Episode 22: Capacity Is an Inside Job

Ep 24: The World Work

Episode Summary In this episode, host L. Michelle Smith dives into the essential elements of strategic leadership and the mindset shifts required for executive growth. Whether you are looking to level up in your current role or preparing for your next big power move, this conversation provides the insights needed to lead with purpose and authority. Key Takeaways * Lead with Strategy: Understanding how to pivot from operational management to high-level strategic thinking. * Executive Presence: How to cultivate the growth necessary to command the room and lead effectively. * Community Support: The importance of surrounding yourself with a “Circle” of leaders who challenge and support your professional evolution. Connect & Grow If today’s episode resonated with you, don’t keep it to yourself! Share it with a leader in your network who needs to hear this message today. Ready to go deeper into your leadership journey? Join our community and gain access to exclusive resources: * Join The Circle: lmichellesmith.com/TheCircle [http://lmichellesmith.com/TheCircle] * Official Website: lmichellesmith.com [http://lmichellesmith.com/] Subscribe & Review If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to Her Next Power Move and leave a review to help other executive leaders find us. It’s time you secured your copy of Call and Response. Learn more at https://lmichellesmith.com/callandresponse This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lmichellesmith.substack.com/subscribe [https://lmichellesmith.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

You're not shy, so why?

Last night, I had the opportunity to speak with a remarkable group of professional women about what it really means to find your voice in today’s work environment. What emerged in that conversation was powerful: for many leaders, this is not fundamentally a communication problem. It is a clarity, confidence, and regulation problem shaped by stress, uncertainty, overload, and the growing demands of modern work. That insight inspired a new high-octane masterclass [https://soaracademy.nsccoaching.co/masterclass/VOICE] inside SOAR Academy. In this session, we will explore how to strengthen your voice, presence, and leadership in a workplace that can make even the most capable among us feel scattered. Drawing on leadership strategy, neuroscience, and the heart-centered principles behind my broader body of work, this fast-paced, laser-focused masterclass is designed to help you lead with greater steadiness, purpose, and intention. This is for leaders who want to show up with more clarity in meetings, more confidence in high-stakes moments, and more command in environments that ask a lot of all of us. If that speaks to where you are right now, I’d love to have you join me. [Register Here] [https://soaracademy.nsccoaching.co/masterclass/VOICE] With you in this work, LMS This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lmichellesmith.substack.com/subscribe [https://lmichellesmith.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Ep 23: The Space Between

🎙️ Episode 23: The Space Between: Where Leadership Gets Lost and How to Finds it Again You can say the right thing… and still not be heard the way you intended. In this episode of Her Next Power Move, L. Michelle Smith explores the often overlooked space between what leaders say and how their message is actually received—especially in moments of change. As organizations lean into AI, leaders are being asked to communicate with confidence about what’s possible. The messaging is clear. The intention is right. And still, something doesn’t fully land. Why? Because communication doesn’t end when something is said. It continues in how it is interpreted, filtered, and carried forward by the people who heard it. Drawing from neuroscience and real-world leadership dynamics, this episode breaks down what is happening beneath the surface when teams hear about change—and why uncertainty, cognitive overload, and unspoken questions can quietly shape behavior. This is not a messaging problem. It’s a meaning-making problem. And how you lead in that space determines whether your team moves with you—or begins to pull away. In this episode, you’ll explore: Why people don’t hear your message the way you think they do How the brain processes change, uncertainty, and perceived threat What happens when questions go unspoken The hidden cost of cognitive overload and constant task switching How to close the gap between what is said and what is understood Research & Insights Referenced: NeuroLeadership Institute: Uncertainty activates threat responses in the brain Journal of Experimental Psychology: Task switching can reduce productivity by up to 40% and increase errors Foundational neuroscience on the amygdala and threat perception Powerful Thought: People don’t resist what you say.They resist what they think it means for them. Powerful Question: Where in your leadership are you communicating clearly… but not creating understanding? Stay Connected: If this episode resonated with you, and you’re ready to deepen how you lead in moments that matter, I invite you to explore The Circle—my leadership growth community. This is where we do the deeper work:how you show up, how you’re experienced, and how you lead with intention in real time. Learn more:👉 lmichellesmith.com/thecircle This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lmichellesmith.substack.com/subscribe [https://lmichellesmith.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Call and Response Book Tour Heads to NYC

NEW YORK CITY & NEW JERSEY:The Call and Response book tour will be in your area soon! Mark your calendar to sit with myself and Carla Harris [https://www.linkedin.com/in/carla-harris-5192047b/] for a conversation about how heart-centered leadership is built, why we need it today, and where those foundational lessons came from for the both of us and many other amazing corporate leaders that are at the top of their games today.Join us and special host Michael Hyter [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhyter/] for the engaging and actionable conversation.6 p..- 7 p.m. ET Wednesday, May 6, 2026Barnes & Noble Upper East SideCome a little early to snag your seat and mingleI will sign books immediately following. Head over to the Barnes & Noble UES Events Page [https://stores.barnesandnoble.com/event/9780062209834-0] to add this event to your calendar, and invite a friend or colleague to join us. Learn more about Call and Response: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church [https://lmichellesmith.com/callandresponse], and the leadership platform inspired by it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lmichellesmith.substack.com/subscribe [https://lmichellesmith.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Episode 22: Capacity Is an Inside Job

HER NEXT POWER MOVEEpisode 22: Capacity Is an Inside JobHosted by L. Michelle Smith In this first episode back since the end of 2025, L. Michelle reflects on what has come into sharper focus during her Call and Response book and media tour and introduces the deeper shift happening across her work: a stronger emphasis on heart-centered leadership. This episode takes a closer look at capacity, but not from the usual team-performance angle. Instead, it explores a leader’s personal capacity: the inner room to think clearly, stay grounded, remain emotionally available, and lead with intention when life and work both feel demanding. Drawing from neuroscience, positive psychology, and her evolving Leadership Revival framework, L. Michelle invites listeners to consider how pressure changes the way leaders think, respond, and relate. She also offers a reflective lens for noticing when leadership has become compressed by overextension, even when performance still looks strong on the surface. If you have been carrying a lot, pushing through, and wondering why your leadership feels tighter than it used to, this episode will meet you there. IN THIS EPISODE, L. MICHELLE EXPLORES: Why capacity issues often show up in the leader before they show up in the team How sustained pressure affects the brain and narrows leadership range What heart-centered leadership asks of us in this season Why internal capacity shapes relationships, judgment, and presence A simple reflection to help you lead from a fuller place LISTEN IF YOU ARE: Leading while stretched thin Feeling productive, but not especially spacious Trying to show up well for others without losing yourself Rethinking what sustainable leadership really requires MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Call and Response by L. Michelle Smith Subscribe to Her Next Power Move on Substack Learn more about coaching, workshops, and speaking at lmichellesmith.com [http://lmichellesmith.com] REFLECTION QUESTION:Where might the strain in your leadership be less about performance and more about capacity? CONNECT WITH L. MICHELLE:Website: lmichellesmith.com [http://lmichellesmith.com]Substack: Her Next Power MoveBook: Call and Response This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lmichellesmith.substack.com/subscribe [https://lmichellesmith.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]