Joyful Leader

14:15

Taking In vs. Taking On

Joyful Leader ·

2026/02/05

We all face challenges in our work and lives, and we all make mistakes and find ourselves in uncharted territories — situations that we’ve never encountered before, and so need to learn to navigate.How well we navigate these moments, how quickly we move through their challenges, and how much we learn from them often comes down to one thing: what we make them mean. I sometimes describe this as whether we “take on” a situation (making it mean something about who we are, wearing it like a weight) or

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15:43

Culture Eroder: Assumption of Inclusion

Joyful Leader ·

2026/01/29

Today, we’re talking about another culture eroder: the assumption of inclusion.Assuming inclusion is often innocent — it’s the assumption that if we haven’t heard that we’re being exclusive, we must be doing alright. And while this is sometimes true, often, we’re being unintentionally exclusive in ways we can’t see. This can happen in the context of the diversity of our team, but in other ways, too. Some of which are quickly and easily corrected. We’ll talk about both, and I’ll also gush about one

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18:54

Receiving Feedback

Joyful Leader ·

2026/01/22

We’ve been talking all about feedback — focused mostly on giving.Today, we’re turning around some of the tools we’ve discussed and applying them to receiving feedback. We’ll talk about how to identify the feedback you want, and how to make sure you get it. And, we’ll discuss why getting in the habit of asking for feedback is so important — for you AND your team. Thanks for listening. Hungry for more of the things we talk about on this podcast? Visit mimigordon.com to find articles, classes, and

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25:37

Giving Actionable Feedback

Joyful Leader ·

2026/01/15

Good feedback is actionable. It allows the person hearing it to know exactly what to stop, start, or continue doing — immediately. And, the best feedback puts these things in the context of a larger goal or purpose.Today we’re going to talk about all of this — a rich, saturated episode of feedback approaches + tools that you can begin using immediately. Thanks for listening. Hungry for more of the things we talk about on this podcast? Visit mimigordon.com to find articles, classes, and other

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21:01

The Feedback Mindset

Joyful Leader ·

2026/01/08

In our second feedback episode, we’re talking all about mindset.Last week we talked about the mindset challenge — what stops us from giving feedback enough to create a habit. And this week, we’re talking about the feedback mindset to cultivate. Whether a small note or a more weighty performance conversation, there are common ways to think about the feedback we’re giving. Thanks for listening. Hungry for more of the things we talk about on this podcast? Visit mimigordon.com to find articles,

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17:45

Feedback: Why It’s Important and What Gets in The Way

Joyful Leader ·

2026/01/01

Your team’s results are created in your culture. » Your culture is built on trust. » Good feedback is essential for trust-building and growth. » Feedback is important.Today is the first of several episodes all about feedback: why it’s important, what gets in the way, what makes feedback good, how to build a healthy feedback culture on your team, and strategies for delivering it well. Whew. Tune in for this first episode, where we’ll talk about the purpose of feedback, its link to the cultural

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5:32

A Lovely Little Metaphor

Joyful Leader ·

2025/12/25

Today’s podcast is a story.I’m sharing a beautiful metaphor created by a client many years ago in a moment of new understanding. It’s short, sweet, and a perfect reminder for everyone. Thanks for listening. Hungry for more of the things we talk about on this podcast? Visit mimigordon.com to find articles, classes, and other resources. Or to schedule a free 60-minute consultation to talk about working with me as your coach. You can also find me on Instagram @mimigordoncoaching. Help other people

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13:14

Value

Joyful Leader ·

2025/12/18

Look up right now and you’ll likely find some reinforcement of the message that what makes you valuable in your professional life is the number of hours you put in. Or the number of tasks you check off your list.Many of us are taught early in our careers that these are the things that determine our value. Which can create a never-ending chase toward longer hours and more tasks in order to offer greater value. This is a hamster wheel. Today, we’re talking about what really determines the value we

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8:29

"I don't know what I want."

Joyful Leader ·

2025/12/11

Today’s episode is all about a single sentence: I don’t know what I want.This thought can create a truly paralyzing cycle of confusion and stuckness. It’s vicious. And it’s never, ever true. I’ve worked with so many people who struggle with what they want: in their careers, relationships, etc. And every time this thought enters the picture, it does damage. Let’s talk about what happens when we think this seemingly innocent and true little sentence. And what to do when it seems true, but is stopping

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31:11

Emotional Resistance

Joyful Leader ·

2025/12/04

True facts: I didn’t really know how to process my emotions until I was in my 40s. Like many of my GenX cohorts, teaching and attending to emotional fluency hadn’t been part of my upbringing.So when I experienced discomfort or emotional pain, I usually resisted it, pushing it away and finding a way to distract myself from it. Today on the podcast, we’re talking about emotional resistance — the process of avoiding discomfort — and what it costs us. We’ll also talk about the huge gains that result

