Women of Faith in Leadership · 2026-06-22 · 15 min
Key moments - from our scoring
Substance score
10 / 100
Five dimensions, 20 points each
Christian women leaders often respond to high-pressure problems by overthinking, rushing, and absorbing others' emotions - leading to overwhelm rather than clarity. Host Reka addresses this pattern by drawing four practical shifts from how Jesus approached complex, urgent situations: slowing down before solving (pausing to understand rather than reacting immediately), identifying the real root problem beneath surface symptoms (like unclear expectations or emotional tension hidden under poor performance), separating emotion from decision-making (staying grounded rather than absorbing pressure), and taking sequential wise steps rather than jumping to the final outcome. The episode uses biblical examples - the bleeding woman, Jesus in the temple - to illustrate how leaders can move from reactive panic to calm, Christ-centered decision-making. Ideal for mid-level Christian female managers and team leaders struggling with self-doubt and decision-making under pressure, plus anyone seeking to implement the Imposter Syndrome Blueprint or Difficult Conversation Script Pack resources mentioned.
Slow down before solving by pausing and asking clarifying questions; identify the real underlying problem beneath surface symptoms; separate emotion from decision-making to stay grounded; and take the next wise step sequentially rather than trying to solve everything at once.
Pressure changes how leaders think, causing them to overthink, anticipate reactions, and try to solve everything at once, which leads to overwhelm and reactive decision-making rather than wisdom-based leadership.
Jesus paused to create space for clarity, looked beneath the surface to address root causes (like healing the bleeding woman's deeper emotional pain, not just her physical condition), stayed grounded despite surrounding tension, and focused on the next conversation or step rather than the entire outcome immediately.
Surface problems like poor performance or conflict often mask deeper issues such as unclear expectations, emotional tension, or role misalignment; addressing only the surface allows the root cause to generate new surface problems repeatedly.
Acknowledge the feelings and emotions present without letting them drive your decisions; stay grounded in clarity and Christ-centered thinking rather than absorbing other people's urgency and tension into your leadership choices.
Our reviewer’s read on each dimension, with quotes from the episode.
The episode offers four generic leadership points (slow down, find root cause, separate emotion, take next step) that are dressed in biblical framing but contain no novel, non-obvious claims for any practitioner. Large portions of the runtime are consumed by product promotions, a closing prayer, and meandering repetition.
these are four practical shifts that you can make. So, uh, you know, although they're strategic, you have to really go and you have to be strategic about implementing them. If I can say it like that, because they sound great, but if you're not going to implement them, they just literally going to sound great.
clarity doesn't come from rushing. It comes from pausing.
Every idea presented - slow down under pressure, address root causes, regulate emotion, take one step at a time - is standard leadership self-help recycled without any contrarian angle or first-principles reasoning. The sole external intellectual reference is John Maxwell, a ubiquitous name in pop leadership content.
John Maxwell says is to see before others see
you need to be proactive versus reactive? Yes. When you're in pressure moments, you become reactive.
This is a solo episode with no guest. The host positions herself as having middle-management experience over a decade, which offers limited practitioner depth for a B2B operator audience; there is no operator at scale, no domain expert, and no practitioner with verifiable results.
for the last decade I've experienced my fair share of managing challenging employees and teams in middle management leadership roles
No data, metrics, named companies, dollar figures, or timelines appear anywhere in the episode. Biblical anecdotes (the bleeding woman, the temple marketplace) are used loosely as metaphor but supply zero concrete business evidence. Descriptions of problems remain entirely abstract.
poor performance or conflict or miscommunication. We see that as the surface problem. But quite often poor performance, conflict and miscommunication has a deeper root. It could be that there's unclear expectations. It could be that there's emotional tension.
The episode is a solo monologue with no interview dynamic, no challenging questions, and no pushback. The host's own rhetorical questions are vague and self-answered, and the flow is frequently interrupted by product promotions and filler language, undermining any sense of structured argumentation.
I don't know about you, but then to me it feels like I don't know where to start, I don't know where to leave, I don't know where to start. So it's just like a jumble of things
The imposter syndrome. Blueprint is designed to help you understand what's happening internally in those moments
Computed from the transcript - who did the talking, and the words that came up most.
Leadership problems don’t usually come at convenient times. They come with pressure, urgency, and complexity - often involving people, emotions, and difficult decisions. In this episode, we explore how Jesus modelled a completely different way of solving problems: calm, wise, and strategic - even under pressure. In This Episode We explore: • why pressure impacts your ability to think clearly as a leader• how to slow down and respond with wisdom instead of urgency• the difference between surface problems and root issues• how to separate emotion from decision-making• why trying to solve everything at once leads to overwhelm• how to take clear, strategic next steps in complex situations This episode will help you lead through challenges with greater clarity, calm, and confidence. A Key Leadership Truth: Clarity comes from calm - not pressure. Ready to overcome Imposter Syndrome for good?
Transcribed and scored by The B2B Podcast Index.
