The Unburdened Leader

Leadership
The Unburdened Leader podcast, hosted by Rebecca Ching, LMFT.
 Claim This Profile

Basic Member

Member Since: June 14, 2023
Location: California United States

Latest Episodes

EP 140: Dare to Dabble: How Intentional Amateurship Builds Resilience with Karen Walrond

EP 140: Dare to Dabble: How Intentional Amateurship Builds Resilience with Karen Walrond

Have you ever thought of being an amateur as a good thing?


Many of us learned from an early age that our worth was tied to excelling at what we do and turning it into something productive. And many leaders carry the belief that they must be certain, skilled, and polished at all times.


But what if the exact opposite were true?


When we allow ourselves to dabble, to be amateurs, to be just okay at things, our brains literally become more adaptable and our nervous systems learn to stay grounded in the midst of risk, uncertainty, and vulnerability. Just as importantly, leaders who model dabbling create spaces where families, teams, and communities are safe to embrace curiosity and exploration. 


Resilient leadership requires us to meet high-stakes challenges with adaptability, grounded presence, and compassion. Intentional amateurship prepares us for life’s curveballs by building those skills in low-stakes settings.


Today’s guest returns to make the case for being a dabbler as a practice of freedom, resilience, and leadership. She shows us how choosing to play, experiment, and simply try expands our capacity for presence and courage.


Karen Walrond is an award-winning author, speaker, and leadership coach on a mission to create a kindness revolution.

 

Her books encourage readers to identify their values and inner light and use them to make the world brighter for others.  Audiences around the world have left her keynotes inspired with hope and a renewed determination to serve.  And her one-on-one leadership coaching sessions, workshops and retreats, rooted in the tenets of positive psychology coaching, have helped hundreds of clients unearth their gifts and past triumphs to lead with confidence, compassion and kindness.


Karen and her family split their time between Houston, Texas, USA and Bath, Somerset, UK.


Listen to the full episode to hear:

  • The restorative power of doing something purely for the love of it
  • How following her curiosity has shaped Karen’s career and how she protects her amateur pursuits
  • How Karen’s dabbling adventures tapped into her seven attributes of intentional amateurism
  • How intentional amateurship helps embed self-care, self-compassion, and self-transcendence into our lives
  • How practicing being an amateur helps us bring curiosity, compassion, and resilience to our leadership
  • Why the humbling experiences of dabbling are a vital reminder for leaders that they’re in it alongside their teams


Learn more about Karen Walrond:


Learn more about Rebecca:


Resources:

EP 139: Bad Bosses Aren't Born, They're Made: Breaking Toxic Leadership Cycles with Mita Malick

EP 139: Bad Bosses Aren't Born, They're Made: Breaking Toxic Leadership Cycles with Mita Malick

We’ve all had bad bosses.


We might have even been one. At the very least, we’ve probably let people down who counted on us.


We all carry burdens from our past that show up in how we lead. And we’re all confronting systems that foster toxic workplace cultures where overwork and blurred boundaries are the norm, spaces that don’t feel safe or generative, and where there is little to no accountability.


The question we face is simple, but urgent: How do we want to lead?


Our leadership can reinforce toxic systems and norms. Or we can learn to recognize our own burdens and do the work to become more aware, adaptable, and flexible. We can create spaces where people feel seen, heard, and valued, even when systems feel unstable or unfair.


Because leading is about deciding, in every moment, whether we respond from our burdens or from our values. 


And my guest today helps us reflect on those choices and decide how we want to lead through her own lived experiences with bad bosses. 


Mita Mallick is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author who is on a mission to fix what’s broken in our workplaces. She’s a corporate change maker with a track record of transforming businesses and has had an extensive career as a marketing and human resources executive. 


Mallick is a highly sought-after speaker who has advised Fortune 500 companies and start-ups alike. She is a LinkedIn Top Voice and was named to the Thinkers 50 Radar List. She’s a contributor to Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Adweek, and Entrepreneur. Mallick has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Time Magazine, Forbes, Axios, Essence, Cosmopolitan Magazine and Business Insider.


