someone needs is not another announcement, but clarity, context, reassurance, or an opportunity to be heard.
Wednesday Reflection: What might your team be trying to tell you that you need to listen to more closely?
09/15/2026
What change are you waiting for permission to lead?
This week on the Empowerment Minutes Podcast tackles a belief that holds so many leaders back: the idea that you need a title before you can lead through change.
I share a real story from our Emerging Leaders Cohort, where a participant learned that driving change didn't require a promotion, only the willingness to speak up from wherever she sat. I also break down why leadership during change is behavioral, not just positional, and specific ways you can influence change right now using the influence you already have.
Tune in on your favorite podcast platform and learn how to lead change without waiting for a title to make it official.
09/14/2026
Are you creating clarity, or assuming people already have it?
We are halfway through September and moving closer to the final stretch of Q3. By now, priorities may have shifted, new information may have emerged, and what seemed clear a few weeks ago may no longer feel as clear to the people you lead.
One of the challenges of leading through change is that leaders often have more context than everyone else. You may have been part of the conversations, seen the data, or had time to process what is changing. Your team may only see the decision.
This week, do not assume people understand simply because something has been communicated. Choose one priority, decision, or change and make sure your team understands:
What is changing
Why it matters
What they need to do next
Clarity does not eliminate change, but it makes change easier to navigate.
Monday Reflection: Where does your team need greater clarity from you this week?
Feel Good Friday: Something worth noticing
This week asked you to sit with some uncomfortable questions — what you're waiting on, what habits change is exposing, and what needs to shift before Q4. That kind of reflection takes effort, and it's worth pausing to acknowledge before the week ends.
Maybe you finally took that step you'd been putting off. Maybe you caught yourself falling back into an old habit and chose something different instead. Maybe you simply gave yourself permission not to have it all figured out yet and kept moving anyway.
None of that may show up on a scorecard, but it's exactly the kind of quiet progress that adds up over time.
So here's your Friday invitation: Name one thing from this week you're proud of, even if it feels small.
Share it in the comments if you'd like — we'd love to celebrate it with you.
Here's to closing out the week with a little more clarity than you started it with.
09/09/2026
Wisdom Wednesday: What is change teaching you about the way you lead?
Monday's challenge was to stop waiting for stability and take one step forward even when everything isn't yet clear.
Today, the invitation is to pause and notice what this season of change is revealing.
Change has a way of exposing our habits. It can show us where we communicate well, where we become reactive, where we hold on too tightly, and where we may need to trust others more.
As September continues and we move through the final month of Q3, consider:
What habit is serving you well right now?
What habit may be making change harder than it needs to be?
What do you need to adjust before moving into Q4?
Wisdom is not simply getting through change. It is learning from it and allowing what you learn to shape how you lead next.
Wednesday Reflection:
What is this season of change teaching you about yourself as a leader?
09/08/2026
What do you do when you have to decide during uncertainty?
This week on Empowerment Minutes Podcast, part two of our September series, Leading Through Change in an Evolving Era, tackles decision-making under uncertainty — one of the challenges of leading through change.
We discuss a real story from our Emerging Leaders Cohort, where an emerging leader learned that she'll never be one hundred percent certain, and that the courage to decide matters more than waiting for a guarantee that will never come. This is common to all leaders, not just emerging leaders. We also break down a four-part framework that helps leaders overcome this challenge and build more trust when leading through uncertainty.
Tune in on your favorite podcast platform and learn how to make strong decisions even when the picture isn't complete.
09/08/2026
Deciding Without All the Answers-Leading Through Uncertainty with Dr. Maurine Kwende In this episode, Dr. Maurine Kwende continues Empowerment Minutes Podcast's September series, Leading Through Change in an Evolving Era, tackling one of the challenges of leading through change: making decisions without complete information. Dr. Kwende breaks down four practical distinctions leaders...
Happy Labor Day!
As we recognize the contributions people make through their work, today is also a good opportunity to think about how we are leading in a season where change continues to shape the way work gets done.
Mission Monday: What if the goal isn't to get past change, but to lead well inside it?
Many leaders treat change like a temporary storm to wait out before returning to normal. But for most organizations, change is now part of the environment we lead in. New tools, shifting expectations, and evolving team needs continue to reshape priorities, decisions, and how people work together.
September marks the final month of Q3, and fall is fast approaching. This is a good time to notice where uncertainty may be causing you to delay a decision or wait for conditions to feel more settled.
The challenge is that stability may not arrive before action is needed.
This week, choose one decision you have been postponing "until things settle down" and take one concrete step forward.
You may not have every answer, but you can still lead with intention.
Monday Reflection:
What are you waiting for stability to do that you could begin now?
Wishing you a restful and meaningful Labor Day.
09/04/2026
Still have professional development dollars sitting unused this year?
If your organization budgets for professional development, fall planning season is the moment to put those dollars to work — before they expire or roll over unspent.
The Emerging Leaders Cohort isn't just leadership training. Your leaders walk away with continuing education credit where applicable — SHRM PDCs, CAE credits, and DPOR CPEs — so their growth also counts toward their professional credentials.
A few organizational spots are left this fall, and registration closes as soon as they're filled.
Use code BULKOFF to save on your organization's enrollment.
DM me LEAD, or head to the registration page link below — and make those PD dollars count before the year winds down.
Click here to claim your Sponsored Listing.
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