Rika Whelan: How do you usually respond when a problem lands on your desk unexpectedly? Not those small little problems, but the real big ones. The ones that disrupt your plans, involve people, carry pressure and need a decision quickly. Do you feel calm or do you feel your mind start racing? Because here's what I've noticed. Most leaders don't struggle with solving problems because they lack intelligence. They struggle because pressure changes how they think. And today we're going to talk about something that's super duper powerful. How to solve problems like Jesus. Not reactively, not emotionally, not rushed, but with calm wisdom and strategy, even under pressure. Let's jump in. Do you wish that you could lead
Narrator: your team in a way that honors and glorifies God? Are you struggling to overcome self doubt as a leader and have a desire to be more confident in your role? Welcome to the Women of Faith in Leadership podcast. I'm Reka, and for the last decade I've experienced my fair share of managing challenging employees and teams in middle management leadership roles. I committed my leadership journey to God and it changed everything. And I'm ready to share everything I've learned with you now. Uh, if you're ready to lead your team in a way that honors God, grab that notebook and pen and don't
Rika Whelan: forget your chai latte.
Narrator: And and let's dive in now before
Rika Whelan: we go any deeper. If you've noticed that pressure causes you to overthink, second guess yourself, or lose clarity in leadership, I want to point you to something that will really, really help you. The imposter syndrome. Blueprint is designed to help you understand what's happening internally in those moments so you can lead with calm, Christ centered clarity instead of pressure. You can Access it at womenofaithinleadership.com Blueprint and then later, if those situations turn into conversations, I'll show you where to get support there too at the end of the episode. Now here's what most Christian women in leadership experience. In these moments, a problem arises and suddenly everything feels urgent. I don't know about you, but then to me it feels like I don't know where to start, I don't know where to leave, I don't know where to start. So it's just like a jumble of things that's all of a sudden happening and I just don't know what to do. You feel pressure to fix it quickly, pressure to keep everyone happy, pressure to not get it wrong, and pressure to prove to yourself that you can do this. And in your mind you actually start overthinking, anticipating reactions Trying to solve everything at once. And that's when you start feeling overwhelmed. Leadership overwhelm. But instead of clarity, yes, you feel overwhelmed, not because you're incapable, but because pressure is distorting your thinking. And here's the deeper truth. When pressure rises, many leaders shift from wisdom to reaction. You know that saying where they say you need to be proactive versus reactive? Yes. When you're in pressure moments, you become reactive. But when you look at Jesus and the example that Jesus gives to us, he faced constant pressure, urgent needs, demanding people, complex situations and conflicting expectations. And yet he never rushed, he never reacted impulsively, and he never led from panic. He led from a place of peace, clarity, and authority. And, and that's what we're learning today. Now let's look at some strategy surrounding how you can lead like Jesus and how you can problem solve just like Jesus did. And these are four practical shifts that you can make. So, uh, you know, although they're strategic, you have to really go and you have to be strategic about implementing them. If I can say it like that, because they sound great, but if you're not going to implement them, they just literally going to sound great. They're not going to be something that you are actually going to benefit by. So the first thing that you need to do is to slow down before you need to solve the problem or the issue or the pressure that's landed on your desk. Okay, now slowing down does feel counterintuitive. I get it. Because all of a sudden there's a lot of pressure on you. People are expecting an answer of you right now because pressure is, hurry up, fix it. Uh, do something now. But Jesus, Jesus didn't do that. He often paused. He stepped away, asked questions and created space. Because clarity doesn't come from rushing. It comes from pausing. Pausing long enough to think clearly before you act. And before you act, ask yourself the question, what's actually happening here? Why did this just land on my desk? What's the background to all of this? What can I do to understand this situation better? Then number two, after you've slowed down, you're going to identify the real problem with, not the surface issue. Because a lot of the time when things land on our desk, it is just that it's a surface issue. Many leadership problems aren't what they first appear to be. Your role as a leader, and this is something that John Maxwell says is to see before others see. But it also means being able to just dig deeper and to see what is really going on with this situation. Why Is it the way it is? So an example of this, for example, could be poor performance or conflict or miscommunication. We see that as the surface problem. But quite often poor performance, conflict and miscommunication has a deeper root. It could be that there's unclear expectations. It could be that there's emotional tension. There could be a lack of alignment. Maybe this employee is just not meant for that role. There could be unspoken issues. There could actually be, you know, um, so many things going on that we just don't know about. But if we're just going to address the surface issue, yes, the surface issue will resolve, but the deeper root issue that's going to continue causing surface problems. And Jesus, if we look at Jesus again, Jesus didn't just address what was visible, he addressed what was true. So, so wise leaders ask what's really going on beneath the surface here? And if you think about Jesus, Jesus really looked into the heart of people. And I'm thinking about maybe the woman who was bleeding. That's the one that comes to mind right to me right now is she had this problem where she was bleeding for so many years and she was deemed unclean because she was constantly bleeding. She was even kicked out of her house by her parents. And so when Jesus, when she