Episode 34 | In this episode of The Women in the Arena, host Paige Rene chats with Rachel Burr, executive coach and founder of Catamentum Leadership Coaching. Rachel, a people expert with over 20 years of experience, dives into the intricacies of authentic leadership, the importance of building trust, and the challenges leaders face in managing people effectively.

Takeaways:

1. Building authentic leadership means understanding yourself as a leader and aligning actions with your core values. Authenticity helps leaders influence and inspire teams more effectively.
2. Creating trust in new roles starts with listening. Leaders joining new teams can establish trust by truly understanding team members and their needs.
3. Using effective communication involves asking open-ended questions like “Help me understand.” This approach prevents defensiveness and promotes open, constructive dialogue.
4. Approaching leadership as experimentation allows growth as a journey, giving leaders the freedom to try new approaches and learn from each experience.

In this episode:

[00:01:00] Rachel outlines three challenges leaders commonly face: transitioning into strategy, needing an external thought partner, and developing people skills.

[00:05:59] Paige asks about building trust as a new leader, prompting Rachel’s insights on listening, understanding team culture, and respecting established workflows.

[00:08:10] Rachel recounts a story of coaching a high-performing leader who struggled with people management, demonstrating the importance of self-awareness.

[00:11:24] Rachel discusses the gap between leadership intent and team perception, encouraging leaders to bridge this by understanding how their actions impact others.

[00:21:00] Rachel provides actionable advice on active listening and emotional regulation in challenging conversations.

[00:28:33] Paige and Rachel reflect on curiosity, highlighting the value of admitting “I don’t know” to encourage openness and mutual learning.

[00:38:00] Rachel shares two key leadership lessons: the value of hiring people who challenge you and embracing constant learning.

Resources

1. The Women In The Arena

2. Rise Facebook Community

3. Listen on Apple Podcasts

4. Listen on Spotify

5. Watch on YouTube

6. Catamentum Leadership Coaching: Visit Rachel's website

7. Rachel’s upcoming book, Butterfly Goo: The Down and Dirty Truth of Transformation

8. Follow Paige on Instagram: @paige_rene15

9. Leadership is Language Book

10. Leadership Circle 360

11. Follow Rachel Burr on LinkedIn

Quotes

1. “As a leader, you may have something you need to work through. It’s not ready to talk through to maybe your leader or definitely not the board, if you’re the CEO. It’s not something you want to talk with your team about, it’s just not appropriate.” – Rachel on the importance of having a confidential thought partner

2. “Own the ‘I don’t know’…if you’re outside your comfort zone and you’re stepping out there, taking risks, doing new things, if you already know everything, you’re not outside your comfort zone.” – Rachel on embracing growth