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20:16

Culture Eroder: Lack of Appreciation

Joyful Leader ·

2025/11/27

The habits of an organization either build culture or erode it.This episode is the next installment of the culture eroder (and corresponding culture builder) series. And today’s culture eroder is: lack of appreciation. Lack of appreciation—whether it’s an organization-wide mindset or a simple lack of thanking people for their work—leads to disengagement, feeling unseen, and many other things that drag your team down. Appreciation is really about awareness, and on today's episode, we’ll talk about

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12:28

Resistance

Joyful Leader ·

2025/11/20

You feel called, drawn, compelled. To a project, a role, a career.And this thing that you feel drawn to, you also feel incredible resistance to. You avoid putting yourself in the chair and doing the work. You fight your way through doubt and overwhelm as you do it. You dread the delivery of the thing you created. Welcome to resistance — the force that often shows up between us and what we’re here on the planet to do. What is it? Why is it? Is it normal? We’ll answer all these questions and more on

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12:58

Emotional Weight

Joyful Leader ·

2025/11/13

What’s the most emotionally heavy team you’ve ever worked on?You probably had an immediate answer to that question. Heaviness, or emotional weight, is problematic within an organization. On today’s Joyful Leader, we’re making sure it doesn’t weigh your team down. We’ll talk about what it is, where it comes from, why it’s such a problem, and how to prevent it. Thanks for listening. Hungry for more of the things we talk about on this podcast? Visit mimigordon.com to find articles, classes, and other

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12:38

How to Know What Your Team REALLY Thinks

Joyful Leader ·

2025/11/06

You consider yourself an open-door leader.And yet, there are times when you want more feedback from your team. Maybe you get crickets when you ask for feedback after a meeting presentation. Or maybe when you ask your team for feedback about you as a manager, they tell you everything’s great. Today on the podcast, we’re talking about how to get great, specific, actionable feedback from your team. And, how to create a culture of giving good feedback, even to your boss. 😉🤓 Tune in to start getting

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12:58

Culture Eroder: Lack of Ownership

Joyful Leader ·

2025/10/30

The habits of an organization either build culture or erode it.This episode is the next installment of the culture eroder (and corresponding culture builder) series. And today’s culture eroder is: lack of ownership. Lack of ownership as a habit within an organization leads to a lot of heaviness — a sense of drag, protracted processes, and lack of clarity. It usually happens innocently, and for some predictable reasons. Today on the podcast, we’ll talk about what can cause it, what it looks like,

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18:42

Role Modeling

Joyful Leader ·

2025/10/23

No amount of training will help your team grow as much as what you show them.Who you are as a leader — how you make decisions, who you consider when making them, how you approach problems, how you interact with other people — all of these things are more powerful teaching tools than any content or training outline. Today on the podcast, we’re talking about the greatest teaching and mentoring tool there is: role modeling. I recently had the joy of working with a group of exceptional role models, and

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15:08

Being Accountable for Your Team's Autonomy

Joyful Leader ·

2025/10/16

There’s an honest mistake that organizations make when hiring capable people.They think that someone’s capacity and depth of experience mean they will be autonomous and independent right away without a lot of guidance. Essentially, the mistake is thinking that hiring great people means you don’t have to do anything to set them up for success. Today on the podcast, I’m talking about why this couldn’t be further from the truth, and sharing the concept of accountable autonomy — in which an

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12:32

The Constant of Culture

Joyful Leader ·

2025/10/09

Step one: build a strong culture.Step two: maintain a strong culture. Daily. It’s common to think that culture is something you build once and lasts forever. But really, your culture is ever-evolving. With every season, new hire, initiative, and priority shift, your culture is changing. Rather than being set-it-and-forget-it, maintaining a strong culture is a constant part of leadership. Tune in to talk about what this means, and to hear one of my favorite anecdotes about maintaining

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10:48

Knowing Your Reasons, Liking Your Reasons

Joyful Leader ·

2025/10/02

There are many rubrics and wisdom out in the world about decision-making.Today on Joyful Leader, I’m sharing a tool to help you understand a decision before you make it. It’s a tool for deeper self-awareness and understanding. Using this tool helps you make decisions and take actions in line with your values, priorities, and integrity. I mean, come on. Who doesn’t want that? It’s something I use with clients all the time, and it’s a super simple process. Thanks for listening. Hungry for more of

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16:48

Culture Eroder: Power Language

Joyful Leader ·

2025/09/25

Welcome to the next installment of the culture eroder (and corresponding culture builder) series. And today’s culture eroder is: power language.Power language is anything that draws conspicuous attention to power differentials within your team or organization. Power language can take the form of using titles when it’s not necessary, building mystery around certain meetings or decisions that not everyone is a part of, or many other things. Listen in to hear more about what power language is, why it

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