Welcome to Episode 30 of The Mindset Podcast with your host, Coach Sally Allen. In today’s episode, Sally brings forward a powerful and deeply human reminder: leadership is not just about strategy, it’s about compassion, empathy, and awareness of the people who stand beside us.
Sally shares the story of a client who moved across the world to lead a team in a new culture, a new country, and a second language. Determined to show up well for her team, she proactively sought coaching. But what she didn’t expect was how much she needed compassion from others and wasn’t receiving it.
What unfolds is a real, relatable lesson in emotional intelligence, blind spots, and the courage it takes to address difficult moments with grace instead of confrontation.
Key Highlights:
- Cultural differences matter: Sally introduces a leader navigating a new country, new norms, and a new language, and how self-awareness led her to seek coaching before issues arose.
- Look at intent vs. impact: A teammate repeatedly spoke over her in meetings, not maliciously, but from a lack of emotional awareness. His intent was to “help”; the impact was silencing her.
- The power of self-awareness: Their conversation revealed he wasn’t aware of the harm he was causing. Compassionate dialogue opened his eyes to how his behavior made her feel and how it affected her confidence.
- A Compassionate Strategy: Together, they built a plan: He would stay silent when questions were directed at her. She would have space to gather her thoughts and speak. They would later collaborate intentionally when appropriate. A simple solution made possible because she approached him with empathy instead of accusation.
- A leadership lesson for all of us: Many professionals walk through the workplace with low emotional intelligence or unintentional blind spots. Compassion, not criticism, often creates the breakthrough.
- How to approach these conversations: Sally offers a script rooted in empathy:
“I know this wasn’t your intention, but when you spoke over me in the meeting, I felt undermined. Help me understand why that happened.” This approach preserves dignity while clearly naming the issue.
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Closing Thought:
If you change your mindset, you can change your life.
Lead with compassion, name the hard moments with courage, and trust that clarity delivered with empathy transforms people, not just performance.
