743: Rachel Burr: Navigating the Messy Middle of Leadership

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In this episode of the Healthy, Wealthy and Smart podcast, Dr. Karen Litzy interviews Rachel Burr about leadership, transformation, and the challenges of navigating change. They discuss the importance of understanding one’s core identity, the messy process of transformation, and the significance of emotional intelligence in leadership. Rachel emphasizes the need for leaders to recognize their strengths and weaknesses through feedback and self-assessment, and she offers insights into building resilience and adapting to the evolving landscape of leadership.

Takeaways

Leadership is about authenticity, not fitting a mold.
The messy middle of change is essential for transformation.
Recognizing signs of stagnation can lead to personal growth.
Emotional intelligence is crucial for effective leadership.
Feedback from peers and mentors is vital for self-awareness.
Leaders should focus on their strengths while addressing weaknesses.
Humor can be a powerful tool in leadership.
Continuous learning is necessary to stay relevant in leadership.
Understanding emotions can enhance decision-making and relationships.
Building a path to leadership requires self-discovery and action.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Leadership and Transformation
03:57 The Messy Middle of Change
09:59 Recognizing Signs of Stagnation
14:45 Building Emotional Intelligence
19:43 Assessing Leadership Strengths and Weaknesses
33:43 Future of Leadership Development

More About Rachel:

Rachel Burr is an executive coach, leadership consultant, and people expert with over 20 years of experience helping leaders and organizations unlock their full potential. She guides high-performing individuals, often promoted for their individual excellence, to develop authentic leadership by embracing their unique strengths, talents, and passions. Rachel’s evidence-based approach involves honest assessments of strengths, weaknesses, and values, confronting challenges, and identifying actionable steps to achieve goals. With insight, action, and humor, she coaches executives and teams, facilitates transformative team sessions, and navigates complex change to build high-performing teams rooted in strength, alignment, and integrity. Rachel is the author of her book, Butterfly Goo: The Down and Dirty Truth of Transformation, which chronicles her transformative journey through mishaps and triumphs, mirroring her coaching approach of guiding leaders through change with insight and humor.