328: Showing Up as a Leader When the World Feels Heavy

In this Workday Playdate, Erin tackles a leadership reality many people leaders are quietly carrying: when the world feels heavy, your team feels it too. This episode is a grounded guide for showing up with intention, presence, and care without pretending you have all the answers.

Erin explores how global events, constant information overload, and emotional fatigue are showing up inside our workplaces, whether we acknowledge them or not. Drawing on research around psychological safety and belonging, she makes the case that empathy, kindness, and emotional awareness are core leadership strategies.

At the heart of the episode is Erin’s practical LOVE framework, a four-step approach leaders can use immediately to create safer, more resilient, and more connected teams.

Inside This Episode:

• Leadership in Heavy Times: How world events impact decision-making, morale, and team dynamics
• Psychological Safety & Belonging: Why safety and trust are performance multipliers, not perks
• The LOVE Framework: 1. Listen for what’s said (and unsaid), 2. Openly ask questions without needing all the answers, 3. Value core values as decision-making anchors, 4. Energize your team with intentional, positive energy
• Remote Leadership Presence: Simple ways to set the tone through daily messages and routines
• Energy at Work: Why your energy is the culture—and how to manage it intentionally
• Values Alignment: Turning belonging, acceptance, and community into lived practices
• Leading with Love: How kindness, compassion, and contribution create real impact

Who This Episode Is For:

• Leaders carrying the emotional weight of their role
• Managers navigating uncertainty, burnout, or disengagement
• People leaders building culture during challenging world moments
• Remote and hybrid leaders setting tone without physical presence
• Anyone who wants to lead with more humanity, clarity, and care

Your Freebie

You want to support your people the same way you want to be supported—but in fast, emotionally charged moments, the right words can be hard to find.

Enter, your free resource - Human Leadership in the Age of AI: An Empathy Playbook. It gives you a simple, 3-part list of human-first phrases you can use in meetings, emails, and one-on-ones.

Empathy isn’t extra anymore. It’s essential. Download your Empathy Playbook here.

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