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Dear Reader,
The best team I’ve ever been a part of was built on trust, not control.
We pushed each other, grew together, and accomplished more than most thought possible. We took risks. We told the truth. We owned the mission like it was ours—because it was.
That didn’t happen by accident. It happened because of Deborah Gist.
Deborah created the kind of leadership culture that made you want to bring your best. She modeled humility and backbone at the same time—giving us space to lead while still holding the line when it mattered. She clapped from behind when things went well and stood in front when they didn’t.
I remember telling her once how amazed I was at her ability to take in so much criticism without shutting down. She looked at me and said:
“It’s not about having thick skin so messages bounce off. It’s about having a strong backbone so you can listen deeply and learn. There’s always something to take away.”
That sentence reshaped how I think about leadership—not as armor, but as alignment.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about that season a lot. The pressures leaders face today are relentless—economic instability, political polarization, cultural fatigue. Many of us are still leading, still showing up, but quietly wondering: How long can I keep going like this?
In this edition of the Dispatch, I want to offer you both perspective and practice—tools that remind you it’s possible to inspire performance without driving yourself or others into the ground.
You’ll find:
- Research-backed strategies for empowering others through emotional intelligence
- Insightful leadership behaviors from the Genos International model of emotional intelligence
- A self-assessment to help you strengthen the rituals, feedback structures, and values alignment that fuel motivation
- A TED Talk by Roselinde Torres that I return to often—especially on days when I lose perspective on what great leadership really looks like
- A spotlight on Ignite, my yearlong coaching program for leaders who want to scale impact while staying grounded, clear, and whole
This edition is for anyone who’s holding a lot right now. For the leaders still leading with heart. For those ready to lead with even more courage, clarity, and joy.
We don’t have to do it the old way.
We can lead from trust, not tension.
From inspiration, not fear.
From purpose—not just pressure.
Clear eyes. Full hearts.
Paula
Field Report: Leadership Insights
When Everything Is Uncertain, Inspire Anyway: How Emotionally Intelligent Leaders Empower Performance During Volatility
The Context We’re In
We are living in an age defined by disruption. Volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity—what the military coined as VUCA—is no longer the exception. It’s the norm.
Today’s leaders are navigating political division, institutional fatigue, and emotional depletion at every level. Yet despite the chaos, a new kind of leadership is rising—one not defined by control, but by connection, vision, and emotional intelligence.
“In times of crisis, people don’t just need direction. They need inspiration,” writes Adam D. Galinsky in What Sets Inspirational Leaders Apart (Harvard Business Review, March–April 2025). And that inspiration isn’t accidental—it’s emotional labor, practiced intentionally.
What Genos International Calls “Inspiring Performance”
In the Genos model of emotional intelligence, Inspiring Performance is the ability to:
“Create a sense of purpose and meaning for others at work. It’s about energizing people toward high performance by being clear, encouraging, and connecting their work to something bigger.”
In other words, emotionally intelligent leaders fuel commitment, not just compliance. And that kind of leadership is more important than ever.
Three Research-Backed Strategies to Inspire Performance in VUCA Times
1. Cast a Vision That Feeds Purpose
Galinsky’s global research shows that visionary leaders offer “a big-picture, values-based, optimistic view of the future” that fulfills our core need for meaning (What Sets Inspirational Leaders Apart). They communicate with simplicity and vivid language, and return to vision again and again—not just at strategic planning retreats.
Leadership Practice: You (the leader) initiate by asking yourself: “What vivid, hopeful image can I offer my team this week to help them see the ‘why’ behind our work?”
2. Foster Motivation Through Psychological Needs
In 3 Ways to Motivate Your Team Through an Extended Crisis (Harvard Business Review, September 2020), Anne M. Brafford and Richard M. Ryan explain that the deepest motivation doesn’t come from control, but from meeting three key needs:
- Relatedness (feeling cared for)
- Competence (feeling effective)
- Autonomy (feeling trusted)
“Leaders must go beyond goals and metrics,” they write. “Communicate that you care about employees’ well-being, not just their productivity.”