Listen to the full episode to hear:

  • Three scenarios where leaders commonly shift into being bad bosses
  • Key reasons why we tolerate bad bosses and what we can do to shift the culture
  • Why Mita’s 13 archetypal bad bosses persist in our workplaces
  • Why leaders have to invest time and connection in their team members if they want to retain them
  • Why another executive coaching program will not fix a truly bad boss
  • The number one skill leaders can focus on to become a better boss
  • Why corporate America needs more humility and vulnerability


Learn more about Mita Mallick:


Learn more about Rebecca:


Resources:

EP 138: Unburdened Eating: How Healing Your Relationship with Food Transforms Your Leadership  with Dr. Jeanne Catanzaro

EP 138: Unburdened Eating: How Healing Your Relationship with Food Transforms Your Leadership  with Dr. Jeanne Catanzaro

How we care for ourselves is inextricably connected to how we lead.


In a culture where we moralize health and sell wellness as a symbol of worth, where we’re obsessed with productivity and optimization, our relationships with food and our bodies go beyond personal struggles.


They shape how we lead, how we show up for others, and how we define success. When leaders model extreme routines, restrictive regimens, or performance-based wellness, they may unintentionally perpetuate shame and comparison–even if they intend to inspire or be helpful.


This isn’t a dismissal of health. Caring for our bodies, feeding ourselves well, and seeking movement that feels good and helps our bodies be strong are powerful acts of self-respect. 


But when an obsession with performance and purity–whether through hustle culture or “clean” living–erodes our self-trust and amplifies our inner critics, it becomes a leadership issue.


Today’s guest is an eating disorder specialist who understands how shame, perfectionism, and chronic striving get tangled up in how we feed and care for ourselves, and how we show up in the world. Unburdening our relationship with food and body isn’t just about health; it’s a powerful leadership move.


As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Jeanne Catanzaro has specialized in treating eating issues and trauma for close to 30 years. She trained in psychodynamic psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) before discovering the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model. Dr. Catanzaro served as the director of a day treatment program for eating disorders for two years and is currently the Vice President of the Internal Family Systems Institute. She is the author of the book, Unburdened Eating: Healing Your Relationships with Food and Your Body Using an Internal Family Systems Approach.


Listen to the full episode to hear:

  • Why unburdening our relationship with food and body is a continual process, not a three-step plan
  • How to approach your motivations for how you eat and exercise with curiosity and compassion
  • How diet culture isn’t just about weight, but reflects wider cultural and systemic beliefs about bodies, health, beauty, and worth
  • How value judgments about how we and others eat protect us from vulnerability and reinforce hierarchies
  • Why it’s impossible to fixate on your own body without your self-judgment rubbing off onto others
  • Common wellness traps that can feed our inner managers and protectors at the expense of our core self-knowledge


Learn more about Dr. Jeanne Catanzaro:


Learn more about Rebecca:


Resources:

EP 137: The Summer Willis Act: From Silence to Systems Change with Summer Willis

EP 137: The Summer Willis Act: From Silence to Systems Change with Summer Willis

What does it take to lead when your story becomes the story, and the stakes are survival and justice?


When you’ve experienced relational trauma or institutional betrayal, as Judith Herman wrote in Trauma and Recovery, “The ordinary response to atrocities is to banish them from consciousness.” 


But silence protects systems, not survivors.


When we do speak up, at best we’re often told to move on, and at worst we might face violent pushback. The stress and fear from the blowback can all too easily silence us and chip away at our integrity and adaptability if we don’t do the important work to address the toll it takes.


But when we give ourselves permission to feel the overwhelm, and still take one step forward, we shift from silence into action. Sometimes that step is public and loud. Sometimes it's private and steady. All of it counts. There is no one right way to advocate for change.


My guest today did more than just share her story; she used it to create meaningful change in her home state of Texas. In this conversation, we discuss what it means to bear the weight of your trauma while advocating for others, the emotional toll of being a public face for change, and what it looks like to keep showing up, even when the system makes it difficult.


Summer Willis is an endurance athlete, advocate, and mother of two who ran 29 marathons in a year to raise awareness for sexual assault survivors. She is the namesake of the Summer Willis Act, landmark consent legislation passed in Texas. Through storytelling, extreme challenges, and her nonprofit Strength Through Strides, she empowers others to turn pain into purpose.


Content note: discussion of sexual assault


Listen to the full episode to hear:

  • The legal loophole in Texas law that ignited Summer’s drive to turn her worst experience into tangible change for millions of survivors
  • How sharing her story and raising awareness and support for the law connected Summer to a wide community of survivors and allies when she was feeling isolated
  • Why she decided to run 29 marathons before her 30th birthday while sharing her story, and how that challenge evolved into legislative advocacy
  • How being an endurance athlete helped Summer through legislative challenges and setbacks to get the Summer Willis Act passed
  • How Summer is bringing in lightness to her life after sharing her story over and over while trying to pass the bill
  • Why taking the first step and learning along the way are crucial to shaping change


Learn more about Summer Willis:


Learn more about Rebecca:


Resources:

EP 136: From Overwhelm to Enough: Leading Through Intentional Consumption with Ashlee Piper

EP 136: From Overwhelm to Enough: Leading Through Intentional Consumption with Ashlee Piper

What do you care about these days? 


