971: LEADERSHIP TIPS: 6 Rules I’m Breaking in 2026

Episode notes

As we head into a new year, I’m just as focused on breaking rules as I am on setting goals. In this episode, I share six leadership “rules” most of us have followed for years that I’m consciously unlearning as I step into 2026. These are the quiet, normalized rules that fuel burnout, decision fatigue, over-functioning, and self-silencing - especially for women and especially in midlife. This episode is both a reflection and an invitation to question the rules you’ve inherited, absorbed, or outgrown, and to decide what actually serves the person you are choosing to become as you step into a new year. I walk through productivity rules that say more output equals more value, and share why I’m shifting toward tracking energy instead of hours, creating more white space, and protecting time for thinking and breathing (I’m really bad at breathing). I unpack confidence rules like needing to “feel confident” before speaking up and the belief that strong leaders shouldn’t show doubt. We also dig into communication rules that tell women to soften their message to keep others comfortable, and visibility rules that limit us to who people think we’ve been rather than who we are becoming.