Last week brought me back to something I’ve seen over and over again in my work.
I spent time with more than 60 leaders in one room, and I also had 5+ 1:1 coaching conversations, and across all of it, the same pattern kept showing up.
Not in skill and not in capability.
In how people were thinkin...
Last summer, I was standing in my condo late one morning, iPhone in my hand, about to make one of the biggest investments I had ever made in myself and my brand-new business.
There was no tangible product, other than promised pages in a report that would help guide my brand. No guaranteed return....
For a long time, I believed my edge was my availability.
Fast response time. Saying yes to everything. Working at an insane intensity. Always proving myself. It worked so well, until it didn’t.
What many high performers don’t realize is this: the very habits that help you rise can also be the one...
By Radia Carr | January 13, 2026
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Leadership Presence Without Confidence; Calm Authority When You’re Nervous
I’m going to say something that might annoy people.
“Executive presence” makes a lot of leaders cringe; and I get why.
It’s often treated like a personality type; loud; bold; extroverted;...
By Raid Carr | January 20, 2026
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If pushing through discomfort automatically made you stronger, the hardest workers would also be the healthiest, happiest, and most fulfilled. That is clearly not the case.
There is a massive difference between pushing through discomfort and burning yourself into...
By Radia Carr | January 27, 2026
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If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, “I just want to be liked,” I want to say this gently but clearly: that’s rarely about leadership. It’s usually about safety. And people-pleasing behavior.Â
Underneath that sentence is often a fear of rejection, a fear of ...
By Radia Carr | February 3, 2026
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It is February already.Thirty one days into a brand new year.
And if you are anything like most mid level leaders, executives, salespeople, and founders I talk to, you started January with good intentions and then work did what work always does. It expanded. It ...
By Radia Carr | February 10, 2026
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Fear has a distinct energy when a big opportunity is on the line.
Not the normal nerves you might feel before a busy day. Not the normal pressure of a deadline. It comes as a kind of fear that makes you aware of your heartbeat. You start to feel the tightening ...
By Radia Carr | February 17, 2026
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If you’re trying to influence without authority, managing up, leading cross-functional work, selling services or a product, an idea, or getting a client to move, you’ve probably felt this:
You know what needs to happen. You can see the path. You have experience...
By Radia Carr | February 13, 2026
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Valentine’s Day is cute, it’s fun and it’s a reminder for many.Â
But if appreciation only shows up on February 14, it’s not appreciation; it’s a calendar event.
When I say appreciation, I mean gratitude. I mean the daily practice of noticing what’s right, who’s...
By Radia Carr | February 24, 2026
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I remember it like it was yesterday. My client responds via email and he is so angry with me and about to have my head. It’s not the first time. I’ve made mistakes. Ones I should have known better on, and ones that took experience to know how to handle better.
...
By Radia Carr | March 3, 2026
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The Story That Taught Me This
A while back, I proposed a fully digital solution to a client who had operated the same way for years. Their world was printed binders, in-person delivery, paper systems; it was familiar, predictable, and comfortable. What I suggested ...
