E176: Self-Trust Begins When The Story Ends

Send us a text

In this powerful behind-the-scenes episode, I take you into a six-month coaching journey that reveals something universal about leadership, self-trust, and the stories we tell ourselves.

My client — an accomplished, caring, highly capable leader — came into coaching believing that every tense meeting, every system glitch, and every emotional reaction from her team meant something about her. Like so many high-achieving leaders I coach, she wasn’t overwhelmed by the work. She was overwhelmed by her interpretation of the work.

What unfolded next was nothing short of transformational.

In this episode, you’ll hear how she learned to:

• Stop taking responsibility for everyone else’s feelings
• Replace “I don’t know” with the far more powerful “I can figure this out”
• Shift from pressure → presence, chaos → clarity
• Regulate her emotional landscape instead of absorbing everyone else’s
• Lead with compassion, integrity, boundaries, and inner steadiness
• Recognize that self-trust isn’t about having the answer — it’s believing she can find one

You’ll also hear truths I shared with her — the kind that disrupt old patterns and open the door to identity-level transformation:

You’re not responsible for everything.
Uncertainty is not failure.
Chaos doesn’t mean you’re ineffective.
And your story is not the truth.

By the end of our work together, she wasn’t trying to “perform” leadership anymore.
She was inhabiting it — fully, authentically, intentionally.

If you are a leader who finds yourself overthinking, over-owning, or overwhelmed by the emotional climate around you… this episode is for you.

You’ll walk away with three powerful invitations:

1. Where are you confusing chaos with inadequacy?
2. Where are you picking up emotional weight that isn’t yours?
3. Where can you shift from “I don’t know” → “I can figure this out”?

Because coaching isn’t about becoming someone better.
It’s about becoming someone truer.

If this episode resonates and you’re ready to lead from clarity, steadiness, and self-trust instead of pressure and perfection, I invite you to book a clarity call through the link in the show notes.

Breathe deeply.
Lead gently.
And trust yourself more than you think you can.

Support the show

Please rate and review with your honest opinion. Subscribe and share with your colleagues especially if you have worked with me and found value in the work we’ve done together.

Connect with me in my favourite places, LinkedIn and Instagram and my website is: https://www.cynthiajamiesoncoach.ca/

• Book a FREE Call to Explore Coaching
• Meet Me On The Arc
• Join the Free Community
• Join the Membership

Make it a great week!

Cynthia Jamieson 🧡🌱

Leadership coach for high-integrity leaders who want to thrive without proving or burning out | Ex-HR Exec | ICF PCC Coach | Podcast Host | Intuitive Intelligence® Method Guide