Psych Leadership - A division of Rise Up Academics

The Feedback Loop - How to Ask For What You Need to Grow

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2405819/fan_mail/new] The reason you’re not getting useful feedback isn’t that nobody has anything to say. It’s that you’re not asking in a way that makes honesty possible. In this episode of the Psych Leadership Podcast, host Luke UpChurch breaks down the psychology behind why most feedback requests fail — and how asking better questions changes everything about the quality of information you get back. Grounded in research on psychological safety, feedback-seeking behavior, and what actually drives professional growth, this episode gives you a practical five-principle framework for turning feedback from something that happens to you into something you actively architect. In this episode, you’ll learn: * Why broad questions like ‘how am I doing?’ almost always produce useless answers — and the psychology behind why people default to comfortable over honest * How psychological safety determines the quality of the feedback you receive — and how to create it in any conversation * The difference between asking about impact vs. intent — and why it changes everything about what comes back * A five-principle question framework for getting specific, honest, actionable feedback from the people around you * Why closing the loop out loud is the move that turns a one-time feedback conversation into an ongoing developmental relationship The quality of the feedback you receive is almost entirely a function of how you ask. And now you’ll know how to ask. Shares the release of the new book Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2405819/support] Want to be part of our mission: 👉 Donate Today [https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/directly-support-our-scholarships] NEW BOOK -- "Tactical Mentoring: A Guide to Unlocking Your Potential" - By Luke UpChurch  Available on: 🍎 Apple Books [http://books.apple.com/us/book/id6780689042] & 📚Kindle  [https://a.co/d/0gvfbA0X] Psych Leadership is a division of Rise Up Academics - A 501(c)(3) focused on building leadership and mentoring opportunities for high school and college students. All proceeds go towards this purpose.  Want to connect? Email me at psychLeadership@riseupacademics.org [psychLeadership@riseupacademics.org]

Managing Your Energy, Not Just Your Time

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2405819/fan_mail/new] You had the time blocked. Your calendar was clear. So why did you end up with almost nothing to show for it? In this episode of the Psych Leadership Podcast, host Luke UpChurch makes the case that time is not your most important professional resource — energy is. Drawing on current research in organizational psychology, neuroscience, and burnout science, this episode breaks down the four dimensions of human energy and introduces a practical three-part system for managing your capacity deliberately, not just your calendar. In this episode, you’ll learn: * Why time management alone fails — and what the research says is actually limiting your performance * The neuroscience behind the 90–120 minute cognitive performance window and what it means for how you structure your day * The four dimensions of human energy — physical, emotional, mental, and purposeful — and how depletion in any one undermines all the others * Why Gen Z and millennial workers are hitting peak burnout at 25 — and the energy management habits that interrupt that pattern * The Know, Protect, Restore framework: a three-part personal energy management system you can start building this week The most productive thing you can do is often not to do more. It’s to show up with something left in the tank. Shares the release of the new book Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2405819/support] Want to be part of our mission: 👉 Donate Today [https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/directly-support-our-scholarships] NEW BOOK -- "Tactical Mentoring: A Guide to Unlocking Your Potential" - By Luke UpChurch  Available on: 🍎 Apple Books [http://books.apple.com/us/book/id6780689042] & 📚Kindle  [https://a.co/d/0gvfbA0X] Psych Leadership is a division of Rise Up Academics - A 501(c)(3) focused on building leadership and mentoring opportunities for high school and college students. All proceeds go towards this purpose.  Want to connect? Email me at psychLeadership@riseupacademics.org [psychLeadership@riseupacademics.org]

