Leadovation Justine Froelker: Courage at Work: How to Lead with Empathy and Accountability (Without Burnout)
About Justine Froelker:
A Licensed Professional Counselor, Justine Froelker has over 25 years of experience in mental health, personal growth, and professional development, and was certified for eleven years in Dr. Brené Brown’s work on vulnerability, courage, and empathy. She now shares her own curriculum, Courage is Built Here™, empowering individuals to live and lead with self-awareness, authenticity, and resilience. An accomplished author of twelve books—including five Amazon bestsellers—and a TEDx speaker, she presents globally on leadership, resilience, mental health, burnout, and fostering cultures of inclusion and belonging. Justine lives in St. Louis with her husband Chad and volunteers at Wild Bird Rehabilitation while raising monarch and swallowtail butterflies.
In this episode, Dean Newlund and Justine Froelker discuss:
- The hidden emotional cost of high performance, burnout, and declining engagement
- How unresolved grief and trauma show up in leadership
- Empathy and accountability as complementary leadership traits
- The role of self-awareness and vulnerability in breaking destructive patterns and building trust
- Rewriting internal narratives and the organizational impact of investing in people development on engagement and retention
Key Takeaways:
- Identify recurring emotional triggers in your behavior and seek feedback from trusted listeners, coaches, or therapists to uncover unresolved grief or trauma driving your reactions.
- Practice intentional vulnerability while maintaining accountability to build trust, connection, and stronger team dynamics.
- Rewrite limiting internal stories through consistent practice, questioning their truth, and reinforcing new narratives with support.
- Create space for self-reflection and implement regular peer and leader-led check-ins to strengthen awareness, emotional regulation, and team-wide adoption.
"You have to let someone in, in order for them to meet you with empathy, because at the root of all of that is vulnerability. It’s turning toward one another.” — Justine Froelker
Connect with Justine Froelker:
Website: https://justinefroelker.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinefroelker/
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/JustineFroelker
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@justinefroelker/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JustineFroelker/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinefroelker/
See Dean’s TedTalk “Why Business Needs Intuition” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEq9IYvgV7I
Connect with Dean:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgqRK8GC8jBIFYPmECUCMkw
Website: https://www.mfileadership.com/
The Mission Statement E-Newsletter: https://www.mfileadership.com/blog/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deannewlund/
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/deannewlund
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MissionFacilitators/
Email: dean.newlund@mfileadership.com
Phone: 1-800-926-7370
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