Caring is the currency of leadership, but here’s the paradox: when we care too much about too many things, we can lose sight of the things that truly matter. 


So the question is: How do you direct your energy toward what you value, without becoming overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things you could care about? 


The most effective leaders are those who can connect deeply with their teams, foster trust, and create a sense of safety and belonging. They lead with empathy, not just strategy.


But perfectionism and overfunctioning can lead us to feel like we need to be everything to everyone, at the expense of our well-being and, ultimately, the quality of our leadership.


For many of us, the path to effective leadership begins with finding your enough. When you shift your lens to honoring your enough, you stay connected to your values and to the people and causes that matter most to you, without tipping into exhaustion.


My guest today offers a model of what it’s like to care deeply without losing yourself in the process, and of finding joy and community along the way. 


Ashlee Piper is a sustainability expert, commentator, and speaker whose work has been widely featured on television and in print media. She is the author of Give a Sh*t: Do Good. Live Better. Save the Planet. and No New Things: A Radically Simple 30-Day Guide to Saving Money, the Planet, and Your Sanity.


Piper has spoken at the United Nations,  SXSW, and has a popular TED talk. She is the creator of the #NoNewThings Challenge, for which she received a 2022 Silver Stevie Award for Female Innovator of the Year, and is a professor of sustainability marketing. She holds a BA from Brown University and a master’s degree from the University of Oxford. She lives in Chicago in a home that’s 98 percent secondhand and can often be found singing Seal’s “Kiss from a Rose” at any not-so-fine karaoke establishment.


Listen to the full episode to hear:

  • How #NoNewThings grew from a personal 30-day goal to attracting thousands of participants and becoming a book
  • How taking a break from consumption helped Ashlee refocus on the values and relationships that matter most
  • How marketers game our mental and physical states to sell us things, and a simple way to bring awareness to our own consumption patterns
  • Why #NoNewThings emphasizes intentionality with purchases over strictly not spending
  • Why “sustainable” is the new “natural” and tips for making more informed choices
  • How recognizing our “enough” makes space for building community, getting involved, and living our values


Learn more about Ashlee Piper:


Learn more about Rebecca:


Resources:

EP 135: Disability Joy and Persistent Leadership: Honoring Our Full Humanity with Tiffany Yu​​

EP 135: Disability Joy and Persistent Leadership: Honoring Our Full Humanity with Tiffany Yu​​

We persist for what matters most—for the people we lead, and the people we love.


But persistence can start to feel like just another weight to carry, another demand that drains us. 


And people are tired. So many of us are balancing caregiving, leadership, advocacy, a constant firehose of urgent crises, and maybe sneaking in some rest. So sure, persistence sounds good, but how do we keep going without flaming out?


We learn how to prune our proverbial gardens.


Pruning, whether a tomato plant or an out-of-control to-do list, requires focusing on the present so we can remove what no longer serves, while protecting what still has life in it. It’s persistence in action. It’s what keeps us from burning it all down and walking away or from our commitments taking over our lives.


Today’s guest offers us a masterclass in persistence. She started small. When resistance showed up, she didn’t just push through. She revisited her vision. She stayed in relationship with mentors and worked in community. And over time, she has built a global movement for disability, visibility, equity, and justice.


On today’s 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Tiffany Yu shares a reminder that persistence isn’t about doing it all right away or quitting when it’s too much. It’s about staying focused, refining our vision, and staying connected to supportive people and your mission.


Tiffany Yu is the CEO and Founder of Diversability, a 3x TEDx speaker, and the author of The Anti-Ableist Manifesto: Smashing Stereotypes, Forging Change, and Building a Disability-Inclusive World. She started her career at Goldman Sachs and was named to the 2025 Forbes Accessibility 100 List. At the age of 9, Tiffany became disabled as a result of a car accident that also took the life of her father.