You are Not Your Job Title

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2405819/fan_mail/new] If someone asked you ‘who are you?’ right now — without your job title, your company, or your industry — what would you say? In this episode of the Psych Leadership Podcast, host Luke UpChurch tackles one of the most quietly damaging patterns he sees in early-career professionals: the fusion of identity with role. When your job title becomes your whole sense of self, every setback at work becomes a personal crisis — and every disruption to the role becomes a threat to who you are. Drawing on 28 years of working with emerging professionals and grounded in current research on professional identity formation, burnout, and identity complexity, this episode helps you understand where that pattern comes from and how to build something more durable underneath it. The most grounded leaders aren’t the ones with the most impressive titles. They’re the ones who know exactly who they are when the title is gone. Shares the release of the new book Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2405819/support] Want to be part of our mission: 👉 Donate Today [https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/directly-support-our-scholarships] NEW BOOK -- "Tactical Mentoring: A Guide to Unlocking Your Potential" - By Luke UpChurch  Available on: 🍎 Apple Books [http://books.apple.com/us/book/id6780689042] & 📚Kindle  [https://a.co/d/0gvfbA0X] Psych Leadership is a division of Rise Up Academics - A 501(c)(3) focused on building leadership and mentoring opportunities for high school and college students. All proceeds go towards this purpose.  Want to connect? Email me at psychLeadership@riseupacademics.org [psychLeadership@riseupacademics.org]

The Perception Gap

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2405819/fan_mail/new] You walked out of that meeting feeling good. So why did the feedback say otherwise? In this episode of the Psych Leadership Podcast, we tackle one of the most quietly career-limiting dynamics in early professional life: the gap between how you see yourself and how the room actually experiences you. Drawing on 28 years of working with emerging professionals, and grounded in the latest research on overconfidence, the Dunning-Kruger effect, and emotional intelligence this episode covers both ends of the spectrum. In this episode, you’ll learn: * Why the least self-aware people are often the least equipped to know it — and what the research says about why that happens * The two patterns that show up on opposite ends of the perception gap — and why both are costly * Where the line between confidence and arrogance actually lives — and why it matters more early in your career than at any other time * A four-question self-audit you can run immediately after any significant professional interaction * How to ask for calibrating feedback in a way that actually gets you honest answers — and how to receive it without getting defensive The goal isn’t to be more humble. It’s to be more accurate — so the person the room experiences matches the person you intend to be. Shares the release of the new book Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2405819/support] Want to be part of our mission: 👉 Donate Today [https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/directly-support-our-scholarships] NEW BOOK -- "Tactical Mentoring: A Guide to Unlocking Your Potential" - By Luke UpChurch  Available on: 🍎 Apple Books [http://books.apple.com/us/book/id6780689042] & 📚Kindle  [https://a.co/d/0gvfbA0X] Psych Leadership is a division of Rise Up Academics - A 501(c)(3) focused on building leadership and mentoring opportunities for high school and college students. All proceeds go towards this purpose.  Want to connect? Email me at psychLeadership@riseupacademics.org [psychLeadership@riseupacademics.org]

Stop Asking Permission

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2405819/fan_mail/new] You already know the answer. So why are you still waiting for someone to tell you it’s okay to move? In this episode of the Psych Leadership Podcast, I will be breaking down the organizational psychology behind one of the most career-limiting patterns in early professional life: permission-seeking. It’s not a confidence problem. It’s a deeply wired psychological response… and once you understand it, you can change it. In this episode, you’ll learn: * Why smart, capable people get stuck waiting for direction — and the locus of control research that explains it * How low ambiguity tolerance keeps early-career professionals frozen at exactly the wrong moment * What self-efficacy research tells us about the real cost of waiting — and what it signals to the people above you * The SWAG — the Sophisticated Wild-Ass Guess — and why it’s the most practical decision tool you’re not using * A three-question framework for making a disciplined first move when the full picture isn’t available * How to build an internal locus of control — and why mastery experiences are the only real path to lasting confidence Whether you’re a recent graduate navigating your first professional role or an early-career professional who keeps waiting for the right moment to act — this episode gives you the psychology and the framework to stop waiting and start leading. Completely ready isn’t a destination. It’s a feeling that only shows up after you’ve already done the thing. Shares the release of the new book Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2405819/support] Want to be part of our mission: 👉 Donate Today [https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/directly-support-our-scholarships] NEW BOOK -- "Tactical Mentoring: A Guide to Unlocking Your Potential" - By Luke UpChurch  Available on: 🍎 Apple Books [http://books.apple.com/us/book/id6780689042] & 📚Kindle  [https://a.co/d/0gvfbA0X] Psych Leadership is a division of Rise Up Academics - A 501(c)(3) focused on building leadership and mentoring opportunities for high school and college students. All proceeds go towards this purpose.  Want to connect? Email me at psychLeadership@riseupacademics.org [psychLeadership@riseupacademics.org]