Leadership Practice: You take initiative in your next 1:1 or team setting by saying: “I want to acknowledge not just what you’ve done, but how you’ve shown up—especially in difficult moments.”
3. Replace Control with Curiosity and Visionary Thinking
In How to Be a Better Leader Amid Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (Harvard Business Review, September 2023), Angus Fletcher, Thomas L. Gaines, and Brittany Loney offer actionable guidance for leading in today’s VUCA world.
Their advice is clear:
- Don’t seek more data—train yourself to lead with less.
- Use “active questioning” to surface new insights.
- Empower planners over perfect plans.
- Reset emotionally rather than suppressing fear or frustration.
Leadership Practice: You initiate by asking a team member: “What part of this project do you feel most excited to lead—or want to grow into?” Then listen actively, not to control, but to co-create.
Bottom Line
Inspiration is not fluff. It’s fuel. It doesn’t ignore hardship—it transcends it, turning purpose into power and emotional intelligence into performance. When the world is uncertain, great leaders anchor their teams—not in certainty, but in clarity, connection, and hope.
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Spotlight on Whole Leader Lab Services: Ignite Leadership Coaching
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Coaching for Leaders Who Carry the Weight—and Are Ready to Lead with Power and Presence
You’re already moving fast. Delivering results. Rising in visibility.
You’ve built influence through talent, grit, and heart.
But lately, you’re carrying more than ever—strategy, people, performance, and pressure.
And in quieter moments, you find yourself asking:
Where’s the space to think bigger? How do I lead at this level without burning out? What’s next—and how do I grow into it without losing my edge?
Ignite is a high-impact, high-touch executive coaching experience for bold, mission-driven leaders navigating the complexities of growth, visibility, and scale.
Led by me, Paula Shannon, a trusted coach and former systems-level executive, Ignite is where ambition meets alignment—and momentum meets meaning.
Over 12 months, you’ll partner directly with Paula to elevate your leadership game, refine your strategy, and move forward with clarity, courage, and stamina.
I came into coaching with vision fatigue. Paula helped me reconnect to why I lead and how I want to scale—without sacrificing myself in the process.
— Talia, Chief HR Officer 👤 Who It’s For
- Mid- to senior-level leaders ready for their next level of influence
- Executives stepping into bigger arenas—without a map
- Founders, changemakers, and cross-system leaders who want to scale their vision with integrity
- People who don’t just want to keep up—but want to lead the way
🔄 What You’ll Gain
- More influence. More clarity. More time to think—strategically.
- Stronger decision-making under pressure
- Tools to navigate high-stakes conversations and complex teams
- Presence that matches your power
- A pace that’s ambitious and sustainable
You’ll walk away with a custom-built leadership dashboard, personalized assessments, and a coaching cadence tailored to your season of leadership. And if you’re looking to go deeper—into intensives, diagnostics, and rapid growth—there are elevated tiers that meet your fire.
This isn’t just coaching. It’s momentum with strategy. Energy with alignment. And a space where I’m not just reacting—I’m leading again.
— Emily, Executive Director
You’re not here to play small. You’re here to lead—clearly, powerfully, and with real impact.
Let’s talk about what’s next.
Book a consultation to explore Ignite with me. I'll make the 45 minutes well worth your time.
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Dispatch Toolkit
Books to Add to Your Summer Leadership Reading List
As we move toward the summer season, it’s a great time to refresh your perspective and reconnect with what inspires you. These three titles offer insight, courage, and practical wisdom—each one aligned with the spirit of clear, connective, and empowering leadership in volatile and uncertain times.
The Lightmaker’s Manifesto: How to Work for Change Without Losing Your Joy
by Karen Walrond
This luminous book is part manifesto, part personal reflection, and part practical guide. Walrond, a Black queer woman and former lawyer, invites readers to redefine activism and leadership as acts of joy, generosity, and deep purpose. She offers reflection questions and rituals that help leaders stay connected to their “why”—even in hard seasons.
