As we step into a new year, this solo episode invites you to pause, reflect, and intentionally define how you want to lead starting from the inside.
Laura explores what it means to trust yourself as a leader and to draw from your internal vision, values, capabilities, and ways of knowing to guide how you want to lead in this new year.
Rather than focusing on resolutions or external expectations, this episode centers alignment, self-compassion, and joy as powerful leadership strategies. You'll be guided through reflection and forward-looking practices designed to help you flex your leadership with clarity, confidence, and resilience in the year ahead.
Laura walks listeners through the SELF Framework as both a reset and a call forward. The four-part approach includes Setting Your Vision & Parameters, Excavating Your Excellence, Leveraging Your Environment, and Framing Your Mindset with Self-Compassion.
Laura ends the episode with a new year leadership challenge, inviting listeners to use their reflections from the SELF framework to write a leadership intention statement, identify three leadership strengths to intentionally honor this year, and to commit to one boundary that protects joy and wellbeing. This challenge is designed to be revisited quarterly as your leadership evolves.
Tune in to this episode as an invitation to begin the year aligned, intentional, and deeply rooted in self-trust.
Click here to download the companion reflection worksheet for this episode: https://blackwomanleading.com/leading-from-within-reflection-worksheet/
Also referenced in this episode >> S6E7: Strengthening Mindful Self-Talk: https://blackwomanleading.com/s6e7-strengthening-mindful-self-talk/
About Laura
Laura Knights is the Creator of Black Woman Leading® and host of the podcast. She is an executive coach, speaker, facilitator, and licensed clinical social worker with 20+ years of experience creating personal and professional development programs that have touched leaders worldwide.
Her expertise and background in business, human resources, adult education, and social work uniquely equip her to teach others how to deal with both the "head work" and "heart work" required to succeed at work and in life. She is the Founder and CEO of Knights Consulting LLC, a leadership development consultancy that provides customized training and coaching programs to create more confident leaders and high-performing teams.
Black Woman Leading® is a research-backed initiative which offers leadership development programming, a podcast, and an annual conference for Black women professionals. Black Woman Leading® is an initiative of Knights Consulting LLC. Learn more at blackwomanleading.com.
BWL Resources:
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Credits:
Learn about all Black Woman Leading® programs, resources, and events at www.blackwomanleading.com
Learn more about our consulting work with organizations at https://knightsconsultinggroup.com/
Email Laura: info@knightsconsultinggroup.com
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Instagram: @blackwomanleading
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Podcast Music & Production: Marshall Knights
Graphics: Dara Adams
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