touched the hem of Jesus clothes, yes, he did look at the surface problem of, okay, you're bleeding and I need to heal that. That was the surface problem. However, what did Jesus do? He looked into her heart and he. And he said, because of your faith, your faith has healed you. First of all, he said, who touched me? Because he could feel the power leaving his body. And the disciples were like, well, Jesus, there's a lot of people around, you know, a lot of people touched you. And it was like, no, there was somebody who touched me and it was her face. It was the fact that the burden that she was carrying because of the bleeding, yes, that was the surface problem. However, the surface problem had so many other deeper issues and deeper connections. And so Jesus looked into her heart and not only did he heal her physical ailment, but he also healed all the pain that she had carried so many years. And so I want you to have a look as a leader what's really going on beneath the surface of this issue that's landed on your table number three. Separate emotion from decision. You are allowed to feel pressure, and you will in your role. But you don't have to lead from a place of pressure within your heart, within your body, and within your soul. Because what does pressure do it raises our heartbeat, all right? It raises our blood pressure, and it makes us sweaty. It makes our palms sweaty. There's so many things where pressure can actually take over, not only from a physical perspective, but from an emotional perspective. And Jesus was surrounded by urgency, emotion, and a, uh, lot of tension. But he did not absorb that tension. He stayed grounded. Why? Because he acknowledged, uh, what he was feeling, and he did not let that drive his decisions. Now, the one example that I think about is where Jesus went into the marketplace and he lifted up all the tables and he was angry. Now, did he lead from a place of emotion in that space? I think he did. He was angry. He was so angry that people made the house of his father a marketplace. But he had very good reason why he acted the way he did. He also needed to address not only the surface level problem, which was the, um, the selling in the market, the marketplace in the house of the Lord. But they were. There were deeper things that needed to be addressed. And the disc disciples must have thought he'd gone crazy for doing that. But Jesus had his reasons. And so before he even did that, before he. Before he got angry, he was calm. He had clarity about what needed to be done. And so this is what we also need, is we need that calm. We cannot absorb other people's emotions and lead from a place of emotion. We need to lead from a place of clarity and being grounded in Christ. And then the fourth one is take the next wise step. Not every step at once, okay? So we often want to see the end result immediately. And so we jump from point A to point Z immediately without following point B, C, D, E, and F, and all the other, all the other points that we need to follow. So this actually causes overwhelm, trying to solve everything at once. Right? But wise leadership is sequential. Jesus often focused on the next conversation, the next decision, the next step. He did not focus on the entire outcome immediately. Yes, Jesus knew that he had to go and die on the cross. That was the outcome, right? But did he focus on dying on the cross immediately? No, he didn't. He focused on the next conversation, the next decision, and the next step. So ask yourself, what is the next why step here? Not how do I fix this immediately, but what's the next step? Is the next step that you need to ask more questions? Is the next step that you need more clarity about? This is the next step that you need to interview a couple of people so that you can make a decision here? Do you need to call the leadership meeting? What is the next step that you need to take to help you solve this problem. Now, if you're tired of feeling overwhelmed when problems arise, the imposter syndrome blueprint will help you think clearly under pressure, regulate your emotional response, lead from a place of identity instead of insecurity, and make wise, grounded decisions. Simply go to womenofaithinleadership.com blueprint and if those decisions lead into conversations you're unsure how to navigate, the next step is the difficult Conversation script pack which will support you in that next step. So you can to grab the script back, you can go to womenoffaithinleadership.com conversations um, so that's blueprint or conversations, um, at the end of womenofaithinleadership.com and you can go and learn more about how those leadership resources can support you in your leadership role. Now, in closing, I want to say you don't need to rush to be effective. You don't need to react to be strong. You don't need to carry the pressure alone. Jesus modeled a different way of leading, a way that is calm, grounded, wise and spirit led. And that same wisdom is available to you as well. So you are not behind, you are not failing. You are learning how to lead well. So slow down, seek wisdom and take only the next possible step. And then after that, you trust that God is guiding you in every single decision. So I really want to pray for you, dear God, that you be with every single female Christian leader in this, on this podcast that's listening right now and that's not even listening. Help them with their decisions, help them to make and solve problems like Jesus did. God, you gave Jesus a lot of wisdom, a lot of calm, and a lot of strategic thinking in how he dealt with things. I pray that you will gift that to our leaders as well so that they can learn to slow down, seek wisdom, and only take the next step that they need to take. And I pray this all in your mighty name. Amen. I look forward to chatting with you again in the next episode and I hope you have an amazing week. Bye.
Narrator: Hey, I hope you enjoyed today's episode. If so, would you take 30 seconds and leave me a five star written review on Apple Podcasts? It would mean so much to me
Rika Whelan: to read your feedback. Also, it would really bless me big if you shared this episode with a
Narrator: fellow leader who might benefit from hearing today's message. And remember, put on the armor of God daily and walk by faith and,
Rika Whelan: uh, not by sight.
Narrator: I'll meet you back on Monday for another episode.
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