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Wolfpack: How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power, and Change the Game
by Abby Wambach
In this bold and unapologetic call to action, soccer icon Abby Wambach reimagines leadership through the lens of community, not control. Drawing from her own experiences, she lays out eight rules to help leaders rewrite the old playbook—and unleash collective power.
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Turn the Ship Around: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders
by L. David Marquet
Former Navy captain David Marquet shares how he transformed a low-performing submarine crew into one of the most effective teams in the Navy—not by commanding better, but by giving away control. This leadership model is built on empowerment, clarity, and shared responsibility.
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🎧 Coaching Real Leaders: “How Do I Adapt My Leadership Style as My Team Grows?”
Host: Muriel Wilkins
Podcast: Coaching Real Leaders (Harvard Business Review)
Season: 4 Episode: 4 Published: November 14, 2022
In this episode, executive coach Muriel Wilkins works with a leader who has experienced rapid success in a sales-driven industry and now faces the challenge of adapting his leadership style to empower a growing team. The conversation delves into the importance of delegation, fostering autonomy, and evolving from a hands-on leader to one who inspires and motivates through trust and empowerment.
🎧 Listen to the episode
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💡 Discover How Empowering Your Leadership Really Is
Download the Empowerment Self-Assessment for Leaders
In today’s climate of rapid change, political polarization, and organizational fatigue, the most effective leaders aren’t the ones with all the answers. They’re the ones who know how to inspire performance through clarity, care, and connection.
The Empowerment & Resilience Self-Assessment was designed for mission-driven leaders who are ready to move beyond top-down direction and into emotionally intelligent influence. Grounded in the Genos Emotional Intelligence model and current leadership research, this short but powerful reflection tool will help you:
✅ Identify where your leadership practices empower growth—or unintentionally limit it
✅ Check in on your team's sense of purpose, autonomy, and belonging
✅ Build rhythms of recognition, feedback, and vision that fuel performance
✅ Re-center your leadership around clarity, trust, and emotional awareness
This is more than a productivity check. It’s a pulse check on how your leadership feels—and whether it’s building the kind of culture where people thrive, not just survive.
Great leaders don’t just deliver results. They cultivate energy, alignment, and resilience in others.
Whether you're leading a team, a department, or a system—you’ll walk away with insights you can use immediately.
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Connect & Engage
Leading Out Loud: Real Stories, Real Inspiration
Featured Talk: What It Takes to Be a Great Leader
Speaker: Roselinde Torres, Senior Partner at the Boston Consulting Group
TED Talk: “What It Takes to Be a Great Leader” (9:18)
After studying leadership in over 400 organizations across the globe, Roselinde Torres noticed a troubling trend: many leaders were trained to succeed in a world that no longer exists.
In this short but striking TED Talk, Torres challenges conventional leadership development and asks instead:
- Are you shaping your leadership for the world that’s coming—or the one that’s already gone?
- Are you courageous enough to abandon outdated behaviors in order to lead with clarity, vision, and trust?
She offers three bold questions that set truly empowering leaders apart—leaders who thrive in complexity and inspire others to do the same.
Your Turn: Try This Week’s Challenge
Challenge: Take five minutes this week to reflect on your leadership in light of the three behaviors we explored:
Connecting to purpose, fostering autonomy, and recognizing strengths.
Ask yourself:
- Where am I clearly communicating the bigger “why” behind our work?
- How might I invite more ownership by asking what do you want to lead?
- When was the last time I acknowledged someone’s effort—not just outcome?
👋 We’d love to hear from you:
What’s one shift you’re making in how you lead?
Reply to this Dispatch or send me a DM on LinkedIn to share your reflections.
“A leader is a good leader if he or she is able to generate other leaders among the young. If he only wants to be the sole leader, he is a tyrant… If they do not sow leadership in others, they are of no use, they are dictators.”
Pope Francis
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