Listen to the full episode to hear:

  • How the seeds of Tiffany’s disability activism were sown during her time at Georgetown
  • How Tiffany’s delayed processing of her grief and trauma impacted her ability to connect with disabled joy
  • Why it matters that all of us get invested in prioritizing accessibility and inclusion for the disability community
  • Why accessibility is about more than just utility and needs to address the wholeness of people with disabilities
  • What leaders can do now to craft more accessible and inclusive spaces and events
  • The importance of community and using your influence to build bridges in the face of setbacks


Learn more about Tiffany Yu:


Learn more about Rebecca:


Resources:

EP 134: Focus, Feel, Forward: Redefining Leadership for the Long Haul with Amanda Litman

EP 134: Focus, Feel, Forward: Redefining Leadership for the Long Haul with Amanda Litman

How do we lead in the face of fear, when the stakes feel sky high and relentlessly personal?


The realities of political violence, hostility, and burnout shape how we show up. And they can chip away at your generous heart, opening the path for cynicism and doubt.


But if we can focus on what matters most, feel through our emotions–and help others do the same–and orient our gaze forward to the vision of our lives, work, and world that we want, we create an energy that cynicism can’t easily break down, even through setbacks.


We need to protect our hope and conviction that change is possible. The future is not a done deal. We have choices about how it unfolds.


In this Unburdened Leader conversation, we explore what it takes to lead with clarity, protect our capacity, and still believe that change is possible, even when everything around us tries to tell us otherwise.


Amanda Litman is the cofounder and president of Run for Something, which recruits and supports young, diverse leaders running for local office. Since 2017, they’ve launched the careers of thousands of millennials and Gen Z candidates and in the process, changed what leadership looks like in America. She’s the author of two books: When We’re In Charge: The Next Generation’s Guide to Leadership and Run for Something: A Real-Talk Guide to Fixing the System Yourself, a how-to manual for people running for office.


Before launching Run for Something, Amanda worked on multiple presidential and statewide political campaigns. She graduated from Northwestern University and lives in Brooklyn with her husband, two daughters, and their sometimes rowdy dog.


Listen to the full episode to hear:

  • How Amanda and the team at Run for Something support candidates in the face of real and present fears for their safety
  • Why Gen Z’s refusal to accept “the way things are done” is energy we need 
  • Why Amanda believes in the optimism of looking to what is possible
  • Why getting involved on the local level is a powerful counter to pessimism
  • The major disconnect of pop leadership advice with how most people encounter leadership
  • How our current moment is making leadership uniquely challenging, isolating, and exhausting
  • Why leadership isn’t about being your full self at work, but about responsible authenticity


Learn more about Amanda Litman:


Learn more about Rebecca:


Resources:

EP 133: Beyond Nostalgia: Leading Through Constant Uncertainty with Chris Hoff, LMFT

EP 133: Beyond Nostalgia: Leading Through Constant Uncertainty with Chris Hoff, LMFT

Nostalgia can be a balm. Especially when we’re in what feels like a never-ending season of upheaval and change, where every time we start to get our footing, something shifts yet again.


When we’re in the throes of change–in the liminal space, the in-between, the in-betwixt–we as human beings are neurologically wired to seek out what’s known, to reach for comfort and what feels like home. And nostalgia does that for us. It’s no wonder we look back fondly on simpler times, real or imagined.


Because nostalgia isn’t necessarily the truth. And nostalgia doesn’t always serve our growth. Connecting over “Remember when?” can too easily divide us when it becomes a rigid longing for a past that excludes and harms others or ignores painful truths.


So many of us are living and leading in the confusion, disorientation, and discomfort of these liminal spaces of change. Which is why I invited today’s guest to join me for a conversation about the pulls of nostalgia, the discomfort of liminal space, and the courage it takes to lead ourselves and others through uncertainty without losing our way.


Chris Hoff, PhD, LMFT is a narrative therapist, educator, podcaster, and founder of the California Family Institute. His work explores the intersection of psychotherapy, poststructural theory, and speculative futures. Chris is known for his ability to translate complex ideas into pragmatic tools for clients and clinicians alike. He is the host of The Radical Therapist Podcast and co-editor of An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping. Chris’s teaching, writing, and consulting center the creative, relational, and political dimensions of healing and change.


Listen to the full episode to hear:

  • How the concept of liminal space can help us normalize the push-pull of the known and the possible
  • How the process of Narrative Therapy can help people reclaim agency and possibility 
  • Why building coalitions with shared commitments is vital for making change across our differences
  • How intentional scenario planning can help people and organizations see what they need to make the best-case scenario more likely
  • How nostalgia can keep us stuck in problematic storylines about the past


Learn more about Chris Hoff, PhD, LMFT:


Learn more about Rebecca:


Resources:

EP 132: Why Most Feedback Fails (And How to Make It Actually Work) with Therese Huston, Ph.D.

EP 132: Why Most Feedback Fails (And How to Make It Actually Work) with Therese Huston, Ph.D.

When you hear the word, feedback, what comes up for you?


Most of us do not have a neutral relationship with feedback. It’s tangled up with our past experiences, workplace power dynamics, cultural expectations, and–importantly–our early relational wounds.


But at its core, feedback is a deeply relational act that has the power to help us unburden rather than re-wound.


Which is why it’s so frustrating that feedback in leadership and workplace culture is so often done without care, rendering the process performative, detached, and isolating.


Some of the constraints that can hamper authentic feedback in the workplace are necessary and protective, but it feels like we’ve lost the plot for the role and purpose of feedback, and in some cases, have abandoned it altogether.


But it is possible to navigate these complex systems intentionally and with clarity. We can make feedback a tool for accountability, care, and growth that helps leaders strengthen their self-awareness and be better advocates for their teams.


My guest today helps us unpack how leaders can cultivate a feedback culture that allows for mistakes, growth, and realignment.


Therese Huston, Ph.D., is a Cognitive Neuroscientist and Faculty Development Consultant at Seattle University. She was the founding director of the university’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and is now a consultant for its Center for Faculty Development. Her latest book Sharp: 14 Simple Ways to Improve Your Life with Brain Science is out now from Mayo Clinic Press.


Listen to the full episode to hear:

  • Why how and where feedback is delivered matters just as much for positive feedback as negative
  • Strategies for making feedback a supportive and generative dialogue
  • Why it’s critical to allow others space to process your feedback before you start problem solving
  • How starting with your authentic positive intentions can make others more receptive to feedback
  • Why it’s worth ending the conversation by checking in about their takeaways
  • How typical feedback can perpetuate disparities in the workplace, and steps leaders can take to change those dynamics
  • A tip from Therese’s new book to help manage stress and difficult conversations


Learn more about Therese Huston, Ph.D.:


Learn more about Rebecca:


Resources:

Bio of The Unburdened Leader

The Unburdened Leader podcast, hosted by Rebecca Ching, LMFT, is a show that focuses on the journey of leaders who have faced their own personal challenges, worked through them, and emerged as stronger and more impactful leaders. The podcast aims to provide insights, strategies, and inspiration to help leaders navigate their own struggles, prevent burnout, and lead with authenticity and effectiveness.

Each week, The Unburdened Leader features conversations with leaders who have overcome various obstacles and achieved personal and professional growth. These leaders share their experiences, lessons learned, and practical strategies for leading without being weighed down by stress, burnout, or isolation.

Rebecca Ching, a licensed therapist, and expert in leadership development, provides valuable guidance on redefining challenges, embracing vulnerability, and cultivating essential qualities such as courage, confidence, clarity, and compassion.

Contact Podcasts

Similar Podcasts

Podcasts

United States

The Skift Travel Podcast

CEO

The Skift Travel Podcast is a leading source for the latest insights and perspectives on the travel industry.

Details
Podcasts

Australia

The Growth Hub Podcast

SaaS

A podcast to help you grow and scale up your B2B SaaS business. Brought to you by growth marketing agency Advance B2B.

Details
Podcasts

Indonesia

Bocin

Health & Wellness Podcasting

Monodialog Self-Improvement Podcast Pertama di Indonesia

Details
Podcasts

The Copyblogger Podcast

Marketing

"The Copyblogger Podcast" is a weekly show hosted by Tim Stoddart and Ethan Brooks.

Details
Podcasts

United States

Product Startup

Engineering

The Product Startup Podcast, hosted by Kevin Mako.

Details
Podcasts

Women in Family Business

Women and Business

Women in Family Business is a global initiative that offers an opportunity to women from all over the world.

Details
Podcasts

Canada

This is Product Marketing

Marketing

"This is Product Marketing" is a podcast presented by Product Marketing Hive.

Details
Podcasts

United States

SaaS Open Mic by ChartMogul

SaaS

The leading Subscription Analytics Platform for growing SaaS businesses 📈

Details
Podcasts

United States

Entrepreneur Rx

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneur Rx, hosted by John Shufeldt.

Details
back-to-top